January 2011 Screening Log

This is probably ill-advised but I thought I'd record what I watched every day this year. Just as an experiment or a diary in list form.

1 Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010) B+
2 True Grit (Coen Bros, 2010) second viewing up a tick to "B"
Cyrus (Duplass Bros, 2010) second viewing B-
Solitary Man (Brian Koppelman & David Levien, 2010), partial viewing. Shut it off when Michael Douglas started an affair with an 18 year old and referred to Mary Louise Parker's body as "thick". Not for me. (I had no idea until I just typed this that the theme of the day was two. As in all films were watched on the second day of January, there were two second viewings and all three films were directed by duos.)
3 n/a
4 No Ordinary Family "No Ordinary Friends" C- I don't know why I watch this show. I couldn't tell you.
5 The Comeback "Valerie Does Another Classic Leno" B+ (I'm still on that Lisa Kudrow binge)
Modern Family "Slow Down Your Neighbors" A/A-
It just occurs to me that in a couple of seasons they're going to have to find a gifted Asian child actress to take over the role of "Lily". That's not going to be easy. This cast has no weak spots so the child will have to be hilarious.

6 n/a
7 cabaret show at The Duplex
8 The Princess Diaries (Garry Marshall, 2001). D+
First half with back turned (was computering). Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway have such distinct voices. What was Marshall smoking while directing? Bizarre everything: camera work, acting, staging, blocking.
9 Tangled (Greno & Howard, 2010) 3rd *partial* viewing for this writeup.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975) A-/B+
Unsettling/gorgeous. But reminded me most of inchoate Lynchian dread through a hazy Sofia Coppola so it must have been an influential film.
10 When We Leave (Feo Aladag) B
Germany's Oscar submission

11 Rabbit Hole, The Ghost Writer, A Prophet *partial 2nd and 3rd viewings* for these writeups
No Ordinary Family "No Ordinary Brother" D
12 Downton Abbey (Pt 1. PBS Miniseries) B
Modern Family "Our Children, Ourselves" A-/B+
(the bit about the 3D movie was priceless)
13,14 More partial 2nd and 3rd viewings for most of the top ten writeups.
14 BFCA (for live blogging)
15 For Colored Girls (Tyler Perry, 2010) A/C/F (sometimes all at once!)
A total schizo mess -- whose bright idea was it to keep flipping between the dynamic theatrical verse and banal dialogue you might hear on subpar TV? -- but a couple of A grade performances rescue it. I have to echo what Guy Lodge has been saying: someone get Macy Gray her own Precious level "Mary Jones" part. Let's see what she can do over 2 hours.

16 Golden Globes (for 5 hours of live blogging)
17 Golden Globes ...2nd viewing (I'm not ashamed!)
Downton Abbey (Pt 2 PBS Miniseries) B+
This is surprisingly involving -- The Lovely Laura Linney is presenting each episode. Anyone watching?
18 No Ordinary Family "No Ordinary Detention" D+
This show is so... WHY CAN'T I STOP WATCHING IT? It's hopelessly stoopid.
19-25 Wow, I am doing a TERRIBLE job keeping up this screening log, right? Usually around this time of year I take a break from moviegoing after the glut of Oscar and top ten list prep work and Oscar nominations fervor. Otherwise still watching all the same TV shows

Benjamin Thys & Eugene the Poogene in "Immortal"26 Immortal: The Gilgamesh Variations This is playing in Bushwick, Brooklyn until Sunday night if anyone wants to make last minute theater plans! 

I'll admit up front that I was a biased audience member as two friends of mine were involved behind the scenes (including Gabriel Shanks who you may remember from the blog ModFab) but I marvel at their talents. It's so creatively staged and cohesively executed despite being written by several different playwrights and having a few shocking shifts in tone as the Epic of Gilgamesh is retold. I wasn't familiar with most of the cast but the lead actor Eugene the Poogene (who plays the wild man of the forest Enkidu and Gilgamesh -- since that's a rotating part) was terrific in a disciplined highly physical performance.

Here's some rehearsal footage.

27 Caught up on TV viewing, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock and Ru Paul's Drag Race. Sadly, regarding the latter, I wasn't grabbed by any of the queens. I need someone as cool as Raven but such people are hard to come by.
28-31 Lots of TV. Including catching up with Southland. I hate procedurals so I have no idea why this one appeals to me so much. Can't figure why.

2010 Films, Graded

130 Films. (Last updated 03/20/2011)
Ordered Alphabetically by Grade. (# Multiple Viewings)
Links go to related writings when applicable.
Top Ten List coming this week.

Don't miss them! 

A/A-

I Am Love d. Luca Guadagnino [articles] 2
The Kids Are All Right d. Lisa Cholodenko [review, "best in show", interview, articles] 3
Last Train Home d. Lixin Fan [review]
Prodigal Sons d. Kimberly Reid [reviews]
The Social Network d. David Fincher [review, "best in show", articles] 4

A-/B+

Animal Kingdom d. David Michôd ["best in show", interview, articles] 2
Another Year d. Mike Leigh [articles, honorable mention] 2
Applause d. Martin Zandvliet [review, honorable mention] 2
Black Swan d. Darren Aronofsky [7 word review, articles] 2
Blue Valentine d. Derek Cianfrance [capsule review, articles]
The Fighter d. David O. Russell [articles] 2
Fish Tank d. Andrea Arnold [top ten]
The Ghost Writer d. Roman Polanski ["best in show", articles, top ten]
How To Train Your Dragon d. [personal anecdote, top ten list] 2
The Illusionist d. Sylvain Chomet [honorable mention]
Kawasaki's Rose d. Jan Hrebek [honorable mention]
Mother d. Bong Joon-ho [honorable mention]
A Prophet d. Jacques Audiard [runner up]
Rabbit Hole d. John Cameron Mitchell [7 word review, articles, runner up] 2
Toy Story 3 d. Lee Unkrich [review, articles, runner up] 2
Winter's Bone d. Debra Granik [articles, honorable mention]2

Recommended with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

B+/B

127 Hours d. Danny Boyle [articles]
Boy d. Taiki Cohen [capsule]
Cairo Time d. Ruba Nadda [7 word review, interview]
Catfish d. Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman [capsule]
Cleanflix d. Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi [capsule]
Cyrus d. Duplass Bros [capsule] 2
Exit Through the Gift Shop d. Banksy [best of year honorable mention]
Greenberg d. Noah Baumbach [articles]
Hipsters d. Valeriy Todorovskiy [capsule]
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work d. [7 word review, honorable mention] 2
Made in Dagenham d. Nigel Cole [7 word review]
One Too Many Mornings d. Michael Mohan [capsule]
Please Give d. Nicole Holofcener [capsule, honorable mention] 2
Restrepo d.
The Runaways d. Flora Sigismondi [capsule]
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World d. Edgar Wright [review, "best in show", articles, honorable mention]
Somewhere d. Sofia Coppola []
Soul Kitchen d. Fatih Akin []
The Square d. Nash Edgerton []
Tangled d. Nathan Greno & Byron Howard [articles, best in show, honorable mention] 3
Tiny Furniture d. []
Undertow d. Javier Fuentes-León [review, interview]
Waking Sleeping Beauty d. Don Hahn [review]
White Material d. Claire Denis []

Recommended with reservations.

B/B-

Buried d. Rodrigo Cortés [capsule]
Burlesque d. Steve Antin [review, articles]
Despicable Me d. [7 word review]
Easy A d. Will Gluck [review, "best in show", articles]
Inception d. Chris Nolan [review, "best in show", articles]
Inside Job d. [7 word review]
The King's Speech d. Tom Hooper [7 word review, articles]
Lebanon d. Samuel Maoz [review]
The Lottery d. Madeleine Sackler []
I Love You Phillip Morris d. [review, articles]
Mamma Gógó d. Fridrik Thór Fridriksson []
Micmacs d. Jean Pierre-Jeunet [7 word review]
The Misfortunates d. Felix Van Groenigen []
Secure Space d. Oren Gvili []
Salt d. Phillip Noyce [7 word review]
Terribly Happy d. Henrik Ruben Genz []
The Town d. Ben Affleck [articles]
The Trotsky d. Jacob Tierney []
True Grit d. Joel & Ethan Coen [review] 2
The Way Back d. Peter Weir [7 word review, articles]

Toss up.

B -/C+

Babies d. Thomas Balmes [personal anecdote]
Bran Nue Dae d. Rachel Perkins [capsule]
City of Borders d. Yun Suh []
Conviction d. Tony Goldwyn ["best in show", interview, articles]
Eat Pray Love d. Ryan Murphy [review, "best in show", articles]
The Eclipse d. Conor McPherson []
The Infidel d. Josh Appignanesi []
Iron Man 2 d. Jon Favreau [review, articles]
Knight & Day d. James Mangold [review ]
Let Me In d. Matt Reeves []
My Joy d. Sergie Loznitsa [7 word review]
La Mission d. Peter Bratt [review]
Let Me In d. Matt Reeves []
Northless d. Rigoberto Pérezcano []
Nowhere Boy d. Sam Taylor Wood [capsule]
Open d. Jake Yuzna []
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll d. Mat Whitecross []
Timer  d. Jac Schaeffer [capsule]
Vegetarian d. Lim Seong-Woong [capsule]
Zonad d. John & Keiran Carney []

C+/C

Bomber d. Paul Cotter []
Date Night d. Shawn Levy [capsule]
David's Birthday d. Marco Filiberti [review]
Herpes Boy d. Nathaniel Atcheson []
Holy Rollers d. Kevin Asch [capsule]
It's Kind of a Funny Story d. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck [articles]
Kick-Ass d. Matthew Vaughn [review, articles]
Kites d. Anurang Basu [review, articles]
Leaving d. Catherine Corsini [7 word review]
Mother and Child d. Rodrigo Garcia [capsule]
Never Let Me Go d. Mark Romanek [review, "best in show", articles]
Shutter Island d. Martin Scorsese [capsule, articles]
Splice d. Vincenzo Natali [capsule]

Not recommended.

C/C-

All Good Things d. [interview]
Fighting Fish d. Annette Apitz []
Get Low d. Aaron Schneider [capsule, articles]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo d. []
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 d. David Yates [articles, frustration]
Hereafter d. Clint Eastwood [review, articles]
For Colored Girls d. Tyler Perry []
New Low d. Adam Bowers []
No Woman No Cry d. Christy Turlington Burns []
Oki's Movie d. Hong Sang-soo [7 word review]
Red d. []
Secretariat d. John Lee Hancock [minor thoughts]
Sex & the City 2 d. Michael Patrick King [review]
Snow and Ashes d. Charles Olivier-Michaud []
Today's Special d. David Kaplan []
Violet Tendencies d. Casper Andreas []

C-/D+

After.Life d. Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo [anecdote]
The Burial d. Danielle Boucher & David William Mills []
Love and Other Drugs d. Edward Zwick []
Love Ranch d. Taylor Hackford [worst of year]
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time d. Mike Newell [articles]
Waiting for Superman d. Davis Guggenheim [capsule]

D+/D

The Wolf Man d. Joe Johnston [review, articles, worst of year]
Repo Men d. Miguel Sapochnik [worst of year]
The Romantics d. Galt Niederhoffer [capsule, worst of year ]
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger d. Woody Allen [7 word review, articles, worst of year]

Make it stop!

D-/F

Alice in Wonderland d. Tim Burton [review, articles, worst of year ]
The Chameleon d. Jean-Paul Salomé []
Elvis & Madona d. Marcello Laffitte []
Stone d. John Curran [7 word review, worst of year]
The Tempest d. Julie Taymor [7 word review, worst of year]