The other goal is to track the books I read and the movies I watch this year. I have two pieces of paper taped to the wall above my desk, one listing books read and one listing movies watched. January was a good media month, with 18 movies watched and 8 books read.
Books read in January (with brief reviews):
Dubliners by James Joyce - may end up being the best story collection I read all year
Wobegon Boy by Garrison Keillor - no one does sentimental satire like GK
Sanctuary by William Faulkner - his language is masterful, but I'm not sure he speaks to me
Emma's War by Deborah Scroggins - one heavy, masterfully written true story. See the previous post for my thoughts
The Best of Roald Dahl - while clever and funny, Dahl's mean-spirited shorts got on my nerves pretty quickly
Light in August by William Faulkner - this is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but Faulkner's storytelling can distract me from the story sometimes
A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton - I was shocked by how rich, relatable, and well-paced this novel was
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers - i found this book far more focused and affecting than her more famous The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. McCullers is becoming a favorite. I hope to read the rest of her novels in next few months.
Movies watched in January (with brief reviews):
Merrill's Marauders - I can see why director Sam Fuller was ticked about the final cut of this movie, but there were enough signature Fuller moments to make it worth the watch.
Dancing to New Orleans - There wasn't anything special about the way this doc was put together, but I love NO and its music scene so much, I didn't care. It was great to see musicians talk about the scene, and to see them perform.
The Stunt Man - One of my mentors loaned me this film, saying it was "kinetic filmmaking at its finest." It's a b-movie masterpiece, with terrible acting adding to its odd, delightful impact.
The Orphanage - The farther away from America a horror movie is made, the better it is. This film was great as drama and as horror. I found it creepy, rich, and touching.
Elizabeth - Brilliant Eastern take on European history. One of the most visually rich movies I've seen in ages.
Zombieland - The gory, super dark humor in this movie worked for me, despite a few boilerplate romantic moments. I like actor Jesse Eisenberg more every time I see him.
Too Late for Tears - This classic Noir film has some great twists, but I had a hard time getting past the dated acting style
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - While it was just as visually stunning as its predecessor, I found this sequel less nuanced than the first Elizabeth, although my wife thought it was the better of the two.
Casino Royale - A hilarious send-up of all things James Bond. Admittedly, this movie was weird, but it worked for me.
Where the Wild Things Are - I was told that this movie was a confused, depressing mess. I disagree. I found it to be wholly original, culturally fascinating, and beautifully directed.
Zatoichi 1: The Tale of Zatoichi - I knew that an old Japanese movie about a blind swordsman was gonna be good, but I had no idea how complex and tormented the main character would be, nor how masterfully the cinematography would engage me in his story.
Synechdoche, New York - Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman proved that he can direct his own bizarre metanarratives just as well as the directors who helmed his other screenplays. SNY is funny, insightful, and unnerving in the best possible way.
Zatoichi 2: The Tale of Zatoichi Continues - Anyone involved in making a series of movies needs to study Zatoichi. The sequels manage to keep getting better as they delve deeper into this fascinating character.
Zatoichi 3: New Tale of Zatoichi - See last review.
Zatoichi 4: The Fugitive - See last review, but imagine an even better film than the preceding three.
Chop Shop - Joined the ranks of City of God and Gomorrah as one of my favorite hyper-realistic, beautifully composed expose films about people living in the slums.
Ichi - Although I'm a huge fan of the Zatoichi franchise, this melodramatic, exploitative spinoff was disappointing. The female lead was less compelling than the original actor, the voice-over narration was annoying, and pretty much everything was overdone.
That sums up my media consumption for January. I'm going to try to do these monthly recaps as we go along to a) keep me accountable for my resolutions and b) draw traffic and comments to this side-project blog of mine.
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