Frankenweenie
I happened upon a first this week.

The Lightbox is in the midst of a Coen Brothers retrospective as part of the run-up to INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS. I knew that I could drop a mint on tickets (and fill up a few weeks worth of my schedule), so I decided to zero in on the films I hadn’t seen on the big screen before. The final one of these came last Sunday with BLOOD SIMPLE.

But that’s where the strangest thing occurred.

I settled in and soaked up the Coens’ debut in all its 35mm glory…until about 10 minutes in. It was at that point that i started getting a nagging feeling. Nothing was seeming familiar…not a line, not a shot, not a plot point. Nada. This wasn’t a case of my memory failing me where details are concerned. This was as if I turned down a side street and suddenly realized that I no longer knew which way I was driving. So I felt a goofy grin cross my face as I settled in to finally watch the only Coen Brothers movie I didn’t know I hadn’t seen.

Where things got even more amusing is that when the film ended, I knew what was coming. I knew who was dying and how they were going to bite it.

Put it all together and it has me thinking that whenever I rented the film in the past, I watched the beginning, the end, and just filled in the blanks where the plot was concerned. While that gives you the broad strokes where a film like this is concerned, it certainly doesn’t do it justice.

I want to ask if that’s ever happened to any of you, but I can’t imagine that it ever has…that only dorks like me would think they’ve seen a movie, suddenly realize they haven’t, and then figure out that yes, they sorta have!

Anyone?

 

Here’s The Week at Hand…

 

Screenings
BLOOD SIMPLE – So yeah, that happened…
FROZEN – I’m still humming the tunes.
ALL IS LOST – Look for a review tomorrow.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
GOOD ‘OL FREDA – Cute, if simple.
HARD EIGHT – Finally! I’m all caught up on PTA now.
STARBUCK – Skip DELIVERY MAN and watch this instead.
UNSUNG: BEHIND THE GLEE – Certainly made me feel 17 again.
GIMME THE LOOT – Thanks Sam.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
PACIFIC RIM – I still love it.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS – Why do I feel like this is starting to get regarded as overrated?
LOVE ACTUALLY – Usually I’d have watched this well before early December. This year I’m behind.

 

Boxscore for The Year
277 First-Timers, 186 Re-Watched
111 Screenings
463 Movies in Total
How’s about you – seen anything good?

18 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched Nov 30 – Dec 6)”

  1. Delivery Man/Stuckbuck is an interesting case when it comes to English-language remakes, since its one of the rare cases the original director (Ken Scott) has returned to remake his own film.

  2. I do think there are some cases where I’ve seen parts of a film and have it my head that I’ve watched it all. There are a few classic films like that for sure.

    Only two films this week, but I’ve already watched two today, so next week will be more.

    FORT APACHE – This movie takes a while to get going, but the last act is just stunning. Quite a surprise.

    THE BOURNE LEGACY – This has been sitting in my DVR for a really long time. I finally decided to give it a shot, and it wasn’t very good. Strong cast and mildly engaging, but pretty much a mess.

  3. Woah, woah, woah. “Why do I feel like this is starting to get regarded as overrated?” I will fight anyone who claims “Last of the Mohicans” is overrated. I will fight them to the (figurative) death. If “Last of the Mohicans” is not properly rated as sheer perfectitude, then our world has no hope. It is my favorite movie and it always will be.

    Also, really glad you caught “Gimme the Loot.” Had that in my Top 10 last year. Nice to see it get some love as this year has progressed.

    1. I’m with you man – I still adore so very much about MOHICANS. So seeing what seems like a growing shoulder shrug regarding the film has been perplexing to say the least!

      really dug GIMME THE LOOT – not what I was expecting at all.

  4. First-Timers: Early Summer, Aningaaq, As Tears Go By, Seeking a Friend at the End of the World, La Notte (as a B-day present), and hopefully later tonight, Days of Being Wild.

    Re-Watches: She’s the Man, The Man in the Iron Mask, White Men Can’t Jump, and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.

    1. Reading about all of this re-watch of WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP leaves me queasy. It also leaves me wondering if everybody is dusting off their Boyz II Men cassettes afterwards.

      Thanks for reminding me about Aningaaq – I’d forgotten to drop it into this year’s tally!

  6. I’ve had similar things happen where I see a scene from a movie that I know but I don’t ever remember seeing the film. But never as extreme as you’re describing! Sounds fun, though. 🙂

    All first time for me this week:

    Bullet to the Head
    Stoker
    Cocktail

    2. Hahaha, I didn’t like it much. It’s ’80s in all the wrong ways. It was interesting to finally see it, though. I remember being fascinated with the bottle flipping in the trailer as a kid, so I was surprised to see that was only a very small portion of the film.

    1. I did, and I disagreed with it deeply. The guy lost me early when he points out “It isn’t really a Christmas film”. Well no shit, Sherlock – neither is It’s a Wonderful Life.

      He seems fixated on the fact that all of this “love” seems to be stemming from infatuation, and physical attraction. As wonderful a thought as is to think we’d love each other for our minds, I’d wager that most of the relationships out there stemmed from the people involved finding each other easy-on-the-eyes for starters. Yes, it ain’t all there is – but it’s often where it starts.

      He also seems to sail past the point that there are different sorts of love – ie, the sisterly love that Laura Linney has for her brother that allows her to make great personal sacrifice.

  8. Glad you got round to watching GIMME THE LOOT! In terms of new films, I saw FROZEN, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2, SHORT TERM 12 and AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY during those dates. SHORT TERM 12 will most definitely feature in my best of the year. Like you I have the songs from FROZEN stuck in my head. I also have the yelling from AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY in my head….I’d rather I didn’t.

    1. Sorry for the late response here, but that seems like quite the week! I do want to track down SHORT TERM 12 (it was in the running to be reviewed on Matineecast 99 if you recall)…I fear I might have missed my theatrical window and will have to wait until dvd.

      I reckon August will be part of my Oscar homework come January.

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