[LEFT]Christmas
12/06: It's A Wonderful Life (BD) 10/10
12/07: Home Alone (UHD) 8/10
12/07: Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (BD) 8/10
12/12: The Santa Clause (BD) 6/10
12/19: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) (UHD) 7/10
12/21: The Christmas Chronicles Part Two (Netflix) 6/10
12/22: A Christmas Wish (2011) (DVD) 5/10
12/22: Scrooged (BD) 8/10
12/24: A Christmas Story (BD) 9/10
12/25: The Polar Express (BD) 9/10
Brutal Christmas
12/04: Deadly Games (UHD) 8/10
12/13: Gremlins (UHD) 8/10
12/23: Hardcore (BD) 9/10
12/24: Lady in the Lake (TV) 6/10
12/25: Krampus (BD) 8/10
Musicals...Why Not?
12/01: Popeye (BD) 7/10
12/08: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (BD) 7/10
12/13: Dancer in the Dark (BD) 10/10
12/17: The Sound of Music (BD) 8/10
12/20: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (BD) 7/10
Stuff I've Been Meaning To See
12/05: Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Netflix DVD) 7/10
12/14: Yakuza Apocalypse (Netflix DVD) 6/10
12/20: America as Seen By a Frenchman (BD) 8/10
Totally Random Picks
12/20: Just Visiting (BD) 6/10
12/26: Crash (1996) (UHD) 7/10
Recommendations
12/15: Into the Wild (Netflix BD) 8/10 (recommended by Tenny80)
12/17: Better Watch Out (Amazon Prime) 7/10 (recommended by Will!3D)
Total: 35 Films
Looks like this is it for the month. Between spending the holidays with my parents and blowing some time with Cyberpunk 2077, I didn't see as much as I could have. Especially disappointed I didn't get to more recommendations or secret Santa picks.
Best First-Time Watches: Soul, Wolfwalkers, Tenet, 3615 Code Père Noël, The Gunfighter, Possessor, America as Seen By a Frenchman
Worst First-Time Watches: Mulan (2020), A Christmas Wish (2011)
Best Rewatches: It's A Wonderful Life, Dancer in the Dark, The Polar Express, Hardcore, Into the Wild, Home Alone 1 and 2, Gremlins, Scrooged, Krampus, Sound of Music, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Popeye, Scrooge (1970)
Mixed Feelings: Wonder Woman 1984, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Lady in the Lake, Yakuza Apocalypse, Just Visiting
Shorts Eaten: A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, History of the Entire World I Guess, some dumb educational ones from the 50s
------------2020 Recap------------
Films Logged: 598 (average 49 per month / 11 per week) Total Hours: 1,031.3 First-Time Watches: 185 Rewatches: 413 Directors Most Watched: Alfred Hitchock (8), Christopher Nolan (10), Martin Scorsese (10), Shinya Tsukamoto (8), John Carpenter (6), Jörg Buttgereit (6), JJ Abrams (5), Takashi Miike (4), Steven Spielberg (4) Actors Most Watched: Michael Caine (9), Tom Cruise (9), Bill Murray (8), Doug Bradley (8), Will Smith (8), plus all the Star Wars cast members Best 2020 Films Seen: Soul, The Invisible Man, Onward, Wolfwalkers, The Colour Out of Space Worst 2020 Film Seen: Easter Holocaust Marathons Completed: Star Wars 1 - 9 and R1, Star Trek rebooted trilogy, The Dark Knight trilogy, Terminator 1 - 6, Jaws 1 - 4, Mission Impossible 3 - 6, Hellraiser 1 - 8, Home Alone 1 - 2, all of The Fly franchise, Scary Movie 1 - 5, One Missed Call 1 - 3, Nemesis 1 - 4, The Escape Plan 1 - 3 Achievements:
Watched the vast majority of Christopher Nolan's films
Watched all the films in the Shinya Tsukamoto box set
Watched all the films in the Hitchcock British International Pictures collection
Watched Shoah in its entirety
Finished The Human Condition Trilogy
My Netflix DVD queue is down to 26 films. This same time last year it was like 80
Cleared 41 entries from my watchlist (only added 12, so it's going down)
In general, I think I'm doing a good job of staying on top of my UHD collecting and giving most of those new discs some views
Just recently added a new shelf and re-arranged my collection. Finally found a better place for those movies I've doubled-up on and still wanted to keep. Also stuck my "video nasty" collection in the closet so it won't freak out any visitors
Hope everybody stays safe this evening and have a Happy New Year! Thank you all for the recommendations and discussions shared over the past year, and I'll be looking forward to more soon.
Last edited by Al_The_Strange; 01-01-2021 at 12:51 PM.
[Show spoiler]New Discs
1. Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 4K (2020)
2. Knives Out 4K (2019)
3. Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)
4. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2018)
5. The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (1990) 1/2
Christmas Specials
1. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
3. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
Christmas Movies
1. Home Alone (1990) 1/2
2. Scrooged (1988) 1/2
3. Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July (1979)
4. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
5. Bad Santa (2003) 1/2
Christmas Movies II
1. Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1994) 1/2
3. A Christmas Story (1983 )
4. The Christmas Chronicles (2018) 1/2
5. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) 1/2
X-Men
1. X-Men: First Class (2011)
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past (The Rogue Cut) (2014) 1/2
3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
4. X-Men: Apocalypse 4K (2016)
5. X-Men: Dark Phoenix 4K (2019) 1/2
The Before Time
1. The Sugarland Express (1974)
2. THX 1138 (1971) 1/2
3. Duel (1971)
Westerns
1. El Dorado (1966)
2. Hostiles (2017) 1/2
3. The Sisters Brothers (2018)
Extra
1. Silent Running (1972)
2. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
3. Die Hard (1988) 1/2
4. Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)
5. Nighthawks (1981)
Well, it's that time again. After may annual viewing of When Harry Met Sally, the end has come. Did pretty good considering it was finals time. Peace out 2020, let's hope next year is better in somme capacity.
FINAL STATS
Total Movies Viewed: 88 -- PLATINUM 47 First Time Watches
Best First Time Watches: Soul, Running on Empty, Crossing Delancey, Sound of Metal
Best Rewatches: Way too many but especially my birthday category and the Christmas favorites, and really any 5/5 rewatch
Worst Watches: Santa Clause 3, Harum Scarum
Quote:
Originally Posted by odguitar
Recently Viewed
[Show spoiler]
[Show spoiler]
Christmas Classics
1. Holiday Affair* 3.5/5
2. Bell, Book and Candle* 3.5/5
3. The Man Who Came to Dinner 3.5/5
4. White Christmas 4/5
5. Christmas in Connecticut 4/5
6. We're No Angels 3.5/5
7. Scrooge (1951) 4/5
8. The Bishop's Wife 4/5
Christmas Comedies
1. Scrooged 5/5
2. The Santa Clause 3.5/5
3. Home Alone 4.5/5
2. The Santa Clause 2* 3.5/5
5. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause* 2/5
Christmas Romance
1. Happiest Season 5/5
2. Last Christmas 3.5/5
3. Happiest Season 5/5
4. Love Actually 4.5/5
5. The Shop Around the Corner 4/5
6. The Preacher's Wife 3.5/5
7. Happiest Season 5/5
Christmas?
1. Carol 5/5
2. Gremlins 4/5
3. Die Hard 5/5
4. Eyes Wide Shut 4.5/5
5. The Nice Guys 4/5
Christmas Favorites
1. Scrooged 5/5
2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 4.5/5
3. A Christmas Story 5/5
4. It's a Wonderful Life 5/5
5. The Polar Express 5/5
New Years
1. The Poseidon Adventure* 4/5
2. Phantom Thread 5/5
3. The Apartment 5/5
4. When Harry Met Sally 5/5
Recommended
Reverse Secret Santa
TCM Selections
[Show spoiler]1. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)* 4/5
2. Born in Flames* 4/5
3. The Snows of Kilimanjaro* 3/5
4. That Touch of Mink* 3/5
5. Torn Curtain* 3.5/5
6. The Bride Wore Red* 3.5/5
7. Harum Scrum* 2/5
8. Green Fire* 2/5
9. The Day the Earth Stood Still 4/5
10. The Swan* 3/5
11. What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael* 3.5/5
12. Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity* 3.5/5
13. 3 Godfathers* 3.5/5
14. Going Attractions* 3.5/5
15. The Trouble with Harry* 3.5/5
16. Angel Face* 3.5/5
17. The Westerner* 3.5/5
18. The Holly and the Ivy* 3.5/5
19. Lady on a Train* 3.5/5
20. Susan Slept Here* 3/5
21. Mr. Soft Touch* 3/5
22. The Little Foxes* 4/5
23. A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas! 4/5
24. Come to the Stable* 3/5
25. While the City Sleeps* 3.5/5
26. Running on Empty* 4.5/5
27. The Way We Were* 4/5
28. Larceny, Inc.* 3.5/5
29. Breakfast for Two* 3/5
30. Crossing Delancey* 4.5/5
31. Dusty and Sweets McGee* 3.5/5
32. Good News* 3/5
33. The Red Badge of Courage* 3.5/5
34. The Ritz* 4/5
35. Pocketful of Miracles* 3.5/5
2020 Films
1. Mank* 4/5
2. Sound of Metal* 4.5/5
3. Dick Johnson is Dead* 4/5
4. Soul* 5/5
5. The Last Blockbuster* 4/5
Political Films
1. Idiocracy* 3.5/5
2. Young Mr. Lincoln* 4/5
3. Advise and Consent* 4/5
4. Nashville 5/5
5. Taxi Driver 5/5
Birthday Marathon
1. Lady Bird 5/5
2. The Breakfast Club 5/5
3. Boyhood 5/5
4. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 5/5
5. Grease 5/5
Misc.
1. Citizen Kane 5/5
2. Little Women 5/5
3. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping 5/5
4. Where'd You Go, Bernadette* 3.5/5
5. Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood* 4/5
Total: 88
Recommendations
[Show spoiler]McCabe and Mrs. Miller
All That Heaven Allows
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Apartment
The Shop Around the Corner
Happiest Season
Lucy in the Sky
The Climb (2019)
Vox Lux
Ingrid Goes West
#38, Chained for Life (Aaron Schimberg, USA, 2019),
Of Mice and Men
#35, Our Hospitality (Buster Keaton, USA, 1923),
#16, You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, USA, 1937),
#30, Desperate Hours (Michael Cimino, USA, 1990),
#10, Last Man Standing (Walter Hill, USA, 1996),
#09, Capote (Bennett Miller, USA, 2005),
#24, Shotgun Stories (Jeff Nichols, USA, 2007),
Non-Heteronormative
#06, Max mon amour (Ôshima Nagisa, FRA, 1986),
#01, The Living End (Gregg Araki, USA, 1992),
#14, Vive l'amour (Tsai Ming-Liang, TWN, 1994),
#15, The River (Tsai Ming-Liang, TWN, 1997),
Godard After Vertov
#20, Prénom Carmen (Jean-Luc Godard, FRA, 1983),
#21, Détective (Jean-Luc Godard, FRA, 1985),
#22, Hélas pour moi (Jean-Luc Godard, FRA, 1993),
Sports!
#05, Rollerball (John McTiernan, USA, 2002),
#31, Infinite Football (Corneliu Porumboui, ROU, 2018),
#32, Lenny Cooke (Joshua & Ben Safdie, USA, 2013),
Party at the End of the World
#43, 4:44 Last Day on Earth (Abel Ferrara, USA, 2011),
#34, After Earth (M. Night Shyamalan, USA, 2013),
#23, Pompeii (Paul W.S. Anderson, CAN, 2014),
Double Up
#28, Duelle (Jacques Rivette, FRA, 1976),
#37, Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, CAN, 1988),
#27, Hana & Alice (Iwai Shunji, JPN, 2004),
Old Love
#44, Marty (Delbert Mann, USA, 1955),
#04, Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, FRA, 1965),
#45, Sale comme un ange (Catherine Breillat, FRA, 1991),
Pregnancy Test
#11, Godzilla (Roland Emmerich, USA, 1998),
#25, Les Loups (Sophie Deraspe, CAN, 2015),
#26, Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman, USA, 2020),
Royals
#18, The Smiling Lieutenant (Ernst Lubitsch, USA, 1931),
#29, Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, FRA, 2006),
Winter Wonderland
#36, The Dead Zone (David Cronenberg, CAN, 1983),
#33, Alien vs. Predator (Paul W.S. Anderson, USA, 2004),
Film Is Dead/Love Live Film
#40, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 2019),
#39, The Projectionist (Abel Ferrara, USA, 2019),
Kleptomaniac
#41, The Thomas Crown Affair (John McTiernan, USA, 1999),
#42, The Pleasure of Being Robbed (Joshua Safdie, USA, 2008),
Sword & Sorts
#17, Moonfleet (Fritz Lang, USA, 1955),
#46, Flesh+Blood (Paul Verhoeven, USA, 1985),
Total: 47
Notes:
7 rewatches this month: Hulk, Alphaville, Capote, Godzilla, Les Loups, Our Hospitality and Dead Ringers.
I was so happy to go back to my favourite video store. I planned to go during the holidays ever since I found out My Soul to Take isn't available on streaming anywhere (in Canada anyway). I really didn't expect to find Hana & Alice also. I ended up renting 24 films total that months, and have watched all except one. Most importantly, I found a book I was looking for for years; a book about American cinema of the 1970's, almost 400 pages long, in full colour, cost me 80$. I have no regrets.
As I predicted, I found McTiernan's remake of Rollerball to be better than the original. Unfortunately, I wouldn't say it's good. But I'm sure it would have been a treat to see on the big screen; the sensory overload would have been much more effective.
I don't know why I felt like rewatching Godzilla 1998, but I deeply regret it. It really is the kind of movie that your College teacher in film studies shows you to prove how disgusting and manipulative Hollywood really is - and you can't say anything about it because it really is the worst!
I've read that Christopher Nolan described HBO Max as the worst streaming service... he clearly never had to deal with Tou.tv.
When I read from a French review that Never Rarely Sometimes Always was 'an British social drama disguised as an American indie film', I though that was a brutal jab at the movie... I didn't realize it was ACTUALLY THE CASE! (OH NO!)
I've now seen every Sofia Coppola movie (well, except her last on AppleTV)... I don't think I care much for Sofia Coppola. All her movies range for me from 'okay' to 'terrible' (well, only one is really terrible: The Beguiled).
Is it okay if my favourite John McTiernan movies are Basic and The Thomas Crown Affair?
Finished the month with exactly 50. I wasn't sure what my count was until I just counted. Only 12 first viewings this month.
Best First Viewings: Soul, Freaky, Promising Young Woman
Best Rewatches: It's a Wonderful Life, Meet Me in St. Louis, Carol
Recently Watched
List:
[Show spoiler]Recommendations 1. Happiest Season* 3.5/5 (odguitar) 2. The Thing from Another World* 3.5/5 (kingdoxie)
Musicals 1. Gigi* 2/5 2. Shrek the Musical* 3/5 3. Meet Me in St. Louis 5/5 4. White Christmas 5/5 5. Eight Crazy Nights 4/5
John Hughes' Holiday Films 1. Home Alone 5/5 2. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 4/5 3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 5/5 4. Miracle on 34th Street 4/5
Ensemble Casts 1. The Best Man 3.5/5 2. The Best Man Holiday 3/5 3. This Christmas 3.5/5 4. Almost Christmas 3.5/5 5. New Year's Eve 3/5
Seen in Theaters 1. The Croods: A New Age - IMAX* 3.5/5 2. Freaky* 3.5/5 3. Greenland* 3/5 4. Fatale* 3/5 5. Promising Young Woman* 3.5/5
Made For TV 1. One Christmas 3/5 2. The Christmas Setup* 3/5 3. Dashing in December* 3/5 4. Pete's Christmas 3/5 5. Soul* 4/5
A Christmas Carol Adaptations 1. Scrooge 4/5 2. The Muppet Christmas Carol 4/5 3. Scrooged 4/5 4. Disney's A Christmas Carol 3D 4/5
Coming of Age 1. December Boys 3.5/5 2. I'll Be Home for Christmas 3/5
Holiday Horror/Thrillers 1. Better Watch Out 4/5 2. Jack Frost 3.5/5 3. Gremlins 5/5 4. Black Christmas 4.5/5 5. New Year's Evil 3.5/5
Holiday Classics 1. Prancer 4/5 2. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas 4/5 3. Jingle All the Way 4.5/5 4. A Christmas Story 5/5 5. The Polar Express 3D 5/5
B&W Cinematography 1. 1985 4/5 2. Holiday Inn 4/5 3. Star in the Night* 3/5 4. Miracle on 34th Street 4.5/5 5. It's a Wonderful Life 5/5
Romance 1. Carol 5/5 2. Christmas in Connecticut 4/5 3. The Family Man 4/5
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