50 Day Movie Challenge: Day 1

Time to start this! On my blog schedule I've set aside Tuesdays to do the movie challenge for sure. This means it might actually be a 50-week movie challenge. But I also have a couple days left open in the schedule for either "I wanna write extra stuff" or "NO DON'T WANNA WRITE ANYTHING TODAY." We'll see whether I end up writing these more than once a week.

I found this on Emil's A Swede Talks Movies blog. He in turn got the challenge from Facebook. Some of his choices have been really interesting, so make sure and check his list out too. Like the 30 Day Song Challenge, the idea is that it gives you a topic and you post a clip of your choice for the topic. Except with movies. Not songs.

I will say this: It is extraordinarily difficult to find embeddable movie clips on YouTube. So I'm not even going to bother looking for embedded ones. I'll just link to them. Either way you'd have to click something to see them, so no extra work for you readers, I promise. :-)

50 Day Movie Challenge Day 1: Your favorite movie.

I don't have a single favorite movie. I have four at the top of my FlickChart that keep rotating around because I can't choose between them. I think I'm going to choose the one that has the smallest chance of popping up again in later posts, since I want to make sure it's represented, and that is Casablanca.

One of the amazing things about this movie is how well it still holds together after almost seventy years. It's so solidly put together. Everything just fits. The performances are wonderful. It's got a great romance, a great sense of humor, and a great mystery. Every time I watch it I get caught up in the story and find little subtleties I hadn't found before. If you haven't seen this, I strongly urge you to go find it and watch it. Right. Now.

I'm going to link to my favorite scene. For those who aren't familiar with the film, it takes place in French Morocco, during World War II when the country is controlled by the Germans. That gives a little bit of back story. I'm not an overly patriotic person and am usually unenthusiastic about "I love my country" moments in movies, but this scene is beautifully, beautifully done. It's so simple and yet so inspiring.

Day 1: Casablanca - La Marsellaise

Silly Picture Sunday!

I realized I should try reinstating Silly Picture Saturday. But Saturday is now for end-of-week movie wrap-ups. Fortunately there is another day of the week that begins with S.

Sites featured this week: Damn You Auto Correct, Fail Blog, Failbook, Memebase, The Art of Trolling.

Movies This Week

I'm a horribly inconsistent blogger, largely because I think, "That would make an interesting blog entry!" and then promptly forget about it once I get to my actual blog page. But I am attempting to make at least a tiny bit more interesting blog for you guys to read, so I have laid out a tentative blog schedule with general ideas of what I *can* write about every day, so if I think, "I want to write something!" and can't think of anything, I can look at my schedule and be inspired.

On Saturdays, my plan is to give a brief update of the movies I've seen in the past week and let you know if any of them are worth seeing. I already do mini reviews over at my movie site, Hannah and Her Movies, so you're more than welcome to check those out, but the thoughts here will be even shorter. And it's less about sharing my own rambling reactions and more about providing a guide for people who are actively hunting for something to watch.

* = Available on Netflix Instant

I saw 10 movies this week. And half of them were seen yesterday. I kind of went crazy with movie-watching yesterday. But it was awesome.

Yojimbo (1961) - Samurai movie by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. A Fistful of Dollars is a remake of this movie. This is my least favorite Kurosawa film I've seen so far but it's still pretty good. 3/5.

*War and Peace (1956) - Adaptation of the novel, stars Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Not good enough to be as long as it is. 2/5.

*The Big Lebowski (1996) - Cult classic comedy by the Coens. I wish my review could be that alliterative. Basically, not bad but I don't quite get the appeal. 3/5.

New York, New York (1977) - Martin Scorsese-directed musical about the relationship of two musicians. A little long, but pretty good. 3/5.

I'm Not Scared (2006) - Italian coming-of-age thriller drama. Do not read the Netflix synopsis, it gives away a rather major plot point. Dark, but beautiful. Drew comparisons to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, but I liked this better. 4/5.

*Peeping Tom (1960) - British serial killer flick. I liked this one a lot - interesting main character. 4/5.

*The Omen (1976) - Horror movie where Gregory Peck discovers his son may be the Antichrist. It works really, really hard at being scary. The music is hilariously overdramatic. If that were toned down it wouldn't be that bad. 2/5.

*Another Woman (1988) - Woody Allen character study of a woman who seems to have achieved it all. Also a misleading Netflix synopsis. Who writes those things? Anyway. Loved this. Gena Rowlands is fantastic and Allen's created a great character for her. 4.5/5.

*The Ant Bully (2006) - Kids' movie about a kid who is mean to ants and so needs to learn that ants are people too. This was pretty lame. 1.5/5.

*Let the Right One In (2008) - Swedish movie about a lonely little boy and his vampire friend. 2010 movie Let Me In is an American remake. I expected to like this more than I did. Never really connected. Visually stunning, though. 3/5.

Have you seen any of these? What did you think?

My Favorite Unknown Movies

I was going to start that movie challenge today, but then someone asked this on FlickChart's Facebook page and I thought, "That would be a more fun blog." So here this comes instead:

What's one of your favorite movies that less than 10% of Flickcharters have seen?

I feel like I've seen a lot of (mostly) unknown movies. I like movies based off of plays and old movies and weird little indie flicks. So I'm going to look through my FlickChart top 250 and pull out the unknown ones. Turns out there were a lot more of them than I expected. There were a couple I weeded out because they really don't belong in my top 250, but the rest of the list is here.

From most well-known to least well-known:

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)

(my #136, seen by 10% of FlickChart users)

The musical has gained a bit more attention now that Daniel Radcliffe's taken on the role on Broadway, but I was a fan of the movie long before then. The music is written by Frank Loesser, best known for his work on Guys and Dolls (and the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside"), and so it's great. Robert Morse is hilarious as a young man who's determined, with the help of a how-to book, to work his way from window washer up to corporate executive. There are songs in this movie, but it is mostly a movie with songs rather than a musical with some plot.

Pygmalion (1938)

(my #157, seen by 10% of FlickChart users)

This one is somewhat shocking to me, but I guess not that many people are into older movies. It's My Fair Lady without the songs. The acting in this is phenomenal. Leslie Howard makes for a wonderful Higgins, and I'm pretty sure this movie's placement at #157 is almost solely because of him.

Shadowlands (1994)

(my #192, seen by 10% of FlickChart users)

It's been awhile since I've seen it, but I remember really enjoying this drama about C.S. Lewis and his marriage. So it hovers around in various places in my top 250. I should watch it again at some point.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2003)

(my #22, seen by 9% of FlickChart users)

I saw this one a few years ago on a friend's recommendation and I'm delighted I did. Although it has moments where the joke plays out a bit long, overall it's one of the funniest genre spoofs I've ever seen. It's done in the style of old horror/sci-fi B-movies, complete with all the cliches, stilted acting, and preachy dialogue. This is one of those comedies that just keeps making me laugh out loud, no matter how many times I see it.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999)

(my #229, seen by 9% of FlickChart users)

Joseph seems to be one of those musicals people either love or hate. Well, I love it. And I think this is a pretty darn good musical adaptation of it. Maria Friedman and Donny Osmond are great in the main roles, and it uses the fact that it's a movie to make its songs even bigger and more high energy, which is where the fun really kicks in.

Walk, Don't Run (1966)

(my #233, seen by 9% of FlickChart users)

A charming little romantic comedy (also Cary Grant's last acting role). Probably a little higher on my FlickChart than it should be, but certainly lots of fun to watch.

Purple Noon (1960)

(my #180, seen by 8% of FlickChart users)

The Talented Mr. Ripley is the better-known version of this story, but Alain Delon blows Matt Damon out of the water when it comes to portraying Tom Ripley himself. I watched the two movies within a month or so of each other and while I like them both almost equally (TTMR's supporting cast is wonderful), this French version takes it.

Wit (2001)

(my #190, seen by 8% of FlickChart users)

One of the saddest and most beautiful plays/movies I've ever read/seen. Wit is about an English professor who is diagnosed with ovarian cancer and goes through a series of experimental treatments. The movie stays very true to the original play, and Emma Thompson is amazing as the lead role.

The Sunshine Boys (1975)

(my #196, seen by 8% of FlickChart users)

This movie, based on a Neil Simon play, stars Walter Matthau and George Burns as two vaudevillian performers who hate each other but agree to reunite one last time to do their act. I read it described somewhere as "The Odd Couple for octogenarians," and that's certainly what it feels like. Although the ending doesn't go where I expected, it's a really fun ride. Matthau and Burns are hilarious together.

Equus (1977)

(my #96, seen by 7% of FlickChart users)

Based on the play by Peter Shaffer, Equus tells the story of a psychiatrist treating a mentally disturbed teenager who blinds six horses with a metal spike. It's a wonderful story and although the movie version doesn't quite measure up to what I imagined when I first read the play, it still fascinates and disturbs and mesmerizes me.

Enchanted April (1992)

(my #167, seen by 7% of FlickChart users)

One of my mom's favorite movies. It's about a group of women who decide to take a vacation to get away from everything. It's a very solid chick flick drama.

M. Butterfly (1993)

(my #225, seen by 7% of FlickChart users)

I can't remember how early the plot twist in this movie is given away, so I'm hesitant to say much about it. It's directed by David Cronenberg and stars Jeremy Irons as a government official who falls in love with a beautiful Chinese opera singer - fascinating film. I'm actually very surprised that it's not more well-known among FlickChart users. It's actually the only Cronenberg film I've ever seen (so far).

Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007)

(my #175, seen by 6% of FlickChart users)

The ultimate guilty pleasure movie. Let me start off by saying that I don't like the movie Legally Blonde much. I think it's kind of annoying. But the musical both embraces and pokes fun at the shallowness of it all in a way that makes it about 10 times more entertaining than the original. Plus, Laurence O'Keefe and his wife wrote the music for it, and he's the one who was responsible for the phenomenal Bat Boy musical.

Kiss Me, Stupid! (1964)

(my #249, seen by 6% of FlickChart users)

One of Billy Wilder's unknown films. It stars Ray Walston as an ambitious songwriter who gets the opportunity to host to a famous but sleazy pop singer at his house (Dean Martin hilariously parodies himself in this role). Walston worries his wife will end up involved with the singer, so he sends her off to her mother's and hires a prostitute (Kim Novak) to pretend to be his wife instead. This movie is darkly funny and has ended up being one of my favorite Wilder films.

Evil (2003)

(my #201, seen by 5% of FlickChart users)

This one is a bit too high on my list but it's worth recommending, especially since it's unknown. It's a foreign film with a misleading title - it's not a supernatural horror flick, it's a movie about student violence and bullying at a prestigious boarding school. Reminiscent of a Lord of the Flies sort of story.

Company: A Musical Comedy (2007)

(my #16, seen by 4% of FlickChart users)

This is a filmed version of Stephen Sondheim's concept musical - and a brilliantly acted one. Raul Esparza plays Bobby, who has all the friends he could ever hope for but has commitment issues and floats from woman to woman, while all his friends try to match him up. It's funny, it's moving, the songs are great. Each little vignette of his interactions with his neighbors is interesting. Esparza's Bobby is friendly, but much dryer than other interpretations of the role I've seen, and I think it's that that really sets this production apart for me. If you're not a fan of big flashy MGM song-and-dance musicals, it might be worth checking this one out - it's a very different kind of show.

Mozart and the Whale (2006)

(my #240, seen by 4% of FlickChart users)

One of my all-time favorite romantic comedies, this is a beautiful story about two people with Asperger's who fall in love. Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell create amazing characters who are easy to connect and sympathize with.

Amahl and the Night Visitors (1978)

(my #182, seen by 3% of FlickChart users)

I'm not a huge fan of opera, but I like some of it, and this is one of my favorites. It's the story of an extremely poor family (a crippled boy and his mother) and the three Nativity story magi, who stay at their house for one night. This has some beautiful music and is a really nice Christmas story.

The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (2000)

(my #222, seen by 3% of FlickChart users)

Elijah Wood is so much better in this movie than he ever was in Lord of the Rings. He plays a young man who wakes up in a hospital with no memory of who he is or why he is there. This movie differs from the original Robert Cormier novel by giving the audience a happier ending, but it works for me. It's an interesting little indie flick.

Cats (1998)

(my #232, seen by 3% of FlickChart users)

People either love Cats or hate it. I think it's a blast. Yes, there's no plot, no character development, nothing that people expect in musicals. But when done right, it's a series of fantastically fun songs and dances, with an incredible amount of energy. And this cast does it right.

The Star-Spangled Girl (1971)

(my #45, seen by 2% of FlickChart users)

The play this movie was based on is quite possibly my favorite of all Neil Simon's plays, although it wasn't received well by critics. It's just pure fun. It's the story of an all-American girl from Arkansas who moves next door to two men self-publishing a magazine dedicated to fighting the "system" in America (thanks, Wikipedia, for helping me figure out how to phrase that). It's silly and over-the-top but consistently makes me laugh and, like so many of Simon's works, just leaves me feeling happy.

Notre-Dame de Paris (1999)

(my #67, seen by 1% of FlickChart users)

Another theater-based one (that seems to comprise most of this list), this is a filmed version of Luc Plamondon's musical, based on the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. This one is really not worth seeing if you don't like musicals, as it's all about the music. However, if you like musicals at all, watch it. Some of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, and an amazing cast of singers. Captivates me every time I watch it.

L.A. Without a Map (1998)

(my #148, seen by 1% of FlickChart users)

A quirky little romantic comedy starring David Tennant (which is how I found it in the first place) as a Scottish gravedigger who meets a girl at her father's funeral and falls in love with her at first sight. He then follows her to America to attempt to win her heart. It's goofy and ridiculous (he frequently gets advice from his living Johnny Depp poster) but Tennant is charming and the movie just makes me smile.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 30

Day 30: Your favorite song at this time last year.

Well, that's lame. I'm pretty sure my favorite song last year was still Shiksa Goddess. And while it is kind of fun to go full circle, I am going to go ahead and go with the last song that was a serious contender for favorite song, even though Shiksa Goddess continued to win out in the end.

"Smile" by James Marsters is one of maybe three songs that I can listen to multiple times on repeat. It's pretty and sweet and there's just something about his voice that relaxes me. I love it a lot. It's the song I've listened to the most on Last.fm (138 plays, which is absurdly high for a single song for me).

And... we're done, people.

At first I had the thought, "Well, now I'll probably never blog again since there won't be anything to remind me to do so..." But then I remembered that while I was in the middle of this challenge, though, someone brought another challenge to my attention - this time a movie-related one. And I do love movies a lot. So I think I'll start off on that one tomorrow. With an equally relaxed time frame (this one was pretty much "whenever I both think of it and feel like choosing something").

Thanks to any of you who followed me through this. I hope you've enjoyed some of these song selections!

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 29

Day 29: A song from your childhood.

I am posting THIS because I found it on YouTube not that long ago and it made me go, "AAHHH! MEMORIES!" This video has a little girl performing a puppet show to it on her bed, and there was a movie version of this story as well that I think I saw once, but I knew it because we had a cassette tape of it when I was very young. And even now the family will occasionally sing it.

So here it is: "Patience" from The Music Machine.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 28

Day 28: A song that makes you feel guilty.

Er. A song that makes me feel guilty? What does that mean? We've already done a guilty pleasure song, so it can't be that. But I don't think songs make me feel guilty except for feeling guilty about liking them.

So in light of that, I guess I'll post Jonathan Coulton's version of "Baby Got Back," which I love but feel guilty admitting that to my Christian friends, because I know these are not exactly... uplifting lyrics. But it's FUNNYYYYY, guys! ...But, yes, it is kind of awkward when I get it stuck in my head.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 27

Day 27: A song you wish you could play.

Again, that would be every song ever. But I am going to go with "Fantasies Come True" from Avenue Q, because it's one of my very favorite showtunes but it's a (kinda) serious one that's sung by one of the more obnoxious puppet voices, so sometimes I try to show it to people and they can't get past that. BUT if I could play it, then I could just play it and sing it for people and they'd be like, "Oh, why, you're right, that is a nice song!"

...Well, maybe they still wouldn't like it. Maybe I'm just the only one in the world who loves this song. But at least I'd have tried all my options.

(And, if you're curious, here it is with lyrics. Original Broadway cast.)

iCheckMovies Commenters Are Interesting

I have already shared one story of iCheckMovies commenter entertainment on here, but let me share a few more.

On most movie websites, people post lengthy reviews or brief but uninteresting comments ("OMG so good LOL"). And there are certainly those on iCheckMovies as well... but there are also some very entertaining comments.

A few examples:

Au Revoirs Les Enfants

Commenter 1: A great film. The ending made me hate the Nazis very, very much.

Commenter 2: I used to think the nazis were swell guys but the ending changed my opinion, very much.

Evil

Commenter 1: Very good movie, all the injustice made me really angry!

Commenter 2: The injustice made me really satisfied. Break the weak!

Splice

adrien brody ADRIEN BRODY AdRiEn BrOdy ardienbrody ADRIENBRODY adrienbrodyadbrodadirbrydoabdndaybiiradbroyadriendby

Buried

Ah ah ah ah... buried alive, buried alive.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 26

We're nearing the eennnnndddd, guys!

Day 26: A song that you can play on an instrument.

*blink*

But... but I can't.

I can't play anything on an instrument.

So I guess I'm going to have to choose "Star Wars (John Williams Is the Man)" by Moosebutter, because it is acappella and I can sing. And also, it is awesome.

Ghost in the Darkness vs. Dinosaur

Although the picture is a little small to see it properly, FlickChart is making me choose between... apparently, two eyes that reflect things. Do I choose the demon lion eye that reflects humans coming to kill it, or the CGI dinosaur eye that reflects other dinosaurs?

If they put these two eyes side by side on the same poster, it could be an Alien vs. Predator-looking thing. Or possibly even a Jekyll and Hyde-looking thing.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 25

Day 25: A song that makes you laugh.

So hard to choose! But I really think I absolutely must go with "Love Is My Legs" from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Some background first, before you play it.

If you're familiar with the movie, you know this story. Two con men (polar opposites - a suave older gentleman, and a vulgar younger man with no class) are fighting over the same turf, so they decide to compete to swindle $50,000 from a certain woman. Whoever gets the money first, wins. Freddy, the younger man, has the idea to pretend to be someone suffering from a psychosomatic disease that leaves him unable to walk, who needs $50,000 for an operation for his grandmother.

Somewhere along the way, the older man develops affection for the girl and wants to call off the bet, but Freddy convinces him to instead change the bet, instead making it about whether or not he (Freddy) can get the girl to sleep with him.

In this scene in the musical, Freddy goes to the girl in his wheelchair and confesses that he thinks if he knew she loved him, he might just have the will to walk again. He tells her in this wonderfully over-the-top and cheesy and ridiculous song that makes me laugh every time I hear it.

I've included two versions here - one that features much clearer audio but has silly girls lip-synching to it (do ignore them), and a clip from the live version which gives some context, but is sometimes very difficult to hear. Listen to whichever one you want, or both.

Clearer audio:

Live version:

Faith are the toes attached to your feet,

So I'll be your feet completely!

Always there to strive in your socks,

Alive in your socks,

No longer dejected,

To feet resurrected,

Connected to legs - which is love!

If you don't follow me on Twitter...

...here's what I've been posting about this month.

Re: rapture, a friend says: "It's actually the rap-tour. Jesus is out spittin' rhymes to churches full of frowning old people right now."

[retweeted from @chibchenko] Is it just me or does anyone else find pressing F5 refreshing?

Mom: (Reading a book to the kids) "'She swallowed her own mouth, going dry...'" (Pause) "No. 'She swallowed, her own mouth going dry.'"

I love snarky reponses to iCheckMovies comments:

Comment 1: "Very good movie, all the injustice made me really angry!"

Comment 2: "The injustice made me really satisfied. Break the weak!"

[retweeted from @cpat71] If social media isn't helping you build a more engaged audience, try building a more enraged one. It's only one letter different.

16yo: "Which do you want me to make, brownies or dark chocolate cake?"

Me: "Cake!"

16yo: "Please say brownies."

Also, if you haven't been following my Facebook, which is fewer of you, and that's why I put this in the second part... this is what's been happening there.

For the last couple days, any time my littlest siblings ask me what movie or TV show I'm talking about, I say, "The Office." This means they now think The Office regularly features a baby and serial killers, and Jeremy Irons is in it. Someday when they watch the actual show they're going to be so disappointed.

So I was reading Conservapedia's list of "Greatest Conservative Songs." "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees was listed because it is "pro-people and pro-staying alive." Yeah, The Bee Gees were the conservative heroes in an era of crazy pro-dying liberals, cleverly hiding pro-staying alive messages in their song titles.

Me: I am hiding behind your door RIGHT NOW, ready to jump out and yell at you.

Josh: Which door? Closet or room?

Me: The one you least expect.

Josh: REFRIGERATOR

‎Elizabeth: "When I'm napping and I'm half awake, half asleep, I'm still always aware of what other people are saying and thinking. Uh... well, not what they're thinking. I can't read minds while I'm sleeping."

Rejected Mao rule: If you play a joker, you have to do the Joker's pencil trick to someone at the table. (Especially helpful if you have too many people playing.)

Looking over my philosophy notes, I just found this: "Weirob's objection: Blue River case. River has same characteristics, but not same water. Pocahontas says you can't step in the same river twice." That's right, I derive my philosophical arguments from Disney lyrics.

I talked about how I probably wasn't going to be sleeping tonight, and Anna (whose mother is driving her to her far-away class tomorrow) responded, "I'm probably gonna crash in the car on the way to my class." I sure hope she doesn't. Unintentional pun ftw.

Reading tomorrow's Religion & Theater play. It joked about misspelling "Klaatu barada nikto"... and then DID misspell it, with only one A in "Klaatu." This bothers me because I. AM. A. NERD.

I left my jacket in someone's car yesterday. When I got it back today, I discovered that my iPod had been playing the whole time in the jacket pocket. I was 537 songs through the "shuffle all" playlist.

---

Just some end-of-the-month wrap-ups. Because it's 4:30 and I don't feel like finishing watching Buried yet.

The Hannah Movie Awards: May 2011

I watched a TON of movies this month. A lot for me, anyway: 32. So we'll see what kinds of awards I get to give out.

Best Acting Overall

- In the Bedroom

- Megamind

- Sex, Lies, and Videotape

- Tangled

Although I enjoyed all these movies, this one has to go to In the Bedroom, hands down. Near perfect performances from everyone involved, and that's really hard to achieve in a movie. Usually there's at least someone who drags it down. That just wasn't the case here.

Best Actor

- Color Me Kubrick (John Malkovich)

-

Dear Frankie (Jack McElhone)

-

The Detective (Alec Guinness)

-

Evil (Henrik Lundstrom)

-

Rabbit Hole (Miles Teller)

-

Tangled (Zachary Levi)

-

Water for Elephants (Christoph Waltz)

-

Water for Elephants (Robert Pattinson)

-

Wilde (Stephen Fry)

Wow. Some of these people obviously deserve this more than others (what are YOU doing here, Robert Pattinson? You were just acceptable, not award-worthy). It's worth noting that three of the people here played children or young teenagers - kudos to McElhone, Lundstrom, and Teller for not making me hate their characters. But this award obviously has to go to Stephen Fry, who was so perfectly cast as Oscar Wilde.

Best Actress

- ‘Night, Mother (Anne Bancroft)

- ‘Night, Mother (Sissy Spacek)

- Tangled (Donna Murphy)

- Tangled (Mandy Moore)

Well, I enjoyed Tangled, but obviously one of the two from 'Night, Mother should have this one. Although it's awfully difficult to choose which one, I think Sissy Spacek ever so slightly gets the edge in this one. Very well played.

Best Adaptation

- ‘Night, Mother

- Lolita (1997)

- Lord of the Flies

Awarding Lolita anything for adaptation feels ridiculous, as I haven't ever read the original novel and have nothing to base it on. So I think I'm going to disqualify it and give it to 'Night, Mother instead, which was really well done.

Most Cliched

- Something’s Gotta Give

- Tangled

Not even a contest. Tangled only had a moment or two of clichedness, while Something's Gotta Give had nothing BUT cliches from beginning to end.

Best Dialogue

- ‘Night, Mother

- Sex, Lies, and Videotape

Er, well, while I feel like I'm just giving everything away to this movie, I'm pretty sure this has to go to 'Night, Mother again. Everything just works.

Most Disappointing

- Color Me Kubrick

- Wilde

I think the more disappointing of the two was probably Wilde, which I was so looking forward to, and then it just ended up being kind of... meh. I didn't have such high expectations of Color Me Kubrick, so it didn't disappoint as much.

Most Enjoyable

- Do You Like Hitchcock?

- The Detective

- The Tourist

OK, I know it got huge amounts of flak... but I liked The Tourist. It's complete nonsense, but it somehow got me to have a good time watching an action movie, which is rather an enormous achievement. Although I liked the other two pretty well, I enjoyed The Tourist from beginning to implausible end.

Most Entertaining

- Caddyshack

- Do You Like Hitchcock?

- Tangled

- The Lost Skeleton Returns Again

- White Nights

Ooer. This is kind of a tough one for me. I think of these five, Tangled was the most consistently entertaining, although Lost Skeleton is a close second. So... Tangled takes it. (Good job, Disney.)

Best Final Scene

- Au Revoir Les Enfants

- Lord of the Flies

...Two movies about kids. Who'd'athunk it? I'm pretty sure Au Revoir Les Enfants takes this one, though, because it's the ending that really turned it into something special rather than a nice generic little boarding school movie.

Most Moving

- ‘Night, Mother

- Au Revoir Les Enfants

- The Virgin Spring

OH THIS IS A DIFFICULT CHOICE. Okay. Au Revoir Les Enfants is out. I saw 'Night, Mother more recently so it's fresher in my mind, but I really liked The Virgin Spring. And I really do feel like I've been giving awards to 'Night, Mother left and right. Not that that should be the thing to sway my judgment... But I'm torn enough on this one to let it make my decision. Take it, The Virgin Spring. You deserve it.

Most Surprising

- Dear Frankie

- The Virgin Spring

I think this one has to go to Dear Frankie, which really did surprise me. I expected to hate it and, turns out, I didn't.

Least Funny

- Color Me Kubrick

- Something’s Gotta Give

NO QUESTION, it's Something's Gotta Give. CMK made me chuckle a couple times. SGG just made me stare at the screen and go, "Really? Really?"

And those are the awards this month. I'm a bit saddened that my other favorite movie of the month, Evil, wasn't nominated for anything it could win. I guess that's what happens when you make the nominations based on rather weird rationale. :-)