I watched 45 movies in November. 36 of them were new to me. 32 were made before I was born. It was Noirvember and I watched 22 film noirs. That’s pretty good considering I spent the first week or so of the month watching and reviewing a bunch of movies for Cinema Sentries including two large Shaw Brothers martial arts films.
Those Shaw Brothers films had a huge impact on my most watched actors and directors lists.
For the actors, Ku Feng now leads the pack with 11 films of his being watched. He’s followed by Sammy Hunt, Cheng Pei-Pei, Vincent Price, and Boris Karloff with eight films each.
Sam Peckinpah still leads the directors list with six films. Chang Chey enters the list with five films and Ho Meng-Hua and Lo Wei both come in this month with four films each. Martin Scorsese, William Nigh, and Fernando Di Leo are still tied for second place with five films each.
Next month isn’t going to have a theme, but I am going to try and catch up on all the films that came out this year and that I missed.
Obviously, I tend to watch old movies. That wasn’t always the case. I used to go to the theater just about every weekend and I would watch everything that looked interesting to me (and plenty that didn’t). I’ve mostly lived in smallish towns and cities so I’ve never been able to see smaller, independent films or the type that often wind up on critics’ best-of lists.
These days I rarely make it to the cinema, and I don’t really keep up all that well with new films. I still watch the Oscars every year, because I like the ceremony, but it is rare anymore that I’ve seen more than a couple of nominated films.
So, I’d like to spend December making an effort to see some of the best films that came out this year. I’ll probably review a few of them, but mostly I’ll just try and enjoy.
My favorite new watches this month included Brighton Rock, Man on the Run, The Devil’s Mirror, and Night and the City.
Carrie (1976) – ****
Johnny O’Clock (1947) – ****
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) – ****
Touch of Evil (1958) – *****
Doctor Who: The Daleks (1964) – ****
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) – ****
Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) – ***
Brighton Rock (1948) – ****1/2
My Neighbor Totoro (1988) – *****
Man on the Run (1949) – ****1/2
The Killer is Loose (1956) – ****
Private Hell 36 (1954) – ***
I, the Jury (1982) – ***1/2
I, the Jury (1953) – ***1/2
Road House (1948) – ****
The Shanghai Gesture (1941) – **1/2
The Racket (1951) – ***1/2
Blackhat (2015) – **1/2
The Frightened City (1961) – ****
Cast a Dark Shadow (1955) – ****
Deep Red (1975) – ****1/2
Backdraft (1991) – **1/2
Carlito’s Way (1993) – ****
Beware, My Lovely (1952) – ***1/2
Human Desire (1954) – ****
The Killer (2023) – ****
The Tattered Dress (1957) – ***
The Girl in the Kremlin (1957) – ***1/2
Pitfall (1948) – ***1/2
A Haunting in Venice (2023) – ***1/2
Man Afraid (1957) – ***
The Dragon Missile (1976) – ***
Gator (1976) – ***
White Lightning (1973) – ***1/2
The Water Margin (1972) – **
The Devil’s Mirror (1972) – ****1/2
Force of Evil (1948) – ****
The Shadow Whip (1971) – ***1/2
The Crimson Charm (1971) – ***1/2
Black Angel (1946) – ***1/2
The First Power (1990) – ***
Brothers Five (1970) – ****
Night and the City (1950) – ****1/2
Lady of Steel (1970) – ****
The Flying Guillotine (1975) – ***1/2
themidnightcafe.org 