New Movie A Day: Next 167 Days

Watching a movie a day is really hard. The plan has derailed. In the next 90 Days I only manged to watch 34 movies. So I've caught the list up to present to represent more movies. All in all I've watched 128 new movies this year. So far. There's still over 100 days left in the year to catch up.

Here are some highlights:

Spike Lee films - I went through and watched several of Spike Lee's older films and I have to say I am not a fan. I think they fail on a lot of attempts, either from poor writing, odd formal elements or just that they're really bad. I can't tell if that means Do the Right Thing is that much better or maybe Do the Right Thing is actually not that great. What I think is the case is that he just happens to get the recipe right in Do the Right Thing. He mixes the right amount of social commentary with story. His other early works, with perhaps She's Gotta Have It, the mixture is way off. School Daze is so all over the place and un-cohesive that by the end when all of sudden every black character is out on the quad looking at the camera the message has never sunk in. This awakened moment is un-earneMo Better Blues has a narrative but it's so lightweight that it becomes boring by the second half of the film. And this is the straw that broke the camel's back with Lee acting in his own movies. He's a joke when he tries to act alongside the powerful Denzel Washington. Washington is the best part of that film and He's Got Game. He Got Game is probably the best of the early Spike Lee films, perhaps because it's not that early. But it has a stronger plot and some interesting characters. The B plot with Milla Jovovich really doesn't work and could and should have been cut from the film. Jungle Fever works on a lot of levels, but is really really dated with early 90's music and art direction. John Tuturro and that storyline actually is one of the best parts of the film, overshadowing in my mind even the main plot, partially because Tuturro is so good, but also it's more subdued and not as in your face with its half of the message.
d and out of place.

Major Disappointments - I was so looking forward to Dogtooth. The premise sets up so thoughtfully, but it never fully pays off. It would have paid to have a stronger structure, at least some structure because as is it's slightly random and in-cohesive. La Dolce Vita is a huge disapoint too. Another film where a little more structure would have gone a long way. It too was kind of just a string of scenes, that while are fun and interesting themselves, don't pay off as The Last Picture Show was slightly disappointing. I just never quite got into it. Anchorman 2. Now the definition of major disappointment. The fall off is tremendous from the first film to this one. The one bright moment is the epic newscast fight toward the end, which basically became the point of watching the film once it's realized the film awful.
much at the end.

Slight Disappointments - The Raid 2 will not be making any top ten lists. The first one is so tight and effective. This one is basically a martial arts crime film. Not the worst thing but just not as unique as the first film. My Neighbor Totoro was good but not one of my favorite Ghibli films. Totoro doesn't show up till 45 minutes into it. Although the huge highlight of the film is Catbus, my new favorite character of any Ghibli film.

Major Surprises: After Earth. It really wasn't that bad, just a little bad. The Lego Movie. It's true: Everything is Awesome, including this film. The hype is justified, it's super fun and awesome. I was nauseous the whole film and managed to hold off throwing up until the very end when I ran to the bathroom and vomited into the movie theatre toilet. The movie good enough to hold off my vomit. Totally worth it.

The Grand Budapest Hotel - My favorite film of the year.
I smiled the entire time in the theater. It was so delightful.

All is Lost - I think there are two or three bits of dialogue in the whole film. Amazing. Perfect minimalist film making, it's captivating from start to finish.

The sound work is stunning as well, there are other parts where the sound is prime in telling the story so well.

79. Apr 2 - 12 Years a Slave - award winner

80. Apr 2 - Fail Safe - compare to Dr Strangelove

81. Apr 3 - Anchorman 2 - just for funs

82. Apr 5 - Much Ado About Nothing - love the play

83. Apr 6 - He Got Game - unseen Spike Lee film

84. Apr 7 - Freakonomics - prep for class on Documentary

85. Apr 9 - Empire of the Sun - unseen Spielberg film

86. Apr 12 - Doctor Zhivago - unseen AFI Top 100 film

87. Apr 14 - Mo Better Blues - unseen Spike Lee film

88. Apr 15 - End of Watch - student suggestion

89. Apr 16 - Thor: The Dark World - pop culture

90. Apr 18 - School Daze - unseen Spike Lee film

91. Apr 19 - Blackboard Jungle - youth culture study

92. Apr 22 - Another 48 Hrs. - study of film sequels

93. Apr 27 - My Neighbor Totoro - unseen Miyazaki film

94. Apr 27 - Foreign Correspondent - unseen Hitchcock film

95. Apr 28 - The Guilt Trip - on the dvr 

96. May 2 - The Three Faces of Eve - students paper on mental illness on screen

97. May 6 - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson!

98. May 10 - Jungle Fever - unseen Spike Lee film

99. May 11 - After Earth - on the DVR, pop culture

100. May 12 - Muppets From Space - with the boys

101. May 14 - Frances - a students paper on mental illness

102. May 15 - Princess Mononoke - unseen Miyazaki film

103. May 17 - The Lego Movie - with the boys

104. May 20 - Dogtooth - sounded extremely interesting

105. May 24 - Escape from Alcatraz - unseen prison film

106. May 28 - Westworld - unseen sci-fi classic

107. May 31 - Escape From Tomorrow - pop culture, indie film

108. June 7 - Wall Street - unseen classic

109. June 8 - Freebirds - with the kids

110. June 16 - La Dolce Vita - unseen foreign classic

111. June 19 - The Firemen's Ball - unseen Milos Forman film

112. June 22 - All is Lost - unseen film from 2013

113. June 29 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - pop-culture

114. July 1 - Bringing Out the Dead - unseen Scorcese film

115. July 5 - Begin Again - went to the theater

116. July 8 - Shadow of a Doubt - unseen Hitchcock film

117. July 9 - The Last Picture Show - unseen classic

118. July 15 - The Life of Emile Zola - unseen classic

119. July 20 - All of Thomas Edison's short films to 1903 - unseen classic

120. July 21 - Tiny: A Story About Living Small - interesting doc

121. Aug 7 - The Raid 2 - just for funs

122. Aug 10 - Magnificent Obsession - unseen Douglas Sirk film

123. Aug 15 - The Cat Returns - unseen Studio Ghibli film

124. Aug 21 - Lone Survivor - pop culture

125. Aug 24 - Amazing Spiderman 2 - pop culture

126. Sep 2 - Saftey Last - unseen silent comedy classic

127. Sep 9 - August: Osage County - awards contender

128. Sep 10 - Captain America: Winter Soldier - pop culture