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October seen list (newly rated only):

Missing poster is Phantom Killer



October Watches (42 total)
*First time watch

Midsommar* (Ari Aster, 2019)

Belle* (Amma Asante, 2013)

Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015)

Enemy* (Denis Villeneuve, 2013)

Source Code (Duncan Jones, 2011)

Cold Fish* (Sion Sono, 2010)

How to Train Your Dragon (Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, 2010)

Andhadhun* (Sriram Raghavan, 2018)

Xingu* (Cao Hamburger, 2011)

Knives Out* (Rian Johnson, 2019)

Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011)

Searching* (Aneesh Chaganty, 2018)

The Illusionist (Sylvain Chomet, 2010)

Ernest & Celestine (Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, and Benjamin Renner, 2012)

Venom* (Ruben Fleischer, 2018)

Inside Out (Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen, 2015)

Shame* (Steve McQueen, 2011)

Poetry* (Lee Chang-dong, 2010)

The Broken Circle Breakdown (Felix van Groeningen, 2012)

Locke (Steven Knight, 2013)

The Frozen Ground (Scott Walker, 2013)

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)

Under the Skin* (Jonathon Glazer, 2013)

The Lobster* (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015)

The Lure* (Agnieszka Smoczynska, 2015)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)

12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)

Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai, 2016)

Big Hero 6 (Don Hall and Chris Williams, 2014)

Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019)

Legend (Brian Helgeland, 2015)

Irrational Man (Woody Allen, 2015)

Calvary* (John Michael McDonagh, 2014)

Coco (Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, 2017)

Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010)

Dark Shadows (Tim Burton, 2012)

Weathering With You* (Makoto Shinkai, 2019)

The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann, 2013)

The Man From Nowhere (Jeong-beom Lee, 2010)

Real Steel* (Shawn Levy, 2011)

Frankenweenie (Tim Burton, 2012)


Reviews: The Resident Bitch Prepares for the MoFo 2010s Countdown



October, 2022 movies watched-

Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010)
A bad movie that has it's charms.

The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
+ Not exactly enjoyable but it does a lot right.

Inside Llewyn David (2013)
- Up there with my favorites from the Coens.

In a Better World (2010)
Best foreign language Oscar winner.

Andhadhun (2018)
+ It felt like a bit much to take in but it was worth it.

13th (2016)
A compelling watch, but too dishonest to give a positive rating.

Marshland (2014)
Superb Spanish thriller.

Searching (2018)
Not what I would call high quality but it's an excellent ride.

Poetry (2010)
+ Very thought provoking.

The Lure (2015)
- Pretty good if erotic fantasy appeals to you.

The Selfish Giant (2013)
Dreary slice of life from England.

El Infierno (2010)
- Awesome crime film with a humorous side from Mexico.

Lifting (2014)
A good movie but it will fade from my memory.

Calvary (2014)
Wicked and unpleasant, but very funny black comedy.

A Fantastic Woman (2017)
- Not quite great, but a very good look at the adversity a transgender woman faces during a time of grief.

Force Majeure (2014)
+ A pretty interesting premise and I think they get about as much out of it as they can.

Total-16
2022 total-101



Saint Maud - A young lady had an unfortunate accident that haunts her as she begins a new job as a caregiver. She finds religion, hard, and goes a little batty. Slow burn but pretty good


Sweet Smell of Success -Noir about a newspaper columnist who doesn't like anybody dating his sister so he hires a down on his luck publicist to frame her boyfriend. Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis Star in this classic.

The Strange Thing About the Johnsons - So that's how it is in their family. Short film about the Johnsons and the strange relationships they have.


The Sadness - Splatter fest from Taiwan about a pandemic that makes people act strange. Imagine zombies with tourettes raping and eating people. Some pretty messed up stuff in this with great gore fx.



The Northman- Best movie of the month. A Viking looks to avenge his murdered King father and rescue his mother form the father's murderer. Pretty fresh take on the Viking genre


Grave Encounters 2 - A bunch of found footage crap but watching these keeps the relationship strong.A group heads to the haunted hospital to find out what happened to the last group that went to the haunted hospital.



Super Dark Times- Three kids accidentally kill one of their "buddies' and begin to freak out about the coverup. I liked it.



The Redeem Team - Doc about the USA Mens basketball team that tries to grab the gold medal after losing in the 2004 Olympics. Some good behind the scenes stuff.


Night and Fog- Oof! A tough to watch short, doc about Nazi atrocities. I have seen quite a bit about this subject but most of of this was new to me. I'll never get rid of that image of the mountain of hair.


Below - A who's haunting the submarine movie. The setting is nice, has it's moments but feels a little disjointed


Raw - A Vegan is forced to eat some raw rabbit livers for initiation into the worst Vet school ever and has some pretty severe reactions to it. Turns out she's a real meat eater. Kind of an arty, body horror film. Has some uncomfortable scenes, for sure. GF got up and left and she's only done that once before (Martyrs)


Deadstream - A you tube celeb is looking to rehab his image by spending a night in a haunted house.If you can gel with this "guy" it's pretty good. Horror comedy, heavy on the comedy but the horror elements are surprisingly okay. Funniest movie I've seen in years if laughing at somebody's misfortune is funny.



Solace - Not too good. Anthony Hopkins as a retired FBI psychic brought out of retirement to help solve a crime featuring another psychic. Lacks any kind of suspense.



Malevolent - Another not too good haunted house thing with Florence Pugh. Her and her brother are fake ghost hunters taking advantage of people until Florence realizes she DOES have a little ghostt hunting ability at just the right time. Kind of stupid, kind of boring.



Re-watches
The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Omen

In Bruges



Werewolf by Night (2022) -

Has the skin of a classic horror homage, but everything beyond the set pieces and B&W is just big dumb kids' movie action with uninspired characters at best, really annoying at worst. I fell for the marketing.

Elysium (2013) -

Kinda bland, copy & paste characters with no chemistry, but there’s some entertainment to be had.

Resolution (2012)

WARNING: "R" spoilers below
The characters fall asleep in an uninhabited home in the woods, wake up in the middle of the night to a creepy smiling mental girl tapping on the window, then promptly disregard her and go back to sleep. wat


Searching (2018)

A good hour and ½ Apple ad that also has a story about a girl gone missing. Entirely told through computer screen captures, security footage, and facetime calls. I wasn’t fond of the non-cinematic concept, but the mystery held it together somewhat.

Botched (2007)

Fun characters (especially Spetznaz alpha male guy) and a fun mystery in the first half.

Barbarian (2022) -

Great first hour,
WARNING: "B" spoilers below
but got too ridiculous to keep me engaged once everything was revealed. Wish it was left a bit more open.


Severance (2022)

WARNING: "S" spoilers below
Painful cliffhanger. I need more.


Dark City (1998)

A nostalgic piece of my teens that played a large role in developing my taste. My only gripes: Kiefer, too tightly edited (I want so much more breathing room in this world), and the ending ‘fight’ is f*cking stupid.

The Irishman (2019) -


Under the Silver Lake (2018)


The Invitation (2015)


Bullet Train (2022)


Deadstream (2022)



Dark City (1998) – and the ending ‘fight’ is f*cking stupid.
I don't know why but that sentence made me laugh.

Boooooo to your Resolution rating. Was there really a girl in it? If so I completely erased her from any memory of the film.

With Barbarian, it did need work but it was pretty funny at times. That scene
WARNING: spoilers below
where she forces him to suckle on her breast
was hilarious. I laughed so hard.

I see Deadstream talked about a lot, but then I saw that still every article keeps posting where a hand is picking the guy's nose and lost interest. Looks too silly.


I'm watching The Irishman tonight! Will keep you posted.



November, 2022 movies watched-

Real Steel (2011)
A decent watch if not taken too seriously.

Toni Erdmann (2016)
+ Mature comedy drama that works on both levels.

The Handmaiden (2016)
I wasn't completely invested for it's entirety but there's a lot to love.

The Artist (2011)
Well done and enjoyable.

Better Days (2019)
+ One of the better movies I've seen that tackles bullying.

Senna (2010)
#44 on our documentary list.

The Silence (2010)
+ Excellent German drama/thriller available on Tubi.

Pariah (2011)
A teen struggles to come out as a lesbian in this very strong film.

Inside Out (2015)
No negatives but nothing more than amusing to me.

Good Manners (2017)
Beautifully done fantasy/horror.

Son of Saul (2015)
Best foreign language Oscar winner.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
Nothing wrong with this documentary, I just couldn't get interested.

The Burden (2017)
13 minutes well spent.

Total-13
2022 total-114



November Watches (50 total)
*First time watch

Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson, 2018)

Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012)

Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014)

Prisoners* (Denis Villeneuve, 2013)

Gifted* (Marc Webb, 2017)

The Eagle (Kevin Macdonald, 2011)

Marshland* (Alberto Rodríguez, 2014)

Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012)

The Town (Ben Affleck, 2010)

Killer Joe (William Friedkin, 2011)

I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016)

Dallas Buyers Club (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2013)

Sorry We Missed You* (Ken Loach, 2019)

Tikkun* (Avishai Sivan, 2015)

You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2017)

Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019)

Nightcrawler* (Dan Gilroy, 2014)

Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017)

Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodóvar, 2019)

The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodóvar, 2011)

Cameraperson* (Kirsten Johnson, 2016)

The Secret Life of Pets (Chris Renaud, 2016)

Far From the Madding Crowd* (Thomas Vinterberg, 2015)

Despicable Me (Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, 2010)

The Hunt (Thomas Vinterberg, 2012)

Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)

Gone Girl (David Fincher, 2014)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh, 2017)

The Breadwinner (Nora Twomey, 2017)

Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)

The Florida Project (Sean Baker, 2017)

Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, 2015)

Klaus (Sergio Pablos and Carlos Martínez López, 2019)

Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass, 2013)

Love & Mercy (Bill Pohlad, 2014)

Room (Lenny Abrahamson, 2015)

Incendies (Denis Villeneuve, 2010)

Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, 2019)

The Nightingale* (Jennifer Kent, 2018)

The Burden* (Min börda) (Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2017)

The Help (Tate Taylor, 2011)

Rush (Ron Howard, 2013)

The Immigrant (James Gray, 2013)

The Hateful Eight (Quentin Tarantino, 2015)

The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (Ari Aster, 2011)

Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

Tyrannosaur* (Paddy Considine, 2011)


Reviews: The Resident Bitch Prepares for the MoFo 2010s Countdown



I don't know why but that sentence made me laugh.

Boooooo to your Resolution rating. Was there really a girl in it? If so I completely erased her from any memory of the film.

With Barbarian, it did need work but it was pretty funny at times. That scene
WARNING: spoilers below
where she forces him to suckle on her breast
was hilarious. I laughed so hard.

I see Deadstream talked about a lot, but then I saw that still every article keeps posting where a hand is picking the guy's nose and lost interest. Looks too silly.


I'm watching The Irishman tonight! Will keep you posted.
WARNING: "Resolution" spoilers below

There indeed was a girl. I thought the odd cult-ish people were going to be the ‘villains’ at first, but that thread was left unexplored. All of the characters were different and alright, but I just found the movie to be a bit boring. And the ‘explanation’ for all that went on felt kind of tacky, like the writers didn’t really know what to attribute all the oddness to, so they threw in an ambiguous spirit. I’m sounding too harsh though. I didn’t think it was bad.


Deadstream is a handheld cam Evil Dead homage. More comedy than horror. Supposed to be schlocky fun, but eh, I thought it was just ok.



Departures - Watched for the PRHoF. An unemployed cellist gets a job preparing dead bodies for funerals. Loved it.



Barbarian - What a bunch of dumb crap. I can't believe the reviews this is getting. On the other hand we had a blast laughing at how ridiculous it was. Do people not check out the location of the Air BnB before booking? Makes me want to buy a place on 35th and Auer for 15 grand and rent it out. Is Detroit so washed up that a single convention takes up all available hotels rooms? They've hosted Super Bowls for crying out loud. Ann Arbor is only about 45 minutes away. So the entire set up and premise is pretty silly b-b-but wait it gets worse. The spooky thing in the house is a rip off of the Penthouse occupant from [rec] and not nearly as scary.


Five Easy Pieces - Watched for the PRHoF. Drifter goes home. Good performances all around.



Young Nurses in Love - Should have been called Gold Digging Nurses in Heat. Russia sends a hot spy to a hospital in the USA to steal Albert Einsteins frozen sperm. The hospital is filled with ditzy nurses all trying to snag the newest Dr. or land the most recently divorced Dr. Does it deliver the goods? Nah, not really. It's funny at times (the Mafia patient and the can't you make 'em bigger lady), the nurses look good with their ozone killing hairdo's and skimpy outfits but the outfits are not the peel away uniforms I was expecting. Kind of slapstick.


Autumn Sonata - Watched for the PRHoF. A mother visits her daughter after several years and shit goes down. Excellent performances from both leads



Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon - Decent documentary about the guitarist.



It (Part 1) - GF loved it. I didn't care for it.


Thirteen Lives - Based on a true event, a group of soccer playing kids and their coach get trapped in a cave system in Thailand (?) when the monsoon season arrives a little early. Not bad but it has that signature Ron Howard feel, which is something I can't describe but know it when I see it. Nothing spectacular but entertaining. Stars Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell as divers attempting the rescue.



All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) - I'm not usually a fan of remaking classics but since the original isn't one of them untouchables, imo, I went with this. Glad I did because this was really good. We follow a young German soldier into WW1 from recruitment (Rah Rah) to the reality (Oh **** me!). Doesn't skimp on the brutality of trench warfare and hits most of the notes of the original.



Amour - Watched for the PRHoF. A husband takes care of his wife, who has suffered a stroke. Not easy viewing but it's Michael Haneke so...yeah. Great performances all around and it's very good but not gonna be watching it again anytime soon.



The Wild Bunch - Watched for the PRHoF. Some aging outlaws are on the run from bounty hunters but a jealous colleague gets them into some trouble and they are are forced to do one last job for a Mexican General. Has everything I want in a classic western yet I didn't get it.


This is Gwar - Documentary about the classical composers. I've never been a fan but hot damn if this didn't make me want to see a show of theirs. When are they coming to town? October 27...****!



Rabid - Cronenberg body horror starring Marilyn Chambers. A+ for casting. Marilyn has an accident, has some surgery and ends up having a deadly, blood sucking, retractable mini horse penis living in a newly formed butthole in her armpit. So far so good. She is also infecting everybody she attacks, so a rabies type thing begins to spread. Was interesting to watch how they handled the outbreak after what we all went through. Wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. Would rather watch Shivers as it makes me a bit more uncomfortable.



Terrifier 2 - When I heard they were doing a sequel I had the same feeling I get when somebody shows up to work and unexpectedly brings a box of doughnuts - Ooooh...treats! Then ya hear people passing out, throwing up, etc...**** yeah! Sign me up. The I hear it's 140 minutes long - aw **** no! Does it live up to the hype? Sort of. There's one insane scene of Art doing his thing with glee and it goes on for awhile, it's really quite nasty but overall this movie is not all Mounds Bars and Almond Joys. There's a few Circus Peanuts, mainly the plot. It tries to introduce an entire Art the Clown mythos but never explains any of it. For that we have to either buy the blu ray, for the extra's, or wait until... TERRIFIER 3! Eff U Leone! The ending goes on for too long but the movie never bored me. I like the lead actress. She does a good job and Art is the best masked killer in quite a while meaning he's one of the sickest ****s to ever grace the silver screen. Also liked the addition of his little sidekick, she was cute, and once again practical fx prove superior to cgi for these types of movies.


Hud - Three generations of cattle ranchers deal with an unexpected out break of hoof and mouth disease on their ranch. Paul Newman gives one of his better performances as Hud, the drinky-drinky, fighty-fighty son who believes his father's time as the head of household has passed. Not sure I've ever seen Newman play a character like this. He is not a good dude. Great supporting performance from everybody but Patricia Neal, as the ranch's caretaker, steals the show for me.


Akira - Watched for the PRHoF . Sci-fi anime that didn't do much for me. It was alright.



Also binged Reacher, the series not the Tom Cruise movies. Big ass dude taking down a counterfeiting ring in Georgia. A lot of ass kicking but it's more investigating and brain work than anything else. Was much better than expected.



'La Notte' (1961)
Director Michelangelo Antonioni


Antonioni's cinema is so ethereal and dreamy, which I love, but this film slightly went over my head. At the forefront is the relationship between Lidia and Giovanni as we spend a day and night with them. The framing and composition is brilliant - most of the time Lidia is at the front of the frame which gives off this vibe that she is deep in thought, ruminating on a decision.

Over the 2 hours we see that finally it's the relationship that she is fretting over. There's more to this than romance though, the film explores Italy of the time, with politics, liberalism and the social landscape all featuring. Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni and Monica Vitti are all superb as is the Jazz score (Miles Davis?) that flows in and out.

I just felt it didn't connect to me as fully as I thought it might, especially the middle 45 minutes or so. Although I can see why critics love it (it must have felt so refreshing at the time), I still feel The Passenger is Antonioni's best work. Next up for me from Antonioni will be 'Red Desert'.

7.5/10




trying to make a super realistic film in the context of a visionary sci-fi plot is something nobody had ever done before.

That's something I admit I DIDN'T catch any of the three times I've seen it. I first saw it when I was between 20-22. It was one of the first movies I saw when I was getting really serious about movies, and since it's stayed on the same high place on my chart after having seen it three times, I'm guessing I "got" it then, which was really lucky for me because I didn't even get Stalker or Wild Strawberries yet. But the realism is something I never thought about, and I admit I should have since I watch a lot of MST3K.






Ranked & Rated:
Avatar: The Way of Water (Cameron, 2022) -

Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire (Newell, 2005) -
+
The Menu (Mylod, 2022) -
-
Harry potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Yates, 2007) -

Harry potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Columbus, 2002)-

Bullet Train (Leitch, 2022)-
-
Ticket to Paradise (Parker, 2022)-
-
Bros (Stoller, 2022)-
--
Beast (Kormakur, 2022)-

Smile (Finn, 2022)-

Harry potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Cuaron, 2004)-

Where the Crawdads Sing (Newman, 2022)-
-
Certified Copy (Kiarotamsi, 2010)-
--




Last tab of 2022 & all I've seen since 9/1/22... not much but some good stuff in there. Have had a chance to go to the theater and watch more new releases this year. My fiance got me into watching the Harry Potters, I got to the fifth as a kid and then dropped off. Goblet of Fire by far the best, still have the last two to go. My thoughts on Avatar for those interested


__________________
Yeah, there's no body mutilation in it



Didn't realize how much crap I watched in December until just now. Oof! What a way to close out 2022!

Ambulance - A group of dudes rob a bank, one of them gets shot. They try to escape in an ambulance and that's the movie. GF liked it a lot more than I did. It's not a bad action flick just didn't click for me.


Wetlands - Had me squirming, that's for sure. The gross stuff overshadows the story of a sexually adventurous, dirty, young woman who gets a bum problem after a shaving accident and ends up in the hospital hoping her stay will give her the opportunity to get her family back together. While in the hospital she falls in love with her nurse.


Vampire Hookers - Not usually a big fan of Vampire movies. Hookers...they work, usually (see next movie). This is bad, really, really bad but it does have one thing going for it - a very early appearance for Henry (Michael Rooker) and Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) as sailors looking to get some action but running into the wrong women. Worth watching for the awful performances/dialogue by a couple pretty good actors.


Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles



Okay, fine, I don't get it. I found nothing in this to suggest one of the best ever films. Nothing. The script could have been written on a cocktail napkin.
and this isn't me crapping on it just because of it's placement on the BFI list. I was not entertained in any way, ever. The only thing I found remotely entertaining was the last John and his lack of enthusiasm for humping a hooker. That guy needed a waterbed. What a lump. I thought he died on top of her.

The Swinging Cheerleaders - The thing with Jack Hill movies is they're usually never great but they're entertaining as hell. This falls well below some of his classics but it isn't bad. A reporter goes undercover as a cheerleader at a local high school and discovers a point shaving scheme run by the local mob. When you watch a movie called The Swinging Cheerleaders you have certain expectations and for the most part those expectations are met. It has cheerleaders and they swing. Colleen Camp co-stars.


The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) - Classic noir. A drifter woos a woman. If only she weren't married, right? Whatever shall they do? Set up is good but it kind of bogs down as it goes. I think this may have been my first Lana Turner movie and I may be checking out more of her work in the near future.




Death Brings Roses - Horrible. Some of the worst acting ever, which is kind of what makes it watchable. A crime story about a mob run, N'Awlins strip club and a hitman. A lot of cuts to static shots of the lead delivering awful lines in the most sincere way. Was kind of unintentionally funny.


Last Night in Soho - A ghost story, who-dun-it with solid acting. This is a great looking movie and kept me interested for most of it but it gets a little wonky towards the end. Would watch it again to see if I missed something that makes the ending better.




The First Turn On -Trashy, Troma, 80's teen sex pic about a group of campers stuck in a cave. To pass the time they swap stories about their first time doing it (uh-huh-huh,huh-huh). Yeah, it's dumb but also inappropriately funny in spots. Occasionally I heard laughs coming from the other room followed by "WTF are you watching?"
not as a movie (it's bad) but as a comparison to other trashy, 80's sex comedies. Kind of known for being one of Vincent D'Onofrio's first appearances. He's funny as Lobotomy.

Born for Hell aka Naked Massacre - Surfing Tubi, I clicked on this because of the title and NC-17 rating. Didn't read anything about it. Was expecting another cheesy, poorly acted try hard for shocks film and wasn't ready for something this nasty. It's an ugly, grimy exploitation flick based loosely on the Richard Speck murders and set in Dublin. It doesn't reach the levels of ick as Last House on the Left but it registers on the ick scale.


Freddy Got Fingered - This was not good. Laughed a couple times (thanks to sausages and Rip Torn) but it's not good. Never understood the Tom Green thing.



Rewatch:
Dazed and Confused
Misery
Anti Christ
Murderball
You Were Never Really Here
Waiting...
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Streets of Fire



Bored, so I wanted to collect all my ratings from 2022. Another low volume year, but some great ones in their

Dune (Villeneuve , 2021) -
-
The Unforgivable (Fingscheidt , 2021) -

Sightless (Karl, 2020) -

Red Notice (Thurber, 2021) -
+
Interstellar (Nolan, 2014) -

The Tinder Swindler (Morris, 2022) -
-
Dead Asleep (Borgman, 2021) -

RW: There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (Garbus, 2011) -

RW: Monster in Law (Luketic, 2005)-

The Batman (Reeves, 2022)-
-
RW: Withnail & I (Robinson, 1987) -

The Platform (Urrutia, 2019) -
++
RW Fargo (Coen Bros, 1996) -
+
The Gift (Edgerton, 2015)-
-
Little Miss Sunshine (Dayton/Faris, 2006) -
+
Witness for the Prosecution (Wilder, 1957) -

RW: Shrek 2 (Multiple, 2004) -

You're Next (WIngard, 2011) -
-
Our Father (Jourdan, 2022) -
-
Top Gun: Maverick (Kosincki, 2022) -

Death Sentence (Wan, 2007) -
--
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999) -

RW: Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990) -

The Impossible (Bayona, 2012)-
-
Life of Brian (Jones, 1979)-
+
His Girl Friday (Hawks, 1940)-
+
Groundhog Day (Ramis, 1993)-
+
RW: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone -
+
Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004)-

Unchartered (Feischer, 2022)-

House of Gucci (Scott, 2022)
-

Avatar: The Way of Water (Cameron, 2022) -

Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire (Newell, 2005) -
+
The Menu (Mylod, 2022) -
-
Harry potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Yates, 2007) -

Harry potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Columbus, 2002)-

Bullet Train (Leitch, 2022)-
-
Ticket to Paradise (Parker, 2022)-
-
Bros (Stoller, 2022)-
--
Beast (Kormakur, 2022)-

Smile (Finn, 2022)-

Harry potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Cuaron, 2004)-

Where the Crawdads Sing (Newman, 2022)-
-
Certified Copy (Kiarotamsi, 2010)-
--







December, 2022 movies watched-

Pain and Glory (2019)
Almodovar and Banderas make such a great team.

Tangerines (2013)
A film to remember for the eventual war movie countdown.

Elle (2016)
- One of Paul Verhoeven's best.

X (2022)
- Nothing special but it is enjoyable.

Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins (2021)
+ The 5th installment in a series that I can't get enough of.

Fat City (1972)
+ A good look at people with little hope.

World of Tomorrow (2015)
A lower than deserved rating due to my bias against short films.

Dead Man's Letters (1986)
+ Probably the best look at a post apocalyptic nightmare I've seen.

Ship of Fools (1965)
Solid Stanley Kramer classic with a strong cast.

Total-9
2022 total-123





Recent Watches:
Manchester by the Sea (Lonergan, 2016)-
+
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (TV Movie, 1999) -
+
Gone Girl (Fincher, 2014)-
+
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Yates, 2011) -

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Yates, 2010) -

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Yates, 2009) -

This Place Rules (Callaghan, 2022)-

M3GAN (Johnstone, 2022) -


I'm trying to watch more films this year, and I'm off to a great start. I won't be able to keep this pace throughout, however I'll be trying to watch and note some thoughts on all. I realized how nice it is to go back on your review or notes years later for reference. Otherwise it all just starts blending together for me.

For those I haven't written anything about in other threads:
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm: Awesome TV movie that serves as a pilot for one of my top 5 all time shows, and an introduction to Larry David. The interviews are just as funny as the little sketches, the best of which is the porn sequence. You can tell LD is fond of this piece as well with how often he hints back at it during the show. BTW: shouldn't we do a top 100 shows list?? How cool would that be
Harry Potters: My fiance got me to watch the series, when I watched as child I had only gotten to the first five. Awesomely creative, and one of the few fantasies I could sit through eight of. My favorite of them all was Goblet of Fire, which has the best vibes and most complex storyline
This Place Rules: Callaghan is doing a lot of great things in the Youtube world, and awesome to see HBO give him the time. What I love about this it shows what big of dorks all these "politically involved" protestors are. It's sad that such a large portion of Americans have fallen into these echo chambers, and being first hand Callaghan nails exactly why. Give this a watch

M3GAN (Johnstone, 2022)
Maybe I'm just coming off watching Manchester by the Sea, which coincidentally follows a similar macro-plot, but man is this film under-acted. The main cast feels like a NBC supporting crew. The supporting roles, feel like cheap commercial actors. The cameo roles seem like folks they got off the streets to read a line. I mean it's WEAK.

I'm amazed to see how strongly this has been received as a horror. Scary? I mean as scary as any doll-chase movie with a final fight sequence at the end. Built up with killings of flawed & annoying characters you don't get the chance to care much for. Splash a little shock violence, and ya it's gripping enough. About as scary as the new Chucky movie

The over-reaching fears this unpacks? Ya, they're there and you kinda think about them. AI acting for it's own good and the existential consequences or just emotional/parental. All probable, but is this really the best media to make you spit ball it? Atleast Black Mirror throws some creativity you couldn't think of on your own while chewing on all the latest tech reports.

On a positive note M3GAN is very entertaining, and a super easy watch. Helps how funny it's as well. Plenty of laughs to go around. It never takes itself all too seriously, and absolutely flies by. One of the most audience freidnly horror flicks you can find, but not much more.



I put off watching Manchester by the Sea for some time, prior to it making our list. I have a wide range of thoughts on this film that I'm struggling to put into words, so excuse me if this is a bit rambly. I'll just write as the thoughts come to me. Maybe some slight spoilers as well

On the dramatic element: when I read other reviews it seems others are impacted by this film on a much deeper level than I was. This puts you through some of the most gut-wrenching possibilities of life, so a deeply emotional response makes sense. However, I feel like immediately I adapted the north-eastern tropes attitude of, Well f*ck that's life, the attitude of the characters. Perhaps that can be viewed as a directorial success. It really does throw you right into this Maine town and lifestyle. Where people seem to be mean, but are deeply kind. The opposite of the south. The piece is incredibly human & it's not hard to identify with any of the personalities. So much so, I think my reaction began matching what I saw on the screen.


Overall it's a very human glimpse into a simple, yet layered, life. Not overly ambitious, but genuinely rooted. There's a pretty wide range of interactions and complexities that are thrown at the audience. All in a very shrugged-off and stoic way. Even the most gut-wrenching scenes- the hospital & the police station- they never force too much. Relies on the audience to do most of the work, which I respect.

Obviously great performances all around guided by a masterful script. I definitely would rank this as one of the must-watches of the decade.

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I watched Gone Girl last night- it would definitely make my top 50 of the 2010s. The film just has an inherent grip, where it totally flies by its run time. It doesn't over-rely on its twists & just keeps a consistent tension. Never overreaches. I would've wished for a little more humanization on the Amy character, even by going back to what created her as she is, but honestly just a great movie.
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