Around the Bend

Holiday parties and activities have been eating into my movie time the last few weeks, which is frankly a good problem to have. That said, there’s a healthy group of films that have stacked up that I’d like to see in the next month or so. To give you a glimpse into the mind of a movie freak and to help me stay on target, here are at least some of the films I intend to see in the coming weeks. 

Ben-Hur (1959)
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’d received a deluxe blu-ray copy. And it’s one of a very few AFI Top 100 films I haven’t seen. It’s time to correct that.

Les Misérables (1934)
Admittedly, the French film orgy doesn’t usually happen until late May, June, and July. However, TCM ran this the other night and it’s on the Films de France top 100 list. It’s waiting for me on my DVR, all five hours staring me in the face. And I suppose the likelihood that I’ll see the new one will hinge upon my reaction to the 1934 version.

The Hobbit (2012)
It must be seen, and I have friends who will drag me to the theater to see it if I wait too long.

Django Unchained (2012)
I will never miss a Tarantino film when it’s in theaters. Ever. And while I’m at it, the lead-up to Django will give me the perfect opportunity to watch the Reservoir Dogs blu that I just bought.

Spartacus (1960)
See the Ben-Hur comments above, but omit the line about the AFI Top 100.

My Voyage to Italy (1999)
For all of the Scorsese that I’ve seen, I’ve barely seen his documentaries. My Voyage to Italy is the first step in correcting that error.

Oh boy

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
It has “Don’t Watch It, John!” written all over it.

Stalker (1979)
It’s very long, but it’s Tarkovsky, which means it’ll likely be mind-blowing and make me want to curl up into a little ball in my living room, babbling in Russian and pondering cinematic perfection. I have it at home right now, and it’ll be the first thing I watch just as soon as I find 3 hours in which I want to cook my synapses into scrambled eggs.

Cinema Paradiso (1988)
That’s right. I’ve never seen it. Shame me if you must but I’ll see it soon enough.

Criterion’s Pearls of the Czech New Wave
For those of you that don’t know, Criterion recently released a bundle of Czech New Wave films as part of their Eclipse Series. As you may know, the Czech New Wave is tremendous, and the films haven’t always been easy to find. So the Eclipse Series choices are like manna from heaven. Depending on what Facets sends me, I’ll be starting with Pearls of the Deep and Return of the Prodigal Son.

Some Christmas Crap
No matter what else I intend to watch in the next few weeks, it’s still the holiday season for at least another week or so, depending on whether or not you think it’s ok to watch Christmas movies in between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I’ll be breaking the seal on some combination of Elf (2003), which I’ve never seen from start to finish; The Polar Express (2004); Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984); and/or a disc featuring Satan Claus, Psycho Santa, and The Christmas Season Massacre (all three).

It’s a good list, and a well-rounded one at that. It includes films from Italy, Czechoslovakia, the former Soviet Union, France, and the US. There’s comedy, drama, horror, documentary, action, and fantasy. Directors include Scorsese, Tarantino, Peter Jackson, Kubrick, Tarkovsky, Raymond Bernard, and whoever the hell made Satan Claus. It should be a great few weeks for movie-watching.