2010 Challenge – Month 1 Stats

(Contains an astounding level of nerdishness)

As laid out in this year’s challenge proposal, I’m focusing on watching films for the first time, as well as just sheer volume. I don’t see the value in this kind of challenge if you’re mainly going to watch the same films you’ve seen countless times prior. As such, I’m aiming for an 80% total of ‘new’ films for the year. This will hopefully encourage me to seek out more interesting stuff and further engage with the viewing experience. In light of this, I’m also trying to formulate my thoughts on each film and trot out a review, rather than just let it wash over me.

So, with that in mind, the facts and figures:

January:

Total films watched: 41
First-time viewings: 36
Percentage of first-time viewings: 87.8%
Cumulative monthly total: N/A
Cumulative monthly first-time viewings: N/A
Cumulative monthly percentage of first-time viewings: N/A

Best Films: The Road, Up In The Air, The Fisher King
Worst Films: All About Steve, Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel


January 2009 Comparison:

Total films watched: 29
First-time viewings: 26
Percentage of first-time viewings: 89.7%
Cumulative monthly total: N/A
Cumulative monthly first-time viewings: N/A
Cumulative monthly percentage of first-time viewings: N/A


So, not bad. I’m up on last year at least – and by a pretty decent margin. It was a full week later by the time I’d reached 41 in ‘09. Only watching 5 films I’d seen before over the course of the month is promising and bodes well for the year.

Sure, I could be watching more but this is unforced, natural viewing. I’ve also had a pretty eventful, non film-centric month and (grumble) a full-time job to contend with, so I’m more than happy with these figures. Coupled with the fact that for the last week or so I’ve also been providing a review of each film, the total is looking pretty solid. This is just shy of 1/11th of the target of 450. If I keep this level up I could make it with a month to spare…