Frankenweenie

In some ways, this week feels like I’m pressing “reset”.

There’s no glut of first-time watches, there’s no abundance of screenings. Just a normal amount of everything with the usual smattering of revisits.

Looking at the first-timers though, I’m amused to see that most of them come as recommendations from my friends. After reading Sidney Lumet’s book, I’d already been interested in digging into his filmography. Thanks to Andrew Robinson, THE FUGITIVE KIND ended up being one of the first I reached for. The funny thing though, is that now that I’ve watched it, I feel myself wanting to re-read the sections of the book where it gets discussed.

After that, there’s AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON which damned near everyone I know has been recommending to me for a long time. I was actually this close to seeing a screening of it at Lightbox this week, but didn’t want to stay out so late by myself (the screening was starting at 11pm). I still got the full effect via DVD.

Finally, there’s AFTER HOURS, which was a suggestion from Marya Gates back when she did a podcast appearance on GMan’s “Movies You Love” podcast. Amusingly, I watched it immediately after WEREWOLF, and had to smile that it starred one of the two main dudes. It’s one of the few remaining Scorsese movies I’d never seen…and one that felt very different from much of the rest of his filmography! I loved the hell out of it of course, and immediately bemoaned the fact that it doesn’t exist on blu-ray.

So y’all did well by me this week…recommendation-wise. Hopefully I can return the favour sometime soon!

 

Here’s The Week at Hand…

 

Screenings
I’M SO EXCITED! – Handsome as hell, but yet I feel like it’s Lesser Almodovar.
THE WOLVERINE – I feel like more upcoming comic book movies need to aim for this target.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
THE FUGITIVE KIND – Comes with a nice subtlety. I’m gonna have to revisit this sometime.
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON – Goddamn that was fun!
AFTER HOURS – Thanks Marya…and Andrew too.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) –This one still feels amazingly relevant.
STOKER – #Lindsayiswrong
TRUE ROMANCE – I’d been meaning to watch it again ever since Gandolfini died. Might be my call for Tony Scott’s best film.
¡THREE AMIGOS! – After Werewolf, it turned into a John Landis sorta night.

 

Boxscore for The Year
147 First-Timers, 124 Re-Watched
56 Screenings
270 Movies in Total
How’s about you – seen anything good?

17 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched July 20 – July 26)”

  1. Since I had no softball games this past week (a rarity considering I have been averaging two a week), I finally was able to catch a few episodes of both Under the Dome and Orange is the New Black. As for the films, it was all first time experiences.

    New to me:
    The Gold Rush – I enjoyed it but not as much as I thought I would.

    Mr. Hulot’s Holiday – Oddly enough, I liked this more than The Gold Rush, despite its lack of any real story.

    Senna – Amazing.

    Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap – Such a disappointing documentary.

    The Wolverine – I liked it but had serious issues with the muddled third act.

    1. Good news: My Criterion Blu-Ray of THE GOLD RUSH arrived this week.
      Better news: Barnes & Noble got their wires crossed, which meant I got it for free.

  2. I’m excited to see I’m So Excited, lesser Almodovar or not. Glad you liked American Werewolf, such a great movie.

    All first time for me this week:

    The Killer (1972, Chor Yuen)
    Giant – for the Blind Spot
    Shark! – the film Sam Fuller disowned was disowned for a reason.
    Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street
    The Champion of Champions

  3. First Timers: Pacific Rim, The Way, Way Back, Love Me If You Dare, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, WWE: The Attitude Era, For All Mankind: The Life and Career of Mick Foley, Bullets Over Broadway, Don’t Drink the Water (1994 TV film), and later tonight, Only God Forgives.

    Re-Watches: Kingpin and Klitschko.

  4. I finished up the Wilder marathon and caught a few Linklater films for tomorrow’s podcast. Tomorrow, I’ll take a rare trip to the theater with my lovely wife! Now we have to decide what to see.

    WITNESS TO THE PROSECUTION – I like it the more I think about it. Charles Laughton is so good.

    SLACKER – Watched this for the third time, and I caught a lot of new things. The theme of people who are isolated from normal society yet remain so engaged in life is intriguing.

    THE BIG YEAR – Watched this for the “Secret Santa” project from the Cinematic Katzenjammer, and it wasn’t good. It’s not terrible, but is just really bland and dull.

    TAPE – This was my first time watching this Linklater film, and it’s an acting showcase. It takes a while to get going, but the final act is brilliant.

    2. I wasn’t planning to see all of them. I just set aside three weeks and was hoping to see 4-6 films. I’d already seen The Apartment, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, and Some Like It Hot, but I know there are so many more in his filmography.

      I put Ace in the Hole, Stalag 17, and The Seven Year Itch on there, and planned to check out Witness for the Prosecution and The Lost Weekend. I didn’t make it to the last one, and I know there are a ton to go. It’s a start at least.

    3. Now that makes sense. So here’s my suggestion, over and above your plan for THE LOST WEEKEND. Put the following on the neverending to-see list…

      FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO
      SABRINA
      LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON
      ONE, TWO, THREE

      The middle two could actually make for a nice Wilder/Hepburn double-feature!

      In addition, he has a pair of screenwriting credits for other directors’ films that could make for some nice additions. Look for NINOTCHKA (1939) and MIDNIGHT and prepare thyself for glorious writing!

  5. The Way Way Back was my only cinema trip, and I’m okay with that because it’s one of the best things I’ve seen this year. 12 year old Sam was absolutely knocked over by this – scarily relatable.
    I also saw Sharknado (nowhere near as fun as I was lead to believe by Twitter), The Paperboy (it’s an achievement to make such a filthy film)and an odd Canadian documentary called The Fruit Hunters, in which Bill Pullman looked at a fruit with what could only be called, a “lustful” look.

  6. Pretty quiet week for me. Allergy attacks + other stuff didn’t allow me to watch too many new stuff.

    New Release:

    Only God Forgives: Not a fan, but I do appreciate the nightmarish setting that Refn is able to invoke.

    Rewatch:

    Spring Breakers: Spring Breakkkk Forever….

    I have been rewatching a lot of Johnnie To stuff in recent weeks (To directed 50 films, I only seen half of them). His new movie DRUG WAR is a fantastic film, which is coming out in Toronto in Aug. Here is what I rewatched this week:

    Vengeance
    Turn Left Turn Right
    Running on Karma

  7. After seeing Take This Waltz and Stories We Tell recently, I’m on a big Sarah Polley kick. Once I emotionally prepare myself, I’m going to try to make time to see Away From Her. If her other films are any indication, it’ll rock my world.

    1. I really love all three of her features, and find myself encouraged that they all feel so different while dealing with a similar topic (relationships and the dysfunctions they can cause). I might have to see if I can track down some of her shorts.

      PS – Feel free to steal this “Here’s What I Watched” feature for your own site as a weekly feature.

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