Track the Films You Watch (2009) (1 Viewer)

[Martin Teller]

Not planning on watching any movies tonight, so here's my...

December Recap:

13 new viewings
5 revisits

Best new discovery: Grey Gardens
Worst new discovery: The Room (although it was amazing in its own way)

Very slow month for me, but I've been busy with other distractions.

And here's my top 10 new discoveries for 2009:

Hausu
The Bothersome Man
Joseph Killian
Things We Do When We Fall in Love
The Dead
The Letter Never Sent
42nd Street
The Thin Red Line
Quadrophenia
The Outlaw Josey Wales

 

[42nd Street Freak]

"Wind Chill" - 6.5 / 10 Well crafted, spooky, slow burning, old fashioned ghost/legend story about a cursed road.

Nice playing by all, some great atmosphere, the odd good shock and wonderful, wintery, cinematography.
No great shakes, nothing really original, bit well done, enjoyable, mostly effective and best of all, despite the slight time/reality bending aspects of the screenplay, no nonsensical story/stupid final twist rubbish to spoil the ending.

 

[PatW]

December Re-cap

Well that's it for this year. Didn't watch as many movies as previous years. Watching too much tv on dvd instead plus life intruding. Perhaps will get more watched this coming year.


Total movies watched this month = 26

New movies watched this month = 15

Favourite movie this month = Avatar

Notable new movies watched = District 9; Grey Gardens; Julie & Julia


12/01 Into the Storm (2009)
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[Michael Elliott]

Hopefully page 1 will act a lot better now that we're starting a new thread so hopefully everything next year will run a little smoother. Last update for the year before waking Dylan up for his next feeding.

This TravelTalks entry takes us to Edinburgh, Scotland where 500,000 people currently call home. We learn that religion, science and the arts are the most important thing here and we get to see various historic sites including Edinburgh Castle. The majority of this short comes off more like a history lesson of poet Robert Burns who is best remembered for "Auld Lang Syne", which we get to hear a part of at the end of the movie. The majority of stuff here includes showing us where several of his poems were written, fields he would walk through and of course his burial spot. Fans of the series are going to find plenty to enjoy here but I think it's those curious about Burns who are going to be most thrilled. This movie takes us to some pretty neat sites if you're a fan of his so I'd guess his fans would be the ones to recommend this to the most. Once again, the Technicolor was a major plus even though the TCM print is pretty faded.

 

[Mario Gauci]

[COLOR= #323d4f]My last update for 2009 sees it go out on much more of a whimper than a bang but I have to say that, following a satisfactory if hardly exhaustive Halloween binge, the last couple of months of film-watching for me were characterized more by lethargy and dictated by need (to free up disk space on my DVD recorder, etc.) than anything else!:[/COLOR][COLOR= #323d4f]


12/25/09: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Richard Williams, 1971; TV) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #323d4f]I was not aware of this 24-minute animated version of the Charles Dickens classic/Yuletide perennial but was obviously drawn to the film given Williams’ stature in the field. Its biggest coup – that is, apart from the rigorous yet effective compression of the source material (thanks to extremely fast transitions between one scene and the next, characterized by admirably mobile tracking shots!), while maintaining the essence of the tale (abetted by the narration of Sir Michael Redgrave) – is to have Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern reprise their roles of Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley respectively from the definitive screen adaptation of 20 years previously!! Indeed, the whole seems to draw upon the 1951 SCROOGE above all: from the script, which it sometimes quotes verbatim, to the style of animation, deliberately evoking the remarkable detail of Dickensian London – not forgetting the superbly-realized fantasy sequences – which was that particular production’s trump card! And, herein, lies perhaps this film’s ultimate dilemma: while certainly not a perfunctory or redundant effort, one is not likely to forsake the earlier cinematic rendition because of it… [/COLOR]


[COLOR= #323d4f]12/25/09: THE STORY OF ROBIN HOOD AND HIS MERRIE MEN (Ken Annakin, 1952) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #323d4f]I had watched this just once growing up, as opposed to the numerous viewings allotted to the definitive 1938 Errol Flynn version, so I was curious to know how it has held up (particularly since I recently enjoyed another Walt Disney epic starring the recently-deceased Richard Todd i.e. ROB ROY, THE HIGHLAND ROGUE [1954]). As can be intimated from the rating above, my reaction to it was by and large a positive one; to begin with, the copy I acquired – even if viewed on a small TV screen – was gorgeous, making this surely among the studio’s most handsome-looking live-action efforts. Another immediately striking element is the casting – modest in comparison to the earlier Warner Bros. super-production perhaps but no less capable and, more importantly, fitting to each respective character: Todd, one of the few Robins not to sport a beard(!), is suitably dashing and good-natured (though lacking the athleticism of Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks before him); incidentally, having mentioned Fairbanks – whose 1922 ROBIN HOOD was treated with such rigor as to have the semblance of authenticity – this one too would appear to want to present the ‘true’ story (not merely picking up from the moment King Richard – played by an unrecognizable Patrick Barr – left for the Crusades but also insisting on providing a back-story and a noble heritage for our hero – even the famous archery contest occurs prior to his having turned outlaw and, what’s more, Robin is beaten by his own dad in it?!). Anyway, to get back to Todd’s fellow actors, pretty Joan Rice makes for one of the youngest yet most spirited Maid Marians; among the “Merrie Men”, typically, the ones to get most prominence are Little John (James Robertson Justice – who else? – but with hair dyed blond!), Friar Tuck (James Hayter and, for some odd reason, fancying himself a singer in the film’s corniest scene!) – both of their introductions at least stick to the legend – and Allen-a-Dale (Elton Hayes, whose brief cinematic career seemed to be stuck playing minstrels in historical efforts!); for what it is worth, the presence of the last two mentioned constitute the film’s severest drawbacks to this viewer. On the side of the wrongdoers, we get Hubert Gregg as a particularly sly (though rather youthful) Prince John and, surprisingly, Peter Finch as the Sheriff of Nottingham (effective apart from an unbecoming [/COLOR][COLOR= #323d4f]coiffure[/COLOR][COLOR= #323d4f] – incidentally, I may be watching his one other film in this vein i.e. THE DARK AVANGER aka THE WARRIORS [1955], with Errol Flynn no less, this coming week-end); by the way, another novelty to the lore which turns up here but hardly anywhere else is that of having a benign but obviously ineffective Queen Mother (a suitably regal Martita Hunt). While there is not quite the emphasis on spectacle or elaborate action set-pieces we find in other versions (though the drawbridge climax is undeniably thrilling), the film – which, at a mere 84 minutes, does not run the risk of overstaying its welcome – is very entertaining for the most part and, as I said, looks good enough to smooth over the occasional deficiency.[/COLOR]


[COLOR= #323d4f]12/26/09: THE CHEATERS (Joseph Kane, 1945) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #323d4f]I had no idea until recently that this was a Christmas-related film – the title certainly hints at nothing of the sort; however, it proved one of the more pleasant surprises of the festive season as I thoroughly enjoyed the picture. A B-movie at heart (being a production of the lower-berth company Republic), this was dealt an even greater blow when shorn of some 27 minutes on being licensed to TV – getting retitled in the interim to THE CASTAWAYS, and its potential appeal as a holiday flick thus made no clearer! The central premise involves a high-society household who, in spite of financial distress, tries to maintain decorum for the sake of a daughter’s visiting fiancé; with this in mind, on realizing it has been snubbed out of a fortune – a deceased eccentric relative having willed his legacy to an unwitting child actress from long ago! – the family schemes to track the woman down (who is herself trying to make ends meet at the moment) and make sure she be kept ignorant of the fact. However, to uphold a façade of respectability and flaunt their would-be generous spirit in the eyes of the world, they go so far as to invite a less privileged soul (randomly picked off the social register) to partake of their ‘bounty’ during the Yuletide period; he turns out to be a former thespian who contrives to instill in them a regard for basic human decency, in the process learning to achieve peace of heart through the virtue of humility! Interestingly, though, the actor is himself not shown in a completely good light (unlike typical life-altering figures): he is shown to be fond of the bottle (even having the family butler mix him a special cocktail ostensibly to cure some form of ailment!), relentlessly draws on his knack for theatricality to drive home a point (such as affecting a limp – which momentarily brushes onto the head of the family as well! – and, claiming no one will be the same after that night, proceeds to give an intense solo rendition of “A Christmas Carol”) and is himself guilty of insensitivity on occasion (especially when dealing with the duped heiress); incidentally, the woman’s pragmatism and perennially optimistic outlook (while admitting to having herself consciously used them as a meal-ticket) has at least as much to do with the family’s ultimate repentance. Though the behind-the-scenes personnel involved were no more than modest, if undeniably efficient, the film is essentially buoyed by a splendid line-up of actors: Joseph Schildkraut (surprising but effective casting, especially through his distinctive accent and mellifluous voice, for the down-and-out but resourceful ex-star), Ona Munson as the other ‘interloper’ in the scenario, Billie Burke and Eugene Pallette as the masters of the house (typecast but always fun to watch as scatter-brained and flustered respectively), and Raymond Walburn as an equally useless next-of-kin (in fact, Pallette had hilariously suggested to use him for the apparently fashionable “charity case” to be paraded in front of guests at Christmastime!). The Yuletide atmosphere is wonderfully captured throughout (down to having children carol-singing in the snow), lending the whole the requisite warmth – this, coupled with its gentle humor and nicely-drawn characters, makes THE CHEATERS a generally delightful concoction worthy of much greater attention than it has received over the years. [/COLOR]


[COLOR= #323d4f]12/26/09: THE SCARLET COAT (John Sturges, 1955) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #323d4f]Somehow, despite numerous screenings on TCM U.K. over the years, I never bothered with this one; then, when it seemed to drop off their schedule, I acquired THE SCARLET COAT – along with a few other genuinely rare Cornel Wilde efforts – on DVD-R (culled, ironically, from one such TV broadcast) through a friend! Anyway, I now begrudge all the more the fact of having overlooked the film for so long since I enjoyed it a good deal; incidentally, for some odd reason, I have never been particularly enthused of pictures set during the American War of Independence – so that may well be the reason why I did not actively pursue this one. Still, after the initial disappointment of it being a pan-and-scan presentation of a Cinemascope title, I found myself drawn into the proceedings – especially in view of the unusual espionage element (which never fails to grip me) but also, equally unexpected, a literate script (Karl Tunberg would subsequently receive sole credit for William Wyler’s mammoth BEN-HUR [1959]); accordingly, characterization is well above-average for this sort of thing. Another obvious draw, then, were the principal actors: Wilde as the patriot ordered to defect (by his superior, John McIntire) to the British ranks in order to unearth the mole who is passing them information about the enemy’s movements (which turns out to be a prominent military figure, Benedict Arnold, played by Robert Douglas – though, that, in itself was a bit of a giveaway even to viewers unfamiliar with American history!); co-star Michael Wilding is the English officer who takes Wilde under his wing (against the better judgment of doctor comrade George Sanders, amusing in characteristic cynical mode) and suffers the consequences of this blind faith – albeit yielding mutual respect (which not even the woman, Anne Francis, who comes between them can negate!) – with his life. For the record, I almost gave this a *** rating but decided against this given the fact that the film loses some momentum in its last lap – due to the (necessarily) involved plotting, an unfortunate lapse into cliché (Wilde is thrown into prison by his own side at the proverbial eleventh-hour, thus allowing the traitor Arnold to flee and Wilding to be intercepted and face the music all alone!) and overlength (even if a fade-out clinch between Wilde and Francis should not have been amiss, to counterpoint the ensuing glumness concerning Wilding’s fate). All in all, an interesting, enjoyable and good-looking historical piece encompassing suspense, romance, action (the highlights are perhaps the surprising swashbuckling bouts) and tragedy, the whole being efficiently handled by reliable craftsman Sturges.[/COLOR]


[COLOR= #323d4f]12/27/09: BEYOND MOMBASA (George Marshall, 1956) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #323d4f]African adventures were constant entertainment fodder throughout the 1950s and beyond, where many a popular star took on the jungle with its wild animals and (often) equally hostile natives; in this case, it was strapping Cornel Wilde – rather ill-at-ease, however, playing a hard-drinking womanizer (especially given the various attempts made on his life by “Leopard Men” already responsible for his brother’s death after having stumbled upon a deposit of uranium)! This British-made production (albeit helmed by an American) features yet another stalwart cast – which also includes leading lady Donna Reed (who, as a bookish anthropologist, naturally starts by resenting Wilde’s boorishness but eventually cannot resist his directness and obvious virility), Leo Genn (the outwardly benign missionary eventually revealed to be the mastermind behind the Mau Mau-inspired ‘reign of terror’, driven by a misguided sense of religious and civic duty), Ron Randell (who, as Wilde’s brother’s business partner, logically has the finger of suspicion pointing at him from the outset) and, in one of his more prominent pre-stardom roles, Christopher Lee (a big-game hunter of Italian descent who, even more unlikely, is played up to be the hero’s romantic rival!). The exotic locale supplies characteristic thrills (such as the inevitable cobra attack) and excessive (i.e. mostly irrelevant) local color but, shot by the redoubtable Freddie Young, it invariably pleases the eye (despite the panning-and-scanning involved in the TV-sourced copy I acquired). The obligatory peril-fraught-trek-through-the-jungle (with tension among the protagonists palpable as they seek the lost mine) takes up the latter half of the narrative, culminating in Genn’s going berserk and unleashing the “Leopard Men” on his trapped ‘companions’…until the other natives rise up against these clandestine forces, since they find their activities giving them a bad name! [/COLOR]


[COLOR= #323d4f]12/27/09: SANTA CLAUS (Rene` Cardona, 1959) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #323d4f]This was another obscure Christmas-related title, a low-budget Mexican production from exploitation film-maker Cardona (NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES [1969], TINTORERA! [1977]), which – like many a genre effort from this country – was acquired for release in the U.S. by K. Gordon Murray. Judging by those two efforts already mentioned, Cardona was no visionary – and, this one having already received its share of flak over here, is certainly no better! The film, in fact, is quite redolent of the weirdness which characterized Mexican horror outings from the era, but given an added dimension by virtue of the garish color (which, in view of the prominence of reds – apart from St. Nick himself, the Devil plays a major role in the proceedings – throughout, was essential). Anyway, in a nutshell, the plot involves Satan’s efforts to stall Santa Claus’ Christmas Eve rendezvous with the Earth’s children; there is, however, plenty more wackiness along the way: to begin with, our portly, white-bearded and chronically merry man-in-red lives in a celestial palace who, apart from accompanying toy-maker kids from all over the world on his piano as they sing (laboriously for the whole first reel!) in their native tongue, visits Merlin – the famed magician at King Arthur’s court, here bafflingly but amusingly prone to child-like hopping and mumbling gibberish! – once every year to acquire potions which would bring somnolence to the young and render himself invisible (by the way, the Wizard's anachronistic presence here is no less unlikely than his being a cohort of Dr. Frankenstein in SON OF DRACULA [1974]!!); incidentally, by this time, he always seems to have gained some excess weight…so Santa has to work out in order to be able to fit into each proverbial chimney! The Devil’s antics (enthusiastically rubbing his hands together at every turn and generally hamming it up) to hold up St. Nick’s delivery program, then, is perfectly puerile: indeed, their tit-for-tat shenanigans resemble an old Laurel & Hardy routine more than anything! To pad out the running-time, we focus on three sets of children: one, the lonely son of a rich couple who wants nothing more for Christmas than their company (projected as a wish-fulfillment fantasy where the boy finds his parents wrapped in extra-large packages!), a girl from a poor family who yearns to own a doll of her own (the horned one first tempts her to steal one, then invades the little one’s dreams – to no avail) and a trio of brats who, egged on once again by Satan, think of nothing but causing mischief and eventually fall out amongst themselves. There is definitely imagination at work here, but it is applied with little rhyme or reason, while the overall juvenile approach keeps entertainment (unless one counts the film as a guilty pleasure) well at bay! [/COLOR]


[COLOR= #323d4f]12/29/09: LE PERE NOEL EST UNE ORDURE! (Jean-Michel Poire`, 1982) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #323d4f]A French black comedy that is set during the Yuletide period (one of the protagonists spends the entire time dressed up as Father Christmas) and can therefore be seen to have anticipated BAD SANTA (2003) by some 20 years! Unfortunately, I watched the film – which seems not to have been released outside its country of origin (and, in view of a potentially offensive title that means SANTA CLAUS IS A BASTARD, actually had trouble setting up a publicity campaign!) – in French without even the benefit of subtitles in that language (this practice used to be a given on the TV channel where it was shown but it has regrettably been dropped of late!), thus missing on a good deal of the dialogue (though I could still follow the plot). Most of the proceedings take place inside an apartment where a lonelyhearts helpline for the festive season is based; the two telephone operators (a man and a woman, both reserved, while she is a complete washout at knitting – making three-fingered gloves and presenting her colleague with a jacket which looks more like a pauper’s rags!) are beset by numerous calamities and, amid all the fracas, realize they are attracted to one another. To begin with, their landlady gets trapped in the elevator for the longest time (she tries to grab their attention by incessantly blowing on a toy trumpet!), then they receive a visit by a wacky relative of the woman – who has ditched, and is being pursued by, her even more unbalanced hubby (the titular figure). Afterwards, one of the desperate callers presents himself on the spot, only he turns out be a transvestite!; later still, a tenant of Islamic descent repeatedly shows up at the door with various Oriental dishes which our heroes invariably find repugnant and try to get rid of (most hilariously, a log cake gets thrown out the window and plummets onto the rear windshield of a taxi-cab parked down in the street, smashing it!). The bickering ‘intruders’ cause the lion’s share of the mischief: after the woman hits the man squarely in the face with an iron, they rush him to a clinic where he is to be treated there and then – unfortunately, the elderly owner was on the point of going to some party (with a much younger girl) and is all dressed up, but then his white suit gets covered with chocolate squeezed out of the afore-mentioned log-cake when someone inadvertently sits on it! That said, the most side-splitting scenes occur towards the end as the couple, still at each other’s throat, fight amongst themselves for possession of a gun – first, they shoot the transvestite in the leg and then empty the cartridge in the direction of the entrance to the flat…except that, just then, the apartment block’s handyman was calling and he drops dead inside as soon as the front door is opened! While the wounded party is bemoaning his fate in the bedroom and the telephone operators succumb to their passions in the bathroom (the woman needing a shower to be revived after feeling faint at the sight of the corpse), husband and wife are finally united in a common cause – disposing of the stiff in the kitchen, where they cut it all up and wrap the dismembered body parts as if they were Christmas gifts!; to wash their hands clean of the deed, the two then persuade the rest of the group to feed the unfortunate’s remains to the various wild animals at the local zoo!! All in all, then, this is a pretty good farce – and, being much in the same vulgar vein as the box-office smash LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (1978), ought to be better known. [/COLOR]


[COLOR= #323d4f]12/30/09: SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (Nicholas Webster, 1964)

[/COLOR][COLOR= #323d4f]This strong contender for the title of the “All-Time Worst Movie” is, typically, not as painful to watch as it has been played up to be over the years; having just watched its earlier Mexican counterpart SANTA CLAUS (1959) which I recently acquired in tandem, it was a given that I was going to get to this one too before this year was out. Anyway, the plot calls for Martian children to be 'hypnotized' by earthly TV channels and getting particularly depressed at Christmas-time because, unlike their fellow earthlings, they have no Santa Claus…so, the head honcho of the Red Planet (a Michael Gough-look-a-like) decides to kidnap St. Nick (constantly letting off belly-laughs, as played by John Call) to cheer up his kids! Predictably, this plan is opposed by a trio of bumbling villains (led by a heavily-whiskered loser) who sabotage Santa’s mechanical Martian toy factory and, eventually, capture the wrong Father Christmas (since, inevitably, the planet’s leading comic relief – a would-be amiable idiot – dons on the red cloak to try out for the role which is vacated once Santa – and two earthly kids who were abducted with him – are transported back to their world). There is not much that I can add except to say that a credited but unrecognizable Pia Zadora apparently plays one of the Martians; while the film is, relatively speaking, livelier than the afore-mentioned SANTA CLAUS, the latter displays a more florid imagination; the odd Martian attire seems to be an amusing precursor to the much-later one worn by the dreaded Teletubbies; and, best of all, the children’s ditty “Hooray For Santy Claus” proves to be an awfully catchy tune!![/COLOR]

 

[Pete Battista]

My End of the Year Totals...

Total Movies Watched: 318
[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]First Time Viewings: 136[/COLOR]

 

[Sandro]

December Recap

49 films seen, 28 for the first time

Best films seen for the first time(out of

 

[Sandro]

End of the Year Summary

502 films seen, 340 for the first time.

Best 20 films seen for the first time

Monsieur Hire
Palm Beach Story
Triad Election (Election 2)
Kiss Me Deadly
Jar City
Mist, The
Zebraman
Mysterious Skin
Ascent, The
Let the Right One In
Gemini
Zodiac
Paprika
Dead Girl
Firemen's Ball
McCabe and Mrs Miller
Deep Crimson
Be Kind Rewind
Mad Detective
Student Prince in Old Heidelberg

 

[Michael Elliott]

Originally Posted by Mario Gauci

[COLOR= #323d4f]by need (to free up disk space on my DVD recorder, etc.) than anything else!:[/COLOR]

I'm always doing that and I'm going to try and stop it in 2010. I'm constantly having to watch stuff off my DVR just to keep that % number down. I got it down to around 16% at the start of December but I ended up recording 18 Bogart movies from TCM and around 10 movies from the 80's that I had never seen so going into 2010 it's up to 50%. I'm going to try and "let it be" and make sure I re-watch several older faves this year and not just focus on the DVR.

 

[Brook K]

Angels & Demons - A serviceable, if predictable, Hollywood thriller. Ron Howard keeps the action moving, Tom Hanks does Tom Hanks things, we learn a little Roman art history and some movie science. Liked this a little better than the first one. - B-

Maniac - A demented killer stalks women in the streets of NYC while carrying on an inner-dialogue with his mannequin girlfriend in William Lustig's cult classic. Joe Spinnell does an excellent job of portraying the killer's fractured mind and generating if not exactly sympathy, a degree of pathos for his character, even while Tom Savini's blood soaked effects deliver 5 movies worth of gore and violence. - B+

A Christmas Carol - Though my favorite is the George C. Scott 80's TV version, Reginald Owen gives a fine portrayal of Scrooge in MGM's take on Dickens' classic story. - B+

A Christmas Story - What else needs to be said about this Christmas classic? It's become as synonymous with the season as It's a Wonderful Life and Charlie Brown - A

No Regrets For Our Youth - A love triangle between the privileged daughter of a liberal professor, a young radical, and a conformist is set against the backdrop of Japan's descent into facism is the subject of this early Kurosawa film. While we get some sense of the radical changes that came to Japan during the War and it's aftermath, and Setsuko Hara as the daughter gives the film a strong core, this is the work of a young director still searching for the best way to bring his vision to the screen. (and also having that vision compromised by postwar censorship) - B

 

[TravisR]

I saw almost 75 movies from 2009 (which has gotta be a personal record). I'm sure there will be a couple more that I catch on cable or rent or see once they get an Oscar nomination and get a wider release.

In order of release...

My Bloody Valentine (2009) (3-D)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Vacancy 2: The First Cut
Taken
Fanboys
Friday The 13th (2009)
The International
Fired Up!
Watchmen
The Last House On The Left (2009)
Sunshine Cleaning
I Love You, Man
Adventureland
Observe And Report
State Of Play
Obsessed
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Star Trek
Terminator: Salvation
Drag Me To Hell
Up (3-D)
The Hangover
The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3 (2009)
Year One
Away We Go
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
The Hurt Locker
Public Enemies
Bruno
I Love You, Beth Cooper
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
500 Days Of Summer
Orphan
Funny People
G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra
A Perfect Getaway
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Taking Woodstock
The Final Destination (3-D)
Halloween II (2009)
Extract
Sorority Row
The Informant!
Jennifer's Body
Capitalism: A Love Story
Pandorum
Paranormal Activity
The Invention Of Lying
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 (3-D)
Whip It
Zombieland
Couples Retreat
Good Hair
The Stepfather (2009)
Where The Wild Things Are
Saw VI
The Box
A Christmas Carol (2009) (3-D)
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
Fantastic Mr. Fox
2012
The Road
Armored
Up In The Air
Invictus
The Lovely Bones
Avatar (3-D)
American Pie Presents The Book Of Love
Sherlock Holmes

italics = saw it on cable or video

 

[Brook K]

December Update

Bit of a lackluster finish to a year when I watched the fewest movies in at least 11 years. About halfway through the month I had only watched 2-3 movies due to various circumstances, but managed to watch quite a few at the end when I was on vacation. A Christmas Tale, aka Christmas with the Bergman's, was by far the standout. A film filled with bitterness and acidic family history as only Europeans can do it, though this one manages a good deal more heart and humor than most in this vein.

Movies Watched: 20

Best 1st Time Viewing: A Christmas Tale

Honorable Mention: Record of a Tenement Gentleman, Maniac, Avatar 3D, The Baader Meinhof Complex


2009 Films (Based on NY/LA Release)

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)](500) Days of Summer[/COLOR][COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)] (2009, Marc Webb) (DVD Rent) - C+
Angels & Demons (2009, Ron Howard) (DVD Rent) - B-
Avatar 3D[/COLOR][COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)] (2009, James Cameron) (Theater) - B+[/COLOR]
Funny People (2009, Judd Apatow) (DVD Rent) - B
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Humpday[/COLOR][COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] (2009, Lynn Shelton) (DVD Rent) - B[/COLOR]
The Limits of Control (2009, Jim Jarmusch) (DVD Rent) - B-[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]
A Serious Man (2009, Joel & Ethan Coen) (Theater) - B[/COLOR]


2008 Films Viewed in '09 (Based on NY/LA Release)

The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008, Uli Edel) (DVD Rent) - B+
A Christmas Tale (2008, Arnaud Desplechin) (DVD Rent) - A-
Gomorra (2008, Matteo Garrone) (DVD Rent) - B


Pre-2008 Films Seen for the 1st Time


Landscape After the Battle (1970, Andrezj Wadja) (DVD Rent) - C
The Lower Depths (1957, Akira Kurosawa) (DVD Rent) - B
Maniac (1980, William Lustig) (DVD Rent) - B+
No Regrets For Our Youth (1946, Akira Kurosawa) (DVD Own) - B
Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947, Yasujiro Ozu) (VHS Library) - B+
Viva Maria! (1965, Louis Malle) (DVD Rent) - B-


Re-Visits (All DVD's owned unless otherwise noted)

A Christmas Carol (1938, Edwin L. Marin) (DVR TCM) - B+
A Christmas Story (1983, Bob Clark) - A
Army of Darkness (1992, Sam Raimi) - B+
Unforgiven (1992, Clint Eastwood) (Blu-Ray Own) - A

 

[Brook K]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]2009 Update[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Movies Watched: 271
1st Time Viewings: [/COLOR]251

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Top 10 1st Time Viewings:[/COLOR][COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]
[/COLOR]
Camera Buff (1979, Krzysztof Kieslowski)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, David Fincher)
A Short Film About Love (1988, Krzystzof Kieslowski)
Secrets & Lies (1996, Mike Leigh)
The Class (2008, Laurent Cantet)
Mildred Pierce (1945, Michael Curtiz)
Hobson's Choice (1954, David Lean)
The Phantom Carriage (1921, Victor Sjostrom)
A Christmas Tale (2008, Arnaud Desplechin)
Il Generale della Rovere (1959, Roberto Rosselini)

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]Other Movies Receiving an "A-" Rating or better:[/COLOR]

Watchmen (2009, Zack Snyder)
Up (2009, Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson)
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Ponyo on the Cliff (2008, Hayao Miyazaki) [/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Inglourious Basterds (2009, Quentin Tarantino)[/COLOR]
Tyson (2008, James Toback)
The Band That Wouldn't Die (2009, Barry Levinson)
Away We Go (2009, Sam Mendes)
I've Loved You So Long (2008, Philippe Claudel)
The Visitor (2007, Thomas McCarthy)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955, Robert Aldrich)
All or Nothing (2002, Mike Leigh)
Spirits of the Dead ("Metzengerstein") (1968, Roger Vadim)
The Blue Dahlia (1946, George Marshall)
The Inheritance (2003, Per Fly)
Lessons of Darkness (1992, Werner Herzog)
Sex is Comedy (2002, Catherine Breillat)
Cruel Gun Story (1964, Takumi Furukawa)
That Hamilton Woman (1941, Alexander Korda)
Homicide (1991, David Mamet)

 

[Brian.L]

December Recap

Movies seen: 28 (First timers: 26)
Average rating = 2.73/5
Median rating = 2.75/5

I'll hurry up and get this up here before the thread flies off into the void. Re: famous directors and their work...Buñuel has got me, Fellini is starting to lose me, and I think I've given up on Bresson. Also, I am going to buy "The Room" on DVD now, because Wiseau is an exciting new fresh talent whose work will be amongst the aforementioned names.

ALL RATINGS OUT OF https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/4/4d/htf_images_smilies_star.gif">:star:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1] 12/30- [b]The Room (2003)[/b] [/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR= rgb(153, 51, 0)]ZERO STARS[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Favorites (first timers): Funny People, Moon, The Cove

 

[Tarkin The Ewok]

My "Best of 2009" list is in the other thread, so here is a list of all the films I discovered from 2008 and before during 2009 that merited 4, 4.5, or 5 stars from me:

The Sting
Yojimbo
The Green Mile
The Untouchables
Vertigo
Pinocchio
Memento
Babylon 5: In the Beginning
The Mask of Zorro
Castle in the Sky
Field of Dreams
Halloween (1978)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
High Noon
The Cat Returns
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Hopefully, I will find at least that many winners in 2010.