Ryan McNeil
I tend to call this week “the hangover”…the last week of September where the rush of TIFF finally wears off. It’s also the first full week back at the office, and likewise the first full week where nights can be dedicated to activities outside of a movie theatre.
In other words, it’s the week where my interest in film takes a bit of a dive.
Still, I got to a few selections, mostly thanks to TCM.
Have you ever had a film you’ve tried to watch on a few separate occasions, only to get interrupted every time? That was IN COLD BLOOD for me. More than once, I got it going on my TV…one time only getting to the meeting of Dick and Perry, the second time getting to the aftermath of The Clutters’ murder. It be’s that way sometimes – people see ya watching something on TV and think “He’s not really watching that right now, I can go bug him”.
Anyway, this week, I finally got through IN COLD BLOOD end-to-end and holy cow what a movie! Several years ago I read Truman Capote’s book for the first time and fell in love with it. It seemed so stark, so bleak…the sort of book that reads the way a grey January afternoon feels.
Seeing that come to life reminded me of how grim classic film can be sometimes. The way that the absence of even muted colours can make the story seem hopeless, and so freakishly violent. In any given year, this could stand amongst the best films made…but in this year, a year of other insanely great films, it lost its ultimate prize of a Best Picture nomination to the hokeyness of DOCTOR DOLITTLE.
Ya gotta love Oscar politics sometimes.
So yeah, a great selection in a week of just a few selections, but great to finally be able to watch such stark cinematic beauty in peace.
Here’s the week at hand…
Screenings
THE WALK – More thoughts on this soon, but suffice it to say the 3-D in this is pretty well-used.
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
SECRETS & LIES – Very high up the list of the best films I finally watched in 2015
THX 1138 – Uh…yeah…that was weird.
IN COLD BLOOD – Screw you, DOCTOR DOLITTLE.
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Seen Before
THE FRENCH CONNECTION – Still one of the all-time best car chases in film history.
THE COUNSELOR – As you might have heard on The Matineecast, I still count myself a fan.
First-Timers: Journey to Italy, Six Men Getting Sick, Absurd Encounter with Fear, and Fear (1954 film).
Re-Watches: Cars, Staying Alive, Jackie Brown, Beetlejuice, Lucy, and just now, Carrie (the original).