Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Listomania: Will's 2013 Cavalcade of Cinematic Carnage


Well, we have another year down in the Video Junkie record books.  My total was 289, down from last year's total of 344. “Hell, this boy ain’t living up to his name,” I hear you cry.  232 of those films were ones I had never seen before and 57 were revisits.

First film seen in 2013: SILENT NIGHT (2012)
Last film seen in 2013: THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD (1978)
Films seen in theaters: 5 (all time low for me)
Best film seen theatrically: GRAVITY (2013)
Worst film seen theatrically: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (2013)
IMAX viewings: 2 (GRAVITY and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS)
Biggest surprises in 2013: ANTIVIRAL (2012), CURSE OF CHUCKY (2013) and DREDD (2012)
Biggest disappointment in 2013: COSMOPOLIS (2012)
Oldest film seen: MAD LOVE (1935)

Video Junkie Moment of the Year:

Damn, as much as I’d like to crow about my “Never Got Made” entries again, I think our best moment this year was getting a copy of the still unreleased NINJA BUSTERS (1984) from director Paul Kyriazi (technically we got it in 2012, but wrote it up this year), who was incredible gracious and accommodating.  If you haven’t read it, you should!  Not only was it exciting to see, but it was a reminder that there are plenty of unreleased/unfinished films out there so we’ll keep searching.

Video Junkie “What were we thinking?” Moment of the Year:

I regret noth-zing!  Haha, there wasn’t much I could conjure up that made me feel too bad this year.  Yeah, I did another insane theatrical-versus-television comparison (AIRPORT ’79) that makes me a hit among the ladies, but I properly spaced out my work on it so it wasn’t too painful.  The only thing I can think of is an impromptu David Janssen fest in September that suddenly ended with Tom and me eating bagels and lox on separate ends of the country.  And people say we are impressionable.

Most in one month:
October: 36
Least in one month:
September: 17 (too busy eating bagels?)

Films watched more than once:
-GRAVITY (2013) - twice
-THE LOVE BUTCHER (1975) - twice
-DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (1973) - twice
-INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS (1972) - twice

Directors most watched (individual films):

-Armand Mastroianni (9)
-Don Coscarelli (4)
-John Eyres (4)
-Sam Firstenberg (3)
-Curtis Harrington (3)
-Tobe Hooper (3)
-Gary Jones (3)
-Ivan Zuccon (3)

Best films that I saw for the first time in 2013:

-A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
-THE COLLECTOR (1965)
-INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION (1970)
-LAST KNOWN ADDRESS (1970)
-WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? (1972)
-A REFLECTION OF FEAR (1973)
-SUPERMARKT (1974)
-THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE (1976)
-GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN (2005)
-SLEEP TIGHT (2011)
-DREDD (2012)
-THE IMPOSTOR (2012)
-CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES (2013)
-GRAVITY (2013)

Worst films that I saw for the first time in 2013:

-MOON IN SCORPIO (1987)
-WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE... (1991)
-COSMOPOLIS (2012)
-MAMA (2012)
-STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (2013)

Best “the kind of cinema I live for” I saw for the first time in 2013:

-INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS (1972)
-THE ASTROLOGER (1975)
-THE LOVE BUTCHER (1975)
-YETI: GIANT OF THE 20th CENTURY (1977)
-THE VISITOR (1979)
-BLOOD BEAT (1983) (Tom's capsule review)
-HOUSEBOAT HORROR (1989) (Tom's review) 
-KILLING AMERICAN STYLE (1990)
-THE MASTER DEMON (1991)
-GETEVEN (1993)
-ADAM CHAPLIN (2011) (Tom's review)

Yes, I watched THE ASTROLOGER and THE VISITOR in the same year and lived to tell the tale.

5 Reactions:

  1. I have to credit you guys for introducing me to Geteven, so awesome!

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  2. Glad to hear we are helping improve mankind for the better, Eric! Now, do the shimmeee slide!

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  3. Another year filled with hilarious posts from William and Thomas. Thanks for the laughs fellas.

    Of the films you guys brought to our attention this year, my favorite is THEY BITE. Its a fun HUMANOIDS OF THE DEEP knockoff.

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  4. I hated Gravity, maybe it's just my massive dislike of post-90's Sandra Bullock...but it just never sat right with me.

    Glad to see IM3 finally taking some flack. I didn't pay to see it, but I felt like filmmakers still owed me money after wasting my time.

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  5. Trust me, neither I nor Will have any love for Sandra Bullock. I think the first thing I said after watching the movie is "I can't believe I just saw a Sandra Bullock movie in the theater... and *liked* it!"
    I try not to let my dislike of an actor ruin a film... not even Robin Askwith.

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