SINS OF OMISSION - Entries #12 - #21

WHAT IS A "SIN OF OMISSION"?
As noted many times in the recent past here at the "1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die" blog, in the next 6 months the ultimate goal of this blog will transform from 'one man's journey to watch all 1001 movies in the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book' to 'one man's journey to create his own, personal canon of 1,000 favorite films and show "those 1001 people" just how it's done! Sins of Omission will become a regular feature on the blog where I'll take one film (or many) that WAS NOT included in any incarnation of the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book and DOES NOT appear on the next list of 1000 films that I plan to tackle, give it a formal review and make it a permanent part of my list, which is entitled: 1000 Films You REALLY Should See Before You Die: A Personal, Ongoing Canon of My 1,000 Favorite FIlms.

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Okay, so I need to update that whole "What is a Sins of Omission" thing, because with this post, the way that I add a movie or movies to my personal 1,000 list will be a little different. From here on out, I will no longer add one film at a time to my personal list. In the past, you've seen reviews for such films as Sin City, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Closer and Escape from Alcatraz - me simply picking films I like and saying, "Yeah, these are good enough to be included as personal favorites and help fill out my personal 1.000 favorite movies list". However, this year, that will all change. From now on, what I'll do is this: Each time I watch 100 movies (that doesn't include BOOK movies), I'll sit down and choose ten of those to put on to my 1,000 list. It just so happens that last night, I watched my 100th film this year (again, NON-BOOK) and went ahead with plans to select 10 of them for "preservation" on my 1,000 favorite movies list. The following is a listing of the ten films I've chosen, including a brief paragraph or SOMETHING stating my reasons. We'll save giving these ten films proper reviews for sometime down the road when material for the blog is in demand. Now then....

CLICK HERE TO SEE A COMPLETE LIST OF THE 100 FILMS I'VE WATCHED, THAT WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE 1001 MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE LIST. THESE MOVIES WERE WATCHED BETWEEN JANUARY 2015 AND JUNE 2015

Entry #12
DOGVILLE (2003 - Lars von Trier) 10/10

Chosen because since I saw Dogville for the first time, I've really loved. Different from anything I've ever seen, I can remember going around after watching it and telling people, "Yeah, it's good. Get this - the whole thing takes place on a stage. Walls are drawn with chalk, even the dog is imagined." I can remember gushing about this movie, urging people to see it simply because it was so fresh and unique. The story is pretty fantastic/tragic too with Nicole Kidman giving one of her best ever performances and really the whole cast stepping up to do their best for von Trier. Actors like Chloe Sevigny, Siobahn Fallon, Patricia Clarkson and Paul Bettany have rarely been better. This is pretty definitively the best movie I've seen so far this year, BOOK or NON-BOOK.

Entry #13
BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965 - Otto Preminger) 8.5/10

I've found that some of my favorite films are the ones where I can't shut up during. I watched this with my wife, recorded off of TCM solely for the reason that the title intrigued me, and during the watching I can't tell you how many times I grabbed the remote, pushed the "pause" button and rattled off another one of my theories. I wanted her to know that if I was right about how it all ended up, I would be able to say, "I totally predicted that!". The beauty part? I must've rattled off ten or so theories and I still didn't guess the ending. I commented at the time that I wasn't pleased with the ending, but this film ending at all was going to be a disappointment. It was one of those that could've gone on for three, four, five hours and I would've happily sat like a good audience member.

Entry #14
TROLLHUNTER (2010 - Andre Ovredal) 8.5/10

Another one that I constantly talked through, my wife too, as our excitement just tended to overflow and spill out of us during the watching of one of the best horror films I've seen in years, probably. I'm a sucker for found footage films and this ranks right up there with The Blair With Project, except Trollhunter is more fun. Sure, it may be a bit silly at times, but it always takes itself seriously, which makes you want to take it seriously. Who's to say there aren't trolls roaming around the forests of Norway - I've never been there, who knows? Great, great movie that requires a suspension of disbelief, a wild imagination and a viewer that's ready for a fun day at the movies.

ENTRY #15
DRESSED TO KILL (1980 - Brian De Palma) 8/10

I'd wanted to see this movie for as long as I can remember. I dug Brian De Palma's work on Carlito's Way, for years one of my favorites and I'm also a big fan of Michael Caine. So knowing that there was a taut, suspense thriller that featured the work of both, it's something that sat upon my watch list for years. I finally saw it back in January when my wife and I were on a four day vacation and it's one of the few that actually lived up to years of me building it up in my head. A fantastic, gritty little thriller starring actors that aren't known for their sophistication (save for Caine, who's actually barely in it). Nancy Allen proves that looking like a twelve-year-old boy in Robocop was just a fluke, looking absolutely vivacious here as a call girl who helps Keith Gordon track down his mother's killer (the equally vivacious Angie Dickinson, looking stunning at nearly fifty years old). Throw in Dennis Franz as a smart ass cop and how can you go wrong?

Entry #16
CACHE (2005 - Michael Haneke) 8/10

I chose this because I've rarely been as intrigued by a movie as I was by Cache. It's another one that I've eyeballed for YEARS, always putting off seeing for some unknown reason. In fact, I think I'd wanted to see this since I saw Funny Games for the first time, which was something like 2007! Geez. I really don't know why I never got around to seeing it, but it finally happened back in January and honestly, it could've done with one or two more viewing immediately after finishing it. In choosing these ten films (which, may I say was extremely difficult, as there were upwards of thirty really strong candidates), I asked myself, "Do I really want to choose a film that I don't think I really, fully even understood?". The ultimate answer was "yes", because again, it was just too damn intriguing to pass up on. When choosing these movies, I, at times, looked at it as, "Which ten of these 100 would I take with me to a deserted island, to watch and rewatch for the rest of my life". I also looked at it as, "Which of these films would I feature if I owned a video store or a movie theater?". Cache was an easy answer to both questions. If you want more rambling from yours truly, you can click here for my thoughts and theories on the film.

Entry #17
THE HUNT (2012 - Thomas Vinterberg) 9/10

For the unaware, I actually also have a Letterboxd account where I post reviews, including reviews I write for the blog, as well as an occasional oddball review that I'll write for a movie that I just have a lot of thoughts about. I wrote a review for The Hunt (which can be found here) and noted how it was a horror film, without a monster. This was probably one of the five best films I've seen since January 1st, even including BOOK movies and was an easy choice to showcase in my list. Thomas Vinterberg is fast becoming someone that I need to see the rest of their filmography, as The Celebration is also featured on my 1,000 list and is basically the counterpart of The Hunt. Check out my review for further thoughts and analysis.

Entry #18
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957 - Billy Wilder) 8.5/10

Wilder at the helm, a fantastic, funny and dramatic Charles Laughton and dynamite performances from both Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Power. It's another case of "what's not to like". It's also a courtroom drama, perhaps the mother of all courtroom dramas. It's a little known fact around the blog, that I actually grew up on courtroom dramas, my father always sniffing out that genre during trips to the various video stores around town, which were frequent. Being a kid in my house, you either watched what your parents watched or you didn't watch anything and being a TV junkie, I opted to watch what my parents watched. Also another one that's been on my watchlist for a while (I guess I just know my own tastes), I didn't hesitate to "DVR" this when I saw it pop up on the TCM schedule back in February.

Entry #19
127 HOURS (2010 - Danny Boyle) 8/10

This was actually the last one that I selected as part of these ten movies. Ultimately, I had to admit that this was just too good to pass up on. It's a story that will constantly have you saying things like "Wow" and "Oh my God" to yourself. Franco is great and it actually makes you forget the atrocities he starred in alongside Seth Rogen (actually I have never seen The Interview or Pineapple Express, I'm just assuming). You've also got Boyle at the helm, which is always good for business. This could've easily been a trainwreck - I mean, it's basically a whole film with just James Franco. However, Boyle spins it so that it's always interesting and always heartbreaking. There were a dozen other choices, but in the end, I'm happy I picked this one.

Entry #20
CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON (1972 - Eric Rohmer) 8/10

Let's look at the statistics: I've seen a total of three Eric Rohmer films in my life and all three are now included as part of my, what will eventually be, 1,000 list. I think that means that I need to get to work and see the rest of the Rohmer filmography, as I wouldn't be surprised if there was a handful more movies waiting to be added to my list. This was right up my alley, very Woody Allen with a French twist. I'm coming to really love French cinema, especially the types that deal with infidels. Although to be fair, SPOILER ALERT! Frederic wasn't an infidel END SPOILER ALERT! Also, how hot was Zouzou? The whole film was basically one, giant tease and what man among us has not been teased by a woman? I could almost feel the inner sexual yearning of Frederic. Another easy choice.

Entry #21
THE OUT OF TOWNERS (1970 - Arthur Hiller) 8/10

I'm really beginning to love old comedies and another new discovery for me is Neil Simon. In fact, you could nickname this vacation I'm currently on the Summer of Simon, as it's the vacation where I discovered both The Out of Towners and The Goodbye Girl, both really good comedies, with the former being very laugh out loud funny, which is something that I can't say for a lot of comedies personally. I just can't take modern comedies too much anymore - too much lewd behavior, too much cursing. I much prefer something like this to laugh at - Sandy Dennis exclaiming over and over again that "she's not worried" and her classic "Oh My God!". Lemmon was sensational as the annoyed George Kellerman, with his list of all the people that he'd sue. Good stuff all around and even though I only watched this last week, I knew it was something I wanted to include.

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Well there you have it. Like I said, I passed on about twenty other really, REALLY good movies. One could argue that I should have chosen more than ten, but I want my 1,000 list to be an exclusive club as opposed to an easy to get into type of joint. Movies like Whiplash, Rififi, Killer's Kiss, Sexy Beast, Nymphomaniac, Melancholia, Carnal Knowledge, The Miracle Worker and even Rocky (a BOOK movie that I watched years ago and decided to give a second chance at making it into the fold) were all fantastic examples of near flawless cinema that I just didn't have room for. Feel free to peruse the master list, which I linked to at the top and share your opinions. Which favorites of yours did I omit? What did I get right? So on and so forth...

Want some links? Wanna save my entire 1,000 list (which as of today, sits at just 290 films) on some popular websites? You got it!

IMDB
Listal
Letterboxd
ICheckMovies

June 22, 2015  7:38pm