2011 Film Journal

As the days and weeks chug along, I will a keep a list of all the films I watch all year. Yep, every single one of them. Even the embarrassing and the awful.  There are a few simple criteria for a film to make the list. I will only include films watched in completion. 20 minutes of The Cable Guy on TBS won't make the list - sorry Benji Stiller.   If an entry lists two or more dates, then the film was seen in sections - one section on each date listed for that film. 

This list will include both films viewed for the first time and those with previous multiple viewings. Anything on this list was seen via Netflix Watch It Now, DVD, in the theater or on cable - please assume that anything viewed on cable was not only watched in completion, but also without commercials. Movies weren't made with ads designed to fit into the plot narrative, I prefer it stays that way
 

Each of the films on the list is rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Any reviews or notes that I've made on a film from the list will be linked. This will be an ongoing project, so please stay tuned.


JANUARY 
Jan. 3 - Laura (1944) directed by Otto Preminger | 7/10

Jan. 6 - The Damned United (2008) directed by Tom Hooper | 7/10

Jan. 8 - Three Days Of The Condor (1975) directed by Sydney Pollak | 6/10

Jan. 8 - Moog (2008) directed by Hans Fjellestad | Rating: 6/10

Jan. 11 - Blood Into Wine (2010) directed by Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke | 5/10

Jan. 12 - Prodigal Sons (2008) directed by Kimberly Reed | 5/10

Jan. 18 - Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work (2010) dir. by Rikki Stern & Annie Sundberg | 6/10

Jan. 19 - The Parking Lot Movie (2010) directed by Meghan Eckman | 6/10

Jan. 20 - Cropsey (2009) directed by Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio | Rating: 5/10

Jan. 21 - Le Corbeau (1943) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot | Rating: 9/10

Jan. 22 - Bugs Bunny’s 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982) dir. by Friz Freleng & Chuck Jones | 7/10

Jan. 22 - Rome: Open City (1945) directed by Roberto Rossellini | 8/10
Jan. 26/Feb. 4 - Pickpocket (1959) directed by Robert Bresson | 7/10

Jan. 28/29 - The Wages Of Fear (1953) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot | 9/10 - Review

Jan. 29 - The Runaways (2010) directed by Floria Sigismondi | 3/10 - Review

Jan. 29/30 - Le Cercle Rouge (1970) directed by Jean Pierre Melville | 7/10

Jan. 30 - Dial M For Murder (1955) directed by Alfred Hitchcock | 9/10

Jan. 31/Feb. 1 - Crazy Love (2007) directed by Dan Klores | 5/10


FEBRUARY

Feb. 1 - Cyrus (2010) directed by Jay and Mark Duplass | 5/10

Feb. 2 - The Army Of Shadows (1969) directed by Jean Pierre Melville | 8/10

Feb. 2 - Groundhog Day (1993) directed by Harold Ramis | 7/10

Feb. 2/3 - The Grand Illusion (1937) directed by Jean Renoir | 10/10 - Review

Feb. 3 - Le Samourai (1967) directed by Jean Pierre Melville | 9/10 - Review
Feb. 7/8 - The Friends Of Eddie Coyle (1973) directed by Peter Yates | 7/10 - Review
Feb. 10 - True Grit (2010) directed by Joel and Ethan Coen  |  7/10
Feb. 12 - The Kids Are All Right directed by Lisa Cholodenko  |  4/10 - Review
Feb. 13 - Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004) directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel  |  8/10
Feb. 13 - Casino Jack and the United States Of Money (2010) directed by Alex Gibney | 6/10
Feb. 13/14 - Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010) directed by Banksy | 8/10
Feb. 15 - Wild Strawberries (1957) directed by Ingmar Bergman | 10/10
Feb. 18 - Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009) directed by Julian Nitzberg | 5/10
Feb. 18 - Breaker Morant (1980) directed by Bruce Beresford | 10/10
Feb. 19 - The King's Speech (2010) directed by Tom Hooper | 7/10
Feb. 20 - Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) directed by Louis Malle | 8/10
Feb. 20 - Vive Le Tour (1962) directed by Louis Malle | 7/10
Feb. 20 - Night And Fog (1956) directed by Alain Resnais | 9/10 
Feb. 20 - The Social Network (2010) directed by David Fincher | 7/10
Feb. 21 - The Law directed by Jules Dassin | 7/10
Feb. 21 - The Red Balloon (1956) directed by Albert Lamorisse | 9/10 
Feb. 21 - All That Heaven Will Allow (1955) directed by Douglas Sirk | 4/10
Feb. 21/22 - Homicide (1991) directed by David Mamet | 7/10 
Feb. 22 - Winter's Bone (2010) directed by Debra Granik | 8/10
Feb. 26 - The Man With The Movie Camera (1929) directed by Dziga Vertov | 7/10
Feb. 26 - Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) directed by Alex Gibney | 5/10

MARCH
Mar. 1/2 - Classe tous risques (1960) directed by Claude Sautet | 6/10
Mar. 4/5 - Le Doulos (1962) directed by Jean-Pierre Melville | 7/10
Mar. 5 - Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (1977) directed by George Lucas | 8/10
Mar. 6 - Stagecoach (1939) directed by John Ford | 8/10
Mar. 7 - Capturing Reality: The Art Of Documentary (2009) directed by Pepita Ferrari | 7/10
Mar. 7/8 - The Young Savages (1961) directed by John Frankenheimer | 4/10
Mar. 8/9 - Paradise Now (2005) directed by Hanny Abu-Assad | 8/10
Mar. 12 - Millions (2004) directed by Danny Boyle | 6/0
Mar. 13/15/17/20 - Triplets Of Belleville (2003) directed by Sylvain Chomet | 7/10
Mar. 20/21 - The Death Of A Cyclist (1955) directed by Juan Antonio Bardem | 8/10
Mar. 25 - In The Mood For Love (2000) directed by Wong Kar-Wai | 9/10
Mar. 27/31 - The Birds (1963) directed by Alfred Hitchcock | 6/10

APRIL
Apr. 2 - God's Country (1985) directed by Louis Malle | 8/10
Apr. 3 - Brute Force (1947) directed by Burt Lancaster | 6/10
Apr. 5 - The Ascent (1976) directed by Larisa Shepitko | 7/10
Apr. 5 - Zak and Miri Make A Porno (2008) directed by Kevin Smith | 6/10
Apr. 8 - Back To The Future (1985) directed by Robert Zemeckis | 7/10
Apr. 11/12 - Touchez pas au grisbi (1954) directed by Jacques Becker | 6/10
Apr. 13/14 - The Hit (1984) directed by Stephen Frears | 8/10
Apr. 16 - The Pixar Story (2008) directed by Leslie Iwerks | 6/10
Apr. 17 - Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules (2011) directed by David Bowers | 2/10
Apr. 30 - Frankenstein (1931) directed by James Whale | 9/10
Apr. 30 - Never Cry Wolf (1983) directed by Carroll Ballard | 8/10

MAY

May 7 - Easy A (2010) directed by Will Gluck | 7/10

May 10 - Baseball: Inning One (1994) directed by Ken Burns | 8/10

May 10 - Baseball: Inning Two (1994) directed by Ken Burns | 9/10

May 10 - Baseball: Inning Three (1994) directed by Ken Burns | 9/10

May 11 - Baseball: Inning Four (1994) directed by Ken Burns | 10/10

May 12 - Baseball: Inning Five (1994) directed by Ken Burns | 8/10

May 14 - Baseball: Inning Six (1994) directed by Ken Burns | 9/10

Instant Karma Is Gonna Get Ya

When I first got word of the death of Osama Bin Laden late Sunday night, there was an initial rush of shock, followed by a strange sense of relief and even pleasure.  After ten years in hiding, the world's most famous fugitive was dead and certainly met a fate that he deserved.  It was instantly easy to see how this event had the opportunity to bring a necessary amount of closure to a very dark decade for America.  Bin Laden's death would also be a welcome tonic to help soothe the wounds of a decade of fierce opposition to Al Qaeda, the Taliban and terrorism of any stripe across the world.  In other words, there were reasons to see the death of such a heinous man, guilty of so much death and destruction through a lens of hope and even an odd sort of happiness.  Sadly, what has also happened in the day since the new first broke is a surge of flag waving, jingoism, patriotic cajoling and chants of USA! USA!

Much of what has been shown of the jubilant celebrations is an outpouring of relief over the end of an era and the glee of a horrible man brought to justice.  But it is vitally important to remember how it looks to the rest of the world.  An angry and violent Al Qaeda supporter in Saudi Arabia burning a US flag in the fall of 2001 to celebrate the 9/11 attacks looks an awful lot like the jingoists out to celebrate the death of another human being last night because that death means a validation of their chosen way of life.  Part of the call for democracy in the Middle East during the recent "Arab Spring" has been to work to see that this region of the world can have an open discourse of ideas and free debate without debasing itself in patriotic flag-waving and hate mongering.  If we as Americans support that movement of Arab freedom we should be ashamed of ourselves for the horrible example we are setting by publicly celebrating the death of another human being - even if that human being is Osama Bin Laden

Justice has been served and I for one hope that this is also a huge blow to the Al Qaeda network, but this is not a military maneuver that will make us any safer as a nation.  In fact, it will imperil us further.  The act was just and it was right, but it will not be easy.  As our government awaits reprisals for Bin Laden's death, and they will almost certainly come, we must also remain vigilant in remembering that the more we gloat of our victory here, the more we will be seen as occupiers and oppressors.  It is our responsibility to act with a sense of dignity and class because the topic demands it - and more importantly because that is the right thing to do.  The death of Bin Laden is so important to us a nation because it is a direct connection to one of our nation's most catastrophic days of loss.  Let us not further defame that loss by wildly celebrating a sombre occasion.