2012 Watchlist: November

Written by . Posted on December 9, 2012. Filed under Lists. No comments.

Re-watches are indicated by an * | Masterpieces will be in bold | To make things interesting, my 5 most satisfying viewings (not necessarily the “best” films) of each month will be indicated by red font, my 3 least satisfying by blue font | Venue & format indicated by the following: (C) = cinema viewing, (H) = “home”/TV viewing, (S) = school (F) = film, (D) = digital, (DVD) = DVD, (BR) = Blu-Ray, (CF) = computer file or online

E.T., Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1982, USA * (C/F)

Flight, Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 2012, USA (C/D)

Sleepless Night, Dir. Jang Kun-jae, 2012, South Korea (H/CF)

Taken, Dir. Pierre Morel, 2008, France (H/CF)

Mission: Impossible, Dir. Brian De Palma, 1996, USA * (H/CF)

Shopping, Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson, 1994, UK (H/CF)

This is Spinal Tap, Dir. Rob Reiner, 1984, USA (S/DVD)

Eraserhead, Dir. David Lynch, 1976, USA * (S/DVD)

Jurassic Park, Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1993, USA * (S/DVD)

Fear City, Dir. Abel Ferrara, 1984, USA (H/DVD)

House with Laughing Windows, Dir. Pupi Avati, 1976, Italy (H/CF)

Ms. 45, Dir. Abel Ferrara, 1981, USA (H/CF)

Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1997, USA (H/CF)

Tricked, Dir. Paul Verhoeven, 2012, Netherlands (H/CF)

Lincoln, Dir. Steven Spielberg, 2012, USA (C/D)

‘R Xmas, Dir. Abel Ferrara, 2001, USA (H/DVD)

Holy Motors, Dir. Leos Carax, 2012, France (C/D)

Mulberry St., Dir. Abel Ferrara, 2010, USA * (H/CF)

Trouble in Mind, Dir. Alan Rudolph, 1985, USA (H/DVD)

Frontier of Dawn, Dir. Philippe Garrel, 2008, France (H/DVD)

Lincoln, Dir. Steven Spielberg, 2012, USA * (C/D)

The Avengers, Dir. Joss Whedon, 2012, USA * (S/DVD)

Rameau’s Nephew by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen, Dir. Michael Snow, 1974, Canada (C/F)

Haxan, Dir. Benjamin Christensen, 1922, Sweden (S/DVD)

One From the Heart, Dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1982, USA (H/CF)

Still, Dir. Michael McGowan, 2012, Canada (C/D)

American Mary, Dir. Jen and Sylvia Soska, 2012, Canada (C/D)

Celeste and Jesse Forever, Dir. Lee Toland Krieger, 2012, USA (C/D)

All That You Possess, Dir. Bernard Émond, 2012, Canada (C/D)

Between Us, Dir. Dan Mirvish, 2012, USA (C/D)

It’s a Disaster, Dir. Todd Berger, 2012, USA (C/D)

Meet the Fokkens, Dir. Gabrielle Provaas & Rob Schroder, 2011, Netherlands (C/D)

Picture Day, Dir. Kate Miles Melville, 2012, Canada (C/D)

Blood Pressure, Dir. Sean Garrity, 2012, Canada (C/D)

2012 Watchlist: September & October

Written by . Posted on November 15, 2012. Filed under Lists. No comments.

Re-watches are indicated by an * | Masterpieces will be in bold | To make things interesting, my 5 most satisfying viewings (not necessarily the “best” films) of each month will be indicated by red font, my 3 least satisfying by blue font | Venue & format indicated by the following: (C) = cinema viewing, (H) = “home”/TV viewing, (S) = school (F) = film, (D) = digital, (DVD) = DVD, (BR) = Blu-Ray, (CF) = computer file or online

September

Enemy of the State, Dir. Tony Scott, 1998, USA * (H/CF)

Compliance, Dir. Craig Zobel, 2012, USA (C/D)

Man on Fire, Dir. Tony Scott, 2004, UK/USA * (H/CF)

Eat Sleep Die, Dir. Gabriela Pichler, 2012, Sweden (H/CF)

Out in the Dark, Dir. Michael Mayer, 2012, Israel/USA/Palestinian Territory

Resident Evil, Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson, 2002, Germany/France/UK * (H/CF)

The Fog, Dir. John Carpenter, 1980, USA (H/DVD)

Bonnie & Clyde, Dir. Arthur Penn, 1967, USA (S/DVD)

Point Blank, Dir. John Boorman, 1967, USA (H/CF)

Rabbit’s Moon, Dir. Kenneth Anger, 1950, USA (S/DVD)

Blind Husbands, Dir. Erich von Stroheim, 1919, USA (C/F)

Invocation of my Demon Brother, Dir. Kenneth Anger, 1969, USA (S/DVD)

Resident Evil: Afterlife, Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson, 2010, Germany/UK/France * (H/CF)

Resident Evil: Retribution, Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson, 2012, Germany/US (C/D)

Bullitt, Dir. Peter Yates, 1968, USA (H/CF)

Romancing in Thin Air, Dir. Johnnie To, 2012, Hong Kong (H/CF)

Duel, Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1971, USA (H/CF)

Jaws, Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1975, USA * (S/DVD)

True Romance, Dir. Tony Scott, 1993, USA * (C/DVD)

High Plains Drifter, Dir. Clint Eastwood, 1973, USA (C/F)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dir. Jim Sharman & Richard O’Brien, 1973, UK/USA (S/DVD)

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, Dir. F.W. Murnau, 1931, USA (H/CF)

Tabu, Dir. Miguel Gomes, 2012, Portugal/Germany/Brazil/France (C/D)

10+10, Dir. Various, 2011, Taiwan (C/D)

Cock, Dir. Hwang Hyunjin, 2012, South Korea (C/D)

White Night, Dir. LeeSong Heeil, 2012, South Korea (C/D)

Student, Dir. Darezahn Omirbaev, 2012, Kazalhstan (C/D)

The Delay, Dir. Rodrigo Plá, 2012, Uruguay/Mexico/France (C/F)

Reconversao, Dir. Thom Andersen, 2012, Portugal (C/D)

Nameless Gangster, Dir. Yun Jong-bin, 2012, South Korea (C/D)

You are More than Beautiful, Dir. Kim Tae Yong, 2012, China (C/D)

Walker, Dir. Tsai Ming-liang, 2012, China/Hong Kong (C/D)

Long Tou, Dir. Gu Changwei, 2012, China (C/D)

My Way, Dir. Ann Hui, 2012, China (C/D)

The Master, Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012, USA (C/D)

The Last Time I Saw Macao, Dir. Joao Pedro Rodrigues & João Rui Guerra da Mata, 2012, Portugal/France/Mexico (C/D)

All Apologies, Dir. Emily Tang, 2012, China (C/D)

The Capsule, Dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2012, Greece (C/D)

Morning of Saint Anthony’s Day, Dir. Joao Pedro Rodrigues, 2012, Portugal/France (C/D)

A Story for the Modlins, Dir. Sergio Oksman, 2012, Spain (C/D)

In Another Country, Dir. Hong Sangsoo, 2012, South Korea/France (C/D)

A Fish, Dir. Park Hong-min, 2011, South Korea (C/D)

A Werewolf Boy, Dir. Jo Sung-hee, 2012, South Korea (C/D)

October

Three Sisters, Dir. Wang Bing, 2012, France/Hong Kong (C/D)

Something in the Air, Dir. Olivier Assayas, 2012, France (C/F)

After the Battle, Dir. Yousry Nasrallah, 2012, Egypt/France (C/D)

Keep the Lights On, Dir. Ira Sachs, 2012, USA (C/D)

Paradise: Love, Dir. Ulrich Seidl, 2012, Austria/Germany/France (C/D)

Like Someone in Love, Dir. Abbas Kiarostami, 2012, France/Japan (C/D)

Night Across the Street, Dir. Raul Ruiz, 2012, Chile (C/D)

When the Bough Breaks, Dir. Ji Dan, 2012, China (C/D)

Amour, Dir. Michael Haneke, 2012, France/Austria/Germany (C/D)

Emperor Visits the Hell, Dir. Li Luo, 2012, China (C/D)

Small Roads, Dir. James Benning, 2012, USA (C/D)

Reality, Dir. Matteo Garrone, 2012, Italy/France (C/D)

Greatest Hits, Dir. Nicolas Pereda, 2012, Mexico/Canada/Netherlands

Beyond the Hills, Dir. Cristian Mungiu, 2012, Romania (C/D)

Outrage Beyond, Dir. Takeshi Kitano, 2012, Japan (C/F)

Ginger and Rosa, Dir. Sally Potter, 2012, UK (C/D)

A Respectable Family, Dir. Massoud Bakhshi, 2012, Iran (C/D)

Everyday, Dir. Michael Winterbottom, 2012, UK (C/D)

Beyond the Hill, Dir. Emin Alper, 2012, Turkey (C/D)

Hidden Beauties, Dir. Nouri Bouzid, 2012, Tunisia/UAE/France (C/D)

Lore, Dir. Cate Shortland, 2012, Australia/Germany/UK (C/D)

Masquerade, Dir. Chang Min-Choo, 2012, South Korea (C/D)

A Hijacking, Dir. Tobias Lindholm, 2012, Denmark (H/D)

When I Saw You, Dir. Annemarie Jacir, 2012, Palestinian Territory/Jordan/Greece (C/D)

The Last Supper, Dir.Lu Chuan, 2012, China (C/D)

I.D., Dir. Kamal K.M., 2012, India (C/D)

Kara: Daughter of the Tree, Dir. Edwin, 2005, Indonesia (H/D)

Hulahoop Soundings, Dir. Edwin, 2008, Indonesia (H/D)

Gebo and the Shadow, Dir. Manoel de Oliveira, 2012, Portugal/France (C/D)

In the House, Dir. Francois Ozon, 2012, France (C/D)

To Rome with Love, Dir. Woody Allen, 2012, USA (H/D)

Alien vs. Predator, Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson, 2004, USA (H/CF)

Seven Psychopaths, Dir. Martin McDonagh, 2012, USA/UK (C/D)

Tetsuo, the Iron Man, Dir. Shin’ya Tsukamoto, 1989, Japan (S/DVD)

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Dir. John Hyams, 2012, USA (H/CF)

Vincent, Dir. Tim Burton, 1982, USA (S/DVD)

V/H/S, Dir. Various, 2012, USA (C/D)

Halloween, Dir. Rob Zombie, 2007, USA * (H/CF)

Halloween II, Dir. Rob Zombie, 2009, USA * (H/BR)

VIFF 2012

Written by . Posted on September 28, 2012. Filed under Festivals. Tagged . No comments.

This year I’ll be covering the 31st Vancouver International Film Festival for Filmmaker Magazine, with two blog reports, one halfway through the fest and one on the last day, as well as doing a roundtable wrap-up for the Notebook (which will not appear until a couple weeks after VIFF). I’ll add those links here once they come into existence.

Filmmaker Magazine–

VIFF Critics Notebook #1

VIFF Critics Notebook #2

Notebook–

coming soon

My ten favourite films of the festival (including ones I had already seen at Locarno):

1. Three Sisters, Dir. Wang Bing, Hong Kong

2. Holy Motors, Dir. Leos Carax, France

3. Tabu, Dir. Miguel Gomes, Portugal

4. Leviathan, Dir. Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor, UK/USA/France

5. Like Someone in Love, Dir. Abbas Kiarostami, France/Japan

6. In Another Country, Dir. Hong Sangsoo, South Korea

7. When Night Falls, Dir. Ying Liang, China/South Korea

8. Beyond the Hills, Dir. Cristian Mungiu, Romania

9. Night Across the Street, Dir. Raul Ruiz, Chile

10. Walker, Dir. Tsai Ming-Liang, China/Hong Kong

Here’s a link to a list of all the films seen during the festival

2012 Watchlist: July & August

Written by . Posted on September 6, 2012. Filed under Lists. No comments.

JULY

All That Heaven Allows, Dir. Douglas Sirk, 1955, USA * (C/F)

48 Hrs., Dir. Walter Hill, 1982, USA * (H/CF)

An American in Paris, Dir. Vincente Minnelli, 1951, USA * (H/DVD)

Assault on Precinct 13, Dir. John Carpenter, 1976, USA (H/DVD)

Out of the Past, Dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1947, USA (H/DVD)

The Marriage of Maria Braun, Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1979, West Germany * (C/F)

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974, West Germany * (C/F)

The Driver, Dir. Walter Hill, 1978, USA/UK (H/CF)

Love is Colder Than Death, Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1969, West Germany (C/F)

The Bridges of Madison County, Dir. Clint Eastwood, 1995, USA * (H/DVD)

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972, West Germany (C/F)

Fox and His Friends, Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1975, West Germany (C/F)

Dog Bite Dog, Dir. Soi Cheang, 2006, Hong Kong (H/CF)

Sweetgrass, Dir. Ilisa Barbash & Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 2009, UK/USA (H/CF)

Sabotage, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1936, UK (C/F)

Buried In Light, Dir. Jem Cohen, 1994, USA (H/CF)

The Dark Knight Rises, Dir. Christopher Nolan, 2012, USA (C/D)

L’ange noir, Dir. Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1994, France (H/CF)

Ars Colonia, Dir. Raya Martin, 2011, Philippines/Netherlands (H/CF)

Katalin Varga, Dir. Peter Strickland, 2009, UK/Romania (H/CF)

Accident, Dir. Soi Cheang, 2009, Hong Kong (H/CF)

Boy Meets Girl, Dir. Léos Carax, 1984, France (C/D)

The Sweeney, Dir. Nick Love, 2012, UK (C/D)

NOTE: July was mostly dedicated to previewing submissions to VIFF which shall go unlisted, as well as preparing for Locarno

AUGUST

Die Neue Wohnung (Version SWB), Dir. Hans Richter, 1930, Switzerland (C/F)

Die Neue Wohnung (Version Ateller Richter), Dir. Hans Richter, 1930, Switzerland (C/F)

Mauvais Sang, Dir. Léos Carax, 1986, France (C/F)

Jack and Diane, Dir. Bradley Dust Gray, 2012, USA (C/D)

Mekong Hotel, Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2012, Thailand/UK (C/D)

Danger: Love at Work, Dir. Otto Preminger, 1937, USA (C/F)

Holy Motors, Dir. Léos Carax, 2012, France/Germany (C/D)

Sakda, Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2012, Switzerland (C/D)

The Social Contract, Dir. Frédéric Mermoud, 2012, Switzerland (C/D)

On the Way, Dir. Georges Schwizgebel, 2012, Switzerland (C/D)

Madame W, Dir. Jean-Daniel Schneider, 2012, Switzerland (C/D)

Minuet, Dir. Milagros Mumenthaler, 2012, Switzerland (C/D)

The Taste of Snow, Dir. Nader T. Homayoun, 2012, Iran (C/D)

Drop the Kids Off, Dir. Bettina Oberli & Antoine Jaccoud, 2012, Switzerland (C/D)

Pieta, Dir. Bruce Baillie, 1998, Austria/USA (C/D)

Fire & Rain, Dir. James Benning, 2009, Austria (C/D)

SB, Dir. Stan Brakhage, 2002, USA/Austria (C/D)

My Last Minute, Dir. Léos Carax, 2006, Austria/France * (C/D)

A Tale of Two Cities, Dir. Jem Cohen, 2007, USA/Austria (C/D)

Une Catastrophe, Dir. Jean-Luc Godard, 2008, France/Austria/Italy * (C/D)

Incendiary Cinema, Dir. Ken Jacobs, 2005, USA/Austria (C/D)

The 3 Rs, Dir. David Lynch, 2011, USA/Austria * (C/D)

Empire, Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010, Thailand/Austria * (C/D)

Kino, Dir. Chris Marker, 2011, France * (C/D)

Berberian Sound Studio, Dir. Peter Strickland, 2012, UK/Germany/Australia (C/D)

Bachelorette, Dir. Leslye Headland, 2012, USA (C/D)

Sightseers, Dir. Ben Wheatley, 2012, UK (C/D)

Starlet, Dir. Sean Baker, 2012, USA (C/D)

Ina Litovski, Dir. Anais Barbeau-Lavalette & André Turpin, 2012, Canada (C/D)

The Great Cinema Party, Dir. Raya Martin, 2012, South Korea/Philipines (C/D)

Light in the Yellow Breathing Space, Dir. Vimukthi Jayasundara, 2012, South Korea (C/D)

Room 237, Dir. Rodney Ascher, 2012, USA (C/D)

Tectonics, Dir. Peter Bo Rappmund, 2012, USA (C/D)

The End of Time, Dir. Peter Mettler, 2012, Switzerland/Canada (C/D)

Somebody Up There Likes Me, Dir. Bob Byington, 2012, USA (C/D)

The Creation as We Saw It, Dir. Ben Rivers, 2012, UK (C/D)

When Night Falls, Dir. Ying Liang, 2012, South Korea/China (C/D)

Memories Look at Me, Dir. Fang Song, 2012, China (C/D)

No, Dir. Pablo Larrain, 2012, Chile (C/D)

The Girl From Nowhere, Dir. Jean-Claude Brisseau, 2012, France (C/D)

Leviathan, Dir. Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Véréna Paravel, 2012, UK/USA/France (C/D)

Neighboring Sounds, Dir. Kleber Mendonca Filho, 2012, Brazi (C/F)

Impolex, Dir. Alex Ross Perry, 2009, USA (C/F)

Motorway, Dir. Soi Cheang, 2012, Hong Kong (C/D)

Museum Hours, Dir. Jem Cohen, 2012, Austria/USA (C/D)

PTU, Dir. Johnnie To, 2003, Hong Kong (C/F)

Tower, Dir. Kazik Radwanski, 2012, Canada (C/D)

The Black Balloon, Dir. Ben & Joshua Safdie, 2012, USA (C/D)

Angel Face, Dir. Otto Preminger, 1952, USA (C/F)

Bonjour Tristesse, Dir. Otto Preminger, 1958, USA (C/F)

People’s Park, Dir. Libbie D. Cohn & J.P. Sniadecki, 2012, USA/China (C/D)

Goon, Dir. Michael Dowse, 2011, Canada/USA (Airplane)

Lost in America, Dir. Albert Brooks, 1985, USA (H/CF)

Triad Election, Dir. Johnnie To, 2006, Hong Kong (H/CF)

The Hunger, Dir. Tony Scott, 1983, UK (H/DVD)

Unstoppable, Dir. Tony Scott, 2010, USA * (H/DVD)

Killer Joe, Dir. William Freidkin, 2011, USA (C/D)

The Birds, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1963, USA (C/F)

Jaws, Dir. Steven Spielberg, 1975, USA (C/F)

Camp 14 – Total Control Zone, Dir. Marc Wiese, 2012, South Korea/Germany (H/CF)

Wagon Master, Dir. John Ford, 1950, USA (H/CF)

Defending Your Life, Dir. Albert Brooks, 1991, USA (H/DVD)

True Romance, Dir. Tony Scott, 1993, USA (H/DVD)

Dreams For Sale, Dir. Miwa Nishikawa, 2012, Japan (H/DVD)

The Fan, Dir. Tony Scott, 1996, USA * (H/CF)

My Imaginary Sight & Sound Ballot

Written by . Posted on August 19, 2012. Filed under Lists. No comments.

Were I to have participated in this year’s poll, my list would have looked something like this:

L’atalante, Dir. Jean Vigo, 1934

Every Man For Himself and God Against All, Dir. Werner Herzog, 1974

French Cancan, Dir. Jean Renoir, 1955

Heat, Dir. Michael Mann, 1995

Late Spring, Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, 1949

Notorious, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1946

Playtime, Dir. Jacques Tati, 1967

Princess Mononoke, Dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 1997

Syndromes & a Century, Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006

Taxi Driver, Dir. Martin Scorsese, 1976