First things first, thank-you to everybody who has sent me birthday greetings – whether it was on my facebook wall, a tweet, or as a comment somewhere on the site. Y’all sure know how to make a guy feel special!

Ditto all of the congrats on The Lammy nominations, which keep catching me off-guard. In case I haven’t said it already, I am in stellar company this year. Do yourself a favour and check out some of the badass sites that are nominated with me.

This week was hellish to say the least – in a good way. Lots of things to do and people to see, including nights spent with freinds, nights at the movies, and nights at the theatre. Long story short, there wasn’t much watched. My rhythm might kick up a notch or two going forward as that unwatched blu-ray pile continues to grow.

Heck, as it is, I’ll be watching a title I bought myself back in February as soon as I’m finished this post!

Here’s week at hand…

Screenings
WHERE DO WE GO NOW? – Hopefully the last antiblockbuster for a week or two.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
A STAR IS BORN – You might have heard by now, it rocked my world.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
RUSHMORE – I’m hoping to get out to MOONRISE KINGDOM this weekend, thus the Wes bender was in full effect
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS – I was terribly late to the party on this one, but when I caught up with it a few years later I very much adored it.
A LIFE AQUATIC – Hey, this reminds me – those that don’t care for wes Anderson films, leave a comment and tell me why.
THE DARJEELING LIMITED – Every time I watch this film, I want to book myself a train ticket.
BEGINNERS – This film looks surprisingly handsome on blu-ray. Who’d have guessed?

Boxscore for The Year
96 First-Timers, 90 Re-Watched
42 Screenings
186 Movies in Total

20 Replies to “Days of the Week (Films Watched May 26 – June 1)”

  1. Took a bit of a break last week from my Star Wars marathon (plan to resume that today), but I still watched plenty of films.

    Screenings:
    Men in Black III – Actually pretty decent (better than the second at least)
    Indie Game the Movie – I liked this doc so much, I bought two of the games featured in it (Super Meat Boy is VERY addictive).
    Piranha 3DD – I was hoping for a fun gorefest like the last one, what I got was a film completely devoid of fun (with the exception of a great moment involving David Hasselhoff – which I’m sure you’d be able to see on YouTube at some point).

    Netflix First Time:
    Bad Boys – A lot more comedy than I was expecting.

    Blu-Ray/Netflix Rewatch:
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – One of the best Trek films.
    Goon – Still an enjoyable (and violent) hockey comedy.

    1. Yeah, after watching INDIE GAME, I immediately wanted to go buy myself an X-Box so I could get my mitts on Super Meat Boy. That thing looks like it’s a blast.

      Much like BONES BRIGADE, I fell hard for INDIE GAME despite not being all that interested in the subject matter – always the sign of a well-made documentary.

  2. First Time:

    KMS –Jewish Negroes – Really liked this film

    Fugitives : Wax Live – Decent. The concert footage and Wax’s personality was more enjoyable than the narrative aspects.

    Polaroid Song – Solid idea but it needed to be fleshed out much more.

    Double Indemnity – Blind Spot for the month

    Arena – One of the worst Samuel L. Jackson films, which is saying a lot.

    Take Shelter – Fantastic film, simply fantastic.

    Murder! – Hitchcock! Not enough memorable moments to make this worth recommending.

    Kung Fu Panda 2 – Enjoyable, prefer the first one more.

    1. You chose an odd medley for this week, dude.
      Is PANDA 2 as lame as I suspect it is? Feels like most animated sequels these are mailing it in.

  3. I love Wes Anderson! I like how unique his films are. I still haven’t seen Life Aquatic, and Moonrise Kingdom of course. I’m a little scared about the former- not a lot of people like it :/

    Firsts: Bottle Rocket– I really liked it. Odd not seeing Bill Murray there. Loved Owen Wilson.
    King Kong– The Peter Jackson one. I cannot accept a film in which a woman chooses a giant ape over Adrien Brody.
    What Ever Happened to Baby Jane– I like how it made me think about who was the true villain of the story. Bette Davis was spectacular.
    This Means War– See I can really love it because it has Chris Pine and Tom Hardy fighting over a woman, or I can really hate it because it is in fact ridiculous. I chose the former option, because over the combined sexiness of Pine and Hardy, I can not see anything else.
    Con Air– Indian television really loves this movie. I finally gave in and saw it. It was fun shit.

    Rewatched: Red Dragon– I actually really like this one. It’s smart and engaging and the cast is just brilliant.
    The Avengers– Finally rewatched it! Gah I love this movie soo.

    1. I think AQUATIC gets a bit of a bad rap actually, there’s a lot of really funny moments in it and the whole oceanography element makes it a lot of fun.

      And if CON AIR is on TV over there that often, I might have to move to India…it’s very much a guilty pleasure of mine.

  4. First time:

    The Samaritan: Decent Film Noir, with Samuel L Jackson actually acting not mugging.

    Men In Black 3: Like the first one, no recollection of the 2nd one, the third one is half decent. Brolin is very good.

    Indie Game: I like this doc a lot. Video game is an art form, and these Indie Game makers are artists and like most artists they pour their hears and souls into what they believe in.

    Rock Of Ages: Attend a special screening. Normally I am not a fan of musicals, but this is a good one. High quality entertainment.

    Re-watch

    Being John Malkovich: Bought the Criterion collection. The movie holds up as expected (most Charlie Kaufman movies holds up well). Michel Gondry did a selected scene commentary that has to be the most incoherent but yet fascinating commentary I have heard. I was wondering what he was saying (due to his heavy accent) and then I was really wondering what he was saying (because it doesn’t make any sense).

    1. I’m hoping to pick myself up a copy of the Criterion BEING JOHN MALKOVICH this week, and now I’m wickedly curious to listen to that commentary track. Might have come in handy for a Gondry-centric episode of The Director’s Club podcast I did a month or two back.

      I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to take the bait on ROCK OF AGES or not. I enjoyed the stage show well enough, but feel like the Tom Cruise factor might be a little much.

  5. First Time:

    IRMA VEP: Just terrific. Assayas is the king of the New New Wave.
    PINK RIBBONS INC: A solid documentary that raises some important questions about something too often assumed to be an unassailable good
    THE RIVER (1951): Renoir’s film is beautiful and elegant, but also uncomfortably imperialistic for a man who pegged that sort of mentality as dangerously obsolete before the war.
    CAUGHT: Ophuls pregnancy melodrama is delightfully overcooked, from the dialogue to his gorgeous camerawork. A lot of fun.
    CLAIRE’S KNEE: Just absolutely fantastic. I’m starting to fall in love with Rohmer.
    MURDER BY CONTRACT: Brilliantly lo-fi noir, as ironic as it is meaty and straightforward. A big influence on Scorsese, stylistically and in the alternate playing up and vicious criticism of violence.

    Re-watch

    THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH: I love this movie to death. Disturbingly prescient.
    BLOOD SIMPLE: It’s strange to see the Coens marching to the beat of Raimi’s drum. But still, a solid debut
    ORDET: DAY OF WRATH was the Dreyer film that made my top 100 I posted this week, but had I rewatched this earlier it would have been my pick. Hell, one day it might be in my top 10.
    HIGH ANXIETY: A loving parody, a so-so comedy. Still, the tracking shot gag is one of Brooks’ funniest.
    BOTTLE ROCKET: Was at the bottom of my Wes stack, now comfortably in the middle. Raw but surprisingly full-formed, with a not-quite-complete but nevertheless mature look at charming but stunted innocence.

    1. Cripes man, that is a lot of watching for one week!

      I’ve heard a lot about Pink Ribbon Inc, and am rather curious to see it. What I know about it bums me out, since the cause is one that so many people the world over have rallied behind. It’ll almost be a shame if people start becoming jaded thanks to documentaries like this.

      I feel a bit sheltered since so much of your watchlist this week is made up of films I’ve never seen.

    2. But I think it’s healthy if people become jaded. Simply throwing money at a problem to feel good. The whole Kony 12 thing is another good example. News organizations have been reporting on that for literally decades but some flashy video for a charity with questionable donation distribution made a bunch of lazy kids (and adults) “aware.” I think it’s better to demand something of people rather than let them stay in the dark.

      And it was a good watching week for me. I recommend all my first-times.

  6. I watched The Royal Tenenbaums again last week. Still great.

    Anyway, new to me:
    From Here to Eternity: I understand now why this is a classic.
    The Skin I Live In: Film for podcast
    Ninotchka: Absolutely charming. The “Lubitsch Touch” is a real thing.
    The Class: Few movies have pissed me off like this one did.
    L’Atalante: Simple, but enchanting.
    Kiss Me Deadly: The weirdest classic noir I’ve ever seen.

    Rewatched:
    Scarface: Extreme and too long, but worth it for Pacino.

  7. Erased a couple of my David Mamet blind spots with “The Edge” and “Glengarry Glen Ross”. Both very good and worth a re-watch someday.

    “The Royal Tenenbaums” is a wonderful film. The other Andersons I’ve watched are “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “The Life Aquatic”. I enjoyed them but they have a quirky sensibility that I can see wouldn’t appeal to everyone.

    1. I’ve actually never seen THE EDGE, but given how much I love Mamet dialogue (Mametian?), I should probably hunt it down. One of my lesser-known favorites is SPARTAN – ever seen that one?

    2. That’s another good one (of course, most of his movies are). My favorite scene in “Spartan” is when Kilmer’s character meets the Secret Service agent who’s been caring for the kidnapped girl. It’s a powerful dramatic moment in itself and it changes the emotional calculus of the rescue operation.

  8. For this past week, as first-timers: Paths of Glory, Restless, and yesterday, Pusher.

    Re-watches include The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Moneyball, Bend It Like Beckham, and Innerspace.

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