Things went back to normal this week.

Despite getting out to two more screenings this week, the pace dropped back down to a more respectable one-a-day. Wait, does that sound right to anybody else?

The fun thing this summer has been getting into the habit of skimming through the week’s schedule on TCM and setting my PVR. What this means is that if I’m sitting around with little to do, and I feel like watching something new, I have a hard drive in front of me loaded up with names like Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Welles, Taylor, Cagney, and Bacall. Not a bad state of affairs!

This should be the pace for a week or so, what with next week starting my efforts to map out my TIFF schedule.

 

Here’s The Week at Hand…

 

Screenings
PICNIC – I realized this week that I missed marking this one down weeks ago, so here it is. Not my favorite, but lordy is that picnic ever epic!
TOTAL RECALL (1990) – Far more fun than its contemporary rehash.
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE – One more Scorsese off the list, one where he was deeply in love with his sets. 

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
ONE, TWO, THREE – The year of Wilder continues, one that has left me hopelessly in love.
TO CATCH A THIEF – I’d love to listen to a Guillermo del Toro lecture on this!
TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT – James has been pestering me to watch more Hawkes.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
EASY A – I want to have dinner with Clarkson and Tucci.

Boxscore for The Year
148 First-Timers, 140 Re-Watched
73 Screenings
288 Movies in Total

How’s about you – seen anything good?

38 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched Aug 11 – Aug 17)”

  1. I saw Cosmopolis at the theatre on thursday. It was awesome.
    I also saw Pyaasa, an Indian classic, Les quatre cents coups and original King Kong… and the documentary la Danse. It was a good week until now.

  2. Screenings:
    The Bourne Legacy – I overall liked it.
    Total Recall (1990) – Campy, yet a hell lot of fun.
    Phantom of the Paradise – One weird rock opera
    Fight Club – This was the subject of the second 360 Screenings event
    Killer Joe – Still annoyed that I had to watch this one twice after the projector burned out on the first viewing. Was worth it though.
    Compliance – It’s a very disturbing film, but its also an excellent character study.

    Blu-Ray Rewatches
    The Raid: Redemption – Still a very entertaining action film
    The Expendables – Rewatched the first film to prepare for the sequel

    1. Sounds like a good week of screenings! I’ve been warned about COMPLIANCE, but still find myself rather curious. EXPENDABLES on the other hand, I will be skipping for certain.

  3. *I* want to have dinner with Clarkson and Tucci. They are like my dream parents.

    Firsts: Short Cuts– It was very good.
    Waking Life– Woah. This should have been part of my animation month.
    Bachelorette– I am obsessed. It is everything I wanted Bridesmaids to be.
    Cabin in the Woods– That was clever. Love it.
    Stagecoach– For film studies. I actually liked it.

    Rewatched: Hugo– I made my film studies class watch it. It’s still beautiful.
    Singin’ in the Rain– For a post. Probably the happiest movie ever.
    Bachelorette– I told you! I had to watch it again. “We gave up strip clubs for Lent.” :’)

    1. I tried watching SHORT CUTS early on in my film literacy and didn’t quite “get it”. I’m sure I’ll be doing a Robert Altman retrospective at some point, and that will definitely be a part of it.

      WAKING LIFE I’m curious about, but after being unimpressed with A SCANNER DARKLY, I’m in no hurry to go back for more animated Linklater.

    2. I saw Waking Life a while ago and I was just surprised how much deep writing it contains. Extremely metaphysical and philosophical I had to watch the thing in 20min segments over a few days haha. Def worth a shot tho.

  4. First time:

    The Campaign: Wasted Opportunity

    Joe Versus The Volcano: I think this is the first time Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan teamed up.

    2 Days in New York: Why Julie Why?

    Compliance: The most uncomfortable movie of the year, and it’s a compliment. I urge people to see it. I think this is the last week it plays at the Lightbox.

    Rewatch:

    The Grey: It’s even more emotionally devastating the 2nd time. It’s not for everyone, you have to be in a certain emotional state of mind to watch this.

    1. I missed THE GREY in theatres, and now thing I might just have to have myself a little “Neeson Plays the Badass” marathon on blu-ray!

      As I mentioned earlier to Sean – I *do* want to catch up with COMPLIANCE, I just hope to find the time in what will undoubtedly be a nutty week.

      PS – You going to TIFF this year?

    2. Yes I will be doing TIFF this year. It’s my can’t miss event. I am guessing you will be doing it too. We should meet up sometime.

    3. Keep your Monday night of the festival open. From 6pm onward, there’s a gathering that takes place at The Duke of York near Spadina St. George Station. We’d all love it if you could drop by!

  5. Yo Ryan, I’ve barely begun diggin into (Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Welles, Taylor, Cagney, and Bacall) etc. do you think you could compile a short guide to some of their classics ? I don’t know where to start .

    All firsts this week:

    God Bless America / Goldthwait really drills the audience with his views. The trailer should be enough for most.

    Turn Me On, Dammit / Not bad, expected funnier but I liked the main character nontheless.

    Proof / Very stiff acting but a good story. Who knew maths could move your heart haha.

    Martha Marcy May Marlene / Amazing use of exposure (or lack of it), fresh colours and terrific acting blend in a unique story. Shouldn’t have waited this long.

    Lonesome Jim / Aw man how I wanted to like this, made me feel depressed for the characters and myself lol. Always nice to watch Liv Tyler though 😉

    1. Wherever possible I’m happy to point you in the right direction regarding classics. The question is, who do you want to begin with?

      I loved MARTHA MARCY, both for that dim photography you mention, and for it’s amazing use of editing. I’ve been meaning to revisit that film ever since it first dropped at TIFF last fall, and have yet to come back to it. Perhaps now’s the time!

    4. Haven’t seen any of those, going to find them and plan a marathon session for the weekend haha thanks .

  6. What I saw this week…, First-Timers: This is England, Super 8, Down to the Bone, Never Say Never Again, and right now, Stalker.

    Re-Watches: Rachel Getting Married, A View to a Kill, Reservoir Dogs, The Skin I Live In, and Iron Man 2.

    1. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN has one of my favorite Bond lines of all time:

      “I got you all wet”
      “But my martini is still dry”

      Almost makes the hamminess of Connery returning to the role worth another watch!

  7. This new job is killing my movie watching. Plus I’ve got someone briefly crashing at my apartment so I don’t have free reign on my PS3 and Blu-Rays. Hope to get back in the swing of things soon (including with commenting; sorry mate).

    First time
    ATLAS SHRUGGED PART 1: The worst bad movie night I’ve ever had. Just utterly awful, and not even engagingly so. But it takes some level of empathetic connection to have an effect on an audience, so I suppose Rand would approve of its lack of “weakness” in that respect.
    SIGN O THE TIMES: I’m a huge Prince freak but had never seen this. Might be my new favorite concert film.
    BUG: Magnificently icky direction that takes an oversimplified take on paranoid schizophrenia to rapturously unsettling heights. Really, really great. My favorite of the few Friedkins I’ve seen so far.
    SIDE BY SIDE: I like that it goes beyond mere aesthetic arguments (though I actually wish they’d expounded on that a bit more) and instead wondered how filmmaking and the nature of the films themselves would change. I think the format actually does dictate form, and “true” digital movies like Michael Mann’s late work or Soderbergh’s or Fincher’s really do depart from film rather than just duplicate it.
    PATHER PANCHALI: I love the lyricism of Satyajit Ray’s debut, less so the wandering realism I find so tedious. But I can also forgive it in this case since it basically introduces an entire nation to the world.

    Rewatch
    WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: And to think, I’d almost forgotten what George Bush did to my country. Possibly Spike Lee’s best film.
    TDKR: Still so torn on this. I am entertained by it, but it is fundamentally flawed in ways beyond mere nitpicking. I have no reason to believe Gotham is in a malaise, which makes the whole second half questionable. But again, somehow I still like this complete mess.

    1. Well if you want to get back into the swing of commenting, today’s post and tomorrow’s are a bit special…you might want to click over and drop a line.

      I can only remember scarce details about BUG, but I do remember it being one I want to see. Friedkin sure knows how to do the crazy shit, doesn’t he? As for the bad movies y’all are live-tweeting, I think that’s a little insane, but whatever floats your boat.

      I’ll always remember catching Levees at TIFF the year it debuted, and how the entire lineup started getting antsy as a volunteer walked down the line repeating two dreadful words “No intermission”. I’m debating whether or not I want to see the doc Spike brought to TIFF this year – a look back at Michael Jackson’s BAD on the 25th anniversary of its release.

  8. It was a slow week for me: Firsts – Martha Marcy May Marlene (awesome), The Awakening, Ballad of a Soldier, and Rampart (better than I expected), The Invisible Man (very good), Good Neighbours (interesting). Rewatched – Silver Bullet (clearly there’s something wrong with me).

    I’m pretty sure everyone wants Clarkson and Tucci as their parents. I’m probably going to have to get my Easy A DVD now and watch it again.

    1. Is there a blog-a-thon or something entailing MARTHA MARCY? Seems odd to have two different readers watching it in the same week. And your thoughts on RAMPART have me curious as I’d heard nothing but bad things since it played TIFF last year. perhaps I need to give it a look after all!

      As for the EASY A rewatch, well – you’re welcome!

  9. What a week. Gonna be slim for the next week or so for me.

    New to me:
    Quatermass and the Pit: Silly fun.
    Stella Dallas: Great, and Barbara Stanwyck doesn’t hurt.
    When Harry Met Sally: I have a feeling this will come up again soon.
    Europa Europa: Less than I thought it would be.
    Flaming Creatures: Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!
    Inside Man: For podcast.
    Le Dernier Combat: Besson’s first shows how he got to where he got to.
    Notorious: North by Northwest lite.

    Rewatches
    Gangs of New York: For podcast.

    1. I can’t see the connection of INSIDE MAN and GANGS OF NY for a podcast discussion? NY directors?? Throw me a bone here.

      As for NOTORIOUS, I actually adored it when I finally caught up with it this summer. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I was sitting in a lecture being conducted by Guillermo del Toro, and listening to him explain the film…

    2. You’d have to discuss with Joel Burman precisely what was behind that pairing, but it was more or less films that feature two larger-than-life personalities at odds with each other. Gangs is a better example of this, but both movies are fun.

    3. That’s one of the weakest common links I’ve ever heard. Why not toss in GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA while you’re at it? Oh well, they can’t all be winners. Hopefully you get a good discussion out of them, that’s all that matters.

      BTW, GANGS is an example for me of a film that dulled upon rewatch. I think when I saw it opening day I was so jacked for it to finally be getting released after so many delays, that I rode an endorphin high. As I look back on it, I still see it as solid, but nowhere near Scorsese’s best.

    4. We’ll agree to disagree on Gangs. I really like it, mostly for the performances of pretty much everyone involved. I think it’s vastly underrated.

      In terms of topic, well, we try never to repeat a topic in a given season. Neo-noir, crime films…these go quickly. And then there’s the problem of finding appropriate films that fit our additional criteria. As always, we bow to the will of the guest.

  10. Busy week, so only squeezed in a few films.

    First Time:
    Battleship – Just too silly for words.

    Pirate of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Did not mind it while watching, could not remember much of the plot the next day though.

    Bernie – Loved this film, very pleasant surprise.

    Wanderlust – It was amusing in parts. I find I laugh more when talking about the film to others than I did while watching it.

    The Raid: Redemption – Yes it is all action and little plot, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

    1. For a busy week you sure picked some shit films (I kid, I kid…)

      Thinking about THE RAID makes me wonder what badass TIFF film I’ll miss out on this year. I call that inevitable happening “The Golden Pan Award”…in honour of Pan’s Labyrinth.

      Any guesses?

  11. The sheer dynamism of Cagney’s performance in ONE TWO THREE is nothing short of incredible. Nobody else could have played that part like he did.

    Another no viewings week for me but for the good reason that I was on vacation. It’s strange but restorative to be off-line for a few days.

    1. When Osborne introduced the film and spelled out that the part put him off acting for fifteen years or so, I wondered how in the world that was possible…then of course it all became clear!

      If ever there was a reason to take a week off film-watching, taking a vacation is it!

  12. I went to the theater a couple times last week — both at the Music Box, conveniently enough. I was lucky enough to get into the “secret” 70mm screening of The Master, and I spent my Saturday evening there for the Noir City Chicago event. Always something going on over there.

    Other than that, I caught a few DVD/streaming movies, including Total Recall, which was better than I expected. A pretty good week overall!

    1. I’ve wanted to start reading people’s reactions to THE MASTER s-o-o-o-o-o-o-o badly, but have thus far resisted the urge. I might be seeing it at TIFF, but I’ll know more about that on Saturday.

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