Sunday, January 29, 2012

Fall/Winter - 2011/2012









Theatrical Reviews:
The French Connection (1971)  ****
Battle Royale (2000, Japan)  ****
The Terminator (1984)  ****
True Romance (1993)  ****
Poltergeist (1982)  ****
Manhattan (1979)  ****
Annie Hall (1977)  ****
Hugo (3D)  ****
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (USA)  ***1/2
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol  ***1/2
The Adventures of Tintin (3D)  ***1/2
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy  ***1/2
War Horse  ***1/2
Drive  ***1/2
The Rum Diary  ***
Real Steel  **1/2
The Thing (2011)  **

DVD/Home Video:
Until The End of the World: Director's Cut (1991)  ****
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse  ****
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)  ****
American Graffiti (1972)  ****
Miller's Crossing (1990)  ****
Something Wild (1987)  ****
Harakiri (Japan, 1962)  ****
Ugetsu (Japan, 1953)  ****
Midnight Run (1988)  ****
1941 (1979)  ****
Enter The Void (France)  ***1/2
Kwaidan (Japan, 1965)  ***1/2
Onibaba (Japan, 1964)  ***1/2
Naked Lunch (1991)  ***1/2
High Fidelity (2005)  ***1/2
Beetlejuice (1988)  ***1/2
Insomnia (2002)  ***1/2
The American  ***1/2
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (HK)  ***
Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1983)  ***
The Life and Legend of Buffalo Jones (1976)  ***
Space Battleship Yamoto (Japan)  ***
The Man From Nowhere (Korea)  ***
Hide In Plain Sight (1980)  ***
Snuff Box (UK, TV Series)  ***
Cyborg She (2008, Japan)  ***
Winnie The Pooh (2011)  ***
The Rain People (1969)  ***
Kuroneko (Japan, 1968)  ***
We're No Angels (1989)  ***
Promised Land (1987)  ***
The Town (2010)  ***
Shaolin (HK)  ***
Southland Tales: The Cannes Cut  **1/2
Ghostbusters 2 (1990)  **1/2
At the Sinatra Club  **12
Countdown (1968)  **1/2
Feeding Frenzy  **1/2
The Car (1977)  **1/2
Slither (1973)  **1/2
Woochi: The Taoist Wizard (Korea)  **
Lulu on the Bridge (1998)  **
Underworld (1997)  **
Drive Angry  **
Born To Raise Hell  *

The Films of Humphrey Bogart: 
The Petrified Forest (1936)  ****
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)  ***
Dark Victory (1939)  ***1/2
High Sierra (1941)  ****
The Maltese Falcon (1941)  ****
Casablanca (1942)  ***
To Have and Have Not (1944)  ****
The Big Sleep (1946)  ***1/2
Dark Passage (1947)  ***
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)  ****
Key Largo (1948)  ****
In A Lonely Place (1950)  ***
The African Queen (1951)  ***1/2
Beat the Devil (1953)  **1/2
We're No Angels (1954)  ***
The Desperate Hours (1955)  ***1/2

Classic/Noir:
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)  ****
The Steel Helmet (1951)  ***1/2
Mystery Street (1950)  ***1/2
Pickup on South Street (1953)  ***
Satan Met A Lady (1936)  ***
Out of the Past (1947)  ***
Act of Violence (1948)  ***
The Hitch-Hiker (1953)  ***
Gun Crazy (1949)  ***
Murder, My Sweet (1945)  **1/2
Lady in the Lake (1947)  **1/2
The Maltese Falcon (1931)  **

Music/Spoken World:
Miles Davis: Elevator to the Gallows (soundtrack)  ****
Tom Waits: Bad As Me (Limited Edition)  ****
Scrooged: Danny Elfman (La La Land)  ****
Mitch Murder: Burning Chrome  ****
Blade Runner: EMS Recombination (soundtrack bootleg)  ***1/2
DJ Z-Trip & DJ P: Uneasy Listening, Volume 1 (2000)  ***1/2
The Adventures of Tintin (score by John Williams)  ***1/2
Beastie Boys: Hot Sauce Committee Part Two  ***1/2
Michael Ian Black: I Am A Wonderful Man  ***1/2
Die Hard: Michael Kamen (La La Land)  ***1/2
Explorers: Jerry Goldsmith (Intrada)  ***1/2
mc chris: Marshmellow Playground  ***1/2
Drive (original score/soundtrack)  ***1/2
Michael Ian Black: Very Famous  ***1/2
Dexter Gordon: Gotham City  ***1/2
Joe Bargar & the Soul Providers: Two Sides  ***
Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul (1969)  ***
The State: Comedy for Gracious Living  ***
Chrysta Bell & David Lynch: This Train  ***
David Lynch: Crazy Clown Time  ***
James Hyman: Pulp Mixin'  ***
mc chris: Race Wars  ***
Jeff Bridges (2011)  ***
Michael Showalter: Sandwiches & Cats  **1/2

Literature/Comics:
Frank Miller's Sin City: The Hard Goodbye  ****
Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For  ***
Frank Miller's Sin City: The Big Fat Kill  ***
Frank Miller's Sin City: That Yellow Bastard  ****
Frank Miller's Sin City: Family Values  ***1/2
Frank Miller's Sin City: Booze, Broads & Bullets  ***
Frank Miller's Sin City: To Hell and Back  ***1/2
Woody Allen on Woody Allen (Stig Bjorkman)  ***1/2
The Blade Runner Sketchbook (Blue Dolphin)  ***1/2
Art to Choke Hearts & Pissing in the Gene Pool (Henry Rollins)  ***
Ghostbusters Infestation: #1 & 2 (IDW, miniseries)  ***
Ghostbusters #1 & 2 (IDW, monthly)  ***
Wolverine Noir (Marvel)  ***1/2
X-Men Noir (Marvel)  ***
X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain (Marvel)  **
Dennis Hopper: A Madness to His Method (Elena Rodriguez)  **1/2
Dennis Hopper: Movie Top Ten (Jack Hunter)  **
100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call (DC/Vertigo)  **

Internet:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Review (Red Letter Media)  ***1/2
Star Wars Uncut: Director's Cut (on youtube)  ***1/2
David Wain's Wainy Days (wainydays.com)  ***1/2
Black Lodge: "Twin Peaks" Atari 2600 Game  ***

2011: The Year's Ten Best Films:
The Tree of Life
13 Assassins
Midnight in Paris
Blank City
Page One: Inside The New York Times
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part Two
Norwegian Wood
Drive
Hugo
The Booth at the End