343. That's the number of movies I watched in 2013. That’s well below my all-time record of 588 in 2004, and only three off last year’s total of 346.
Of the 343 movies I saw, I watched 189 of them for the first time. Here are my rules. As far as the count goes, only feature films count, no matter whether I saw them in a theater, DVD, VHS, Netflix, or on TV. This also includes complete features on YouTube or as AVI files.
• TV shows don't count, unless they were presented in a format resembling a feature film (for instance, the pilot episodes of MAN FROM ATLANTIS, which aired as full-length made-for-TV movies)
• Made-for-TV movies count
• Documentaries count
• I didn't count short subjects or feature-length making-of documentaries included as DVD extras
• Movie serials and TV miniseries count as one long feature
• Multiple viewings each count as a separate movie
These are my rules. Your mileage may vary.
AVI: 3
Blu-ray: 27
Theater: 25
DVD: 219
HDTV: 33
Netflix Instant: 33
SDTV: 1
VHS: 2
First film of 2013: STONE COLD with Brian Bosworth
Last film of 2013: NATIONAL LAMPOON’S DAD’S WEEK OFF
From the 1930s: 5 (WHITE ZOMBIE, SMART BLONDE, THE RENEGADE RANGER, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES)
1940s: 10
1950s: 22
1960s: 52
1970s: 86
1980s: 87
1990s: 44
2000–2012: 24
2013: 13
Genres:
Action/Adventure: 106
Comedy: 41
Crime Drama: 21
Documentary: 10
Drama: 11
Fantasy: 1
Horror: 64
Musical: 2
Mystery: 13
Science Fiction: 37
Sexploitation: 1
Thriller: 24
Western: 12
Countries of origin:
Argentina: 1
Canada: 8
France: 2
Great Britain: 15
Hong Kong: 4
Italy: 20
Japan: 3
Mexico: 5
Philippines: 8
South Africa: 2
Spain: 1
United States of America: 271
West Germany: 3
Favorite films seen in a theater:
GRAVITY (my first IMAX 3D viewing and a marvelous experience…terrific thriller too)
REBECCA (a battered 35mm print seen just weeks before star Joan Fontaine’s death)
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY (new remastered digital print)
FRIDAY THE 13TH (great fun with a good-sized crowd that gasped in all the right places)
ESCAPE PLAN (solid, entertaining team-up of ‘80s heavyweights Stallone and Schwarzenegger)
Most in one month:
January: 42
Least in one month:
April: 19
Films I saw more than once in 2013:
GETEVEN (three times!)
MIAMI CONNECTION (three times!)
BATWOMAN
THE TITAN FIND (rare 2013 DVD release of William Malone’s CREATURE)
WONDER WOMEN
The most films in any one 24-hour period:
14, when I attended Northwestern University's annual B-Fest January 25–26
The Best Films I Saw for the First Time in 2013:
CASH ON DEMAND
ESCAPE PLAN
GETEVEN and MIAMI CONNECTION (absolute trash-film classics)
GRAVITY
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
NEBRASKA
NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER
REBECCA (1940)
TWINS OF EVIL
WHERE EAGLES DARE
Some sequels:
MISSING IN ACTION 2: THE BEGINNING
PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON’S REVENGE
LETHAL WEAPON 2
NINJA III: THE DOMINATION
DETECTIVE MALONE (THE BLACK COBRA 4)
JAWS III and JAWS: THE REVENGE
PIRANHA PART TWO: THE SPAWNING
PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS
CHILD’S PLAY 2
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3
5 Stars:
ACTION U.S.A.
CASH ON DEMAND
DAZED AND CONFUSED
DEADLY PREY
GETEVEN
GRAVITY
MIAMI CONNECTION
NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE
SPEED
STUNT ROCK
SUPER TROOPERS
TWILIGHT’S LAST GLEAMING
1 Star:
ALEX CROSS
THE CREEPING TERROR
THE DEMON
ESCAPE FROM HELL ISLAND
FLESH FEAST
FUGITIVE WOMEN
GALAXINA
HOUSE ON BARE MOUNTAIN
IT’S A BIKINI WORLD
JAWS III
LINDA AND ABILENE
MARKED FOR MURDER
MAXIMUM SECURITY
MR. ANGEL
NIGHTFLYERS
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3
A PLACE CALLED TODAY
PRETTY MODELS…ALL IN A ROW
PRISON GIRLS
REPO JAKE
SNUFF
SOLAR ATTACK
SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE
THE TORMENTORS
WARM BODIES
Recent Direct-to-Video or Barely Released Films You Haven’t Heard Of, But You Should See:
CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH (for horror completists only)
THE WAR OF THE STARS (“grindhouse” STAR WARS bootleg re-edit)
MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED!
PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE
PONTYPOOL
Most Films by Director:
Cirio H. Santiago: 6
J. Lee Thompson: 5
Edward L. Cahn: 4
Rene Cardona: 4
David L. Hewitt: 3
Bert I. Gordon: 3
Fred Olen Ray: 3
Roy William Neill: 3
William Asher: 3
Most Films by Star:
Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce: 6
Cameron Mitchell: 6
Henry Silva: 5
Charles Bronson: 4
Huntz Hall: 4
Chuck Norris: 3
Dolph Lundgren: 3
Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello: 3
John Cusack: 3
Paul McCartney: 3
Roger Moore: 3
Sylvester Stallone: 3
Wings Hauser: 3
Bowery Boys movies:
HOLD THAT HYPNOTIST
IN THE MONEY
THE BOWERY BOYS MEET THE MONSTERS
MASTER MINDS
Tarzan movies:
TARZAN AND THE TRAPPERS
STAR TREK movies:
STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT
STAR TREK: INSURRECTION
They Exist, and I Watched Them:
7 FOR INFINITY VS. THE SPACE MONSTERS
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KIDD
THE ALLEY TRAMP
CY WARRIOR: SPECIAL COMBAT UNIT
DR. GIGGLES
D’WILD WILD WENG
THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF ZORRO
THE ETRUSCAN KILLS AGAIN
FFOLKES
FLESH FEAST
IT’S A BIKINI WORLD
MACISTE IN HELL
MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERS!
THE NAUGHTY CHEERLEADER
NINJA III: THE DOMINATION
SHAKMA
THAT GUY…WHO WAS IN THAT THING
THE THREE FANTASTIC SUPERMEN IN THE ORIENT
THE WRESTLING WOMEN VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY
My Top Five of 2013:
CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH
GRAVITY
ESCAPE PLAN
NEBRASKA
THE CONJURING
My Bottom Four of 2013:
WARM BODIES
THE NUMBERS STATION (Cusack!)
LOVELACE
THE FACTORY (Cusack!)
How many movies did you watch this year?
1 comment:
I only saw 126 new films. From May to October I worked tirelessly on a novel (this isn't spam!), and I've become really selective. Not just anything will do anymore.
The best films I saw:
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER REGENERATION
I heard it was good, but it turned out to be beautiful! Incredible action, exceptional performances, and Dolph Lundgren plays one of the most horrifying creatures I've seen. No hyperbole.
TWILIGHT SYNDROME DEADLY THEME PARK
This is an obscure Japanese horror film. It's like nothing I've ever seen. The villain is this demented supernatural clown putting young people through a live-action horror game. That clown steals the show. He's not unlike HIM from "Powerpuff Girls".
EVIL DEAD TRAP
Also Japanese, very much from the 80s. It's properly creepy.
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY
No B-movie cred here. I knew this would be a good film, safe. But it was one of the most exciting films I've seen! There's all this backroom intrigue, amateur diplomacy, Nazi sympathizers. And completely outside of this is a Butler who has no emotions or thoughts beyond service. Extraordinary performance from Anthony Hopkins, one of the best. Also, the film stars Christopher Reeves.
MAN OF STEEL
I thought it was beautiful. "Fans" don't seem to understand there is a difference between fantasy and drama, and this is the latter. Cavill is flawless as Superman. Great score. Great villains. I like the destruction, too.
BEST PURE ENTERTAINMENT:
PACIFIC RIM!
I know, "Robot Jox." Whatever. I was on the edge of my seat. Just constant wonder and excitement. And real sets! You don't see that much. It's just so cool. I've been really bored w/ recent releases & I thought it was me, getting old & jaded, but this proved me wrong.
Other films I thought were great:
Bronson, Dredd, Game Change, The Master, Haywire, Stephen King's Desperation, Jack Reacher (Herzog is an awesome villain), Murder in a Small Town (starring Gene Wilder), 12 Angry Men (what a cast! A+), The Parallax View (by Lorenzo Semple Jr.!), and Brave New World (so 90s!).
Fun Entertainment, I liked it:
Total Recall remake, John Carter, The Raven (Cusack hams it up!), Stolen, Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Bay, World War Z, and The Wolverine. I also liked Miami Connection, it's a sweet-hearted movie.
I caved and watched "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and it was a really good POTA prequel, especially for a repurposed script. I'd rewatched all 4 of the original sequels so this seemed like the place to go. It's legit fun, made me feel like a fool for doubting it.
THE WORST:
The Babymakers. Agent Red. Attack of the Giant Leeches '08. Movie 43. Paranormal Activity 4.
One of the best times I had was watching "Belly of the Beast" and "Into the Sun" back to back.
I also liked revisiting Friday the 13th part VIII Jason Takes Manhattan.
I see you gave ALEX CROSS 1-star. We laughed so much! It's was absurd, and in the end Cross is revealed to be a super-villain who ruthlessly has a guy murdered. Wow!
Happy new year!
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