My options took a bit of an odd turn this week.

This past year, I was accepted into the Online Film Critics Society (I know, I’m surprised too). With the society’s annual awards coming up, the film studios have taken to sending members screener dvds.

Now it is nothing but totally cool to open your mailbox and find free dvds, but it takes a turn for the surreal when you suddenly have so damned many to choose from. Just this week I was sent about twenty different films to choose from…everything from JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI to MOONRISE KINGDOM.

Where things get odd is in deciding where to start…and then where to go next. It’s as though I’m standing in front of a twenty-four screen multiplex, where all twenty-four screens are playing films I want to watch. What’s more, every cinema has the familiarity and comfort of my living room.

I’m not trying to brag, I’m just trying to soak it up.

 

Here’s The Week at Hand…

 

Screenings
LIFE OF PI – A splendid adaptation of a book I love dearly.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE – Is it just me, or is Michelle Williams starting to resemble a young Ellen Burstyn?
ANNA KARENINA – This movie is so much better than it has any right to be. Possibly my biggest surprise of the year.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS – “My word is my bond!”
SHALLOW GRAVE – I’d be a very happy boy if a Criterion blu-ray of this found its way under my Christmas tree.
THE GREAT DICTATOR – My original copy of this on dvd has just found a new home in New York City.
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION – It begins.
GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK – This is very quickly becoming a Desert Island Disc for me.

 

Boxscore for The Year
225 First-Timers, 208 Re-Watched
116 Screenings
433 Movies in Total

How’s about you – seen anything good?

21 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched Nov 17 – Nov 23)”

  2. I was so looking forward to catching up on movies when I got home from trial, and instead I’ve been catching up on everything else. However, a small start on the to-see list. I took my dad to WRECK-IT RALPH, which we both liked a lot, especially the character animation. It’s sad to reflect that I could have seen 1 1/2 other movies instead of CLOUD ATLAS.

    2. With respect, nothing could change my mind about CLOUD ATLAS. Three of the six episodes are unwatchable and a fourth is marginal. I admire Tykwer tremendously (THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR is a huge favorite and I’ve really, really liked all but one of his previous films) but this movie is a disaster.

    3. Still, give my piece a read – it’s less about the technique of what’s happening on-screen and more about the theme. The podcast I recorded with Steve Honeywell on ATLAS is worth a listen too – more for him than for me.

  3. First Timers: Spartacus, Pickpocket, Silver Linings Playbook, Bad 25, Holy Motors, and later tonight, Fear and Desire.

    Re-Watches: Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, Forrest Gump, Back to the Future III, Scrooged, and Nowhere Boy.

    2. I recorded it that night as I had relatives over for the Thanksgiving. I saw it the next day and yeah, it was a shortened version. Why couldn’t they had cut out Chris Brown? That guy is a dope. At least they cut out Justin Beiber from the broadcast. Then again, maybe that’s why it didn’t bring in the ratings.

    3. I have a screener DVD on its way, so I’m still a little ways off from finally catching up with it. I’m actually not all that sure what to expect from it. I want something with a little bit of perspective and insight, but I’m betting it’ll be nostalgia and propaganda.

  4. First time:

    Holy Motors – Have not stopped thinking about this film since I watched it.

    Argo – Loved this film. It had me on the edge of my seat despite already knowing the outcome.

    Re-watched:
    Rush Hour 2 – A guilty pleasure. It still makes me laugh.

    “So tell me, Cameron, just tell me because I’d like to know, what on earth could make you think that we would want to share a flat like this with someone like you? I mean, my first impression, and they’re rarely wrong, is that you have none of the qualities that we normally seek in a prospective flatmate. I’m talking here about things like presence, charisma, style and charm, and I don’t think we’re asking too much, I don’t think we’re being unreasonable. Take David here, for instance: a chartered accountant he may be, but at least he tries hard. The point is I don’t think you’re trying.”

    1. Love that scene.
      SHALLOW GRAVE has aged remarkably well, and the blu-ray of it just looks splendid!

      Did I zone out, or have you not written a post on HOLY MOTORS?

    2. My thoughts on Holy Motors is going up today. The numerous changes at work have left me rather drained by time I get home. Which, as a result, has caused me to push back some of the pieces I was planning to write.

  5. Ah man, congrats on being accepted into the OFCS! One day I hope to get there myself! That’s so cool, and you totally deserve it. I know I always value your opinion on films, even if I have to troll through the archive to read your review when I see the movie months after it’s released. 🙂 Oh, and I highly recommend Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

    And I might as well try this “listing the movies I watched” thing, too!

    For this week I watched for the first time:
    Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
    China Gate
    Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld
    The Chinese Boxer

    And I re-watched Cube.

    1. I take it as a huge compliment that you troll through the archive to find my opinion on a film! And thanks for the well-wishes. I’m still pretty humbled they accepted me.

      I’ve been toggling back and forth between fiction and docs, so I’ll probably toss on JIRO next.

      Not sure if you heard, but I only watched CUBE for the first time this year. Pretty sad considering I’m Canadian, isn’t it?

    2. I don’t know that I’d consider it sad. You’re not a horror fan and Cube is an easy one to brush off for something that looks better to you.

      I put out a call for Reader’s Choice picks and the entire Cube trilogy was suggested, so I guess I’ll finally see if there’s more story to mine within the cube or not… I’m guessing not!

  7. It’s been a slow week on account of exams.

    Firsts: Jab Tak Hai Jaan– I was really excited for this because I thought it will be the kind of Shahrukh Khan-Bollywood-romance film I grew up with, but it was pretty bad. Mostly due to the main actress.
    Holy Motors– There was so much in it I loved, but I was v. confused too. Still the more I think about it, the more I appreciate it.
    Three Kings– This was fun.
    Sherlock Jr.– Keaton was a genius.

Comments are closed.