Out with the old year and in with the new Part Four

'Ey up.  How are you doing?  Still with me on this exhaustive review.

Phew, well we are getting there aren't we?  It looks like we will get to the end of this review eventually.  That is what happens when you just make up posts on the fly without actually organising it as such.  It is only organised in the fact that it is about something in particular (a review of the past year and eventually a look ahead possibly).  Other than that though the content itself is made up as I either think of it, or as I see it in the internet searches I am doing.

"When will this review end???"

What I did miss in the previous section that looked particularly at the summer period was to do with films, and that is possibly the biggest period for movies I would guess from the Hollywood thinking?  I wouldn't know as I am not one of those in the industry, but just a normal joe on the street.

In my opinion not as much of a turd
as they say - The Lone Ranger

July started with what many call a misfire in the shape of the Jerry Bruckheimer produced film The Lone Ranger starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp.  Now in my own humble opinion I thought the film was really good for the most part.  There were possibly little bits here and there, particularly the fact that the film was dominated in my view by Johnny Depp playing the native american sidekick Tonto.  However, he was bloody good at it I must admit!  The looks that he gave were comedy gold.  Now, I didn't mind that the story was looked at from that angle.  Others might have been against that, but I thought that it added a lot to the piece.  The twists (plural) with the character played by Tom Wilkinson was sort of predictable to me, but not in an awful way.  Great acting again by the way Mr Wilkinson.

There you are ladies - Hugh Jackman

I need to watch The Wolverine so much!  I am a big fan of the first two X-Men films and of X-Men First Class (boy am I excited for the new X-Men coming out soon as well - that looks awesome, but more on that later).  Elysium and Pacific Rim are films I will have to sit down on my own and watch sometime.  I'm not sure about either though.

The film About Time starring Domhnall Gleeson (who?), Rachel McAdams (good actress :D) and Bill Nighy is actually a film little film written and directed by Richard Curtis, whose work I sometimes love and sometimes don't.  I must see Riddick, although it looks very much like a straight copy of the amazing Pitch Black, which was the first film to feature the character immortalised by Vin Diesel.

We will probably borrow Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 from lovefilm because we liked the first film I think.  Well, that didn't take long to go through the summer films.  I thought there would be more, but with a couple of blockbusters already released earlier and more later in the year, there would have been too much to live up to perhaps.

A "quick shifty" at the album releases between July and September tells me that I need to really check out the latest offering by Arctic Monkeys (a cracking band, although I will admit that I wasn't sure about them until I heard the side project of Alex Turner with the band The Last Shadow Puppets whose The Age of the Understatement still absolutely floors me in so many ways).  I like what I've heard of The 1975 as well, although I think the name doesn't fit them!

Ooh, Motorhead!  Lemmy and the guys (whoever they are now) never let me down for musical fun!  I could probably go on about the rest of the year's releases that way, but don't think that I should.  I already feel as though I am not giving this my all!

Mind you, I am supposed to be starting on the latter part of the year aren't I?  Hmm... Okay, let's see if anything else jumps out at me then!

Paul McCartney released a new album in October with the title New.  Hmm...  The lead single from the album was also titled New.  People rave about it.  I haven't heard the whole album yet because I am getting it in bits from iTunes as I can't afford full albums in one go.  It makes listening interesting though that is for sure.  I find it weird after all these years that Macca writes a song about when he had actual jobs before The Beatles were famous, but if he wants to write about it more than fifty years after the event, then who am I to question him?

"Make a brew" time again!

I actually want to get a hold of the latest solo album by Roger Taylor (drummer for Queen), because I like what I've heard.  I actually miss the Queen harmonies with his incredibly high range!  I'm not sure that he can reach those notes now though?

What the heck is this Buckethead thing that keeps showing up everywhere throughout the year?  Oh!!!  I see.  Damn he's prolific!!!  He released 31 albums in 2013 alone!  I thought I did a lot in FAWM and 5090!!!

Hey that is it for music in 2013...

Back to films I think before we get back to people we lost...

Me and Louise have the film Gravity on our list with Lovefilm to watch in the comfort of our own home.  What can I say?  We just don't like the fact that the local cinema sometimes don't offer the choice between watching a film in 2D or 3D.  Okay it might look cool and great in 3D, but it's £4 more than the 2D films, and you have to pay extra for the bloody glasses!!!  What a cheek!  Why can't they charge the same and just let you decide?  Why not include the "hiring" of glasses in with the extra cost?  This debate will keep going I am sure.  At least until the studios realise that they have to (a) cut out the extra charge, (b) cut down the extortionate leap in cost, or (c) stop making expensive 3D films!

12 Years A Slave looks like it could be really good or a big pile of boredom.  I might add that to the Lovefilm list?  Ender's Game - add to the list again as either potentially cool or potentially a bucket of donkey poo that you could use as fertiliser!?!

I saw Thor: The Dark World at the cinema (on my own again) and really enjoyed it.  Christopher Ecclestone was fantastic in it.  However, I do agree with a lot of people who say that it is bordering on being more of a Loki film than Thor.  The debate continues on that one.  Still action packed, but I was sad to see the damage to the lovely Greenwich landscape, a place that I love to visit - the Maritime Museum is amazing!

I like the look of Last Vegas (lovefilm list add I think), Nebraska (a film for me to watch with the legend that is Bruce Dern), American Hustle, and Saving Mr Banks (that wasn't shown at our cinema).  The second part of The Hobbit Trilogy is supposed to be okay, albeit with more liberties taken by Mr Peter Jackson apparently.  I'll probably not be able to see that until it's on DVD or Netflix.

I am so adding 47 Ronin to the lovefilm list for me because that looks like it could be a cracker.  Anyone seen it?  That's it for films then...

Phew...  I'll tell you what...  I think we're getting towards the end now at long last!

For now though I am finishing this post and will catch you in what will be the next and I am guessing final part of the exhaustive review of 2013 from my perspective.  Like I said at the beginning of Part One - Why not?

Thank you for reading.  Please take care.

January 2nd 2014 (43 years, 1 month, and 7 days old).