Ryan McNeil
So dig:
Usually, what happens on the weekend sets the tone for the week where my watchlists are concerned. With my tally window running from Saturday to the following Friday, I tend to watch most of what I’ll watch in that stretch in those opening two days. Busy weekend tend to lead towards quieter weeks of watching. So this week when repeated long visits to the vet, editing and posting a podcast episode, and spending several hours watching The Denver Broncos stand around kept me to just a pair of titles watched…I figured I’d be able to count off this week’s entry on one hand.
Then something crummy happened in the middle of the week, and doing much else than sitting on the couch became a huge chore.
The funny thing about that though, while taking comfort in film did still lead to a lot of first-timers, as you’ll notice below, many of those first-timers were pretty slight. Perhaps I didn’t feel like doing too much thinking through such a tough week. Or perhaps, listening to GMan and his dad discuss comedy, I had laughter on the brain.
Regardless, what began as a super-slow stretch quickly turned into a double-digit week. A big piece of me hopes next week has me in a better headspace, and perhaps a lower tally.
Here’s The Week at Hand…
Screenings
THE MONUMENTS MEN – Look for a review tomorrow.
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
LONE SURVIVOR – Count me for a vote against.
THE EMPEROR WALTZ – Super cute, but the least ‘Wilder’ Wilder movie yet.
THE GOLDEN CHILD – Is it me, or is Tywin Lannister sorta freaky in this?
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY – For podcasting purposes (Been saying that a lot lately, haven’t I?)
THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE – Sorta thought this would be better…
AIRPLANE – OK, that was fun!
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
THE ICE STORM – Yes I did just watch it, but whaddaya want – it was Christmas gift.
THE MASTER – Pouring one out for Phil.
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – I’d forgotten how stylish this flick is.
I love My Week with Marilyn – really good film and Michelle Williams is a real favourite of mine
With every role she’s done I become more and more smitten with her. What was your take on her in TAKE THIS WALTZ?
First-Timers: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Seduced and Abandoned, After Earth *facepalm*, And the Oscar Goes to…, West of Memphis, The Look of Love, WrestleMania V, and maybe later tonight, At Any Price or Mississippi Mermaid.
Re-Watches: Trois Couleurs: Bleu, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, and About a Boy.
How’s WEST OF MEMPHIS in comparison to the PARADISE LOST series?
I’m of the mind that the guy who plays Tywin Lannister is creepy in basically everything he does.
This week:
MITT – While it hardly offered much input on his political views; it did show a lot more about the guy behind the scenes
ENOUGH SAID – I was charmed by both Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini, and even the sitcom elements didn’t bring it down much for me
SILENT RUNNING – Such a goofy performance from Bruce Dern, and the environmental message is pretty heavy handed. It does have an odd charm to it, though.
…wait, what “sitcom elements”?
What I mean is the fact that Albert’s wife is Eva’s client and her efforts not to reveal it (hiding behind a bush). It’s like something out of a bad sitcom. I think the actors were so good that they made it work really well, though.
I love The Golden Child. No idea how it would hold up as a first-timer, but I saw it a ton of times as a kid.
Also, sorry to hear of your cat’s passing. They are special creatures that know just how to get inside your heart. I have a wonderful 16-year-old cat and I dread the day she goes.
First time:
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan
Love Jones
Confirm or Deny
Love & Basketball
And I re-watched:
Louis C.K.: Hilarious (although, I wasn’t aware that I had seen it, or at least parts of it, until about halfway through.)
It held up splendidly as a firt-timer. My expectations were in the right place so it worked well.
I swear dude, every week you make me feel more and more film illeterate with the titles you’ve watched.
Airplane! was so nuts 😛
Firsts: Afternoon Delight– It squanders its potential.
The East– It goes a bit bleh towards the ending otherwise I thought it was pretty cool.
Capote– I had only watched it in bits and pieces before. What an actor.
Last Night– Podcast.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead– The real-life parallels were a little hard to watch but another great PSH performance.
Pather Panchali– Had to watch it for class. I guess I’ll have to start working on my Blind spot entry soon then.
Nebraska– So human. Funny but sad. I loved it.
Philomena– One of those stories that would be so unbelievable were they not true.
The Lego Movie– Let’s see if this stays in my top 10 of 2014.
Rewatched: Blue is the Warmest Colour– It’s still strange that this wasn’t nominated for any Oscars.
Harold and Maude– Podcast.
Bright Star– Podcast.
I have no idea what y’all are podcasting about based on those three selections. Colour me curious…
I will always have a soft spot for CAPOTE after being lucky enough to see it premiere at TIFF (followed by BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – talk about an amazing day!). I re-watched it a month or so ago and remain stunned at how handsome and well-balanced a film it is. Certainly a fitting choice of memorial watch for our man Phil.