Don't worry. If you're going to hell, I'll just come pick you up.

Date: Sunday 13th January
Film: This Means War (2012)
Director: McG
Starring: Tom Hardy, Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon
Running time: 01 hour, 37 minutes
Rating: 7/10

A film I've already watched once during the challenge, and my feelings on it haven't changed. It's not the greatest film you'll ever see but it's by no means the worst. It's watchable, it's predictable, it's corny. It's everything you could possibly need for a Sunday afternoon film.

Challenge day: 110
Challenge time: 06 days, 14 hours, 38 minutes
Challenge film total: 82

You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.

Date: Tuesday 11th December
Film: Inception (2010)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and Ellen Page
Running time: 02 hours, 28 minutes
Rating: 9/10

I have the flat to myself and following a weekend of Christopher Nolan films, and revisiting my love for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, it was only fair that I settled down in front of the telly with Inception.

This is a film that I loved from the first viewing, it challenges viewers without alienating them and brings a new twist to traditional mystery stories. Plus  it's one of the only two films in which I get the whole Tom Hardy thing (the other being Bronson).

Something new seems to pop up with every viewing, and my opinion on the meaning of the closing scene changes throughout the film.

And, it's beautifully shot, the folding Parisian street scene is something to behold, as are the slow motion exploding market stalls.

Challenge day: 79
Challenge time: 04 days, 07 hours, 30 minutes
Challenge film total: 54

Shouldn't the people of Gotham know who the hero was that saved their city?

Date: Saturday 8th December
Film: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway
Running Time: 02 hours, 45 minutes
Rating: 9/10

Saturday night, full of Chinese, a glass of wine in hand and Luce and I found ourselves snuggled under blankets in her cabin at the end of the garden to complete The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Whilst The Dark Knight Rises isn't as good as The Dark Knight, it is still a wonderful film. The cast has been boosted with the additions of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway, two people who I believe can do no wrong. They both, in any film they are in, steal every single scene and The Dark Knight Rises is no exception to this.

This film wraps up the trilogy nicely, giving a sense of resolution to all the characters.

Good job I'd already seen this a couple of times, I might have fallen asleep for a bit in the middle. That's the danger of starting an almost 3 hour long film after 11pm.

I love The Dark Knight Trilogy, and not just because of my massive Gary Oldman crush (although that helps things).

Challenge day: 76
Challenge time: 04 days, 02 hours, 47 minutes
Challenge film total: 52

This isn't moonlighting at Applebee's for Christ's sake.

Date: Sunday 30th September
Film: Warrior (2011)
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte
Running Time : 2 hours 20 minutes
Rating: 8.5/10

Another new (ish) film that I didn't get a chance to see at the cinema and, after much badgering from people about how great it is, I finally got round to adding to my LoveFilm list and settling down to watch.

Before I get into my feelings on the film, I need to confess a couple of things;

1) I watched this whilst I was ironing, packing, organising for holiday so wasn't 100% focused on the screen (although I did nearly end up burning a patch in a good frock, so maybe I was a little bit more focused on the film than I planned to be!)

2) I don't really 'get' Tom Hardy, sometimes he is wonderful (Bronson) and other times I find myself watching him and thinking 'what's all this fuss about?'.

3) I have no clue what MMA (mixed martial arts) is. I thought this was a film about boxing.

I am generally a little fussy when it comes to sports films. I have little interest in sport, and even less understanding. If the sport is in the background to a great story I'm there, I'm committed. Luckily enough, Warrior is one of those films.

The MMA fighting (some sort of cage fighting, ultimate fighter, beat the crap out of each other, malarkey) takes a back seat to the story of two brothers, their complicated relationship with their alcoholic father and the ways they have dealt with the challenges life has thrown at them.

I can see why this gets a lot of comparison to The Fighter, they both embrace the same themes; family relations, addiction, salvation through sport, and so forth.

Nick Nolte was more than deserving of his Academy Award nomination - he steals the show with his portrayal of a father estranged from his children through mistakes in his past and dealing with his alcohol addiction.

Whilst parts of the film were a little predictable, the cast were strong enough to detract from this.

I left this film with a couple of big questions;

Why does Posh Spice get so much stick for her pouting, when Tom Hardy has created a whole career off the back of his?

What on earth has happened to Tom Hardy's neck?

Challenge day: 7
Challenge time : 00 days, 08 hours, 16 minutes.
Challenge film total: 4

The most non-sensical double bill in cinematic history (perhaps)

Date: Wednesday 26th September

This week saw the temporary (curse those holidays) move of Sunday Night Film Club to a Wednesday. Not necessarily the best of ideas - there's only so many films you can fit in after work and CW and I found ourselves creating a double bill that made absolutely no sense. The only thing these two films had in common was that they were both new to my collection.

First up we had...

Film: This Means War (2012)
Director: McG
Starring: Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Reese Witherspoon
Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Rating: 7/10

A film that was picked for two reasons;

1) CW's love for this man...

2) My belief that Captain Kirk is one of the top 5 most handsome men on cinema screens, ever.

(So, really, only one reason. We are two slightly shallow ladies who like to watch pretty boys act).

The premise of the film is simple enough  - two undercover CIA agents (and best friends) meet and fall for the same girl and it all gets a little competitive. In typical McG style, there's a lot of action going on as they use their professional skills to watch, and at times sabotage, each other.

This is light hearted, action, rom-com, fluff. It's harmless, it's watchable, it's enjoyable. It's never going to win any awards but it will keep you entertained for 97 minutes - which is all anyone really wants in a film, right? Plus, Chelsea Handler pops up more than once, and she's pretty awesome.

There is, however, one minor flaw with This Means War - Tom Hardy really struggles to pick an accent. He swings from frightfully British to Cockney geezer and back again in the course of one sentence. It can be a little distracting.

After enjoying the acting talents on display in This Means War, and the best parts of two bottles of wine, CW and I decide that we'd had enough of the light hearted action and we were in the perfect position to watch something that required all our attention, a little bit of thinking and, at times, a strong stomach for sexual abuse. The perfect follow up to This Means War had to be...

Film: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård and Robin Wright
Running Time: 2 hours 38 minutes
Rating: 8/10

I went into this as blind as possible. I haven't read the book, I haven't seen the original Swedish film, I didn't know all that much about the plot. I think this might have been a slight advantage, as I had no other reference points to compare the film to (although this still doesn't mean I understand people that enjoyed The Time Traveller's Wife)

The basic premise of the film is a journalist (Daniel Craig) is investigating the 40 year old disappearance of a young lady on behalf of her Uncle (Christopher Plummer). He's assisted along the way by a computer hacker (Rooney Mara) who is also dealing with some emotional issues from her past.

The film deals with some pretty heavy subject matter - including a couple of rape scenes that aren't the easiest things to watch. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo isn't a film that you can dip in and out of, as with most thrillers (and David Fincher films) all your attention is required and some of the less relevant plot points and mentions might come in handy as the film progresses.

I don't know if enjoyed is the right word to use here, but I didn't dislike watching this film. The acting was solid, the plot made sense and all in all this is a really great thriller.

I think I know what books I'll be picking up for next week's holiday.

Challenge day: 3
Challenge time: 5 hours 56 minutes
Film count: 3