May Summary

May Summary

08/10 - All the President's Men
08/10 - The Maltese Falcon
07/10 - (500) Days of Summer
05/10 - The Prestige
04/10 - Stingray
07/10 - Iron Man
07/10 - Iron Man 2
03/10 - Moonlighting Wives
09/10 - M
02/10 - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
04/10 - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
04/10 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
09/10 - Star Wars
09/10 - Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
09/10 - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
08/10 - The Long Goodbye
09/10 - The Shawshank Redemption
08/10 - Kick-Ass
09/10 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
02/10 - Brazil
06/10 - Cloverfield

Quick Facts:
Movies seen in May: 21
Time spent watching movies in May: 2528 minutes (42 hours, 8 minutes)

Best Movie Seen (Overall):
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
I just love this movie too much not to vote it for this spot. It has extremely tough competition though and this is probably the closest "race" for this award ever. Episode V is right behind and I wrote in my detailed review just how close these two are for me.
Runner-up: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
[Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back were first time viewings of the theatrical versions but repeated viewings of the film itself.]
[Note: These two films will not be included in the next two rankings.]

Best Movie Seen (First Viewing):
M
Wow is pretty much all I can say here as I was astounded at how tense and awesome this older film was. It has clearly stood the test of time to remain powerful to this day. All the President's Men was almost as good and was a great drama. It, perhaps surprisingly, barely edges out The Maltese Falcon.
Runner-up: All the President's Men

Best Movie Seen (Repeated Viewing):
Star Wars
Yep, another Star Wars win. Really right in behind Episode V above, it takes the logical win here since the other good Star Wars entries were out of the running. Coming in second here is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which is headlined by one of the most masterful acting performances ever.
Runner-up: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Worst Film Seen:
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Another Star Wars "win" only this time for worst film category. I wrote about many of my complaints but didn't even touch on the more common ones. Honestly as bad as everyone claims. Brazil takes second here in a movie that is constantly heralded but one that I just didn't enjoy at all.
Runner-up: Brazil

Most Surprising Film Seen:
The Long Goodbye
This movie was great and it was a Weird Wednesday movie. Usually these average around 3/10 but this one pulled a whopping 8/10 and it deserved that score completely. I've actually recommended it to quite a few people.

First runner-up: Kick-Ass
Second runner-up: M
Kick-Ass takes second since it was both highly fun and quite good. I expected a cheesy and corny comic book movie but instead it was both ultraviolent and realistic while still keeping me interested. M is highly influential for the film noir genre but it always amazes me when a movie from the 1930s can hold my attention so well.

Most Disappointing Film Seen:
Brazil
Really, Brazil? I thought this was supposed to be good but instead it was just a hodgepodge of stuff thrown out there in my opinion, none of which I cared for. I was really disappointed here. When I go in expecting like a 7/10 but end up giving a 2/10 it's usually not a good sign.

First runner-up: The Prestige
Second runner-up: The Maltese Falcon
The Prestige gets placed here because it, too, was highly praised and I was just expecting more when I sat down to begin my viewing. The Maltese Falcon rounds out the list pretty much by default. I was expecting like a 9/10 from it or so whereas the other films all met or exceeded my expectations.

Most Enjoyable Film Seen:
Iron Man
Two years later and Iron Man still has it. Iron Man is fun to watch and has a quick wit. Robert Downey, Jr. gives a great performance as Tony Stark and this is the single biggest factor as to why it gets this spot.

First runner-up: Star Wars
Second runner-up: The Long Goodbye
Star Wars gets first runner-up because it's just a wonderful standalone film. It works well by itself but it also adds layers to the three movies before it and the two movies after it. It was also quite a joy to see after seeing those horrible prequels. The Long Goodbye rounds out this list as it was quite fun to watch Elliott Gould ad-lib about half his lines here and just walk around mumbling to himself. It didn't hurt that the film garnered an 8/10 from me as well.

The Film More People Need to See:
M
This is a great film that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved every minute of it. Sure, it's a foreign film so you'll have to read subtitles, but that doesn't take away from the tension and quality acting that run throughout.

First runner-up: The Long Goodbye
Second runner-up: (500) Days of Summer
The Long Goodbye gets second because it's just this amazing movie that I'd never heard of. It's newer than M and American but just not quite as good so it finishes a close second. (500) Days of Summer tears me up as to what I should rate it but I still think more people should see it.

Best Scene Seen:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - the World Series scene
This is one of my favorite scenes in cinema so it's no surprise why I selected it. It's such a powerful and moving image as McMurphy triumphs briefly over Nurse Ratched.

First runner-up: The Shawshank Redemption - the escape reveal
Second runner-up: All the President's Men - the long cut of Bob Woodward
The reveal of how Andy Dufresne escapes Shawshank is almost magical. It's the supreme example of triumph and determination. It's moving no matter how many times I watch it. The long cut of Woodward is selected for an entirely different reason - everything seems real here. Redford doesn't act here, he simply becomes Woodward (he actually bumbles a line but carries on with the scene) and I love it when that happens in a movie.

Voting Update:
02/10 --> 01/10 - Rocky V
When people ask me what the worst "actual movie" I've ever seen is, this one constantly comes to mind. If that's true then it deserves a 1/10 as opposed to that generous 2/10 I had given it.
03/10 --> 02/10 - A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge
This isn't worthy of a 3/10 when I look back. It's really quite bad and barely worth the watch and certainly not worthy of being on par as such things as Angels and Demons or Green Zone.

Two changes that bring two bad films down even more. Oh well.

May Comments:
I think I watched a bit here and there but not much. Most of the viewing was concentrated in one twelve hour period. I do think I was all over the map with what I watched this month though: some serious dramas, some bad dramas, some film noir, a romantic indie, some comic book movies, Star Wars, and some cult favorites. That was kind of fun though. Also, I had a streak of quality film watching there with seven movies in a row getting an 8/10 or higher. I also hit 100 movies for the year already which bodes well for my 200 movie goal.

June Outlook:
I really don't know what's in store for June. School is done now so I might have more free time to check stuff out and I might not. I think this month I'll try and pick up stuff from my other movie "themes" I've had and watch them so maybe I'll decide to call it "hodgepodge June" or something.