Two things happened this week.

First of all, I was under the weather on Monday. As you may know by now, days where I’m home sick, I tend to hole myself up under blankets, either on the couch or in the bedroom. I grab a stack of watchables from the Shelf of Awesome (and sometimes the Shelf of Doom), and try to rest up. This week, my beloved suggested I try weening her sick day routine into the mix, which meant I took a longer than usual trip to Middle Earth.

The other thing that happened this week is that I finally got into my Hot Docs mindset. A rather thick envelope of screener dvds was sent to me this week. Interestingly, a strange streak continued – for the third year in a row, the first doc I watched turned out to be a real gem. Don’t ask me how my luck bounces that way, it just does.

So all in all, we’re back up to double digits. If all of this isn’t interesting enough, next week it will also be peppered with showings from The Toronto Silent Film Festival.

Here’s The Week at Hand…

Screenings
THE MUPPET MOVIE – Followed by a wonderful Q&A with Paul Williams
THE RAID – I don’t understand the sudden hate-on for this films

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
BEAUTY IS EMBARASSING – Hot Docs Screener: The non-fiction trench begins with a bang.

Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Watched Before
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA – For the first time since theatres. I’d almost forgotten how stunning it is
PLEASANTVILLE – I might have to break my rule about upgrading to blu-ray for this title.
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING – I’m going to continue, but 33% of the way in I remain unconvinced that I needed to see the extended edition.
127 HOURS – Breaking News: I still love it.
THE MUPPETS – No 2011 film brought me more joy
12 MONKEYS – Aging very nicely…except for that whole bit about an apocalypse in 1997.
21 GRAMS – Still amazing; Still a bummer
28 DAYS LATER… – Frustrating, since suddenly this dvd either plays dead silent or screamingly loud

Boxscore for The Year
56 First-Timers, 58 Re-Watched
23 Screenings
114 Movies in Total

How’s about you – seen anything good?

31 Replies to “Days of The Week (Films Watched Mar 24 – Mar 30)”

  1. First time:

    Vernon, Florida – One of the last few films of my trek into Errol Morris’ docs. This one is probably my least favourite of his.

    Vanishing Point – Already talked about it on my site, really enjoyed it.

    Save the Last Dance 2 – I actually enjoyed the first one. This one was awful.

    Petra’s Poem – Hot Docs Screener. Decent doc short.

    The Mystery of Mazo De La Roche – Hot Docs Screener. Alright, was missing that special something.

    The Boxing Girls of Kabul – Hot Docs Screener. Quite Good.

    Glow: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling – Hot Docs Screener. Loved it.

    Mom and Me – Hot Docs Screener. Surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

  2. I adore Pleasantville. One of my most favourite films ever.

    Firsts: Love Me if You Dare– This is deceivingly depressing. Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet make a really attractive couple though.
    21 Jump Street– It was fun. I loved the Johnny Depp cameo.
    Far From Heaven– So beautiful and sad and perfect.
    The General– My first Keaton movie! It was brilliant.
    Funny Games– I don’t think I have paused this much since     No Country for Old Men. Still, I found it sort of creepy amusing.

    Rewatched: The Silence of the Lambs– How perfect is this film? Hannibal and Clarice forever <3
    Rear Window– It had been too long since I saw this. I think I like Grace Kelly more than Jimmy Stewart in this.
    Carrie– After the whole news about the unnecessary remake, I felt like watching it. No way in hell can Chloe Moretz reach Sissy Spacek’s level in this.
    Scoot Pilgrim vs The World– It is one of those films I can watch on loop and never get bored. Ever.
    Shaun of the Dead– My little brother wanted to see it. He didn’t get a lot of it, but still loved it.

    1. The General is a rather apropos watch, given my experiences with the Silent Film Festival this week. I think it still takes the cake as my favorite silent film. I was even lucky enough to catch it on a big screen at TIFF a few years ago!

  3. I thought everyone loved The Raid (except for Ebert), didn’t there is hate towards the film.

    Most of mine are rewatch this week except for a couple:

    First time:
    – Hunger Games
    – Footnote: A fine dark comedy about father/son professional rivalry. Though I still have reservation about the ending. (If anyone is going to remake this, the Coens should do it, right up their alley.)

    Rewatched:

    – Take Shelter: It would be a perfect film if it ended 10 minutes earlier

    – A Lonely Place To Die: Great first 40 minutes, but disappointed about the ending

    – Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 2: The only Harry Potter movie that I have revisited. Watched it this time with my Dad on Blu-Ray, he is a huge HP fan (the films anyway).

    – Casablanca. If anyone owns a Blu-Ray player, and doesn’t own a previous edition of Casablanca on Blu-Ray, get the 70th anniversary Edition right now. The print looks absolutely amazing with tonnes of special features (which I am plowing thru right now). Someone who knows more about films than I do, told me this once: “There may be better screenplays, better directors, more profound stories, but there is only one Casablanca.” True masterpiece.

    1. Some of the Toronto folk who shall remain nameless were poo-poo’ing it the day before I caught my screening. Part of me thinks it was a reaction to how apeshit some in our social circle went for it after the premiere back in September.

      I actually would buy that revamp of CASABLANCA in a heartbeat if it weren’t for the box being so. damned. big.

    2. During TIFF I was on the blue line after seeing YOU’RE NEXT and a complete stranger was chatting me up about how great THE RAID was.

      I myself liked the film, though I would still consider YOU’RE NEXT to be my favourite Midnight Madness film from last year.

  4. 21, 127, 28, 12, etc. Numbers a theme?

    I didn’t realise that THE RAID was ‘hated’ its got lots of positive press from places. THE RAID: REDEMPTION yeah?

    1. I couldn’t decide what to watch this week, so I just started at the top left corner of my shelf and started pulling alphabetically – watched (500) DAYS OF SUMMER today to continue the trend.

      As for negativity surrounding THE RAID – look up Ebert’s review, then (as mentioned) pepper it with some malcontented locals.

  5. Some good films in there. I’ll happily claim that watching the extended versions of LotR is worth your time.

    This week, I rewatched nothing. All new to me:
    My Uncle: Makes me wish Jacques Tati had done more.
    It’s a Gift: There was only one W.C. Fields, and you should watch him more.
    Ryan: Recommended by Jessica, and worth your 15 minutes.
    Magnolia: So…good…and suddenly frogs!
    MirrorMask: Odd. Needs another viewing.
    The Harder they Come: Watch for Jimmy Cliff, who has enough charisma for the rest of the cast. Great(!) soundtrack.
    Pasazerka: A powerful fragment. Makes me sad for what could have been.
    Precious: An “important” movie, but a very hard watch.

    2. Animated shorts are something Canada does well – so I’m actually quite familiar with RYAN.

      Re: MON ONCLE, have you seen Tati’s PLAY TIME? It was sorta my introduction to the man (in glorious 70mm no less). That and his script for THE ILLUSIONIST are the extent of my Tati know-how so far.

      And count me as a devotee of MAGNOLIA.

    3. I haven’t seen Playtime…yet. I feel like I’m the only one who ever says this, but I recommend seeing M. Hulot’s Holiday as well. It’s cute and pointless and silly, and if you look hard enough, you can start to see where Monty Python came from.

  6. My week of film watching has been kind of great. Dirty Dancing, Yojimbo/Sanjuro as well as revisiting Drive and Rango. This week was good.

    I’ve actually never seen 21 Grams. Not sure how I missed it as I usually enjoy that type of misery porn.

    2. Was flicking through Netflix. Saw it.. I feel I’d seen it so long ago (maybe did, maybe I just know about enough through other films referencing it) and said “why not”.

  7. I’m finally getting over the cold that has plagued me for the bulk of March. It’s that time of the year.

    First Time:
    Blade Runner – My “Revisiting 1982” film for March. I seem to recall you being interesting in seeing my post – http://bit.ly/HKEqDK
    Tabloid – Just when the topic of this film couldn’t get any stranger, it does. Excellent Errol Morris doc.
    Wrath of the Titans – I actually liked the first one better (I think that says something)
    The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing – A documentary watched in class about film editing. Quite interesting.
    The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – Would have been better if there were actually people in the cinema (only about 1/4 full)

    Rewatch:
    Submarine – It took me six months to acquire the blu-ray for this film.

    2. Yeah, I saw it at the Bloor. Been there three times since it reopened. I’ll probably go at least two more times before Hot Docs, since I get two free films this month with my membership (being my birthday month and all).

    1. I still can’t believe that PROJECT NIM didn’t get nominated for an Oscar last year – after seeing it at Hot Docs, that felt like a lock. Go figure…I wonder if the wacky rule changes will help such omissions going forward?

      “The two yoots…”

  9. Wrath of the Titans
    21 Jump Street
    Rocky Horror Picture Show
    Notorious
    In the Bedroom (should have won the Oscar for its year)

    1. I’m still of the opinion that MOULIN ROUGE! should have taken best picture for 2001 (or MEMENTO if we’re going with films that weren’t even nominated).

    2. I hated Moulin Rouge! I felt like that film was physically assaulting me.

      Of course, I also thought it was a dry-land Titanic with tuberculosis playing the role of the iceberg.

      Actually, I was sort of nonplussed by the film when I saw it, but as time as gone on, I like it less and less whenever I think about it.

    4. Interesting.

      Well aside from ROUGE there was also MEMENTO that year that I wish had got more love. I also could have done with THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING taking the big prize since I think it’s the most award-worthy of the trilogy. And actually, a small part of me would have been quite content to see GOSFORD PARK take the gold – but it’s not the sort of film that wins BP.

  10. Didn’t get a chance to see anything this weekend, very depressing 🙁 There’s a The Toronto Silent Film Festival?? How cool! Looking forward to your coverage on that.

    1. I attended three events at the Silent Film Festival, and two I’ve already written about. Check them out on the main page, and check back mid-afternoon for the third post about a show in an amazing venue with a classic Wurlitzer organ providing the accompaniment.

  11. OK, I’m totally of the belief that the extended versions of the LOTR are totally worth it. Fine, Return of the King has the best extended scenes, but still. Actually, I’m just a LOTR geek and can’t not watch/read stuff about it.

    127 Hours is such a great movie. I loved that film, and I think James Franco is hott in it (well, not so much when his arm is stuck between a boulder and a rock wall). It was one of my favorite films of 2010.

    The Muppets was one of the most fun films to come out in 2011. Saw it twice in the theater. Many friends thought I was crazy for giving it a chance!

    Seriously, Ryan, what is your movie viewing schedule? I am inadequate when it comes to watching a decent amount of films a week. Definitely admire how you fit so many in. Perhaps my reading of AL: Vampire Hunter and obsession with White Collar is eating up most of my free time 🙂

    1. Well I’m sure in the weeks and months to come, you will see the other two extended entries in the trilogy show up in this entry series. However, I can’t see myself reaching for them after this. The theatrical cut was good enough for me.

      People think I’m nuts for loving 127 HOURS as much as I do – many people can’t get through it once, let alone want to sit through it repeatedly. As for THE MUPPETS, I too saw it twice in theatres last year and cannot get over the immense amount of joy it brought me. A top five film of 2011 if ever there was one.

      Staying up late helps get a few more movies watched, so too does not watching a lot of current TV. Of course, it never hurts that this planet’s yellow sun has given me superhuman movie-watching powers…

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