Ryan McNeil
Whenever a director I dig has a new film coming out, I find myself going on a mini-marathon of their previous films. I know I’m not the only one to do this, but I do wonder how many more times I’ll keep on doing this.
Already this year I’ve pulled this stunt with the films of Wes Anderson and now David Fincher. I’m already mapping out doing this for Christopher Nolan later this month in the run-up to INTERSTELLAR. I can also foresee myself doing this for Paul Thomas Anderson in December. In that instance, there’s a funny dichotomy with Anderson having a relatively short filmography, but with most of his titles being pretty long.
A small part of me wonders why I do it…why I gear myself up for something new by watching something old. I mean, it’s like spending the drive to the concert listening to the album you’re about to hear the band perform. In this case it’s even worse, since it takes away from time that could be spent watching new material.
Maybe it’s about time I knock this off. I mean hell, when Scorsese’s next movie drops, I’m not going to spend the three weeks leading into it watching the twenty-one titles of his I own. Ditto Steven Spielberg and the twenty-five of his I own. So maybe I need to limit myself to one or two going forward and have one less obsessive-compulsive behaviour.
Thoughts?
Here’s The Week at Hand…
Screenings
THE BOXTROLLS – I am now continually on the lookout for these creatures after sunset
GONE GIRL – Remind me why I saw this alone two weeks before my fifth anniversary?
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
ALIEN 3 – Ahhh, so that’s why Fincher disavowed this movie
CLOSE-UP – The most blindsiding blindspot that ever blindsided.
HATCHET FOR A HONEYMOON – The Halloween viewing begins with some truly weird shit!
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Seen Before
ZODIAC – So tell me, why did you see this in theatres?
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – I’m beginning to think this might be one of my very favorite films of the decade
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – I’m the guy who likes this movie more every time I watch it.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011) – The world needs more Rooney Mara
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER – No, seriously, when do we get a Black Widow movie?
Boxscore for The Year
217 First-Timers, 151 Re-Watched
81 Screenings
368 Movies in Total
So I take it you didn’t care for Alien 3! I’ve always had a soft spot for that one because I saw it in the theater when I was 11 and I thought it was awesome. It definitely is a flawed film, but I still enjoy it. Some horrid CG, though.
As for me, it’s amazing all the movies I can watch when I stop watching TV shows completely and just devote myself to horror movies!
First time:
Don’t Look Now – if you haven’t seen this, it should be part of your Halloween watching. I think you’d dig it.
Sugar Hill
Hex
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Survival of the Dead
Escape from Tomorrow
City of the Living Dead
And I re-watched:
Ghoulies
I actually liked it, but I liked it despite myself. I’d never recommend it, but it’s head-and-shoulders above RESURRECTION, but nowhere near ALIEN, ALIENS, and even PROMETHEUS (which I’m on record as being a massive fan of).
Never discount the amount of time we watse on TV! For me, this is the tough time because baseball playoffs have been distracting so much too! Oh, and I adore Don’t Look Now! I especially love it in the way that its sex scene inspired the sex scene in Out of Sight.
Prometheus is awesome. I’m right there with you on that one.
Don’t Look Now reminded me in ways of Soderbergh, so it’s funny you bring him up! Which reminds me to ask you if you’re watching The Knick. I love it. Probably one of my favorite Soderbergh projects yet.
First-Timers: Krzysztof Kieslowski: I’m So-So, Seven Women of Different Ages, Talking Heads, and The Green Room.
Re-Watches: Hidalgo, Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Girl, Interrupted, and Tank Girl.
Ever since I started watching Mad Men, I’ve wanted to go back and rewatch GIRL, INTERRUPTED…but then again, I wasn’t all that crazy about it the first time.
I’ve also seen Gone Girl this week and liked it. Will do a review soon.
This week I saw:
Michael Clayton – very good slow burn film. Love the cast.
Midnight Cowboy – I am surprised this won Best Picture. The acting is incredible, some of the best I’ve seen. The editing stood out as well.
Gone Girl – I am one of the people that read the book. I still liked it. Was very excited to see it.
This Is Where I Leave You – A terrible film full of cliches. Shame for the actors involved.
Have a great week!
If you liked Gone Girl, be sure to tune into The Matineecast tomorrow because there’s a really good discussion coming on the film.
MICHAEL CLAYTON reminds me of the sort of 1970’s drama that Hollywood doesn’t do much anymore…films like DOG DAY AFTERNOON and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN
Heyyyy we’ve had a similar week 🙂
Firsts: Alien 3– I actually liked it somewhat, mostly because I had such low expectations. Maybe it’s ‘cuz I watched the Assembly Cut?
Lilting– No actor can break my heart like Ben Whishaw can. Unfortunately the story isn’t as good as the acting.
Haider– The Hamlet Bollywood adaptation. I was pretty impressed. Gorgeous cinematography, some bold themes and at least one exceptional performance. Plus anything with Irrfan Khan becomes automatically awesome.
Rewatched:Se7en– It’s a perfect film.
The Game– It’s a good thriller but I don’t really care for it that much.
Panic Room– I actually really like this one. I find the basic premise terrifying.
Zodiac– Best ensemble in a Fincher movie, amirite?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button– I am with this movie till a point but then it becomes an over-sentimental and very long mess. It’s v. pretty though.
The Social Network– I’ve always thought that this is one of my favourite films of the decade/my life. True love at first sight.
I just saw Star Trek: The Voyage Home, and I really enjoyed it (my hubby really wanted to see it). We both loved the Star Trek reboots, so it seemed like a fun idea to watch one of the originals.
I also got to see Roman Holiday, one of my Shame List, which I really enjoyed!
The Social Network is probably one of my favorite films of the decade too :). Also, I’ve been wondering when we’re going to get a Black Widow movie too!
I’ve never quite understood why Benjamin Button gets such a bad rap. If it is emotionally manipulative then the other big film of 2009 (Slumdog Millionaire) has a whole hell of a lot to answer for.