...vampires no longer fear the sun.
Oh wait, wrong premature celebration of the beginning of a decade, huh? Sorry, sorry. It felt like 1999 all over again for a moment there.
Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter references aside, I figured it was about time for a post in time for the new year. Lots of new faces here, for which I'm always grateful. Don't be afraid to speak up folks, even if you aren't officially "following" the site. I love comments, questions, putdowns, whatever.
But yeah, it's a new Roman calendar year and with that comes a rewind of my movie-watching year. Saw a lot of great films that were new (to me) in 2009 and surpassed my quota of 365 movies per year by about 100 feature films, not including short films (ISF=Itsa Short Film) or features I've previously seen (RV!=Repeat Viewing!). "Back down to the glorious #1," as they say.
A note on my grading system: no, I honestly had no clue Mike D'Angelo existed before I devised my system. I'd become accustomed to Netflix's 5 star system and am still very frustrated with the fact that you can't rate films any way except with whole stars. Even half stars seemed limiting to me so I combined the 5 star system with my grade school mentality and started obsessively grading films by quarter stars. Because I can't help myself, honest Injun, I can't.
So there's no 5/5 star films. It doesn't exist. There's no such thing as a perfect movie. 4.75/5 is the highest I'll concede. Then comes 4.5/5, at which point you can start a conventional grading system. 4.5/5 is an A+, 4.25/5 is A-, 4/5 is A, etc. So relax: when I said I didn't like Summer Hours, keep in mind that I gave the thing a B. That was before my film journal was put online, when I was still keeping this thing going in an incredibly tedious, Unibomber-esque Microsoft Word document (all of 2008 in one document; woof). It's long but I take requests, honest I do (ie: if you want to see something, say something). Recommendations are welcome, too. And free DVDs. Hell, I take tips too but let's not talk about that.
In any case, it's a new year and that's a very good thing. Happy new year, all. Let's make it good.
That was a great moviegoing year that you covered -- and Extended Cut is now my constant point of reference when looking for cine-inspiration. Keep up the goog job! I wonder what the very first movie of 2010 will be.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michal. You're as ever very kind.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of choices for what the first film will be but it's entirely dependent on my mood. We'll see...
I too have spent many happy hours (yes, there's drinking involved) browsing the Extended Cut stacks...here's hoping 2010 is equally voluminous and trenchant. I also wish I could keep up with your pace, Beef Supreme, but maybe considering that I'm now single again and'll have more free time starting at the end of the month, that'll change. Anyhoo...Happy New Year, and sorry I'll have to miss the bday celebrations due to living on a different coast.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joey Joe Joe.
ReplyDeleteI invited you on the off chance you were all "Hey, I can visit New York!" Because you West Coasters are such free-wheeling types.
By the by: a gold star to the man or woman that can identify the still in the above post.
ReplyDelete