Film Journal 2010
* after title indicates
film was seen on dvd/video
^ after title indicates film was unfinished.
Title in italic indicates that I had previously seen the film
Title in Blue is TV.
001. (Jan 01) TIME OUT (2001, Laurent Cantet)* 65
001. (Jan 02) LOST 4.5: THE CONSTANT (2008, Jack Bender)* 70
002. (Jan 03) THE BEACHES OF AGNÉS (2008, Agnés Varda) 52
003. (Jan 03) BROKEN EMBRACES (2009, Pedro Almodovar) 47
004. (Jan 04) THE TALL TARGET (1951, Anthony Mann)* 71
005. (Jan 05) ARMORED (2009, Nimròd Antal)* 56
002. (Jan 05) LOST 4.6: THE OTHER WOMAN (2008, Eric Laneuville)* 58
003. (Jan 06) LOST 4.7: JI YEON (2008, Stephen Semel)* 60
004. (Jan 06) LOST 4.8: MEET KEVIN JOHNSON (2008, Stephen Williams)* 65
005. (Jan 06) LOST 4.9: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (2008, Jack Bender)* 73
006. (Jan 06) LOST 4.10: SOMETHING NICE BACK HOME (2008, Stephen Williams)* 59
007. (Jan 10) LOST 4.11: CABIN FEVER (2008, Paul A. Edwards)* 67
008. (Jan 10) LOST 4.12: THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: PART 1 (2008, Stephen Williams)* 61
009. (Jan 10) LOST 4.13: THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: PART 2 (2008, Jack Bender)* 63
Overall Average Grade for S4 is 63.
010. (Jan 10) LOST 5.1: BECAUSE YOU LEFT (2009, Stephen Williams)* 63
011. (Jan 10) LOST 5.2: THE LIE (2009, Jack Bender)* 58
006. (Jan 10) THE OUTSIDERS (1983, Francis Ford Coppola)* 50
012. (Jan 12) LOST 5.3: JUGHEAD (2009, Rod Holcomb)* 65
013. (Jan 12) LOST 5.4: THE LITTLE PRINCE (2009, Stephen Williams)* 56
007. (Jan 12) A NEW LEAF (1971, Elaine May) 84
014. (Jan 13) LOST 5.5: THIS PLACE IS DEATH (2009, Paul A. Edwards)* 49
015. (Jan 13) LOST 5.6: 316 (2009, Stephen Williams)* 54
016. (Jan 13) LOST 5.7: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JEREMY BENTHAM (2009, Jack Bender)* 58
017. (Jan 14) LOST 5.8: LAFLEUR (2009, Mark Goldman)* 65
018. (Jan 14) LOST 5.9: NAMASTE (2009, Jack Bender)* 61
019. (Jan 14) LOST 5.10: HE'S OUR YOU (2009, Greg Yaitanes)* 64
020. (Jan 14) LOST 5.11: WHATEVER HAPPENED, HAPPENED (2009, Bobby Roth)* 57
021. (Jan 14) LOST 5.12: DEAD IS DEAD (2009, Stephen Williams)* 62
022. (Jan 15) LOST 5.13: SOME LIKE IT HOTH (2009, Jack Bender)* 65
008. (Jan 15) MISSISSIPPI MERMAID (1969, François Truffaut) 73
023. (Jan 15) LOST 5.14: THE VARIABLE (2009, Paul A. Edwards)* 68
024. (Jan 16) LOST 5.15: FOLLOW THE LEADER (2009, Stephen Williams)* 62
025. (Jan 16) LOST 5.16: THE INCIDENT (2009, Jack Bender)* 64
Overall Average Grade for S5 is 61.
009. (Jan 16) THE SWIMMER (1968, Frank Perry) 66
Feels caught in between New and Old Hollywood and while it's inventive and cleverly metaphorical; it's also not opposed to underlining theme and metaphor just to show you how damn clever it's being. Perry seems to me a very talented director with interesting ideas but I'm not sure if he ever executed them well enough or consistently enough to make a great film (but I still have more exploring to do in Perry's filmography, which is criminally underrepresented on DVD).
010. (Jan 17) THE HURT LOCKER (2008, Kathryn Bigelow)* 69
Second viewing, no change in grade. I still think some of the quiet scenes are overwritten and the tension in the suspense set-pieces is sometimes monkeyed with in a very dishonest way. The final change of perspective at home with Renner's character also doesn't really work for me. This film is at its best when it operates as a procedural and structures itself as a day in the life; much less successful when it tries to psychoanalyses the behavior of the soldiers.
011. (Jan 17) THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS (2009, Terry Gilliam) 28
A complete disaster.
012. (Jan 18) WESTBOUND (1959, Budd Boetticher)* 65
Actually less minor that I was led to believe but still not quite as strong as some of the other Ranown films.
013. (Jan 18) MILANO CALIBRO 9 (1972, Fernando Di Leo)* 75
Second viewing, first while totally sober and I must say that I enjoyed it even more this time. Bacalov's terrific score gives this a pulse and Di Leo is not one to shy away from stylishness for its own sake, but here he actually has a strong script to work with and his quirks contribute to the general air of surliness.
014. (Jan 18) CITY OF FEAR (1959, Irving Lerner)* 57
Much less successful that Lerner's previous MURDER BY CONTRACT but not devoid of interest, at all. There's a nice jazzy score by Goldsmith and a nice level of maintained tension. I also enjoyed seeing the streets of late-50s Los Angeles being filmed so well. I am bitter that I missed seeing a print of this last year at the New Beverly (I was at TIFF); I would show up to revisit it if they decided to show it again.
015. (Jan 18) INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009, Quentin Tarantino)* 93
Nothing new noticed this time. I still have a marginal problem with Hitler, Myers and the flashed sex scene between Goebbels and his French interpreter. I guess these are pretty minor complaints though since this is a film that has so much to offer in terms of eccentric writing, fluid direction and terrific performances. I watched all of the bonus material too but the only thing that I really found essential was the brief moment of Tarantino directing Laurent before the extended restaurant scene.
016. (Jan 22) I'M NOT THERE (2007, Todd Haynes)* 85
Second viewing, slight upgrade from 84. I also listened to Haynes terrific audio commentary which helps unpack the themes, characters as signposts and vague Dylan references that a moderate Dylan-buff like myself would not necessarily pick up.
017. (Jan 24) THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO (2009, Rob Zombie)* 61
Irreverent and funny. I particularly enjoyed the Nazi Zombie theme song in the style of 60s band The Zombies and the musical number during the catfight encouraging you to mastutbate to the animation ("the Japanese do it all the time" obviously). I didn't recognize Rosario Dawson's voice.
s001. (Jan 25) WORLD OF GLORY (1991, Roy Andersson)* PRO
A stunning film. I watched it again with Roy Andersson's commentary turned on then watched the section on the dvd about the making of the scenes and was pretty stunned by Andersson's filmmaking process and the way he processes the images.
018. (Jan 25) BLACK DYNAMITE (2009, Scott Sanders)* 38
I really wasn't sure of the comedy premise that this film was working upon (Is it making fun of those films? Is it making fun of the spirit of those films? Is it really just throwing out random jokes without really following a premise?) and so i was unsure how to approach the material and I didn't really laugh along with it or at it's meta humor. There are a lot of grindhouse pastiches being made right now and I think this film could have learned a lot from studying the way HOUSE OF THE DEVIL paid loving homage to the films that inspired it or the way PLANET TERROR playfully sent up some of the goofy elements while still trying to achieve a similar tone as the films it was imitating. BLACK DYNAMITE was less funny than COFFY and certainly more restrained in its sex and violence (staples of the genre). There's certainly nothing as goofy / exhileratingly brutal here as the scene where Coffy sticks razorblades in her afro as a preemptive measure that plays off in her cat fight in the next scene. I think I like and understand blaxploitation films more than Scott Sanders does.
s002. (Jan 27) JOHN AND NORMA NOVAK (1977, Clu Gulager) pro
019. (Jan 27) REFLECTIONS OF EVIL (2002, Damon Packard) 64
Overlong but there are some really terrific sequences here (theme park hell and Carpenter's "We've Only Just Begun"). Apparently a four hour version exists, if only a 45 minute version existed.
s003. (Jan 27) A DAY WITH THE BOYS (1969, Clu Gulager) pro
s004. (Jan 27) FUCKING TULSA (1992, Clu Gulager) mixed
Hard to tell what this would have been. It's nasty and moody but it doesn't add up to anything.
019. (Jan 28) HOME (2008, Ursula Meier)* 58
Conceptual above all else. Starts well but character actions are schematic and alien, in order to achieve desired end point.
020. (Jan 31) NIGHT AND DAY (2009, Hong Sang-soo)* 69
021. (Jan 31) THE MESSENGER (2009, Oren Moverman)* 66
026. (Feb 02) LOST 6.1 & 6.2: LA X (2010, Jack Bender)* 64
027. (Feb 09) LOST 6.3: WHAT KATE DOES (2010, Paul A. Edwards)* 58
022. (Feb 13) KILLER OF SHEEP (1977, Charles Burnett) 45
023. (Feb 13) THE EXILES (1961, Kent MacKenzie) 64
024. (Feb 14) 52 PICK UP (1986, John Frankenheimer)* 76
025. (Feb 15) THE WOLFMAN (2010, Joe Johnston) 53
026. (Feb 15) EDGE OF DARKNESS (2010, Martin Campbell) 56
027. (Feb 15) CRAZY HEART (2009, Scott Cooper) 58
028. (Feb 16) A SINGLE MAN (2009, Tom Ford) 51
028. (Feb 16) LOST 6.4: THE SUBSTITUTE (2010, Tucker Gates)* 65
029. (Feb 17) BUFFALO '66 (1998, Vincent Gallo) 78
030. (Feb 17) STAR 80 (1983, Bob Fosse) 65
031. (Feb 18) SHUTTER ISLAND (2010, Martin Scorsese) 68
032. (Feb 19) SHUTTER ISLAND (2010, Martin Scorsese) 74
033. (Feb 21) THE GHOST WRITER (2010, Roman Polanski) 66
034. (Feb 22) SHAMPOO (1975, Hal Ashby) 57
Second viewing, first was when I was a teenager. I'm still not really a fan. I think it overreaches the potential comedy of the premise with ham-fisted political backdrop (set against Nixon winning the presidency) and I find it more interesting as a portrait of Los Angeles in the late-60s than as a character study.
035. (Feb 22) BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997, Paul Thomas Anderson) 90
Not sure how many viewing's this is for me but my grade is the same as it was last viewing and lower than it would have been when I was in my late teens.
028. (Feb 16) LOST 6.5: LIGHTHOUSE (2010, Jack Bender)* 59
036. (Feb 23) TRAINING DAY (2001, Antoine Fuqua)* 65
Second viewing, no change in grade or opinion. Very good set-up to this picture but the film becomes less interesting once Alonzo's plan starts to take prominence in the plot. Probably would have been better served by just updating COLORS and sticking to the procedural on the day training of one cop by another who is more senior and corrupted by his experience. I prefer Hawke's work here to Washington's more showy performance. Oh yeah, that's Eva Mendes and oh yeah she's naked.
037. (Feb 25) BREAKING AWAY (1979, Peter Yates) 69
Second viewing, first in about a decade. Much less impressed this time by the quirkiness of the character sketches and the on-the-nose dialogue (especially in the early scenes) but there is still enough truth in the central drama that the film plays as an enthusiastic populist film with strong performances.
038. (Feb 25) BOTTLE ROCKET (1996, Wes Anderson) 71
Third viewing but first in close to a decade. I was probably PRO on this before but now it seems too slight compared to the expansive later Anderson pictures (which play with many of the same themes explored here). Some of the relationships are too tidy and the interest in crime seems incidental and perfunctory (it was a pre-requite of sorts in the mid-90s, post-PULP FICTION indie film scene).
039. (Feb 28) THE CRAZIES (2010, Breck Eisner) 59
A little better than the Romero original but also much less interested in subtext and telling both sides of the story. Eisner takes an approach very similar to Snyder's with the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake showing much more interest in horror seeping into ordinary small town world than taking the horror into the next level and actually showing something about the society. On the otherhand, this is exceptionally well cast and fairly tightly edited (although I think some of the initial set-up scenes could have been cut).
029. (Mar 02) LOST 6.6: SUNDOWN (2010, Bobby Roth)* 62
040. (Mar 03) GREEN ZONE (2010, Paul Greengrass) No Grade
I worked on this film from Jan 2008 to July 2009. I have seen it a few hundred times before but this was my first theatrical viewing of the completed film with final dub, score and DI.
041. (Mar 05) THE LOVELESS (1982, Kathryn Bigelow & Monty Montgomery)* 68
Never fully perverse but this film definitely processes the 1950s in a way not dissimilar to Todd Haynes FAR FROM HEAVEN and sees these wild ones as expressions of individuality that's both troublesome and dangerous to those around them. It's pretty amazing how much Bigelow & Montgomery are able to get across with just their moody lighting and off-kilter camerawork.
042. (Mar 06) TERROR TRAIN (1980, Roger Spottiswoode) 59
Spottiswoode really nails the two set pieces and I was surprised by how old fashion most of it felt, including the casting of Ben Johnson and the whole train location as a horror vehicle out of Agatha Christie. The ending twist is stupid in a fun way and every David Copperfield shot seemed to elicit delighted giggling from everyone in the theater, myself included. "Do you believe in magic?"
043. (Mar 07) POINT BREAK (1991, Kathryn Bigelow)* 80
Awesome twist on thin line separating cops and robbers with both of them connecting over surfing (and other extreme sports) which becomes a metaphor for the adrenaline rush that pushed both sides towards their line of work. Very silly at times but all of the action sequences are handled with such kinetic energy that it's quite stunning to see what can be accomplished without reducing things to shaky camera work or expressionist editing. Way better than BAD BOYS II, just for the record.
030. (Mar 09) LOST 6.7: DR. LINUS (2010, Mario Van Peebles)* 60
044. (Mar 10) K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER (2002, Kathryn Bigelow)* 55
I avoided this during the initial release because Ford's accent looked embarassing but I decided to catch up with it now because of Bigelow's recent Oscar win. She does an admirable job creating clausterphobia and dread onboard the submarine. The ending is a mis-step and I was left uncertain as to why Bigelow attached to this project unless it was just to show the professionalism and bravery that the men exhibited during stressful times.
045. (Mar 15) PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007, Oren Peli)* 70
Several great things at work here. First off, there's a really great horror structure with every night bringing more bumps in the night to scare our hapless characters out of their sleep. It's quite jarring when Peli decides to interrupt the structure with a jolt in the daytime (the clawed photo upstairs) or plays with the anticipation of the psychic arriving again only to have him leave almost immediately. Then there's the night shot with the door open inviting us to anticipate dread and begging us to study any change in lighting or sound design fluctuation. It's like the reverse of THE EXORCIST shot where we follow characters up the stairs and into Regan's room, instead we're already perched in the room waiting for whatever horror to come get us. I don't think the ending works and the alternative ending similarly misses what's actually scary, we don't really require a big BOO moment and when it comes it undermines the Lewton-esque minimalism that Peli has been using to imply danger and dread. I would have preferred the off-camera scream maybe followed eventually with fire spreading through the house, with the characters remaining offscreen.
031. (Mar 16) LOST 6.8: RECON (2010, Jack Bender)* 65
046. (Mar 18) ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010, Tim Burton) 37
I think I'm giving up on Tim Burton for now. He used to be such a strong personality but now is just an anonymous automaton.
047. (Mar 19) AFFLICTION (1997, Paul Schrader)* 48
Great performances from Nolte and Spacek but the characters arcs are very predictable and the mystery plot is basically a complete bust.
048. (Mar 19) FOOD, INC. (2009, Robert Kenner)* 53
Some interesting information that I didn't previously know but the documentary is very poorly structured.
049. (Mar 20) FREEBIE AND THE BEAN (1974, Richard Rush)* 42
Very strange early incarnation of the buddy cop movie that builds upon DIRTY HARRY without any hint of implied criticism towards the behavior of the characters (playing the police abuse and racism as irreverent comedic elements). Some compelling scenes and offbeat tone but often just obnoxious.
050. (Mar 20) SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (1956, Budd Boetticher)* 87
Second viewing. Now seems nearly as strong as THE TALL T in terms of spare plotting and terse dialogue.
051. (Mar 20) NO IMPACT MAN (2009, Laura Gabbert & Justin Schein)* 33
052. (Mar 23) THE TERMINAL MAN (1974, Mike Hodges)* 50
032. (Mar 23) LOST 6.9: AB AETERNO (2010, Tucker Gates)* 60
033. (Mar 24) JUSTIFIED 1.1: FIRE IN THE HOLE (2010, Michael Dinner)* 71
034. (Mar 24) JUSTIFIED 1.2: RIVERBROOK (2010, Michael Dinner)* 61
053. (Mar 24) CHINATOWN (1974, Roman Polanski)* 95
054. (Mar 25) THE NINTH GATE (1999, Roman Polanski)* 73
055. (Mar 28) DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (1994, Roman Polanski)* 71
056. (Mar 28) SNIPER (1993, Luis Llosa)* 46
057. (Mar 28) DEATH HUNT (1981, Peter Hunt)* 58
058. (Mar 29) SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST (1997, Kirby Dick)* 55
059. (Mar 29) MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME (1985, George Miller & George Ogilvie)* 51
035. (Mar 30) LOST 6.10: THE PACKAGE (2010, Paul A. Edwards)* 58
036. (Mar 30) JUSTIFIED 1.3: FIXER (2010, Frederick King)* 63
060. (Apr 01) GREENBERG (2010, Noah Baumbach) 75
061. (Apr 04) WHO THE #$&% IS JACKSON POLLOCK (2006, Harry Moses)* 23
062. (Apr 04) STREET FIGHT (2005, Marshall Curry)* 67
063. (Apr 04) THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED (2006, Kirby Dick)* 20
064. (Apr 04) ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ (1979, Don Siegel)* 68
065. (Apr 05) NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN (1996, Sidney Lumet)* 65
066. (Apr 05) JULIE & JULIA (2009, Nora Ephron)* 45
037. (Mar 30) LOST 6.11: HAPPILY EVER AFTER (2010, Jack Bender)* 65
038. (Mar 30) JUSTIFIED 1.4: LONG IN THE TOOTH (2010, Adam Arkin)* 70
067. (Apr 07) PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (1973, Sam Peckinpah)* 81
Second viewing of 1988 Preview Cut.
068. (Apr 07) THE TALL T (1959, Budd Boetticher)* 90
069. (Apr 08) MULHOLLAND DR. (2001, David Lynch) 86
070. (Apr 08) TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (1992, David Lynch) 72
071. (Apr 09) LADY FOR A DAY (1933, Frank Capra) 57
072. (Apr 09) AMERICAN MADNESS (1932, Frank Capra) 60
073. (Apr 11) FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009, Wes Anderson)* 80
039. (Apr 13) LOST 6.11: EVERYBODY LOVES HUGO (2010, Daniel Attias)* 62
040. (Apr 13) JUSTIFIED 1.5: THE LORD OF WAR AND THUNDER (2010, Jon Avnet)* 65
074. (Apr 15) ZODIAC (2007, David Fincher)* 86
075. (Apr 16) BRIEF CROSSING (2001, Catherine Breillat)* 71
076. (Apr 16) LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (2009, F. Gary Gray)* 14
077. (Apr 18) THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS (1983, Carl Reiner)* 62
078. (Apr 18) THE FIRM (1993, Sidney Pollack)* 64
079. (Apr 19) WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009, Ondi Timoner)* 65
041. (Apr 20) LOST 6.12: THE LAST RECRUIT (2010, Stephen Semel)* 58
042. (Apr 20) JUSTIFIED 1.6: THE COLLECTION (2010, Rod Holcomb)* 61
080. (Apr 23) WELCOME TO L.A. (1976, Alan Rudolph) 60
081. (Apr 24) RAPT (2009, Lucas Belvaux) 62
082. (Apr 24) MAKING PLANS FOR LENA (2009, Christophe Honoré) 39
083. (Apr 25) THE KING OF COMEDY (1983, Martin Scorsese) 76
084. (Apr 25) EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (2009, Banksy) 66
043. (Apr 27) JUSTIFIED 1.7: BLIND SPOT (2010, Michael W. Watkins)* 64
085. (May 01) YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME (2005, Kevin McAlester)* 51
086. (May 01) FRANTIC (1988, Roman Polanski)* 47
087. (May 02) BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA (1996, Mike Judge)* 67
088. (May 02) HELVETICA (2007, Gary Hustwit)* 56
089. (May 03) KICK-ASS (2010, Matthew Vaughn) 34
044. (Apr 27) LOST 6.13: THE CANDIDATE (2010, Jack Bender)* 55
045. (May 04) JUSTIFIED 1.8: BLOWBACK (2010, Jon Avnet)* 65
090. (May 06) FREEWAY (1996, Matthew Bright) 80
046. (May 11) LOST 6.14: ACROSS THE SEA (2010, Tucker Gates)* 39
047. (May 11) JUSTIFIED 1.9: HATLESS (2010, Rod Holcomb)* 72
048. (May 19) LOST 6.15: WHAT THEY DIED FOR (2010, Jack Bender)* 57
091. (May 19) PAULINE AT THE BEACH (1983, Eric Rohmer) 78
092. (May 19) A TALE OF SPRINGTIME (1990, Eric Rohmer) 62
049. (May 19) JUSTIFIED 1.10: THE HAMMER (2010, John Dahl)* 60
050. (May 23) LOST 6.16: THE END (2010, Jack Bender)* 45
Overall Average Grade for S6 is 62. Overall Average Grade for Series is 59.5.
051. (May 26) JUSTIFIED 1.11: VETERANS (2010, Tony Goldwyn)* 58
052. (May 26) BREAKING BAD 1.1: PILOT (2008, Vince Gilligan)* 63
053. (May 26) BREAKING BAD 1.2: CAT'S IN THE BAG (2008, Adam Bernstein)* 68
054. (May 26) BREAKING BAD 1.3: ...AND THE BAG'S IN THE RIVER (2008, Adam Bernstein)* 65
055. (May 26) BREAKING BAD 1.4: CANCER MAN (2008, Jim McKay)* 52
056. (May 26) BREAKING BAD 1.5 GRAY MATTER (2008, Tricia Brock)* 60
057. (May 27) BREAKING BAD 1.6: CRAZY HANDFUL OF NOTHIN' (2008, Bronwen Hughes)* 71
058. (May 27) BREAKING BAD 1.7: A NO-ROUGH-STUFF-TYPE DEAL (2008, Tim Hunter)* 69
Overall Average Grade for S1 is 64.
059. (May 27) BREAKING BAD 2.1: SEVEN THIRTY-SEVEN (2009, Bryan Cranston)* 68
060. (May 27) BREAKING BAD 2.2: GRILLED (2009, Charles Haid)* 66
061. (May 27) BREAKING BAD 2.3: BIT BY A DEAD BEE (2009, Terry McDonough)* 66
093. (May 27) EVERYONE ELSE (2009, Maren Ade) 58
094. (May 27) THE KILLER IS LOOSE (1956, Budd Boetticher) 39
095. (May 28) TOTAL RECALL (1990, Paul Verhoeven)* 75
096. (May 29) 99 AND 44/100% DEAD (1974, John Frankenheimer) 42
062. (May 31) BREAKING BAD 2.4: DOWN (2009, John Dahl)* 71
063. (May 31) BREAKING BAD 2.5: BREAKAGE (2009, Johan Renck)* 70
064. (May 31) BREAKING BAD 2.6: PEEKABOO (2009, Peter Medek)* 66
065. (May 31) BREAKING BAD 2.7: NEGRO Y AZUL (2009, Félix Alcalá)* 67
066. (May 31) BREAKING BAD 2.8: BETTER CALL SAUL (2009, Terry McDonough)* 72
067. (Jun 02) JUSTIFIED 1.12: FATHERS AND SONS (2010, Michael Katleman)* 62
097. (Jun 02) IRON MAN 2 (2010, Jon Favreau) 57
098. (Jun 04) SPLICE (2010, Vincenzo Natali) 59
068. (Jun 08) JUSTIFIED 1.13: BULLETVILLE (2010, Adam Arkin)* 73
099. (Jun 09) THE BOURNE IDENTITY (2002, Doug Liman)* 65
100. (Jun 10) THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004, Paul Greengrass)* 57
101. (Jun 11) THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007, Paul Greengrass)* No Grade
102. (Jun 14) THEY LIVE (1988, John Carpenter)* 78
103. (Jun 16) BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS (2009, Werner Herzog)* 73
104. (Jun 18) WINTER'S BONE (2010, Debra Granik) 66
105. (Jun 20) ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (1973, James William Guercio)* 75
s005. (Jun 21) DAY & NIGHT (2010, Teddy Newton) con
106. (Jun 21) TOY STORY 3 (2010, Lee Unkrich) 56
107. (Jun 21) TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (1971, Monte Hellman)* 81
108. (Jun 22) MACON COUNTY LINE (1974, Richard Compton)* 55
109. (Jun 22) THE LAST AIRBENDER (2010, M. Night Shyamalan) 13
110. (Jun 23) REAR WINDOW (1954, Alfred Hitchcock) 89
111. (Jun 24) ANTON CHEKHOV'S THE DUEL (2009, Dover Koshashvili) 60
112. (Jun 30) THE KILLER INSIDE ME (2010, Michael Winterbottom) 57
113. (Jun 30) SEE NO EVIL (1971, Richard Fleischer) 48
114. (Jun 30) THE DON IS DEAD (1973, Richard Fleischer) 62
115. (Jul 14) PREDATORS (2010, Nimrod Antal) 54
116. (Jul 15) BROOKLYN'S FINEST (2009, Antoine Fuqua)* 45
117. (Jul 17) INCEPTION (2010, Christopher Nolan) 71
118. (Jul 18) THE BOOK OF ELI (2010, The Hughes Brothers)* 40
119. (Jul 18) FROM PARIS WITH LOVE (2010, Pierre Morel)* 46
120. (Jul 18) CHLOE (2009, Atom Egoyan)* 49
121. (Jul 19) YOUTH IN REVOLT (2009, Miguel Arteta)* 62
122. (Jul 20) THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (2010, Lisa Cholodenko) 77
123. (Jul 21) THE CRIMSON KIMONO (1959, Samuel Fuller)* 37
124. (Jul 24) TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942, Ernst Lubitsch) 86
125. (Jul 26) THE MERCENARY (1967, Sergio Corbucci)* 76
126. (Aug 06) THE LONG GOODBYE (1973, Robert Altman) 97
127. (Aug 06) CALIFORNIA SPLIT (1974, Robert Altman) 91
128. (Aug 08) THE BIG STEAL (1949, Don Siegel)* 65
129. (Aug 13) BLUEBEARD (2009, Catherine Breillat)* 68
130. (Aug 14) THE EXPENDABLES (2010, Sylvester Stallone) 29
131. (Aug 14) SALT (2010, Phillip Noyce) 61
132. (Aug 20) PIRANHA 3D (2010, Alexandre Aja) 65
133. (Aug 23) THE OTHER GUYS (2010, Adam McKay) 60
134. (Aug 27) COP OUT (2010, Kevin Smith)* 20
135. (Aug 29) SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (2010, Edgar Wright) 55
136. (Aug 29) THE LAST EXORICISM (2010, Daniel Stamm) 58
137. (Sep 01) THE AMERICAN (2010, Anton Corbijn) 51
138. (Sep 06) THE GHOST WRITER (2010, Roman Polanski)* 67
139. (Sep 06) MACHETE (2010, Robert Rodriguez & Ethan Maniquis) 50
140. (Sep 06) HARRY BROWN (2009, Daniel Barber)* 31
141. (Sep 07) VALHALLA RISING (2009, Nicolas Winding Refn)* 64
142. (Sep 07) FINAL FLESH (2009, Vernon Chatman)* 60
143. (Sep 07) THE LOSERS (2010, Sylvain White)* 47
144. (Sep 08) DATE NIGHT (2010, Shawn Levy)* 38
145. (Sep 11) THE ART OF THE STEAL (2009, Don Argott)* 54
146. (Sep 11) TALES FROM THE SCRIPT (2009, Peter Hanson)* 43
147. (Sep 11) BRONSON (2008, Nicolas Winding Refn)* 40
148. (Sep 12) THE EXPLODING GIRL (2009, Bradley Rust Gray)* 76
149. (Sep 17) THE TOWN (2010, Ben Affleck) 59
Hard to really buy the crew as being technically proficient given some of the idiotic plays they make, including getting romantically entangled with a witness who you have to assume will be show pictures of you by the FBI at some point during your courting process. This is still a pretty good genre exercise and Affleck does a nice job of giving moments to every member of the cast and building the characters backstory a little at a time. I feel like there was more that could have been done with Blake Lively's trashed out townie, who's character echoes Affleck's own backstory in a way that was curiously untouched upon and basically ends up being a throwaway piece of plot mechanics. Weak ending pushed me under 60.
150. (Sep 17) EASY A (2010, Will Gluck) 56
Smart entry in a very weak genre but it doesn't really deserve comparisons it's getting to CLUELESS which was smarter, more biting as satire and didn't rub your nose in its highbrow source material. Emma Stone is pretty great here and so are Clarkson and Tucci as her parents. Technical credits look uniformly cheap.
151. (Sep 24) WONDER BOYS (2000, Curtis Hanson)* 57
Down from 70 in 2005 and PRO in 2000. I won't revisit it again except as a memory of the awesome movie I thought it was when I was 19.
152. (Sep 25) ENTER THE VOID (2009, Gaspar Noé) 80
153. (Sep 29) ENTER THE VOID (2009, Gaspar Noé) 80
154. (Oct 03) THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010, David Fincher) 73
155. (Oct 03) CATFISH (2010, Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman) 70
156. (Oct 06) RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985, Dan O'Bannon)* 68
Third viewing, up from 61 on previous viewing. I especially enjoyed the amount of energy and authenticity the cast brought to their campy roles. I think O'Bannon's visual design is sometimes overly flat but he does find ways to pepper jokes within his simple camera set-ups.
157. (Oct 06) PONTYPOOL (2008, Bruce McDonald)* 71
Third viewing, up from 68 on previous viewing. First 45 minutes is exceptional, setting up nice character details that payoff in surprisingly poignant ways as the sickness begins to find victims. The third act revelation and potential cure for the disease are much less interesting (to me) than the tense set-up.
158. (Oct 06) LAND OF THE DEAD (2005, George A. Romero)* 58
Second viewing, down from 63 on previous viewing. Still pretty lukewarm and I'm probably the only Romero fan who prefers DIARY to LAND but I think it's just a matter of Romero caring more about subtext (which is barely subtextual here) than actually creating an effective genre film with LAND.
159. (Oct 17) JACKASS 3D (2010, Jeff Tremaine) 62
160. (Oct 21) MY SOUL TO TAKE (2010, Wes Craven) 44
161. (Oct 24) HEREAFTER (2010, Clint Eastwood) 58
162. (Oct 25) YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER (2010, Woody Allen) 46
163. (Oct 31) I BURY THE LIVING (1958, Albert Band)* 55
164. (Nov 01) AMER (2009, Helene Cattet & Bruno Forzani) 67
165. (Nov 02) WHO IS HARRY NILSSON (ANY WHY IS EVERYBODY TALKIN' ABOUT HIM)? (2006, John Scheinfeld)* 61
166. (Nov 03) ANIMAL KINGDOM (2010, David Michôd) 69
167. (Nov 04) BLUE VALENTINE (2010, Derek Cianfrance) 32
168. (Nov 06) HAHAHA (2010, Hong Sang-soo) 68
169. (Nov 06) OKI'S MOVIE (2010, Hong Sang-soo) 66
170. (Nov 06) A SCREAMING MAN (2010, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun) 42
171. (Nov 06) UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (2010, Apichatpong Weerasethakul) 71
172. (Nov 07) AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE (2010, Elijah Drenner)* 45
173. (Nov 07) THE WILD AND WONDERFUL WHITES OF WEST VIRGINIA (2009, Julien Nitzberg)* 36
174. (Nov 07) CERTIFIED COPY (2010, Abbas Kiarostami) 72
175. (Nov 07) 13 ASSASSINS (2010, Takashi Miike) 79
176. (Nov 08) CROPSEY (2009, Barbara Brancaccio & Joshua Zeman)* 48
177. (Nov 08) WIN/WIN (2010, Jaap van Heusden) 55
178. (Nov 08) OUTRAGE (2010, Takeshi Kitano) 41
W/O. (Nov 09) SUBMARINO (2010, Thomas Vinterberg)
179. (Nov 09) THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER (2009, David Robert Mitchell) 68
180. (Nov 09) SOME DAYS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS (2010, Matt McCormick) 53
181. (Nov 10) MORGEN (2010, Marian Crisan) 56
182. (Nov 10) CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (2010, Werner Herzog) 61
W/O (Nov 10) ADRIENN PÁL (2010, Ágnes Kocsis)
183. (Nov 11) FOUR LIONS (2010, Christopher Morris) 30
184. (Nov 11) RABBIT HOLE (2010, John Cameron Mitchell) 62
185. (Nov 12) BLACK SWAN (2010, Darren Aronofsky) 82
186. (Nov 13) THE TILLMAN STORY (2010, Amir Bar-Lev) 63
187. (Nov 13) 127 HOURS (2010, Danny Boyle) 65
188. (Nov 14) ANOTHER YEAR (2010, Mike Leigh) 58
189. (Nov 15) FAIR GAME (2010, Doug Liman) 48
190. (Nov 16) THE FIGHTER (2010, David O. Russell) 70
191. (Nov 21) THE KING'S SPEECH (2010, Tom Hooper) 55
192. (Nov 21) CENTURION (2010, Neil Marshall)* 41
193. (Nov 23) SOMEWHERE (2010, Sofia Coppola) 45
194. (Nov 23) BIUTIFUL (2010, Alejandro González Iñárritu) 34
195. (Nov 28) HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 (2010, David Yates) 42
196. (Nov 28) THE NEXT THREE DAYS (2010, Paul Haggis) 50
197. (Nov 29) ZODIAC (2007, David Fincher)* 86
Fifth viewing, second viewing this year.
198. (Nov 29) WILD GRASS (2009, Alain Resnais)* 84
199. (Nov 30) SMASH HIS CAMERA (2010, Leon Gast)* 56
200. (Dec 01) TRUE GRIT (2010, Joel & Ethan Coen) 69
201. (Dec 03) SON OF PALEFACE (1952, Frank Tashlin)* 71
Third viewing, down from 86.
202. (Dec 03) WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? (1957, Frank Tashlin)* 74
Second viewing, down from A-.
203. (Dec 09) DEVIL (2010, John Erick Dowdle)* 25
204. (Dec 11) ALL GOOD THINGS (2010, Andrew Jarecki)* 16
205. (Dec 14) THE COMPANY MEN (2010, John Wells) 52
206. (Dec 15) TRON: LEGACY (2010, Joseph Kosinski) 32
207. (Dec 19) JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK (2010, Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg)* 51
208. (Dec 19) JUST ANYBODY (2008, Jacques Doillon)* 65
209. (Dec 19) SHIRIN (2008, Abbas Kiarostami)* 55
210. (Dec 19) LOVE EXPOSURE (2008, Shion Sono)* 67
211. (Dec 20) HOW DO YOU KNOW (2010, James L. Brooks) 78
212. (Dec 22) THE GAME (1997, David Fincher)* 84
Umpteenth viewing, first in 10 years.
213. (Dec 25) A CHRISTMAS TALE (2008, Arnaud Desplechin)* 93
214. (Dec 27) TRUE GRIT (2010, Joel & Ethan Coen) 69