End of Year Ketchup

234. 12/20 – Don Jon* – A man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets the girl of his dreams (Scarlett Johansson) but porn gets in the way. (VOD) 7/10

235. 12/20 – Runner, Runner* –  A man (Justin Timberlake) loses a bunch of money playing online poker and ends up going to Costa Rica to work for the man (Ben Affleck) who was responsible for his loss. (VOD) 6/10

236. 12/21 – Insidious Chapter 2* – More of the same but it worked. (DVD) 6/10

237. 12/21 – Out of the Furnace* – Christian Bale and Casey Affleck are brothers in a small Rust Belt town. Bale goes to jail and Affleck gets in trouble with Woody Harrelson and his inbred kinfolk. Horrible things ensue. (Cinema) 8/10

238. 12/23 – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug* – The incredible dragon Smaug (voiced perfectly by Benedict Cumberbatch) was the star of this one. Gorgeous film that is best seen in HFR 3D. (Cinema) 9/10

239. 12/24 – Black Christmas – Holiday horror classic from Bob Clark. (DVD) 8/10

240. 12/26 – Prince of Darkness – A cast of John Carpenter regulars play scientists who are researching something evil. (Bluray) 8/10

241. 12/26 – Blade Runner: The Final Cut* – It’s hard to say if this is better than the theatrical version but it’s still a fantastic film. (Bluray) 8/10

242. 12/27 – In the Mouth of Madness – Sam Neill plays an insurance investigator looking into the disappearance of author Sutter Cain. Madness ensues.  (Bluray) 9/10

243. 12/27 – Contest* – Feature film about bullying that plays like an afterschool special. Too wholesome for me.  (DVD) 5/10

244. 12/27 – C.O.G.* – A Yale student hits the road and ends up picking apples in Oregon. (Netflix) 7/10

245. 12/28 – Sightseers* – Two Brits head off for an RV holiday and things go south quickly. (Netflix) 7/10

246. 12/28 – National Lampoon’s Dad’s Week Off* – How Henry Winkler could act in such a pile of dreck is beyond me. (Netflix) 5/10 Sorry, no trailer for this. Full movie on YouTube in ten parts, below is the first.

247. 12/30 – Not Fade Away* – Story about a band in New Jersey in the late 60’s hoping for fame and fortune (Netflix) 6/10

248. 12/30 – Losers Take All* – Funny film about a punk band in 1986 trying to make it.  (Netflix) 7/10

249. 12/30 – You’re Next* – A family’s anniversary celebration is interrupted by a gang of crossbow wielding killers. (VOD) 7/10

250. 12/30 – American Hustle* – A fictionalized account of some incidents in the Abscam investigation in the late 1970s. Stellar performances by Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence. (Cinema) 8/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

One More Post and the Year is Done

285. 12/21 – El Día de la Bestia – Alex de la Iglesia’s best and my favorite Christmas film (DVD-R)

286. 12/21 – Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap* – Documentary about how rappers write and perform. Good stuff! (Netflix)

287. 12/21 – Premium Rush* – Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a reckless bicycle messenger. (DVD)

288. 12/21 – Total Recall* – Not bad for a remake (DVD)

289. 12/21 – Louis C.K. Chewed Up* – Very funny standup special. (Netflix)

290. 12/22 – Flight* – One of the best setups ever and a stellar performance from Denzel Washington. (Cinema)

291. 12/23 – Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds – I wish this tour would come to the US. (DVD)

292. 12/23 – Bernie* – Jack Black plays a strange man who befriends and then kills and elderly woman. Based on a  true story.

293. 12/23 – Miami Connection* – “The best movie you never saw.” 80’s cheese at it’s best (DVD)

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Will I Hit 300 Films This Year?

270. 12/07 – Batman Begins – Then start of something magnificent. (Bluray)

271. 12/07 – The Dark Knight + The Dark Knight Rises – Part two and three of one of the greatest trilogies in history. After seeing “The Dark Knight Rises” three times in the theater I thought “The Dark Knight” was the best of the series. After watching all three in a row I am now of the opinion that “The Dark Knight Rises” was the best. More Bruce Wayne instead of Batman was key to it along with the amazing performances from Gary Oldman and Michael Caine. (Bluray)

272. 12/08 – Rape Squad AKA Act of Vengeance* – Gritty rape revenge movies from the ‘70’s. Not very brutal with lots of overacting. (Netflix)

273. 12/08 – Deadhead Miles* – Alan Arkin plays a truck driver who hits the road for no apparent reason. Is he mentally ill or not? This near-plotless road film was written by Terrence Malick and features cameos from Richard Keil, Ida Lupino, George Raft, Loretta Swit and maybe others I did not recognize. Weird stuff. (Netflix) Sorry, no trailer. Full movie is on YouTube, here is part 1

274. 12/08 – UHF – Weird Al Yankovic’s finest hour. Spatula City!!! (On Demand)

275. 12/09 – Manic* – Strong drama about teens in a mental institution featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt,  Zooey Deschanel and Don Cheadle. Good stuff. (On Demand)

276. 12/09 – The Hole* – 2009 family friendly horror from Joe Dante. Not too bad. (Netflix)

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history