Track the Films You Watch (2005) (1 Viewer)

[Michael Elliott]

12/30/05

Unknown Chaplin: Hidden Treasures (1983) :star::star::star::star:

Final segment in Brownlow’s brilliant documentary is a real treat for fans as it contains to deleted scenes from The Circus, both of which are among the best stuff Chaplin has done. Also included is the deleted opening sequence to Modern Times, which was also quite nicely done. Home movies and other goodies are scattered throughout this part as well. Overall this is certainly a brilliant documentary and highly rated to those who enjoy Chaplin’s work.

Wolf Creek (2005) :star::star:

Breakdown has a baby with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and nine months later this film is born. Three young adults go into the Australian outback when their car breaks down. They accept help from a local who turns out to be a madman. Once again we have a horror film hyped up like hell but when the credits rolled I just sit there asking myself if that was it. The opening character buildup is rather bland and unoriginal but the viewer sticks in there waiting for something to happen. When the stuff actually happens is what’s causing all the controversy and I still don’t get it. The torture scenes are a tad bit disturbing but they aren’t among the worst I’ve ever seen so I really don’t understand why people are so up in arms over it.

Walk the Line (2005) :star::star::star::star:

I enjoyed this film even more on my second viewing. I actually enjoyed every single scene more than previously but the only thing that really bothered me this time is the fact that Phoenix doesn’t sound a bit like Johnny Cash. However the performance from him and Witherspoon are brilliant and the film is fun throughout.

12/31/05

Escape from Hell Hole (1983) :star:1/2

Indonesian WIP (women in prison) flick has a female virgin kidnapped and forced to live with a pimp at a jungle resort. When she refuses to give her virginity to the man she is tortured, beaten and spit on. This is an incredibly weak WIP flick that wants to be sleazy yet forgets to add any violence, nudity or sex. This is even weaker than the American WIP films from the 1970’s. The thing is somewhat entertaining, especially one scene where the virgin bites someone’s tongue off but too dull to work.

Legend of the Werewolf (1975) :star:1/2

A baby is born and eventually raised by wolves. As an adult he turns into a werewolf and Peter Cushing is called in to investigate. I found this film incredibly poor even though it was director by Freddie Francis who usually turns in something entertaining. The entire supporting cast is pretty boring and Cushing really doesn’t add too much life either. The “werewolf vision” red tint running throughout the film doesn’t work very well but when the werewolf is finally revealed his makeup is quite nice.

 

[george kaplan]

My totals for 2005:

686 films watched (373 and 313 )

My main reason for doing this was to get a better handle on how many films I've seen in my life. My best estimates have been "more than 5000 and less than 10,000", though most people scoffed and said no way I'd seen anywhere near that many. But I've been watching films for over 40 years, and for about 30 years at about the pace I do now (no doubt some years watching less, but certainly many years watching more, before I had a full-time job, a wife and a son). At least half of the films I watched this year were ones I'd never seen before, and even rounding down, 300*30 = 9000, and while that might still be too high, I still think "more than 5000 and less than 10,000" is probably accurate.

 

[Haggai]

Brokeback Mountain (2005) 9/10
An outstanding film that's probably my pick for #1 new movie of 2005. The differences in the two main characters helps to make their relationship really interesting and compelling. Heath Ledger plays a rarely portrayed sort of character, in that he doesn't seem to be attracted to other men in general, but nonetheless finds the love of his life with someone of the same gender. But Jake Gyllenhaal's character is pretty clearly gay, and his struggles in their relationship are largely due to Ledger's character's inability to deal with his conflicting emotions. The supporting cast is excellent as well, with lots of memorable little character moments popping up all throughout. Ang Lee's direction is mostly straightforward, and it serves the story well.

Kiss of Death (1947) 8/10
Richard Widmark's legendary debut performance as a depraved criminal lives up to the hype, and Victor Mature is also great as a small-time robber who turns into a police informant. I also liked the romantic subplot with Mature and Colleen Gray. But the script does take some shifts in direction that feel somewhat forced, and a terrifically thrilling final scene unfortunately leads to a dud of an ending. Still, there's lots to like about it, especially the great tension of the robbery in the opening sequence.

Munich (2005) 8/10
A very strong suspense thriller, with chillingly realistic and brutal violence, particularly in the flashbacks to the Munich massacre itself. The cast is excellent, with Eric Bana being quite believable to me as a native-born Israeli. Somewhat to my surprise, the politically-oriented speechifying in several scenes is almost uniformly terrific, with some dialogue passages that represent larger currents of political thought on both sides of the Israeli/Arab conflict with great accuracy and compelling drama.

But the drama fades a bit down the end, as Spielberg's (mostly successful) approach of raising more questions than he answers comes up against the problem of the audience's identifying with the main character and the conclusions that he appears to have reached. And one climactic scene (climactic in, er, more ways than one) felt pretty over-the-top and botched to me as well. However, the film deals with a lot of interesting themes in a very compelling way.

 

[Bill McA]

My totals for 2005

862 films watched, 643 of those were first time viewings

Decade Breakdown

1880-1920s--70
1930s--26
1940s--14
1950s--31
1960s--53
1970s--79
1980s--59
1990s--51
2000s--476

 

[george kaplan]

Forgot to do my decade breakdown:

1910s - 1
1920s - 9
1930s - 60
1940s - 115
1950s - 62
1960s - 75
1970s - 68
1980s - 78
1990s - 79
2000s - 139

Bill kicked my ass overall, although I did see more in most of the decades. But for recent films and very early films, I am pulverized.

 

[SteveGon]

Passion Fish (1992)

Viewed 12/25/2005 (first viewing)

Fine drama from John Sayles about an ornery soap opera star paralyzed after an auto accident. She retreats to her Louisiana home and meets her match in her troubled nurse.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Speedy (1928)

Viewed 12/25/2005 (first viewing)

Pleasant little Harold Lloyd comedy has the comedian trying to save his girlfriend's grandfather's horse-drawn trolley from being forced out of buisness. A bit too typical of Lloyd's other work, but still enjoyable.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Piano Man (1996)

Viewed 12/26/2005 (first viewing)

Korean serial killer flick has a hot female detective tracking down the titular killer. A solid genre entry.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Grizzly Man (2005)

Viewed 12/27/2005 (first viewing)

The best Werner Herzog documentary I've seen yet explores the final years and grisly (sorry) death of Timothy Treadwell, an aimless man who found his calling studying grizzly bears in Alaska.

:star: :star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


The Wooden Camera (2003)

Viewed 12/27/2005 (first viewing)

Pretty good little film from South Africa about two friends who find the corpse of a man. On the body they find two objects: a gun and a camera. The quieter boy takes the video camera and embarks on a career of documenting the world around him, while his friend takes the gun and begins a life of crime. Can they ever be reconciled after taking two such differnt paths, especially after they both fall for the same girl?

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Rouleman (2005)

Viewed 12/28/2005 (first viewing)

Stark drama about a couple of journalists investigating the whys and wherefores behind the murder of a young girl.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Viewed 12/29/2005 (first and last viewing)

Well, this film gets the dubious honor of receiving my one and only Bomb rating for 2005. It's a courtroom drama that investigates the death of a young girl after a failed exorcism. Unfortunately it pays only lip service to any scientific analysis of the girl's death and panders to the masses by playing up the supernatural angle (it would have been far more interesting had it been the other way around). Add to that some truly ludicrous moments ("She looks at possession from a scientific perspective and doesn't try and debunk it!" Huh?) and there you go. A hearty f**k you to the makers of this trash.

Zero Stars out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Empire of the Wolves (2005)

Viewed 12/29/2005 (first viewing)

Over-plotted thriller features Jean Reno as a disgraced bad cop teamed up with a young upstart partner to track down a serial killer. Or are the murders the result of something else? Worth a look, though it never really catches fire.

:star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Son of Kong (1933)

Viewed 12/30/2005

Sequel to King Kong has Carl Denham returning to Skull Island where he meets the big K's offspring. Better than I remember, but the rushed climax still hurts it.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


Borsalino & Co. (1974)

Viewed 12/31/2005 (first viewing)

Kickin' gangster flick has Alain Delon as an ousted crime boss seeking revenge on the rival mobster who took over his territory.

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Michael Elliott]

1880s--2
1890s--104
1900s--133
1910s--58
1920s--83
1930s--242
1940s--102
1950s--95
1960s--67
1970s--82
1980s--77
1990s--33
2000s--94 +3 repeats

Totals:

1174 Different Movies
943 New Viewings
3 repeats


I'm too lazy to do the counting but I'd say 350-400 were short films.

My main goal was to see more "first time views" since there are way too many movies out there where it doesn't make much sense to see the same thing over and over. I think I took care of that goal pretty well. That goal will carry over to this year as well. I also wanted to see more silents last year, which was a goal met so this year I'll try to see more foreign films.

 

[SteveGon]

[c]December Recap[/c]

Bolded titles are first viewings.

Ratings range from Bomb to :star: :star: :star: :star:


The Bird With the Crystal Plumage ***
Borsalino & Co. ***1/2
Bunshinsaba ***
Cabiria ***
The Card Player ***
The Dark Corner ***
A Dog's Life ***
The Driver ***
Empire of the Wolves **1/2
The Exorcism of Emily Rose Bomb
Fahrenheit 451 ***1/2
Fantastic Four ***
Flic Story ***1/2
For Heaven's Sake ****
The 40-Year-Old Virgin ***
Galaxy Quest ***
Girl Shy ***
Godzilla: Final Wars ***
Grizzly Man ****
House By the River ***
Ivanhoe ***
The Kid Brother ***1/2
King Kong (1976) **1/2
King Kong (2005) ****
Kiss of Death '47 ***
Lancelot of the Lake ***
The Last Tycoon ***1/2
Let's Go With Pancho Villa ****
Lianna ***
Lilya 4-Ever ***1/2
Little Fugitive ***
Mary Pickford ***
McCabe and Mrs. Miller ***
The Milky Way (1936) ***
Mouchette ***
Ninotchka ***1/2
Passion Fish ***
Phantasm II **1/2
The Pharmacist ***
Piano Man ***
Rouleman ***
Scarlet Street ***
Show Me Love ***1/2
Signs & Wonders ***
Sin City: Recut ****
Slaughterhouse Five ***
Son of Kong ***
Speedy ***
State of Grace ***
3:10 to Yuma ***1/2
Two Men in Town ***
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price ***
The Wooden Camera ***1/2


Total films viewed: 53

First viewings: 36


A pretty good year for me with over 600 films viewed. I'd say about 70% of those were first viewings. (I'd give an exact count but I never updated my post on the first page and I'm way too tired right now to go back through the thread to find my monthly recap posts.) Anyway, I really started exploring silent films this year, making Saturday night "Silent Movie Night," and plan on continuing this (I still need to watch Lang's Die Nibelungen!) Highlights of the year would include seeing for the first time almost all of Aki Kaurismaki's films, including the brilliant tragedy/noir Juha (highly recommended). Well, catch ya in the 2006 thread!

 

[TonyD]

so who's gonna open the 2006 version?

 

[TonyD]

wow how did i miss it, never mind.

 

[Bob Turnbull]

421 movies seen - 386 for the first time

Really enjoyed participating in the thread this year...I dropped right off getting reviews of all the films I watched done, so I figure next year I should concentrate on only the interesting ones.

Thanks to all the other contributers. I was steered to many films I otherwise would've completely missed due to the reviews and discussions. I also learned a great deal about, well, film in general.

Looking forward to more discoveries this year.

Favourites of the year:

My Voyage To Italy
The Third Man
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (previously seen)
The Battle Of Algiers
For All Mankind
The Red Shoes
The Incredibles (previously seen)
Touch Of Evil
Catch-22
Primer
Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (previously seen)
Visions Of Light (previously seen)
The Ox-Bow Incident
Punch-Drunk Love (previously seen)
The Royal Tenenbaums (previously seen)
Blazing Saddles (previously seen)
Grosse Pointe Blank (previously seen)
Hoop Dreams (previously seen)
Jaws (previously seen)
Almost Famous (previously seen)
The Sting (previously seen)
Psycho
Short Cuts
Being John Malkovich

Overall ratings:

24
320
75
2


Breakdown by year:

1920's - 3
1930's - 22
1940's - 40
1950's - 41
1960's - 35
1970's - 51
1980's - 28
1990's - 58
2000's - 143

 

[Haggai]

373 films seen for me in 2005
270 first viewings
17 repeat viewings within the year

77 films seen in a theater, about 60% of those pre-2005 films

 

[Joe Karlosi]

True - but then it doesn't really make much sense to own DVDs, does it?

 

[Jim_K]

Final update

First time viewings in Blue

The Idiot (1951) :star::star:1/2
Kurosawa melodrama about a mentally unstable mans relationship with two women and the tragedy that befalls. Toshiro Mifune is very good in a supporting role.

I Live in Fear (1955) :star::star:
Glacial paced Kurosawa drama stars Toshiro Mifune as an elderly man obsessed with nuclear annihilation.

The Purple Plain (1954) :star::star:
WWII melodrama stars Gregory Peck as a battle fatigued bomber pilot.

The King and Four Queens (1956) :star::star:
Lightweight Western has cowboy Clark Gable romancing a quartet of females in order to find some hidden loot.

In Harms Way (1965) :star::star::star:
John Wayne & Kirk Douglas lead an all star cast in this drama on the lives of a group of Naval Officers during the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1960) :star::star:
Michael Curtiz version of Mark Twain’s famous boy adventurer. I’d still like to check out the more famous 1939 version.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) :star::star:
Awkward Historical drama/comedy chronicling the lead-up to the Crimean War.

Cromwell (1970) :star::star:
Disappointing Historical drama chronicles the revolt led by Oliver Cromwell (Richard Harris) against King Charles I (Alec Guinness) in 17th century England.

The Grissom Gang (1971) :star::star:
A pale Bonnie & Clyde imitation has a group of misfits kidnapping a young girl who eventually falls in love with one of the kidnappers.

The Devil’s Rejects (2005) :star::star:
Stomach churning Hillbilly splatter-fest that manages to rip-off everything from Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Near Dark, etc. I did like the use of the southern rock soundtrack which merit it an extra half star.

Tess (1979) :star::star:
Overlong and bland period melodrama chronicling the sexual misadventures of poor farm girl Nastassja Kinski. Not the type of material Roman Polanski is adept at.

 

[Jim_K]

2005 in review.

First time viewings = 620
Revisits = ???*

* I stopped keeping track of revisits from my collection very early in the year because frankly it started to become a tedious bore. I found this thread more useful in tracking my first time viewings while occasionally commenting on a few notable revisits such as something new to DVD, etc.

All in all a pretty good year of older film discoveries (mostly noirs) and a decent year for new releases - the few I've seen that is.


Top 20 First Time Viewings

1. King Kong (2005)
2. Night and the City (1950)
3. Sin City (2005)
4. Nightmare Alley (1947)
5. Incredibles, The (2004)
6. Fallen Idol, The (1948)
7. Batman Begins (2005)
8. Touchez pas au Grisbi (1954)
9. Cinderella Man (2005)
10. Downfall (2004)

11. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
12. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
13. Raw Deal (1948)
14. Seven Men From Now (1956)
15. Adventures of Don Juan (1948)
16. Polar Express, The (2004)
17. War of the Worlds (2005)
18. Woman in the Window, The (1945)
19. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
20. Infernal Affairs (2002)

 

[Michael Elliott]

With Netflix, TCM and various other sources there's no need for me to watch things over and over. Again, way too many new things out there to see so I try to make sure I watch new things at least 50% of the time. I think I was closer to 70% so that's what I'm going for again this year.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Well, yeah. But why do you own some movies?

 

[Bill McA]

Best 50+ Movies I Saw for the First Time in 2005


Adam's Apples (Adams æbler) (2005|Anders Thomas Jensen)
Alexandra's Project (2003|Rolf de Heer)
The Barbarian Invasions (2003|Denys Arcand)
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction (2004|Samuel Fuller)
Boy Meets Girl (1984|Leos Carax)
Brokeback Mountain (2005|Ang Lee)
The Burning Earth (Der Brennende Acker) (1922|F.W. Murnau)
Caché (2005|Michael Haneke)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005|Tim Burton)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005|Andrew Adamson)
Class Trip (La Classe de Neige) (1998|Claude Miller)
The Conformist (Il Conformista) (1970|Bernardo Bertolucci)
Duck Season (Temporada de Patos) (2004|Fernando Eimbcke)
L' Eclisse (1962|Michelangelo Antonioni)
Enduring Love (2004|Roger Michell)
L'Enfant (2005|Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne)
Even Dwarfs Started Small (Auch Zwerge Haben Klein Angefangen) (1970|Werner Herzog)
Far Side of the Moon (La Face Cachée de la Lune) (2003|Robert Lepage)
Fox and His Friends (1975|Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Friday Night (Vendredi Soir) (2002|Claire Denis)
Germany Year Zero (Germania Anno Zero) (1948|Roberto Rossellini)
The Great Yokai War (Yôkai Daisensô) (2005|Takashi Miike)
Grizzly Man (2005|Werner Herzog)
A History of Violence (2005|David Cronenberg)
Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no Ugoku Shiro) (2004|Hayao Miyazaki)
Human Resources (1999|Laurent Cantet)
Japanese Story (2003|Sue Brooks)
Kung Fu Hustle (Gong Fu) (2004|Stephen Chow)
Lacombe Lucien (1974|Louis Malle)
Late Spring (Banshun) (1949|Yasujiro Ozu)
License to Live (1998|Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
Manderlay (2005|Lars von Trier)
Miss Julie (1999|Mike Figgis)
Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924|Fritz Lang)
A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ippeji) (1926|Teinosuke Kinugasa)
Phantom (1922|F.W. Murnau)
Punishment Park (1971|Peter Watkins)
The Rage In Placid Lake (2003|Tony McNamara)
A Short Film About Killing (Krótki Film o Zabijaniu) (1988|Krzysztof Kieslowski)
Sound of the Mountain (Yama no Oto) (1954|Mikio Naruse)
Stroszek (1977|Werner Herzog)
Sunflower (2005|Yang Zhang)
A Swedish Love Story (En Kärlekshistoria) (1970|Roy Andersson)
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931|F.W. Murnau)
Takeshis' (2005|Takeshi Kitano)
The Time of the Wolf (2003|Michael Haneke)
The Time to Live and the Time to Die (Tong Nien Wang Shi) (1985|Hsiao-hsien Hou)
Tsotsi (2005|Gavin Hood)
Les Uns et les Autres (1981|Claude Lelouch)
Vera Drake (2004|Mike Leigh)
La Vie Promise (2002|Olivier Dahan)
The Wayward Cloud (Tian Bian yi Duo Yun) (2005|Ming-liang Tsai)
What Is It? (2005|Crispin Glover)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Onna ga Kaidan o Agaru Toki) (1960|Mikio Naruse)
Women in Revolt (1971|Paul Morrissey)
The World (Shijie) (2004|Zhang-ke Jia)

 

[Michael Elliott]

I'd give up my collection if I had to view them each and every year. Again, the fun thing is trying to discover new favorites and this isn't possible by watching the same things year after year. I use to do this but as I said in my other post, there isn't a reason with Netflix, TCM and other stations that carry rare films 24/7.

I had 233 "repeat" viewings this year but I'd guess more than half of those were films I hadn't seen in 10-15 years. If I see 233 "repeats" this year I'll still take a nice bite out of my collection and get the new stuff. Most of the new stuff would get one viewing in a lifetime while the stuff I collect might get one viewing every 1-10 years.

 

[george kaplan]

To each his own. I'd never give up my collection. I'd rather never see a new movie ever again, than not be able to rewatch all the great films in my collection. Of course it's fun discovering a new movie, but for me, 9 out of 10 of the new films I see are ones I'd never want to watch again, and half of those are horrible. And the 1 out of 10 that is worth watching again, while good, is rarely as good as most of my collection.

I'll always want to watch new films, but I spend at least half of my time rewatching the greatest films ever made, which already are in my collection. Of course that collection is so large, that it takes a number of years to rewatch everything anyway. There are about 30 dvds in my collection I haven't seen since 2000, though hopefully I'll get to those this year.