What's the last film you watched?

At home, Moonrise Kingdom
In theaters, Wreck-It Ralph

I recently saw The Dark Knight Rises. It may actually be my favorite Batman movie. The criticisms leveled at the movie apply to the other two installments, so I don't see the negatives like the others. Also, I think I just really love siege movies, especially with Joseph Gordon-Levitt running around, and it was great to see Gothan holed up like that.

I just saw Promised Land today, and it was: so mediocre. It really wasn't bad at all, but I'll forget all about it in a week.

At home - Lord of the Rings... all of them... extended editions.

At one of the outdoor cinemas - Starbuck

At a 'normal' cinema - The Avengers (I think)

At the drive-in cinema (we still have one left) - I can't remember. I think it was in 2011, or 2010. I'll think about it and come back. They show two movies, and I had a habit of falling asleep during the second one.

Well this weekend I saw Django Unchained for the fourth time, and yes it was fantastic. I absolutely love the scene where I still don't think there's enough in the final cut of the film to explain the girl with the red scarf, as she is in exactly two scenes: the one where I honestly hope there is a director's cut of this film released, with deleted story-lines intact. I don't think it'll be better than the final cut, but I would love to spend some more time in this world that Tarantino has masterfully created.

The last film I watched was Mud, and I loved it. I think Take Shelter is a better film, but this film just portrayed the coming of age aspect so well, it became an instant classic in that genre for me. It's like a modern day Stand By Me (with hints of Tom Sawyer thrown in for good measure). The child actors are fantastic, and Matthew is as good as he's ever been (which last year was pretty damn great). I also loved the parents of the young boy, and how there were portrayed as realistic human beings who made mistakes but also had a warmness to them that made you feel like they truly did love their son. Whatever troubles they had was between themselves, and clearly didn't extend towards Ellis, even if there were a few slip-ups when the father clearly projected his anger with his wife towards Ellis towards the end. That scene thankfully stays shy of menancing villainous-like qualities, and is more just heartbreaking for everybody involved. Anyway, a great film, and one of my favorites of the year.

I re-watched The Breakfast Club. Why? Because I couldn't get to sleep.

I watched Confessions of a Dangerous Mind last night, and was very pleased. I had not known any of the story beforehand, so I was delighted to find that it is basically a period piece about television broadcasting in the '60s and '70s, mixed with an espionage thriller. It's hard to explain if you haven't seen the film or read the "biography" it's based on, but rest assured, the life (authentic or not) of Chuck Barris is a fascinating one. George Clooney is in fine form here as the director, and it might be my favorite film of his that he's directed. Some of his touches in the last half hour as Chuck begins to lose his mind were very creepily effective. The whole project is anchored down by a terrific performance by Sam Rockwell, without whom, the project would just be a failed experiment.

I saw Nebraska, which was fantastic. Bruce Dern should win all the awards for his performance here, and it was refreshing to see Bob Odenkirk play a generally nice guy, not a sleazeball (as I was initially expecting).

I still need to see a Keaton film.

I saw World War Z tonight. It was quite mediocre, and the Israel subplot in the middle was kind of awkward and weird.

So to celebrate 2 months of holidays starting, I went to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I know that some people are going to see it, so I won't spoil anything but OH MY GOD IT WAS AWESOME. As I mention on the boards, even though I have read the books, I was still terrified. A-.

I saw Her in theatres this week and it was absolutely wonderful. It manages to walk the line between silly and poignant while maintaining an acute sense of realism; considering the subject matter, that really isn't a simple task. I cannot recommend it enough - go see it as soon as you have the chance!

Over the holidays, I re-watched several festive films, but the most recent one was White Christmas. Bing Crosby has some seriously smooth pipes, dudes.