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2007 Screening Log
What are these ratings?
(s) = short film
* = Recorded on DVR
12/31
The Good Shepherd
(Robert De Niro, 2006) 
HBO-HD,
2nd viewing
12/29
Persepolis
(Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Parronaud, 2007)
Theater, 1st Satrapi/Parronaud film
The Big Lebowski
(Joel Coen, 1998)
DVD,
5th viewing
12/28
There Will Be Blood
(Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
DVD (projected), 5th Anderson film
Primal Fear
(Gregory Hoblit, 1996) 1/2
DVD (projected), 3rd viewing
12/23
Dodsworth
(William Wyler, 1936) 1/2
TCM*, 7th Wyler film
12/22
Stripes
(Ivan Reitman, 1981) 1/2
DVD, seen countless times
12/20
Dreamgirls
(Bill Condon, 2006) No Stars
HBO-HD, 2nd Condon film
12/18
I Am Legend
(Francis Lawrence, 2007)
Theater, 1st Lawrence film
12/15
Raising Arizona
(Joel Coen, 1987)
Theater, 4th viewing
Evil Dead II
(Sam Raimi, 1987) 1/2
Theater, Raimi film
12/14
Lady
Chatterley (Pascale Ferran, 2007) 1/2
DVD,
1st Ferran film
Remarkably
efficient for a 2 1/2+ hour period piece, because Ferran avoids the
typical impulse to set the story in a broader social context or pause
for more than a few seconds to allow us to grasp the skepticism/disdain
certain people in the town may feel towards Lady Chatterley.
Instead, the focus remains on her sexual and emotional awakening as
well as that of her lover. The various sex scenes, each of which
is its own beast and shot in subtly varied styles, act somewhat like
chapter breaks, charting their increasing comfortability with their own
bodies and that of their lover. Ferran's use of nature is very
much in line with D. H. Lawrences sensual modernism, yet unlike so many
period pieces, he avoids simply allowing it to act as a stunning visual
backdrop. While not as rigorous as Bresson, his editing patterns
combined with segmented shots of bodies interspersed with the
surrounding natural world allow simple movements and gestures to
operate on a similar, purely spiritual level. The subdued
performances, particularly that of Marina Hands, and rare use of music
in favor of heightened natural sounds give the film the feel of a quiet
storm, slowly building like the love between the two protagonists.
12/12
Tekkon Kinkreet
(Michael Arias, 2007)
DVD, 1st Arias film
12/11
Waitress
(Adrienne Shelley, 2007)
DVD, 1st Shelley film
12/10
Evan Almighty
(Tom Shadyac, 2007) No Stars
DVD, 6th Shadyac film
The Savages
(Tamara Jenkins, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 1st Jenkins film
12/9
Cassandra's Dream
(Woody Allen, 2007)
Theater, 19th Allen film
12/8
The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
DVD, 6th Friedkin film
12/7
Time
(Kim Ki-duk, 2007) 1/2
IFC*, 6th Kim film
12/6
(s) Dottie Gets Spanked
(Todd Haynes, 1993) 1/2
DVD, 5th Haynes film
Odd Man Out
(Carol Reed, 1947)
TCM*, 2nd Reed film
12/2
House of 1,000 Corpses
(Rob Zombie, 2003) No Stars
IFC*, 1st Zombie film
The Ox-Bow Incident
(William Wellman, 1943)
TCM*, 2nd Wellman film
12/1
After the Thin Man
(W.S. Van Dyke, 1936)
TCM, 2nd Van Dyke film
11/30
Regular Lovers
(Phillipe Garrel, 2007)
DVD, 1st Garrel film
The Thin Man
(W.S. Van Dyke, 1934) 1/2
TCM*, 1st Van Dyke film
11/29
Serpico (Sidney
Lumet, 1973) 1/2
DVD, 7th Lumet film
11/28
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-Liang, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 4th Tsai film
Overnight (Mark Brian Smith & Tony Montana,
2003) 1/2
Sundance Channel*, 1st Smith/Montana film
11/27
Near Dark
(Kathryn Bigelow, 1987) 1/2
FLIX*, 3rd Bigelow film
11/25
After the Wedding
(Suzanne Bier, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 1st Bier film
11/24
Monty Python & The
Holy Grail (Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam, 1975)
Theater, seen countless times
The Life of Brian
(Terry Jones, 1979)
Theater, 3rd viewing
11/22
The Lord of the Rings:
Fellowship of the Rings [Extended Edition]
(Peter Jackson, 2001)
DVD, 3rd viewing
11/21
Force of Evil
(Abraham Polonsky, 1949) 1/2
DVD, 1st Polonsky film
11/20
The Walker
(Paul Schrader, 2007)
DVD, 1st Schrader film
(s) Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky, 1999) 1/2
Computer,
1st Tscherkassky film
(s)
One
Week (Buster Keaton & Edward
F.
Cline,
1920)
Computer,
15th Keaton/12th Cline film
11/18
Gone Baby Gone
(Ben Affleck, 2007)
Theater, 1st Affleck film
11/17
No Country for Old Men
(Joel Coen, 2007)
Theater, 12th Coen film
11/16
Paris je t'aime
(Various, 2007) 1/2
DVD
11/15
Dans Paris
(Christopher Honoré) 1/2
DVD, 1st Honoré
film
11/14
The Ten
(David Wain, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 2nd Wain film
The less said about this
film, the better. I was a fan of Wain's underrated Wet Hot American Summer and I love
both "The State" and the short-lived sketch comedy "Stella", which Wain
did along with Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, so I have to
wonder who in the world could possibly find this film funny? The
premise is simple yet clever enough that it seems impossible that so
many funny actors couldn't mine more laughs. Or any laughs
really. The only time I actually chuckled out loud was when Liev
Schrieber mispronounced a word. That was the highlight of a
95-minute film. I suppose if I've learned anything from this and
the, only slightly less abysmal Reno
911 movie, it's that these guys need to leave behind their
sketch-based comedy in any of their future shots at the big
screen. Scratch that, maybe you guys should just stick to TV for
now...
11/13
Hush...Hush, Sweet
Charlotte (Robert Aldrich, 1964)
Fox Movie Channel*, 3rd
Aldrich film
The stays uncomfortably
between outright camp and a more typical gothic drama. Aldrich's
visual touches are certainly impressive, but the inconsistency of tone
showed a lack of commitment. Either go all out with the
expressionistic look or don't bother. Because of this, I failed
to buy into Davis's supposed insanity or to sympathize with her,
despite the hopelessness of her situation.
11/12
The Narrow Margin
(Richard Fleischer, 1952)
TCM, 2nd Fleischer film
At 70 minutes,
Fleischer's noir thriller breezes by, but the expressive use of
confined space and the inevitability of doom upon the train leaves
barely a moment free of tension. McGraw's performance is somewhat
one-dimensional, but the transition from a hard-edged, honest cop
completely in control of the circumstances to one being helplessly
manipulated by unseen forces is tragic, unsettling, yet somehow
amusing. Here's a cop who prides himself on never taking a bribe
and his moral superiority to other cops, yet it is these very traits
that leads to his being manipulated. I won't give away the twist,
but the dark territory it takes the film into makes what seemed to be a
fairly straight-forward noir into something completely invigorating.
11/11
American Gangster
(Ridley Scott, 2007) 1/2
Theater, 8th Scott film
A bland, forgettable film
that relies solely on Crowe and Washington's charisma to carry it
along. It plods along, weighed down by unfulfilling parallels
drawn between the two men, lame cliches like the cop who just can't
make time for his wife and kid, and the by-the-books unfolding of the
rise-and-fall gangster trajectory. Scott's direction shows less
and less individuality as time passes and he seems content to coast
through the rest of his career on name recognition and making mediocre
mainstream tripe. It's not, however, surprising that this is
receiving Oscar buzz as its just the sort of bland, safe, lifeless
biopic that voters froth over year in and year out.
11/10
Killer of Sheep
(Charles Burnett, 1977)
DVD, 1st Burnett film
Lyrical through it's
patient rendering of the mundanity of daily life in a poor town.
Small moments become both beautiful and immense due to their effects on
the characters lives. What's wonderful is how the tragic moments,
such as the motor falling out of the back of the truck, encapsulate the
constant struggle to get by, yet remain bittersweet and occasionally
amusing, making these small failures part of what makes the characters
so noble.
11/9
(s) Pas de Deux
(Norman McLaren, 1968)
Computer,
1st McLaren film
It's odd that a (partly)
animated film can capture the beauty of motion captured on film,
stretching each small movement out to a near-eternity and, eventually,
accepting its inherent romanticism by expanding it to two bodies
communicating solely through dance. There's certainly some Deren
influence in there, but the added animation expands on her thesis.
My
Best Friend
(Patrice Leconte, 2007)
DVD, 3rd Leconte film
11/8
Grey Gardens
(Albert
& David Maysles, Ellen Hovde, & Muffie Meyer, 1975)
IFC*, 3rd Mayles Bros./1st Hovde/Meyer film
11/7
12:08 East of Bucharest
(Corneliu Porumboiu, 2007) 1/2
DVD,
1st Porumboiu film
11/6
The Darjeeling Limited
(Wes Anderson, 2007)
DVD, 2nd viewing
11/5
Control (Anton Corbjin, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 1st Corbjin film
11/4
The Deep End
(Scott McGehee & David Siegel, 2001) 1/2
IFC*, 1st McGehee/Siegel
film
11/3
Snow Angels (David Gordon Green, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 4th Green film
11/2
Offside (Jafar Panahi, 2007)
DVD, 4th Panahi film
11/1
Phantom Love (Nina Menkes, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 2nd Menkes film
10/30
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Sidney Lumet, 2007)
DVD, 6th Lumet film
10/28
Reservation Road
(Terry George, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 1st George film
Nothing but a series of
increasingly unbelievable coincidences that
give the actors ample chances to outwardly emote and share their grief
with the audience. Unfortunately George mistakes this manipulative
outpouring of emotions with something profound, as if the film was, for
even a moment, concerned with anything human or real that those
emotions are rooted in. The drama is so contrived and calculated that
the otherwise tragic circumstances become laughable and the actors
histrionics more and more grating.
Starship Troopers
(Paul Verhoeven, 1997) 1/2
DVD, 3rd Verhoeven film
10/25
2 Days in Paris
(Julie Delpy, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 1st Delpy film
10/24
Paranoid Park
(Gus Van Sant, 2007)
DVD, 2nd viewing
10/23
Rescue Dawn
(Werner Herzog, 2007) 1/2
DVD, 17th Herzog film
10/22
The Diving Bell and The
Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
DVD, 1st Schnabel film
Black Book (Paul Verhoeven, 2007)
DVD, 2nd Verhoeven film
10/21
Samaritan Girl
(Kim Ki-duk, 2004)
IFC*, 5th Kim film
Paranoid Park
(Gus Van Sant, 2007)
DVD, 9th Van Sant film
10/20
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