Where I Stand (April 1-st-ish Edition)

Ah, 449 movies watched. We actually watched a dozen movies this month and decided to take the plunge with a little outfit called Netflix to get those DVDs that aren't available through the library (inaugural checkout from the list - Five Easy Pieces). I've also discovered that I may have a list problem over at List of Bests. Of the 27 Lists I'm working on, 15 are related to movies. Everything from The Films of Marilyn Monroe to Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments to the IMDB top 250 to this list. Hey, there's crossover.

So, onto the favorites for March:

Dersu Uzula - Yes, when it comes to Akira Kurosawa, I'm picking the one filmed in the former Soviet Union with the all USSR cast! However, in our Kurosawa mini-film festival this month, this was the one that spoke to us the most. Sure, there was the sweeping King Lear spectacle of Ran and then there was the bleak realization that no point of view would ever make sense or right out of Rashomon - and while all of that was rolickin' good times, Dersu Uzula's story of an unbalanced friendship left the longest impression. In Dersu Uzula, there is much to be said about allowing the organic nature of friendship to exist and to let yourself be helped by a friend that is offering without worrying about future repayments.

Sleuth - Every single film where there's a con of some sort wants to be this movie. Including the remake. Two men in the cast and nothing but words and your imagination to carry you through their various games of one-upsmanship. I'd say that you'll find yourself rooting for one over the other, but really, both are cheaters and liars. At the same time, you really do want to know how it's going to turn out.

The Wild Bunch - Peckinpah. Guns. Bullets. Lots and lots and lots and lots of bullets. Really - over 90,000 blanks were fired during that movie (it's on IMDB, so it must be true!). All in all, this is not a throwaway story dependent on bullets. What starts as a deadly double-cross on a "one-last-heist" (aren't they all?) turns into a run-in with Warlords demanding that our survivors now try to figure out how to rob the U.S. Army...which wouldn't be a terrible problem if one of the posse members weren't looking to help out the rebels on the sly.

Here's to a few more movies from multiple outlets, figuring out a better posting schedule, and spending some time in the great outdoors!