In 2016, I decided to keep a record of what media I consumed, with a short record of my thoughts about each (one or two sentences only).

This is the list of all the films and TV shows I watched.

This is part four of my 2016 retrospective. The other parts:

• games I made
• books I read
• podcasts I listened to
• films/TV I watched
• videogames I played
• boardgames I played

I remember watching these in 2015 but managed to forget them off last year’s list

Ant-Man
Was expecting it to be okay, and met those expectations.

The Book Thief
Mostly the only thing I remember is the ending.

January

Blade Runner
The mood/music is great, but the plot itself not so much.

Charlie Brooker’s 2015 Wipe
Ehh, pretty replaceable “Charlie Brooker talks about something” show.

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
I think I would’ve had more enjoyment from less contrivance.

Black Mirror: White Christmas
Clever, dark, good punchline.

Game of Thrones (seasons 3-5)
Having read the books and watched the odd episode left the whole thing feeling weirdly familiar. I now have no memory of what the state of the world in the books is, though.

The Lobster
Amazingly weird film, I loved it!

Stalker
Long and slooow. I think I’m glad I watched it, but I wouldn’t do so again any time soon.

Derren Brown: Pushed to the Edge
Well made and entertaining, but perhaps questionable morality.

Derren Brown: Trick or Treat [various participants]
This format works really well. It’s kinder to the participants than Pushed to the Edge (even when it’s trick rather than treat), which I think I like more.

Carol
Good and well made, but I don’t have many thoughts on it.

Jessica Jones (season 1)
I enjoyed the first half a lot more than the second. More focus on how creepy Kilgrave is, less superhero logic/plotting.

February

Once Upon a Time in the West
Well-regarded for a reason! Some good tension sequences, I just wish the final showdown didn’t feel so forced.

Ex Machina
Good exploration of the “AI in a box” concept. Also led to a while reading about AI box simulations which was interesting.

March

Aziz Ansari Live at Madison Square Garden
Kinda would have liked him to end with the first two persuasive skits instead of opening with them: I suspect having them this way round reduces their influential impact. Entertaining regardless though.

Speed
I strongly suspect this is best watched with friends so you can laugh at it together.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Some entertaining sections but the characterisation was kinda all over the place.

Aliens
Pretty much what I was expecting. For some reason though I had problems with the rescuing Newt part - maybe I just don’t understand the maternal instinct but the whole endeavour felt just a bit too foolhardy and implausible.

Lee Sedol vs. AlphaGo match 1
Watched from the midgame until the end. I don’t have enough Go knowledge to follow anything but what the commentators were saying, but it seemed to be pretty close the whole time I was watching up until almost the end.

April

Footloose [in a bar with no audio just subtitles, not really paying attention the whole time]
Holds up pretty well in this context.

May

Redline
Some ridiculous animation in here.

Malcolm in the Middle [various episodes]
Surprisingly not terrible.

Rick and Morty [various episodes]
Entertaining.

June

Game of Thrones (season 6)
More Game of Thrones.

Trainspotting
Most striking thing is how few likable characters there are.

The Americans (season 1)
Convinced by Idle Weekend to watch this. Tense and not entirely predictable.

July

Mr Nobody
Contains some nice cinematography and ideas, and also a really frustrating bad science moment.

The Americans (seasons 2-4)
Kinda binged this. Continues to be good.

Six Feet Under [first episode]
Pretty funny, but I can’t not see that actor as Dexter.

August

Stranger Things
This was fine, but not as great as Twitter made it out to be.

Big Trouble in Little China
I remember liking one of these more than the other, but not which way round.

Drunken Master
I remember liking one of these more than the other, but not which way round.

Dazed and Confused
I was dazed and confused when I saw Wiley Wiggin’s name in the credits at the end.

September

Hackers
A film that I figured I should finally get around to seeing. Main takeaway: learning the origin of some phrases.

X-Men: First Class
Pretty forgettable.

October

Nothing

November

Black Mirror (season 3)
Some really predictable plotlines. I remember enjoying seasons 1 & 2 more.

Fleabag
The first episode interested me in ways that it didn’t quite follow up on, but it was fun enough.

Arrival
I enjoyed this, possibly largely because I didn’t see the twist coming.

December

The Crown [three mid-season episodes]
Interesting, covers stuff I possibly should know about but don’t.

12 Angry Men
Powerful, doesn’t seem aged.

Uncle Buck
Definitely aged.

Stargate
Not a very good film, but I’ll forgive it since it made Stargate SG-1 exist. Enjoyed noticing tech/plot differences between the film and the shows.

Community [various episodes]
Entertaining.

Rogue One
I didn’t really care about any of the characters.

Doctor Who (2016 Christmas special)
I don’t particularly like Capaldi’s doctor.