Month: July 2007

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

the simpsons movie

The local paper’s review of the Simpsons Movie stated that it was just like the show, only longer. After reading it I said to my wife, “I hope it is like the show during the early seasons, and not so much like the last few years.”

It is pretty obvious I am a fan of the show. I talk about it all the time, I quote it regularly, I’ve pretty much based my life philosophy around Homer Simpson, and I practically reviewed the entire 18th season (sorry that review is no longer available, Mat).

When the Simpsons are good, there is nothing better on television, and even when they are bad they are good for a few laughs. Unfortunately, since about season 8 they have been steadily moving towards the latter end of that statement. The show has moved from a cutting-edge satire with an underlying heart that made it not only incredibly hilarious but a rock-solid piece of storytelling. These days it hangs on by throwing a million gags out at once.

Sometimes those gags are brilliant, but all too often they make me laugh and then immediately forget them. And the show really lacks the heart it used to have. There is still a lot of cheap sentiment thrown in, but the storylines are so off the wall and jagged, that the sentiment falls flat.

Unfortunately, the movie is more like the last few seasons than the first few. Oh, I laughed and laughed heartily many a time, but nothing has really stayed with me. I didn’t walk out of the theatre repeating my favorite jokes, and now two days later, there is hardly anything memorable about it at all.

That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it. I laughed a lot and it was fun to see my favorite four-fingered cartoon characters on the big screen, it’s just that it could have been so much more. On television, every season I hope that the Simpsons will turn it around and become brilliant again. Every season I am ultimately disappointed. But I keep coming back. I keep watching.

Even though I knew the movie wouldn’t be as brilliant as it could be I kept hoping that they would bring in old writers and they would come up with something remarkable. Like the longer deadlines and the bigger budgets would somehow improve the quality.

I will say it looked beautiful. They say they used traditional animation for most of it but used some CGI for the backgrounds. Whatever they did the Simpsons looked better than they ever have before, without looking too improved or big-budgeted (like in the Halloween special, “Homer³.”)

I was slightly surprised that they didn’t go overboard with the freedom that being away from television censors allows. There were a couple of bigger curse words and a funny if inappropriate moment where Bart shows more than his famous naked tooshie. But they could have done much more yet somehow showed some surprising restraint in that front.

Lots of main characters were left out, and while I can’t blame them for not trying to throw every single character in for a one-liner, I still wish Moe and Principal Skinner had more of a presence. Using Arnold Schwarzenegger as President may be a better gag, but I think it would have been more fitting to have used Rainier Wolfcastle for the part (as he’s the Simpsons parody of Arnold anyway.)

I could go on. There are lots of things to quibble with, but mostly they are beside the point. The Simpsons are finally on the big screen. For fans this is a big deal, and they do deliver lots of laughs. For those who find themselves loving more recent seasons, this will be a real treat. For those wishing they’d stop signing contracts, you can expect some laughs, but mostly disappointment.

Dreamin’ Songs – “Cherish” By Madonna

Editors note, I wrote this some 15 years ago.  This is a little embarrassing to read now, but as I wrote in a more recent post, I’ve got to own up to who I was, warts and all.

I admit it. I liked Madonna when I was a boy. I’ll even admit I had something of a boyhood crush on her. Or maybe it was boyhood lust, I don’t know.

This was pre-married to that Brit who used to make interesting, funny, violent films until he got married to an aging pop star and dropped completely off the map. This was pre- way over the top kinky sex Madonna. This was even mostly pre- pushed the envelope way too far with a big, expensive photo book that everyone talked about but no one bought Madonna.

No this was when Madonna was mostly known for her excellent pop music and her pushing the envelope (but not too far) videos. As a kid, I dug her catchy singles and her risqué (but not too risqué) profile.

“Cherish” came in the latter part of my favorite period Madonna (her next album would be the too kinky, too weird, not very interesting Erotica where I lost all interest.) It is a decent, if not all that memorable little tune, but one I still keep on the dial when I find it on the radio.

It is the video, however, that I remember most. It was shot in beautiful black and white by glamor photographer Herb Ritz. It is essentially Madonna dressed in a low-cut, short black dress cavorting in the ocean with a little mer-kid. She looks stunningly gorgeous and appears to be having a great deal of fun. Mainly though I liked the low-cut, short dress in the ocean part. Madonna was always good at showing some skin in those days, and as a pubescent boy, I was always willing to watch.

I don’t have the slightest idea why this song popped into my head this morning. I don’t believe I have heard it recently and lawd knows I don’t really listen to Madonna anymore, but there it was, and here it is.

The Top Five: John Cusack Movies

<high fidelity poster

Randomly, and not very often I have posted lists on this blog. I love lists, to tell the truth of it. I know they are kind of pointless, and they don’t shed any light on anything, and they generally have no meaning outside of those who are posting the lists.

But I love them still.

I love trying to decide what my favorite anythings are (and this is really hard as I don’t really believe in favorites – I mean how does one choose between vanilla and chocolate, caramel and fudge, Ichi the Killer and Kill Bill, Wilco and Ryan Adams, Kurosawa, and Scorsese?) But maybe that is why I love lists, they let me choose lots of cool stuff without necessarily choosing a favorite.

Anyways, several months ago I created a Top Five group for Facebook. Have I mentioned I am on Facebook? Have I mentioned how much better it is than myspace? No? Well, then you are cordially invited to be my Facebook friend and to join the Top Five. (Editors Note: the Top Five group is no longer in existence, and Facebook sucks.)

What is the Top Five you ask? Basically, it is me asking for your top five…whatevers and then you provide a response. Discussion ensues. I ask a new question every Sunday and participants answer whenever they want. The Facebook group thing updates the group page whenever someone answers questions, so even if you answer a question that is months old, it comes right to the top giving everyone an opportunity to read and respond.

We’re pretty small right now in terms of numbers, and even more so in terms of response. But I thought it would be kind of cool to start posting them here. Feel free to join the group and respond on Facebook, or simply add your own answers in the comments.

I’m starting with the first one, which was posted way back in March, and I hope to update the blog regularly with the old ones, and then every week with the new ones. That’s where it gets tricky as people do answer very randomly. I may have to keep myself a few weeks behind so that everyone has a chance to answer.

Without further ado, here is the question of the week.

What are your favorite John Cusack Movies?

Mat Brewster:

1. High Fidelity – This is not me. This is NOT me! Based on the book by Nick Hornby and full of all sorts of insightful quotes on relationships and music obsession. Just because I find myself nodding vigorously at the moment he starts talking about mix tapes, does not mean that this movie is about me.

2. Being John Malkovich – It worked better on the first viewing than all subsequent ones, but this was my introduction to the quirky oddness of Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonez. Amazingly brilliant idea pulled off really well, though I find it a little dull now.

3. Bullets Over Broadway – Great latish Woody Allen when I still thought Woody Allen was finished as a director. Mobsters in charge of Broadway!

4. Say Anything – The best romantic comedy ever. Or maybe tied with When Harry Met Sally. The side plot about the dad gets a little tired, but there is no greater moment in rom-com history than when Lloyd Dobler holds the boombox over his head.

5. Better Off Dead – I adored early Cusack comedies as a kid, and this is one of the best. It’s random goofiness, but you’ve got to love the hamburger animation.

Amy Beth:

High Fidelity was definitely fun. Mat says the movie isn’t about him, no just his alter ego. What might have happened if he hadn’t met me…

1. Grosse Pointe Blank –who doesn’t want to see a hitman go to his high school reunion?

2. Say Anything–carries you back to the ’80s.

3. Shadows and Fog– I really like this Woody Allen movie, even used as a retelling exercise with some students in France in English language class. I did a double-take when I saw Cusack in the brothel. “That’s my sweet little Cusack.” He wasn’t so sweet, but still cute.

4. Identity: I enjoyed this movie the first time, but probably wouldn’t watch it repeatedly.

5. Serendipity and America’s Sweethearts: okay but not the best stuff.

Monica:

Ok, Mat said to post the three John Cusack movies I have seen. So according to imdb.com, here they are.

1. Anastasia – Yes, the animated one. He’s the voice of Dmitri. Maybe not what you’re looking for, but I’ve seen it and he’s in it.

2. Con Air – I don’t actually remember Cusack in this movie, but IMDB says he is, so I guess he is.

3. Grosse Pointe Blank – YEA! I have seen one! …..well, I only saw half of it. But I wouldn’t mind seeing the rest of it.

4. Eight Men Out – I have seen ALL of this one. …I think… And, yes, it’s a baseball movie. But it’s pretty good.

5. Since I haven’t actually seen a fifth John Cusack movie, I’m going to put Toy Story 2 with JOAN Cusack as the voice of Jessie, the Yodeling Cowgirl. That movie gets a lot of air time in my house.

Ok, here’s hoping next week’s question isn’t about Mat, but is something I have better answers to.

Erin:

“A female extraterrestrial?” I’ve seen two–no, three–John Cusack movies in my day: In no particular order, they are Grosse Point Blank, Better off Dead, and Sixteen Candles. Of these three, my vote is for Better off Dead. (I’ve seen it the most, and he didn’t do enough in 16 Candles to warrant much of an opinion.) Can’t be more specific. But don’t worry–Being John Malkovich is in my queue.

Tara:

1. Sixteen Candles

2. Being John Malkovich

3. The Journey of Natty Gann (a favorite of mine as a kid)

4. Grosse Pointe Blank

5. Say Anything

The Movies I’ve Seen Since 2007

I used to track all the movies I’ve watched on this page.  I have since moved all my movie tracking to my Lettrboxd account, but I’m keeping this up for posterity.

May 2020

Emma. (2020) – ****
All Quiet on the Western Front – *****
Paths of Glory – *****
Murder by Death – ***1/2
Back to the Future, Part III – ***1/2
Back to the Future, Part II – ***1/2
Back to the Future – ****
The Price of Fear – ***1/2
The Female Animal – ***1/2
Thunder on the Hill – ****
He Ran All the Way – ***1/2
A Bullet for Joey – ***1/2
Storm Fear – ***1/2
Witness to Murder – ****
Indiscretion of An American Wife – ***1/2
The Sword of Doom – ****
The Hidden Fortress – ****1/2
The Great Man’s Lady – ***

April 2020

The Bride Wore Boots – ***1/2
Internes Can’t Take Money – ***1/2
The Clairvoyant – ***

The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kat – ****
Eyes of Laura Mars – ****
To Catch a Thief – ****
Eye of the Needle – ***
Scream 2 – **1/2
Scream – ****
Gorky Park – ***1/2
Holiday – ****
A Farewell to Arms (1931) – ***1/2
Hercules (1997) – ***1/2
I Know What You Did Last Summer – *1/2
Doctor Who: Warriors of the Deep – ***1/2
Stranger on the Third Floor – ***
Mulan – ***1/2
Underwater (2020) – ***1/2
Shock (1975) – ***1/2
Love Among the Ruins – ****
Secret Ceremony – ***1/2
Blow the Man Down – ***1/2
Marnie – ****
Mata Hari – ***
Captain Marvel – ***1/2
Shadow of a Doubt – ****
Brute Force – ****
Dial M For Murder – ****
Onward – ***
Brick – ****

March 2020

Little Caesar – ***
Key Largo – ****1/2
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse – ***1/1
Pet Sematary (2019) – **
Larceny, INC – ***1/2
The Little Giant – ***1/2
Invisible Stripes – ****
X2: ****
Clue – ***1/2
X-Men – ****
Logan – ****1/2
True Grit (2010) – ****
Train to Busan – ****
The Passion of Darkly Noon – ***
The Lighthouse – ****
Charlottes Web ((1973) – **1/2
The Black Cauldron – ***
Only Angels Have Wings – ****
Cactus Flower – ***1/2
Popeye – ****
King Kong (1933) – ****
Outbreak – **1/2
Rabid – ***1/2
I Am Legend – ***1/2
Contagion – ****
Hour of the Wolf – ***1/2
Ad Astra – **1/2
Gloria Bell – ***1/2
Hamlet (1948) – ****
Wire in the Blood – The Mermaid’s Singing – ****

February 2020

Jerichow – ***1/2
Parasite – ****1/2
Cabin in the Woods – ***
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – ****1/2
McLintock – ***
The Case of the Bloody Iris – ****
Bed and Board – ****
Deadly Manor – 1/2
Manon – ****
The Goonies – ****
Contempt – ****
One Missed Call: Final – *1/2
One Missed Call 2 – **
One Missed Call – ***1/2
The Bad and the Beautiful – ****
City of the Living Dead – ***
Through a Glass Darkly – ****
Winter Light – ****1/2
Duel at Diablo – **1/2
Delirium – ***
Edge of the Axe – **1/2

January 2020

Hot Fuzz – ****1/2
Homicide – ****
Paterson – ****
The Falcon and the Snowman – ****
Un Flic – ****
Rango – ****
Star Trek III: The Search for Spok – ***1/2
Baby Driver – ****
Sweet Smell of Success – ****1/2
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek – ****
Brewster’s Millions – **1/2
Clouds of Sils Maria – ***
Army of Shadows – *****
I Married a Witch – ***1/2
An American in Paris – ****
The Lure – ****
The Ultimate Warrior – ***
Bob le Flambour – ***1/2
Le Samouri – ****1/2
Soylent Green – ****
Hang-Em High – ****
Raging Bull – ****1/2
Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy – ***1/2
Demon Seed – ***1/2
Le Deuxième Souffle – ****
Marriage Story – ****1/2
Front Page Woman – ***
Kid Galahad (1937) – ****
Le Cercle Rouge – ****
Avegers: Endgame
Ice Station Zebra – ****
The Sons of Katie Elder – ****
Blue Collar – ****

Movies I’ve Watched in 2020: 133

December 2019

The Magic Sword – **
Horror Island – ***1/2
The Black Cat (1941) – ****
Man-Made Monster – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Paradise Towers – **1/2
Tower of London (1939) – ***
A Sunday in the Country – ***1/2
Stick – **
She (1084) – ***
Tunes of Glory – ****
Doctor Who: Time and the Rani – ***1/2
The Skin Game – ***1/2
The Manxman – ***
Champagne – **
The Farmer’s Wife – **1/2
The Ring (1927) – ***1/2
84 Charing Cross Road – ****
Agnes of God – ***1/2
To Be Or Not To Be (1983) – ***1/2
Don’t Bother To Knock – ***1/2
The Pumpkin Eater – ****
The Fly 2 – ***
The Fly (1986) – *****
The Curse of the Fly – ***
Return of the Fly – ***1/2
The Fly (1958) – ****

November 2019

The Dark Knight – ****
Knives Out – ****
The Report (2019) – ****
Doctor Zhivago – ****
Light Sleeper – ***1/2
The Fare – ***1/2
Funan – ****
Jake Speed – ***1/2
Hitch Hike to Hell – *
Johnny Guitar – ****
Whistle Stop – **1/2
Thor – ***1/2
The Third Man – *****
Kind Hearts and Coronets – ***1/2
I Walk Alone – ****
Jamaica Inn – ****
Flowers in the Attic (1987) – **
Klute – ****
Charley Varrick – ****
Detour – ****
The Blob (1958) – ***1/2
Woman in Hiding – ****
It Always Rains on Sunday – ***1/2
The Man Between – ****
Seven Days to Noon – ****
Naked Alibi – ***1/2

October 2019

Halloween 2 (1981) – ***1/2
Apprentice to Murder – **
The Curse of the Cat People – ***1/2
Dolemite Is My Name – ****
Seven – ****
Alice Sweet Alice – ***1/2
The Birds – ****
Dreamcatcher – **
Black Friday – ***1/2
Scarface (1983) – ****
Scarface (1932) – ****
My Boyfriend’s Back – ***1/2
And Soon the Darkness – ***1/2
Nightmare Beach – **
The Bloodstained Butterfly – **1/2
Hercules in the Haunted World – ***1/2
The Invisible Man (1933)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge – ***
Doctor Who: Timelash – ***1/2
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie – ****1/2
The Wolf Man (1944) – ****
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – ****
The Prey – **
The Black Belly of the Tarantula – ****
Black Christmas (1974) – ****
The Naked Gun – **1/2
Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Two Doctors – ***
The Bigamist – ***1/2
Never Fear – ***1/2
Not Wanted – ***1/2
My Man Godfrey – ****

September 2019

The Hitch-Hiker – ***1/2
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – ****1/2
The Hills Have Eyes 2 (1984) – **1/2
In the Aftermath – *
A Heart In Winter – ***1/2
Cause for Alarm – ***
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – ***1/2
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – ****
It Chapter Two – **1/2
Hussy – **1/2
Who Saw Her Die – ***
The Chairman – **1/2
The Quiller Memorandum – **
The Case of Hana & Alice – ****
Rio Lobo – ***1/2
Vampires – (1998) – ***1/2
Man in the White Suit – ***1/2
Lawrence of Arabia – ****1/2

August 2019

The Lavender Hill Mob – ****
Alps – ***
Seconds (1966) – ***1/2
Elevator to the Gallows – ****
La Notte – ****
Police Story – ****
Doctor Who: Frontios – ****
Captain America: The First Avenger – ***1/2
Our Man In Havana – ****
Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks – ****
Avengers: Age of Ultron – ****
Spider-Man: Far From Home – ***1/2
Once Upon a time in…Hollywood – ***1/2
Sword of Trust – ***1/2
Lola – ****
Veronoka Voss – ****
The Marriage of Maria Braun – ****1/2

July 2019

Dario Argento’s Trauma – ***
Still of the Night – **1/2
O Brother, Where Art Thou? – ****1/2
Confidentially Yours – ***1/2
The Milky Way: ***1/2
James and the Giant Peach – ***1/2
The New York Ripper – ***1/2
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – ****
Midsommer – ****1/2
Matador – ****
Death in the Garden – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders – ***1/2
On Dangerous Ground – ***1/2
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – ****
Star Wars: the Force Awakens – ****
Under the Silver Lake – ****
Up – ****
Rolling Thunder Review: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese – ****1/2
The Lego Movie – ****
The Man Who Fell To Earth – ****

June 2019

The Hateful Eight – ****
The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974) – ****
Doctor Who: The Ark in Space – ****
Mississippi Burning – ***1/2
Gattaca – ***1/2
The Dead Don’t Die – ****
The Invisible Ray – ***
Doctor Who: Robot – ****
The Black Cat (1934) – ****
The Raven (1935) – ***1/2
Sunshine – ***1/2
Bunny Lake is Missing – ****1/2
The Silent Partner – ****
Bad Times at the El Royale – ****
Kidnapped (1971) – ***1/2
Satan’s Brew
Shutter Island – ****
Bright Angel – ***1/2
The Deadwood Movie – ****
Night of the Creeps – ***
Bright Angel – ***1/2
Modest Heroes – ****
Rio Grande – ***

May 2019

Time Bandits – ****
The Nun (1966) – ***1/2
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – ****1/2
Stagecoach – ****1/2
Doctor Who: Time-Flight – ***1/2
A Delicate Balance – ***
Wise Blood – ****
Kubo and the Two Strings – ****
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies – ****
Beetlejuice – ****
Doctor Who: Earthshock – ***1/2
Mission: Impossible Fallout – ****
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – ****
Wings of Desire – ****1/2
Avengers: Endgame – ****
the Iguana with the Tongue of Fire – ***
Terra Formars – **
Doctor Who: Black Orchid – ***

April 2019

Fantomas vs Scotland Yard – ***1/2
Fantomas Unleahsed – **1/2
Fantomas (1964) – ***1/2
Experiment in Terror – ****
Dragged Across Concrete – ****
Strip Nude For Your Killer – **1/2
Doctor Who: The Visitation: ***1/2
Enigma (1982) **1/2
Keoma – ***1/2
Tito and the Birds – ***1/2
Scream and Scream Again – **
Pushover – ****
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul – ****1/2
The Strange Door – ***1/2
Cleo From 5 to 7 – ****1/2
Alice in Wonderland (1951) – ***1/2
Human Desire – ***1/2
Unicorn Store – ***
Blade – ***1/2
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – ****
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks – ***
The Land Unknown – ****
Emmanuelle – ***
Christine – ****

March 2019

Mary Queen of Scots – ***1/2
A Fistful of Dolars – ***1/2
House on Haunted Hill (1959) – ****
The Proposition – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Kinda – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday – ***
Doctor Who: Castrovalva – ***1/2
Total Recall – ***
The Prize – ***
Christopher Robin – ***1/2
Iron Man 2 – **1/2
Doctor Who: Logopolis – ****
Old Man and the Gun – ***1/2
The Lobster – ****
High Flyin’ Bird
Kolobos – *
Captain Marvel – ***1/2
For a Few Dollars More – ****
The Prisoner (1955) – ****
First Man – ****
Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space – ****

February 2019

Samurai I Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto – ****
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple – ****
Solaris (1972) – ****
The King and I (1956) – ***1/2
The Virgin Spring – ****
Freaky Friday (2003) – ***
The Favorite – ****
Picnic at Hanging Rock – ****
Audition – ****
Lu Over the Wall – ***1/2
Horror Express – ***1/2
Desert Fury – ***
Phantom Boy – ****
Mary and the Witches Flower – ****
Ant-Man and the Wasp – ****
The Fifth Cord – ****
Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara – ***1/2
Lean on Pete

January 2019

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl – ****
Eight Grade – ****1/2
Thinner – **
The LEGO Ninjago Movie – **1/2
The Awful Truth – ****
Summer Lovers – **
Blockers – **1/2
Game Night – ****
Avengers: Infinity War – ****
If Beale Street Could Talk – ****
Black Panther – ****
Bird Box – ****
Doctor Who: Destiny of the Daleks – ***
Four Times That Night – **1/2
Juliet, Naked – ***1/2
The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion – ***1/2
Halloween (2018) – ***1/2
Let the Corpses Tan – ***1/2
Spider-Man 3 – ***
Knives of the Avenger – ***
Spider-Man 2 – ****
Spider-Man – ****

Total Number of Movies in 2019 – 266

December 2018

The Princess Bride – ****
Miracle on 34th St (1947) – ***1/2
King Kong (1933): ****1/2
Doctor Who: Underworld – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Sun Makers – ****
Doctor Who: The Invisible Enemy – ****
The Martian – ****
Hi, Mom! – ***1/2
Greetings – **1/2
The Wedding Party – **
Santa Claws – *
All The President’s Men – ****1/2
You Were Never Really Here – ****
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse – ****1/2
Clash of the Titans (1981) – ****
Bloody Birthday – **1/2
The Serpent’s Egg – ***1/2
101 Dalmations (1996) – ***
The Game – ***1/2
First Reformed – ****
Doctor Who: Horror at Fang Rock – ****
It’s a Wonderful Life – ****
Doctor Who: The Android Invasion – ****

November 2018

Day For Night – ****
Scarlet Street – ***1/2
The Mirror – ****
Night Moves – ****
Batman and Harley Quinn – **
Doctor Who: The Face of Evil – ****
Batman: Bad Blood – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear – ***1/2
The Hit -****
Jumanji – ***1/2
Wall-E – ****1/2
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – ***
For Your Eyes Only – ****
Touch of Evil – *****
Mona Lisa – ****
The Wizard of Gore – **
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers – ****
The Big Combo – ****
Won’t You Be My Neighbor – ****
Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden – ***1/2
Mr. Arkadin – ****
All Through the Night – ***1/2
Out of the Past – ****
Harper – ****
The Big Lebowski – ****
Doctor Who: The City of Death – ****

October 2018

Halloween (1978) – ****
The Perfume of the Lady in Black – ***1/2
The Nightmare Before Christmas – ***1/2
Tenebrae – ****
Blood and Black Lace – ****
Schlock – *1/2
Dead Ringer (1964) – ***1/2
Arsenic and Old Lace – ****
Dracula (1931) – ***1/2
Black Sabbath (1964) – ***1/2
House of Frankenstein (1944) – **1/2
Black Sunday (1960) – ****
Pom Poko – ***1/2
The Howling – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Androids of Tara – ***1/2
Ghost of Frankenstein – ***
Exorcist III – ***1/2
Son of Frankenstein – ****
Bride of Frankenstein – ****
The Man From UNCLE – ***1/2
Frankenstein (1931) – ****
Lifeforce – ***1/2
Gremlins 2: The New Batch – ***1/2
The Women (1939) – ****
Gremlins – ****
The Blair Witch Project – ****
Hold the Dark – ****

September 2018

The Curse of Frankenstein – ****
Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. – ***1/2
Kiki’s Delivery Service – ****
The Thing From Another Planet – ****
Thoroughbreds – ****
Hereditary – ****1/2
The Baby (1973) – **
Doctor Who: Terminus – ***
The Exorcist 2: The Heretic – ***
The Exorcist – ****
Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro  – ****
Jaws – *****
Godzilla (1954) – ****
Dead Reckoning – **1/2
Sound of Music – ****1/2
Doctor Who: Time Flight – ***1/2
Watchmen: the Ultimate Cut – ****
Kin – **
The Conversation – **** 1/2
Pete’s Dragon (2017) – **
Stalag 17 – ****
Doctor Who: Kinda – ***

August 2018

Inferno (1980) – ****
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind – ****
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants – ***1/2
Repulsion – ****
The Bourne Identity – ****
My Best Fiend – ****
Doctor Who: The Web of Fear – ***1/2
Mission: Impossible 2 – ***
Mission: Impossible – ****
Don’t Look Now – ****
What Have They Done To Your Daughters – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Tomb of the Cybermen – ****
Doctor Who: Land of the Giants – ****
Inside Man – ****

July 2018

Enemy (2013) – ***1/2
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings – ****
Pretty in Pink – ***1/2
The Wicker Man (1973) – ***
Pet Sematary (1989) – ***
Cat People (1981) – ***
A Blade in the Dark – ***1/2
Fitzcarraldo – ****
Cat People (1942) – ****
Deep Red – ****
Ant-Man and the Wasp – ****
Creature From the Black Lagoon – ***1/2
American Experience: Oklahoma City – ****
Annihilation – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday – ***1/2
The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail – ***
Doctor Who: Meglos – ***1/2
Doom Asylum – **1/2
The Incredibles 2 – ****
Murder on the Orient Express (2017) – ***1/2
A Quiet Place – ****

June 2018

I Kill Giants – ***1/2
Chicken Run – ****
3:10 to Yuma – ***1/2
The Incredibles – ****
Doctor Who – Planet of Evil – ****
Under Capricorn – ***
The Shape of Water – ****
Doctor Who: City of Death – ****
Thor: Ragnarok – ****
The Left Hand of God – ***
Stephen King’s It (1990) – ***
Beast – ***1/2
Black Venus – ***1/2
Spetters – **
The Rider – ****
The Avengers – ****

May 2018

The Woman in the Window – ****
Death Smiles On a Murderer – **
Big Country – ***1/2
I, Tonya – ****
The Neon Demon – ***
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: The Murder at Road Hill House – ***1/2
Raising Arizona – ****
The Shining – ****
Scott Pilgrim vs the World – ****
Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin – ****
Deadpool 2 – ***1/2
Wind River – ****
Sunset Boulevard – ****1/2
Seven Psychopaths – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Timelash – **1/2
Polytechnique – ****
The Killing of a Sacred Deer – ****
Lady Bird – ****
Phantom Thread – ****
Justice League – **

April 2018

78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene – ****
The Avengers: Infinity War – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Invasion of Time – ****
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure – ****
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – ****
The Cat Returns – ****
Isle of Dogs – ****
Oceans 11 (2001) – ***1/2
The Maltese Falcon (1941) – ****
The Big Sleep (1947) – ****1/2
A Trip to the Moon – ****1/2
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – ****
A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin – **1/2
Manhandled (1924) – **1/2
A Quiet Place – ***1/2
The New Testament (1936) – **1/2
Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl – ***1/2
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers – ***

March 2018

Ponyo – ****1/2
Tomorrow Never Dies – ***1/2
Goldeneye – ****
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – ***1/2
Stalker – ****1/2
Coco – ****1/2
Westworld – **1/2
The Wind Rises – ****
Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang – ****
Salem’s Lot (1979) – ***1/2
Black Narcissus – ****
Birdboy – ***1/2
Images – ***
Doctor Who: Robots of Death – ***1/2
American Made – ***1/2
Suburbicon – ***1/2
Ichi the Killer – ****
It (2017) – ****
Toy Story 3 – ****1/2

February 2018

What We Do In the Shadows – ****
Black Panther – ***1/2
Lego Batman Movie – ***1/2
The Foreigner – **1/2
Toy Story 2 – ****1/2
Mary and the Witch’s Flower – ****
The Informant – ***1/2
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet – ***1/2
Alien Resurrection – ***
The Philadelphia Story – ****
The Hero (1966) – ****
The Girl Without Hands – ****
Toy Story – ****
The Witches (1967) – *1/2
Doctor Who: The Ultimate Foe – **1/2
The Scapegoat – ****
Te 15:17 to Paris – *1/2
Doctor Who: Terror of the Vervoids – **1/2
Doctor Who: Mindwarp – ***
Doctor Who: Mysterious Planet – ***
Doctor Who: Seeds of Doom – ****
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri – ****
The Snowman – **

January 2018

My Life As a Zucchini – ****
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore – ****1/2
Room – ****
The Big Sick – ****
The Greatest Showman – ****
Deep Red – ****
The Last Detective: ***1/2
Doctor Who: Battlefield – ***1/2
Murder Party – ***1/2
Rebecca – ****
X-Men: Days of Future Past (Rogue Cut) – ****
Saturn 3 – **1/2
April and the Extraordinary World – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Underworld – ***
Worricker: Salting the Battlefield – ***
It Comes At Night – ****
The Lego Movie – ****
Bone Tomahawk – ***1/2
Brawl in Cell Block 99 – ****
Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks – ***
Field of Blood: Set 1 – ***

Numbers of movies watched in 2018:251

December 2017

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – ****
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – ****
Pulp – **
Whiskey Galore! – **1/2
Detroit – ****
Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case – ***1/2
Maigret Sets a Trap – ***
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – ****
Thorne: Sleepyhead – ***
Victoria and Abdul – ** 1/2
The Red Shoes – ****
Yojimbo – ****
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – ***1/2
Oblivion – **1/2
Doctor Who: Robot – ***1/2

November 2017

The Thin Blue Line – ****
Aguirre, the Wrath of God – ****
Doctor Who: Castrovalva – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Logopolis – ****
Caught in the Draft – ***
Thor: Ragnorok – ****
Road to Morocco – ***1/2
Road to Singapore – **
Logan Lucky – ****
Zoology – ****
Nosferatu the Vampyre – ****
The Crazies (1973) – ****
There’s Always Vanilla – *
Season of the Witch – **1/2
Casablanca – *****
Doctor Who: State of Decay – ***1/2
The Woman In Red – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Warrior’s Gate – ***
Wonder Woman – ****
Since You Went Away – **
Dirty Harry – ***
Cars 3 – ***1/2

October 2017

Little Shop of Horrors – ***1/2
The Trouble With Harry – ***1/2
Nightkill – *1/2
Blade Runner 2049 – ****
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – ***
Torn Curtain – ***1/2
Take Shelter – ****
Tangled – ****
The Mirror Crack’d – **1/2
The Breaking Point (1950) – ****
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) – ***
Carrie (1976) – ****
Legend of the Holy Drinker – ***1/2
The Goonies – ****
Don’t Torture a Duckling – ***1/2
Detective Montalbano: A Nest of Vipers – ***
Detective Montalbano: According to Protocol – ***

September 2017

Turks & Caicos – ***1/2
Suspiria – ****
Finding Nemo – ****
Cafe Society – ***1/2
Blow-Up – ****
Body Double – ***1/2
The Glass Key (1942) – ****
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial – ****1/2
Swiss Family Robinson (1960) – ***
The Tenant – ***1/2
Something Wild – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror – ***
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – ***1/2
Prom Night (1980) – **
Body Heat – ****
Stormy Monday – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks – ****
Close Encounters of the Third Kind – *****
Pirates (1986) – **
Doctor Who: Snakedance – **1/2
Brave – ***

August 2017

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – ***
Re-Animator – ****
Phantasm: Ravager – *
Phantasm IV: Oblivion – **
Castle in the Sky – ****
Phantasm 3 – ***
Phantasm 2 – ***1/2
Phantasm – ***1/2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – ***
Hopscotch – ***1/2
Married to the Mob – ****
Love of a Woman – ***1/2
Society – **1/2
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – ****
The Slayer – **1/2
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – ****
Bonnie and Clyde – ***1/2
The Defiant Ones – ***1/2
Kong: Skull Island – **
Dressed to Kill (1980) – ***1/2
King Kong (1976) – **1/2
Prisoners – ***1/2
Sicario – ****
Whiplash – ****
Dunkirk – ****
Insidious – **1/2
Atomic Blonde – ***1/2
The Conjuring – ****
This is the End – **1/2
Mad Max: Fury Road – ****
Get Out – ****

July 2017

Pulse (2001) – ****
I Confess – ***
Spiderman: Homecoming – ***1/2
The Crucible – **1/2
The Changeling (1980) – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Arc of Infinity – ***
The Fury (1978) – ****
Contagion – ****
Species – **
The Bourne Identity – ****
Baby Driver – ****1/2
At World’s End – ****
Hot Fuzz – ****
Shawn of the Dead – ****

June 2017

Hinterland: Devils Bridge – **1/2
Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor – ***1/2
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – ***
My Neighbor Totoro – ****
Zodiac – ****
Phenomena (1985) – ***
The Mummy (2017) – **
La La Land – ****1/2
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage – ****
Shotgun Stories – ****
Gone Baby Gone – ***1/2
Sherlock: The Six Thatchers – ***1/2
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – ****
Hitchcock/Truffaut – ***1/2
Spotlight on a Murderer – ***1/2
The Godfather – *****
Evil Ed – **
Wonder Woman – ****

May 2017

Batman v Superman – ***
Prometheus – ****
Wolfguy – ***
Alien: Covenant – ***1/2
Man of Steel – ****
The Witch – ***1/2
Sabotage (1936) – ***1/2
Silence – ****1/2
Noroit – **1/2
Smokey and the Bandit – ***1/2
Duelle – **1/2
Arrival – ****
Foreign Correspondent – ***1/2
Burden of Dreams – ****
Blow-Out – ****
Long Strange Trip – ****
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – ***
Aliens – ****
X-men – ***1/2
Umbrellas of Cherbourg – ***1/2
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – ***
Midnight Special – ***1/2

April 2017

Property is No Longer a Theft – ***1/2
Doctor Who and the Daleks – ***
Guardians of the Galaxy – ***1/2
Spirited Away – ****1/2
Dead or Alive 3: Final – **
Dead or Alive 2: Birds – ***1/2
Dead or Alive – ***
House 2: The Second Story – **
The Graduate – ****
House (1986) – ***
The Story of Sin – ***
Tangled – ***1/2
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – **
Blue Ruin – ****
D.O.A. (1950) – ***1/2
L’Avventura – ****
Multiple Maniacs – **/12
Beauty and the Beast (2017) – ***1/2
The Accountant – ***1/2
Suspiria – ****
The Infiltrator – ***1/2
Doctor Strange – ****

March 2017

Donnie Darko – ***1/2
The Delinquents – *1/2
Sully – ***
Drunken Angel – ****
Judex – ***
Logan – ****
Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll – ***
The 39 Steps – ****
Dig Two Graves – **1/2
Cinema Paradiso – ****
Lovers on the Bridge – ***1/2
Howls Moving Castle – ****
Shut In – *1/2
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets – ***
Girl on the Train – ***
Ghost in the Shell (1995) – ****
All About Eve – ****1/2
We are the Flesh – **

February 2017

Inferno – **1/2
Dark Passage – ***1/2
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town – ***
Lego Batman Movie – ***
The Nice Guys (2016) – ****
West Side Story – ****
TMNT (2007) – **1/2
Star Trek: Beyond – ***1/2
A Few Good Men – ***1/2
Howard’s End – ****
The Amazing Spiderman – **
Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood – ***1/2

January 2017

Superman II – ***
What About Bob? – ***
Jaws – ****1/2
Dirty Dancing – ***1/2
Don’t Breathe – ****
Pinocchio (1940) – ****
The Fog (1980) – ****
X-Men Apocalypse – **1/2
The Royal Tenenbaums – ****1/2
Superman: The Movie – ****
Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet – ****
Singin’ in the Rain – ****
Sing – ***
Dumbo – ***1/2
Coraline – ***1/2
Number 17 (1932) – ***1/2
The Thin Man – ****
Hell or High Water – ****
Doctor Who: The Ribos Operation – ***1/2
Captain America: Civil War – ****

Total Movies Seen in 2017: 231

December 2016

The Driller Killer – **
Diamonds are Forever – ***1/2
Moana – ****
Kubo and the Two Strings – ****
Creepshow 2 – **
The Young, The Evil and the Savage – ***1/2
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – ***1/2
North by Northwest – ****1/2
Love Actually – ***1/2
Vertigo – ****1/2
It Follows – ****
Rear Window – ****1/2
Green Room – ****
Frank and Lola – ***1/2
The Age of Innocence – ****

November 2016

The Autopsy of Jane Doe – ***1/2
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – ***
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – ****
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them – ****
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox – ***
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For – ***
Finding Dory – ****
10 Cloverfield Lane – ***1/2
Spectre – ***1/2
The Last Seduction – ***1/2
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) – ***
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – ***
In a Lonely Place – ****
Slugs – ***

October 2016

Kung Fu Panda 3 – ***
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – ****
Vamp (1986) – ***
Call Northside 777 – **
Animal Crackers – ***1/2
The Cocoanuts – ***1/2
Cape Fear (1962) – ****
Alien – ****1/2
Turner & Hooch – ***1/2
Memento – ****
The Lady Vanishes (1938) – ****
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet – ***
The Uninvited (1944) – ***1/2
Seven Samurai – *****

September 2016

Sunset Blvd – ****1/2
Doctor Who: Robot – ***
Beauty and the Beast – ****
Dead-End Drive-In
The Little Murders of Agatha Christie: The Knife On the Neck
The Little Murders of Agatha Christie: The Ebb and the Flow – ***
Box Trolls – ***1/2
The Little Murders of Agatha Christie: Five Little Pigs *1/2
The Little Murders of Agatha Christie: The Moving Finger – ***1/2
Snowden – ***1/2
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum – ****
The Little Prince – ***1/2
The Never Ending Story – ***1/2
Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song – **1/2
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – ****

August 2016

Worricker Trilogy: Page Eight – ****
Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable – ***
Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 – ****
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion – ****
Cat Woman – * 1/2
Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaur – ***1/2
Spy Kids 2 – **
Crimes of Passion – **
Batman: The Movie – ***
Suicide Squad – *1/2
Raiders of the Lost Ark – *****

July 2016

Spy Kids – ***
The Burbs – ***
Jurassic World – ***
Jurassic Park III – **1/2
Murder Unincorportated – **1/2
Jurassic Park: The Lost World – **
Danger Pays – *1/2
Tokyo Mighty Guy – ***
Swinging Cheerleaders – **1/2
Jurassic Park – ***1/2
Finding Nemo – ****
The BFG – **1/2

June 2016

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – ***1/2
Casper (1995) – **1/2
Fantastic Four (2015) – **
Return of the Killer Tomatoes – **
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer – **1/2
Doctor Who: Warriors of the Deep – **1/2
The Martian – ****
The Vanishing (1988) – ****1/2
La Chienne – ***1/2
Fantastic Four (2005) – **1/2
Blood Bath – ***
Operation Titian – ***
Taxi Driver – ****1/2
The Good Dinosaur – ***
Small Soldiers – **1/2

May 2016

The Jungle Book (2016) – ***
The Doctor Who Movie – ***
Doctor Who: Full Circle – ***1/2
Doctor Who: Warriors of the Deep – ***
The Lady in Red Kills Seven Times – ***
The Night Evelyn Returned From the Grave – ***1/2
The Mummy Returns – **1/2
Outlaw:Gangster VIP 2 – **1/2
Macbeth(2015) – ***
Captain America: Civil War – ***
Penguins of Madagascar – **1/2
Bandits – ***
Outlaw: Gangster VIP – ***

April 2016

Minions – **1/2
The Mummy (1999) – ***
Jane Got a Gun – **1/2
On the Waterfront – ****
Brief Encounter – ****
The Zero Boys – **
Death Walks at Midnight – ***
Bride of Re-Animator – ***
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – ***1/2
Death Walks on High Heels – ***
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith – ***1/2
The Forrest (2016) – *1/2
Peter Pan (1953) – ***1/2

March 2016

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean – **1/2
Doctor Who and the Silurians – ***
Black Mama, White Mama – **1/2
Ant-Man – ***1/2
The Avengers: Age of Ultron – ***
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus – **
Hollywood Ending – ***
Zootopia – ***1/2
Sheba, Baby! – **
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – *1/2
Aenigma – *
Scooby Doo 2 – **

February 2016

Opera (1987) – ***1/2
Ponyo – ***1/2
Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – *****
Pray for Death – **
Deadpool – ***1/2
Spotlight – ****
Scooby Doo – **
Hair, Caesar! – ***1/2
Trumbo – ***
Doctor Who: The Time Warrior – ****
Oklahoma! – **1/2
The Stendhal Syndrome – **1/2

January 2016

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – */12
Shivers – **/12
Kung Fu Panda 2 – ***
Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks – ***
The Revenant – ****
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – ****
Sherlock: The Abmoniable Bride – ***
Doctor Who: Frontier in Space – ***
Sleeping Beauty – ***
The Tenderness of Wolves – **1/2
Thor: The Dark World – **1/2

Total Movies Seen in 2016: 154

December 2015

Star Wars: A New Hope – ****
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – ****
The Illusionist – **1/2
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – ****
White Christmas – ***1/2
Spider-Man 2 – ****
What Have You Done to Solange? – ***1/2
Spider-Man – ***
Doctor Who: Inferno – ***1/2
Star Wars, Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi – ***
Roman Holiday – ****

November 2015

Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back – ****1/2
Iron Man – ***1/2
Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope – ****
Ex Machina – ****
Don’t Look Back – ****
Inside Llewyn Davis – ****
Hyde Park on Hudson – **1/2
Three Coins in the Fountain – **
Evil Dead 2 – ****
Doctor Who: Edge of Destruction – ***
Zathura: A Space Adventure – ***
Doctor Who: The Daleks – ***

October 2015

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key ***
The Black Cat (1982) – ***
The Last Starfighter – **1/2
Back to the Future, Part 3 – ***
Back to the Future, Part 2 – ***1/2
Back to the Future – ****
Frozen – ***1/2
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child – ***
How to Train Your Dragon – ***
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – ***1/2
Halloween – ***
The Martian – ****
Doctor Who: The Sontaran Experiment – ***

September 2015

Cop Car – ***
Family Plot – ***
Psycho – ****
The Beast – *
Immoral Tales – **
Sleepy Hollow – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll – **1/2
Nightcrawler – ****
Finding Nemo – ****1/2
Aladdin – ***1/2
Two Days One Night – ****

August 2015

Van Morrison: Another Glorious Decade – **1/2
Monster Squad – **
Under the Skin – ****
Frozen – ***1/2
The Last Waltz – ****1/2
La Grande Bouffe – **1/2
O Brother, Where Art Thou? – *****
Thief – ***1/2
Pitch Perfect – ***
Life Itself – ****
The Dead Zone – ***
Maverick – **1/2
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – **

July 2015

Cemetery Without Crosses – **
Double Indemnity – *****
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – ***
Ice Age: Meltdown – **1/2
John Wick – ***
Edge of Tomorrow – ***1/2
X-Men: Days of Future Past – ****
Despicable Me – ***1/2
Book of Life – ***
The Tall Blonde Man with One Black Shoe – ****
101 Dalmations (1964) – ***

June 2015

Sherlock: The Great Game – ***1/2
Sherlock: The Blind Banker – ***
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – **
Sherlock: A Study In Pink – ***1/2
The Rewrite – **1/2
Big Hero 6 – ***
Ella Enchanted – **
Kung Fu Panda – ***
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) – ***
Inside Out – ****

May 2015

Big Eyes – ***
The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir – ****
Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani – ****
Cars – ***
Mad Max: Fury Road – ***
Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara – ***
Ghost Story: Turn of the Screw – **
The Immigrant – ***
The Avengers: Age of Ultron – ***1/2

April 2015

Clueless – ***
Nurse – *1/2
Doctor Who: The Mark of the Rani – *
Alice in Wonderland (1951) – ***
James and the Giant Peach – ***
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not – ***
The Soft Skin – ***1/2
Flushed Away – **
The Iron Giant – ****
The Wizard of Oz – ****
The Kingsmen – ***

March 2015

Chef – ***1/2
Into the Woods – ****
Happy Ending – **1/2
The Great Escape – ****
How To Train Your Dragon 2 – ***1/2
Who Framed Roger Rabbit – ****
Doctor Who: Castrovalva – **1/2
Doctor Who: Logopolis – ***1/2
Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken – ***
Whisper of the Heart – **1/2

February 2015

Shrek – ****
Tangled – ***
Toy Story 2 – ****
Driving Miss Daisy – ****1/2
The Saphires – **1/2
The Grand Budapest Hotel – ****
Nicholas Le Floch: The Rue De Francs-Bourgeois Case – **1/2
Nicholas Le Floch: The Rogue’s Banquet – **1/2
Marie and the Moment of Death – **1/2
Marie and the Perils of Greed – **
The Story of Adele H – ***1/2
The Lego Movie – ****
The Princess Bride – *****
International Settlement – ***1/2
Poirot: Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case – ****
Poirot: Elephant’s Can Remember – ***
Poirot: The Big Four – **1/2

January 2015

Strange Magic – *
Above Suspicion: Silent Scream – ***
Above Suspicion: the Red Dahlia – ***
Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent – ***
Above Suspicion – **1/2
The Sound of Music – ****
Monsters University – ***

Total Movies Watched in 2015: 134

December 2014

The Polar Express – ***
Frozen – ***
The Wolf of Wall Street – ***1/2
The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears – ***

November 2014

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone – **1/2
Intersteller – ***
The Avengers – ***
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – ***
Antz – **1/2
Scanners – ***1/2
The Blue Room – ***

October 2014

Dressed to Kill (1941) – ***
The Big Doll House – ***
Congo – **
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids – ***
A Long Way Down – ***
LA Confidential – ****
Gone Girl – ****

September 2014

Howl’s Moving Castle – ****
Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters – ***
My Neighbor Totoro – ***1/2
The Lego Movie – ***1/2
Jack the Giant Slayer – **
Doctor Who: The Creature From the Pit – ***
From Up on Poppy Hill – ***
Doctor Who: The Mind Robber – ****

August 2014

Charade – ****
The French Minister – ***1/2
Love Crime – **1/2
World War Z – ***1/2
Robin Hood (1973) – ***
Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas – **
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas – **

July 2014

Hercules (2014) – **1/2
Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle – *1/2
Last Vegas – **1/2
Enders Game – **
Persona – ****1/2
R.I.P.D. – *
Stranger than Fiction – ****
Blue Jasmine – ****
Fruitvale Station – ***
Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive – **1/2

June 2014

Monuments Men – **
The Grand Budapest Hotel – ****
Saving Mr. Banks – ***
The Fault in Our Stars – *1/2
Captain Phillips – ***
An Adventure in Time and Space – ***1/2
Emma (1996) – **1/2
The Woman in White – **
Jane Eyre (1997) – ***
The Death of the Heart – **1/2
The Lady’s Not For Burning – ****

May 2014

X-Men: Days of Future Past – ***1/2
Poirot: The Clocks – ***
Poirot: Hallowe’en Party – ***
Poirot: Three Act Tragedy – **
Jack Taylor: Shot Down – **1/2
Jack Taylor: Priest – **
Jack Taylor: The Dramatist – **1/2
Tremors – ***
Doctor Who: Enemy of the World – ***1/2
Bird on a Wire – **
The Evil Dead (2013) – **1/2
We Bought a Zoo – ***

April 2014

The Chorus – ***1/2
Cargo – ***
Gravity – ****
Vampyres – **1/2
Zombie Holocaust – **1/2
Moonraker – ***
The Incredibles – ***1/2
Monsters, Inc. – ***
American Hustle – ***1/2
Le Petit Nicholas – ****

March 2014

Philomena – ****
Now You See Me – ***
So I Married an Axe Murderer – **1/2
The Killer Inside of Me – **1/2
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – ***
Videodrome – ***1/2
My Week with Marilyn – ***

Scott Pilgrim vs the World – ****
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec – ***

February 2014

The Wolverine – ***
The Purge – **1/2
The Bay – ***1/2
Amelie – ****1/2
The Fantastic Mr. Fox – ****
Wild Grass – ***
Apres Vous – ***1/2
Gaslight (1944) – ****
Horror of Dracula – ***1/2
The Bridge on the River Kwai – *****
The Postman Always Rings Twice  (1981) –  **1/2
The Jungle Book – ****

January 2014

Vera: Prodigal Son – **1/2
Vera: Young Gods – ***1/2
Vera: Poster Child – ***
Vera: Castles in the Air – ***
Rosemary’s Baby – ****
The Intouchables – ****
The Spiral Staircase – ****
Love in the Afternoon – ***
Enough Said – ***1/2
Barefoot in the Park – ***
Love Actually – ****
Love in the Time of Cholera – **1/2
A History of Violence – ***

Total Movies Watched in 2014: 108

December 2013

Don Jon – ***
Pacific Rim – ***
Terminator 2: Judgement Day – ***1/2
Thor – **
The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines – **1/2
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear – ***
Call of the Wild (1935) – ***
Jesse James – ***
His Girl Friday – *****
Rules of the Game – ****

November 2013

Blood on the Docks: Angels Passing – **1/2
Blood on the Docks: Cut to Black – ***
Blood on the Docks: One Under – **1/2
Mary Poppins – ****
Hunter Games: Catching Fire – **
Wreck-It Ralph – **1/2
Poirot: The Hollow – ***
Poirot: Death on the Nile -***
Poirot: Five Little Pigs – **1/2
Life of Brian – ****
Three Faces of Eve – ***

October 2013

Aftershock – *
Michael Clayton – ***1/2
The Fugitive – ****
Room 237 – ***
You Only Live Twice – ***
Mommie Dearest – *1/2
Embrace of the Vampire (2013) – **
Embrace of the Vampire (1995) – *
Eyes Without a Face – ****
The Birds – ****
Detective Montalbano: A Ray of Light – **1/2
Detective Montalbano: Angelica’s Smile – **1/2
Detective Montalbano: Mirror Effect – **1/2

September 2013

Hot Fuzz – ***
Magic Mike – ***
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – ***
Cache – ****
Go – **1/2
Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka – ***1/2
Autumn Sonata – ****
Singles – ***

August 2013

The Blues Brothers – ***
Elysium – ***1/2
Becoming Jane – ***
The Breakfast Club – ***
Sixteen Candles – ***
The American President – ***

July 2013

Diamonds are Forever – **
Skyfall – ***
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors – ***
Laura – ***1/2
The Magnificent Seven – ****
Maniac Mansion – *
Cars – ***
Adam’s Rib – ***
The Avengers – ***
The Lone Ranger – **1/2

June 2013

Detective DeLuca: An Unauthorized Investigation – ****
Detective DeLuca: Carte Blanche – ****
Detective DeLuca: Cloudy Summer – ****
Detective DeLuca: Via delle Oche – ***
Frantic – ***
Night of the Living Dead – ****
Wild Strawberries – ****1/2
X-Men – ***

May 2013

Star Trek: Into Darkness – **
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – ****
Doctor Who: The Visitation – ***
Let the Right One In – ****
Beck: The Weak Link – ***1/2
Beck: The Silent Scream – ****
Beck: In the Name of God – ***
Run Lola Run – ***1/2
Beck: THE VULTURE – ***
Beck: The Japanese Painting – ***1/2
Iron Man 3 – **
Band of Outsiders – ****
Finding Nemo – ****
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – **

April 2013

Maigret: Maigret and the Wine Merchant – **1/2
Maigret: Maigret and the Princess – **1/2
Maigret: To Any Lengths – **1/2
Maigret: Maigret has Scruples – **1/2
Maigret: Maigret and the Tramp – **1/2
Life is Beautiful – ***1/2
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – **1/2
Cat ‘O Nine Tails – ***
Straw Dogs (1971) – ***
Django Unchained – ***
Hitchcock – ***
Zero Dark Thirty – ***

March 2013

Babette’s Feast – *****
Flight – ***
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix – ****
Children of Paradise – ****
Killing Them Softly – **1/2
Argo – ****
Aladdin – ***
Ju-On the Grudge – ***
Star Wars, Episode I – The Phantom Menace – **
Oz the Great and Powerful – **1/2
Catch Me If You Can – ***1/2
Eastern Promises – ***

February 2013

Unbreakable – ***
Trouble with the Curve – **
Welcome to the Sticks – ***1/2
With a Friend Like Harry – ***1/2
Interiors – ***1/2
Manhattan – ****
To Rome with Love – ***
Brave – ***
M – ****

January 2013

Samurai I – ****
Grateful Dead: Sunshine Daydream – ****
Prometheus – ***
Jack Reacher – 1/2*
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) ***

Total movies watched in 2013: 118

December 2012

The Hobbit – ***
Bringing Out the Dead – ***
Star Trek: Insurrection – ***
Young Adult – ***
Conspiracy Theory – ***
LA Confidential – ****
Thank You For Smoking – ***1/2
Chasing Amy – ***
Fever Pitch (1997) – ***
Pearl Jam: 20 – ****
Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell – **1/2

November 2012

Showtime – **
Bottle Rocket – ***
9 – ***
A Cat in Paris – **1/2
Norwegian Ninja – ***
Inside Deep Throat – ***
Cabin in the Woods – ***
From Russia with Love – ****
Romantics Anonymous – ***1/2
Black Heaven – ***
Eat Drink Man Woman – ****
Boogie Nights – ****
Little Nicholas – ***1/2

October 2012

Tucker & Dale Vs Evil – ***1/2
Haywire – ****
Nobody Else But You – ***1/2
Cheerleader Massacre – 1/2
Casino Royale (2006) – ***
Insomnia (2002) – ***
The Seven Year Itch – **
Event Horizon – ***
Beyond the Door – **
Bloods and Crips: Made in America – ***1/2

September 2012

Sabrina (1954) – ****
Boyz N The Hood – ***
The Seventh Seal – *****
Margin Call – ****
Private Parts – **
Talk Radio – ***1/2
Primary Colors – ****
Red Riding: 1974 – ***1/2
Super 8 – **1/2
The Women on the Sixth Floor – ****

August 2012

Red State – *1/2
Absence of Malice – ***
Weird Science – **
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey – ****
North by Northwest – ****
Arsenic and Old Lace – ****
La Femme Nikita – ***1/2
Full Tilt Boogie – ***
Curious George 2: Follow that Monkey! – **
Inspector Bellamy – ***
Captain America – ***
Shallow Grave – ****
Venus – ***1/2

July 2012

Out of Sight – ****
To Catch a Thief – ****
Romancing the Stone – ***
Moonrise Kingdom – ***
Night at the Museum **1/2
The Princess Bride – *****
The Dark Knight Rises – ***1/2
Alien – *****

June 2012

Friday the 13th Part III – **
Roman de Gare – ***1/2
Goldfinger – ***
Sex and the Single Girl – ***
Hard Boiled – **
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: ***
Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope – ***
Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol – ***
I’m Not There – ***
Thieves Like Us – ***

May 2012

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – ****
Clerks 2 – **
Delicatessen – ****
Doctor No – ***
The Avengers – ***
Bullets Over Broadway – ****
The Right Stuff – ****
The Long Goodbye – ***
Sex and Lucia – **1/2
Minority Report – ***

April 2012

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – ****
Midnight In Paris – ****
The Ghost Writer – ***1/2
The Muppets – ***
Lawrence of Arabia – *****
Drive – ***1/2
The Adventures of Tin Tin (2011) – ***
The Ides of March – ****
The War Room – ***1/2
Horrible Bosses – ***
Black Swan – ***1/2

March 2012

Matrix Revolutions – **1/2
Matrix Reloaded – ***
The Matrix – ***1/2
Monkey Business – ***
The Front Page (1974) – **1/2
Beauty and the Beast (1941) – ****
North Country – ***
Syriana – ****
Pitch Black – ***1/2
Intolerable Cruelty – **1/2

February 2012

Mutant Girls Squad – **
The Man Who Wasn’t There – ***
Primal Fear **1/2
Sucker Punch – **
Scream 4 – **
Unstoppable – **1/2
The Next Three Days – **1/2
The Incredibles – ****
Fargo – ****
Solaris (1972) – ***

January 2012

Sunshine – ***1/2
The Hudsucker Proxy – ***
Barton Fink – ****
Roxanne – ***
Miller’s Crossing – *****
Raising Arizona – ****
Throne of Blood – *****
Crimewave – **
From Hell – **1/2
Blood Simple – ****
Batman: Year One – ***
The Outsiders – ***

Movies Watched in 2012: 126

December 2011

Die Hard 2: Die Harder – *1/2
Die Hard – ***
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – ***
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows – ****
Hugo – ****
Ichi the Killer – ****

November 2011

The Big Lebowski – ****
An American Werewolf in London – ***
Superman II – **
Eight Days a Week – *
Grown Ups – *
Dead or Alive 1 – **
12 Angry Men – *****
Les Diaboliques – ****
Malcolm X – ****
The Expendables – *

October 2011

Kill Bill, Vol. 1 – ***
A Face in the Crowd – ****
Gosford Park – ****
Winter’s Bone – ****
X-Men First Class – **1/2
Believers – **
Pale Rider – *1/2
Conan Obrien Can’t Stop – **1/2
High Noon – ****
Following – ***

September 2011

The Beach – ***

Scott Pilgrim vs the World – ****
Paul – ***
Broken Flowers – ****
Despicable Me – ***
Day Watch – ***
Night Watch – ***
Blast of Silence – ***
A Serbian Film – I don’t know how to rate this film.
L’Auberge Espagnole – **1/2
Scream 3 – **1/2
Rango – ***1/2

August 2011

Sorry Wrong Number – ***
Spellbound – **1/2
Fight Club – ****
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles – **1/2
The Last Wave – ***
Akira – ***
Se7en – ****
The African Queen – ****
Murder, My Sweet – ***
Return of the Living Dead – **
Caddyshack – ***

July 2011

Glengarry Glen Ross – ****
Fright Night 2 – **1/2
The Untouchables – ***
Across the Universe – **1/2
Fright Night – ***
Larry Crowne – **
Easy A – **

June 2011

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – ***
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – **
Trainspotting – ****
Pee-Wees Big Adventure – ****
Kiss Me Deadly – ***
The Royal Tenenbaums – ****1/2
Blade Runner – ****
Salt – *
Let Me In – ***
127 Hours – ***1/2
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson – ***
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring – ****

May 2011

Once Upon a Time in the Old West – ****
Rendition – ***
The Goonies – ***
Heavenly Creatures – ****
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 – ***1/2
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – ****
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix – ****
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – ***1/2
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban – ****
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – ***
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone – ***
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – ***
#1 Cheerleader Camp – *
The Fighter – ****
The Malteze Falcon – ****1/2
Young Sherlock Holmes – **

April 2011

The King’s Speech – ****
Three Days of the Condor – ***1/2
Charade – ****
It Happened One Night – ****
Million Dollar Baby – ****
O Brother,Where Art Thou? – ****
Casablanca – *****
Secret of Kells – ***
The Odd Couple – ***
Wonder Boys – ***1/2
Scream 2 – **1/2

March 2011

Scream – ***
The Boston Strangler – ***
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – ***1/2
Grand Illusion – ****1/2
The Silence – ****
Date Night – **
Unknown – *
Happy Go Lucky – **1/2

February 2011

The Princess Bride – *****
Rio Bravo – ***
Inn of the Sixth Happiness – ***
The Naked City – ***
Cheap Detective – **
The Crazies (2010) – **1/2
Hot Tub Time Machine – **1/2
Superbad – **1/2
Five Easy Pieces – **1/2
Down by Law – ***
Buried – ***
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans – **1/2

January 2011

The Girl who Played with Fire – **
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – ***
Teeth – *
The Road – ***
The Social Network – ***1/2
The Fly (1986) – ***
True Grit (2010) – ****
In the Name of the Father – ****
Hellboy – **1/2
Citizen Ruth – ***

Total Movies Watched in 2011: 126

December 2010

Some Like It Hot – ****
Iron Man 2 – **1/2
Love Actually – ****
Kick Ass – **
Leaves of Grass – ***1/2
Deliverance – ***
Inception – ****
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 – ***1/2
Being There – ****

November 2010
Holiday Inn – **1/2
Arsenic and Old Lace – *****
Alice in Wonderland (2010) – **
Planet of the Apes (1968) – **1/2
Toy Story 3 – ***
The American ***1/2

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

How to Train Your Dragon – **

July 2010

The Purple Rose of Cairo – ***
A Simple Twist of Fate – **
The Invention of Lying – ***
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) – ***

June 2010

Drag Me to Hell – **1/2
Joint Security Area – ***
Visitor Q – **1/2
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) *
Toy Story 3 – ****
City of God – ****
City of Men – ***1/2
Fantastic Mr. Fox – *****
Precious – ****
Book of Eli – *1/2

May 2010

Prince of Persia: *1/2
Mystic River – ****
The Double Life of Veronique – ***
Moon – ****

April 2010

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – **1/2
Crazy Heart – ***1/2
Avatar – ***
Green Zone – ****
Cat Balou – **1/2
Up in the Air – ***1/2
The Hitcher (2009) – *1/2
Out of the Past (1947) – ***
Last House on the Left (1972) – *1/2
Girl on the Bridge – ***1/2
Shutter Island – ***
A Night In Casablanca – ***1/2
Compulsion – ****

March 2010

The Third Man – ****
Wages of Fear – ****
Elizabethtown – **1/2
Full Metal Jacket – ****
The Nightmare Before Christmas – ***
Men Who Stare At Goats – ***
The Thin Red Line – ****
Ponyo – ***
Boxcar Bertha – **
Hannah and Her Sisters – ***1/2
The Soloist – ***

February 2010

Raising Arizona – ****1/2
UP – ****
Spartan – **1/2
Inkheart – **
Julie & Julia – ****
Serious Man – ****

January 2010

I Am Legend – ***1/2
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – ***1/2
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – **
Omega Man – *1/2
Tropic Thunder – **1/2
Clockers – ***
Inglorious Basterds – ***
Up In The Air – ****
Once – ***1/2
True Grit – ***
Australia (2009) – **
My Name is Bruce – **1/2
In Bruges – ***1/2
District 9 – ***

Movies watched in 2010: 77

December 2009

Whisper of the Heart – ***
Sherlock Holmes – ***
Towelhead – ***
The Lady Vanishes – ****
Stand By Me – ****
Girl Boss Guerrilla – ***
Angels & Demons – **1/2
The Fantastic Mr. Fox – ****
The Changeling (1980) – ***

November 2009
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – *
500 Days of Summer – ***1/2
Away We Go – ****
Sin Nombre – ****

October 2009

September 2009

Casablanca – *****

August 2009

Roman Holiday – ****
Sunshine Cleaners – ***1/2
Grand Torino – ****
Killshot – ***

July 2009

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince – ****
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – ***1/2

June 2009

The Proposal – **1/2
Up – ****
Hancock – **
The Happening – **1/2
The Dark Knight – ****
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – **1/2
The Reader – ***
Brubaker – ***
The Great Escape – ****
The Magnificent Seven – ****

May 2009

There Will Be Blood – ****1/2
X-Men Origins: Wolverine – **1/2
Muriel’s Wedding – ****
The Savages – ****
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) – **
The Simpsons Movie – **
Star Trek (2009) – ***
S*P*Y*S – *1/2

April 2009

The Wrestler – ****
City of Ember – **
Galaxy Quest – *** 1/2
Changeling – ***
The Big Sleep (1978) – ***
American Splendor – *** 1/2
Grave of the Fireflies – ***1/2
Rachel Getting Married – ***

March 2009

Princess Mononoke – ****
The American President – ***
Miracle at St. Anna – ***
Reign Over Me – ***
Ghost Town – ***
Let the Right One In – ***1/2
The Watchmen – ***1/2
The Killing Fields – ****
Rashomon – ****1/2
Judgment at Nuremberg – ****
Eagle Eye – *

February 2009

I’ve Loved You So Long – ****
Vicky Christina Barcelona – ***1/2
Stay – **
Taken (2009) – ***

January 2009

Leatherheads – ***
Friday the 13th, Part II – **1/2
Friday the 13th – ***
Asphalt Jungle – ****
The Bad Lieutenant – ***1/2
Lifeboat – ****

Total Movies Watched in 2009: 66

December

Blood Diamond – ***
The Music Man – ***1/2
Slumdog Millionaire – ****1/2
Coffee and Cigarettes – **1/2
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – ****
Under Capricorn – **
Transiberian – **1/2
Get Smart – **1/2
Ninotchka – ***1/2
The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice – **1/2
Bride Wore Black – ***
Harold and Maude – ****1/2

November 2008

Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope – ****
Two Weeks Notice – **
Lust/Caution – ****
Tell No One – ***
Charade – ****
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse – **
Quantum of Solace – ***
The Story of the Weeping Camel – ****

October 2008

Thriller: They Call Her One Eye – ***
Battle Royale – ****
Kiki’s Delivery Service – **1/2
Lady Snowblood – ***
The Remains of the Day – ****
Apaloosa – ***
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – **1/2
Iron Man – ***1/2

September 2008
The Fall (2006) – ***1/2
Burn After Reading – ***
Nim’s Island – **
The China Syndrome – ***

August 2008

Batman Begins – ***1/2
The Dark Knight – ****
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – *
X-Files: I Want to Believe – **

July

Charlie Bartlett – ***
Flawless (2008) – **1/2
Shine a Light – ****
Lars and the Real Girl – ***
Superman Returns – **
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – **1/2
War of the Worlds (2005) – **
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life – *
Definitely, Maybe – **
Flight of the Living Dead – **
Cleaner – **1/2
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer – **
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – **1/2

June

Pickpocket – ***
Meet Bill – *1/2
King Fu Panda – ***
Definitely, Maybe – **
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead – ***
Southland Tales – **
Be Kind Rewind – ***1/2
In the Valley of Elah – ***
D.O.A Dead Or Alive – *
The Andromeda Strain (2008) – **1/2
Three Colors: White – ***1/2
Elizabeth – ***1/2

May

Heathers – ****
The Crow – ***
The Oxford Murders – **
The Mist – *1/2
Funny Games US – **1/2
Three Colors Trilogy: Blue – ***
Notes on a Scandal – ***1/2
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) – ***
National Treasure: Book of Secrets – *1/2
JFK – ****
First Blood – ***1/2
The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe – ***

April

High Fidelity – ****
Aliens – ***
Saving Private Ryan – ****
Black Snake Moan – ***
Young Frankenstein – *****
Eagles Vs. Shark – ***1/2
Into the Wild – **1/2
Silk – **
Charlie Wilson’s War – **1/2
Mighty Aphrodite – **1/2
Taxi – **1/2
Juno – **
The Longest Day – ***1/2

March

Cassandra’s Dream – ***1/2
Talk to Me – ***
A Fish Called Wanda – ***
There Will Be Blood – ****
Bug – **1/2
Bridge to Terabithia – **1/2
Hollywoodland – ***
Mirrormask – **1/2
Lost in Translation – ****
Michael Clayton – ****
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – ***

February
The Golden Compass – **1/2
What’s Up, Tiger Lily? – **1/2
My Blueberry Nights – **
No Country for Old Men – ****
The Darjeeling Limited – **1/2
Gandhi – ****
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – ****1/2
Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium – **1/2

January 2007

Somewhere in Time – **1/2
21 Grams – **1/2
Mission Impossible II – **
Born into Brothels – ***
I am Legend – ***
Oldboy – ****1/2
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – ***1/2
Gremlins – **
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – ***1/2
No Country for Old Men – ****1/2
Stardust – ***
American Gangster – ***1/2

Total Movies Watched in 2008:117

December 2007

Wall Street – ***1/2
While You Were Sleeping – **
Letters From Iwo Jima – ***
Flags of our Fathers – ***1/2
Curious George – **
Babel – ***1/2
The Pursuit of Happyness – ***
La Disparue de Deauville – **
30 Days of Night – **
A Bridge Too Far – ****
Love Actually – ***1/2
The Thing – ***1/2

November

Gone With The Wind – ***1/2
The Seventh Seal – *****
We Were Soldiers – **1/2
Shoot the Piano Player – ***1/2

October
How to Eat Fried Worms – ***
3:10 To Yuma – ***1/2
Hills Have Eyes 2 – 1/2
For Your Consideration – **1/2
Hostel 2 – **1/2
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart – ***
Groundhog Day – ***1/2
A Few Good Men – ***1/2
Jaws – ****
The Last King Of Scotland – ***
Shortbus – ***1/2
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade -***1/2
Breach – ***
Toy Story – ****1/2
Before Sunrise – ***1/2
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – ***
Raiders of the Lost Ark – *****

September

Roman Holiday – ****
28 Weeks Later ***
Halloween (2007) **1/2
300 ***1/2
Ratatouille ***
1408 – **1/2
Paris Je T’aime – ***1/2

August
Waitress – **
Next – *
Spiderman 3 – **1/2
This Film Is Not Yet Rated – ***
Hot Fuzz – ***1/2

July

Zodiac (2007) – ***1/2
Pan’s Labyrinth – ***1/2
The Simpsons Movie – **1/2
Live Free or Die Hard – **1/2
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – ***
A Bug’s Life – ****
Transformers – **1/2
Shrek the Third – **1/2

June

It Happened One Night – ****1/2
The Philadelphia Story – ****
Toy Story 2 – ****
Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai – ***1/2
Children of Men – ***1/2

May

Clue – ***
Be Cool – **1/2
Night Shift – ***

April

Ikiru – *****
Ray – ***1/2
Oliver Twist – ****1/2
Grindhouse – ***
Cinderella (horror) – **1/2
Slaughter Night (SL8N) – *
Arachnophobia – ***
Curse of the Jade Scorpion – ***

March 2007

Knife In the Water – ***
The Yes Men – **1/2
Shutter – ***
Casino Royale (2006) – ***1/2
Suspiria – ****
The Constant Gardener – ***1/2
Scoop – ***1/2
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – ***
The Perfect Crime (Crimen Ferpecto) – ***1/2
Sherlock Holmes Goes To Washington – **

February 2007

The Departed – ****
Marie Antoinette – ***
Shopgirl – **1/2
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – ***1/2
Science of Sleep – ***
Princess Blade – **1/2
The Devil Wears Prada – ***
Brick – ***1/2
Day of the Dead – **1/2

January 2007

Madagascar – **1/2
Talladega Nights – ***1/2
Pulse – *
The Outlaw Josie Wales – ***1/2
Black Dahlia – ***
Lady in the Water – ***
The Weatherman – ***
Nanny McPhee – ***
Flower of Flesh and Blood – 1/2
24 Hour Party People – **1/2
Pulse – **1/2
Sahara – **1/2
Cars – ***1/2

Total movies watched in 2007

The Listening Room: “Rocky Top”

I once drove from Knoxville Tennessee to Bloomington Indiana (well, OK, I actually made that drive like 95,000 times, when I was dating the girl who would become my wife and we lived in those two cities.) It was a Friday and it was the day before the University of Tennessee had its opening football game.

If you have ever lived in East Tennessee or known someone from the area it will be impossible to understand exactly what that means. Tennesseans are crazy about many things, but they are plain bonkers about college football.

To start the drive, I listened to a local Tennessee radio station. This particular station decided that the best way to celebrate the opening game was to play the team’s theme song “Rocky Top” about a million times in a row. Well, to be more precise they played every version of the song they could get their hands on. There were reggae versions, hard rock versions, marching band versions, and lot and lots of bluegrass versions.

The thing is, I listened to every single one. All the way through. And I might have been the happiest I’ve ever been doing it.

My father is from Maryville Tennessee which is right there in East Tennessee on the cusp of the Great Smokey Mountains. Though I grew up in Oklahoma we always spent some of the summers out there visiting grandma and grandpa and I came to cherish that little part of the country. I lived there for about a year sometime after college and it is still my very favorite place on this earth.

To live there is to love their football team, whether or not you actually care about the game. I could care less about football, but I love the Volunteers. This event also occurred during a time in my life when I wasn’t exactly the happiest chap in the world. Truth is I was pretty stinking depressed. You see I had not long ago dropped out of graduate school and learned that a BA in English doesn’t go very far in getting you anywhere.

This was also after having worked at a high-stress-funded-by-government job where upon we were also raided by the FBI and told to sit down, shut up, and don’t move one fine sunny day. Which was followed up by what I thought would be a stress-free mail room job that turned into the job from H-E-L-L.

All of this is to say I wasn’t exactly in the happiest of states during this time in my life. The one ray of light was my dear girlfriend. As she lived in Indiana, I gladly trekked the 350 miles to see her every few weeks.

And here we are back to that song. I don’t know what it is about “Rocky Top” that makes me so happy, but it does. It has the nostalgic appeal of reminding me of my childhood. It has the enthusiasm of an entire state (and one that I dearly love) behind it. And it is a silly, fun, entirely upbeat little bluegrass number.

What’s not to love?

So there I went listening to every conceivable version of it for a couple of hours. I actually made it to the end of their broadcast before the station died from me driving too far away. I don’t suspect I would ever do that again, as my circumstances are much different (Indiana doesn’t have nearly that same enthusiasm.) As I listened to the song moments ago, it was lovely but mostly forgettable.

But on that long ride, there was nothing better.

I Might Have To Rethink Tom Waits

My brother: “You ever heard of Tom Waits?”

Me: “Yeah, he’s a good song writer, but I just can’t get past that voice.”

Brother: “I know, it is like a sick hippopotamus gurgling Castor oil. A friend of mine swears by him, but I just can’t take it. I’d rather listen to a three-headed cat fight with the odd head.”

My brother and I have had this conversation at least twice. Which is odd because we usually converse about movies and steer clear of music, since our tastes in music are far and wide and different. It isn’t like Mr. Waits comes on the radio or anything either. But there it is, us talking about him.

For my part, I am not as adamant as my brother and I mean what I said. When I hear his songs I typically think the songcraft is really interesting, but his voice just tears out my lungs. I have several of his albums and try as I might to get through them I usually stop short somewhere just before the end.

Sitting here in the library, scanning documents for my wife so that she can take some things with her to China in the digital medium of her choice, rather than bulky books, I plugged into some live Waits from 1977 (a year that looms large in the live bootleg world, at least for me anyway.) I suppose you could ask why I downloaded a show from a man of whom I can’t make it through a single album.

It would be a good question, were you to ask it. But since I am alone, writing a wee blog post and you shall not read it until I answer, I shall answer. The critics love Tom Waits, and more importantly, my musical friends love Tom Waits. As I already said (twice now I think) I find Tom Waits to be a good writer with a miserable voice. As such, I keep wanting to fall in love with him. Like a spouse who overlooks his lover’s strange birthmark in the shape of Jesse Jackson, or a third nipple, I keep hoping I will be able to overlook and even enjoy Wait’s voice. Ok, maybe enjoy is a little much, but I keep thinking I can get used to it.

Also, downloading bootlegs is what I do. The more obscure the better. The fewer times I’ve seen bootlegs by an artist, the better. The less I have in my collection the more I want it.

But yeah, listening to this bootleg I began to see why he was so praised by so many. Here I began to see him as not so much a singer, but as a carnival barker. As the old, perverted drunk of an uncle that no longer gets invited for Christmas dinner.

There were times when he was talking to the audience when I couldn’t tell if it was part of a song, or just him talking. That voice isn’t there for the singing, but as something larger, something deeper, something less understandable. I once listened to an interview with Waits where he talked about how he had intentionally strained his voice early on to creat that distinct growl. His songs aren’t meant to be pretty, and neither is his voice.

I get that now.

Even so, I still must admit that I struggled to get through the entire show. After an hour or so, I was ready for it to end. I was ready for something more readily understood as much. I was ready for a couple of chords and a guitar solo.

No, I wouldn’t put myself strongly into that corner labeled “fan” just yet, but I’ve moved a lot closer to understanding the sideshow that is Tom Wait.

I think I like it.

Dreamin’ Songs – “World Leader Pretend” By R.E.M.

Our air conditioner is broken again, and as it was 86 degrees inside our home last night, the wife and I decided to take a trip to some fine air-conditioned air in the local Barnes and Noble. As most of our CDs are now locked inside cardboard boxes we were limited in our music choices for the drive.

We wound up choosing REMs major label debut, Green. I say we, but it should be noted that in fact, the decision was really nothing but my wife putting it in the CD player. I make that distinction as I probably would not have chosen that particular album. It turned out to be a good choice, as it is an excellent album. A fact I tend to forget.

I say all this to point out the sheer simplicity of understanding why “World Leader Pretend” floated back into my brain this early morning.

It is what I would call an underrated classic.“Pop Song” and “Stand” tend to get the glory from this album, or even the beautiful “You Are Everything” but “WLP” should get high praise as well.

Musically it is a little mid-tempo number with lilting guitars and a bit of a cadence on the drums. It sounds a little military – well military with background vocals by Mike Mills. The sound fits the lyrics which use a great deal of military language to discuss deeper, personal ideas.

It juxtaposes the concept of governments raising walls and preparing their defenses with the singer’s own emotional walls and defenses, proclaiming at last that he raised these walls and he will have to be “the one to knock it down.”

That’s a pretty universal sentiment and one that has struck large chords with me at various times in my own life when I raised my own defenses.

It is also, I believe, the only time REM has printed the lyrics of a song in their liner notes.

Transformers (2007)

transformers

It has been a good long while since I did a proper movie review. The blog has turned into something totally different than I had ever intended. Since the invention of the China connection my world has turned a little lopsided and haggard and busy as crap. I try to post regularly with snippets of interest from the web or youtube or the occasional life story, but proper reviews and really interesting stories have kind of fallen by the wayside. I hope that once China really gets going, I shall be able to get back into regular writing, for real.

All this is to say I am going to give a smaller version of a movie review for Transformers – call it movie review-lite.

Though we couldn’t really afford it, my wife and I decided to watch movies with friends for the Fourth of July celebration. My friend, Daniel, had his heart set on Transformers, whereas my wife wanted nothing but Ratatouille. Truth be told I would have rather seen the cartoon rats, but Daniel had already seen them and like a dutiful friend I saw the cartoon transforming automobiles.

Transformers was pretty much what I expected from a live-action movie based on an 80s toy product directed by Michael Bay – lots of action, little sensible plot.

The plot involved a group of warring robots who have come to Earth in search of this Rubix Cube that will ultimately change their war-torn planet into something nice again, or if you are a Decepticon (bad guys) it will destroy the planet or the good guys or something. It isn’t really made sure why they want the box, but darn do they want it.

To add a human element there is a story about a young, nerdy boy trying to get the popular hot chick. It works better than it ought to, but ultimately it is just filler until we get to the robot battles.

There is a very traditional Michael Bay subplot involving a soldier and his wife and his never-before-seen baby. They add absolutely nothing to the plot, are cardboard things, and only serve to allow Michael Bay to believe he can write real stories and for sentimental parents to cry a little bit in a movie about giant robots.

Oh and there is some conspiracy theory jumbo involving a top-secret government agency (with sadly, John Turturro appearing for a paycheck.)

The Transformers are pretty kicked arse though. They look super cool, they transform in really brilliant ways and they fight like mad. The fight scenes are well worth the price of admission although throughout most of the film I had no real idea who was fighting who as when the bots are transformed into humanish form, they look mostly like each other.

Hearing Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime was admittedly the bomb, even if I am a bigger GI Joe freak than Transformers.

It was worth watching and I’m glad I caught it on the big screen, though I still would have preferred the cartoon rats in Paris.

I jokingly said to my wife before going in that she was going to have a theatre full of screaming children, while I would have a theatre full of screaming middle-aged men. The fanboys were out in full, but it really made for a better experience overall.

First Thoughts On The White Stripes’ Icky Thump

icky thump

I finally, um, obtained the new White Stripes album, Icky Thump. There has been some weird championing of it since it is (mostly) a return to their loud, blues/garage rock roots after moving into a lighter, more layered soundscape with their last album, Get Behind Me Satan. I say it is weird because when Get Behind Me Satan was slathered with a lot of high praise, but now it seems everyone has forgotten how much they loved that album and want nothing more than loud guitars.

Whatever, I really liked GBMS, and while I’m  not the world’s biggest White Stripes fan, I tend to listen to it more than others. I’ve mentioned before how my middle-agedness has turned me a lot more mellow and thus the music I tend to listen to has much softer edges than the grunge/punk/alternative stuff I dug in my youth. While I dig the older, Rockin albums of the White Stripes, I really dug how they created a fuller, more rich sound with Satan.

With Icky Thump they have returned to a louder, more guitar-based sound (mostly as songs like “prickly thorn, but sweetly worn” are softer and more cuddly.) I’ve only given it a listen and a half, so I can’t really give it a full review, but I’m liking what I’m hearing.

Even in middle age I still like a little edgy guitar riff to throw my (ever-thinning) head about. As usual, Jack and Meg have put together a turn-to-eleven, slam up against each other rock fest. I dig Jack’s periodic talking blues pieces, even if I’m not exactly sure what the crap he’s talking about, and I like the more experimental sound collages.

I don’t think this will be replacing GBMS anytime soon, but it is a nice album to put on, crank up and pack my house to.