My viewing habits came back down to normal this week, which was probably overdue. This was helped in no small part by a long weekend spent actually getting outside and seeing people, watching that craziness that was the Euro 2012 final, and an evening watching Aziz Ansari.

That’s all alright, because with the next one of these coming in two weeks, the slack will be more than made up.

The good part is that of the seven titles I did get through this week, six were first time watches. I should actually start making more of an effort on that one since my PVR is damned near bursting with all of the classics I’ve been recording off TCM. I did get one of those watched, but with selections like HIGH AND LOW, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? just sitting there…I really should get on it.

Here’s The Week at Hand…

 

Screenings
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER – Stupid, but fun.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
VELVET GOLDMINE – I suddenly want to listen to a lot of glam.
DANNY DECKCHAIR – Which will be discussed in detail on this week’s Matineecast.
THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN – Turns out I’ve known seen almost all of Gilliam’s filmogrophy. Only TIDELAND and JABBERWOCKY to go.
SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS – “If they knew what they liked, they wouldn’t line in Pittsburgh!”
WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE – Can someone give me a hug?

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER – Another one for the podcast, and one that gets better every time I see it.

Boxscore for The Year
118 First-Timers, 114 Re-Watched
57 Screenings
232 Movies in Total

How’s about you – seen anything good?

23 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched June 30 – July 6)”

  1. Oh dude, I felt the same way after Welcome to the Dollhouse. I have never been happier about being in the Indian education system. Also made me thankful for my life as it is, which is a disturbing feeling :/

    Firsts: A whole lot of Pixar shorts, but my favourite was Day and Night– It’s such a brilliant concept and so immaculately executed. I love Pixar!!!!
    Alice in Wonderland– It was grooovy. I liked it very much.
    Fantasia– HOLY SHIT MAN! I could have never ever ever ever ever imagined a Disney film to be like this. This has now joined my list of most ambitious films ever, along with things like 2001 and Tree of Life. So amazing.
    Bambi– It was really cute. I didn’t cry at the mother part either.
    Cinderella– It was sweet, though too many talking animals :S
    Antz– It was pretty good. I love Woody Allen.
    Peter Pan– They removed some of my favourite parts of the story. It was nice though.
    Little Mermaid– I think Ursula is my favourite Disney villain yet. I really liked it.

    Rewatched: The Hours– I love this film. Such great performances. And that soundtrack.

    1. It’s been really cool to see how all of these Disney classics are playing out for you, especially FANTASIA which is one of the more experimental films Disney did (have you managed to get the music for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” out of your head yet?).

      And I was just sitting here wondering what I should listen to as I begin my work day, and your watchlist tipped me to fire up THE HOURS soundtrack.

      cheers!

  2. Preston Sturges really had a way with a good one-liner, didn’t he?

    I saw “Safety Not Guaranteed” and loved, loved, LOVED it.

    1. He certainly did, and SAFETY is one of the smaller films I keep meaning to see but keep missing out on. Here’s hoping I catch it before it’s too late.

      PS – You get my note about a little Chicago gathering that’s happening?

  3. First times:

    THE LAST LAUGH: Finally saw it from start to finish. The emergence of the camera as poet.
    SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS: Not even the best movie about movies of its year (that would be Hellzappopin’) but still funny
    CHRISTMAS IN JULY: I think I love minor Sturges more than the bigger and broader Sullivan’s or The Lady Eve.
    A BURNING HOT SUMMER: My first Garrel film. So weak it makes me want to make it my last, too.
    MAGIC MIKE: Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Soderbergh is THE termite artist of contemporary American film.
    ROPE: Clever experiment by Hitchcock with incredibly dated sexual politics. Still hums with suspense even by Hitch’s standards.
    HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY: The best film of 1941. Ford completely establishes and delves into his Welsh village, even if everyone does sound Irish.
    MOGAMBO: This has its fans but I found it so tedious. The weakest of the few Ford films I’ve seen by far.
    THE PALM BEACH STORY: The first Sturges film I would call a masterpiece. Exquisite.
    THE LADY VANISHES: A fine early blend of humor and suspense from the master.
    THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE: Cagney and Walsh, both known for their gangster pictures (and their gangster pictures together) make a great rom-com. Walsh is an underrated comic director, as in everything else he did.
    THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: Not nearly as awful as GREEN LANTERN, but it suffers the same basic flaws of characterization and perfunctory setup.
    EAST MEETS WATTS: The best Cinematic Titanic riff-fest yet.
    YANKEE DOODLE DANDY: James Cagney, at one point, portrays a dancing FDR. Yes, recommended.
    DAISIES: Wonderfully surreal, subversive Czech New Wave movie.
    VAMPYR: The use of lengthy shots of vampire book text aside, this is a wonderfully ethereal, yet also realistic and natural monster feature.
    A WOMAN OF PARIS: Chaplin’s one stab at drama, and a vital formative work. He’d later incorporate it beautifully with his comedy.
    ODD MAN OUT: Reed’s poetic realist noir is even better than his The Third Man.
    THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS: One of the best films about faith ever. Need to explore Rossellini more.
    HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS: Inconsistent, but a realistic view of Millennial dating and dissatisfaction.
    THE MAN FROM LARAMIE: Brilliantly brutal Western. Uses CinemaScope to its fullest.
    THE NAKED SPUR: Even better Mann-Stewart outing. A masterpiece of narrative and moral buildup.

    Rewatches:

    THE HOST: Bong Joon-ho is one of the best directors working.
    THE FALL: Really liked this at the time, loved it on a rewatch.
    THE GOLD RUSH: Chaplin’s best silent, and one of the best of all silents.

    1. Cripes and they say *I* watch a lot in a week!

      I was surprised with how much I enjoyed YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. Everything about that film has aged so marvelously. I’m yet to catch up with HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY, but feel like I must so I can hold my own in a CITIZEN KANE debate.

      I might pick myself up a blu-ray copy of THE GOLD RUSH this week if I can find it on sale.

  4. Velvet Goldmine, The Adventures of Baron Muchausen, and Welcome to the Dollhouse all in the same week! I consider that a week well spent.

    First time:

    The Big Bird Cage – I was in a women in prison/Pam Grier 70’s kind of mood, this was a loads of fun.

    Women in Cages – See above. Pam Grier’s debut film, not as good as The Big Bird Cage though

    Submarine – While I liked it, the main character got really annoying by the last act.

    In the Loop – I may have to track down a copy of this screenplay. Simply brilliant written, and a great film overall.

    Goon – A surprisingly entertaining film.

    Re-watch:

    Independence Day – A July 4th television staple in our house! I still love the film, cheese and all.

    1. My suggestion if you liked IN THE LOOP? Track down the new HBO show “Veep”: The same team that did IN THE LOOP and “The Thick of It” are behind “Veep” and it brings a lot of the same humour and sensibilities.

  5. Just as your viewing habits have come back down to normal, mine are going to go crazy wild in the next week. There are 9 films coming out on DVD that I wanna see this week, and I can only trim them down to 7. Hopefully some of them come a day early so my Tuesday won’t be so full! Haha.

    First-timers:
    Howl’s Moving Castle – Didn’t love it, as it was a bit of a mess, but it was good.
    Higher Ground – Vera Farmiga’s severely underseen directorial debut. It was average.
    My Week with Marilyn – Didn’t really latch onto it, but Michelle Williams was great.
    This Means War – Fun, but nothing more. Chris Pine and Tom Hardy did it for me.
    Sleeping Beauty – Such a strange film. Not sure what I made of it.
    We Need to Talk About Kevin – Not the kind of movie you wanna be watching when an earthquake hits.
    Star Wars: A New Hope – Yes, I finally got around to one of the Star Wars movies.
    Maid in Manhattan – It was on TV so I decided to sit down and watch it for Ralph Fiennes’ sake. What exactly was he doing in that film?
    Grave of the Fireflies – Well that was a sad, sad, sad movie.

    Rewatches:
    The Artist – Had so much fun watching this with my friends. We made up an entire alternate storyline.
    Drive – My friends got annoyed with me because I kept singing along to the soundtrack and picking out the titles from the score when they were playing in the film. Basically, no-one should ever watch movies with me.

    1. Just bought myself a blu-ray copy of DRIVE last night – wanna come over and sing?

      I know what you mean about SLEEPING BEAUTY, I went through something similar last fall when I saw it at TIFF…might have even been the same day I saw SHAME! I didn’t especially like or dislike it, I was just left a little unnerved by it and it’s emotionlessness.

      Do we have a STAR WARS post to look forward to on Paradox?

  7. I still have yet to see (500) Days of Summer. I wouldn’t be too fussed except that many people say it has alot of parrallels to Woody Allens films.

  8. A slow week for me.

    Rewatch:
    Blue Velvet: For podcast.

    New to me:
    Deewaar: Very melodramatic and a bit too long.
    The Long Goodbye: Elliott Gould makes an interesting leading man.
    Xi Meng Ren Sheng: Odd, but I’d like to see more.
    The Young One: Less Bunuel than most Bunuel, but I still enjoyed it.
    Les Maitres Fous: Bizarre. Not sure I know what was intended.

    1. THE LONG GOODBYE has been on my to-see list forever. I plan to make a concerted effort to dig into Altman’s back catalogue (perhaps this fall) and when I do that will probably be one of the first ones I reach for.

  9. Not a lot this week, and probably for the next several months (except of TIFF).

    First time:

    Magic Mike: I am loving Soderbergh’s career choices. This is The essential Matthew McConaughey role. Channing Tatum has more charisma than ever.

    Ted: I laugh hard and often

    Ruby Sparks: A clever take + deconstruction on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Zoe Kazan shines as both writer and actress, it’s a star-making performance.

    1. I’m happy to hear good things about RUBY, since I was charmed by the trailer but started to wonder if it was too slight/predictable…but your enjoyment of it gives me hope.

      If I don’t manage to finally rally up with you before then, I’ll definitely track you down at TIFF to finally put a face with the name and say hey.

  11. -L’Enfance Nue
    I’ve seen two of Maurice Pialat’s films now (A Nos Amours was the other) and been very impressed both times.

    -Finding Nemo
    Yeah, I’d never seen this. You have to love anything involving Albert Brooks.

    -Following
    A very solid first effort from Christopher Nolan

    -The Chess Player
    An impressive, sometimes dry French silent film.

    -Muriel
    I really need to see more Resnais. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen thus far.

    -The Long Goodbye
    A little disappointing if only because I’d just seen Altman’s MASH and was hoping for something in the same ballpark of quality.

    And then tonight, I’m going to try to bust out Le Doulos and Le Deuxieme Souffle.

    I’m very excited for 2-3 weeks from now when I can unplug my brain and stop drowning in French movies. Not that I don’t love them but by the time July is over, I will have seen 40 of them since June 1st. It’ll be time for some obnoxiously bad and hilarious horror.

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