Monday, December 14, 2009
ABOUT FILMS
I am on a track to catch up on all the good films that I have missed in the last two years while I was giving priority to the NYTimes Best Film list.
That "best" list is still in process with, perhaps, 50 films still unavailable on disc at all and another hundred committed to disc but not yet released. Some will probably never be distributed since many companies, hurt by on-line distribution methods, are already curtailing their DVD production.
Meanwhile, I am watching the best of the films from 2007-2009.
How do I judge the best? Mostly from reviews in the NYTimes and LATimes as well as some other word of mouth.
There is also, now, a new cumulative critic rating that is quite reliable and informative.
I am staying mostly with the films that garner 60% ratings or over. I also read the reviews themselves or the capsules.
I drop a few but not many.
No suprise. If you stay with the critical favorites they are almost all independents, small movies or off shore. Very little Hollywood product.
Right now the well received wide distribution films would be unique items like Up in the Air, Invictus and Brothers. All released this year. Not many others. The rest are limited distribution. Art house or big cities only.
There are a lot of good films. I have 80 films in my queue right now and of the ones that I have been watching in the last couple of months, there have been no losers. And quite a few winners. Better than the so called "Best Films" did.
Will there be more "Best Films"? Yes. There are a few in the queue and I have left them where they emerged from the pending list. Their release date.
I am looking forward to seeing Z again, for example.
That is it on the film front for now.
I know that some people take a look at what I am looking at and so I figured some background would help explain where these are all coming from.
This photo is from the Wellfleet (MA) drive in theater. Still in operation.
Labels: best films, films
