Hard Rain Falling

2010 Screening Log

2010-01-03T14:56:00.000-05:00

001. (01 Jan) Drunken Angel (1948, Akira Kurosawa)
002. (01 Jan) Closely Watched Trains (1966, Jirí Menzel)
003. (02 Jan) Harlan County U.S.A. (1976, Barbara Kopple)

Exiled (2006, Johnnie To) two stars

2009-11-24T21:52:00.002-05:00

Outstanding use of space, motion, and color in support of an utterly banal shot-em-up story. I struggled to enjoy it on a strictly abstract level, but ultimately couldn't ignore its narrative failings, not to mention its eye-rolling gender politics (some of which has been unjustly described as more complex than I could figure. Whatever. The only two females types in this movie are literally a mother and a whore). Also, gangster films that emphasize themes of friendship, loyalty, and family strike me as hypocritical and annoy my uptight moral sensibilities. Monotonous testosterone annoys my uptight feminist sensibilities as well. Maybe that testosterone was counterbalanced by its graceful mise-en-scene (or maybe it was absurdly romanticized... I'm still thinking about it, which I guess is a good thing...)

Home and Special Theatrical Viewing 2009

2009-08-15T18:20:00.008-04:00

Airport (George Seaton, 1970, USA) (5)

Superbad (Greg Mottola, 2007, USA) (5)

Hurlyburly (Anthony Drazen, 1998, USA) (6)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951, USA) (7)

In the Company of Men (Neil Labute, 1997, USA) (6)

My Beautiful Laundrette (Stephen Frears, 1985, UK) (6)

Yes Man (Peyton Reed, 2008, USA) (2)

Last Chance Harvey (Joel Hopkins, 2008, USA) (3)

Les Miserables (Bille August, 1998, UK) (4)

Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999, USA) (5)

The Spanish Prisoner (David Mamet, 1997, USA) (6)

The Iron Giant (Brad Bird, 1999, USA) (5)

Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962, UK) (9) (AFI Silver)

Vacancy (Nimrod Antal, 2007, USA) (4)

Panic (Henry Bromell, 2000, USA) (4)

To Die For (Gus Van Sant, 1995, USA) (5)

Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944, USA) (7)

Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994, USA) (8)

The Hudsucker Proxy (Joel Coen, 1994, USA) (5)

Amores Perros (Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, 2000, Mexico) (7)

Redbelt (David Mamet, 2008, USA) (5)

Apartment Zero (Martin Donovan, 1988, Argentina) (4)

The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956, USA) (7)

Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970, USA) (6)

The Conrad Boys (Justin Lo, 2006, USA) (2)

My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn, 1993, USA) (4)

Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990, USA) (5)

The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973, USA) (7)

Harishchandra's Factory (Paresh Mokashi, 2008, India) (4) (NMNH)

The Go-Between (Joseph Losey, 1970, UK) (9) (NGA)

Theatrical Viewing 2009

2009-08-15T16:17:00.007-04:00

Let the Right One In (Thomas Alfredson, Sweden) (6)

Frost/Nixon (Ron Howard, USA) (4)

Two Lovers (James Gray, USA) (6)

The Class (Francois Begaudeau, France) (7)

Revolutionary Road (Sam Mendes, USA) (5)

Adventureland (Greg Mottola, USA) (6)

Duplicity (Tony Gilroy, USA) (6)

17 Again (Burr Steers, USA) (2)

Up (Pete Docter, USA) (6)

Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, USA) (5)

Terminator: Salvation (McG, USA) (3)

Away We Go (Sam Mendes, USA) (5)

Bruno (Larry Charles, USA) (3)

The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, USA) (7)

Julie & Julia (Nora Ephron, USA) (2)

Funny People (Judd Apatow, USA) (5)

District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, South Africa) (5)

Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze, USA) (4)

A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, USA) (6)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, USA) (7)

Broken Embraces (Pedro Almadovar, Spain) (5)

Avatar (James Cameron, USA) (5)

An Education (Lone Scherfig, UK) (6)

The Princess and the Frog (John Musker, USA) (4)

Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie, USA) (5)

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman, USA) (6)

Home Viewing Log 2009

2009-08-10T12:21:00.003-04:00

Not that you asked: here's a list of movies I've watched outside of a first-run theater in 2009 (that is, mostly at home, but occasionally in rep houses or on airplanes.)

I'll post some write-ups soon. The log doesn't have dates, simply because I haven't kept track of them. Maybe next year. Nearly all of the viewings are made possible through the wonders of Netflix.

Best Movies of 2007

2008-05-15T12:59:00.007-04:00

1. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)

2. After the Wedding (Susanne Bier)

3. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Sydney Lumet)

4. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen)

5. Ratatouille (Brad Bird)

6. Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)

7. Into the Wild (Sean Penn)

8. Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy)

9. The Savages (Tamara Jenkins)

10. Wild Tigers I have Known (Cam Archer)

Other movies I liked: 12:08 East of Bucharest, An Unreasonable Man, Eastern Promises, and Hairspray, and, yes, Juno.

There were a lot of great movies this year. I do note that 4 of the best picture nominees show up in this post--- all but Atonement, a fine effort that tried but simply couldn't match Ian McEwan's miraculous prose--- which indicates either that my taste is curdling or that the Oscars are meeting me halfway. I think this year I've appreciated the power of a good screenplay, though in general the movies that stay with me are those that deliver an experience that I can watch from inside out.

Also, 2007 brought Sicko, the first Michael Moore movie I've been able to stand.

From The Vaults: Mr. Goldwater Goes to Washington

2007-12-14T11:53:00.000-05:00

The Conscience of a Conservative (Barry Goldwater)-

Have to admit I’m a bit impressed. Maybe impressed at an arm’s length. He distrusts the federal government a bit too much, to the extent of voting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I get that it’s about principle, but if we’re to be a founding and visionary republic, we have to ensure liberty and equality in a broad, societal way. You have to be blinded by rigidity and fundamentalism--- as Pat Buchanan demonstrates he is in his breathless, sycophantic introduction--- not to get that. Also, his strategies for winning the Cold War, mixed as they are with a fuzzy blend of flag-waving and foot-stomping, feel silly at best. Still, this is an able and persuasive manifesto, not to mention an artifact of pre-wingnut conservative respectability; I was particularly taken with his thoughts on Welfare and the dangerous power dynamics of Big Labor.

Listening to the current field of Republican Presidential candidates, it's hard not to get the sense that deep down, they don't believe a word of what they're saying. Does Rudy Giuliani really think that raising taxes will bring more revenue? Does Mitt Romney seriously believe that we should "double Guantanamo?" Does Navy hero John McCain look squarely at the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays in the military and genuinely see success? I doubt it. I think they should read Goldwater again. He may have lost overwhelmingly to the LBJ juggernaut in 1964, but he had the courage of his convictions, and with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the Goldwater creed finally prevailed. It may well be time for conservatives to go back into the political wilderness. I hope they take some good reading with them.

Travel Notebook: Does God Live in Westport?

2007-11-27T23:20:00.000-05:00

This Sunday, my partner R------ and I went to a service at the Unitarian Universalist church in Westport. I am a member of the Church of All Souls in New York, but since I now live 40 miles north of the city, regular attendance there has been less than feasible. In fact, before Sunday, I hadn't been to any church in months. I'd almost forgotten what it was like. But something told me that the advent of a new season (not to mention a new relationship) brought as good a chance as any to replenish my neglected soul.

Two observations to make about the experience: first, people don't generally go to church the Sunday after Thanksgiving; and second, those who do are, on average, about 50 years older than I am. Age statistics do skew upward across all faiths, but with polls showing that self-described Unitarian Universalists comprise approximately 0.2% of the American population, it does not bode well that a congregation of a few hundred members would boast exactly two people under thirty at Sunday worship--- both of them visitors.

The church itself is situated in the middle of a classic New England wood, trees bunched together and stretching from one side of us to the other. It is a magnificent place to worship. And the associate minister in charge of the day's service, Margie Allen, gave a worthy sermon about the spiral of life and our responsibility in creating miracles for ourselves and each other. At the center of the ceremony, though, stood the members themselves: all of us were invited to light candles in honor of a joy or sorrow we were carrying with us, and, if we so chose, to tell the congregation about it. Even though there were, inevitably, more tales of friends and in-laws with Alzheimer's and cancer than one would expect to find among the general population, the whole thing felt exactly right; a true democratic spirit flew through the air.

But that leaves me with a question: do people really want church to be about them? Do they see it as an opportunity to share the maps of their lives with friends and mark the passage of their time on Earth? My guess is that most don't. I imagine that most of us see Sunday worship as an opportunity to look beyond our pedestrian lives, up to the sky, into the mysteries of the past and the divine--- and that while Forrest Church is absolutely correct to say that Unitarians "seek the meaning in life, not the meaning of life," it's also worth pointing out that too many of us have tried and failed at finding that meaning within ourselves. We find it in God and we find it in each other. That's why we go to church. For us Unitarian Universalists who want more than a coffee hour and a shot of social justice, worship is a balancing act: honoring the mystery, challenging the known.

Movies 2006

2007-04-28T14:14:00.000-04:00

This was a shitty year for movies. But here were some good ones.

BEST MOVIES OF 2006

1. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
2. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
3. United 93 (Paul Greengrass)
4. Dave Chappelle's Block Party (Michel Gondry)
5. The Queen (Stephen Frears)
6. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell)
7. The Child (Jean-Pierre Dardenne)
8. Little Children (Todd Field)
9. The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
10. Inside Man (Spike Lee)

No, I don't think Inside Man belongs there, either. That's how shitty a year this was for movies. That Spike Lee joint is exactly the kind of thing you should see, enjoy, and then forget about. Hollywood should produce about a dozen of those every year. But the fact that Lee spent time on such luxury items as a coherent script and an original story is, unfortunately, enough to put it over the top.

The major disappointment this year was: Superman Returns. Talk about great premise and lame execution.

The most overhyped movies of the year were: (1) Little Miss Sunshine, which had just enough of a synchopated script to keep me from walking out, but I mean, come the fuck on... and (2) Borat. Just read George Saunders' satiric masterpiece on this in The New Yorker. Just do it.

Books for 2006

2007-01-26T10:55:00.000-05:00

This is a record of some of the best books I read for the first time in 2006. Only one or two of them were actually written in 2006, though, since I'm not the quickest of readers. (I did, though, read a lot more books than I'm listing.)

FICTION:

1. White Noise by Don Delillo
2. Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
3. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
5. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Other fiction I thought was pretty good/okay: Ravelstein by Saul Bellow, The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud, Saturday by Ian McEwan.

I think I read some great stuff this year, but looking at my fiction list, I realize it's a bit of a slave to the contemporary. I'd frankly like to read more books nobody's ever heard of.

NON-FICTION: (no rankings)

Active Liberty by Stephen Breyer
Enough: The Dead-End Movements... by Juan Williams
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas Ricks
How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer
One-El by Scott Turow
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater

A lot of government/legal interest. This year I want to read books on more specific issues or events.

From the Vaults: Michael Almereyda's Hamlet

2006-06-15T21:19:00.000-04:00

Hamlet (Michael Almereyda, 2000)-

According to the Internet Movie Database, Michael Almereyda's 2000 re-imagining of Hamlet is the twenty-second feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy to be theatrically released in the United States. Though no statistics could found on the matter, it is likely safe to also assume that Almereyda's production is the first to feature Fortinbras as a corporate shark with a knack for hostile takeovers and an image of Hamlet's Ghost walking straight through a Pepsi One machine. Set in a blue-tinged version of contemporary New York City, its title character reconceived as a montage-based filmmaker with a modernist bent, the content of Almereyda's film achieves a synchronicity with its singular form that is undoubtedly unique among its fellow Hamlets. Despite its gestures at storytelling, the film is less a committed adaptation of Shakespeare than a meta-project about the pleasures, difficulties, and peculiarities of adapting Hamlet in a modern world of high-stakes finance and filtered communication.

Almereyda has given his setting a starring role, and the New York of his imagination is neither glamorous nor tawdry, but rather enigmatic and tinted in shades of midnight blue. For a film of such obvious twenty-first century "art school" stock, the camera is surprisingly patient: shots take their time to linger on a subject and unwind, and changes seem to come more from function and necessity than overzealousness. Parts of the film do make generous use of odd camera angles, including one street scene that would seem to have been shot from the height perspective of a medium-sized dog. In another scene, inside a poolroom, we are kept a few yards away from the action. Later, we get a vision of Ophelia through Hamlet's apartment peephole. And images on top of images abound: televisions in the background; full-body reflections in pools, mirrors and washing machines; surveillance camera shots; the burning of Polaroid pictures. That communication is so heavily layered/filtered in this world would come as no surprise to anybody who lives in it, but hearing a few lines from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern over speakerphone, along with "get thee to a nunnery" voicemails from Hamlet, has a startling and transformative effect on Shakespeare's language. All of Hamlet's soliloquies are presented through Ethan Hawke's voiceovers, which play underneath images of a distraught, withering Hamlet, including a "To be or not to be" set in a Blockbuster video store lit with harsh, fluorescent tones. While there are no instances of electronics enhancing genuine communication between characters, neither is there any sign that things would be better face-to-face. Almereyda isn't betting the house (or the budget) on any half-hearted notion that contemporary man is doomed by each beep of the cell phone battery or hum of the modem. Rather, he's pointing out that the ease and fluidity of expression today is as hazy and incomplete as the Prince of Denmark's understanding of the world, and that any attempt to fully stage the play would probably be doomed under the circumstances.

The film both luxuriates in and feels confined by the trappings of this wealth, and swanky locations are mined more for their hidden corners than anything else. Ultimately, though, the film does not wish to render a verdict on corporate America--- it wants merely to steal its ruthless, exhilarating, high-stakes energy for the sake of flair and mood. It has these effects, but at its core this is still a brutal story of family betrayal that happens to have a backdrop in a large New York company.

This is a Hamlet that above all tells the story of itself. Though we see little of Hamlet in creative mode, we sense that he is always sizing up a situation's colors and contours so he can capture it in his mind. Many of the images within the images in this film are given ominous contexts at best: the mysterious, faded color of a surveillance camera, the lines of static on a black and white television, the combustibility of the still photographs of Hamlet and Ophelia. This emphasis accents the potency of images, but also the danger, reminding us that Hamlet is above all a dangerous play, complete with ghosts and revenges. But more than anything, we are meant to understand that Hawke's hero is meant to stand in for Almereyda, and that Hamlet the filmmaker has had the final interpretive say over Hamlet the poet. This Hamlet--- bold, vibrant, and unique among its companions--- has staged the inability to stage itself, and in so doing leaves an indelible print on the textbook of Shakespearean film.

Summer Series: 5/19-5/26

2006-05-26T12:48:00.000-04:00

Note: This is the beginning of my summer play reading series, in which I will read or see or listen to exactly 100 plays before Labor Day. Each Friday I'll write down the entries for the week, along with the numbers. Sometimes I'll even write about the plays. Almost all of them will be good; a (~) indicates something a bit beyond. A (p) indicates I watched it in performance.

Burn This (Lanford Wilson)
Chaucer in Rome (John Guare)
Fifth of July (Lanford Wilson)
A Number (Caryl Churchill)(~)
Shining City (Conor McPherson)(p)
Speed-the-Plow (David Mamet)

Week: 6
Total: 6

Recent Music

2006-03-20T17:14:00.000-05:00

I haven't waded deeply enough into the 2005 music scene to compile a "Best List," but here are a few albums from the year I think are excellent:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (s/t)
Extraordinary Machine, Fiona Apple
Illinoise, Sufjan Stevens
Picaresque, The Decemberists
Twin Cinema, The New Pornographers

If they're a bit obvious, I again apologize. It's due to not keeping current.

Here are some other noteworthy albums I listened to for the first time recently:

Chutes Too Narrow (The Shins, 2003)
Fox Confessor Brings the Blood (Neko Case, 2006)
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel, 1998)
Is This It (The Strokes, 2003)
The Life Pursuit (Belle and Sebastian, 2006)
The Moon and Antartica (Modest Mouse, 2000)

Jonathan Pryce in Scoundrels

2006-03-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

(Th) /Dirty Rotten Scoundrels/ (at the Imperial Theater; Book by Jeffrey Lane, Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek, Directed by Jack O'Brien)

In Frank Rich's stirring ode to the work of Jonathan Pryce in Miss Saigon a decade ago, he wrote of "a dangerous performance as well as a brilliant one." Pryce, now approaching 60, has of late been spotted hustling around the Imperial Theater, as half the title role in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and forgetting to bring neither the danger nor the brilliance, has carved out a new role for himself: savior.

Reviewing Scoundrels last year, I wrote that while it had some virtues, "freshness and spontaneity are not among them." From David Rockwell's dreadful, non-Equity tour style set to David Yazbek's clunky, pop-reference-slave lyrics, everything felt designed to camulflauge the possibility of fun. But Pryce takes it all in stride, bringing a seriousness and intent of action that paradoxically jolts the comedy and boisters the mood, something that even his talented predecessor, John Lithgow, couldn't acheive. Scoundrels still has its flaws, but everything looks better with him at the helm, and there's something more honest--- even moving--- about this version. Say what you will about the Broadway musical in decline, and you'd probably be right; but's amazing what a long-faced Brit can do.

Best Movies of 2005

2006-03-05T10:55:00.000-05:00

1. Last Days (Gus Van Sant)
2. King Kong (Peter Jackson)
3. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg)
4. Cache (Michael Haneke)
5. The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbauch)
6. The New World (Terrence Malick)
7. Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch)
8. Funny Ha Ha (Andrew Bujalski)
9. Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki)
10. Me and You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July)

Subject to complete revision, of course, as I see more movies and/or come to my senses.

Here are the five "second-best" movies of the year (that is, movies that I liked, but don't belong on my best list): Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck, Match Point, Mysterious Skin, Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were Rabbit.

Breakback Mountain

2006-01-27T17:32:00.000-05:00

(M) Brokeback Mountain (Lee, 2005; Gyllenhaal, Ledger, Williams, Hathaway)

If I had seen this movie like 3 years ago, I probably would have loved it, to tell you the truth. The gay love story/cowboy-tragedy spanning years with the strange editing choices by Lee would have sucked me in, so to speak, and left me more than satisfied. But something has happened to me over these past 3 years. While watching this over-wrought, sentimental crap, all I keep thinking to myself was, "Why is nothing in this movie moving anything within myself?" I reflected on this and have done some soul searching. Yes, the events in my life have been troublesome and I've been under some duress, I'll admit. And maybe that as I've been watching more Godard films, more experimental theater pieces, I wonder if I've lost that ability to get drawn into the melodrama. Seeing this "groundbreaking" film about a homosexual love affair left me feeling dissatisfied as a student, as a lover of film, and as a gay man.

And yet, I'm afraid to attack the film as much as it seems I'm doing. Much of the performances I found technically interesting. Heath Ledger's broken accent. Gyllenhaal's sorrowful eyes. Williams' quiet moments of struggle. Hathaway's coldness. And Ang Lee seems to enjoy filming these performances like a child opening a birthday box, revealing one layer of a performance at a time, setting us up for something impactful. On the other hand, the film honestly fell short of my expectations.

2006-01-21T22:39:00.000-05:00

New format: the 2006 Movie Log and the 2006 Book Log will be updated in one list each, available from the links at the right. The front page (here) will be used for periodic reviews and capsules.

2006-01-10T20:47:00.000-05:00

(M) Capote (Miller, 2005) 5

With a tinge of brightness in his voice and the immodest look of an easy showman, Philip Seymour Hoffman digs into Truman Capote with a brave complexity that trumps, quite handily, the work of any other leading man this year. That same complexity is, unfortunately, missing from Dan Futterman's breezy script, which chronicles the author's growing fascination with the killers whose deeds would fill the pages of his magnum opus, In Cold Blood. If we're supposed to care about this illicit entanglement, we need to know much more about the case and the people than the broad, soapy stuff Futterman is willing to provide. It doesn't really matter much, though. Everybody's seeing it for Hoffman, and rightly so; his brand of artistry is (and--- let's not kid ourselves--- has always been) nothing short of priceless.

2006-01-03T13:57:00.000-05:00

(M) Pieces of April (Hedges, 2003) B

An undercooked disappointment that uses its last two minutes to obliterate any hope of dramatic soundness. It's saved, if not redeemed, by a stellar cast, except for a predictably mediocre turn by Katie Holmes, whose presence presumably allowed the film to be made in the first place.

Movie Log 2006

2006-01-01T09:19:00.000-05:00

Note: "*" means Theatrical Viewing. "/ /" means repeat viewing. "W/O" means I walked out.

001. (03 Jan) Pieces of April (Peter Hedges, 2003)
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002. (05 Jan) Last Days (Gus Van Sant, 2005)
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003. (06 Jan) Match Point (Woody Allen, 2005)*
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004. (10 Jan) Capote (Bennett Miller, 2005)*
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005. (19 Jan) Me and You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July, 2005)
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006. (19 Jan) Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939)
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007. (21 Jan) Happy Here and Now (Michael Almereyda, 2002)
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008. (22 Jan) Imaginary Heroes (Daniel Harris, 2005)
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009. (26 Jan) Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
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010. (27 Jan) Nanny McPhee (Kirk Jones, 2006)* (W/O)
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011. (27 Jan) /Munich/ (Steven Spielberg, 2005)*
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012. (28 Jan) /The Squid and the Whale/ (Noah Baumbauch, 2005)*
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013. (29 Jan) Maderlay (Lars von Trier, 2006)*
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014. (2 Feb) Hapax Legomena I: Nostalgia (Hollis Frampton, 1971)
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015. (2 Feb) Hapax Legomena II: Poetic Justice (Hollis Frampton, 1972)
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016. (3 Feb) Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2005)
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017. (4 Feb) Head-On (Fatih Akin, 2005)
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018. (9 Feb) Opening Night (John Cassavetes, 1977)
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019. (13 Feb) Junebug (Phil Morrison, 2005)
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020. (16 Feb) /Mulholland Drive/ (David Lynch, 2001)
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021. (17 Feb) Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (Michael Winterbottom, 2006)*
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022. (23 Feb) /North by Northwest/ (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
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023. (6 March) Dave Chappelle's Block Party (Michel Gondry, 2006)*
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024. (6 March) Our Brand is Crisis (Rachel Boynton, 2006)*
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025. (9 March) Children of Paradise (Marcel Carne, 1945)
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026. (18 March) Thank You for Smoking (Jason Reitman, 2006)*
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027. (23 March) Anemic Cinema (Marcel Duchamp, 1926)
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028. (23 March) Heaven and Earth Magic (Harry Smith, 1962)
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029. (25 March) Inside Man (Spike Lee, 2006)*
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030. (30 March) October (Sergei Eisenstein, 1927)
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031. (6 April) Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)
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032. (20 April) The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
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033. (27 April) Cheyenne Autumn (John Ford, 1964)
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034. (29 April) Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, 1952)
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035. (13 May) United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)*
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036. (14 May) Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Steve Box, Nick Park, 2005)
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037. (16 May) The Importance of Being Earnest (Anthony Asquith, 1952)
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038. (17 May) The New World (Terence Malick, 2005)
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039. (18 May) A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)
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040. (20 May) The Da Vinci Code (Ron Howard, 2006)*
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041. (22 May) Funny Ha Ha (Andrew Bujalski, 2005)
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042. (28 May) /A History of Violence/ (David Cronenberg, 2005)
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2005-12-29T21:10:00.000-05:00

(M) Caché (Haneke, 2005) A-

A loose, absorbing thriller that mixes old tricks with a half-baked social conscience.

2005-12-28T19:30:00.000-05:00

(M) In Good Company (Weitz, 2004) B

2005-12-27T23:29:00.000-05:00

(M) Brokeback Mountain (Lee, 2005) A-

2005-12-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

(M) The Producers (Stroman, 2005) B-

(M) School of Rock (Linklater, 2003) B+

2005-12-23T23:39:00.000-05:00

(M) Munich (Spielberg, 2005) A-

2005-12-18T19:37:00.000-05:00

(M) Syriana (Gaghan, 2005) B

2005-12-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

(M) King Kong (Jackson, 2005) A

2005-12-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

hahahaha, i am retarded cuz i was looking at anthology's schedule for january of 2005 . . . no wonder it didn't make sense . . . their 2006 thing is not up yet, meaning there is still hope for some brakhage . . .

2005-12-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

Here is a tentative plan of things I want to do when I am home in New York. My plane arrives early afternoon on Dec 28, and I go back to Vegas the morning of January 9th. Unfortunately, I can't see as much Hitchcock as I initially wanted, since, well, I guess I have to figure out a way to spend time with family and stuff. This is all very sketchy right now and will take better shape shortly . . . or maybe at the last minute, whatever.

Thu Dec 29 - Notorious @ Film Forum
Thu Dec 29 - L'Intrus @ Cinema Village
Sat Dec 31 - Dial M For Murder @ Film Forum
Sat Dec 31 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah & The National @ Irving Plaza
Mon Jan 02 - Oskar Fischinger: Optical Etudes @ Walter Reader, 5 pm
Mon Jan 02 - The Birds @ Film Forum
Thu Jan 05 - Marnie @ Film Forum
Sat Jan 07 - Vertigo @ Film Forum

Theater Unknown, but will be playing at that time - Cache

Match Point - will probably be playing @ many theaters

Brokeback Mountain - will see only if it is playing at Upstate Films

Also, Anthology posted three really exciting things, but the days of the week do not match the number, what the fuck, but hopefully they mean the days of the week, since Sunday the 8th is the last day I can do any movie-watching:

Fri Jan 7 (?) - Kenneth Anger Program 1 @ Anthology, 8:30 pm
Sat Jan 8 (?) - Kenneth Anger Program 2 @ Anthology, 8 pm
Sun Jan 9 (?) - Belson/Baillie/Crockwell Program @ Anthology, 8 pm

2005-12-09T22:52:00.000-05:00

NOTE: I'm adding books. I've begun an attempt to read the Modern Library's list of the 100 great novels of the 20th century, so the marking (ML) instead of (B) indicates it's one of those, and the number next to it indicates how many books on the list I've finished, including that book.

(ML-6) 1984 (by George Orwell)

2005-12-03T17:19:00.000-05:00

(Th) The Dwarfs (at the Studio Theater, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; Written by Harold Pinter, Directed by Jesse Sideman)

(Th) Flowers (at the Studio Theater, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; Written by Jose Rivera, Directed by Victoria Flores)

2005-12-02T23:39:00.000-05:00

(Th) "An Evening of Performances" (at the Black Box at 440 Studios; presented by Playwrights Horizons Theater School)--

The Circus Project (Written and Directed by Ashley Russell)

It's Called Thirst (Created and Performed by Alicia Harding)

2005-11-24T23:53:00.000-05:00

(M) Pride and Prejudice (Wright, 2005) B

2005-11-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

(M) *Rent (Columbus, 2005) B+

2005-11-18T00:15:00.000-05:00

(M) *The Squid and the Whale (Baumbach, 2005) A

2005-11-10T23:37:00.000-05:00

(Th) Bright Abyss (at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theater; Written and Directed by James Thiérrée) A

2005-11-03T23:06:00.000-05:00

(Th) Big: Episode #2 (Show/Business) (at The Kitchen; Created, directed and performed by Superamas) A-

2005-10-29T23:55:00.000-04:00

(M) *Good Night, and Good Luck (Clooney, 2005) A-

2005-10-14T22:25:00.000-04:00

(M) What the #$*! Do We (K)now!? (Arntz, et al., 2004) B-

A Sad Day for American Theater

2005-10-03T13:40:00.000-04:00

"I once wrote a short story called 'The Best Blues Singer in the World' and it went like this: 'The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean, and Balboa was drowning.' End of story. That says it all. Nothing else to say. I've been rewriting that same story over and over again. All my plays are rewriting that same story. I'm not sure what it means, other than life is hard."

-August Wilson,
1945-2005

2005-09-29T23:59:00.000-04:00

(Th) Merrily We Roll Along (at the Frederick Loewe Theater, NYU's Steinhardt School of Education; Book by George Furth, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Directed by John Simpkins) B/B+

2005-09-28T22:53:00.000-04:00

(Th) One-acts

What She Found There (at the Studio Theater, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; Written by John Glore, Directed by Ryan Maeker) B+

The Leader (at the Studio Theater, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; Written by Eugene Ionesco, Directed by Dan Waldron) A

Book

2005-09-27T20:33:00.000-04:00

Little Birds (Anais Nin) - pro/mixed

2005-09-21T20:02:00.000-04:00

(M) Waking Life (Linklater, 2001) B+

(M) *Everything is Illuminated (Schreiber, 2005) B+

2005-09-07T12:51:00.000-04:00

(M) /His Girl Friday/ (Hawks, 1940) A+

2005-09-06T04:17:00.000-04:00

(M) In the Mood for Love (Wong, 2000) A

2005-08-24T22:02:00.000-04:00

Check out my just-added List of the Best Films of 2005. It'll be updated as movie viewing demands.

2005-08-24T21:55:00.000-04:00

(M) *Broken Flowers (Jarmusch, 2005) A

FIERY FURNACES CONCERT

2005-08-23T08:59:00.000-04:00

The Fiery Furnaces are playing at Town Hall in NYC on October 14th. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

2005-08-21T22:53:00.000-04:00

(M) /You Can't Take It with You/ (Capra, 1938) B+

2005-08-21T15:12:00.000-04:00

(M) /Far From Heaven/ (Haynes, 1957--- I mean 2003) A-

2005-08-20T02:27:00.000-04:00

(M) /Paris, Texas/ (Wenders, 1984) A

2005-08-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

(M) *Red Eye (Craven, 2005) B+

2005-08-18T11:17:00.000-04:00

(M) Gattaca (Niccol, 1997) B

Albums of 2005 so far...

2005-08-17T08:12:00.000-04:00

Here are my favorite albums of 2005 that I've heard so far listed in order of preference:

EP - The Fiery Furnaces
Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
In Case We Die - Architecture in Helsinki
Horses in the Sky - Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band
The Mysterious Production of Eggs - Andrew Bird
The Getty Address - The Dirty Projectors
Green Cosmos - Deerhoof
Three Fingers - The Rogers Sisters
Picaresque - The Decemberists
Alligator - The National
Gimme Fiction - The Spoons
EP - The Arcade Fire
S/T - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
The Milk of Human Kindness - Caribou
The Woods - Sleater-Kinney
Blacksheep Boy - Okkervil River
EP - Animal Collective (feat. Vashti Bunyan)
The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever
Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus - Cloud Cult
Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins
Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes
S/T - LCD Soundsystem
Our Thickness - Russian Futurists
The Great Destroyer - Low
Mesmerize - System of a Down

I can't wait for:

Rehearsing My Choir - The Fiery Furnaces
Bitter Tea - The Fiery Furnaces
Feels - Animal Collective
Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers

2005-08-17T08:08:00.000-04:00

(M) /The Children's Hour/ (Wyler, 1961) B

2005-08-15T03:59:00.000-04:00

(M) /His Girl Friday/ (Hawks, 1940) A+

The more I watch this movie, the more I love it.

2005-08-13T18:36:00.000-04:00

(M) His Girl Friday (Hawks, 1940) A+

Wow.

2005-08-13T16:41:00.000-04:00

(M) Brief Encounter (Lean, 1945) B+

So many good moments in this movie.

2005-08-12T18:36:00.000-04:00

(M) /The Thin Man/ (Van Dyke, 1934) A

Nick and Nora Charles make relationships seem worthwhile.

Book

2005-08-12T18:33:00.000-04:00

Diary (Chuck Palahniuk) - CON

Just for the record, this is a terrible novel.

2005-08-12T11:15:00.000-04:00

(M) Unfaithfully Yours (Sturges, 1948) B+

2005-08-11T14:34:00.000-04:00

(M) Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (Morris, 1997) B+

2005-08-09T23:57:00.000-04:00

(M) The Uninvited (Allen, 1944) B

2005-08-08T22:40:00.000-04:00

(A) The Getty Address (The Dirty Projectors, 2005) - pro

...Don Henley? A wind octet? What is going on here?

2005-08-08T22:29:00.000-04:00

(M) *The Aristocrats (Provenza, 2005) A-

2005-08-06T06:42:00.000-04:00

Here's all the albums from 2005 I've heard so far, ranked and such:

I LOVE . . .

ALLIGATOR - The National

I REALLY LIKE . . .

BLACK SHEEP BOY - Okkervil River
EP - Fiery Furnaces
ILLINOIS - Sufjan Stevens

I LIKE . . .

IN CASE WE DIE - Architecture in Helsinki
CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
HORSES IN THE SKY - A Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra La La Band*
FACE THE TRUTH - Stephen Malkmus
THE WOODS - Sleater-Kinney
FLIES THE FIELDS - Shipping News
NATURALLY - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
TOUCHPOOL - L. Pierre
BANG BANG ROCK & ROLL - Art Brut

I'm MIXED on . . .

WORLDS APART - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
THE GREAT DESTROYER - Low
SOME CITIES - Doves

I DON'T LIKE . . .

WITH TEETH - Nine Inch Nails
GUERO - Beck

*If the second half was as amazing as the first, this would be the album of the year. But alas . . .

Yeah

2005-08-06T06:37:00.000-04:00

I guess we can list album stuff now? Cool. Here's my TOP TEN favorite albums of 2004:

01. JOY SHAPES - Charalambides
02. BLUEBERRY BOAT - Fiery Furnaces
03. THE MILK-EYED MENDER - Joanna Newsom
04. SUNG TONGS - Animal Collective
05. SONIC NURSE - Sonic Youth
06. EVERY NIGHT - Saturday Looks Good To Me
07. FUNERAL - Arcade Fire
08. MILK Man - Deerhoof
09. UNDERACHIEVERS PLEASE TRY HARDER - Camera Obscura
10. ANTICS - Interpol

Book

2005-08-06T06:34:00.000-04:00

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain) - pro

2005-08-04T23:42:00.000-04:00

(M) The Company (Altman, 2003) A

2005-08-01T23:11:00.000-04:00

(M) Copenhagen (Davies, 2002) A

2005-07-30T01:09:00.000-04:00

(M) Imaginary Heroes (Harris, 2004) D

What are we doing with these tragedies?

2005-07-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

(A) When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight And He’ll Win The Whole Thing ‘Fore He Enters The Ring There’s No Body To Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand And Remember That Depth Is The Greatest Of Heights And If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where To Land And If You Fall It Won’t Matter, Cuz You’ll Know That You’re Right (Fiona Apple, 1999)-

Soulful, auspicious.

2005-07-23T19:40:00.000-04:00

(A) Imaginary Day (Pat Methany Group, 1997)-

Mmmmm.

(A) Thirteenth Step (A Perfect Circle, 2003)-

(M) The Letter (Wyler, 1940) B+

2005-07-21T21:09:00.000-04:00

(A) The Creek Drank the Cradle (Iron and Wine, 2002)

Eh; they sound like an even softer incarnation of Coldplay. But it's got some lovely tunes.

2005-07-20T22:09:00.000-04:00

(M) /*In the Bedroom/ (Fields, 2001) A

2005-07-18T21:18:00.000-04:00

(A) Hearts of Oak (Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, 2002)-

Inventive and classic. Got to hear more of this guy.

(A) Blueberry Boat (The Fiery Furnaces, 2004)

Dazzling, complex, elegant--- well, just ask Teddy. I'll need a few more listens, but I'm pretty sure it's the textbook definition of a masterpiece.

2005-07-17T22:11:00.000-04:00

(Th) Ragtime (at the Paper Mill Playhouse; Book by Terrence Mcnally, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Based on the Book by E.L. Doctorow, Directed by Stafford Arima) A-

2005-07-15T22:06:00.000-04:00

(A) Geogaddi (Boards of Canada, 2002)-

I was too distracted by the Salad Fingers backgrounds that occur here. They have a distinctive sound, but their just-before-bed energy only works, to these ears, just before bed.

(M) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Burton, 2005) B

2005-07-14T20:04:00.000-04:00

(A) Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell (Flaming Lips, 2003)-

(A) Fold Your Hands, Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (Belle & Sebastian, 2000)-

It's all about the melody.

(M) Hope and Glory (Boorman, 1987) B+

2005-07-13T12:20:00.000-04:00

(A) Funeral (Arcade Fire, 2004)-

Mmmmm. If "Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)" is not one of the greatest songs to come out last year, then I do not speak in hyperbole.

(A) Wake Up! (The Boo Radleys, 1995)-

(Th) As You Like It (at the Delacorte Theater; Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Mark Lamos) The second worst thing about the Public Theater's annual Shakespeare in the Park venture is that in New York, it tends to rain a lot in July and August, and the free tickets are non-exchangable, leaving the audience to its various plans B. Unfortunately, the worst thing these days is that plan B is quite often a better choice than the rained-out show. Indeed, there is so much wasted talent on display in the As You Like It that opened last night--- from the veteran Brian Bedford's perfectly cadenced but meanderingly melancholy Jacques to Richard Thomas' dreadfully misconceived Touchtone--- that one could easily overlook its central flaw: a near-dearth of artistic innovation or craftsmanship on the part of its director, Mark Lamos. The only real draw is the work of William Finn, whose sparkly and imaginative score (though marred by the cast's frequent flat notes) serves both to entertain and highlight the inadequacies of the rest of the production. Our hearts go out to the actors trapped in this enterprise, but it's the spirit of Joseph Papp, the man whose dream of public theater was realized exactly fifty years ago with his inaugural Shakespeare in the Park, who deserves our true empathy.

2005-07-11T12:41:00.000-04:00

(A) Whatever (Aimee Mann, 1993)-

Let's go ahead and admit that Mann's voice is not the easiest on the ears--- and unfortunately, for this early album, neither are the arrangments. But her talents as a songwriter are most certainly a force to be reckoned with.

(M) The Gay Divorcee (Sandrich, 1934) B+

2005-07-10T16:58:00.000-04:00

(A) Educated Guess (Ani Difranco, 2003)-

Has all the flair and rambunctiousness of vintage Ani, but not quite the polish and soul of Dilate. Also, I'm sorry, but I really can't take the lavish, silver-tongued spoken poetry she scatters between the tracks.

(A) Hot Fuss (The Killers, 2004)-

Book

2005-07-05T22:40:00.000-04:00

To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf) - pro

2005-07-04T23:58:00.000-04:00

(M) White Heat (Walsh, 1949) A-

2005-07-02T01:23:00.000-04:00

As pointed out by David in a recent post, I have been severely neglecting my duties here. Let me then, in one fell swoop, now log the films I've seen in the past few weeks, in alphabetical order:

Adam's Rib (Cukor, 1949) B+
*Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005) A-
Peeping Tom (Powell, 1960) B
The Philadelphia Story (Cukor, 1940) A-
*War of the Worlds (Spielberg, 2005) B+

2005-07-01T19:05:00.001-04:00

Jesus, Cory, where are you?

Book

2005-07-01T19:05:00.000-04:00

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain) - pro

Book

2005-06-19T16:11:00.000-04:00

Breakfast of Champions (Kurt Vonnegut) - con

2005-06-19T13:03:00.000-04:00

Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) - Pro

Book

2005-06-16T12:05:00.000-04:00

Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert) - PRO

Book

2005-06-11T18:04:00.000-04:00

Hard Times (Charles Dickens) - pro

Book

2005-06-07T10:27:00.000-04:00

Far from the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy) - pro/PRO

Tony Predictions

2005-06-05T18:42:00.000-04:00

I know most of my readers are probably in a hectic race against the clock, getting the dip and the soda in order before their guests start arriving for their Tony party, so I'll be brief.

In the "Should have been a contender" category, I've mostly noted off-Broadway shows that are inexplicably ineligble at the exclusive Tonys. Also, I've only seen one of the nominated musicals, so I'm not bothering to go into their acting categories--- well, except to say that Victoria Clark will definitely take home the Best Actress statue.

MUSICAL

Will Win: Monty Python's Spamalot

Should Win: Probably A Light in the Piazza, but again, I haven't seen it.

Should have been a contender: Shockheaded Peter

PLAY

Will Win: Doubt

Should Win: Doubt, although, this is by far the strongest this category has been in years, and all of the other three (The Pillowman, Gem of the Ocean, and Democracy) are nearly as worthy.

Should have been a contender (and won): Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)--- a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience.

BEST ACTOR-PLAY

Will Win: James Earl Jones, On Golden Pond

Should Win: Probably Jones (haven't seen him), but Bill Irwin rocks. And Brian F. O'Byrne rolls.

Should have been a contender: Ethan Hawke, Hurlyburly

BEST ACTRESS-PLAY

Will Win: Cherry Jones, Doubt

Should Win: I love you, Cherry, but Phylicia Rashad (Gem of the Ocean) was incandescent. Both of you have won before, anyway, so it's no big deal.

Should have been a contender (and most underrated performance of the season): Natasha Richardson, A Streetcar Named Desire.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR-PLAY

Will Win: I think we're looking at an Alan Alda evening.

Should Win: Haven't seen Glengarry, but Alda tore it up in The Aviator and The West Wing this year--- and since he's pushing 70, let's give this guy some love.

Should have been a contender: The cute newspaper boy in Streetcar. Sure he has about three lines, but there are certainly worse ways to wait out a rainstorm.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-PLAY

Will Win: Adriene Lenox, Doubt, bless my soul.

Should Win: Mirielle Enos, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is the definitive Honey, to which future Honeys will forever be compared.

Should have been a contender: Hally Gross, who gets molested by Ethan Hawke and Bobby Canavale in Hurlyburly. What NYU freshmen will do for a buck.

2005-05-30T23:27:00.000-04:00

(M) *Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein, 1925) A-

Daniel's Favorite Films: 1915-1949

2005-05-30T11:43:00.000-04:00

I realized that I couldn't possibly attempt a list of my favorite movies of all time, since I have too many gaps in my viewing history. So I'm going to do a pre-1950s list for now. I'm afraid my taste tends to be rather gay, too, which explains why Stella Dallas makes it and Stagecoach doesn't.

The Cheat (1915, Cecil B. DeMille)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919, Robert Wiene)
The Kid (1921, Charles Chaplin)
Greed (1924, Erich Von Stroheim)
Sherlock Jr. (1924, Buster Keaton)
Menilmontant (1925, Dimitri Kirsanoff)
The End of St. Petersburg (1927, Vsevolod Pudovkin)
The first half of Metropolis (1927, Fritz Lang)
Sunrise (1927, F.W. Murnau)
The Crowd (1928, King Vidor)
The Wind (1928, Victor Sjöström)
Trouble in Paradise (1932, Ernst Lubitsch)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934, Alfred Hitchcock)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935, James Whale)
Camille (1936, George Cukor)
Sabotage (1936, Alfred Hitchcock)
The Awful Truth (1937, Leo McCarey)
Nothing Sacred (1937, William Wellman)
Stage Door (1937, Gregory La Cava)
Stella Dallas (1937, King Vidor)
Bringing up Baby (1938, Howard Hawks)
The Lady Vanishes (1938, Alfred Hitchcock)
Ninotchka (1939, Ernst Lubitsch)
The Wizard of Oz (1939, Victor Fleming)
The Women (1939, George Cukor)
Fantasia (1940, James Algar)
His Girl Friday (1940, Howard Hawks)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940, Ernst Lubitsch)
Citizen Kane (1941, Orson Welles)
The Lady Eve (1941, Preston Sturges)
Casablanca (1942, Michael Curtiz)
Cat People (1942, Jacques Tourneur)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942, Orson Welles)
To Be or Not to Be (1942, Ernst Lubitsch)
I Walked with a Zombie (1943, Jacques Tourneur)
The Seventh Victim (1943, Mark Robson)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943, Alfred Hitchcock)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944, Frank Capra)
Double Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder)
Laura (1944, Otto Preminger)
Lifeboat (1944, Alfred Hitchcock)
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944, Preston Sturges)
Phantom Lady (1944, Robert Siodmak)
Mildred Pierce (1945, Michael Curtiz)
Dead of Night (1945, Alberto Cavalcanti)
The first half of The Best Years of Our Live (1946, William Wyler)
The Big Sleep (1946, Howard Hawks)
La Belle et La Bête (1946, Jean Cocteau)
Brief Encounter (1946, David Lean)
The young part of Great Expectations (1946, David Lean)
The Killers (1946, Robert Siodmak)
Lady in the Lake (1946, Robert Montgomery)
Notorious(1946, Alfred Hitchcock)
Black Narcissus (1947, Michael Powell)
Nightmare Alley (1947, Edmund Goulding)
Out of the Past (1947, Jacques Tourneur)
D.O.A. (1949, Rudolph Maté)
Gun Crazy (1949, Joseph H. Lewis)
A Letter to Three Wives (1949, Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

My Top 111 Favorite Films Of ALL TIME

2005-05-29T18:09:00.000-04:00

In chronological order:

THE LAST LAUGH (1924, F.W. Murnau)
SEVEN CHANCES (1925, Buster Keaton)
METROPOLIS (1926, Fritz Lang)
SUNRISE (1927, F.W. Murnau)
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928, Carl Theodor Dreyer)
M (1931, Fritz Lang)
TABU (1931, F.W. Murnau)
SCARFACE (1932, Howard Hawks)
TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932, Ernst Lubitsch)
L'ATALANTE (1934, Jean Vigo)
THE CRIME OF MONSIEUR LANGE (1936, Jean Renoir)
GRAND ILLUSION (1937, Jean Renoir)
YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (1937, Fritz Lang)
BRINGING UP BABY (1938, Howard Hawks)
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939, Howard Hawks)
RULES OF THE GAME (1939, Jean Renoir)
THE WOMEN (1939, George Cukor)
HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940, Howard Hawks)
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940, Ernst Lubitsch)
CITIZEN KANE (1941, Orson Welles)
THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942, Orson Welles)
TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942, Ernst Lubitsch)
LE CORBEAU (1943, Henri-Georges Clouzot)
DAY OF WRATH (1943, Carl Theodor Dreyer)
SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943, Alfred Hitchcock)
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944, Vincente Minnelli)
TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944, Howard Hawks)
NOTORIOUS (1946, Alfred Hitchcock)
OUT OF THE PAST (1947, Jacques Tourneur)
QUAI DES ORFEVRES (1947, Henri-Georges Clouzot)
THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948, Orson Welles)
RED RIVER (1948, Howard Hawks)
I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE (1949, Howard Hawks)
PUCE MOMENT (1949, Kenneth Anger)
DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST (1950, Robert Bresson)
NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950, Jules Dassin)
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951, Alfred Hitchcock)
CASQUE D'OR (1952, Jacques Becker)
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952, Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen)
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953, Howard Hawks)
TOKYO STORY (1953, Yasujiro Ozu)
UGETSU (1953, Kenji Mizoguchi)
JOHNNY GUITAR (1954, Nicholas Ray)
REAR WINDOW (1954, Alfred Hitchcock)
SANSHO THE BAILIFF (1954, Kenji Mizoguchi)
A STAR IS BORN (1954, George Cukor)
KISS ME DEADLY (1955, Robert Aldrich)
TO CATCH A THIEF (1955, Alfred Hitchcock)
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955, Alfred Hitchcock)
A MAN ESCAPED (1956, Robert Bresson)
WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1956, Douglas Sirk)
BONJOUR TRISTESSE (1958, Otto Preminger)
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958, Orson Welles)
VERTIGO (1958, Alfred Hitchcock)
BREATHLESS (1959, Jean-Luc Godard)
IMITATION OF LIFE (1959, Douglas Sirk)
SHADOWS (1959, John Cassavetes)
L'AVVENTURA (1960, Michelangelo Antonioni)
PSYCHO (1960, Alfred Hitchcock)
LE TROU (1960, Jacques Becker)
L'ECLISSE (1962, Michelangelo Antonioni)
HATARI! (1962, Howard Hawks)
LA JETEE (1962, Chris Marker)
MY LIFE TO LIVE (1962, Jean-Luc Godard)
THE BIRDS (1963, Jean-Luc Godard)
8 1/2 (1963, Federico Fellini)
BAND OF OUTSIDERS (1964, Jean-Luc Godard)
GERTRUD (1964, Carl Theodor Dreyer)
SCORPIO RISING (1964, Kenneth Anger)
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964, Jacques Demy)
KUSTOM KAR KOMMANDOS (1965, Kenneth Anger)
PIERROT LE FOU (1965, Jean-Luc Godard)
AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (1966, Robert Bresson)
MASCULIN FEMININ (1966, Jean-Luc Godard)
PLAYTIME (1967, Jacques Tati)
WEEKEND (1967, Jean-Luc Godard)
THE HORSEMAN, THE WOMAN AND THE MOTH (1968, Stan Brakhage)
STOLEN KISSES (1968, Francois Truffaut)
LE BOUCHER (1970, Claude Chabrol)
EYES (1971, Stan Brakhage)
McCABE AND MRS. MILLER (1971, Robert Altman)
AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (1972, Werner Herzog)
ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL (1971, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974, Tobe Hopper)
F FOR FAKE (1975, Orson Welles)
NASHVILLE (1975, Robert Altman)
ERASERHEAD (1977, David Lynch)
DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978, George Romero)
SANS SOLEIL (1982, Chris Marker)
PAULINE AT THE BEACH (1983, Eric Rohmer)
STRANGER THAN PARADISE (1984, Jim Jarmusch)
THE SACRIFICE (1986, Andrei Tarkovsky)
MIAMI BLUES (1990, George Armitage)
EXOTICA (1994, Atom Egoyan)
SATANTANGO (1994, Bela Tarr)
CLUELESS (1995, Amy Heckerling)
GOOD MEN, GOOD WOMEN (1995, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
THE SWEET HEREAFTER (1997, Atom Egoyan)
RUSHMORE (1998, Wes Anderson)
GEORGE WASHINGTON (2000, David Gordon Green)
IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000, Wong Kar-wai)
WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES (2000, Bela Tarr)
LOVESONG (2001, Stan Brakhage)
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001, Wes Anderson)
WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (2001, Tsai Ming-liang)
GERRY (2002, Gus Van Sant)
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002, Paul Thomas Anderson)
DOGVILLE (2003, Lars Von Trier)
ELEPHANT (2003, Gus Van Sant)
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (2004, Wes Anderson)

What's your top 111 favorite films of all time, Cory?

2005-05-29T17:53:00.000-04:00

(M) *Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House (Potter, 1948) B+

(M) /25th Hour/ (Lee, 2003) B+

Hard Rain Falling

2010 Screening Log

Exiled (2006, Johnnie To) two stars

Home and Special Theatrical Viewing 2009

Theatrical Viewing 2009

Home Viewing Log 2009

Best Movies of 2007

From The Vaults: Mr. Goldwater Goes to Washington

Travel Notebook: Does God Live in Westport?

Movies 2006

Books for 2006

From the Vaults: Michael Almereyda's Hamlet

Summer Series: 5/19-5/26

Recent Music

Jonathan Pryce in Scoundrels

Best Movies of 2005

Breakback Mountain

Movie Log 2006

A Sad Day for American Theater

Book

FIERY FURNACES CONCERT

Albums of 2005 so far...

Book

Yeah

Book

Categories

Book

Book

Book

Book

Book

Book

Tony Predictions

Daniel's Favorite Films: 1915-1949

My Top 111 Favorite Films Of ALL TIME