150 Movies in 2022 Challenge!

[Mister Mets]

Movie #51/ New Movie #35: Morbius (Movie Theater)
It's not that bad, but it's also not recommended either. Matt Smith is the highlight, even if there's a lot that doesn't make sense if you think about it for a millisecond (like how exactly does Michael Morbius get his money?)
4/10



Movie #52/ New Movie #36: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Movie Theater))
I was a big Sonic fan growing up, so it was important that this film captures the dynamic between Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. And it succeeds on that level. It’s not great, but it brings them together and has some fun with their friendship, while also showing sequences that do seem to be straight out of the video games. The CGI seems worse this time around. In the first film, there was one CGI creature interacting with humans. This time, there are multiple CGI characters, and giant robots, and obvious scenes of ordinary people interacting with green screens. Jim Carrey’s okay as Eggman/ Dr Robotnick, but the robots are kinda dull. It’s just drones. The Genesis-style credits were great, and gets this back to a “B” grade.
7/10

Movie #53/ New Movie #37: Everything Everywhere All At Once (Movie Theater)
Reviresco is right. This was fun. Weird but fun. And by weird, it is one of the strangest semi-mainstream films I’ve seen, although it remains accessible despite the mishmash of immigrant family drama, and sci-fi action comedy. It’s not going to happen, but I would love to see Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu, James Hong and Ke Huy Quan all get Oscar nominations for playing interdimensional versions of their characters (and for making the Earth versions more layered and complex than is immediately apparent.) This film conveyed an emotional truth quite well, and in between the butt-plug jokes and wacky action set pieces, it can have you thinking about how your life could have gone.
10/10

Movie #54/ New Movie #38: Fantastic Beasts- The Secrets of Dumbledore (Movie Theater)
This is an odd sequel. It’s the third film in the Newt Scamander saga, although it’s promoted like a Justice League/ Avengers with wizard Ash Ketchum teaming up with Dumbledore, a top Hogwarts professor and an elite auror. The actual film comes across more like an X-Men, but if Magneto and Professor X had dated. It’s fine. It’s the third of five, but it does tie up things okay. Jude Law’s Dumbledore works well as a tragic hero. I’m not sure how excited viewers are about all the plot points involving an election at the ministry of magic, or a metaphor for how Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. The question of extralegal moves against Grindelwald raises some icky questions in the modern political climate that aren’t addressed. Who should get to decide if someone who isn’t convicted of a crime belongs the ballot?
6/10

Movie #55- Captain America: The First Avenger (Disney Plus)
The Captain America saga might just have the best batting average of any solo Avengers films. It’s a fun homage to 1940s action adventure movies (as well as retro projects like Indiana Jones) which sets up the hero quite well, and gets into some interesting conflicts (What happens when a guy who just wants to contribute to the war effort becomes a celebrity capable of selling lots of war bonds but kept on the sidelines?) Over a decade later, it is clear that Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell are really well cast.
9/10

Movie #56/ New Movie #39: Cluny Brown (Criterion DVD)
I am quite unfamiliar with Jennifer Jones despite her immense popularity in the mid ’40s, which included four consecutive Academy Award nominations (and one win.) This wasn’t one of them, but it shows her efforts as a comedienne in a collaboration with Lubitsch and Charles Boyer (the bad guy in Gaslight.) The film is perfectly fine, but overshadowed by Lubitsch’s other productions, even if Boyer is a perfect match for his approach, and Jones is fine, even if she is kinda playing Katherine Hepburn’s little sister. There is a sense of a lack of stakes here, and much of the film is about conflicts that likely seemed old-fashioned at the time (The staff in a stuffy mansion don’t know their place!)
7/10



Movie #57- To Be Or Not To Be (Criterion DVD)
This might just be my favorite Lubitsch movie, with the perfect balance of adulterous romp and high stakes, as a Polish acting troupe gets involved in the resistance against Hitler. It has some astounding sequences and recurring gags.
10/10

Movie #58/ New Movie #40: Lone Wolf and Cub- Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (Criterion Blu-Ray)
This entry in the film series features some great sequences. It is a bit haphazard, combining several notable chapters from the manga but at least the results are decent. This does expand quite well on the uncompromising world of the manga.
8/10

Movie #59/ New Movie #41: The Northman (Movie Theater)
There’s a lot of talk about how it’s pre-modern and seems like it’s outside of current understandings of the world, and that may be a bit of stretch, but it can feel like how someone at the time would have imagined a campfire story. That person would need a violent sensibility, but that is one of several contexts in which the film works. It feels like a ripoff of Hamlet, but the source material inspired Shakespeare. It’s violent and intense, but it can be quite enjoyable. I saw it with some people who called it the most metal movie ever, which is apt.
9/10

Movie #60/ New Movie #42: The 50 Year Argument (DVD)
This documentary about the New York Review of Books functions as a companion to Best Enemies, I Am Not Your Negro and Town Bloody Hall, covering those and other disputes. It’s an enjoyable defense of intellectual inquiry, although it focuses on controversies the magazine got right (the Central Park Five, opposition to the Iraq war) when there had to be some stuff they got wrong, which would have been interesting and honest to cover. I’m curious about the reaction to it now that many on the left have gone more illiberal.
8/10

Movie #61/ New Movie #43: The Front (DVD)
It’s compelling to see Woody Allen at his height in a film directed by someone else. This take on the Hollywood blacklist is a mixed bag. Zero Mostel is a highlight as a hack entertainer caught in a Kafkaesque trap. One complication is the difficulty of taking him and Allen seriously when they’re responding to legitimate injustice.
7/10



Movie #62- The Mouse That Roared (DVD)
This is a comedy about the threat of nuclear annihilation over a silly international misunderstanding in which Peter Sellers plays multiple roles and it’s not Doctor Strangelove. It has a different sensibility, although it is obviously a creature of the Golden Age of Hollywood rather than the film brats. It is a lot of fun, with a decent hook (small nation invades America hoping to lose and get aid; they accidentally steal an experimental nuke) and excellent sequences.
9/10

Movie #63- Moana (Disney Plus)
It’s quite decent. It fits some tropes that Disney has been exploring recently, and is a good example of their incorporation of underseen but visually interesting cultures. It’s an enjoyable reluctant partners story, with some good twists and fantastic songs.
9/10

Movie #64/ New Movie #44: The Adam Project (Netflix)
I like time travel stories and this was okay. Ryan Reynolds and his younger counterpart are sometimes over the top annoying, although the story does have something to say about loss and trauma, along with some decent but not exceptional sci fi action set pieces.
7/10

Movie #65/ New Movie #45: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Movie Theater)
It’s obviously quite meta, but very fun: a parody and celebration of an unusual actor/ star that serves as a commentary and example of the types of movies he does. But at least it’s a good example.
8/10

Short Movie #6: Sword of the Samurai (Criterion Blu-Ray)
This silent documentary was an extra in Criterion’s Lone Wolf and Cub collection. It really gets across the difficulty of making samurai swords, and why they’re so honored, showing the process step by step. Quite relaxing, actually.
8/10

[Mister Mets]

Movie #66/ New Movie #46: Pillow Talk (Blu-Ray)
This was a fun movie from the tail end of the golden age of Hollywood when they’re hinting at some stuff but keeping it vague enough. It is at a very specific time, when men and women could work in creative endeavors but people living in different apartments would still sometimes need to share a phone line. It has excellent leads in Rock Hudson and Doris Day, and all-star supporting performances in Tony Randall’s cad best friend and Thelma Ritter’s drunkard housekeeper, who has a great sequence with Hudson later in the film .
10/10

Movie #67/ New Movie #47: Downfall- the Case Against Boeing (Netflix)
In ninety minutes, Rory Kennedy and co. do a decent job of setting up the initial response to a major news story (two Boeing plane crashes a few months apart) before looking at the safety shortcuts that contributed to it. Well-made and infuriating.
8/10

Short Movie #7: Hendrix at Monterey Pop (Criterion Blu-Ray)
Monterey Pop might be my favorite concert film, and this expansion of the Jimi Hendrix material gets to a big reason why. It’s not polished, keeping the rawness of the concert with feedback and imperfect acoustics. This feature highlights Hendrix’s skill, and you can believe that his contemporaries were looking at him trying to figure out how he’s doing this.
10/10

Movie #68: Casino Royale (Blu-Ray)
I don’t think I’ve seen this film since it was in theaters. I liked it then, but I appreciate it even more now. Daniel Craig isn’t just good as Bond. I can’t think of anyone who has been better in the first movie of any series taking over such an iconic role. He is obviously newer at the job, but he comes to his own very quickly, and then things get worse, so he’s pushed in ways the other iterations of Bond haven’t been. At least not so soon. Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd is an exceptional Bond girl, with a strong character arc. Judi Dench is great as the boss. This is Mads Mikkelsen’s first A-list villain, and he’s got the balancing act of being vicious and desperate. The film takes the Bond franchise to the 21st Century, with exceptional action sequences and drama, while keeping the fun. When it isn’t time for torture.
10/10

Short Movie #8: The Long Goodbye (Youtube)
Riz Ahemd’s Oscar-winning short serves as a companion to a concept album, but works in its own context as a stream of consciousness nightmare, when the normal chaos of a family gathering goes to hell.
8/10



Movie #69: The Evil Dead 2 (Blu-Ray)
A horror movie so insane it makes the original into a proof of concept, and remakes it in the first seven minutes. It’s a lot of fun. Ash is one of the strongest horror movie protagonists, with iconic visuals and an appropriately unhinged reaction to all the craziness. Putting together several groups of people who don’t know one another works well here, in contrast to the usual trope (seen in the first) of a group of friends to a cabin. Raimi’s personality as a director is also a joy. This is a movie where anything can happen, and does.
10/10

Movie #70/ New Movie #48: Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (Movie Theater)
This has more of a directorial stamp than any MCU film; there are scenes where it is very obvious Sam Raimi is in charge. It’s a solid film, which builds on earlier continuity and is clearly about something interesting. The distinction between being glad and happy is a decent addition to pop culture discourse. It’s probably the first MCU film to really piss off some people because of the actions an existing character commits, but it makes sense in the context. It does set up the two main characters pretty well, and it’s fun to see Dr Strange on the other side of the situation where someone has to be sacrificed for the greater good.
8/10

Short Movie #9: An Occurrence at Owl Creek (DVD)
I saw this the way most viewers have, as an episode of the Twilight Zone. It is a decent adaptation of the Ambrose Bierce short story, with impressive cinematography and a good example of the will to live in desperate circumstances. There’s a great twist constructed generations any episode of any TV show aired.
9/10

Movie #71/ New Movie #49: The Man Who Wasn’t There (DVD)
This is a well-made military procedural about one of the most interesting stories in World War 2. Gloria Grahame is a standout as a young woman who accidentally gets involved in the conspiracy, and targeted by a spy. It has a suitably mature understanding of espionage for a 1950s film, but it’s not Le Carre dark.
8/10

Movie #72/ New Movie #50: Summer of Soul (Disney Plus)
This is an excellent addition to the canon of 1960s concert films (Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Festival) with performances of the same quality, and the explanation of as very specific context (a series of concerts in Harlem for largely black audiences with mainly black singers in the summer of 1969.) It’s so great to see the interviews with the singers, and their reactions to seeing the footage of what had to be among the best professional experiences of their lives.
9/10

Short Movie #10: Otis at Montrey Pop (Criterion Blu-Ray)
This is a great extra on the Criterion Monterey Pop blu-ray, which shows Otis Redding at his most intense. The way he gloriously rushes through almost everything is a contrast with Hendrix. It is also an astounding top five set.
9/10

[foxley]

Just brought up film no. 50 with obscure 1990 horror film Mirror Mirror (one of Yvonne De Carlo's last films).

My movies so far:

1) Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
2) No Time to Die (2021)
3) Foolproof (2003)
4) Targets (1968)
5) West Side Story (2021)
6) Side Sho (2007)
7) Southbound (2015)
8) Man Hunt (1941)
9) The Big Night (1951)
10) The Speckled Band (1931)
11) Six-Gun Savior (2016)
12) The Heist (1989)
13) Man in the Attic (1953)
14) May (2002)
15) The Atomic Brain (1963)
16) Botched (2007)
17) Witchboard (1986)
18) Sapphire (1959)
19) I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016)
20) For Your Consideration (2006)
21) In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes (1996)
22) The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936)
23) Bad Girls from Valley High (2005)
24) Santa Claus (1959)
25) Dirty Harry (1971)
26) Wishcraft (2002)
27) Night of the Blood Beast (1958)
28) Time After Time (1979)
29) Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (1985)
30) Blast of Silence (1961)
31) Miss Bala (2019)
32) Bait (2012)
33) The Sidehackers (1969)
34) Death Wish (2018)
35) The Ripper (1997)
36) Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
37) The Batman (2022)
38) The Black Room (1935)
39) Pistolera (2020)
40) The Black Cat (1934)
41) The New York Ripper (1982)
42) Pool of London (1951)
43) The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
44) Clegg (1970)
45) Mercenaries (2014)
46) Seven Murders for Scotland Yard (1971)
47) The Man with Nine Lives (1940)
48) A Man with a Maid (1975)
49) Faceless (1987)
50) Mirror Mirror (1990)

[Attila Kiss]

75. The Immortal (2019) - ★★★★
76. The Cursed: Dead Man's Prey (2021) - ★★★★
77. Black Site (2022) - ★★★
78. Dual (2022) - ★★★
79. Escape The Field (2022) - ★★★
80. Hatching (2022)[/I] - ★★★★
81. Memory (2022) - ★★★★
82. Shark Bait (2022) - ★★★
83. The Takedown (2022) - ★★★★
84. The Valet (2022) - ★★★

[Moon Ronin]

Movie #101: Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone 1983
Three women make an emergency landing on a planet plagued with a fatal disease, but are captured by dictator Overdog. Adventurer Wolff goes there to rescue them and meets Niki, the only Earthling left from a medical expedition. Combining their talents, they try to rescue the women.


Movie #102: Angel 1984
HIGH SCHOOL HONOR STUDENT BY DAY. HOLLYWOOD HOOKER BY NIGHT.
15 year-old Molly Stewart is a prep school honor student who moonlights as a Hollywood prostitute. After a serial killer begins stalking and murdering some of her street friends, she becomes a target herself.


Movie #103:House 1986
Roger Cobb is an author who has just separated from his wife. He moves into a new house and tries to work on a novel based on his experiences in the Vietnam War. Strange things start happening around him; little things at first, but as they become more frequent, Cobb becomes aware that the house resents his presence.

[Moon Ronin]

Movie #104: House II: The Second Story 1987
Jesse has returned to this old family mansion after his parents were murdered when he was a baby. While going through old things in the basement, Jesse finds a picture of his great-great grandfather in front of a Mayan temple holding a crystal skull with jewels in the eyes. In the background is a man Jesse learns is Slim Razor, a former partner of his great-great grandfather turned bitter enemy after a disagreement over who would get to keep the skull.

Movie #105: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore 2022
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, though he’s unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Movie #106: Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2021
When a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

[Moon Ronin]

Movie #107: Escape Room 2019
Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive

Movie #108: Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021
Peter Parker is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a super-hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

Movie #109: The Batman 2022
In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.

[Attila Kiss]

85. Tammy And The T-Rex (1994) - ★★★
86. South Wind (2018) - ★★★
87. Beast (2022) - ★★★★
88. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022) - ★★★
89. Last Seen Alive (2022) - ★★★
90. Spiderhead (2022) - ★★★
91. The Man From Toronto (2022) - ★★★★
92. White Elephant (2022) - ★★★

[Mister Mets]

It's been a while since I updated.

Movie #73/ New Movie #51: Top Gun (DVD)
This was a massive hit that I never saw before that spawned a sequel late enough that a character who was a baby in this film could plausibly be a presidential contender in the next one (they're probably not going down that route.) I could see why this was a star turn for Tom Cruise, and it gets the camaraderie of the pilots, as well as impressive stunts. There is an interesting balance with Cruise's Maverick and Val Kilmer's Ice as rivals who are on the same team, and do want the other to succeed. Some scenes are way too obvious, and there is a lack of a compelling antagonist.
7/10

Movie #74/ New Movie #52: Phantom of the Paradise (DVD)
This was a weird film, a mash-up of rock musicals and silent classics Faust and Phantom of the Opera. The strangest part of it may be the twists and turns of the partnership between a naive singer-songwriter and a record producer, which continues after betrayals and violent efforts at revenge. The songs are decent, especially "Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye" a 1950s style ode to a musician's suicide, which sets up this warped take.
8/10



Movie #75/ New Movie #53: Sawdust and Tinsel (Criterion Blu-Ray)
It's an important film for Ingmar Bergman and company, as he has discovered himself as a director, exploring themes (what constant performance does to a person, how dreams represent inner lives, embarrassment and reconciliation) that would be key to his work. It can be cruel, but it's not just that. And no one is able to surpass Bergman when it comes to cringe humor.
8/10

Movie #76/ New Movie #54: The Fearless Vampire Killers (DVD)
This is not a film that it obviously made by a great director even if it is by Polanski, although it is very obviously Eastern European. It's not funny. It's not scary. The characters are so dumb and slower than anyone in the audience that it's not clear what they know at any given moment. There is one decent set piece at a ball, and an interesting tonally off ending.
4/10

Short Movie #11: Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (Criterion Blu-Ray)
This was a highlight of the Kennedy Films of Robert Drew Criterion collection, with a surprisingly intimate look at the Kennedy White House, the office of Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, the administration of Alabama Governor George Wallace, and two African-American college students who just want to attend the University of Alabama. It's a bit horrifying to think about how this was so controversial in living memory.
9/10

Movie #77/ New Movie #55: Mister 880 (DVD)
This is a bit of an oddball film depicting a clash between two major actors: future Oscar winner Burt Lancaster as a secret service agent and previous winner for his depiction of Kris Kringle Edmund Gwenn as a friendly minor counterfeiter. It is a showcase for the Golden Age of Hollywood's ability to mix serious questions with a sense of fun. It's not a great movie, but it is quite pleasant.
8/10



Movie #78/ New Movie #56: Top Gun: Maverick (Movie Theater)
This is a great sequel to a good film. I just saw the original for the first time a week ago, and this fixed one of the major flaws, by providing an adversary for Maverick. The characters have greater gravity because this builds so well on events from 30+ years earlier, and it's also a statement on Tom Cruise, movie stardom and awesomeness. It seems it took so long to make this sequel, because they kept looking at the script and figuring how it could be more awesome. And then they did it. That A+ Cinemascore is well-earned.
10/10

Short Movie #12: Waldo Salt- A Screenwriter's Journey (Criterion Blu-Ray)
This is a perfect story for a Hollywood documentary: a blacklisted screenwriter learns to spend more time on his films and wins multiple Oscars while elevating his form. As a bonus, because he's a screenwriter, so much footage of his movies is available. It's a well-told story, and does cover how a relatively obscure screenwriter in his mid-50s adapted Midnight Cowboy (this film is an extra on the Criterion blu-ray), and then went on to success with Serpico and Coming Home.
9/10

Movie #79: Summer With Monika (Criterion Blu-Ray)
This is a rather mature take on some immature people, as two teenagers enjoy a carefree summer and then deal with the consequences. It's a type of story that should be told more often, although it would be hard to top Bergman and company.
9/10

Short Movie #13: Islands: Georgy Rerberg (Criterion Blu-Ray)
It's an okay documentary about a cinematographer with an interesting personality that does offer some insights into his talents and how he could be a uniquely difficult person to work with. There's a very weird thing where they talk about Stalker, where they obviously have cut out specific context about why it was so tragic (contamination from a nearby chemical plant likely led to the higher cancer rate among film and crew.) I wonder why they seemed to set it up, and then abandoned it.
7/10

Movie #80/ New Movie #57: Feels Good Man (Mubi)
This documentary is several things. I like the parts that cover a San Francisco based relatively apolitical indie cartoonist when one of his characters is appropriated by the alt-right. That is an interesting arc with an oddball twist. Some of the people take this way too seriously, with an "occultist" suggesting it is mimetic magic that helped Donald Trump get elected President, and interviews/ footage of some people on the left and right who seem to be in agreement.
8/10

Movie #81/ New Movie #58: Miss Julie (DVD)
I'm watching this as part of an effort to be more familiar with the films of the Scandinavian revival film movement, especially those that aren't by Bergman or Dreyer. The Swedes are intense, and do not bullshit in a romance of two people separated by class that does not go the way any typical romance goes. They go extreme, pushing people to the limits even in a standard melodrama. The Criterion transfer is solid, but not pristine. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the restoration, or the original material, but I did notice some issues.
8/10

Short Movie #14: Being Green: Jim Henson's Early Shorts (Mubi)
This is a catch-all for a few early shorts by Jim Henson (Time Piece, Run, Run, Drums West, Shearing Animation, Cat and Mouse, Ripples, Wheels That Go, Alexander the Grape) with a combined runtime of 21 minutes, shown on Mubi. "Alexander the Grape" is an unfinished short film that predicts gags we'll see later (Toy Story, Sausage Party) in animated personification.
9/10

Movie #82/ New Movie #59: The Dissident (Youtube)
It's a well-made documentary about an international injustice. It's obviously horrific that a Washington Post reporter was murdered at the behest of a Saudi prince, and this film shows the life of the victim, the causes he fought for, and all those affected in unforeseen ways. It's powerful. And the lack of major distribution is an indictment of the big streaming companies.
9/10

[Mister Mets]

Movie #83/ New Movie #60: Tough Guys (DVD)
It's a fun example of a particular subgenre (elderly criminals out for one last score just as everyone underestimates them.) Douglas and Lancaster are a great buddy duo and sell their reactions to how the world has changed in the thirty years they've been away. It's a bit unpolished, but it's a solid B.
7/10

Movie #84/ New Movie #61: Crimes of the Future (Movie Theater)
Stylistically it feels like a neonoir made either during the events in this film, or decades later. It's a bit slow, but the worldbuilding is excellent, and the narrative threads tie together rather well. It all feels weird, but lived in.
7/10

Short Movie #15: The Bones (Mubi)
I watched it on Mubi. The lost silent film gimmick works okay. The visuals are odd, but distinctive.
8/10

Short Movie #16: Juke: Passages from the Films of Spencer Williams (Mubi)
This short film is mainly just out of context clips from the films of Spencer Williams. Some commentary and context would be appreciated. Right now, the main result is clips from black and white films during the Golden Age of Hollywood, except African-American characters are shown having agency. That has a power independent of everything else.
7/10



Movie #85: Guardians of the Galaxy (Blu-Ray)
It seems so effortlessly enjoyable that we can overlook that it easily could have flopped. It's a team film about characters who didn't have much history in the comics by an indie director whose cast included A-listers in voice roles, the third male lead of a moderately successful sitcom, the female lead of Avatar and a wrestler in his mid-40s. We get a group with the camaraderie and heart of any superhero team, or any iteration of Star Wars or Star Trek. That was the most important accomplishment and it's done quite well.
9/10

Short Movie #17: Gulpilil: One Red Blood (Criterion DVD Extra)
This is a decent spotlight on an odd actor: David Gulipilil. He is best-known for his first film Walkabout, and there's some focus on a strange project he did with Dennis Hopper a few years later. The majority of attention goes to two films he made in the turn of the century around when the documentary was made: Rabbit-Proof Fence and the Tracker. It does get into the balance of his life as an aborigine family man who is also a cult actor. I saw this as a bonus on the Criterion edition of Walkabout, and it is above-average for that material. Even if it seems big stuff was left out, enough was included that is interesting..
7/10

Movie #86: Knives Out (Blu-Ray)
Each time I watch this film I'm more impressed. It's obviously a starmaking performance for Ana De Armas, and the successful launch of a post-Bond franchise for Daniel Craig, as well as a great ensemble piece about a murder mystery involving a weird upper-class family. Add to this legitimately intelligent commentary on modern politics and culture. And it is legitimately great that when Christopher Plummer passed away at 91, a lot of headlines mentioned a movie he had made three years earlier, because he was so nuanced and charming as a murder victim who still managed to get the result he wanted..
10/10

Movie #87/ New Movie #62: Spiderhead (Netflix)
This has become an example of Netflix's excesses, a sci-fi prison drama reuniting the director of one of the biggest movies of the year (Top Gun: Maverick) with co-star Miles Teller, and adding a Marvel superhero just when his new film is coming out. And they barely promote it, despite a nine-figure budget. Watching it, you do you get why they don't promote it. There are some interesting ideas, and sequences with prisoners part of a secluded study. But sometimes it just feels like a TV movie, with all that implies. It kinda feels like they rushed it. With a bit more work, it might not be an A film, but it could be a B.
5/10



Movie #88/ New Movie #63: Ordet (Criterion DVD)
It took me a while to watch this, because I thought it would be difficult. After all, it is a movie from a director with a reputation for long shots about a family suffering a crisis when the middle son thinks he is Christ.

That was a mistake. It's easy to follow, and while we see the difficulties of the family, we see some joys. And it gets into some really interesting questions about what it means to truly believe. It's certainly worth watching, and discussing.

There was a conversation on film twitter about great directors, and someone said that Spielberg was the most versatile after West Side Story came out, since that proved he could excel in any genre. There was one alternative path to being recognized as a great director: overwhelming success in one genre. So it was Spielberg's versatility against John Ford's westerns, Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, Martin Scorsese's crime films, Ingmar Bergman's psychological dramas, and Kurosawa's samurai epics. With this, the Passion of Joan of Arc, and the other films where he explored these deep Christian questions, Dreyer joins the list with his skill in religious drama.
10/10

Movie #89/ New Movie #64: Repo Man (Criterion DVD)
Watching this film, I'm not surprised it is the directorial debut of a cult director. It just feels like it. It almost seems like three movies put together: a conspiracy involving a car that may be involved with aliens, a suburban punk taking a new job and Harry Dean Stanton's veteran repo man. It's fun, interesting and raw.
8/10

Movie #90/ New Movie #65: Thor- Love and Thunder (Movie Theater)
This may be an example of the MCU as the most expensive TV show ever, rather than discrete films, building in a big way on earlier sagas while also seeding big developments in the future (especially when it comes to the introduction of Russel Crowe's Zeus and one of the post-credit scenes.) But it also about something, an immortal's quest for love and meaning. The visuals are really nice. Chris Hemsworth has fun with the Wakiti version of Thor, and it's also a step up for Natalie Portman. Tonally, it is a bit all over the place, with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster dying of cancer and Christian Bale's god butcher as a serial killer of Gods. My bigger issue is that the stakes are sometimes vague, and they don't seem to take it seriously enough, which reminds me a bit of Infinity War, although I could accept it there because of novelty and the suddenness of the life and death decisions. It's fine, and a superhero film that can make for some interesting discussions.
8/10

[Mister Mets]

Movie #91/ New Movie #66: Gold Diggers of '33 (DVD)
I've seen this on two separate lists. It's often ranked among the bottom among Oscar winners (although they acknowledge the opening song is great) but it was on a recent list of best musicals, so I decided to check it out along with other Pre-Code films. It's generally charming, acknowledging a bit of the hardship of the Great Depression while telling the story of someone trying to make art about it. The conflicts are slight, but there is a great prank played on two stuffy guys, along with one of the least attractive romantic leads to get the girl in any Best Picture winner. But it's fun. That's what matters.
8/10



Movie #92/ New Movie #67: Blonde Crazy (DVD)
It's a somewhat slight movie of a con man falling in love with his accomplice. There is some pre-code fun, although it does feel kinda primitive, as early sound cinema was still finding its way, to say nothing of the equipment. But the cons are fun. James Cagney and Joan Blondell have legitimate star power.
7/10

Movie #93: Moneyball (Blu-Ray)
The reasons I like it are probably why people looking for standard biopics might not. There is an unsentimentality even if the people changing baseball love the game. It's a good movie about trying new ideas, and what matters for success. It's inspirational for really ambitious people, which seems to be a sweet spot for Sorkin (The Social Network, Steve Jobs.)
10/10

Movie #94: City Lights (Criterion Blu-Ray)
I haven't seen this in years, but good lord, does it hold up.

It's weird. It's possibly the best Pre-Code Hollywood movie, although unconventional in that it is largely silent, even if Chaplin uses music and sound, including mock dialogue to hilarious effect.

In discussions of film franchises, the tramp is weird, popping up in different settings (the west in Gold Rush, a dystopian future in Modern Times) in some of the best movies ever made. There isn't anything quite like that in movies.

The story of a poor man trying to help a blind girl who think he's a millionaire has moments of pathos and tragedy, as well as an ending that just goes beyond that. It's one of the best comedies ever, one of the best romances ever, and one of the best films ever.
10/10

Movie #95/ New Movie #68: Black Phone (Movie Theater)
It's a perfectly fine horror film about an abducted middle schooler. The costume and mask for the Ethan Hawke character are suitably creepy. The concept and character arc are decent. The kids are as profane as real middle schoolers would be. This does come across as a pastiche of Stephen King stories, and I know it's based on a short story by his son, but if you like Stand By Me, Carrie and The Shining, that's not a bad thing.
8/10

Movie #96/ New Movie #69: Chris Claremont's X-Men (Amazon Plus)
A talking heads documentary focusing on how one comic book writer was able to make interesting work on one franchise for over a decade, until the suits started trying to get more and more control. It's part of a larger effort to reevaluate Chris Claremont's legacy, which is appreciated, even if it is at times borderline hagiographic.
7/10



Movie #97/ New Movie #70: Oblivion (DVD)
It has an interesting take on a dystopia with Tom Cruise as a nostalgist for how the world was around the time this movie came out. The world is well-realized, and there is a decent sense of unease. Some of the elements are similar to other films from the time that also dealt with the loneliness of jobs that require being on other worlds, although given how long Kosinski spent on this it could just be parallel development. There are some good twists, and I do really like the ending. And we do see some big hints of Top Gun: Maverick.
8/10

Movie #98/ New Movie #71: The Kennel Murder Case (Paramount Plus)
This murder mystery was part of a series that made William Powell a star. He'd leave for the superior Thin Man series pretty soon. Here, the lead detective is bland although he elevates it with charisma. The central mystery is a decent one (a man with a lot of enemies seems to have committed suicide) and there are some nice twists. I also like the dynamic between Powell's detective and Eugene Pallet's police sergeant, especially when Phillip Vance ends up making a big mistake. The version of Paramount Plus could benefit from restoration work.
7/10

Movie #99: Tron (Disney+)
Tron is imperfect, but interesting and fun. Jeff Bridges is great as a cheated video designer. I like the duplicate versions of characters in the world of the game, and in the real world as well. The futuristic world of Tron seems to have some silent film influences, which helps the film hold up.
8/10

Movie #100/ New Movie #72: Elvis (Movie Theater)
Baz Luhrmann is probably a good match for Elvis, with his focus on music and splash. Austin Butler is able to depict young Elvis and Vegas Elvis pretty well. Hanks is odd as Col. Parker, but his affectations work with a showman who has something to hide. The movie is a bit unfocused, with the interesting stuff in the trailer about a young musician pissing off social conservatives covered in half an hour. It is a bit meandering in the second half, although I do like how it shows Elvis ready to do the right thing for himself, but deciding against it. There is a legitimate element of tragedy in that.
7/10

[Attila Kiss]

93. The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion (2018) - ★★★★★
94. The Eight Hundred (2020) - ★★★★
95. The King's Man (2021) - ★★★★★
96. Beavis And Butt-Head Do the Universe (2022) - ★★★★
97. Crimes Of The Future (2022) - ★★★
98. Death On The Nile (2022) - ★★★
99. Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) - ★★★★
100. Interceptor (2022) - ★★★
101. Jerry And Marge Go Large (2022) - ★★★
102. Moonfall (2022) - ★★★★★
103. The Lost City (2022) - ★★★★
104. The Princess (2022) - ★★★
105. The Witch: Part 2. The Other One (2022) - ★★★★★

[Mister Mets]

Movie #101/ New Movie #73: Kid90 (Hulu)
The story behind the documentary is interesting. Soleil Moon Frye wanted to explore what it was like to be a child star and former child star in the days before social media when it was possible to have a private life, but it was also still possible to record much for private video. Initially, it was meant to be the general story but Frye realized much about herself in the process, looking at footage and journal entries in a new light. The results are brief but compelling.
7/10

Movie #102: Mission Impossible (Paramount Plus)
It's interesting how this series has changed as the later sequels became the epitome of 21st Century action films. This one's a bit different. Sometimes it seems shot more like a TV drama. The central sequence of breaking into Langley computers is slow and detailed, like something out of Rififi.
8/10

Movie #103: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney+)
On a second watch, I'm still not a fan. This is a largely disappointing finale to the Star Wars saga. It starts out a bit promising but the moment a character says that Palpatine returned somehow, and that's that, it becomes clear that will be the weakest of the new trilogy. Some new characters are decent (Babu Frik!), and the trap for Rei is a good one. They could have gone further with the temptation of the dark side, but that part was okay.

In retrospect, it would have been better to split this into two films given where Last Jedi had left the characters and to spend more time on this one, rather than to stick to a schedule established before Carrie Fisher passed away, necessitating major changes.
5/10

Movie #104/ New Movie #74: Badlands (Movie Theater)
Mallick's debut is a great take on young love in really dire circumstances, as a girl in Texas falls for a psycho who develops a hell of a body count. There's a fairy tale vibe to it all, which works for the girl's naiveté during the senseless violence. Martin Sheen is excellent as a sociopath who is obviously doomed, but you can see why some people are drawn to him. It's a good example of how dangerous likable people can be.
9/10

Movie #105/ New Movie #75: Malatesta's Carnival of Blood (Blu-Ray)
It's an interesting B movie by people who have largely never worked again in film (Hervé Villechaize is the biggest star) taking advantage of access to an amusement park on its last legs to come up with crazy deathtraps and scenarios. It's quite primitive, but there are some strong sequences. It's part of a worthwhile collection by Arrow Video, and of interest to fans of independent horror, grindhouse and the so-called video nasties.
7/10

Movie #106/ New Movie #76: Last Year at Marienbad (DVD)
It's an interesting and mysterious film about memory and how other people see the world. It's hard to describe because so much is uncertain and contradicted. It is at times quite spellbinding.
9/10

Movie #107/ New Movie #77: The Witch Who Came In From The Sea (Blu-Ray)
It appears this has been marketed for the sleazier elements, and there is plenty of that, but it is more effective as a character exploration of a troubled young woman, her crimes contrasting with her goody two shoes way of talking.
7/10



Movie #108: The Manchurian Candidate (DVD)
The definitive political thriller. The scenario is compelling and makes for some great sequences. Angela Lansbury may just be the most twisted mother in film. Lawrence Harvey makes the brainwashed war hero obnoxious but layered. There is a documentary feel to it that works very well. I'm not sure I buy Novak's motivations, but it works in this particular context of ramping up the paranoia. For something so definitive and copied, it goes in some interesting directions, with Sinatra's lead ahead of where you would expect him to be.
10/10

Movie #109: A Shot in the Dark (DVD)
One of the funniest mystery parodies. Sellers' Clouseau is exceptional as the lead for these types of projects, balancing the ridiculousness and incompetence with an effort to maintain his dignity. Add to that great running gags.
9/10

Movie #110: Hamilton (Disney Plus)
I guess there's a technical argument that this doesn't count as a film, as it's more of a recording of a play, albeit with much better production values than the typical stuff that you could find on Broadway Plus. It doesn't matter. This is one of the greatest works of art of the 21st Century. Lin Manuel Miranda's performance as Hamilton is overshadowed by the depth and cleverness of his script, and by some of the supporting cast. Everyone who got a Tony and Tony nomination deserved it, and there's a handful of others who would've been nominated if they had given a performance of that level on a different show on a different year, rather than being the fourth or fifth best supporting male performance in this one.
10/10

Movie #111/ New Movie #78: Premonition (Blu-Ray)
I saw this as part of Arrow's American Horror Project blu-rays, and I recommend that along with the commentary which gives a sense of why this film is so nuts. A psychotic woman wants to take back her daughter from the couple who adopted them, and is aided by her boyfriend, a more meticulously psychotic clown played by Richard Lynch. He is excellent in this film: menacing and clownish. The adopted mother starts having visions of the future, which her professor husband is compelled to explore. The threads don't come together very well in the end, but there is much to enjoy in all that effort.
7/10



Movie #112/ New Movie #79: Class of Nuke 'Em High (Pluto TV)
It's shlocky and borderline immoral (not in the ways you think but the anti-nuclear message is one of the major reasons American society is unable to get a handle on climate change) but man it's fun. It has a bit of a so bad it's good reputation, but it is more clever than that, with teens mutated by a power plant, so the honor society has become the bullies and two young lovers have a bad experience with irradiated marijuana.
8/10

Movie #113/ New Movie #80: Nope (Movie Theater)
Peele's third film takes a decent concept- two young minor players in Hollywood find out about a UFO and decide that they're going to be the ones to get evidence about it- and layers onto it different questions about exploitation and efforts to control nature. Palmer and Kaluuya are excellent as siblings who are quite different but who seem to have a life outside the film, with Palmer as a showman and Kaluuya as a stoic almost classically western lead. Yeun's traumatized child star is a bit underdeveloped. His whole narrative makes sense to me, although big stuff occurs off-camera, but I'd like to see more of him because he is the most interesting character. The film does have great set pieces, and balances a legitimate exploration of interesting topics with characters I'm invested in.
8/10

Movie #114/ New Movie #81: World on a Wire (Criterion DVD)
It makes sense that this 1970s mini-series would see a reevaluation in the streaming age. The pacing is a good fit for the current era, assuming you're able to handle a double-length German language movie. It's quite ahead of its time in the exploration of what it would mean to have a simulated reality, as a scientist realizes that the citizens of a simulation (used to answer policy questions) are starting to realize the truth of their existence, as well as the exploration of the merging of business and government-sponsored science. There's a great sense of unease to the sci-fi noir.
8/10

Short Film #18: Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s World on a Wire: Looking Ahead to Today (Criterion DVD)
Solid bonus on the Criterion edition of "World on a Wire" which notes elements of the film that were more obvious for the original audience in Germany in the 1970s (IE- unconventional casting decisions, filming in Paris locations that would seem near-futuristic at the time).
7/10

[Mister Mets]

Movie #115: F For Fake (Criterion DVD)
I didn't care for the film as much the last time I saw it years ago. I think it was on Netflix then, so maybe the streaming quality wasn't great. It could also be that I've been persuaded by a video essay about how it's so well-edited.

It is really well-edited, has some interesting twists and gets into interesting questions about art and truth, as Welles considers the true story of a forger who was exposed by a writer who went on to commit a bigger hoax. The material is quite rich, and one of the most creative filmmakers has fun with it. This is essential viewing to anyone interested in video essays, as one of the best examples of the form.
9/10

Movie #116/ New Movie #82: Blackmail (Talkie Version) (DVD)
It starts out a bit slow. Hitchcock hasn't quite mastered the ability to keep things interesting during the phase of the movie where we're getting to know the characters before things go nuts. But it's a decent movie once the stabbing occurs. It seems a bit primitive, although that's likely due to the quality of the surviving prints as well as technological limitations in the very early sound era. Hitchcock's still able to play around with the new tools at his disposal.
7/10

Movie #117/ New Movie #83: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (Blu-Ray)
It's been a while since I've watched a silent film, so one way to make up for that is with a four and a half hour expressionist epic.

This cat and mouse crime saga has one of the great film villains (not just silent film villains) in the hypnotist criminal mastermind with a penchant for disguises. It drags on at times, and can be hard to follow with a character who is often in disguise, and where some events are paced slowly and some major events occur quickly. But it is often inventive, and surprising, with interesting commentary on Weimar Germany and the respect for autocrats. Someone who seems to be a minor character comes across like a stiff, but he gets interesting when he's in Mabuse's claws. It is episodic, but the final sequence does tie it all together.
8/10



Short Film #19: The Story Behind Dr. Mabuse (Blu Ray)
This was an extra on the Kino blu-ray collection of Fritz Lang's silent films. It seems more like several shorts put together spotlighting different aspects of Dr Mabuse the Gambler, such as the decisions behind a new soundtrack or changes to the source material.
7/10

Movie #118/ New Movie #84: This Much I Know to Be True (Mubi)
There are other people who will appreciate this more, since they're more familiar with Nick Cave as a singer and the context of things that are referenced here. I appreciate it as an amazingly shot rehearsal film (it's not a standard concert; it's more like being in the room when top-tier talent is performing for posterity) with some deep songs, and some insights into a thoughtful man who remains rather private.
8/10

Movie #119/ New Movie #85: The Last Laugh (Youtube)
There is a sequence early in the film so immediate that it just does not seem possible for it to be shot in 1924. Obviously, it's a prank of some sorts, an elaborate hoax where a film buff uses modern tech and editing, while pretending its from a nearly century-old silent film.

Murnau famously tells the story with only one intertitle, and it works. He's able to show the emotional life of an ordinary man during a difficult time from highs to lows. His experiences are given the weight of the lead of an epic. For him to be demoted to bathroom attendant is as great a loss as a king being deposed, or a captain of industry losing an essential contract.

After this film, Murnau, lead Emil Jannings and cinematographer Karl Freund were all invited to go to Hollywood, where Oscars and other major accolades would follow.
10/10

Movie #120: The Golem: How He Came into the World (Youtube)
After the Last Laugh, I've really come to appreciate cinematographer Karl Freund and this film is really well shot. It comes across at times like it was inspired by the Cabinet of Dr Caligari, but it was released only a few months after, and is the last of a trilogy so much of the work had to be done independently. It's a bit odd as the one surviving film in a series, although as a prequel, it is a standalone story that seemed to be the story the director had been trying to tell now that he could do it as a period piece. The Golem is an interesting conflicted monster, a proto-Frankenstein. It also seems like this story is a major influence on the Sorcerer's Apprentice. I'm curious about learning more about the extent to which imagery about witchcraft is coded as Jewish, as that is a bit distracting, though it is otherwise satisfying to see Jewish leads in a German expressionist film.

It's public domain so it's available free online. One interesting version has a modern soundtrack by Black Francis of the Pixies.
vimeo.com/15581812?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=230 8334

But the Murnau foundation restoration is amazing.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6dvWPN8OMA
9/10

Movie #121/ New Movie #86: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (Movie Theater)
It's a fine cute film, a mockumentary about a living shell who would like to be reunited with his family. Marcel's got personality, and the film has much to say about the need for community in a time when everyone is very much online. There are some clever details on what life would be like for someone who is only an inch high.
7/10

Movie #122/ New Movie #87: Vengeance (Movie Theater)
BJ Novak's directorial debut is very meta, with a New York media figure going to Texas because the death of a girl he hooked up with (whose family thinks they were much closer) might be material for a podcast. Doing a story about a writer is a way to get to some obvious insights about the heartland VS coastal America, although the character sometimes seems too obnoxious, even if the point for others to call him out on his condescension. Still it's a solid conversation starter. Ashton Kutcher is quite good as a music producer who manages to stay ahead of expectations.
7/10

Movie #123: Black Panther (Disney Plus)
Watching it this time I get a sense of how deliberate Chadwick Boseman is in his choices as the lead. I remember thinking he was fine, but overshadowed by much of the supporting cast, although he is effective at conveying a new king grappling with the sins of his predecessors.
10/10

Short Film #20: The Colour Merchant (Blu Ray)
It's a nice extra in various versions of A Matter of Life and Death/ Stairway to Heaven, about a cinematographer's experiences on his first solo project, which ends up being a stylistically daring classic. Hardly essential but nice.
7/10



Movie #124: Metropolis (Blu-Ray)
Watching it this time, I am struck by how a film about a class war in the future does serve to flatter the elite with the metaphor of the head (them) and the hands (the poors who forget about their children in a crucial time.) The quality is weaker with the recently restored films, but it works to create an impression of some lost artifact from another world.
10/10

Short Film #21: Cartoonland Mysteries (Blu Ray)
It was an extra on a Universal blu-ray set, and it's a decent take on making animation 85 years ago. The cartoon wasn't included in the set, which is disappointing, although it is on Youtube. It's interesting to see what has changed and what hasn't changed.
8/10

Movie #125: Trumbo (DVD)
I watched it again for inspiration on writing, as Dalton Trumo has one hell of a work ethic, although on the second watch, I have a greater appreciation for the characters who don't want to put up with his ****, as well as his grand plan to ridicule the blacklist.
7/10

Short Film #22: Valparaiso (Mubi)
This was a nice short documentary I saw on Mubi. It mainly seems to be an explanation of how Valparaiso is an interesting and cinematic setting for other people to explore in documentaries or narrative films. The narration is a bit pretentious, but fitting for the setting, and there is a clever shift in storytelling.
9/10

[Moon Ronin]

Ok so I just hit 150!
110, Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
111, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
112, The Lost City
113, Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers
114, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
115, Now You See Me
116, Now You See Me 2
117, Solace
118, Logan’s Run
119, 30 Minutes or Less
120, The Northman
121, The Godfather
122, GoodFellas
123, Black Mass
124, Gangster Squad
125, Sicario
126, Legend (2015)
127, 3:10 to Yuma
128, Dredd
129, A History of Violence
130, Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
131, The Captive
132, The Snowman
133, Top Gun: Maverick
134, Independence Day
135, Offseason
136, The Long Night
137, Jakob’s Wife
138, I Am Not a Serial Killer
139, Blood Fest
140, Werewolves Within
141, The Gray Man
142, Insidious
143, Insidious: Chapter 2
144, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
145, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
146, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
147, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
148, The Last Emperor
149, City of Ember
150, Alien