April 2018 Film Log

Another month attending a film festival provides a boost to the overall numbers, with nearly half of what I saw coming in a five-day period at Roger Ebert's Film Festival.  The end of the semester and other pressures on time put a pinch on the usual amount I'd devote to watching movies, but I recognize that I still see way more than most people.

Dario Argento is one of those directors who I'm aware of but largely unfamiliar with, so I made the effort to catch a couple of his earlier films when they played in Columbus as part of a month-long series.  I wanted to see SUSPIRIA the most, but the only time available to me was a 12:15 a.m. screening before I had a 7:00 a.m. flight to Denver.  I gave serious consideration to going, but physical fatigue persuaded me that it would be extremely foolish to drag myself to a screening that I'd probably fall asleep during.

One note on a grade: I left a placeholder question mark for the Japanese silent film A PAGE OF MADNESS because I have no idea what to make of it, especially as the late afternoon festival drowsiness made this dream-like (or nightmarish) film even hazier.

-13th (Ava DuVernay, 2016): B

-American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, 2003): B+ -- 35mm; 2nd viewing

-Avengers: Infinity War (Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, 2018): C -- Cinemark XD

-Beirut (Brad Anderson, 2018): B

-Belle (Amma Asante, 2013): B -- 2nd viewing

-The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 1998): A -- 35mm; repeat viewing

-The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo) (Dario Argento, 1970): B- -- 4K restoration

-Blockers (Kay Cannon, 2018): B-

-Columbus (Kogonada, 2017): A -- 2nd viewing

-Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991): B -- 2nd viewing

-Deep Red (Profondo rosso) (Dario Argento, 1975): B- -- 4K restoration

-The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993): B -- repeat viewing

-Gemini (Aaron Katz, 2017): B

-Goldstone (Ivan Sen, 2016): C-

-Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014): A -- 70mm; 3rd viewing (2nd in 70mm)

-Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson, 2018): B-

-Loveless (Nelyubov) (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2017): B

-A Page of Madness (Kurutta ippêji) (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926): ? -- with Alloy Orchestra accompaniment

-A Quiet Place (John Krasinski, 2018): B+

-Rambling Rose (Martha Coolidge, 1991): B+ -- 35mm

-Rampage (Brad Peyton, 2018): C-

-Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana, 2017): B-

-Selena (Gregory Nava, 1997): C -- 35mm

-Truth or Dare (Jeff Wadlow, 2018): C-

-Where is Kyra? (Andrew Dosunmu, 2017): C

-You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2017): B

Shorts:

-Aspirational (Matthew Frost, 2014): B

The top films new to me (current releases):

-A Quiet Place
-You Were Never Really Here
-Gemini
-Loveless (Nelyubov)
-Beirut

The top films new to me (repertory):

-Rambling Rose
-13th
-Deep Red (Profondo rosso)
-The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo)

Viewing locations & formats:

-Theatrical viewings: 26 (DCP: 21, 35mm: 4, 70mm: 1)
-Home viewings: 0
-Live accompaniment: 1

April Totals:

-# of screenings: 26
-# of unique films seen: 26 features and 1 short
-# of feature films new to me: 19

Year-to-date Totals:

-Theatrical viewings: 90 (DCP: 83, 35mm: 5, 70mm: 2) (includes one live performance & one live accompaniment)
-Home viewings: 8 (HD streams: 4, HD recordings: 2, Blu-ray: 1, DVD: 1)
-Live performances: 1
-Live accompaniment: 1

-# of screenings: 98
-Unique # of films seen: 93 features, 2 shorts compilation programs, and 4 shorts
-Unique # of feature films new to me: 83