It’s funny – this is a lengthy list, but I swear over the last three weeks it feels as though I’ve watched even more. Guess it was a lot of seeing parts of films. As the TV season wraps up, I’d expect my per-week number to start climbing.

I could say more, but a lengthy list awaits.

Here’s The Last Three Weeks…

Screenings
MCCULLIN – Hot Docs Screening: Some stunning photos shown larger than life.
ABOUT FACE – Hot Docs Screening: Has anybody made a doc about Isabella Rosselinni yet?
BIG EASY EXPRESS – Hot Docs Screening: Since then I’ve been listening to “Home” on repeat
TCHOUPITOULAS – Hot Docs Screening: Everyone I talked to about this film really dug it.
CHARLES BRADLEY: SOUL OF AMERICA – Hot Docs Screening: There’s nothing like soul music bouncing off the theatre walls.
BONES BRIDAGE – Hot Docs Screening: Once again – fucking. epic.
INDIE GAME – Hot Docs Screening: Another fest favorite. This plays The Lightbox later this spring.
THE AVENGERS – A tiny indie film…might be tough to find.
DETROPIA – Hot Docs Screening: A feel a strange kinship with Detroit, and as such this film bums me out.
NOTORIOUS – Complete with before-and-after discussion with Guillermo Del Toro!
FRENZY – Del Toro again, both of these screenings were like going back to school.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
TEKKONKINKREET – For the anime syllabus. I swear it feels like I watched this last year.
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON – I swear, every American senator should be forced to watch this.
THEO FLEURY: PLAYING WITH FIRE – Hot Docs Screener: There’s nothing sadder than a fallen idol.
PLANET OF SNAIL – Hot Docs Screener: The most meditative doc I watched by a healthy margin.
THE FINAL MEMBER – Hot Docs Screener: If you ever have the chance to watch this, do so!
MARLEY – Hot Docs Screener: A hot ticket at the festival for good reason.
SEXY BABY – Hot Docs Screener: I still feel filthy for this one.
AKIRA – The anime syllabus concludes. Watch for my thoughts this week.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
A BUG’S LIFE – It feels like this film has become something of an ugly duckling where Pixar is concerned.
TOY STORY 2 – An example of a sequel that might be better than its original.
THE BOURNE IDENTITY – Ten years later, this holds up gloriously.
BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING – Rewatched the night before talking to Wayne and Neil for the podcast.
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY – I couldn’t stop with part one.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Don’t act so surprised.
MONSTERS, INC. – Possibly the greatest final shot Pixar has done to date.

Boxscore for The Year
88 First-Timers, 77 Re-Watched
38 Screenings
165 Movies in Total

24 Replies to “Days of the Week (Films Watched Apr 21 – May 11)”

  1. Toy Story 3 is the best!

    Firsts: My Dinner with Andre– Absolutely bowled over. It’s so simple and complex and just two people talking can be fantastic!
    The Avengers– I would marry it if it were a person.
    Sweet Smell of Success– Sort of sexy. I love the depiction of New York in it.
    Confessions of a Dangerous Mind– It was okay-ish. Rockwell’s good but it was too unnecessarily frenzied for me.
    Strictly Ballroom– I was watching Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy. This is the most Bollywood Non-Bollywood film that I’ve ever seen. Love it!
    Dirty Harry– Yes it’s a little flawed. Who cares? I loved it.
    Volver– It was nice and wonderful outlook on the relatively morbid themes but my least favourite Almodovar yet.
    Alice– Woody Allen is the best. Another gem, despite the blah albeit necessary ending.
    Notorious– It was gorgeous. Grant and Bergman in each other’s arms- wooooww. Though there wasn’t any Del Toro there, just painful Youtube 🙁

    Rewatched: Moulin Rouge!– This time round, I appreciated Nicole Kidman even more. Love this film to bits.
    Romeo + Juliet– As beautiful as the leads are, and as amazing as the soundtrack is, and as weirdly brilliant Luhrmann has made it- this is such a stupid story.

    1. It’s been a long time since I watched the entire Red Curtain Trilogy (despite the fact that I own splendid copies of all three). I must give them another look sometime soon.

      I’m fascinated to read that VOLVER was one of your least favorite Almodovar films. Did you have trouble connecting with it, or is it just a case of “something has to finish last”.

    2. Uh no. It’s just the least powerful of the ones that I have seen. Even though The Skin I Live In freaked me out, it was very impactful.

      1. Interesting. I always took quite a shining to it and specifically Penelope Cruz’s wickedly strong performance within it. Part of me almost wants to suggest that she should never work with any other director, since Pedro seems to get the best stuff out of her.

        I can’t complain too much – I’m just happy to sear about someone making their way through Pedro’s films for the first time.

  2. Hmm, Sexy Baby sounds a bit essential given the thematic focus of my work on film and feminism. Too bad these docs have a way of disappearing. There was one called Girl Model that played TIFF last year that I’m hoping to see as well.

  3. Like you, most screening are for hot docs.

    Beware Of Mr Baker: A fun Doc, Ginger Baker is quite a character.

    The Imposter: The best doc and movie I have seen this yr, the less you know the better.

    Despite The Gods: Entertaining but slight look at Jennifer Lynch’s attempt to make a Bollywood movie. Certain footage belongs to a DVD extra, but Lynch is quite a personality. Now I know Boxing Helena is supposed to be a fantasy (according to Lynch).

    TCHOUPITOULAS: Go see it, if anyone wants to see something different.

    Queen Of Versailles: A rich to rags tale in America. A cautionary tale that warns us about spending in excess.

    Waiting Room: Fly in the wall doc, a day in the life of a waiting room in Oakland’s hospital. Makes a better case for the healthcare debate than Michael Moore’s Sicko

    Theo Fleury Playing With Fire: Not a very good doc. Feels more like an attempt to get Fluery into the hall of fame. Poorly directed.

    Detropia: It would fit perfectly as a double bill with Queen of Versailles. The downfall of a city feels like poetry for many parts.

    Marley: The movie should be called, Everything You Want To Know About Marley but Was Afraid To Ask. Comprehensive look at the best Reggae singer of all time. Marley’s music brings a smile to my face every time.

    Love Story: Cute and creative concept, but has no staying power. Need to cut about 15 minutes.

    The only non-doc is the obscure film called The Avengers. I have a lot of fun watching it and the movie needs all the help it can get; it’s only making 200 mil last weekend…

    I couldn’t go to the Del Toro screening; need a rest from the movies for a few days.

    1. Looks like we saw a lot of the same films – though many of them I got to see in advance from the comfort of my couch.

      I’m also going to see Del Toro discuss SHADOW OF A DOUBT this week – thought about coming to that, now that you’ve thoroughly decompressed?

  5. The three weeks en masse:

    New to me:
    Blonde Cobra: Don’t waste your 45 minutes here.
    Black Sabbath: Campy fun with Boris Karloff
    City Lights: Chaplin’s best? Perhaps.
    Monsieur Verdoux: Chaplin’s worst? Perhaps.
    The Heiress: Surprising and powerful and nasty.
    The Life or Reilly: Who knew the old boy was really this talented?
    Cloverfield: Fun, possibly great, but makes me motion sick.
    A Tale of the Wind: Beautiful and meditative.
    The Pirates: Band of Misfits: Did we need to make Charles Darwin a villain? Really?
    La Belle Noiseuse: Well, that’s four hours I can’t have back.
    Adaptation: Wow. Just…wow.
    Nomads: Pierce Brosnan’s French accent is the scariest part of this film.
    The Passion of the Christ: Forgive Mel Gibson, for he knows not what he created.
    The Avengers: Whedon is a great storyteller, but sucks at close-in action.
    Horror Express: Campy and fun.
    Trouble in Paradise: More enjoyable than I’d have thought.
    Secret Beyond the Door: Fritz Lang at a low point.
    The Awful Truth: Dumb rich people problems.
    Death Machine: Tries to do too much with no budget.
    Live and Become: Memorable. Worth seeing.

    Rewatches:
    Ghostbusters: When it’s on Instant Watch, you watch it.
    The Host: Good, but it lessens on rewatches.
    Sleuth: Great, and better than I remembered. This is the original, not the remake.

    1. True story – The Sound and Sight list that will drop later this year? The one that has critics everywhere talking about the top ten lists they submitted? CITIZEN KANE has topped the list almost every time since it was first culled in 1952.

      The only time it didn’t? That first list…in 1952…when critics called CITY LIGHTS the greatest film of all time.

  6. New
    The Avengers
    Dark Shadows
    Dil se
    Victor Victoria
    Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
    Kal Ho Naa Ho
    Ra One

    Re-watched
    Aliens
    Iron Man
    Silence of the Lambs
    Easy A

    I still haven’t seen Notorious yet, hopefully I’ll get to it soon.

  7. I was also busy since the last post….

    Hot Docs Screenings:
    The Imposter
    GLOW
    Beware of Mr Baker
    Beauty is Embarrassing
    Her Master’s Voice
    Radioman
    Finding Truelove
    Francophrenia
    Herman’s House
    My Name is Faith
    The Queen of Versailles
    We Are Legion
    The Job

    Other Screenings:
    Labyrinth
    The Raven
    The Avengers
    Sound of My Voice
    Dark Shadows

    DVD/Blu-Ray/Netflix First Time:
    Porky’s
    Bottle Rocket
    Porky’s II

    DVD/Blu-Ray/Netflix Rewatch:
    The Innkeepers
    Battle Royale
    Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace

    I’d usually go into more detail, but it’s late at night and there’s a lot of films.

      1. IMDB only lists a UK release date in August. I suspect that it will show up sometime during the summer (probably at the Bloor Cinema and/or Varsity)

      2. According to their Twitter site, it’s playing July 12 in the US. Not sure if it means anything here…my guess is it will play here around the same time too.

  8. First Time

    Hot Docs:
    The Imposter – Saw it twice. Best film I have seen this year so far.
    The Life and the Lady – Though it was made in 1984, the film still plays well today.
    Shadows of Liberty – Think Inside Job but for the media.
    The Invisible War – Really enjoyed this film.
    Beware of Mr. Baker – Surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
    About Face – was okay.
    Beauty is Embarrassing – Pure joy.
    Ping Pong – Crowd pleaser.
    Despite the Gods – Enjoyable
    Tchoupitoulas – I enjoyed it but did not love it like most did.
    Low and Clear – Surprisingly engaging
    Finding North – Really liked this film.
    Marley – Straightforward but good.
    The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song – Interesting but rather repetitive.

    Non- Hot Docs:
    The Avengers – Loved it.
    Hitman – Awful…simply awful.
    The Trouble with Harry – Continuing my exploration into Hitchcock’s work.
    Marnie – More Hitchcock. Really liked this one.
    3 Women – Continuing my exploration into Altman’s works.
    A Lonely Place to Die – The second half ruined the film for me.

    Re-watch:
    G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Does not hold up well upon repeat viewing.

    1. MARNIE got mentioned a lot during Del Toro’s discussion of FRENZY, which now leaves me very curious to see it. What’d you make of it?

    2. I actually enjoyed Marnie more than I did Frenzy. Marnie is more of a psychological drama rather than a thriller like Frenzy. What I like about Marnie is that you are never quite sure who is holding all the power. Even when Sean Connery looks to be in control he is still at a lost as to what is really going on. Tippi Hendren is great in the lead role, she is always one toe a way from going straight crazy. I am going to try and squeeze in Brian de Palma’s Obsession in the next few weeks. Apparently he borrows from Marnie in that film. Really though, what de Palma film does not borrow from Hitchcock?

      What did you think of Frenzy? While I enjoyed it, I wish the film had played up the guys’ friendship a lot more prior to everything going down. The film never finds the proper balance between dividing time up between the two equal.

      1. FRENZY is sort of an odd bird because listening to Guillermo del Toro’s 45 minute intro to the film put me so much into a certain mindset that I was pretty primed by the time that shot started sweeping over London.

        I liked it a lot, but had I not been part of that discussion before and after, I might not have taken as much away from it. For instance, having in mind that there were specific moments that Hitchcock was trying to be absurdly funny (those crazy dinners the inspector’s wife makes for instance), then I’d just be shaking my head.

        Good notes on MARNIE – I’ll make sure to track that one down.

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