I saw six movies for the first time in April, up one from last month but down one from a year ago.  My ratings this month averaged out to 3.41, an increase over March and the second highest of the year thus far behind January.  I remain ahead of last year in total movie viewings, with 29 as of the end of April, compared to the 24 I had seen at this point last year.  I saw a single 2008 release, the direct-to-DVD animated film Justice League: The New Frontier.  I saw one picture from last year, the creepy The Mist.  Included in my viewings was a rare documentary, Hoop Dreams, and what is probably the oldest film I have ever seen: the silent German Expressionist horror film, Nosferatu.  Following, I saw the fictional making of Nosferatu picture, Shadow of the Vampire.  Slipping in at the end was my first viewing of Gladiator, a movie I found good but not great.  My repeat viewings included Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (the best of the Potter films), and two Batman adaptations: Batman (a nostalgic favorite) and Batman Begins (my 2005 favorite film of the year).

’20s: 1

’90s: 1

’00s: 4

I am continuing with the first season of The X-Files and Twilight Princess.

Performance of the Month (only new viewings): Max Schreck in Nosferatu; runner-up: Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire as Max Schreck.

Rewatches: Batman, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Batman Begins

I just viewed Justice League: The New Frontier (***.5/****) tonight, the second in what looks to be an ongoing series of Direct-to-DVD movies from DC Comics (the next will be a collection of Batman short-stories entitled Gotham Knight). While I wasn’t a big fan of the first title, Superman Doomsday, this one not only gets it right, but tells a pretty great story as well. This direct adaptation of the recent classic DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke isn’t perfect, but it’s just right for fans. If you don’t know who Batman is or can’t get over the fact that superpowers exist, you’re gonna be in trouble. The film focuses mostly on Green Lantern (Hal Jordan version), with Martian Manhunter and the Flash getting sizable roles as well. In fact, the film oftentimes seems to be a Green Lantern origin story (Martian Manhunter is also supplied with an origin). The more well known characters like Batman and Superman have much smaller roles, supporting the new guys and lesser knowns. My favorite thing about the movie? The 1950′s time period is left intact from the original comic (which was published in 2004). Set right between The Golden Age of comics and The Silver Age, The New Frontier takes place in the midst of the space race and McCarthyism. If I’m going to watch Justice League, I prefer it to be retro.

The voice acting is strong, but the main one I’d like to talk about is Jeremy Sisto (Law and Order) as Batman. No Kevin Conroy? No Conroy indeed. And yes, the first time you hear him speak it does through you for a loop. Undoubtedly this is a bigger problem for fanboys like myself who’ve been listening to Conroy exclusively for over 15 years now. And Conroy isn’t done, he returns as the Caped Crusader in this summer’s TDK tie-in Gotham Knight. But Sisto does a good job. The voice fits and I’d like to see him return to the character in a future project. Perhaps more animated Justice League movies will be on the way, giving us another chance to hear his take on the character. While I’ll never turn down Conroy, perhaps there is room for another voice actor.

The costumes are wonderfully retro and the Martian Manhunter’s story is probably my favorite of the film, aside from the few scenes we get with Batman of course. Thankfully, the two characters manage to overlap a bit. Overall, this is how the Justice League should be done and it even makes me wonder if I ever want to see the JLA in live action. Obviously the current version of the project Warner Bros. is prepping would be a disaster, but I might still like to see a film done in the future. The Justice League is a tough nut to crack. You’ve got to get it just right, or else it all falls apart. Rest assured, The New Frontier got it right. Let’s just hope those live action folks do the same.

My movie viewing slowed in the past month, dropping a full 50% from February.  Despite this, it was a good month averaging 3.2 out of 4 stars, up impressively from 2.4 in February but down from 3.6 in January.   Even with the slower month, I remain well ahead of my movie count from 2007, with 23 new movies having been viewed since the new year began.  I saw no 2008 releases and all but one film was from 2007.  Sunshine and Michael Clayton both lived up to expectations, while Into the Wild disappointed and The King of Kong soared to among my ’07 favorites.  My sole classic was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a fine film that didn’t quite live up to my expectations.  I think I’d like it more on repeat viewing.   Oddly enough, all three of my rewatches were 2007 films.  My only theater experience of the month was a rewatch of the superb No Country for Old Men, a very worthy Best Picture winner.

’70s: 1

’00s: 4

I am continuing with the first season of The X-Files and began Barack Obama’s memoir, Dreams from my Father.  I also watched the first, and so far only, season of the HBO series Flight of the Concords.  It is probably worth its own blog entry.  A terrific musical comedy, it came out of nowhere for me.  You can blame some of my movie-less nights on the new Nintendo Wii system I finally got my hands on.  After, literally, months and months of searching the Wii was found.  I am currently playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.  Thanks to school, things are moving slowly on that front.

Rewatches:  The Darjeeling Limited, No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton

This month I saw a surprising 10 films for the first time. Most of the films I saw (6) were from 2007 as I continue to catch up on the year and prepare my top 10 list. Like January, I saw only a single 2008 release, this time Semi-Pro, a movie I would recommend to Will Ferrell fans and only Will Ferrell fans. It is definitely in the lower tier of Ferrell movies.

’50s: 1

’00s: 9

Not much diversity in time periods this time around, mostly reflecting my desire to see all of the ’07 releases I can before starting any sort of top 10 list. Three films were seen in theater, while two came from regular television with commercials. For the first time, I saw a film through Netflix’s Instant Watch option. The rest came through DVD rentals.

Sadly, I was unable to finish North by Northwest, what was to be my first complete Hitchcock viewing. The biggest surprise of the month was easily Gone Baby Gone, while Atonement was a massive disappointment. I feel I may have rated that particular film too high. In better news, There Will Be Blood finally arrived in my area. A great film showcasing an incredible performance from Daniel Day-Lewis.

I began watching The X-Files from the beginning and also read The Great Gatsby for the third time in my life. The first was in high school, the second in college, this was the first time I’ve read it simply for pleasure.

Rewatches: Ghostbusters, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (’07)

Introduction

The year 2007 was the strongest year for film that I’ve witnessed since movies became a small hobby of mine. I’m not sure when I began reading about film on the internet, but I do recall racing home from my first viewing of The Fellowship of the Ring to see what the message boards were saying about it. I had no expectations going in, no prior knowledge, and the experience was so great that I had to seek out others to discuss it with. I think that was the beginning, as best as I can recall, and since then I’ve been following film with greater interest each year. This interest of mine reached a peak in 2007, only I hope that it continues to climb. Not only did I see more films in 2007 than I believe I have ever seen before (65), I saw more new releases and had more theater viewings than ever before. There are two reasons for this, I think. Firstly, as I said before, my interest has been building over the years, and this is simply the highest that it has yet reached. But also, this was a good movie year. A very good year for film. And when you have a good year, you can’t help but see more movies.

2007 was the first year during this period that a single “franchise” film has not stood out to me as one of the best of the year. For a few years it was LOTR, then Spidey 2, Batman Begins, and Casino Royale. There isn’t a single film I would refer to as a “franchise” film in my top ten. That’s a bit of a surprise. I saw 8 of them. Is it because of the strength of other films or the weakness of the franchises? I’d say both. Not that there are not franchise films from 2007 worth viewing, but none rose above the pack for me. So you’ll notice a lack of the type of film that you might usually associate with a very high spot on my end of the year lists.

I’ll get to my top ten list a little later (a list that is and probably will continue to be in flux), but right now I’m going to give out a couple of “awards.” A few distinctions that I thought I would make. I’ll pick my favorite “franchise” film of the year, my favorite comedy, and my favorite animated film. So…

FRANCHISE FILM OF THE YEAR (2007)
Winner: THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
Hon. Mentions: Live Free or Die Hard, The Simpsons Movie, TMNT

I’m not a huge Bourne fan. I don’t have anything against the films, not even that shaky cam. But it is hard for me to deny that the third and supposedly final installment of the film series was the best franchise film of the year. It’s a tense, intelligent thriller that puts to shame nearly every other action movie released this year. It’s the best, but not my favorite. My heart really lies with my three honorable mentions in this category. None of these three are great movies, but they are solid enough and represented their respective franchises with honor. The biggest similarity between these three, is the adversity that each faced on the road to release. Live Free or Die Hard was a high-number sequel to one of the best action films of all time, saddled with the age of an old franchise and a rating no one was pleased with. The Simpsons Movie was only a decade too late. Even though the show is still airing, the glory days are long behind us and nearly everyone agreed that the best time for this movie was 10 years ago. Few believed the staff still had it in them to give us a good Simpsons tale. And TMNT, a stab at the revitalization of a once believed, long gone franchise. Whether the film succeeded in sparking more interest in the series is still unknown, but it was certainly a favorable entry into a franchise that hadn’t had a good film in 17 years.

ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR (2007)
Winner: RATATOUILLE
Hon. Mentions: The Simpsons Movie, TMNT

I have no problem admitting that I probably haven’t seen all of the animated fare I should have in 2007, but there is still no excuse to not recognize Pixar’s latest cinematic achievement. The animation in Ratatouille is breathtaking, but the glorious pictures are rivaled by the quality of writing and voice acting to bring this picture to life. I’ll get back to this film later, so I won’t dwadle. It was truly a thrill this summer to see Springfield and its denizens brought to life on the big screen for the first time in The Simpsons Movie. TMNT also produced some stirring visuals, particularly in bringing amazing, kinetic motion to the mutant turtles in a way fans had never seen before. The heroes moved so fluidly, in a way that I had imagined in my head for decades.

COMEDY OF THE YEAR (2007)
Winner: SUPERBAD
Hon. Mentions: Hot Fuzz, Knocked Up, The Simpsons Movie

Comedies are forever the red-headed step-children of the cinematic world. Dramas will always dominate when it comes to end of the year accolades it seems. But no matter, I saw several comedies this year and enjoyed many of them tremendously. Top of the list, without a doubt, is Superbad. This was a film so funny I had to see it twice before it left theaters. Honestly, it has been a long time since I have laughed this much during any film. In giving out this distinction, I’m going for pure hilarity, and Superbad brought it more than anyone else. That doesn’t mean that they were not other successes this year, however. Hot Fuzz, Knocked Up, and The Simpsons Movie all brought an above average number of smiles to my face. I commend each of them.

One month into the new year. I’ve seen eight films for the first time, experienced two theater viewings, and caught my first 2008 release. It’s been a strong month, dominated, as usual, by the prior year rather than the present. My sole ’08 viewing was Cloverfield, an unusual, but strong, entry into the monster-attacks-city genre. Coming out of the movie, my only complaint was the nausea.

’50s: 1

’70s: 1

’90s: 2

’00s: 4

Aside from seeing a couple of classics like Schindler’s List and Young Frankenstein, the biggest addition to my movie database was my introduction to Akira Kurosawa. His Seven Samurai was the first of his filmography that I have sampled. While no doubt a solid film, I’m still struggling to rate it. It is one of those I nearly find impossible to rate. However, I will say that I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more of the Japanese legend’s work.

Rewatches: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (’01), This is Spinal Tap (’84), TMNT (’07)

My thoughts, my heart, and my prayers go out to Heath Ledger’s family, friends, fans, and mostly his young daughter. God bless you all.

I had never been a huge Ledger fan. I’d seen some of his work and knew that he was talented, but I wasn’t what you would call a fan. Then, in the summer of 2006, Heath was announced as the new Joker in the upcoming ‘The Dark Knight.’ While a surprising choice, I was thrilled. I really felt that this was right. This was the man to bring my favorite villain of all time to the big screen, just the way he was meant to be. Since then, I can honestly say that I’ve thought about Heath Ledger nearly every day. I know, that sounds weird, even creepy, but ‘Batman’ is a hobby for me. I come in at the end of the day, get online, and check Batman-on-Film.com for the latest news, pictures, interviews, whatever. I’ve followed the making of the film, the marketing of the film, everything. I’ve looked at the pictures and I’ve seen the trailers, dozens of times. I know that Heath Ledger gave an astounding performance in ‘The Dark Knight,’ and through this process, I became a fan of his.

I heard the news on the radio this afternoon, sitting in traffic as I left for home. My jaw, literally, dropped. At first I thought I must have misheard, but they repeated the name. I still couldn’t believe it. I rushed home, put on the news and pulled up the internet. It was true. Even so, I still almost can’t believe it. I’ve been shocked to my core. Rattled. Even terrified. Never have I experienced this amongst all the deaths of the famous people of the world.

In the future, I’ll comment on what this means for my favorite film franchise, my favorite characters, my most anticipated movie, but right now isn’t the time for me to do that. I’ve filled this post with thoughts about myself, and that’s damned selfish of me. A wonderful talent was lost today. But also a fellow human being, aged only 28 years. He has a young daughter, only 2 years old. My heart goes out to her in ways I cannot express.

I am speechless, but I somehow continue to ramble. If anyone ever needed an example of life being unfair, look no further.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m breaking the year down into only 3 seasons, each of four months, which I’ll call Spring (Jan-April), Summer (May-Aug), and Fall (Sept-Dec+). Counting only the 2007 releases, I averaged my ratings for all the movies seen in each time period, not counting any ’07s I saw on DVD release. The winner? It has to be Fall, right? Let’s see…

Spring: 5 releases with an average of 2.70.

Summer: 8 releases with an average of 3.13.

Fall: 6 releases with an average of 3.58.

DVD: 4 releases with an average of 3.00.

Obviously, at least in 2007, and according to my own individual opinions, the Fall held up to its reputation as the best film-going season of the year.  And according to my DVD stats, it seems like there might be a reason the movies I don’t see in the theaters get pushed back to a DVD release.  The average of DVD releases, thus far, is higher only than the Spring average.  Also interesting to note, I saw the most movies in the summer, thus far.  What does this mean?  Nothing.  But I thought it was interesting.

Maybe I’ll do an update later to see if more DVD releases flatten out the averages.  I wonder if every year would produce similar results?  Either way, looks like I might be right in looking forward to the Fall for movies every year.

I kicked off the year with my first film viewing of 2008, Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein.  And with this first viewing comes a brand new page for 2008.  You’ll be able to find all of my ratings, along with a list of every new film I see in 2008, on the RATE 2008 page.  Currently, I have it structured just as I did ’07.  Also, I’ll be updating the ’07 page as I see more and more releases from the year.  In fact, I hope to see a few 2007 films this month.  As always, I do my best to keep my ‘Rate’ pages as up to date as possible.  If you are ever curious as to what I’ve seen or what I thought about it, look no further.

It is technically Christmas Day, but for me it is still Christmas Eve. In my life, 2006 marked the end of my traditional Christmases, the final Christmas of my childhood in a way, even though I was quite old for that. Life is very different now, and Christmas will never been the same. But I’ve tried to hold close to a few of my Christmas traditions and even start some new ones, despite being slightly thwarted this year.

The ones I missed:

David Letterman – Thanks writers’s strike. No Dave for me this year. No meatball atop the Christmas tree or any of those other beloved, annual traditions. Not even a rerun. Maybe next year.

Love Actually – I’ve watched it in the run-up to the last two Christmases and planned to make it three in a row this year, but apparently Netflix shutdown around the holiday and I didn’t get my DVD in time. I’ll still watch it afterwards, but it won’t be quite the same. I’ll have to procure the movie earlier next year.

The Simpsons – The very first episode of the series is a Christmas special. Several years ago I was given my first DVD player on Christmas by my parents, and with that player, they gave me the first season of The Simpsons on DVD. So that Christmas night I watched the first episode, a wonderful oldie Simpsons episode, revolving around the adoption of Santa’s Little Helper. Then I left my DVD set at my apartment when I came home for Christmas, no go for this new stab at an annual event.

The Office – This, my favorite current television comedy, has already produced two Christmas episodes. Last year I watched both during the holiday season, but once again, I left my DVD sets. Thankfully I had season 2′s “Christmas Party” on my computer. So I got a little taste, if not a full helping. Again, thank the writers’s strike for the loss of any chance at a third Christmas episode.

Die Hard – One of my favorite films of all time, and it just happens to be Christmas themed! No dice. I’ve wanted to buy it for a couple of years now, but the multitude of DVD versions out there is slowing me down, along with the terrible reviews for the DVD transfer. Hopefully I’ll have it by next year.

Those Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes – You know the ones (I hope), love ‘em.

The one I made:

A Christmas Carol - I read Dickens’s classic when I was just a kid, too young to really appreciate the story. This year I bought the tale (along with his other works, The Chimes and A Cricket on the Hearth) and read it again in the days leading up to Christmas Eve. This is still the only Dickens I’ve been able to complete, and it remains a favorite of mine. For any swipes at sentimentality critics may levy at it, I find it to be a near, if not completely, perfect Christmas story. The tale is entertaining, moving, and chilling, while succeeding in making me want to be a better person. The world would be a much better place if people sat down and read this little miracle each year, and took it to heart.

The one I kept:

Christmas Vacation – Okay, this one is no masterpiece, but it’s still the best “Christmas movie” I’ve ever seen. Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie is a wonder to behold, and that infamous squirrel still gets me every time.