Ryan McNeil
Once again, I took a few weeks away from recapping what I’ve been up to.
So thanks in large part to one marathon day in a cinema, November turned into a month where a lot of time was spent sitting in the dark. That’s amusing to me because for a moment I was beginning to think that this would be the year where I sat in a cinema the least amount of times since I started keeping track. Now it appears as though it will at least be in the ballpark.
Another thing that happened since that afternoon spent in a galaxy far far away, is that movie chains began selling tickets to watch the entire marathon in-advance of THE FORCE AWAKENS in a a few weeks. You get to watch all six in a row and then cap it all off with Episode VII. Can I offer a word of advice? Don’t do it. I am thrilled to have seen the saga the way that I did, I loved every moment of it and won’t soon forget it. That said, I cannot think of a worse way to go into a new film than to put yourself through the endurance test of your body and mind that is six films/14+ hours of watching.
Watch them all…do it in a short span…just don’t do it in one day right before something that should be approached fresh.
I do regret only catching up with ten new films over the entire month of November. I’d offer to make an effort to correct that in December, but with all the Christmas movies that are about to unfold on my TV, I know I can’t keep that promise.
Perhaps that could be a goal for some month or year in the future – a set block of time only dedicated to new selections?
The funny thing at the end of this all was that I felt as though my habit had been waning, and yet here I look at the month’s tally and it’s still at a pace of more than one per day. Go figure.
Here’s the week at hand…
Screenings
SPECTRE – Not as good as SKYFALL, but not as bad as some would have you believe.
GOODFELLAS – I’m hoping to one day see all of Scorsese’s films on the big screen…this is the 17th.
STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE – Better than I remember
STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES – WAY worse than I remember
STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH – The bloodletting of The Jedi still breaks my heart.
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE – You don’t know how much you need Han Solo until you get four movies in.
STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK – Not such a twist when you play these movies in order.
STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI – I feel like I didn’t see this movie until well after it was released.
SPOTLIGHT – Goddamn, this movie!
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY part II – They split this entry in the wrong spot.
CREED – Talk about doing right by a franchise!
THE NIGHT BEFORE – Michael Shannon is my spirit animal.
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
HE NAMED ME MALALA – I feel like this was a better book than a doc
BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ – After visiting the prison this summer, it’s sad to know just how much of this nifty film is horse shit.
MINIONS – There had to be a better story to hang these guys on.
THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE… – I need more Ophüls in my life.
LUST FOR LIFE – Gotta love Van Gogh told by Minnelli.
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Seen Before
SUAGRLAND EXPRESS – Lordy do you ever see Kate Hudson in Goldie Hawn in this movie…or should that be phrased the other way around?
SKYFALL – Putting this on right before going to see SPECTRE made for a lovely evening.
MOONRISE KINGDOM – What kind of bird are you?
THE TRIP – I could listen to these two recite the phone book
SERENDIPITY – “So, how did you two meet?”
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK – Such a nifty screwball comedy.
THE VIRGIN SUICIDES – I’d forgotten so much about this movie.
THE INSIDER – An all-time favorite.
HAROLD AND MAUDE – Understandably, I’ve been listening to a lot of Cat Stevens ever since.
THE HURT LOCKER – Still one of the best films of the century so far
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – Another eight or nine watches and I’ll have caught-up to Matt Brown
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION – It begins…
Boxscore for The Year
225 First-Timers, 158 Re-Watched
109 Screenings
383 Movies in Total
How’s about you – seen anything good?