September Screening Log

01-04 Spent the weekend finishing up DEXTER Season Five on DVD. Very strong season overall. I keep thinking this show should wrap up given how repetitive it HAS TO BE given its concept. But I will say this for the team: they're definitely finding many backroads to journey on to prevent it from being as monotonous as the concept suggests it could be. Dexter's characterization in general is really a strong longform arc... what television is essentially made for.
05-06 True Blood penultimate Season 4 episode "Soul of Fire" and Martin Scorsese's PUBLIC SPEAKING, a documentary on the super quotable writer who doesn't write Fran Leibowitz. Totally worth watching. Ended the night with the Norwegian faux documentary TROLL HUNTER which was fun but my god my Norwegian is rusty. I had to read subtitles the whole time. [sniffle]

07 Melancholia ... still mulling it over. But von Trier "gets" actress personae in a way too few filmmakers do; he uses Dunst's Dunstness superbly. And, yes, she's wonderful in it, too.
08-23 September has been weirdly anti-movie... I think because I vacationed and also got sick and also it's just a transition period from summer season to fall.  In this time frame I did see The Loneliest Planet (very good) and Dangerous Method (disappointing but interesting) and I saw Weekend again before interviewing the  director. 
24 MONEYBALL which really surprised me [REVIEW] but then i've always been kind of a sucker for Brad Pitt. He's not underrated as a celebrity of course but as a film star, way underappreciated. So many fine characters created over the years. Also Close Encounters of the Third Kind for some reason. 
25-28 Lots of TV. Weird that Glee swung so far back to Broadway music this year, huh? It's all Broadway all the time. Which is fine by me but I'm assuming that many of its mainstream fans are missing its top ten radio feeling. Feeling weirdly disconnected to the world this week. Also took in CARNAGE (review) and ABDUCTION (review) and A SEPARATION from Iran which is both an Oscar submission and a big ol' "wow". 
29-30 MISS BALA,  50/50 (reviewed at Towleroad)

August 2011 Screening Log

1 KABOOM (2011) Gregg Araki. How far he has fallen. My thoughts.
2 FOR ME AND MY GAL (1942) reviewed followed by the SUFJAN STEVENS concert at Celebrate Brooklyn with friends. I convinced one of them to see The Tree of Life and the other one got all high and mighty about not missing the movies 'I don't go anymore'. Boo!
3 PRESENTING LILY MARS (1943) which I totally loved. How have I never been aware of this Judy Garland Van Heflin comedy? Later that night two episodes of TEEN WOLF which proves to be a show that one should never watch two episodes of in a row. It felt as if it were 7 hours long. Why am I still watching this again?
4 THE HELP (2011) by my lonesome. My review. And yes, Oscar nominations are coming -- and THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946) with a new friend who gave me blueberry pie after the screening. How sweet. Literally. Further thoughts on that one here.

5 PROJECT RUNWAY SEASON 17 MILLION first two episodes. I have no favorites yet. Show still highly watchable but much less thrilling than it once was. THE HOUSEMAID to see if Secret Sunshine's Jeon Do-Yeon was the real deal; she is (10 word review). SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959) for the commentary track. I'm so in love with this background paintings. If I ever own a garden I want it in the proper aspect ratio, styled and trimmed to have only verticals and horizontals!
6 IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME (1949). So glad I attended a few of those Judy Garland shows. It was awesome. Somehow I hadn't realized that that one was based on The Shop Around the Corner. So many film versions of this story! the most recent being You've Got Mail. 
7 RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (10 word review), the final episodes of WONDERFALLS which I'd never seen. (I've now finished the complete series *sniffle* gone before it should have been gone) and the latest eppy of TRUE BLOOD which I wrote about here.
8 I generally just watch TV on Mondays TEEN WOLF (which I'm bored with) and DRAG U
9 GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE Reviewed
10 THE OTHERS (2001) which I had intended to write about for its tenth anniversary (on this day). 

11 forgot
12 DRIVE which I wrote a tiny thing about.
13 FRANKENSTEIN and GABRIEL two one act plays
14 forgot
15 the finale of TEEN WOLF. I'm glad it's over but I must have enjoyed watching it on some level since i watched every week.
16 FRIGHT NIGHT Reviewed
17 Bits of THE HOUSEMAID again. What? I totally dig it. Those actresses!
18 THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU wtf with that film's message? So so muddled. Great chemistry between the leads.
19-20 CRAZY STUPID LOVE at some point. But I think that was it. I thoroughly enjoyed.
21 TRUE BLOOD which I wrote up here.
22 OUR IDIOT BROTHER with Paul Rudd (reviewed at Towleroad) and RUPAUL'S DRAG U I heart Raven so much. She always wins. 
23 DRIVE a second time (I'm greedy!) and TAKE SHELTER (still deciding but Jessica Chastain is everywhere)

WHAT?!

24 er...
25 WARRIOR a tough guy movie. tough guys with huge chips on their shoulder or big pride in their hearts.
26 Project Runway...a Heidi tennis shoe related title. Fashion to go with gym shoes is... well, stupid challenge. 
27 PUSHING DAISIES episodes with friends and Hurrican Irene preparations. Not that they were needed.
28 AVATAR (3rd time), SPRING BREAKDOWN (3rd time), PSYCHO (7,000th time)... lazy day. also binge eating. what?!

29-31 This is all a blur of Hurricane Irene.