9 Movies on the list watched, bringing the grand total up to 437 movies. It feels like the halfway point is still kind of far away. We're watching a lot of non-list movies and even cheating a bit by catching up on the IMDB-250 and some old Oscar nominees we never got around to watching. I know! It's as if other movies exist.
So, onto the top 3:
Solyaris (Solaris) - Russian films continue to charm and even though the length can drain a bit, this is terrific stuff. In the philosophical questions it asks, it's also not afraid to be campy - after all, what was that dwarf doing in the cosmonauts room? Much better than the remake (aren't the originals always) if you're willing to forgive bad Soviet-era special effects. Bonus - catch the smoking allowed on space stations!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - It's true, I didn't see this as a kid growing up. If you believe the stories that my father has about wanting to ensure that I'd grow up an empowered female and not wanting to expose me to inappropriate female archetypes, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale cheap. (Some parents have mighty big words and phrasing for, "I wanted to watch movies I'd like!") What's amazing about Snow White is realizing what a labor-intensive process animation was for as little as it offered and then realizing how amazing Snow White still managed to be for its time. Of course, we ended up checking out the animated Horton Hears a Who the same week and seeing how far animation has come in 70 years is nothing short of amazing.
Sullivan's Travels - Fantastic satire. Hollywood director sets out to live poverty for himself while accompanied by publicity-crazed studio that insists on following him in a luxury bus. When this all goes wrong, he meets Lana Turner (who is crazy tiny!) and the movie manages to get a point across without turning into a preachy mess - which is the message that was needed all along. Even when the movie turns a bit dark, it still manages to keep a sense of humor. Bit of trivia: at one point, Sullivan does make reference to a screenplay for "O Brother, Where Art Thou," which did have me wondering...
Here's to a new month, getting past awards season and watching more films. I sense a Japanese film festival in my living room coming soon...
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