450) The Woman (2011)

450) The Woman (2011) Dir: Lucky McKee Date Released: October 14, 2011 Date Seen: October 23, 2011 Rating: 3/5

I wish I felt more strongly about Lucky McKee's latest film. I can see both the smart-ass wit and creative frustration that people respond to in May here. And I even think he's become a more confident story-teller. He's become a better satirist, too: this one feels like a proudly cracked-out Sirk parody. I can also get behind a number of McKee's brattier decisions, including the choice to only whip out the human dog at the last minute (struck me as a decision that a younger, Katakuris-era Miike would make). But I really just do not like the scene where "the woman" gets her revenge. In that moment, McKee goes beyond irony-for-its-own-sake to semi-serious self-righteousness. But that's just a tonal hiccup and perhaps it's simply another way for McKee to pull the rug out from under his viewers (or at least, his ideal audience...though I'm not even sure if he's thinking this far ahead). Still, that scene irks me. The rest of the film's ok though. 

RV!: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

RV!: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Dir: Stanley Kubrick Date Released: January 29, 1964 Rating: 4.75/5

Still one of the best. See my piece for Capital New York.

434) The Three Musketeers (2011) , 435) The Rum Diary (2011) and 440) Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

434) The Three Musketeers (2011) Dir: Paul W.S. Anderson Date Released: October 21, 2011 Date Seen: October 18, 2011 Rating: 1.75/5

435) The Rum Diary (2011) Dir: Bruce Robinson Date Released: October 28, 2011 Date Seen: October 18, 2011 Rating: 2.75/5

440) Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) Dir: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman Date Released: October 21, 2011 Date Seen: October 21, 2011 Rating: 3/5

The proverbial mixed bag. Check out my reviews for Nomad Wide Screen.

431) The Shock Doctrine (2009)

431) The Shock Doctrine (2009) Dir: Mat Whitecross and Michael Winterbottom Date Released: XX ???? Date Seen: October 17, 2011 Rating: 1.75/5

Ill-conceived on a number of levels. See my piece for Slant Magazine.

427) The Descendants (2011)

427) The Descendants (2011) Dir: Alexander Payne Date Released: December 9, 2011 Date Seen: October 16, 2011 Rating: 3.5/5

Wrote two pieces about this, one more favorable than the other. Here's one for Fandor and one's for Nomad Wide Screen. Enjoy, as they French say.

426) Three on a Meathook (1973), 432) Werewolves on Wheels (1971), 444) The Manitou (1978), 448) Asylum of Satan (1972) and 449) Grizzly (1976)

426) Three on a Meathook (1973) Dir: William Girdler Date Released: XX 1973 Date Seen: October 15, 2011 Rating: 2.25/5

432) Werewolves on Wheels (1971) Dir: Michel Levesque Date Released: November 19, 1971 Date Seen: October 17, 2011 Rating: 2.75/5

444) The Manitou (1978) Dir: William Girdler Date Released: April 28, 1978 Date Seen: October 22, 2011 Rating: 3.5/5

448) Asylum of Satan (1972) Dir: William Girdler Date Released: XX 1972 Date Seen: October 23, 2011 Rating: 2.75/5

449) Grizzly (1976) Dir: William Girdler Date Released: May 21, 1976 Date Seen: October 23, 2011 Rating: 2.25/5

William Girdler, ooh, spooky. Listen to "Kentucky Crap Wagon," the eighth episode of the Bad Idea Podcast.

422) The Catechism Cataclysm (2011)

422) The Catechism Cataclysm (2011) Dir: Todd Rohal Date Released: October 19, 2011 Date Seen: October 15, 2011 Rating: 2.25/5

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. See my review for Slant Magazine.