346 Movies

346. That's the number of movies I watched in 2012. That’s well below my all-time record of 588 in 2004, and quite a bit below last year’s total of 474. I don’t have any explanation for the decrease.

Of the 346 movies I saw, I watched 192 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. For the first time, I watched complete features on YouTube and as AVI files on my computer, using the Xbox 360’s Windows Media Center app to stream from my desktop to my TV.

• 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: 4

DVD: 190

HDTV: 62

Theater: 24

TV: 8

Blu-ray: 32

VHS: 2

Netflix Instant Streaming: 15

YouTube: 9

First film of 2012: INTRUDER (1989)

Last film of 2012: THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK

From the 1930s: 4 (DRACULA’S DAUGHTER, SH! THE OCTOPUS, THE PATIENT IN ROOM 18, MYSTERY HOUSE)

1940s: 22

1950s: 24

1960s: 42

1970s: 89

1980s: 67

1990s: 56

2000–2011: 22

2012: 20

Genres:

Action/Adventure: 116

Comedy: 47

Crime Drama: 23

Documentary: 5

Drama: 20

Horror: 40

Mystery: 23

Science Fiction: 35

Thriller: 26

Western: 11

Countries of origin:

Canada: 4

Great Britain: 11

Hong Kong: 8

Indonesia: 2

Italy: 7

Japan: 5

Philippines: 2

South Africa: 2

Spain: 2

Turkey: 1

United States of America: 302

Even though I stopped going to theaters regularly years ago, I still managed to see 20 2012 releases, mostly on cable or on Blu-ray. I saw only a handful of them theatrically: HAYWIRE, THE RAID: REDEMPTION, THE AVENGERS, PROMETHEUS, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

Also seen theatrically:

Double bill of THE FISTS OF THE WHITE LOTUS and MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE at the Portage Theater in Chicago on worn but beautiful 35mm prints

BLACK CHRISTMAS at the New Art in Champaign, Illinois in 35mm

Most in one month:

January: 44

Least in one month:

October: 9

Films I saw more than once in 2012:

THE CAPE CANAVERAL MONSTERS

THE GREEN SLIME

ZOMBIE NIGHTMARE

The most films in any one 24-hour period:

15, when I attended Northwestern University's annual B-Fest January 27–28

The Best Films I Saw for the First Time in 2012:

THE EXPENDABLES 2

YESTERDAY’S ENEMY

DEADLY PREY

MONEYBALL

THE HUNTED (1995)

DEATH IN SMALL DOSES

THE HYPNOTIC EYE

THE RAID: REDEMPTION

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL

THE FISTS OF THE WHITE LOTUS

CONTAMINATION

CALL NORTHSIDE 777

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Some sequels:

AMERICAN NINJA 4: THE ANNHILATION

BEST OF THE BEST 3: NO TURNING BACK

CRITTERS, CRITTERS 2, CRITTERS 3, and CRITTERS 4

CYBERTRACKER and CYBERTRACKER 2

THE DELTA FORCE and DELTA FORCE 2: THE COLOMBIAN CONNECTION (in hi-def)

THE EXPENDABLES 2

FINAL DESTINATION 5

PREDATOR 2

PSYCHO III

PUPPET MASTER II

ROBOCOP 2 and ROBOCOP 3

SILK 2

A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS

5 Stars:

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN

ABOVE THE LAW

CADDYSHACK

THE CAPE CANAVERAL MONSTERS

DEADLY PREY

EUROTRIP

THE EXPENDABLES 2

FORTRESS

THE MARCUS-NELSON MURDERS

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE

RITUALS

ROAD HOUSE

SAMURAI COP

SH! THE OCTOPUS

SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT

THE STABILIZER

STUNT ROCK

UNDER SIEGE

YESTERDAY’S ENEMY

1 Star:

THE ADVENTURES OF FORD FAIRLANE

THE BEAUTIFUL, THE BLOODY, AND THE BARE

FUTURE KICK

LASER MOON

MURDER AT THE WORLD SERIES

THE NIGHT OF THE CAT

NOBODY’S PERFEKT

PUPPETMASTER

RACQUET

ROAD OF DEATH

SIDESHOW

SPY SQUAD

STEEL SHARKS

STREET OF SHADOWS

TIFFANY JONES

TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE

TO CATCH A YETI

Recent Direct-to-Video or Barely Released Films You Haven’t Heard Of, But You Should See:

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

THE RAID: REDEMPTION

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL

ABOMINABLE

Beach Party movies:

BEACH PARTY

MUSCLE BEACH PARTY

BIKINI BEACH

BEACH BLANKET BINGO

SKI PARTY

PAJAMA PARTY

HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI

DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE

THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI

Most Films by Director:

William Asher: 5

Andrew Davis: 4

Cirio H. Santiago: 4

Andrew L. Stone: 3

Fred Olen Ray: 3

Joseph Sargent: 3

Lew Landers: 3

Reginald Le Borg: 3

Sam Newfield: 3

Most Films by Star:

Frankie Avalon: 6

Annette Funicello: 6

Lon Chaney Jr.: 6

Arnold Schwarzenegger: 5

Chuck Norris: 5

Andy Griffith: 4

David Janssen: 4

Lloyd Bridges: 4

Robert Forster: 4

Steven Seagal: 4

Cameron Mitchell: 3

Christopher George: 3

Don “The Dragon” Wilson: 3

Jean-Claude Van Damme: 3

Leo Fong: 3

Nicholas Hammond: 3

Robert Culp: 3

Bowery Boys movies:

GHOST CHASERS

HOLD THAT LINE

Tarzan movies:

TARZAN AND THE LOST SAFARI

TARZAN’S HIDDEN JUNGLE

They Exist, and I Watched Them:

ANGEL OF H.E.A.T.

THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES

B.A.D. CATS

THE BEAUTIFUL, THE BLOODY, AND THE CARE

CALLING DR. DEATH

CHILDREN OF THE LOTUS EATERS

CODE 7 VICTIM 5!

DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS

THE DRAGON VS. NEEDLES OF DEATH

THE GONG SHOW MOVIE

THE SECRET SEX LIVES OF ROMEO AND JULIET

SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA

THERE’S A NOOSE WAITING FOR YOU…TRINITY!

TRUCKIN’ BUDDY MCCOY

WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS’ DORMITORY

WOLFGUY: ENRAGED WOLFMAN

ZAPPERS BLADE OF VENGEANCE

ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU

My Top Five of 2012:

THE EXPENDABLES 2

THE RAID: REDEMPTION

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

HAYWIRE

THE AVENGERS

My Bottom Five of 2012:

TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE

NATURE CALLS

GONE

MAN ON A LEDGE

JOHN CARTER

How many movies did you watch this year?