July Movie Status

Last month I did my first ever monthly status of the movies I had seen.  It was also a half year status, but I said I would likely do these kinds of posts monthly from now on.  I received a few questions on the films last month so I will attempt to add a few things this month that people might be interested in (i.e. years, recommendations). 

The two main lists that I am taking movie suggestions from right now are the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list and a list I put together of every Oscar Best Picture nominee.  You can see those lists by clicking on these titles:  1,001 Movies; Oscar Nominees. 

So far in 2012 I have seen 242 movies that were new to me.  Among those 242 films, 90 were from the 1,001 Movies list and 39 were Best Picture nominees.  (Some movies were in both lists.)  In fact, there are a total of 207 movies among the 494 Best Picture nominees that are also in the 1,001 Movies list.  After this month I have now seen all but four of them and three of those are not available via Netflix.  The remaining one (Reds) just arrived today.

In July I passed the 600 mark for the 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.  I have now seen 612 of the 1,089 movies on the 1,001 Movies list (56%).  I’ve now seen 339 of the 494 Best Picture nominees (69%) and 83 of the 84 Best Picture winners.  1934 winner Cavalcade is the only one I have yet to watch because it is not available on DVD.

Here are the 45 new movies I saw in June.  An asterisk indicates it is from the 1,001 Movies list.  A plus sign indicates it is a Best Picture Oscar nominee.  Highlighted movies are ones I would give at least three stars out of five to.  I will single out the four and five star films in the paragraph below the list.

Z (1969)*+

Sex, Lies, and Death (2011)

Siren (2010)

The Official Story (1985)*

X (2011)

Candyman (1992)*

Sherman’s March (1986)*

Volver (2006)*

The Long Goodbye (1973)*

Intolerance (1916)*

The Verdict (1982)+

Valkyrie (2008)

The Rules of the Game (1939)*

Q (aka The Winged Serpent) (1982)

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

Somewhere (2010)

Fighting for Love (2001)

Henry V (1944)*+

The War Game (1965)*

Beat the Devil (1953)*

The Wolf Man (1941)*

Carmen Jones (1954)*

Lockout (2012)

Cries and Whispers (1972)*+

Five Easy Pieces (1970)*+

The OH in Ohio (2006)

S. (1998)

Barney’s Version (2010)

Audition (1999)*

Fish Tank (2009)*

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

W. (2008)

My Brilliant Career (1979)*

Mirror Mirror (2012)

Nashville (1975)*+

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)*

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)*

All That Jazz (1979)*+

Bobby Fischer Against the World (2010)

Jig (2011)

Falling Up (2009)

Virgin Territory (2007)

The Turning Point (1977)+

I had no five star films in July.  My four star films were Volver, Barney’s Version, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.  I reviewed Volver just a few weeks ago.  You can read that here.  Barney’s Version is a drama with some comedic elements.  It tells the story of a sometimes likable sometimes unlikable man played quite well by Paul Giamatti.  Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is a romantic musical comedy from India.  The title roughly translates to “The Brave Hearted Will Win the Bride.”  It’s not four stars because of the story (it’s basically a bunch of 1930s Astaire/Rogers plot devices) or the technical mastery (a fistfight clearly shows punches missing by six inches, but people reacting like they were hit.)  It’s four stars simply because of the sheer fun it brings to the screen.  If I had to describe the movie in one word, it would be “exuberant”.

The two worst films I saw in July were Hour of the Wolf and The Turning Point.  In both cases “worst” is a relative term.  Hour of the Wolf is exactly the kind of foreign film that gets mocked and parodied.  For instance, it features scenes where two people are having a “conversation” where one faces into the camera and the other is in 90 degree profile not looking at the first person.  When they speak, most everything is unrelated to what was previously said.  If you love Ingmar Bergman, though, you may love this film.  The Turning Point is just under two hours long and I bet at least an hour of it consists of watching ballet performances.  Interspersed among these are mostly scenes of two middle-aged women, one very bitter, bemoaning the fact that they are no longer young.  If you love ballet, though, then you may quite enjoy the performances.

By the way, some of you may have been too young to watch one of the best shows Mtv ever put on the air.  (It debuted about 15 years ago.)  It is titled Daria and they have been re-airing it recently as part of their “Retro Mtv” summer.  If you get a chance, check it out.  If you like very dry, smart-ass humor then you will like this show.  I’ve been catching some of the episodes and enjoying them just as much as I did when I first saw them.