I resolved to see fewer movies this year. It worked, though getting laid off & thus not being able to afford them was probably not the best way to go about it.
Total: 235 (full list here)
…plus 7 other (NT Live, etc)
Revival: 78 (!!!)
SIFF: 61 (+screeners)
Other festivals: Noir City (12), SLGFF (6).
Free: previews (21), SIFF volunteer (102)
Favorite: Upstream Color forever and ever amen
…followed closely by: Her, Before Midnight, Frances Ha.
Also: 12 Years a Slave, Short Term 12, Blancanieves, When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep, Prince Avalanche, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Gravity, Fruitvale Station, Spring Breakers, Stoker, Byzantium, Inside Llewyn Davis, Enough Said.
Best popcorn movies: This Is the End, The World’s End, The Heat, Catching Fire, The Kings of Summer, The Way Way Back, The Conjuring, Pain & Gain.
Best documentaries: The Act of Killing, Big Joy, Stories We Tell, Planet of Snail (which I think was actually last year, but whatever, I saw it in 2013 & this is my blog).
Best music documentaries: The Punk Singer, A Band Called Death, 20 Feet From Stardom.
Favorite queer films: Concussion, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Beyond the Hills.
Under the radar stuff worth checking out: In a World…, An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, Le Skylab, Gimme the Loot, The Angels’ Share, Flicker, The Rocket.
Strong argument for more lady film critics: Austenland.
Notable performances in flawed films: Amy Acker’s fierce Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Jake Gyllenhaal’s restrained detective in Prisoners, Adèle Exarchopoulos’s wide open self discovery in Blue Is the Warmest Color (to call this film flawed is generous; I actively hated it), & Leonardo DiCaprio as the heart of The Great Gatsby.
Best revival experiences: Woody Allen & James Bond at Grand Illusion, Noir City as always, Auntie Mame as always, The Godfather Pt 2, Safety Last, M, & Cabaret (for obvious reasons, but also because of the guy sitting behind me who had no idea what he was getting into).
I spent the second half of the year watching television, so let’s do an honorable mention for some tv full of awesome ladies: Orphan Black (so good I’ve already watched it three times), Orange Is the New Black, Bletchley Circle, Bomb Girls & Call the Midwife (both of which I just discovered this year), Top of the Lake, & The Good Wife (which has been doing fantastic character work for four years, paying off big time in this fifth season).
Extra honorable mention: The Night of the Doctor, part of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, for beautifully bringing back *my* Doctor.
Have yet to see: All Is Lost, August: Osage County, The Broken Circle Breakdown, Go For Sisters, The Great Beauty, Nebraska, Wadjda, probably more I’m forgetting.
What did I miss? What titles would you like me to talk a little more about?
wicked jaws 