He don't like strangers peeing on him.

Date: Sunday 10th March
Film: The Paperboy (2013)
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman and John Cusack
Running Time: 01 hour, 47 minutes
Rating: 5/10

Sunday morning, up and out for an advance screening of a film we had been trying to see for a while. I'd read mixed reviews, but the cast was strong and the trailer was enticing, plus the screening was free. Who would turn that down?

When the film finished, I turned to HM and very eloquently asked 'what the hell have we just watched?'. I still don't know the answer to the question.

The Paperboy is not a bad film, the acting is first class, Nicole Kidman exudes sex, Zac Efron is putting his all into the wide-eyed innocent act and John Cusack managed to creep me out within two minutes of being on screen. It is a visually stunning film, every scene seems to have a haziness upon it, reflective of the extreme  heat that is often referred to. There was just something I couldn't quite connect with.

I think the only word I can use to describe The Paperboy is odd. I don't know why, I can't put my finger on it, but the characters seemed too extreme, the storyline seemed to waver into the bizarre and there was just something that unsettled me.

Incredibly well acted, just not my cup of tea.

Challenge day: 166
Challenge time: 10 days, 05 hours, 35 minutes
Challenge film total: 127

It must be some kind of hot tub time machine...

Date: Monday 24th September
Film: Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
Director: Steve Pink
Starring: John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson
Running Time : 1 hour 41 minutes
Rating: 7.5/10

Not what I was planning to watch for the first film of my year of movies, but last night the flatmates and I came to the agreement that there was nothing on the telly and only a DVD would entertain us. After a lot of debate, we narrowed it down to two choices - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or Hot Tub Time Machine. This gave me the chance to utter the sentence 'I'm not sure rape scenes and lamb chops really go' and Hot Tub Time Machine was in the player.

This is a film I've seen a few times, and I think it qualifies as a guilty pleasure. I guess any film that has the combined talents of Lloyd Dobler, George McFly, and Janis Ian is bound to be a winner. Plus, it has a solid 80s soundtrack (Poison, Mötley Crüe, and Rick Springfield's amazing Jessie's Girl), Clark Duke and a hot tub that can be used to travel through time. What's not to love.

I don't know if this is a film I would recommend to others - I guess it depends on your sense of humour. It's juvenile in places and some jokes fall a little flat. I get the feeling, from talking to others that have seen it, that it's a bit of a Marmite movie.

I like it, and so did Empire.

Challenge day: 1
Challenge time : 00 days, 01 hours, 41 minutes.
Challenge film total: 1