Thursday, March 14, 2024

2023 Watchlist

2023 was a tumultuous year for me. So I thought I continue my trend of what I read and watched which I so blatantly ripped off from Steven Soderbergh

JANUARY
1- Road House (1989)
2- Ricochet (1991)
    RRR (2022)
3- The Menu (2022)
    One False Move (1992)
    The Italian Connection (1972)
4- The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)
5- One Week (1920)
    Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965)
    Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema and the Invention of the 20th Century by            Dana Stevens (2022)
6- Variety (1983)
7- The Godfather Part II (1974) (R)
    Babylon (2022) (R)
10- Scream For Help (1984)
11- Wild Milk by Sabina Orah Mark (2018)
12- The Seventh Curse (1986)
      Working Girls (1986)
13- Hangover Square (1945)
      The Limey (1999) (R)
      The Obscene Madame D by Hilda Hilst (1982) (tr. Nathanael)
15- Tar (2022) (R)
IN THE HOSPITAL (16/- 1/24)
21- Back to the Future (1985) (R)
      Back to the Future Part II (1989) (R)
      Back to the Future Part III (1990) (R)
22- Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O'Brien (2022)
OUT OF THE HOSPITAL; RECOVERY AT HOME
24- The Right Stuff (1983) (R)
25- The Last of Us (2 episodes)
      The Shout (1978)
      Youth of the Beast (1963)
26- Atlanta (2 episodes)
     Breaking News (2004)
     On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (2019)
27- Atlanta (2 episodes)
     In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson At 50 (2022)
     Irma Vep (1996)
     Viva Erotica (1996)
28- Atlanta (2 episodes)
     City Slickers (1991) (R)
     The Long Riders (1980) 
     Bonnie's Kids (1973)
29- Atlanta (2 episodes)
     Freeway (1996)
     The Trial (1962) (R)
     The Last of Us
30- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (R)
      The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963)
31- HyperNormalisation (2016)
      Exiled (2006)
      The Ascent (1977) (R)

FEBRUARY

1- Atlanta (2 episodes)
    That Most Important Thing: Love (1975)
    Immortal Tales (1973)
2- Atlanta (2 episodes)
   The Killers (1946)
   The Killers (1964)
   One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967)
3- Atlanta (2 episodes)
    Reform School Girls (1986)
    My Man Godfrey (1936)
    Pandora's Mirror (1981)
4- Atlanta (2 episodes)
    Watermelon Man (1970)
5- Atlanta Series Finale
   The Cabin At the End of the World by Paul Tremblay (2018)
   Election 2 (2006)
   The Last of Us
6- The Long Goodbye (1973) (R)
    Out For Justice (1991)
7- Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993)
    The Insider (1999) (R)
8- Clearcut (1991)
    The Grave (1996)
9- The Century of Self: Happiness Machines (2002)
    The Century of Self: The Engineering of Consent (2002)
    The Other Side of the Mirror (1973)
10- Jackass Forever (2022) (R)
      Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)
11- Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe (2021)
      Suite for Barbara Loden by Nathalie Leger (tr. Natasha Lehrer and Cecile Menon) (2012)
      Wanda (1970) (R)
      Nekromantik 2 (1991)
12- Electric Dreams (1984)
      James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket (1989)
13- Her (2013) (R)
14- Punch-Drunk Love (2002) (R)
      Infinity Pool (2023)
15- The Demon's Baby (1998)
16- Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult At Sarah Lawrence (2023) (3 episodes)
17- A Better Tomorrow (1986)
     Erotic Nightmare (1999)
18- Police Story 2 (1988)
      Dark Side of the Ring (3 episodes)
19- Dark Side of the Ring (3 episodes)
      The Outwaters (2022)
20- Argentina 1985 (2022)
     Crumb (1995) (R)
     Dark Side of the Ring (2 episodes)
21- Dark Side of the Ring (2 episodes)
      EO (2022)
      Knock At the Cabin (2023)
      Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez (tr. Megan McDowell) (2023)
22- The Iceman Cometh (1989)
24- The Story of A Three Day Pass (1967)
      Daisies (1966) (R)
      Double Agent 73 (1974)
      In A Lonely Place by Karl Edward Wagner (1974)
26- Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (2023)
      On the Run (1988)
      The Last of Us
      Blue Steel (1990)
27- Video Violence (1987)
      Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows (1998)
      Zerograd (1988)
      Topper (1937)
28- Juice (1992)
      Daughters of the Dust (1991)
      On Palestine by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe (2015)

MARCH

1- Yes, Madam! (1985)
    The Heroic Trio (1993)
2- Score (1973)
    Design For Living (1933)
    Shanghai Express (1932)
3- Broker (2022)
    Air Doll (2009)
5- King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) (R)
    Three Ages (1923)
    The Last of Us
6- World On A Wire (1973)
    Lord of Dark Places by Hal Bennett (1970)
    Perry Mason
8- Our Hospitality (1923)
    Pedicab Driver (1989)
9- The Lower Depths (1957)
    The Fog of War (2003) (R)
10- Santo Vs. Doctor Death (1973)
     City of God (2002) (R)
11- Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) (R)
12- Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) (R)
      The 95th Academy Awards
      The Last of Us Season Finale
13- Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973)
      Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973)
      The Righteous Gemstones 
14- Aftersun (2022)
     Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992)
15- Royal Warriors (1986)
      Eastern Promises (2007) (R)
16- The Castle by Franz Kafka (1926)
      Tokyo Fist (1995)
17- Bullet Ballet (1998)
18- Perry Mason
19- The Sword of Doom (1966)
      All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
 20- Samurai Rebellion (1967)   
      A Snake of June (2002)
      Swarm
      Perry Mason

END OF RECOVERY; BACK AT WORK
21- Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight For Sex Workers Rights by Molly Smith and Juno Mac (2018)
      Undeclared War (1990)
      The Warped Ones (1960)
      Violence At Noon (1966)
      AEW Dynamite
23- Rouge (1987)
      No Regrets For Our Youth (1946)
24- After Life (1998)
25- Yellowjackets
      Jiro: Dreams of Sushi (2011)
26- Ash Is Purest White (2018)
      Succession
27- The Righteous Gemstones (2 episodes)
      Lady Snowblood (1973) (R)
      Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance (1974)
      The Mission (1999)
28- The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias (2022)
      Perry Mason
      Guilty of Romance (2011)
      Wrestle Kingdom 9
29- Intimidation (1960)
      Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (2022) (Crestwood 18)
      AEW Dynamite
30- The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
      Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970)
31- Dragon Inn (1967)
      Goodbye Dragon Inn (2003)
      GCW Spring Break 7

APRIL

1- Yellowjackets
    Enys Men (2023) (The Music Box)
2- Wrestlemania 39 Night 1
    Succession
3- Wrestlemania 39 Night 2
    Sister, Sister (1987)
    Vibes (1988)
    Monday Night Raw
    Perry Mason
4- Above the Law (1988)
    Imagine: John Lennon (1988)
5- Breathless (1983)
7- Dr. Caligari (1989)
8- Tex Avery: World of Tomorrow shorts
    Yellowjackets
9- The Undertaker: The Last Ride (2020)
    Succession
10- The Descent (2005)
11- Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2011)
      Perry Mason      
13- Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)  (R)
      Thriller: A Cruel Documentary (2022)
14- Songs From the Second Floor (2000) (R)
      Augustus by John Williams (1973)
15- Yellowjackets
      Ride In the Whirlwind (1966)
16- The Resurrection of Jake the Snake (2015)
      Succession
      Barry (2 episodes)
17- Wrestle Kingdom 11
      The Wrestler (2008) (R)
      There's Just One Problem by Brian Gewirtz (2022)
18- The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)
20- Beau Is Afraid (2023) (Marcus Theater Orland Park)
      Dazed and Confused (1993) (R)
21- Closely Watched Trains (1966)
22- Yellowjackets
      Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1988) (R)
      Fully Loaded 2000
23- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated Ameica by Richard Rothenstein (2017)
      The Righteous Gemstones
      Succession
      Barry
24- Mrs. Davis
      Great American Bash 1989
      High Plains Drifter (1973)
      The Righteous Gemstones (2)
25- The Righteous Gemstones (2)
      Perry Mason Season 2 Finale
      Purple Noon (1960)
28- Mrs. Davis
      WWE Vengeance 2005
      Ladies and Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman
      The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955)
29- Party Girl (1995)
      The Reflecting Skin (1990)
30- Succession
      Barry

MAY

1- Mrs. Davis (3 episodes)
    The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) (R)
2- Day of Anger (1967)
3- Gate of Flesh (1964)
4- American Graffiti (1973) (R)
    Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Rafferty (2019)
5- Mrs. Davis
    How to Blow Up A Pipeline (2023)
    Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
    Bitter Moon (1992)
6- Swarm (2 episodes)
    Mikey (1992)
    Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
7- Swarm (4 episodes)
8- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
    A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence (2014)
9- The Breaking Point (1950)
10- The Gleaners and I (2000)
11- The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later (2002)
      High Anxiety (1977)
      Mrs. Davis
      RIP Kenneth Anger
12- The Worst Person In the World (2021)
13- Blackberry (2023)
14- News From Home (1976)
      Succession
      Barry
16- Have A Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley (2000)
      Out of Sight (1998) (R)
      Judgment Night (1993)
17- Alley Cat (1984)
18- Mrs. Davis Series Finale
19- Set It Off (1996)
20- Yellowjackets (2 episodes)
21- Waiting For the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee (1980)
      Succession
      Barry
22- Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
     The American Friend (1977) (R)
     Light Sleeper (1992)
23- Olivia (1983)
25- My Struggle Book 4 by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2014) (tr. by Don Bartlett)
     Moonage Daydream (2022)
26- David Bowie: The Last Five Years (2018)
27- The Great Race (1965)
28- Succession Series Finale
29- Barry Season Finale
      The Celebration (1998)
      Can't Get You Out of My Head Part 1: Bloodshed On Wolf Mountain (2021)
30- Can't Get You Out of My Head Part 2: Shooting and Fucking Are the Same Thing (2021)
      Varda by Agnes (2019)
31- Can't Get You Out of Me Head Part 3: Money Changes Everything (2021)

JUNE
1- Can't Get You Out of My Head Part 4: But What If the People Are Stupid? (2021)
2- Dressed In Blue (1983)
    King: A Life by Jonathan Eig (2023)
4- Can't Get You Out of My Head Part 5: The Lordly Ones (2021)
    The Idol (Series Premiere)
5- Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023)
    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
    Can't Get You Out of My Head Part 6: Are We Pigeon? Or Are We Dancer? (2021)
6- Psycho by Robert Bloch (1959)
    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) (Marcus Theater Orland Park)
    His Motorbike, Her Island (1986)
7- F/X (1986)
    F/X 2 (1991)
9- Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol (1842) (tr. Pevear and Volokhonsky)
    I Think You Should Leave (6 episodes)
10- Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets (4 episodes)
      The Doom Generation (1995)
11- Everybody: A Book About Freedom by Olivia Laing (2021)
      Totally F***ed Up (1993)
      The Idol
12- The Man In the White Suit (1951)
       I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)
13- Drowning By Numbers (1988)
      RIP Cormac McCarthy
14- The Swimming Pool (1969)
16- The Sandlot (1993) (R)
17- City of Night by John Rechy (1963)
      Buddies (1985)
      Fresh Kill (1994)
18- The Righteous Gemstones (2 episodes)
19- The Player (1992) (R)
20- Sing Backwards and Weep: A Memoir by Mark Lanegan (2020)
      Coffy (1973) (R)
      Undefeatable (1993)
21- The King of Comedy (1983) (R)
      The Wicker Man (The Final Cut) (1973) (R)
22- The Bear
23- The Bear (2 episodes)
24- The Bear
25- The Bear (3 episodes)
26- Last Action Hero (1993) (R)
      Bringing Up Baby (1938) (R)
      Strangers With Candy (3 episodes)
27- Happy 37th Birthday!!!
      The Bear (3 episodes)
28- Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen (2021)
      All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace Pt. 1 (2011)
      The Righteous Gemstones
29- All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace Pts. 2 and 3 (2011)
      RIP Alan Arkin
30- Shakedown (2018)
      Philadelphia (1993) (R)

JULY

1- The In-Laws (1979) (R)
    Ghost In the Shell (1995)
    Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion (1970)
2- Peep Show (4 episodes)
    The Rehearsal
3- The Rehearsal
    The Righteous Gemstones
    Once Upon A Time In China (1991)
    The Jaws Log by Carl Gottlieb (1975)
4- Past Lives (2023) (AMC Crestwood 18)
    Jaws (1975) (R)
    The Twilight Zone: And When the Sky Was Opened, Nick of Time, Mirror Image, Mr. Dingle the Strong, The Silence, Deaths Head Revisited
5- The Rehearsal (3 episodes)
    The Last Detail (1973) (R)
6- Summer With Monika (1953)
7- Peep Show (2 episodes)
9- Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara (2022)
    Peep Show (2 episodes)
10- Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) (R)
      Kids In the Hall (4 episodes)
      Burnt Offerings (1976) (R)
11- Stakeout (1987)
      The Day After Trinity (1981)
12- The Righteous Gemstones
       Pierrot Le Fou (1965)
      Spacked Out (2000)
13- Kudos by Rachel Cusk (2018)
      Peep Show
      Full Circle 
14- Happy Gilmore (1996) (R)
      Full Circle
16- This Is Not Miami by Fernanda Melchor (2023) (tr. Sophie Hughes)
17- Boogie Nights (1997) (R) (The Music Box) (70mm)
18- The Righteous Gemstones
      Serpico (1973) (R)
      Last Call: When A Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York (2023) (1 episode)
19- Interstellar (2014) (R)
      Justified
21- Justified
22- Full Circle
     Jusified
23- Full Circle
     Justified
     The Righteous Gemstones
24- Oppenheimer (2023) (The Music Box) (70mm)
25- Jurassic Park (1993) (R)
      Summer of Night by Dan Simmons (1991)
26- Justified
      Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)
      China Girl (1974)
27- Keoma (1976)
      In the Cut (2003)
      Full Circle (2 episodes)
28- Nighthawks (1981)
30- Hiroshima by John Hersey (1946)
      The Righteous Gemstones 
31- The Righteous Gemstones Season 3 Finale
      Five Element Ninjas (1982)
      Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
      RIP Paul Reubens

AUGUST

1- Justified (3 episodes)
    Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) (R)
2- Barbie (2023) (Marcus Cinema)
    Justified
3- Menace II Society (1993)
    Justified
4- National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) (R)
    Jade (1995)
    Justified (2 episodes)
5- Golem (1980)
    Sans Soleil (1983) (R)
7- Sorcerer (1977) (R)
    RIP William Friedkin
8- Citizen Kane (1941) (w/ Ebert commentary)
    The Complete Citizen Kane (1991)
9- Charley Varrick (1973) (R)
    The Ear (1970)
10- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) (Marcus Cinema)
      Rampage (1987)
12- The Stronghold by Dino Buzzati (1945) (tr. by Lawrence Venuti)
      The Last Waltz (1978) (R)
14- The Third Man (1949) (R)
      The Counselor (2013) (R)
      White House Plumbers (3 episodes)
15- City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood In the 1940s by Otto Friedrich (1986)
      Oppenheimer (2023) (AMC Theaters Crestwood) (70mm) (R)
      Telemarketers
16- Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) (R)
      OldBoy (2003) (R)
      Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond (2023)
17- Marathon Man (1976) (R)
19- Wonder Women (1973)
      Paper Moon (1973) (R)
20- What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2018)
      Night Call Nurses (1972)
21- The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy (1965)
      White House Plumbers (2 episodes)
      Telemarketers
22- The Fortune Cookie (1966)
      Mr. Klein (1976)
23- Falling Down (1993) (R)
24- American Gigolo (1980)
27- Forty Guns (1957)
      A Fuller Life (2013)
     Telemarketers
28- Demonlover (2002)
      MST3K: The Touch of Satan
29- American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (2005)
     Pit Stop (1969)
     Sick of Myself (2022)
30- The Stonemason: A Play In Five Acts by Cormac McCarthy (1994)
      Fit to Kill (1993)
      Hickey and Boggs (1972)
      Sex and Fury (1973)
31- Key Largo (1948)

SEPTEMBER

2- Sorcerer (1977) (The Music Box) (R)
    The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) (Gene Siskel Film Center) (R)
    Duplex by Kathryn Davis (2013)
3- The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966)
    Taxi Hunter (1993)
4- Father of Lies by Brian Evenson (1998)
    The Innkeepers (2011) (R)
    Poison of the Fairies (1986)
    The Trap Part 1: Fuck You Buddy (2007)
5- The Trap Part 2: The Lonely Robot (2007)
    The Trap Part 3: We Will Force You to Be Free (2007)
    The Age of Innocence (1993) (The Music Box) (R)
6- Bottoms (2023) (Marcus Cinema)
7- Nightmares (1983)
    Mr. Vampire (1985)
8- Wild Things (1998) (R)
9- The Black Maybe: Liminal Tales by Attila Veres (2022) (tr. by Luca Karafiath)
    Mill of the Stone Women (1960)
10- Master Gardener (2023)
11- Ms. 45 (1981) (R)
      9/11: One Day In America (2021) (5 episodes)
12- The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq (1998) (tr. Frank Wynne)
      Primal Rage (1988)
      Red Spirit Lake (1993)
13- Satan's Slave (1976)
14- Demons (1971)
15- Psycho II (1983) (R)
16- Boys In the Valley by Philip Fracassi (2023)
      Evil Toons (1992)
18- The Invisible Man (1933) (R)
      Misery (1990) (R)
      The Cormorant by Stephen Gregory (1986)
19- Christine (1983) (R)
      The Haunted Palace (1963) 
      Tales of Terror (1962)
20- Taste of Fear (1961)
      Offspring by Jack Ketchum (1991)
21- Pigs (1973)
      Dracula Sucks (1979)
22- Eugenie de Sade (1973)
23- Fangs (1974)
24- Axe (1974)
     Kidnapped Co-Ed (1976)
25- Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (2023) (3 episodes)
26- Shock Value by Jason Zinoman (2011)
      The Boogey Man (1980)
      The Sect (1991)
      I, Madman (1989)
27- Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall (1976)
      Songs of A Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe by Thomas Ligotti (2015)
      Horrors of Malformed Men (1969)
28- Nightmares Come At Night (1970)
30- The Mummy (1932) (R)

OCTOBER

1- House of 1000 Corpses (2003) (R)
    Bloody Muscle Body Builder In Hell (1995)
2- Penda's Fen (1974)
    The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein (1973)
3- Doctor X (1932)
    Stop Making Sense (1984) (R) (AMC Crestwood 18)
    The Seventh Victim (1943)
4- Cujo by Stephen King (1981)
    Graverobbers (1988)
5- The Royal Hotel (2023) (AMC Crestwood 18)
7- The Inferno (1979)
    Blood (1973)
8- Sweet Home (1989)
9- The Inconsolables by Michael Wehunt (2023)
    The Sender (1982)
    The Black Tower (1987)
10- 964 Pinocchio (1991)
      Winter Kills (1979) (The Music Box)*
      Requiem For A Vampire (1971)
11- Don't Look Now (1973) (R)
12- When Evil Lurks (2023) (Marcus Theater)*
      The Crazies (1973)
13- Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) (R)
14- Wicked, Wicked (1973)
15- The Croning by Laird Barron (2012)
      Castle of Blood (1964)
16- Interview With the Vampire (1994) (R)
      Fall of the House of Usher (5 episodes)
17- Fall of the House of Usher (2 episodes)
      Hour of the Wolf (1968) (R)
      Through the Looking Glass (1976)
18- The Secret Life of Insects by Bernardo Esquinca (2023) (tr. by James D. Jenkins)
      The Nude Vampire (1970)
19- Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) (AMC Crestwood 18)*
20- Fall of the House of Usher (Series Finale)
      Out Ther Halloween Mega Tape (2022)
      The Joffrey Ballet Presents Frankenstein
21- J.D.'s Revenge (1976)
      Blood Ceremony aka The Legend of Blood Castle (1973)
22- Splatter: Naked Blood (1996)
23- WNUF Halloween Special (2021) (R)
      Inferno (1980) (R)
24- The House On Sorority Row (1983) (R)
      Redeemer: Son of Satan (1978)
      Malatesta's Carnival of Blood (1973) (R)
25- Sonny Boy (1989)
      The Unknown (1927)
26- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (1971)
      The Exorcist III (1990) (R)
27- Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1972)
29- Lorna the Exorcist (1974) (R)
30- Casper (1995) (R)
     The Appointment (1981) 
     Trick Or Treat (1986)
     Lips of Blood (1975)
31- The Haunting (1963) (R)
      Messiah of Evil (1973) (R)
      The Exorcist (1973) (R)

NOVEMBER
1- Big (1988) (R)
    New Rose Hotel (1998)
2- Double Indemnity by James Cain (1936)
    Double Indemnity (1944) (R)
3- Victim (1961)
4- Mildred Pierce (2011) (2 episodes)
5- Mildred Pierce (2011) (2 episodes)
6- Mildred Pierce (2011)
    Johnny Guitar (1954)
    Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children (2020) (3 episodes)
7- Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children (2020) (2 episodes)
    Divinity (2023) (AMC Crestwood)*
    The Devil, Probably (1977)
    Mascara (1983)
8- The Day of the Jackal (1973) (R)
9- Door (1988)
    Now and Then: The Last Beatles Song (2023)
11- Saving Private Ryan (1998) (R)
12- The Killer (2023)
13- Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) (AMC New City)*
      Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
      Mindhunter (3 episodes)
14- The Curse
      We Kill For Love (2023)
      The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
15- Anatomy of A Fall (2023) (AMC Crestwood)*
16- Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023)
     The Big Combo (1958)
17- The Lineup (1958)
      Murder By Contract (1958)
20- The Tall T (1957)
      The 4th Man (1983)
21- Dutch (1991)
      The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973)
23- Mason and Dixon by Thomas Pynchon (1997)
     Addams Family Values (1993) (R)
24- Magnificent Obsession (1954)
25- The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
      Caged (1950)
26- The Big Fix (1978)
      Mean Streets (1973) (R)
27- The Holy Mountain (1973) (R)
      The Sting (1973) (R)
28- Secret Ceremony (1968)
      Practical Magic (1998) (The Music Box)*
      Vampyros Lesbos (1971) (R) (The Music Box)*
29- The Holdovers (2023) (Marcus Cinema)*
30- A Civil Action (1998) (R)
     Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee by Dee Brown (1970)

DECEMBER
1- May December (2023)
2- Kubrick by Kubrick (2020)
3- The Go Between (1971)
4- Cash On Demand (1961)
    May December (2023) (R)
5- Five Decembers by James Kestrel (2021)
    Millennium Mambo (2001)
6- Dream Scenario (2023) (AMC Crestwood)*
7- Ronin (1998) (R)
9- Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed the Movies Forever by Matt Singer (2023)
    Distant (2002)
11- Fargo (4 episodes)
12- Godzilla Minus One (2023) (AMC Crestwood)*
      Tokyo Story (1953)
      Talking With Ozu (1993)
13- Safety Last! (1923) (R)
14- Christmas In July (1940)
15- Three Days of the Condor (1975) (R)
16- Against the Grain (2023)
17- Bad Santa (2003) (R)
18- Poor Things (2023) (Landmark Theater)*
      Blast of Silence (1961) (R)
      Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (2023)
19- Tangerine (2015) (R)
      The Mask (2023) (short film)
      Die Hard (1988) (R) (AMC Crestwood)*
20- Die Hard 2 (1990) (R)
      Fargo
      Eyes Wide Shut (1999) (R) (The Music Box)*
      The Curse
21- The Curse (2 episodes)
      Dial Code Santa Claus (1989) (R)
22- The Curse (3 episodes)
     The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow (2021)
23- The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) (R)
      The Curse
24- A Christmas Story (1983) (R)
     Sex Is Crazy (1981)
26- Terminal Island (1973)
27- Ferrari (2023) (Marcus Cinema)*
      Fargo
29- The Curse
30- Attack of the Beast Creatures (1985)
     Agua Viva by Clarice Lispector (1973)
31- The Spook Who Sat By the Door (1973) (R)

Monday, March 4, 2024

The 2O24 Oscars Race is Heating Up!!

  

 That title was a bait-and-switch, I couldn't care less about The Oscars, so let's talk about something more important, more entertaining, and all-around healthier:

  Right up top: the overall plot is predictable. You know this story, you know this structure, and it doesn't take any interesting detours along the way - I'm unbothered by this because what IS surprising is, for the first time in fucking ever, the TEENAGE part of a TMNT movie is actually given some consideration.

   The way these kids talk over each other and act fucking annoying is pretty great, charming even. Mutant Mayhem is a testament to verisimilitude; through dialog that's both written and improvised on a single mic (as opposed to each voice actor having their own booth) the teen actors imbue Mikey, Raph, Donnie, and Leo with so much history and character (especially Donnie because he still has a pre-teen squeak). They're lame where it counts but also fucking cool when the challenge arises (with a fucking stellar score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross). The same goes for Splinter, April, Superfly, and the Mutants - everyone is given a chance to shine (Jackie Chan, Ayo Edebiri, and Ice Cube fucking nail it [Cube hasn't been this funny since 22 Jump Street]).

  Hell, I haven't cared about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since I was a kid but I saw this movie three times in the theater and showed it to two different sets of friends at home. When I first saw it, during the sing-along to What's Going On by Four Non-Blondes, I realized my face hurt from smiling so much. And to make matters worse/better: when Mondo Gecko is launched out of the window and earnestly asks "What's going on?!" on cue and in pitched-down slo-mo...I lost my entire shit. Didn't expect this to be the funniest movie of 2023 but what a surprise it turned out to be, on so many fronts.

  Even the way their physicality is animated makes them feel authentic; the way they hang on each other and navigate their spatial awareness (and lack thereof) in their action scenes as well as the hangout moments. More than that, the textures of the entire world are so rich. Taking a cue from the Spider-Verse aesthetic, Mutant Mayhem details its animation with action lines, sketch marks, and other 'imperfections.' Like artists who broke out of hyper-realism in favor of abstract expressionism, animated movies are in transition. Hopefully the super synthetic and rubbery polish of Pixar and Illumination will die out completely because what Mutant Mayhem, the Spider-Verse movies, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, and The Mitchells Vs. The Machines have given us instead have so much more personality and nuance.

  Mutant Mayhem is, more than any of its contemporaries, kinda gross and ugly - thankfully. The whole movie looks like teenage scribbles on the margins of math homework - the kind of doodles born out of procrastination. Even the light rays from street lamps are sloppily sketched in instead of having a 'natural' glow, which isn't something I ever thought I'd praise but, in our ongoing AI plague, it's refreshing to see such deliberate human touch.

  The climax is, again, so fucking great that it dodges any criticisms I'd normally lob against the familiar predictability of it all. The characters and their arcs are so well-written, well-acted, and well-animated in an inexorably funny movie that it makes for one of the most thoroughly enjoyable experiences I've had this decade. When April was throwing up or the boys were doing their Oldboy-style match-cut fight sequence set to No Diggity, or Superfly talking about forced "Big Booty Boy Races" he has planned for human slaves - plot was the furthest thing from my mind.

   I'm not gonna yuck my own yum.

Monday, February 26, 2024

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

MR. & MRS. SMITH (Cover)

 


   I love cover songs but only when they do their own thing; if I wanted to hear the original, I'd listen to the original. A cover is a great opportunity for new textures and, when a great cover comes along, it's reinvigorating (not to mention if you love both, that means you now have two of the same song to pick from based on your mood - it's such a treat).

  That said, anytime I hear some actor/writer/director say they're involved in a remake of a movie or show because they're "a big fan of the original," my immediate response is "...then why remake it?" Music is different, there's definitely something to be said about wanting to do a cover of a song because you love it so much, but movies aren't necessarily remade out of love - it's more cynically capitalist or there's a need to do it better (unless it's A Christmas Carol or A Star Is Born which seem fated to be remade until the end of time). I can think of plenty of fumbled movies that absolutely need remakes because, as they exist, they're monuments of wasted potential (Lisa Frankenstein is the most unfortunately recent example) but there are some that I have no strong opinions on either way.

  Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a movie I've never felt much for so it was a huge relief to read that Donald Glover was not only remaking it, but he watched it and wasn't a fan, and more importantly: he was honest about that. He admitted that he saw room for improvement and then, with Francesca Sloane, worked to make one hell of a cover album that I can't get out of my head. I repeat quotes like humming a melody and mull over its themes like unpacking lyricism. It's even structured in a satisfying way.

  There's virtually no plot that isn't eclipsed by character-driven momentum and all the juicy dialog typically chewed on these narrative roadtrips. The details of their spy missions (and sometimes even the action) are incidental unless they affect our burgeoning couple's dynamic. Every episode is about the different stages of dating (episode 5 is all about raising a child which is one of the funniest things I've ever seen [imagine Baby's Day Out but Ron Perlman plays the baby]) and by the time the finale rolls around you'd swear you've known this couple for more than just one season.

   Glover and Maya Erskine are so good that it took me 6 episodes to realize just how good they were. And I don't mean that they were unimpressive until Episode 6, no, I mean that they're so good that they flew under my radar. Their chemistry is so natural and potent that watching them feels like eavesdropping in a way; sexy, off-color, and perceptive. They're hot international spies but goddamn if they're not also lame and dumb at times.

  Most romcoms tend to write the most snarky, witty, cutesy dialog for the illusion of making our characters likable and charismatic, but not here. The dialog between these two is consistently funny, sure, but it's so uncommonly naked in how ordinary it sounds and it's delivered with such understated sharpness that it makes them more than simply 'likable,' but, rather, relatable and charming without feeling forced or desperate. Their conversations are moreso the kinds that couples have on their way home from seeing a romcom.

  They manage to capture the authenticity of a relationship and all of its intricate intimacies and the conversations knotted up therein - including a lovely little set-up/payoff about having to fart in the middle of the night. It's not a 'fart joke' in a crude juvenile sense, it's just... something we all deal with as couples and so unexpectedly cute without rotting your teeth. It's as much about what we say to each other but also about what ISN'T said (or is subtly implied) that makes these two interesting - which is more important than any romcom likability, and that plays into the show's theme of omission. The finale is the closest the show gets to the original movie but it goes far beyond the one-liner quips and bullet-spraying. We're thrust into a marathon of a first act and then brought down by an unexpectedly earnest, woozy, sexy, and sad final act that brings it all to a bold close that, if there's no other season planned...is quite a masterstroke for Glover and Sloane.

   Admittedly, this has been a slow year for both movies and TV (Fargo s5 and The Curse don't count because they bled over from 2023) so this sets a high bar for the rest of 2024, or until Glover does something else. I wonder what other movies he might want to improve.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Berlin Alexanderplatz

"We take for granted that filmmakers are, if they so wish, in the game of recycling. Adapting novels is one of the most venerable types of movie projects, although a book that calls itself a novelization seems-rightly-barbarous. Being a hybrid art as well as a late one, film has always been in a dialogue with other narrative genres.(...)

In Berlin Alexanderplatz, cinema has at last achieved some of the accumulative power of the novel by being as long as it is- and by being theatrical."

                                                                      -Susan Sontag, Novel Into Film, Vanity Fair 1983

Susan Sontag said in the same article the film is best experienced broken up into four days. The Gene Siskel Film Center decided to one up the advice and present it in two days. A novel broken up into 13 chapters and an Epilogue, the theater broken it down as such:

SATURDAY
Pts I-II
(20 minute break)
Pts III-V
(20 minute break)
Pts VI-VII

SUNDAY
Pts. VIII- IX
(10 minute break)
Pts. X- XI
(20 minute break)
Pts. XII-XIII
(10 minute break)
Epilogue

The cumulative effect of having watched such a long work is to have the parts play off each other. The themes are more present and in tune. 




Since the age of 14, Rainer Werner Fassbinder has been obssessed with Alfred Doblin's 1922 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz. Alfred Doblin's novel is about Franz Biberkopf, a man who has just been released from prison for the murder of a woman. The narrative concerns itself with the fight for Franz's soul and his quest to live as honestly as he can. So it is fitting the first part of Fassbinder's opus is titled The Punishment Begins. His struggle doesn't so much happen to him in prison, but once he is released.

When RWF was finally ready to tackle the adaptation, he had already made 34 films. He was only 35. The prolific nature of Fassbinder brings to mind the studio system of the 30s and 40s. But even then you don't have the consistency in quality Fassbinder was pumping out. The only director I can think of who has been more prolific is Jess Franco. And still, the ratio of quality films to mediocre films is not that good. 

Fassbinder regulars Hanna Schygulla, Gottfried John and Brigitte Mira plays prominent parts. On an aesthetic level, he chooses to shoot in 16mm with Xaver Schwarzenberger behind the camera. Someone whom he worked with for the first time. 


Ian Penman describes Fassbinder as having been a part of the center of a 5 circle venn diagram. One is political: left-wing post-1968 gay liberation. Two: Hollywood and popular TV/film, taking in noir and melodrama with special reference to Sirk. Three: European film including Godard, Bresson, Melville, Bunuel, Chabrol. Four: radical theatre with special reference to Brecht. Five: European culture, including Genet, Doblin, Artaud and Van Gogh. 

Unlike his peers of the New German movement, Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders, he has become difficult to smooth down. Too untidy and paradoxical. Over four decades after his passing in 1982 at the age of 37, his messiness remains. 

The 15 hour magnum opus can be considered a summation of his filmography as much as it be of the themes he regularly displays. The intersection of sex and sexuality, masculinity and misogny, money and labor, politics and ideology. 

In an interview with the director in 1980, he was asked if he sees similarities from Alexanderplatz to the present days. His response: "I am certain that an exact description of the Weimar Republic, which Alexanderplatz is, has something to do with our republic. I believe it is becoming more right wing just as the Weimar Republic had. So I think there are parallels. Individual points can be refuted, but I think this is a general tendency in politics. I will continue to try to at least make the audience aware of this right-wing trend so that they don't just stupidly and unconsciously go along with it like in the past."