Hey folks.
Sorry I haven’t updated this in forever, but I’ve been spending most of time online
over at Facebook and Letterboxd. If
you want to keep tabs on me, that’d be the place for it.
Anyhow, it
just hit me that I only have about three months before Muriels ballots are due,
and considering what a grind it is to finish my ballots on time every year,
I’ve decided I need a game plan. So after looking at the list of movies I want
to watch before the end of the year, I’ve decided to estimate how many movies,
realistically speaking, I’ll make an effort to see before turning in my ballot.
In making
this estimate, I’ve taken all the first-, second-, and third-tier priority
movies from my huge “need to sees” list, paring away the ones that I’d like to
see for some reason or other but which aren’t a huge priority. And to the list
of keepers I’ve added the movies I plan on seeing with my family even if
they’re not what I personally want to see, because that’s how it works when
you’re married with a kid.
This
brings me to 36 movies, or 12 per month. I can handle that. Of course, this game
plan comes with some caveats:
1. It’s
still October. So obviously, there’s plenty of year still ahead of me, and
plenty of time for more releases to be announced later. These will be added to
this list as I see fit.
2. I live
in Ohio, not
NYC or LA, so my access to the limited releases is limited. Columbus
being Columbus,
some arthouse titles might not make it here until weeks or months after they
come out in the “major markets,” and who the hell knows if they’ll make it here
before the Muriels deadline. Therefore, as I say every year, I’d be grateful if
anyone could pass along screeners of any of these, especially the ones that
aren’t currently scheduled to play Columbus and those that don’t have a DVD
release date.
3. I
prioritize mainly on the basis of three things- the director, advance or
festival reviews from people I trust, and occasionally my feelings about the
source material. The latter happens less frequently than the other two, but it
does happen. For example, I’ve included Les
Miserables on this list even if I’m not entirely sure about Tom Hooper as a
filmmaker. But I’m willing to allow that my prioritization process isn’t
perfect, and it could let some really good movies slip through the cracked.
Therefore, if you feel like there are other titles on my full “need to see”list that you believe should be a higher priority for
me, feel free to let me know in the comments section, either here or on
Facebook or Letterboxd.
So here’s
the list, which I’ve arranged by week of theatrical or home video release. The
[number in brackets] denotes how much of a priority the movie is for me, unless
of course it’s one of the previously-referenced see-it-with-family movies then
never mind.
Now
available via legal means:
- Goodbye
First Love (Mia Hansen-Løve) [2] {now on DVD/Netflix}
Definitely
a director to watch.
- I
Wish (Hirokazu Kore-eda) [1] {now streaming on Netflix, 6 Nov on DVD}
Kore-eda’s
never quite lived up to Maborosi and After Life, but he’s still pretty great.
- Looper
(Rian Johnson) [2] {now in theatres, 31 Dec on DVD}
This + Moonrise Kingdom
= Body of Work nomination for Bruce Willis, perhaps?
- Argo
(Ben Affleck) [3] {now in theatres}
The Town was kind of a letdown, but I really
liked Gone Baby Gone and it would
probably be good to see this before it sweeps the Oscars, y’know?
- Cloud
Atlas (The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer) [2] {now in theatres}
When a
movie gets reviews as polarized as this one, that makes it more interesting,
don’t you find?
- Magic
Mike (Steven Soderbergh) [3] {now on DVD}
Because of
the director, duh. Also Matthew McConaughey is having a good year, which may
sound surprising to everyone who hasn’t seen him in Reign of Fire.
November
2-8:
- The
Day He Arrives (Hong Sang-soo) [3] {DVD}
Honger!
- Flight
(Robert Zemeckis) [3] {wide release}
So good to
see Denzel doing some real acting again. When was the last time he really swung
for the fences? It’s been eleven years since Training Day.
- Your
Sister’s Sister (Lynn Shelton) [3] {DVD}
Don’t
think I’ll get the wife to watch this with me, since Humpday practically gave her hives. Then again, she has a low
tolerance for posturing-male jackassery, even if it’s being held up to scorn.
- Wreck-It
Ralph (Rich Moore) [seeing this for the offspring] {wide release}
Although
you gotta admit that John C. Reilly seems to be perfectly cast, especially if
he plays Ralph as Principal Fitzgerald with huge biceps.
November
9-15:
- Holy
Motors (Leos Carax) [1] {limited release/scheduled at Drexel}
Welcome
back, Leos. We’ve missed you.
- Skyfall
(Sam Mendes) [3] {wide release}
All right,
this may not have much bearing my ballot, but Daniel Craig makes an awesome
Bond so lay off OK?
November
16-20:
- The
Loneliest Planet (Julia Loktev) [1] {limited release/scheduled at GFC}
Supposedly
this is even better than Day Night Day
Night. Works for me.
- Lincoln
(Steven Spielberg) [3] {wide release}
“Mr.
President, the Civil War is draining the Treasury!”
“DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINAAAAAGE!!!!”
- Rust
and Bone (Jacques Audiard) [3] {limited release – no Columbus release date announced}
Marion
Cotillard – rowr. Sony Pictures Classics – GAH.
- The
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Bill Condon) [seeing this for the
special lady] {wide release}
In her
defense, she enjoys vampire stories so she’s read all the books, plus she loved
Seven Psychopaths so don’t let’s hold
this against her.
November
21-29 (includes Thanksgiving weekend):
- The
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) [2] {wide release}
I love Three Kings and all, but Russell’s
always felt most at home making nervy, hyper-verbal comedies, so this should be
fun. But can he actually persuade DeNiro and Chris Tucker (!!!) to put forth an
effort? Stay tuned!
- Life
of Pi (Ang Lee) [3] {wide release}
Could go
either way, honestly.
- Rise
of the Guardians (Peter Ramsey) [seeing it for the offspring] {wide
release}
The
offspring has complained that the title makes it sound like a ripoff of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of
Ga’Hoole, which is one of his favorites. But I don’t think that’s a deal
breaker or anything.
November
30-December 6:
- Alps (Yorgos Lanthimos) [2] {DVD}
Reviews
haven’t been great, but Lanthimos!
- Beasts
of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin) [3] {DVD}
Honestly,
this is the one I probably feel least strongly about. For every rave I read, I
come across another review that makes this sound really over-hyped. Still, it
feels like the kind of movie I should probably have an opinion on, I’d say.
- Killing
Them Softly (Andrew Dominik) [3] {wide release}
I’m just
hoping it’s a lousy trailer that doesn’t do the movie justice, because… well,
it’s a lousy trailer.
December
7-13:
Nothing!
Absolutely nothing!
December
14-20:
- The
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson) [2] {wide release}
People who
complain about Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth movies being too long are like
people who complain when baseball games go into extra innings in my opinion.
You’re getting extra goodness for free, so why whine about it?
December
21-27 (includes Christmas Day releases):
- Amour
(Michael Haneke) [1] {limited release – no Columbus release date announced}
Sony
Pictures Classics strikes again. The
White Ribbon didn’t come to town until the weekend after ballots were due.
D’oh.
- Django
Unchained (Quentin Tarantino) [1] {wide release}
I’m always
a little nervous whenever Tarantino puts out a new movie that maybe this time
he’s tried to work his magic on a genre that will be immune to it. But then,
I’ve worried about this since Jackie
Brown, so who knows if it’ll ever happen?
- Zero
Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow) [2] {wide release}
Bigelow
tackles another recent American military story. Can lightning strike twice?
- Killer
Joe (William Friedkin) [3] {DVD}
See above,
re: McConaughey. But that still doesn’t make we want to see The Paperboy.
- Les
Miserables (Tom Hooper) [3] {wide release}
Sacha
Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers is sort of brilliant
casting.
Post-Christmas/January:
- Cosmopolis
(David Cronenberg) [2] {2 Jan on DVD}
Cronenberg’s
last few have been disappointing for me, but the dude is still David effing
Cronenberg. Besides, nobody can adapt tricky literary works quite like he does.
- Barbara
(Christian Petzold) [3] {limited release – scheduled for 11 Jan @ GFC}
Reviews
out of TIFF were enthusiastic, especially for leading lady Nina Hoss. If
there’s something my ballot can always use more of, it’s great female lead
performances.
Columbus release after Muriels deadline:
- Sister
(Ursula Meier) [3] {limited release – scheduled for 8 Feb @ Wex}
Home is awesome, y’all.
No DVD
release date announced so I won’t hold my breath:
- Almayer’s
Folly (Chantal Akerman) [2]
Jeanne Dielman, baby!
- Crazy
Horse (Frederick Wiseman) [3]
Then
again, Wiseman’s pretty sparsely represented on DVD, so I’m not expecting this
to happen or anything.
- Oki’s
Movie (Hong Sang-soo) [3]
Although
if I only end up seeing one Hong drunken-buffoonery-fest before I cast my
ballot, I suppose I can live with that.
- Photographic
Memory (Ross McElwee) [3]
Where’s
the buzz on this one?
- To Rome With Love
(Woody Allen) [3]
Supposedly
the release date will be announced sometime in November, so that’s cool I
guess.
Additionally,
in the event that I don’t have access to a higher-priority title, here are some
possible backups I might watch. Call them [4a]s if you’d like:
- Anna Karenina (Joe Wright) {16 Nov in
theatres}
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (John
Madden) {now on DVD}
- Compliance (Craig Zobel) {8 Jan on DVD}
- The Imposter (Bart Layton) {22 Jan on
DVD}
- Keep the Lights On (Ira Sachs) {TBA on
DVD}
- Last Ride (Glendyn Ivin) [4] {now on
DVD}
- Lawless (John Hillcoat) [4] {27 Nov on
DVD}
- Neighboring Sounds (Kleber Mendonça
Filho) [4] {TBA on DVD}
- Oslo, August 31st (Joachim Trier) [4] {now
on DVD/streaming}
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen
Chbosky) [4] {TBA on DVD}
- Red Hook Summer (Spike Lee) [4] {26 Dec
on DVD}
- Samsara (Ron Fricke) [4] {8 Jan on DVD}
- Searching for Sugar Man (Malik
Bendjelloul) [4] {TBA on DVD}
- Take This Waltz (Sarah Polley) [4] {now
on DVD}
- We Have a Pope (Nanni Moretti) [4] {now
on DVD/Netflix}
- Wuthering Heights (Andrea Arnold) [4] {7
Dec @ GFC}
Finally, if
I have time I’d like to watch the following again:
- Bernie
(Richard Linklater) {now on DVD}
My
frontrunner for best ensemble performance right now. OK, so Shirley MacLaine’s
nothing to write home about, but some of those interview subjects are priceless.
- The Deep Blue
Sea (Terence
Davies) {now on DVD}
Wish I
could have seen this one in theatres, but I was busy moving.
- The
Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan) {4 Dec on DVD}
Nolan’s
films tend to reward multiple viewings, so maybe this will reveal something
once the initial disappointment has worn away.
- It’s
Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt) {now on DVD}
So stoked
that this is Muriel-eligible this year. Go Hertzfeldt go! Seriously guys, you
should see this.
- The
Master (Paul Thomas Anderson) {now in theatres}
Particularly
if it hits DVD before the deadline. If not oh well.
- Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson) {now on
DVD}
As prickly
in its way as LIFE AQUATIC, this is one that should improve on second viewing.
- The Turin Horse (Bela
Tarr) {now on DVD/streaming}
It’s not
that I think I missed something. I just want to drink in the good parts again.
