2012 Films, Graded

Here we go... another film year. We're going to do this a bit differently I think than descending in letter grade order. This will be more like a screening log listed chronologically with the date screened and released, the most recent movies going up top.

13 Films Thus Far
Title (Director) Grade #of times seen if more than 1 Reviews if applicable 

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (John Madden) Review C+
The Avengers (Joss Whedon) Review | Sequel Wishlist B
Damsels in Distress (Whit Stillman) B-
Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard) C+
Mirror Mirror (Tarsem) Review C
The Hunger Games (Gary Ross) Review B-
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye (Marie Losier) D+
21 Jump Street (Phil Lord & Chris Miller) Review B
John Carter (Andrew Stanton) Review C+
Chronicle (Josh Trank) B-
Haywire (Steven Soderbergh) Review C
Miss Bala (Gerardo Naranjo) Capsule B
Hit So Hard (P David Ebersole) D 

2011 Releases Held Back To 2012 (aka dread one-week qualifiers)
Rampart (Oren Moverman) 2 Review, Interview B
Albert Nobbs (Rodrigo García) Review  C+

Screening Log Spring

I suppose I should keep track again, just for the helluva it.

3/17 Spontaneous diner breakfast and 10 am movie: 21 Jump Street (reviewed). Later that night emptied out DVR by catching up on Ringer, Modern Family and 30 Rock.
3/18 The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
3/19 TV Night: RuPaul's Drag Race (pissed we don't know what Willem did to get kicked off. I ♥ Willem) and Smash (reviewed)
3/20 Ladyhawke (1985) I haven't seen in forever but I used to watch it a lot in the 80s.

2011 Films, Graded

108 Films.
Last updated 01/03/12 | Links go to related writings when applicable.
Ordered Alphabetically by Grade | # = Multiple Viewings |  * = not yet released in theaters

14 extras were screened but not released (in preference order) The Loneliest Planet [REVIEW], The Last Summer of La Boyita, SuperClásico, Copacabana, Dog Sweat, Miss Bala [capsule], Aardvark, Stranger Things, Take Me Home, Domaine, Pig, Summer of Goliath, Whirligig, and The Wolf Knife

Do Not Miss Them

Cream of Crop

A
The Artist d. Michel Hazanavicius [REVIEW, top ten list] 2
A Separation d. Asghar Farhadi [REVIEW, top ten list] 2

A/A-  
Beginners  d. Mike Mills [REVIEW, top ten list] 2
Drive d. Nicolas Winding Refn [REVIEW,  top ten list] 3
Martha Marcy May Marlene d. Sean Durkin [REVIEW, top ten list] 2 
Poetry d. Lee Chang-dong [REVIEW,  top ten list]
Weekend d. Andrew Haigh [brief thoughts, INTERVIEW, top ten list] 2

A-/B+
Bridesmaids d. Paul Feig  [top ten list] 3
Certified Copy d. Abbas Kiarostami [7 word review, top ten list] 2 
Melancholia d. Lars von Trier 2 [ top ten list] 2
Moneyball d. Bennett Miller [REVIEW, top ten list] 2
Shame d. Steve McQueen [10 word review, a private party, honorable mentions] 2
Young Adult d. Jason Reitman  [honorable mentions] 2

Recommended with Enthusiasm

B+
The Future d. Miranda July
Heartbeats d. Xavier Dolan [REVIEW] 2
The Housemaid d. [10 word review,  honorable mentions] 2
Jane Eyre d. Cary Fukunaga [PODCAST] 2
Margaret d. Kenneth Lonergan
Midnight in Paris d. Woody Allen [PODCAST, honorable mentions] 2
Pariah d. Dee Rees [honorable mentions]
The Tree of Life d. Terrence Malick [thoughts , honorable mentions]
Tuesday After Christmas d. Radu Muntean [7 word review] 

B+/B
The Arbor d. Clio Barnard 2
Potiche d. François Ozon [10 word review] 
Project NIM d. James Marsh [capsule] 2
Rango d. Gore Verbinski [10 word review] 2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes d. Rupert Wyatt [10 word review]
The Skin I Live In d. Pedro Almodovar [Ode to Art Direction] 2
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives d. Apichatopong "Joe" Weerathesakul [REVIEW]

B
Attack the Block d. Joe Cornish
Captain America: The First Avenger d. Joe Johnston [REVIEW]
Crazy Stupid Love d. Ficarra and Requa [thoughts]
The Help d. Tate Taylor [REVIEW] 3
Higher Ground d. Vera Farmiga [Interview]
Pina d. Wim Wenders [10 word review]
Rampart d. Oren Moverman [REVIEW, Interview] 2

Recommended with Reservations

B/B-
50/50 d. [REVIEW]
Arthur Christmas d. Sarah Smith
Carnage d. Roman Polanski  [REVIEW]
Coriolanus d. Ralph Fiennes 
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close d. Stephen Daldry
The First Beautiful Thing [La Prima Cosa Bella] d. Paolo Virzi [brief thoughts]
Fright Night d. Craig Gillespie [REVIEW]
Hugo d. Martin Scorsese [brief note, the filmmakers] 3
The Ides of March d. George Clooney [10 word review]
Kinyarwanda d. Alrick Brown
Like Crazy d. Drake Doremus
Making the Boys d. Crayton Robery [brief thoughts]
Meek's Cutoff d. Kelly Reichard [7 word review,  PODCAST]
Of Gods and Men d. Xavier Beauvois [7 word review]
One Lucky Elephant d. Lisa Leeman [capsule]  
The Robber d. Benjamin Heisenberg [brief thoughts]
Submarine d. Richard Ayoade 
Take Shelter d. Jeff Nichols
Troll Hunter d. André Øvredal
Tyrannosaur d. Paddy Considine 
Warrior d. Gavin O'Connor [REVIEW]
Water for Elephants d. Francis Lawrence [REVIEW]
Win Win d. Thomas McCarthy

Toss up. Surely some of you will like these more and less than I did.

B-/C+
Anonymous d. Roland Emmerich
The Adventures of Tintin d. Steven Spielberg 
Beautiful Boy d. Shawn Ku
A Better Life d. Chris Weitz
A Dangerous Method d. David Cronenberg [thoughts] 
The Eagle d. Kevin McDonald [REVIEW]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo d. David Fincher   
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie d. Kevin Tancharoen [REVIEW]
Hanna d. Joe Wright
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 d. David Yates [REVIEW]
Love Crime d. Alain Corneau
The Muppets d. James Bobin
My Week With Marilyn d. Simon Curtis [REVIEW]
No Strings Attached d. Ivan Reitman
Our Idiot Brother d. [REVIEW]
Sons of Tennessee Williams d. Tim Wolff [capsule] 
Source Code d. Duncan Jones [10 word review] 
Super 8 d. JJ Abrams [Thoughts]
Thor d. Kenneth Branagh [REVIEW]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy d. Tomas Alfredson
Transformers Dark of the Moon d. Michael Bay [10 word review]
We Are What We Are d. Jorge Michel Grau [7 word review]
X-Men: First Class d. Matthew Vaughn [REVIEW]

Not recommended

C+/C
Albert Nobbs d. Rodrigo García
Arthur d. Jason Winer [review]
Contagion d. Steven Soderbergh
Curling d. Denis Côté 
The Descendants d. Alexander Payne 
Happy Happy d. Anne Sewitsky
Happythankyoumoreplease d. Josh Radnor [capsule]
War Horse d. Steven Spielberg 
We Need to Talk About Kevin d. Lynne Ramsay 

C/C-
The Adjustment Bureau d. George Nolfi
Meet Monica Velour d. Keith Bearden [10 word review]
W.E. d. Madonna

C-/D+
The Iron Lady d. Phyllida Lloyd 
Kaboom d. Gregg Araki [thoughts]
Nénette d. Nicolas Philibert [capsule]
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides d. Rob Marshall [REVIEW]
Vidal Sassoon the Movie d. Craig Teper

Make it stop

D+/D
Green Lantern d. Martin Campbell [REVIEW]
J Edgar d. Clint Eastwood [REVIEW]
The Other Woman d. Don Roos [review w/ comic strip!]
Septien d. Michael Tully  [10 word review]

D/D-
Abduction d. John Singleton [Thoughts, Worst of Year]
Beastly d. Daniel Barnz [Worst of Year]
Cars 2 d. John Lasseter & Brad Lewis [10 word review, Worst of Year]
I Am Number Four d. D.J. Caruso [capsule]
The Last Ride d. Harry Thomason 

F

November Screening Log

Best of the new shows: Revenge01 J EDGAR which is still under embargo though everybody seems to be talking about it openly which makes me wonder what good embargoes are? So odd. I'll have an interview up soon.

I also spent this day deleting shows from my DVR that I will keep watching if they stay on there even though they're not worth my time* So Goodbye: Terra Nova, Once Upon a Time, American Horror Story, The Walking Dead. On the bubble: Prime Suspect (loved it at first because Bello is A grade but it's really just a procedural so...)  Shanté You Stay: Revenge (♥), Ringer (guilty pleasure), New Girl (hilarious though I get why it would give some people hives) and various regulars that haven't worn out their welcome yet.
 

02 THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN which is also under embargo despite already being open in the UK and being reviewed in a bajillion places. (Embargoes be so weird!)  I spent the whole movie wishing I could actually look at a 2D Jamie Bell instead of a mocapped 3D version of him which tells you more about my own preferences than about the movie itself. 
03 LIKE CRAZY. I am officially the last Oscar pundit to see this movie. I liked it so much more than I was expecting to given everything I've heard about it (but still less than I was hoping given the Sundance hype). Everyone fell in love with Felicity Jones when this premiered but for me, I fell back in (mild) love with Anton Yelchin who I'd totally lost interest in. And was reminded that Jennifer Lawrence is a babe and a half. Zowie.
04-06 Finished emptying out the DVR. Have I ever told you how much I love NURSE JACKIE? I really do.
07-08 SUPERCLASICO Denmark's Oscar Submission was the only movie I watched but doing lots of movie-ish lunches for Oscar campaigns. So fun. Paprika Steen is always so worth watching.
09 NO STRINGS ATTACHED. Liked it much more than I was expecting to, actually. Must have had the same casting director as "The New Girl" since 'ironic girl' and the male lead from New Girl were both there.
10 PARKS & RECREATION.I think Ben and Leslie are maybe the best couple on television. And some more NURSE JACKIE which is just so smart and distinctive.
11 PUSS IN BOOTS tonight. Is it weird that I'm super excited for it? 
12 CORIOLANUS

13 PROJECT NIM, THE ARBOR, BRIDESMAIDS --- All half-assed rewatches while I worked. Then HANNA (wow that took me a lont time to get around to) and the Norwegian Oscar submission HAPPY HAPPY
14-22 Mostly I've been doing second viewings of screeners... but the highlights of this week were four: meeting THE MUPPETS again at long last, a Moma event honoring JOHN WATERS, a screening of YOUNG ADULT with the cast and an all guild screening of HUGO with the filmmakers.
23 Was meant to see THE IRON LADY on this day but they significantly overbooked the screening. Boo
24 The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and then later "A Very Gaga Christmas" which was... unfortunate.
25 DRIVE for the third time with three friends who had never seen it. Still love. It's weird though as each time I feel more outside of it looking in but I find it fascinating still.  
26 THE HELP again. Goddamn but Viola Davis is superb in that movie. she is kind she is smart she is important...totally elevates the whole thing. 

* NOT WORTH THE TIME for television indicates series that suck up precious eyeball time that you could be devoting to movies you haven't seen. If you find yourself watching TV shows regularly that you don't really enjoy but it's just habit (I believe this is an epidemic in the world) PLEASE delete them from your DVRs and watch classic movies instead. For every two weeks of a habit-forming TV drama you can see a classic movie you've never seen before! It will instantly make you both a more cultured person and a happier one. 

October Screening Log

1 "Terranova" (the pilot)... boy. Battlestar Galactica really wrecked the sci-fi genre didn't it? Everything else just seems, well, dumb in comparison.
2 Birthday Party for my bestie. No movies although a game was played in which you had those stickies on your forehead (like in Inglourious Basterds) and I was The Creature from the Black Lagoon. 
3 THE IDES OF MARCH. Then caught up on DVR goodies... I have mixed feelings about both "Pan Am" and "The Playboy Club" They're both obviously inspired by Mad Men but the lack of originality is not really the problem because the concepts and milieus are pretty solid. It's more the lack of period nuance and some of the casting (on each show). 

4 Okay so tonight's "Glee" was like the best episode in forever. It felt just like the lower key first half of season one, with humor, drama, dreams and good songs intermingling peacefully.
5 MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE believe the hype. Also watched that new show "American Horror Story" which was... odd. I'm glad Connie Britton's getting work but it was all over the place... as in several continents all over the place. 
6 SHAME and PINA hmmm. the hype may be a problem. but strong films nonetheless.
7-8 I attended a private party for Shame at the top of the Standard. Glitzy! I also finally caught up with WINWIN.
9 MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (reviewed)
10 HUGO (i wrote a quick note) and the latest episode of "Pan Am" (i'm absolutely in love with the actress who plays Colette)
11 THE SKIN I LIVE IN - Pedro was adorable in the press conference that followed. The film is *much* different than I was expecting. 
12-13 no movies. rough days for various reasons. I decide halfway through the second episode of American Horror Story that it definitely wasn't for me. I just don't care. at all. about the story of any of the characters and it's so messy. removed from DVR.

14 THE ARTIST and THE DESCENDANTS my last two screenings of this year's NYFF 
15 A BETTER LIFE with Demian Bichir. Has anyone seen that? I thought it clumsy in its underlining of all of its points and even worse in telegraphing all of its plot points (a shot of the lead character dropping the keys to the truck he just bought to change his life. [GROANNNN]. But Bichir is really affecting in that final scene. Tears! Also was in a light comedy mood last night so put in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. "PUTTINONDAAAAAARIIIIIITTTTTZ"  

P.S. The best parts were all actressy. Terri Garr (♥) Cloris Leachman (♥) the late great Kahn (♥♥♥) Moment I laughed the hardest: Madeline Kahn's ♫oh sweet mystery of life i've finally found uuuuuu♪

16-18I think mostly Showtime shows (switched from HBO after watching pilot of "Enlightened" which I liked but not enough to justify keeping expensive HBO for a whole new year while waiting for True Blood) so catching up on Nurse Jackie and Dexter. 
19 WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.
20 ANONYMOUS 
21-31 -- the longest i have gone without keeping this up. Oops. But i did kind of play hookey from the movies after the NYFF.