film

The Great Movie Race of 2022

Hello there! First and foremost, I’m not dead and neither is the blog! Huzzah! Since this has been the longest break in between articles since I started this blog, I figured it was time to address that. This last year I watched more movies in one year than any previous trip around the sun, and that comes with a hefty time commitment on occasion. In the end, it was an informative and fascinating experience, and one that I may continue into the future.

In January of 2022 I joined a group of fellow online screen junkies to see who could watch the most movies in one year. I watched a heck of a lot of movies, but not quite enough to net the top spot. I’m quite happy with the onslaught of film titles that I finally got around to watching because of this though. This is partially the reason I haven’t been writing about films here on the blog as much this year, but also because I often saw a lot of current releases in theaters this year and usually offered to write up reviews for FilmsFatale.com- a great film criticism website that I highly encourage you to check out. I also did a huge project for them in November where I wrote up thirty Noir film reviews, one for each day in Noir November covering the classics through the twentieth century and up to our more recent era of filmmaking to see how Noir has evolved in that time, and how it changed cinema as well. 

Below I will list the 170 times I watched a movie this last year. Most of them were singular viewings of a film that I hadn’t seen before- but there were several films that I saw multiple times over the course of the year. I’ll also post the date I saw the film and the score I gave it out of 10. I don’t usually rate films, but the group I was competing with did, so I decided to follow suit for this. I’ll also post links to all of the articles I’ve written for Films Fatale since my last post here. Here’s to next year’s movies!

1 Don’t Look Up (2021) Date Seen: 1/5/22 Score: 6.8

2 Vertigo (1958) Date Seen: 1/10/22 Score: 8.5

3 The Ghost of Peter Sellers (2018) Date Seen: 1/13/22 Score: 6.5

4 Rodan (1956) Date Seen: 1/15/22 Score: 7.5

5 Pickpocket (1959) Date Seen: 1/16/22 Score: 6

6 5 Card Stud (1968) Date Seen: 1/16/22 Score: 8

7 Copshop (2021) Date Seen: 1/17/22 Score: 8

8 Mysterious Object at Noon (2000) Date Seen: 1/17/22 Score: 6

9 No Way Out (1950) Date Seen: 1/19/22 Score: 8

10 King of New York (1990) Date Seen: 1/20/22 Score: 7.8

11 The Hateful Eight (2015) Date Seen: 1/21/22 Score: 9.5

12 Topaz (1969) Date Seen: 1/23/22 Score: 7.8

13 Branded to Kill (1967) Date Seen: 1/24/22 Score: 7

14 Mr. Arkadin (Comprehensive version) (1955) Date Seen: 1/26/22 Score: 7.5

15 Lady Snowblood (1973) Date Seen: 1/26/22 Score: 8.5

16 Justice League Dark (2017) Date Seen: 1/27/22 Score: 7

17 Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance (1974) Date Seen: 1/27/22 Score: 7.5

18 Killing Gunther (2017) Date Seen: 1/28/22 Score: 5

19 Darkman (1990) Date Seen: 1/28/22 Score: 8.3

20 Aquaman (2018) Date Seen: 1/29/22 Score: 7.8

21 The Grandmaster (2013) Date Seen: 1/31/22 Score: 8

22 The Gentlemen (2019) Date Seen: 2/1/22 Score: 7.5

23 1917 (2019) Date Seen: 2/2/22 Score: 8.5

24 Jackass Forever (2022) Date Seen: 2/4/22 Score: 7

25 In The Mood For Love (2000) Date Seen: 2/6/22 Score: 8.5

26 Cosmic Sin (2021) Date Seen: 2/7/22 Score: 1

27 Nightmare Alley (2021) Date Seen: 2/7/22 Score: 8.5

28 Tokyo-Ga (1985) Date Seen: 2/9/22 Score: 7.5

29 Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword (1964) Date Seen: 2/11/22 Score: 8.8

30 Pierrot le Fou (1965) Date Seen: 2/15/22 Score: 8

31 Persona (1966) Date Seen: 2/15/22 Score: 8.5

32 High and Low (1963) Date Seen: 2/17/22 Score: 10

33 Vagabond (1985) Date Seen: 2/17/22 Score: 8.5

34 Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972) Date Seen: 2/18/22 Score: 9.5

35 Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972) Date Seen: 2/18/22 Score: 9.5

36 Jules and Jim (1962) Date Seen: 2/19/22 Score: 7

37 Light Sleeper (1992) Date Seen: 2/19/22 Score: 6.8

38 Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Date Seen: 2/19/22 Score: 8

39 Uncharted (2022) Date Seen: 2/23/22 Score: 6.5

40 The Batman (2022) Date Seen: 3/4/22 Score: 9

41 The Batman (2022) Date Seen: 3/16/22 Score: 9

42 Drive My Car (2022) Date Seen: 3/19/22 Score: 9

43 Tango & Cash (1989) Date Seen: 3/25/22 Score: 7

44 RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) (2022) Date Seen: 3/30/22 Score: 9

45 Ambulance (2022) Date Seen: 4/8/22 Score: 8

46 Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) Date Seen: 4/9/22 Score: 9

47 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022) Date Seen: 4/10/22 Score: 7.5

48 RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) (2022) Date Seen: 4/12/22 Score: 9 *2nd watch

49 Gamera vs Guiron (1969) Date Seen: 4/16/22 Score: 7

50 The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) Date Seen: 4/22/22 Score: 7.5

51 The Northman (2022) Date Seen: 4/22/22 Score: 8.5

52 Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) Date Seen: 4/25/22 Score: 7

53 Death on The Nile (2022) Date Seen: 4/28/22 Score: 6.5

54 Rebirth of Mothra (1996) Date Seen: 4/30/22 Score: 7

55 Spider-Man No Way Home (2021) Date Seen: 5/2/22 Score: 8.5

56 Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness (2022) Date Seen: 5/6/22 Score: 8

57 Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness (2022) Date Seen: 5/6/22 Score: 7.8

58 Jackass Forever (2022) Date Seen: 5/9/22 Score: 7 *2nd watch

59 The Last Duel (2021) Date Seen: 5/10/22 Score: 8.5

60 The Quick and The Dead (1995) Date Seen: 5/10/22 Score: 8.5

61 The Sea Wolf (1941) Date Seen: 5/12/22 Score: 7.5

62 Grand Illusion (1937) Date Seen: 5/12/22 Score: 8.1

63 The Parallax View (1974) Date Seen: 5/12/22 Score: 7.1

64 Rebirth of Mothra 2 (1997) Date Seen: 5/12/22 Score: 5.2

65 Safety Last! (1923) Date Seen: 5/14/22 Score: 9

66 The Hunt for Red October (1990) Date Seen: 5/15/22 Score: 8

67 Pirates of The Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) Date Seen: 5/15/22 Score: 6

68 Cruel Gun Story (1964) Date Seen: 5/15/22 Score: 7.5

69 Ape (2012) Date Seen: 5/16/22 Score: 2

70 The Wailing (2016) Date Seen: 5/16/22 Score: 8.5

71 The Paper Tigers (2020) Date Seen: 5/17/22 Score: 8

72 Rebirth of Mothra 3 (1998) Date Seen: 5/18/22 Score: 7.5

73 Paper Flowers (1959) Date Seen: 5/21/22 Score: 9.5

74 City Hunter (1993) Date Seen: 5/22/22 Score: 7.8

75 Jackass: The Movie (2002) Date Seen: 5/24/22 Score: 7.5

76 Top Gun: Maverick (2022) Date Seen: 5/27/22 Score: 9

77 The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022) Date Seen: 5/27/22 Score: 8.5

78 Top Gun: Maverick (2022) Date Seen: 5/28/22 Score: 9

79 Baby Driver (2017) Date Seen: 6/5/22 Score: 8.5

80 Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) Date Seen: 6/5/22 Score: 7.8

81 Double Indemnity (1944) Date Seen: 6/9/22 Score: 9

82 Jurassic World Dominion (2022) Date Seen: 6/10/22 Score: 3

83 Mad God (2022) Date Seen: 6/22/22 Score: 4

84 One Armed Boxer (1971) Date Seen: 6/22/22 Score: 7.8

85 Elvis (2022) Date Seen: 6/25/22 Score: 8

86 The Black Phone (2022) Date Seen: 6/25/22 Score: 8.5

87 Detour (1945) Date Seen: 7/2/22 Score: 7

88 RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) (2022) Date Seen: 7/3/22 Score: 9  *3rd watch

89 Jaws (1975) Date Seen: 7/4/22 Score: 10

90 Chan is Missing (1982) Date Seen: 7/6/22 Score: 8

91 Thor Love and Thunder (2022) Date Seen: 7/8/22 Score: 7.5

92 In search of Guru Dutt (1989) Date Seen: 7/11/22 Score: 7.8

93 Brick (2005) Date Seen: 7/14/22 Score: 8.3

94 The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Date Seen: 7/16/22 Score: 9

95 High Sierra (1941) Date Seen: 7/18/22 Score: 7.5

96 Nope (2022) Date Seen: 7/21/22 Score: 8.9

97 The King’s Man (2021) Date Seen: 7/22/22 Score: 7.5

98 Breaking Surface (2020) Date Seen: 7/27/22 Score: 7.8

99 Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021) Date Seen: 7/28/22 Score: 9

100 The Professor and The Madman (2019) Date Seen: 7/28/22 Score: 7.5

101 Operation Curveball (2020) Date Seen: 7/28/22 Score: 8.5

102 The Hidden Life of Trees (2020) Date Seen: 7/29/22 Score: 8

103 Bo Burnham: Inside (2021) Date Seen: 7/29/22 Score: 8.3

104 Alien (1979) Date Seen: 7/29/22 Score: 9.3 

105 Stray (2020) Date Seen: 7/30/22 Score: 7.9

106 Bullet Train (2022) Date Seen: 8/4/22 Score: 7.8

107 Prey (2022) Date Seen: 8/9/22 Score: 7.9

108 The Roundup (2022) Date Seen: 8/10/22 Score: 8.3

109 Fall (2022) Date Seen: 8/12/22 Score: 6.8

110 RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) (2022) Date Seen: 8/12/22 Score: 9  *4th watch

111 Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) Date Seen: 8/14/22 Score: 8.3

112 Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) Date Seen: 8/15/22 Score: 7

113 Five Graves to Cairo (1943) Date Seen: 8/16/22 Score: 6.8

114 Easter Sunday (2022) Date Seen: 8/19/22 Score: 6

115 The Gray Man (2022) Date Seen: 8/20/22 Score: 7.2

116 Police Story 2 (1988) Date Seen: 8/21/22 Score: 9

117 Viridiana (1961) Date Seen: 8/23/22 Score: 6.8

118 Midnight Run (1988) Date Seen: 8/23/22 Score: 8

119 Beast (2022) Date Seen: 8/24/22 Score: 6.5

120 Wood and Water (2021) Date Seen: 8/24/22 Score: 5

121 Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) Date Seen: 8/25/22 Score: 7.5

122 Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) Date Seen: 8/26/22 Score: 9

123 Django Unchained (2012) Date Seen: 8/28/22 Score: 9.5

124 Escape from L.A. (1996) Date Seen: 8/28/22 Score: 8.5

125 Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) Date Seen: 8/31/22 Score: 8.5

126 The Big Sleep (1946) Date Seen: 9/5/22 Score: 8.8

127 The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) Date Seen: 9/6/22 Score: 8.5

128 The Good The Bad & The Ugly (1966) Date Seen: 9/7/22 Score: 10

129 Body Double (1984) Date Seen: 9/8/22 Score: 6.5

130 Weekend (1967) Date Seen: 9/13/22 Score: 6

131 007 Spectre (2015) Date Seen: 9/15/22 Score: 8

132 007 No Time to Die (2021) Date Seen: 9/15/22 Score: 9

133 Clerks 3 (2022) Date Seen: 9/16/22 Score: 8.8

134 Out of The Past (1947) Date Seen: 9/19/22 Score: 7.8

135 Strangers on a Train (1951) Date Seen: 9/20/22 Score: 8

136 Ghostbusters (1984) Date Seen: 9/22/22 Score: 10

137 Miller’s Crossing (1990) Date Seen: 9/25/22 Score: 7.7

138 Notorious (1946) Date Seen: 9/26/22 Score: 8.8

139 Sunset Blvd (1950) Date Seen: 9/27/22 Score: 8.5

140 The Munsters (2022) Date Seen: 9/28/22 Score: 5

141 Pineapple Express (2008) Date Seen: 9/30/22 Score: 9

142 Young Frankenstein (1974) Date Seen: 10/3/22 Score: 7.8

143 Blade Runner (1982) Date Seen: 10/5/22 Score: 9.5

144 Halloween (2018) Date Seen: 10/12/22 Score: 7.9

145 Halloween Kills (2021) Date Seen: 10/13/22 Score: 7.7

146 Halloween Ends (2022) Date Seen: 10/15/22 Score: 7.8

147 Yojimbo (1961) Date Seen: 10/17/22 Score: 9.8

148 Black Adam (2022) Date Seen: 10/22/22 Score: 7

149 Werewolf by Night (2022) Date Seen: 10/31/22 Score: 8.3

150 Black Panther 2 Wakanda Forever (2022) Date Seen: 11/11/22 Score: 8.4

151 Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) Date Seen: 11/13/22 Score: 8

152 Infernal Affairs (2002) Date Seen: 11/15/22 Score: 9

153 Infernal Affairs 2 (2003) Date Seen: 11/16/22 Score: 8.8

154 Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970) Date Seen: 11/18/22 Score: 9

155 Infernal Affairs 3 (2003) Date Seen: 11/19/22 Score: 8.7

156 The Menu (2022) Date Seen: 11/23/22 Score: 9

157 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Date Seen: 11/28/22 Score: 9

158 The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022) Date Seen: 12/2/22 Score: 8.5 *2nd watch 

159 Violent Night (2022) Date Seen: 12/3/22 Score: 8

160 Gamera: Guardian of The Universe (1995) Date Seen: 12/4/22 Score: 7.8

161 Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996) Date Seen: 12/4/22 Score: 8.5

162 Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999) Date Seen: 12/4/22 Score: 7.5

163 The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) Date Seen: 12/6/22 Score: 8.8

164 History of The Word: Part I (1981) Date Seen: 12/12/22 Score: 6.8

165 Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) Date Seen: 12/16/22 Score: 8

166 The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) Date Seen: 12/21/22 Score: 9

167 The Fabelmans (2022) Date Seen: 12/21/22 Score: 8.8

168 Triangle of Sadness (2022) Date Seen: 12/22/22 Score: 9

169 Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022) Date Seen: 12/27/22 Score: 6.8

170 Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019) Date Seen: 12/29/22 Score: 7.7

Here’s the links to all of the articles I wrote over at Films Fatale in 2022 since last updating the blog:

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/6/30/the-black-phone

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/7/1/elvis

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/7/14/thor-love-and-thunder

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/7/25/nope

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/8/11/traverse-city-film-festival-2022-the-return

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/8/8/bullet-train

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/9/21/clerks-iii

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/10/20/halloween-ends

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/9/22/what-if-david-lynch-directed-a-batman-movie

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/1/noir-november-the-maltese-falcon

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/2/noir-november-high-sierra

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/3/noir-november-casablanca

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/4/noir-november-double-indemnity

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/5/noir-november-detour

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/6/noir-november-notorious

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/7/noir-november-the-big-sleep

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/8/noir-november-out-of-the-past

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/9/noir-november-the-naked-city

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/10/noir-november-the-third-man

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/11/noir-november-the-asphalt-jungle

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/12/noir-november-sunset-boulevard

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/13/noir-november-in-a-lonely-place

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/14/noir-november-strangers-on-a-train

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/15/noir-november-the-killing

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/16/noir-november-touch-of-evil

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/17/noir-november-shoot-the-piano-player

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/18/noir-november-le-doulos

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/19/noir-november-le-deuxime-souffle

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/20/noir-november-tokyo-drifter

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/21/noir-november-le-cercle-rouge

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/22/noir-november-chinatown

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/23/noir-november-chan-is-missing

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/24/noir-november-blade-runner

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/25/noir-november-millers-crossing

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/26/noir-november-devil-in-a-blue-dress

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/27/noir-november-the-man-who-wasnt-there

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/28/noir-november-kiss-kiss-bang-bang

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/29/noir-november-brick

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/11/30/noir-november-blade-runner-2049

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/12/9/violent-night

film

Review: The Northman

Written by the Icelandic Poet Sjón and Robert Eggers, and directed by Eggers, “The Northman” is a Viking Epic adapted from the tale that directly inspired William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. If you’re familiar with Hamlet, or “The Lion King” for that matter, you’ll recognize the story structure well enough, but the way Eggers realizes those familiar elements is efficiently brutal and unjudgmental of the past’s morality. Set roughly around the year 900, we begin the tale with the return of King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) to his home in Northern Ireland after a successful military campaign. Aurvandil’s brother Fjölnir (Claes Bang) is slow to join the festivities with the family and fellow villagers, but he does after awhile, bringing a brooding demeanor to the gathering. After some time establishing Prince Amleth’s (Alexander Skarsgård) life before the inevitable tragedy, we’re introduced to his Mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman) and King Aurvandil’s Fool, Heimir (Willem Dafoe) before The King and Heimir indoctrinate young Amleth into Manhood through some strange and trippy long-held traditions. Afterwards Fjölnir and his men turn heel and betray the king, killing him in front of Amleth as he quickly scrambles towards freedom. While rowing away from the shores of his home, Amleth recites the mantra that will fuel him for the rest of the film, “I Will Avenge You, Father. I Will Save You, Mother. I Will Kill You, Fjölnir.” Now that’s character motivation!

Fast forward into Prince Amleth’s adulthood and we’re met by the hulking beast of a man that the scared boy has transformed into. Amleth and a band of similarly gargantuan Viking berserkers then attack a village with ruthless abandon, ironically orphaning many more children in the long wake of Amleth’s own tragedy. Violence begets violence after all. However, putting our own lens of modern morality aside, Amleth is the hero of this tale, so we get no whitewashing or “prettying up” of the story at hand, and for that I am thankful. Letting the story breath and evolve on it’s own merits without bringing all of our baggage to the tale heavily imbues the film with an air of authority on it’s own world, on the traditions of the characters we see, and with the mythmaking at hand. Eventually our Viking Wolf-Bear (There’s a lot of growling, snarling, and involved roleplaying with the Vikings) hears word that his uncle Fjölnir, now titled “The Brotherless”, has lost his throne to another Warlord and is now living on a small farmstead in Iceland with Amleth’s mother and a small troupe of slaves to tend to the land. With that news fresh in his mind, Amleth sneaks into Iceland under the guise as one of the slaves being transported to Fjölnir’s land. While there he’s quickly found out by Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy) who decides to help him in his quest for vengeance. Eventually they make a plan and slowly begin to turn the farmstead against themselves in occasionally hyper-violent fashion.

While “The Lighthouse” may still be Eggers’ best efforts so far in his career, “The Northman” still delivers us an epic worth telling. The score, cinematography, and performances all converge on Eggers’ style which is becoming more recognizable with each new film. Like a sculptor, or Ernest Hemingway’s literary style; as I see it, Eggers’ removes the unnecessary and strips down the story and performances to their core attributes without over embellishing. The story is simple, revenge. The way it’s handled here though is perfectly realized mythmaking. In this world, mystics and magic exist, though they’re similarly muted like the depiction of magic in “The Lord of The Rings” to some extent. Valkyries and the undead alike serve their mythmaking purposes to great effect, there’s even a mythical sword called the Nightblade that can only be drawn at night, or at the Gates of Hel. Once Amleth begins to unravel the sanctity, and sanity, of Fjölnir’s Icelandic peace, the film revels in it’s horrific imagery as well as it’s commitment to savagery through heroism.

If you’re looking for original films that aren’t a superhero sequel or solely as a vehicle for big name stars, this film should sate those who seek something different. In fact, there are several films in theaters right now that I highly encourage you to check out. There’s the increasingly popular “Everything Everywhere All at Once” by the Daniels in perhaps the most thoroughly satisfying Multiverse-oriented film this year, with apologies to Sam Raimi. Michael Bay also has a great new film in “Ambulance” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Not to mention Nic Cage’s Action-Buddy film with Pedro Pascal in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” where Nicolas Cage plays an exaggerated version of himself. If any of those premises caught your interest I have full reviews of all those films over at Films Fatale and the links to each are listed below. You might want to catch them before Dr. Strange annihilates the Box Office this Friday, oh and check out my review of that Multiverse Madness over at Films Fatale over the weekend as well!

Final Score: 1 Hungry Nightblade

*I’ve also been writing film reviews over at Films Fatale, check them out here:

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/4/11/ambulance?rq=Geiser

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/4/14/everything-everywhere-all-at-once?rq=Geiser

https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2022/4/28/the-unbearable-weight-of-massive-talent