Gary Wells posted: " Well, it looks like I have arrived at a number. Seems I watch roughly +/-270 movies a year; this year's number is about the same as the last two years' while I see some steady growth. Also similarly, just over half the films I watched were first-time" SoulRide
Well, it looks like I have arrived at a number. Seems I watch roughly +/-270 movies a year; this year's number is about the same as the last two years' while I see some steady growth. Also similarly, just over half the films I watched were first-timers and, again, I've had ups and downs, highlights and lowlights, dizzying joys and crushing disappointments. The one difference may be that, in 2023, I had two almost indescribable experiences - one at each end of the spectrum.
I made it to the theatre only 9 times, half as many trips as last year. I went - alone - to a Valentine's Day showing of The Notebook, a film that should be directed at classic film types as one that stars James Garner and Gena Rowlands. Many of my vintage peeps didn't know this and said they would have seen it long ago had they known. I found it delightful. The same month I excitedly went to see the new one from my man, M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin. What a bust this one was. The premise just does not hold up. I went to see Cocaine Bear to honour Ray Liotta, Air was above average while Renfield was below. Cocaine Bear was Citizen Kane compared to two shattering trips to the cinema that resulted in two of my most wretched experiences with film. More on this later.
My "Featured Image" game has gone next level
As research for articles, I watched all of the Psycho films to help me chart the life of Norman Bates and while searching for Lex Barker's European film The Treasure of the Silver Lake, I stumbled on the intriguing Under the Silver Lake (2018), a neo-noir with Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough and Topher Grace. For a retro-type like me, it was a fascinating look at how modern films are made today. Additionally, I watched as many as I could from directors Harvey Hart and William A. Graham in support of articles on their work.
See?
Now, I will try to restrain myself. On January 22nd, I watched Clint Eastwood's Breezy. It was just one of the films on my Cinema 73 list but it instantly took it's place among my three other favourite films; now I say I have four favourite films. Consider that the other three I have lived with for decades. But Breezy... Take it as indicative that I reviewed the film, added an article detailing what it "did" to me and completed the trilogy with some final thoughts. I gave it it's own category here at Vintage Leisure and I will say that I have a lot of writing related to this film in my trunk ready to share in 2024. What an experience it has been.
Now, conversely... I'm not very good at being negative here so I will keep this brief. Judging by the captivating mid-century visuals, I knew I had to see Asteroid City if it came to my local arthouse theatre. It did and I went. I was completely baffled. That is not to say that I did not understand the film's set up and presentation - I think I did - it's just that I could not fathom how an accomplished filmmaker could release such a film, a mainstream film, as it was. As I always say, I am not declaring Wes Anderson's movie bad or a failure; I'm smart enough to know that he is a fine filmmaker. However, Asteroid City bored me to tears, actually enraged me and I did something I have never done in my life - I got up and left the theatre.
Speaking of my yearly exploration of 50-year-old movies, this year's Cinema 73 went pretty well. I took on a big job, writing down 38 films I wanted to investigate and I made it through 28 of them. I love knowing little about the films and just going by titles, stars and/or directors and just diving in. Can you believe that Breezy was just the fifth movie on the alphabetical list? Simply the third '73 flick I got to? And then...bam, the earth moves? Can you believe it? I was impressed by the little known Executive Action, a thriller about the Kennedy assassination from screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan in his final film. The Mackintosh Man I was not prepared for and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Happily, it was part of a Newman DVD set I scored on a summer vacation. The Neptune Factor was good, Canadian fun and, actually, six in total made my list of highlights and I purchased three of them to preserve them on physical media. I'm tellinya, this "Cinema 50 Years Ago" thing I've started is great fun and working out swell.
My man
Shortly, I'll be talking about "bad" movies and this calls for a word about "bad vs. bad". I'm referring specifically to the difference between movies that you EXPECT to be bad and movies you think should be good but are disappointments. I don't go into a movie like Apache Blood with Ray Danton expecting a fine film but instead I'm hoping to get my kicks and maybe discover a hidden gem. It'll more likely, I assume, be like Tarantino taught me; "we didn't love the movie, we loved watching it". But in the case of other films, I had every reason to expect to be thrilled and impressed and I should have been based on reviews, reputation and street cred. For these to fall flat was inhumane and hurtful. Some I had really been anticipating and to be underwhelmed was really disappointing. So, it's about expectation, I guess. I watched the sequel to 9 1/2 Weeks because I wanted to see it not because I thought it would be good. That it was bad was no surprise. Other movies, though, should have delivered and didn't and that's the cruelest cut when it comes to exploring film.
SoulRide Picks
Breezy (1973)-- What more can I say? This movie altered my body chemistry. Only three other films in my life have affected me as much as this one has and unlike the other three, this one vaulted to the top of my list instantly and not through years of viewing through different stages of life. My obsession was frankly exhausting.
The Candy Snatchers (1973) -- I was chasing Tiffany Bolling. The young girl in Tony Rome went on to have a minor career making films and releasing one record I'd love to find. I was happy to discover The Candy Snatchers, an audacious and slightly bonkers exploitation/cult film about a band of misfit kidnappers. It was inspired by the kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle.
The Last Run (1971) -- Thanks, once again, to my man, Quentin Tarantino. Through his Video Archives Podcast with Gala and Roger Avary, I was hipped to this film starring a guy I've never really cottoned to, George C. Scott. Scott plays a career criminal who's days as a driver may be over. He takes one last job driving an escaped killer and his girl across Spain. This is one of those that I went into not knowing at all what to expect. I got fantastic locations and drawn into Scott's character's fate. This one was balls-out with some hard-boiled action and excellent stunt driving. I was particularly struck by Jerry Goldsmith's score.
Other highlights include: Tubi gifted me with the captivating documentary Milius about writer/director John who has had a singular career and who has written or directed some of my favourites, Dressed to Kill is another I heard about through Video Archives and is one I scored on DVD. This one taught me about the majesty of Brian De Palma. Jesus Revolution was a surprisingly invigorating trip to the cinema and this is an authentic presentation, Under the Silver Lake may be the most unusual viewing experience of my year and great locations, Sabrina it has taken me years to finally see and I found it enchanting, The Roommates was another gem from '73 that knew exactly what it was about, was winking at the camera the whole time and had me on the edge of my seat, The No Mercy Man (1973 again!) was surprisingly gritty, foolish and brutal with a good lead performance by Steve Sandor with support from Rockne Tarkington and Sid Haig, Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind is one of the finest docs I've ever seen, watched in the wake of my man's death, like with Sabrina, my maiden sit-down-and-watch-it viewing of Dr. Strangelove was long overdue and I bought at a garage sale on DVD the trilogy that began with The Omen. I don't normally truck with Satan movies but this story was handled well and the film was gripping. Like with the Psycho 3-movie set I bought, I watched these three Omen films on consecutive nights and passed the discs along. Like Dr. Strangelove, I had never really sat down to watch start to finish Judgement at Nuremberg. It is one of the most compelling films I have ever seen containing some astonishing performances, Cinema 73 struck again with the Hitchcock homage Wicked, Wicked, part of some Tiffany Bolling Film Fest I unintentionally embarked on this year. This one caught my eye as it featured Diane McBain in the notable-actress-who-gets-killed-early role, long concert films aren't really my bag but The Song Remains the Same reaffirmed my opinion that there really was no other band like Led Zeppelin and lastly I was among the many millions who were thoroughly staggered by Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer with Cillian Murphy.
Walk-Out Worthy
Miller's Crossing (1990) -- I'm a fan of film noir and of neo-noir and that is why I have long been ashamed to have never seen Devil in a Blue Dress nor the Coen Brothers' Miller's Crossing. Now do I feel shame? Well, let's say that I won't waste my time being sad I haven't seen a film ever again because what if it's lame? Like Miller's Crossing? How depressing to write these words. But this exemplifies what I said earlier; I should have loved this and it was Dullsville. Snore City, Indiana.
Say Anything... (1989) -- Speaking of shame, I have never seen Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink and I'm basically OK with that. I did feel bad having never seen my main man John Cusack in what could be described as a career-defining role. I expected to be enchanted with that thing you get from teen films of the Eighties. But...nothing.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) -- As much as I need to exercise restraint when talking about Breezy, I need to also take it easy here discussing Marty's mea culpa. Again - expectations. For obvious reasons, I had waited for a long time to see this Scorsese re-teaming with De Niro and Decap. I'll try to keep this brief. Check out my article on The Irishman. My thesis was that the Academy sacrificed Marty's old school gangster movie on the altar of "progress", in the name of "we don't exactly honour greatness anymore". So, I figured with his follow-up, this true story about villainous white men, Martin Scorsese was "playing ball". But Killers of the Flower Moon is not finger-pointing evisceration nor much of a demand that things be made right. It is just flat, nothing, emotionless. I'll refer to my Letterboxd review; "this film makes me feel nothing; not for anyone nor for anything. It is without passion, impetus or any discernible forward motion...Blandness is bad in a movie. Over three hours of it is excruciating".
Other Lowlights Include; a rockabilly flick in homage to Presley and Memphis, I was excited to watch Mystery Train but it was flaccid, I'm all for a low-budget drive-in flick but Apache Blood can barley be called a movie, Willie Dynamite is a blaxploitation film I had missed starring a cat from Sesame Street and while it was visually stimulating it was too cartoonish, I felt like a real cineaste watching Day for Night (1973) from the auteur François Truffaut and while Jacqueline Bisset is luminous and it is an interesting look at filmmaking it was too sprawling, one of my favourite filmmakers, M. Night Shyamalan, blew it with Knock at the Cabin, Love in Paris - the sequel to 9 1/2 Weeks - was absolutely ridiculous and then there's Kevin Smith's Tusk. I'd long been wanting to see my man Michael Parks "unleash his inner kraken" in this horror film that is impossible to see anywhere. I was thrilled to find it on DVD. So, I bought it. Then I watched it. This is a good reminder tonever buy a movie you've never seen. May stink. Asteroid City is unacceptable as "entertainment", La Dolce Vita is long and pointless even after I read up on it and understood it better, I didn't expect much from Priscilla and got even less, Stallone's Cobra was goofy, I thought I would love Richard Boone and beautiful Vera Miles in Hawaii-shot Kona Coast but it was poorly realized and suffered under the weight of Boone's machismo and Soul Hustler starring Fabian is just...broken.
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