Watching Things: January 2022
By Austin Johnson
The battle between sports and films is real in my life. I watched so much basketball in January because it’s been a bloody entertaining season. I also watched a ton of NFL playoffs because the playoffs have been all time entertainment with a crazy amount of drama. The Chiefs vs Bills game that went to overtime blew my mind due to the high energy and non stop offensive action that glued me to the screen. There was also the Australian Open for tennis which saw Rafael Nadal make history and that was glorious because he is definitely the most exciting tennis player I’ve ever watched. The NBA always heats up in January because the midway point hits and teams are really showing what they are all about.
With all of that sports action in my life, I still watched 20 films during the first month of 2022. I watched 33 films in December so I saw a significant drop but the quality was just as good. I rewatched 11 films and saw 9 films for the first time, so let’s get to it.
1. Michael Clayton, 2007 (HBO Max) - 9
2. Blue Sky, 1994 (Tubi) - 7
3. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994 (DVD/HBO Max) - 10
4. Juno, 2007 (Starz) - 8
5. Atonement, 2007 (DVD) - 8
6. No Country for Old Men, 2007 (DVD/HBO Max) - 10
7. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, 2022 (Disney+) - 7
8. Chungking Express, 1994 (Criterion Channel) - 9
9. Thief, 1981 (DVD/Tubi) - 10
10. Scream, (Stars and Stripes Drive in Theater) - 8
11. The 400 Blows, 1959 (Criterion Channel/HBO Max) - 9
12. Antoine and Colette, 1962 (Criterion Channel) - 8
13. Day for Night, 1973 (DVD/Criterion Channel) - 9
14. Dudley Andrew on Day for Night, 2015 (Criterion Channel)
15. The Maltese Falcon, 1941 (HBO Max) - 9
16. Toy Story 2, 1999 (Disney+) - 9
17. A Bug’s Life, 1998 (Disney+) - 9
18. Wreck-It Ralph, 2012 (Disney+) - 7
19. The Asphalt Jungle, 1950 (Criterion Channel) - 9
20. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948 (DVD) - 10
One of the best things we do on our Filmgazm podcasts is the Best Picture Showdowns on Oscar Sunday. On January 16th, we had a 80th Academy Awards Showdown for episode 85, which featured an amazing group of films up for Best Picture. One of them is Michael Clayton. Oh man, I love George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton. I also fucking dig James Newton Howard’s score and Robert Elswit’s cinematography. Elswit is a goddamn force behind the camera and I can’t think of many people who have put together a more impressive past 20 years in that field. Michael Clayton is on HBO Max so I watched it on there but shame on me for not owning this fantastic film.
Right before the showdown on episode 85, we did The Shawshank Redemption on episode 84. I like to watch random shit from the ceremonies we cover, so I watched Blue Sky from 1994, which got one nomination and one win for Jessica Lange as Best Actress in a Lead role. She’s fucking dynamite as Carly Marshall even though the film is just fine. Lange has this wild ability to make a film watchable no matter what and that fact is very apparent with Blue Sky. I probably won’t watch it ever again but it’s on Tubi and worth it for her performance.
After Blue Sky, I rewatched Shawshank for episode 84. Holy hell, what a film. I have had a roller coaster ride with Shawshank. When I first saw it in middle school, I knew it was amazing but then I kind of back tracked in my late teens, because I was a fucking snob for a bit. Nowadays, I see it as an all time rewatchable film that checks nearly every box. It’s episodic in the best way and deserves its rightful place amongst American classics. The film is on HBO Max and the DVD has been on my shelf for well over a decade. Fuck, I really wish Shawshank or Pulp would’ve beaten Gump for Best Picture at the 67th Academy Awards.
After Shawshank, I went back to my 80th Academy Awards homework with Juno. Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, J.K. Simmons, and Allison Janney provide maybe the most random ensemble but they prove to be quite effective in Juno. I have seen it a handful of times as it’s kind of a comforting story in my mind. Juno is easily the most laid back and lighthearted Best Picture nominee from its ceremony, yet it packs a solid punch in certain moments. Check it out on Starz if you can, and if not, be patient, it will show up on a different streaming service in no time.
After Juno, it was time for Atonement. Jesus Christ, not a fun watch. It’s a good film that isn’t on a streaming service that I have access to, so my man Connor let me borrow his DVD. The first 45 minutes or so are fantastic and very intense, but the latter half of the film gets kind of boring at times due to a lack of knowing where to go with the story. It’s my least favorite from the 80th Academy Awards Best Picture group, but it’s still a solid watch that is completely unforgiving.
The 80th Academy Awards Best Picture nominees include, Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, and the winner, No Country for Old Men. I watched There Will Be Blood in December because I watched every single Paul Thomas Anderson directed film in preparation for Licorice Pizza, so I skipped There Will Be Blood and went from watching Atonement to No Country for Old Men. If you really want to know my thoughts on the film, then check out episode 85 of Oscar Sunday. It’s a straight up masterpiece that went head to head with another masterpiece in There Will Be Blood. No Country is on HBO Max, but you can bet your ass that I own that shit and watched it at damn near one in the morning.
After finishing the Best Picture showdown homework, my fiancé and I watched Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Disney+ because she’s a big Marvel fan who had already seen it and wanted me to catch up on what’s going on. I liked it but I do have my qualms with it overall. The first half rules and was on its way to becoming one of my very favorite MCU films, but then the second half started relying on CGI and pretty predictable plot lines. I liked the martial arts and family aspects but shit, I don’t want to keep going through the same thing as far as plot goes.
The best part of Shang-Chi is the villain, Xu Wenwu, played wonderfully by Tony Chiu-Wai Leung. He also appears in Chungking Express, which was the next film I watched in January. I watched Fallen Angels in December and fell in love with Kar-Wai Wong’s directing style, so I revisited his work like I said I would. The Criterion Channel has a shit ton of his films available so that made it easy. I went backwards by watching Chungking Express and man oh man, this guy has a serious talent. The way he captures Hong Kong is on par with any director paying homage to a great city. Chungking features two cops falling in love in very different ways and is absolutely essential to understanding Fallen Angels from the year after Chungking came out.
I used to be on our Filmgazm show like every week. It’s the original show that we started with back in March of 2019. We have been doing that show for almost three years now and it was my pleasure to be on episode 172 which focused on Thief from 1981. Thief is my favorite Michael Mann directed film and I personally chose it, so I had to rewatch it to be on the show. I first watched it on the Criterion Channel like four months ago and had a wonderful experience with it. I texted Connor and knew it was going to come up at some point. When it finally came time to cover it, I owned it and had a blast showing it to Connor. I bought the Criterion DVD while in Los Angeles and put it on the night before recording. I liked it even more after rewatching it in my living room at midnight while my fiancé and daughter were asleep. It’s the ultimate dude movie that convinces me that Michael Mann is one of the best overall American directors for cinephiles to dive into. James Caan puts in fucking work as Frank and it may just be his best performance ever. It’s on Tubi for free and just rocks so hard. That episode was great for me to pour my thoughts out and have a ton of fun.
One of my fiancé’s favorite films of all time is Halloween, which is awesome because it’s also one of mine. It was one of the films we bonded over early on in our relationship, so of course we saw the 2018 edition together in theaters and then we saw Halloween Kills this past October. One of the trailers that played before the film started was Scream. We both looked at each other and knew we would see that on the big screen together. We went to the lovely New Braunfels Stars and Stripes Drive In that has 3 screens and a good vibe all around. We were joined by my fiancé’s god sister who I met the same day we went to the Drive-In. She’s fucking awesome and got amped to go back and watch the rest of the franchise. My fiancé and I are pretty familiar with the previous four films and I actually watched all four of them in October to get prepped and to just have some fun in the month that is dedicated to horror films. I enjoyed the new one quite a bit even though it’s not my favorite of the franchise. It has a good pace, some brutal kills, and of course it has some very fun twists. I’d say my personal rankings would be 1996 Scream number 1 by a long shot, Scream 2, Scream 3, the new Scream, and then Scream 4. I don’t think any of them are bad though, and that has cemented it as one of my personal favorite film franchises. My favorite touch in the new film was the “For Wes” at the end. Classy shit honoring Wes Craven, who gave so much to cinema.
Sheesh, the next film I watched really blew me away. The 400 Blows is on the Criterion Channel and HBO Max. I watched it on Criterion and not only is it going to stick with me forever, but it was my first time watching a Francois Truffaut directed film. The 400 Blows was his debut and it might be the very best debut I’ve ever seen. I would have to really think about that, but it’s somewhere at the top. He is one of the key factors in the French New Wave from the late 50’s and 60’s that remains extremely influential to film today. I dove into Truffaut's rival director, Jean-Luc Godard’s filmography about 2 years ago and I like what I’ve seen, especially Vivre Sa Vie and Contempt. The 400 Blows got all of my attention and I knew after watching it that I would have to know what else Truffaut contributed to cinema.
I immediately sought out Antoine and Colette, which is a short film and segment from Love at Twenty. It’s a 5 part film from 1962 directed by five different directors. Francois Truffaut continues with the main character from The 400 Blows, Antoine as he is a bit older and finding himself in love with a girl named Colette. The reason I chose to watch the 30 minute short right after The 400 Blows is because I found out that Truffaut and Jean-Pierre Leaud who plays Antoine did five total films that display Antoine’s life. The short is on Criterion and totally worth it if you like Antoine as a character and honestly I don’t understand how anyone with a pulse wouldn’t feel something for him.
For our 86th episode on Oscar Sunday, we focused on Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night from 1973, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and then got nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. Christ, Day for Night is so bloody good and I’m proud to own the Criterion version. It is on the Criterion Channel and it’s no secret that it’s a must see for film lovers. Truffaut wrote, directed, and starred as the main character who is a director working on a film in Nice, France. Connor and I had a blast talking about Day for Night, the 47th Academy Awards, and Truffaut vs Godard.
The same night I watched Day for Night, I also checked out an interview with Dudley Andrew discussing Day for Night and the intense rivalry between Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard that came after Day for Night specifically. Godard famously walked out of the screening he went to and began sending Truffaut nasty letters, so Truffaut fired back at him. It’s a fascinating time for world cinema and Dudley Andrew breaks a lot of stuff down in just 20 minutes. I highly recommend it to fellow cinephiles.
I had to take a break from Truffaut and the French New Wave to do some John Huston homework for episode 87 of Oscar Sunday. That episode was on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, so I started my homework with The Maltese Falcon from 1941, which was his directorial debut and nominated for three Oscars. Goodness, what a debut. One of the best I can think of and that’s because the story is great and the performances are bonkers, especially Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. Christ he could really act. The Maltese Falcon is on HBO Max and I watched it for the second time ever and this is the time I realized it’s a damn near masterpiece. In 1931, Roy Del Ruth directed The Maltese Falcon but the 1941 version surpasses it in every way and has since cemented itself as a must see type film for all cinephiles.
Before I finished my John Huston homework, I had a random day off where my daughter and I just chilled out together and watched three films back to back to back. We stayed on Disney+ like all day and started with Toy Story 2, then A Bug’s Life, and finally Wreck-It Ralph to finish the marathon off. I fucking adore those first two Pixar films while I simply enjoy Wreck-It Ralph. Mostly because of John C. Reilly’s great voice work. That was a really fun day that I hope to emulate again in the near future, just with different films.
It was back to Huston after the Disney fun with The Asphalt Jungle on Criterion. I hadn’t ever seen it before which feels silly because it’s straight up my fucking alley of badass heist films. Reservoir Dogs, Heat, The Town, Thief, Bottle Rocket, and The Killing are just a few that I sincerely love. I have no problem putting The Asphalt Jungle near the top of my very favorite heist films and that’s gotta be due to the incredible direction and the knockout performances from Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Sam Jaffe, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, and Marilyn fucking Monroe! There is a super enticing collection on the Criterion Channel featuring a bunch of Sterling Hayden performances which is how I was able to watch The Asphalt Jungle and now I want to own the film to have on my shelf.
The last film I watched in January was quite possibly the very best film I watched in January. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was the base film for episode 87 of Oscar Sunday and god damn do I love me some gold mining with Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, and Tim Holt. Connor and I discussed John Huston’s career, the 21st Academy Awards, and then gave our own awards out to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Our Oscar Sunday show started 2022 with a fucking great run of films that included When Harry Met Sally, The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, Day for Night, and Sierra Madre.
20 total films watched for an average of 8.25
First Time Watches- 9
Rewatches- 11
Streaming Service Counter:
Criterion Channel- 5
Disney+- 4
DVD- 6
HBO Max- 2
Starz- 1
Theaters- 1
Tubi- 1
Top 5 January Watches
5. Scream
The Scream franchise rules and I was so happy to see the newest one at the Stars and Stripes Drive In that resides in New Braunfels. I saw it with my fiancé and her god-sister so we loaded up on snacks and sat outside as things unfolded and the kills added up. I understand if the Scream films aren’t someone’s cup of tea, but it’s totally up my alley and ridiculously rewarding as a viewer.
4. No Country for Old Men
I have seen No Country countless times, but watching it for Oscar Sunday cemented it as an all time classic in my mind. The directing and writing is hall of fame level shit and the performances are just as noteworthy. Javier Bardem’s Best Supporting Actor win is very clearly amongst the best of the best. The Coen’s have provided many classics but I can see an argument for No Country being their greatest feat ever.
3. Chungking Express
In December, I watched my first Kar-Wai Wong film in Fallen Angels which got me stoked for his filmography, so I dove deeper and watched Chungking Express. Jesus Christ, the dude can direct and make anything watchable. Both films I’ve seen kind of run together as films about the Hong Kong underworld of criminals and cops. They are both well worth seeking out and experiencing for yourself.
2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Watching something for Oscar Sunday always heightens the focus and causes Connor and I to really confront how we feel about a film. I mentioned earlier that Sierra Madre is the best film I watched in January. I think it’s true as it is a 1948 film way ahead of its time that has inspired so many films that have come after it. It is scary as hell to think about what money can do to people. Just ask Fred C. Dobbs.
1. The 400 Blows
You know what might be the best feeling ever? When you see a film for the first time and know it’s going to stay with you for the rest of your life. The 400 Blows, written and directed by Francois Truffaut floored me. I had heard only great things about it, but it took Oscar Sunday and covering Truffaut’s Day for Night from 1973 to dive into his career. I feel very grateful to have some of his work in my brain, especially The 400 Blows. Fucking cinema man.
With all of that sports action in my life, I still watched 20 films during the first month of 2022. I watched 33 films in December so I saw a significant drop but the quality was just as good. I rewatched 11 films and saw 9 films for the first time, so let’s get to it.
1. Michael Clayton, 2007 (HBO Max) - 9
2. Blue Sky, 1994 (Tubi) - 7
3. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994 (DVD/HBO Max) - 10
4. Juno, 2007 (Starz) - 8
5. Atonement, 2007 (DVD) - 8
6. No Country for Old Men, 2007 (DVD/HBO Max) - 10
7. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, 2022 (Disney+) - 7
8. Chungking Express, 1994 (Criterion Channel) - 9
9. Thief, 1981 (DVD/Tubi) - 10
10. Scream, (Stars and Stripes Drive in Theater) - 8
11. The 400 Blows, 1959 (Criterion Channel/HBO Max) - 9
12. Antoine and Colette, 1962 (Criterion Channel) - 8
13. Day for Night, 1973 (DVD/Criterion Channel) - 9
14. Dudley Andrew on Day for Night, 2015 (Criterion Channel)
15. The Maltese Falcon, 1941 (HBO Max) - 9
16. Toy Story 2, 1999 (Disney+) - 9
17. A Bug’s Life, 1998 (Disney+) - 9
18. Wreck-It Ralph, 2012 (Disney+) - 7
19. The Asphalt Jungle, 1950 (Criterion Channel) - 9
20. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948 (DVD) - 10
One of the best things we do on our Filmgazm podcasts is the Best Picture Showdowns on Oscar Sunday. On January 16th, we had a 80th Academy Awards Showdown for episode 85, which featured an amazing group of films up for Best Picture. One of them is Michael Clayton. Oh man, I love George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton. I also fucking dig James Newton Howard’s score and Robert Elswit’s cinematography. Elswit is a goddamn force behind the camera and I can’t think of many people who have put together a more impressive past 20 years in that field. Michael Clayton is on HBO Max so I watched it on there but shame on me for not owning this fantastic film.
Right before the showdown on episode 85, we did The Shawshank Redemption on episode 84. I like to watch random shit from the ceremonies we cover, so I watched Blue Sky from 1994, which got one nomination and one win for Jessica Lange as Best Actress in a Lead role. She’s fucking dynamite as Carly Marshall even though the film is just fine. Lange has this wild ability to make a film watchable no matter what and that fact is very apparent with Blue Sky. I probably won’t watch it ever again but it’s on Tubi and worth it for her performance.
After Blue Sky, I rewatched Shawshank for episode 84. Holy hell, what a film. I have had a roller coaster ride with Shawshank. When I first saw it in middle school, I knew it was amazing but then I kind of back tracked in my late teens, because I was a fucking snob for a bit. Nowadays, I see it as an all time rewatchable film that checks nearly every box. It’s episodic in the best way and deserves its rightful place amongst American classics. The film is on HBO Max and the DVD has been on my shelf for well over a decade. Fuck, I really wish Shawshank or Pulp would’ve beaten Gump for Best Picture at the 67th Academy Awards.
After Shawshank, I went back to my 80th Academy Awards homework with Juno. Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, J.K. Simmons, and Allison Janney provide maybe the most random ensemble but they prove to be quite effective in Juno. I have seen it a handful of times as it’s kind of a comforting story in my mind. Juno is easily the most laid back and lighthearted Best Picture nominee from its ceremony, yet it packs a solid punch in certain moments. Check it out on Starz if you can, and if not, be patient, it will show up on a different streaming service in no time.
After Juno, it was time for Atonement. Jesus Christ, not a fun watch. It’s a good film that isn’t on a streaming service that I have access to, so my man Connor let me borrow his DVD. The first 45 minutes or so are fantastic and very intense, but the latter half of the film gets kind of boring at times due to a lack of knowing where to go with the story. It’s my least favorite from the 80th Academy Awards Best Picture group, but it’s still a solid watch that is completely unforgiving.
The 80th Academy Awards Best Picture nominees include, Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, and the winner, No Country for Old Men. I watched There Will Be Blood in December because I watched every single Paul Thomas Anderson directed film in preparation for Licorice Pizza, so I skipped There Will Be Blood and went from watching Atonement to No Country for Old Men. If you really want to know my thoughts on the film, then check out episode 85 of Oscar Sunday. It’s a straight up masterpiece that went head to head with another masterpiece in There Will Be Blood. No Country is on HBO Max, but you can bet your ass that I own that shit and watched it at damn near one in the morning.
After finishing the Best Picture showdown homework, my fiancé and I watched Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Disney+ because she’s a big Marvel fan who had already seen it and wanted me to catch up on what’s going on. I liked it but I do have my qualms with it overall. The first half rules and was on its way to becoming one of my very favorite MCU films, but then the second half started relying on CGI and pretty predictable plot lines. I liked the martial arts and family aspects but shit, I don’t want to keep going through the same thing as far as plot goes.
The best part of Shang-Chi is the villain, Xu Wenwu, played wonderfully by Tony Chiu-Wai Leung. He also appears in Chungking Express, which was the next film I watched in January. I watched Fallen Angels in December and fell in love with Kar-Wai Wong’s directing style, so I revisited his work like I said I would. The Criterion Channel has a shit ton of his films available so that made it easy. I went backwards by watching Chungking Express and man oh man, this guy has a serious talent. The way he captures Hong Kong is on par with any director paying homage to a great city. Chungking features two cops falling in love in very different ways and is absolutely essential to understanding Fallen Angels from the year after Chungking came out.
I used to be on our Filmgazm show like every week. It’s the original show that we started with back in March of 2019. We have been doing that show for almost three years now and it was my pleasure to be on episode 172 which focused on Thief from 1981. Thief is my favorite Michael Mann directed film and I personally chose it, so I had to rewatch it to be on the show. I first watched it on the Criterion Channel like four months ago and had a wonderful experience with it. I texted Connor and knew it was going to come up at some point. When it finally came time to cover it, I owned it and had a blast showing it to Connor. I bought the Criterion DVD while in Los Angeles and put it on the night before recording. I liked it even more after rewatching it in my living room at midnight while my fiancé and daughter were asleep. It’s the ultimate dude movie that convinces me that Michael Mann is one of the best overall American directors for cinephiles to dive into. James Caan puts in fucking work as Frank and it may just be his best performance ever. It’s on Tubi for free and just rocks so hard. That episode was great for me to pour my thoughts out and have a ton of fun.
One of my fiancé’s favorite films of all time is Halloween, which is awesome because it’s also one of mine. It was one of the films we bonded over early on in our relationship, so of course we saw the 2018 edition together in theaters and then we saw Halloween Kills this past October. One of the trailers that played before the film started was Scream. We both looked at each other and knew we would see that on the big screen together. We went to the lovely New Braunfels Stars and Stripes Drive In that has 3 screens and a good vibe all around. We were joined by my fiancé’s god sister who I met the same day we went to the Drive-In. She’s fucking awesome and got amped to go back and watch the rest of the franchise. My fiancé and I are pretty familiar with the previous four films and I actually watched all four of them in October to get prepped and to just have some fun in the month that is dedicated to horror films. I enjoyed the new one quite a bit even though it’s not my favorite of the franchise. It has a good pace, some brutal kills, and of course it has some very fun twists. I’d say my personal rankings would be 1996 Scream number 1 by a long shot, Scream 2, Scream 3, the new Scream, and then Scream 4. I don’t think any of them are bad though, and that has cemented it as one of my personal favorite film franchises. My favorite touch in the new film was the “For Wes” at the end. Classy shit honoring Wes Craven, who gave so much to cinema.
Sheesh, the next film I watched really blew me away. The 400 Blows is on the Criterion Channel and HBO Max. I watched it on Criterion and not only is it going to stick with me forever, but it was my first time watching a Francois Truffaut directed film. The 400 Blows was his debut and it might be the very best debut I’ve ever seen. I would have to really think about that, but it’s somewhere at the top. He is one of the key factors in the French New Wave from the late 50’s and 60’s that remains extremely influential to film today. I dove into Truffaut's rival director, Jean-Luc Godard’s filmography about 2 years ago and I like what I’ve seen, especially Vivre Sa Vie and Contempt. The 400 Blows got all of my attention and I knew after watching it that I would have to know what else Truffaut contributed to cinema.
I immediately sought out Antoine and Colette, which is a short film and segment from Love at Twenty. It’s a 5 part film from 1962 directed by five different directors. Francois Truffaut continues with the main character from The 400 Blows, Antoine as he is a bit older and finding himself in love with a girl named Colette. The reason I chose to watch the 30 minute short right after The 400 Blows is because I found out that Truffaut and Jean-Pierre Leaud who plays Antoine did five total films that display Antoine’s life. The short is on Criterion and totally worth it if you like Antoine as a character and honestly I don’t understand how anyone with a pulse wouldn’t feel something for him.
For our 86th episode on Oscar Sunday, we focused on Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night from 1973, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and then got nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. Christ, Day for Night is so bloody good and I’m proud to own the Criterion version. It is on the Criterion Channel and it’s no secret that it’s a must see for film lovers. Truffaut wrote, directed, and starred as the main character who is a director working on a film in Nice, France. Connor and I had a blast talking about Day for Night, the 47th Academy Awards, and Truffaut vs Godard.
The same night I watched Day for Night, I also checked out an interview with Dudley Andrew discussing Day for Night and the intense rivalry between Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard that came after Day for Night specifically. Godard famously walked out of the screening he went to and began sending Truffaut nasty letters, so Truffaut fired back at him. It’s a fascinating time for world cinema and Dudley Andrew breaks a lot of stuff down in just 20 minutes. I highly recommend it to fellow cinephiles.
I had to take a break from Truffaut and the French New Wave to do some John Huston homework for episode 87 of Oscar Sunday. That episode was on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, so I started my homework with The Maltese Falcon from 1941, which was his directorial debut and nominated for three Oscars. Goodness, what a debut. One of the best I can think of and that’s because the story is great and the performances are bonkers, especially Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. Christ he could really act. The Maltese Falcon is on HBO Max and I watched it for the second time ever and this is the time I realized it’s a damn near masterpiece. In 1931, Roy Del Ruth directed The Maltese Falcon but the 1941 version surpasses it in every way and has since cemented itself as a must see type film for all cinephiles.
Before I finished my John Huston homework, I had a random day off where my daughter and I just chilled out together and watched three films back to back to back. We stayed on Disney+ like all day and started with Toy Story 2, then A Bug’s Life, and finally Wreck-It Ralph to finish the marathon off. I fucking adore those first two Pixar films while I simply enjoy Wreck-It Ralph. Mostly because of John C. Reilly’s great voice work. That was a really fun day that I hope to emulate again in the near future, just with different films.
It was back to Huston after the Disney fun with The Asphalt Jungle on Criterion. I hadn’t ever seen it before which feels silly because it’s straight up my fucking alley of badass heist films. Reservoir Dogs, Heat, The Town, Thief, Bottle Rocket, and The Killing are just a few that I sincerely love. I have no problem putting The Asphalt Jungle near the top of my very favorite heist films and that’s gotta be due to the incredible direction and the knockout performances from Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Sam Jaffe, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, and Marilyn fucking Monroe! There is a super enticing collection on the Criterion Channel featuring a bunch of Sterling Hayden performances which is how I was able to watch The Asphalt Jungle and now I want to own the film to have on my shelf.
The last film I watched in January was quite possibly the very best film I watched in January. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was the base film for episode 87 of Oscar Sunday and god damn do I love me some gold mining with Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, and Tim Holt. Connor and I discussed John Huston’s career, the 21st Academy Awards, and then gave our own awards out to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Our Oscar Sunday show started 2022 with a fucking great run of films that included When Harry Met Sally, The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, Day for Night, and Sierra Madre.
20 total films watched for an average of 8.25
First Time Watches- 9
Rewatches- 11
Streaming Service Counter:
Criterion Channel- 5
Disney+- 4
DVD- 6
HBO Max- 2
Starz- 1
Theaters- 1
Tubi- 1
Top 5 January Watches
5. Scream
The Scream franchise rules and I was so happy to see the newest one at the Stars and Stripes Drive In that resides in New Braunfels. I saw it with my fiancé and her god-sister so we loaded up on snacks and sat outside as things unfolded and the kills added up. I understand if the Scream films aren’t someone’s cup of tea, but it’s totally up my alley and ridiculously rewarding as a viewer.
4. No Country for Old Men
I have seen No Country countless times, but watching it for Oscar Sunday cemented it as an all time classic in my mind. The directing and writing is hall of fame level shit and the performances are just as noteworthy. Javier Bardem’s Best Supporting Actor win is very clearly amongst the best of the best. The Coen’s have provided many classics but I can see an argument for No Country being their greatest feat ever.
3. Chungking Express
In December, I watched my first Kar-Wai Wong film in Fallen Angels which got me stoked for his filmography, so I dove deeper and watched Chungking Express. Jesus Christ, the dude can direct and make anything watchable. Both films I’ve seen kind of run together as films about the Hong Kong underworld of criminals and cops. They are both well worth seeking out and experiencing for yourself.
2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Watching something for Oscar Sunday always heightens the focus and causes Connor and I to really confront how we feel about a film. I mentioned earlier that Sierra Madre is the best film I watched in January. I think it’s true as it is a 1948 film way ahead of its time that has inspired so many films that have come after it. It is scary as hell to think about what money can do to people. Just ask Fred C. Dobbs.
1. The 400 Blows
You know what might be the best feeling ever? When you see a film for the first time and know it’s going to stay with you for the rest of your life. The 400 Blows, written and directed by Francois Truffaut floored me. I had heard only great things about it, but it took Oscar Sunday and covering Truffaut’s Day for Night from 1973 to dive into his career. I feel very grateful to have some of his work in my brain, especially The 400 Blows. Fucking cinema man.