New Year's Resolutions, Only Two Weeks in

Back at the beginning of the year, Adam Ross at DVD Panache made up a meme - nine movie related resolutions for 2009. Ah yes. Our very own Moviezzz got tagged, and actually did it - which is certainly more than I can say about the last couple times I've been tagged for things. Meanwhile, Evan did his own resolution post - last week now... we're two weeks into the freaking year... I have stopped writing 2008 EVERY time I write the year...

Anyway: I am a resolution maker, of sorts - though most years it amounts to, spend less money, eat more greens, see more movies and post more often... no exceptions this year I guess. But - in the spirit of film, discussion, Making a Clean Start to the Year, and the End of the Decade (ooh! lists!), I shall now undertake this very meme for your reading and perhaps discussing pleasure!

Nine film (and blogging) resolutions:

1. As every year - aim to watch at least 250 movies. That's a good number.
2. Turn over a Netflix film every week. MOre if possible. This is a bad habit - letting them sit there for a month at a time... this would not be so bad except for the next resolution -
3. Watch the DVDs I buy. Just found a used copy of Centre Stage! Maggie Cheung! at her youthful finest! Will I ever watch it? will I at least attach a screen cap to this post?
4. Take a film class - I miss writing about films where there's something at stake - I need the discipline now and then. With luck, the discipline translates to more general writing - and more posting - with luck...
5. Speaking of which - post 3 times a week - make at least one of them substantive. This should be such an easy target - yet I go ages without posting anything worth the trouble. Alas! The brain is a muscle - if you do not use it, it becomes flabby and weak! etc.
6. Comment 3 times a week - or something like that. Enter conversations! post, comment, whatnot, here! and elsewhere! [I have not, contrary to appearances, resolved to use more exclamation points. There may be spiritual influences at work, however.]
7. Make things - films or videos maybe - whether this means vlogs or animations or home videos or swedes, make them, post them. Before the the Lawyers arrive en masse especially if there's sweding involved.
8. do Piper's dinner with X meme he tagged me with sometime back in the 90s, I think it was. In an ideal world, this would combine with #7. More likely, this will be part of my 46 resolutions for 2046 post....
9. Rather than another blogging resolution (which might get me to 46, before I'm done) - try this: go to an out of town film festival. NY - Toronto - something. Takes some planning, and some money, but - something like that. This or leave the country. For a while anyway. On principal.

I guess that's it. If anyone want to feel tagged - go for it! For Maggie's sake...

20 Actresses

In my fine tradition of lagging far behind the blogging pack, I'm just now ready to participate in the '20 Favorite Actresses' meme started at The Film Experience. I love a good excuse to dip into my pool of collected screengrabs (17 of the following 20 images came from my hard drive), and even though I could probably list 20 different names tomorrow, today it's the following ladies that entertain, awe and fascinate me the most, even if some of their filmographies are more impressive than others.

Note: The list of films following each name contain the performances by each actress that give me the most pleasure, and are not necessarily the finest films on that actress' resume. (But just try and argue with me on the merits of The Skeleton Key. I dare you.) The first film listed for each actress is the film pictured. Here we go:


Angela Bassett - Strange Days, What's Love Got to Do With It, Sunshine State


Jennifer Connelly - Dark City, Requiem for a Dream, Dark Water, Career Opportunities


Bette Davis - All About Eve, Jezebel, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?


Irene Dunne - Love Affair, The Awful Truth, My Favorite Wife


Audrey Hepburn - Funny Face, Wait Until Dark, My Fair Lady, Charade


Katherine Hepburn - Stage Door, Bringing Up Baby, Adam's Rib, Holiday


Madeline Kahn - Clue, Paper Moon, What's Up, Doc?, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, The Cheap Detective


Deborah Kerr - Black Narcissus, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Innocents


Jennifer Jason Leigh - eXistenZ, Short Cuts, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Anniversary Party, Margot at the Wedding


Shirley MacLaine - Some Came Running, The Apartment, The Children's Hour, Steel Magnolias, In Her Shoes


Giulietta Masina - Nights of Cabiria, La Strada


Emily Mortimer - Bright Young Things, Lovely and Amazing, Lars and the Real Girl, Transsiberian


Sarah Polley - No Such Thing, The Sweet Hereafter, Go, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Guinevere


Thelma Ritter - Pickup on South Street, Rear Window, All About Eve


Rachel Roberts - This Sporting Life, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, O Lucky Man!, Picnic at Hanging Rock


Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence, Faces, Minnie & Moskowitz, Love Streams, The Skeleton Key


Rosalind Russell - His Girl Friday, The Women, The Trouble with Angels


Lili Taylor - I Shot Andy Warhol, Say Anything, Girls Town


Sylvie Testud - Fear and Trembling, Murderous Maids, Beyond Silence, The Chateau, La France


Rachel Weisz - My Blueberry Nights, The Shape of Things, The Fountain

Holy Grail List

There's a meme going round - Joseph has done it, I just managed a post - and - well - tagged YOU! Us, Whatever. Basically, the idea is this: name 12 films you 1) have not seen; 2) are not available through Netflix.

A list of participants, so far, can be found here.

Anyway - my post is rather long and inefficient - here is the condensed version: 12 films.... heavy on the Japanophilia, but that shouldn't surprise anyone...

1. Anything (besides Yi Yi and Mahjong) by Edward Yang - soon to be rectified.

2. Humanity and Paper Balloons, by Sadao Yamanaka.

3. Chikamatsu Monogatari - Mizoguchi.

4. Ishtar - Elaine May. (Yes, it's listed on Netflix; no, it's not "available" on Netflix.)

5. Out One: Noli me Tangere - Rivette - the 13 hour version.

6. La Cicatrice Interieure - Philippe Garrel.

7. Keep cool - Zhang Yimou.

8. Timeless Bottomless Bad Movie - Jang Sun-woo

9. Bigger than Life - Nicholas Ray. (I'm not alone.)

10. Histoires du Cinema - Godard. (This either... but I've been hearing about these films forever. Where are they?)

11. Fantomas - Louis Feuillade. Thanks to David Bordwell.

12. Souls on the Road or the Red Bat - a very early Japanese film, and a well known Chambara.... blame Noel Burch.

And - anyone interested - hop in! create your own post, add to this one, put it in comments, here or at The Listening Ear.