Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
New year, new challenge!
https://c.tenor.com/VXS330J9qY0AAAAC...-challenge.gif Once again, I will use this thread to post details and reviews of my personal movie challenge where I gather a monthly "loot" of films based on a different set of criteria. This will be the sixth (6th) year I do this type of challenge and it has led to some really interesting film discoveries, so why not continue? For anybody curious, here is the link for last year's challenge thread. Once again, I'm sticking with 10 films per month, which is manageable for me. Moreover, I'm not gonna be as strict as in the past to complete the monthly "challenge". To be honest, sometimes it becomes a bit of a struggle to juggle watching a certain amount of certain films, along with real work, family, running a podcast, etc. so I'm gonna take it easy on myself and just watch what I have time to, whether it's 15, 10, or 6 films per month. I will also continue to use the thread to post new episodes of my podcast, which has been officially renamed as The Movie Loot (you can also find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and most podcast platforms). Anyway, anybody is welcome to offer recommendations for any category, and anybody is welcome to join in the challenge. Let's loot! --------------------------------------------------- Links to the loots of past months January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 |
Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
Just for kicks, here is a kinda comprehensive list of everything I saw during the year: a total of 163 films; a tad less than the 201 I saw in 2020, but that was expected what with me lowering the monthly goal. Anyway, here it is...
NUMBER IN ITS TITLE
ALPHABET TITLE
BY DECADES
BY GENRES
OTHER GENRE CLASSIFICATIONS
FROM THE CRITERION COLLECTION WHOSE
BY COUNTRY'S INDEPENDENCE OR NATIONAL DAY
BY BIRTHDAYS
AWARDS AND OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS
MINORITIES & RELATIONSHIPS
HOLIDAYS & SEASONS
BY SETTING & TOPIC
WORDS IN TITLE
FREEBIES
Rewatches are in blue, short films in red. |
Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
Seeing them all in one list like that highlights what an impressive lineup that was. I feel like everyone else watches better movies than I. :)
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Originally Posted by Captain Terror (Post 2271744)
Seeing them all in one list like that highlights what an impressive lineup that was. I feel like everyone else watches better movies than I. :)
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SHERLOCK, JR. (1924, Keaton) A film from the TSPDT 1,000 Greatest Films list whose ranking includes the #1 https://i.imgur.com/MplMm3K.jpg
"Don't try to do two things at once and expect to do justice to both."
That is the proverb that opens up this silent film classic that follows a projectionist (Buster Keaton) that dreams of being a detective. When he is falsely accused of stealing a pocket watch from the father of the girl he loves, he is forbidden from seeing her again. Burdened by this, he ends up dreaming he is inside a film with a similar storyline where he is "the world's greatest detective". This was only my second Keaton film after The General (I ended up seeing two more of his short films after this), but this one follows a "similar" template in which he finds himself in wacky predicaments to earn the love of a girl. Although there is good slapstick comedy, the main attraction in both are the impressive stunts and effects that Keaton comes up with. Two of the most impressive moments are the scene where the projectionist steps inside the picture screen, as the scenes change randomly, putting the character in a wide variety of scenarios: from a house to a park bench, from a busy street to a high cliff, from a jungle with lions to a desert with a speeding train. The effect is impressively executed in a seamless way that even to this day, you have to wonder how did he pull it off. The second most impressive moment for me was the final stunt in the motorcycle where Keaton rides in the handlebar of a motorcycle across different obstacles and terrains without falling off. There is one moment in particular where the motorcycle speeds past both a train track and a road, just as a train and a car are coming through. The shot is done with a camera mounted on the side of the bike and it looks impressive (I just found out it was shot in reverse). But again, aside from the stunts, there's also good slapstick comedy and a charm to the innocent romance portrayed. The opening proverb about not doing two things at once referred to the projectionist character that was trying to be a detective as well, but it obviously doesn't extend to Keaton, who directs, stars, does his own stunts, and edits the film, and still does more than justice to all of it. Grade: |
Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more
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Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
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Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
Sherlock, Jr. is a hoot imo - very, very nearly made my pre-1930s ballot.
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Originally Posted by Chypmunk (Post 2272144)
Sherlock, Jr. is a hoot imo - very, very nearly made my pre-1930s ballot.
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Originally Posted by Thief (Post 2272163)
It is indeed. Had a lot of fun with it.
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Originally Posted by Chypmunk (Post 2272166)
If you enjoyed that and The General you really ought to check out his others that also made the pre-1930 Countdown: The Cameraman (#24), Steamboat Bill, Jr. (#33) and The Goat (#46) at some point.
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Originally Posted by Thief (Post 2272176)
Yeah, trying to cover as much as I can. I did see two other short films of his: The Rough House (which is more of a Fatty Arbuckle vehicle) and One Week. I will get to those two reviews soon.
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Originally Posted by Chypmunk (Post 2272182)
Well, you beat me to both of those as I've not seen either. I'm such a bad MoFo :blush:
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Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
Sherlock, Jr. is terrific. I'm pretty sure it made my favorite first-time watches of 2021.
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Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
Your podcast is very impressive Thief!
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PREDATOR 2 (1990, Hopkins) An action or adventure film https://i.imgur.com/umEznqt.jpg
"You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'."
That's the warning that Jamaican drug lord King Willie gives Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover), as they find themselves and their people stalked by the titular alien creature. That's what it is, but to all of them that just don't know or don't understand what's after them, it could very well be the devil. Predator 2 transplants the creature from the jungles of Latin America to the "street jungles" of Los Angeles which, on paper, is a rather clever idea for it to not be just a rehash of the first one. The city, which is embroiled in a turf war between a Colombian gang and a Jamaican gang, now has to face a new threat, which puts Harrigan and his team against the wall. Back in the day, the original Predator was known for doing a rather clever genre shift halfway through. But with people already knowing what the deal is, I thought the setting change was a nice idea. Not only that, but the film doesn't lose time by jumping straight into the action right from the get-go. Unfortunately, the drawback is that you end up with two-dimensional, paper-thin characters; not that the characters in the first one weren't, but there was a bit more time to develop a better attachment to them. Glover is a nice lead, and the supporting cast (which includes Bill Paxton, Ruben Blades, and Marνa Conchita Alonso) is solid, but they just don't get enough time to flourish. I do think that the fast-paced action works pretty well for the first half, which is a pretty energetic stretch of the film. But after the half-point mark, it does feel like it overstays its welcome. The plot keeps stretching things far too long and the ending feels more like a whimper than a bang. I do like how the very final act expands a bit into the nature of the predator, but I didn't really care too much about it at that point. Grade: |
Originally Posted by ScarletLion (Post 2272241)
Your podcast is very impressive Thief!
EDIT: I've heard some of my first episodes recently and they're... a bit rough, so make sure you listen to recent ones for a bit of balance :laugh: |
Re: Thief's Monthly Movie Loot - 2022 Edition
Seen it, forgotten it, never been tempted to go back to it. About all I can say about that one really. I do quite like the original though (even if I'm rarely drawn to rewatch that one either).
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Originally Posted by Chypmunk (Post 2272277)
Seen it, forgotten it, never been tempted to go back to it. About all I can say about that one really. I do quite like the original though (even if I'm rarely drawn to rewatch that one either).
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Originally Posted by Thief (Post 2272278)
The first one is one of my favorite action films, hands down. I've seen it more times than I can count. I certainly wasn't expecting this to surpass it, but I thought it had the foundation to be a tad better than it ended up being.
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