Frankenweenie

This week, I finally got to dig into my dvd set of The Story of Film. Know what folks? I could easily lose days watching this opus.

On the advice of my attorney I shall not be mainlining this series, even though the temptation to do so will be high. Instead, I hope to watch one episode every few days (perhaps even once a week), and then watch a few of the titles the episode discusses.

This week wasn’t the easiest, since the episode spent most of its time talking about some of the earliest entries into the medium, and I don’t have such titles at the ready…though I suppose I could have dialed up YouTube. That said, I wasn’t completely up a creek, and in fact might have endeared myself a bit more to a classic in my collection I haven’t watched in quite some time.

So look for my exploits through the instalments to be logged during this weekly feature, along with the films they inspired me to watch. Likewise, if you’ve already watched the series (and I know several of you have), do you have any ideas or advice?

Wish me luck!

 

Here’s The Week at Hand…

 

Screenings
WORLD WAR Z – Far better than many thought it would be.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
THE HUDSUCKER PROXY – Kooky Coens at its kooky Coen-y best
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I have a new answer when people as what my least favorite Scorsese is.
DEFENDING YOUR LIFE – A birthday gift from a friend who saw this year’s birth list of serendipity.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
RATATOUILLE – I will never not want to cook after watching this movie.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION – This week’s choice inspired by Story of Film
EMPIRE OF THE SUN – Ever want to totally distract Sasha James for 140 minutes?

The Story of Film
Intro and Chapter One – You know that film studies course I never took? Time to make up some ground.

 

Boxscore for The Year
115 First-Timers, 105 Re-Watched
44 Screenings
220 Movies in Total
How’s about you – seen anything good?

15 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched June 15 – June 21)”

  1. I remember watching The Story Of Film when it came on TV, really good series, especially since I was just starting to become a big film fan at the time. The last episode is great, it’s got an interview with Gus Van Sant that’s really good.

  2. It’s been a good week.

    Firsts: Texas Chainsaw Massacre– That grandpa was disturbing.
    Dev D– This is the modern-day adaptation of the story of Devdas. I absolutely loved it. Vivid and ballsy.
    Immortals– Even Henry Cavill’s shirtless-ness couldn’t save this movie from being boring as hell.
    Wayne’s World– It’s a little dated now but still quite funny.
    In the Bedroom– Really good with some fantastic performances.
    Young Frankenstein– Brilliant! I must watch more Mel Brooks.
    Dancer in the Dark– I was really digging it till the ending which was just too melodramatic for me to handle.
    Get Carter– I was kind of bored in the beginning, but then it sort of grabs you in the most unexpected way. Loved Caine.
    The Blue Umbrella– Oh Pixar.
    Monsters University– A whole lot of fun.
    Spring Breakers– Kind of loved it. That “Everytime” scene <3 <3

    Rewatched: Anchorman– Educating my kid brother.

    1. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about SPRING BREAKERS this year. The scene that had me in stitches was “look at mah shit!”. I must have been saying that for weeks afterwards.

      “SCARFACE on *repeat*, yo!”

  3. First Timers: Before Midnight, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer My Blind Spot assignment in A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria, and just now, the 1978 re-cut version of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.

    Re-Watches: Uncle Buck, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut), & Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

  4. The Story of Film starts off as Film History 101, though even a film degree-holding guy like myself learned some stuff by the time the 15 hours were up.

    1. And here is what I watched, which isn’t much, since I was busy MAKING films (for my Continuing Education class).
      Screenings:
      Before Midnight – This series is definitely one of the most un-cliched romances seen on screen

      Blu-Ray:
      Naked Lunch (rewatch) – This is the weirdest film you’ll ever see about drug addiction and repressed homosexuality.
      Stoker – The second viewing allowed me look in awe at the wonderful cinematography and editing (including a very artful blu-ray menu). Still my favourite film of the year so far.

      Netflix:
      Robocop – Cheesy violent fun

  5. Ryan, it’s great that you finally caught up with The Hudsucker Proxy. I love the offbeat humor of that movie.

    Here’s what I watched, though I cheated and included June 22 since I saw two of the three yesterday:

    Battle Royale – This is the movie for my Blind Spots post for June. I don’t know why it took me this long to see it.

    Monsters University – Saw this for a birthday party for a friend’s child. My first ever movie birthday party! They rented out the whole theater. Twenty-five kids is a lot to handle, though. It was good fun, though in the middle for Pixar. My daughter wasn’t scared too (whew).

    True Stories – Watched this for the second time for the Forgotten Films podcast. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, and I liked it even more the second time.

    1. I think I’ll be doing an extended bit of Coen Brothers writing at the end of July. If I do, HUDSUCKER will be coming up for certain. (I’m going to leave it at that for now).

      Guess who still hasn’t seen BATTLE ROYALE?

      1. I think BATTLE ROYALE is a good blind-spot contender. I’ve heard from a few who really dislike it, and I can see why. Still, I think it’s worth checking out for sure.

  6. The Story of Film sounds fun. If they’re covering really early stuff, I recommend the Landmarks of Early Film DVDs. They came out right when DVD did, so the discs are dated, but so are the films so it doesn’t matter. In any case, they are a good collection of the foundations of film.

    As for me:
    First time:
    Fast Times at Ridgemont High
    Rama Superman Indonesia
    Shapeshifter
    The Long Chase
    Silver Linings Playbook
    Horrorvision

    Re-watch:
    Conan the Barbarian

    1. Oh man! What’d you make of RIDGEMONT? That’s a pop culture classic that holds up for me, but I’m always curious to hear how it plays for a newb…

      1. I loved it. It brought me right back to the ’80s, even though the ’80s I know were the mid to late ’80s (I was born in ’81). Fantastic film.

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