Out of the Past: The Week In Film 12/9/11 – 12/15/11

The Banal:
The Change-Up (2011) Dir. David Dobkin – US
Soul Plane (2004) Dir. Jessy Terrero – US
Rize (2005) Dir. David LaChapelle – US

Of Interest:
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966) Dir. Bernard Girard – US

Recommended:
The Mind Snatchers (1972) Dir. Bernard Girard – US
The Woman of the Port (1934) Dir. Arcady Boytler & Raphael Sevilla – Mexico

Theatrical Screenings:
Sleeping Beauty (2011) Dir. Julia Leigh – Australia 4/10
Return (2011) Dir. Liza Johnson – US 6/10
In Darkness (2011) Dir. Agnieszka Holland – Poland 8/10
Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) Dir. Alex Stapleton – US 10/10
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) Dir. Tomas Alfredson – UK/France 10/10
A Separation (2011) Dir. Asghar Farhadi – Iran 10/10

Rewatched:
MST3K: Boggey Creek II – The Legend Continues (1985) Dir. Charles B. Pierce - US

Out of the Past: The Week In Film 12/2/11 – 12/8/11

The Banal:
Tattoo (1981) Dir. Bob Brooks – US
There’s Nothing Out There (1992) Dir. Rolfe Kanesky – US
30 Minutes Or Less (2011) Dir. Ruben Fleischer – US

Of Interest:
Act of Violence (1948) Dir. Fred Zinneman - US
Crazy, Stupid Love (2011) Dir. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa – US

Recommended:
Mystery Street (1950) Dir. John Sturges – US

Essential Cinema:
Morvern Callar (2002) Dir. Lynne Ramsay – UK

Theatrical Screenings:
Cook County (2009) Dir. David Pomes – US 7/10
Young Adult (2011) Dir. Jason Reitman – US 7/10
Shame (2011) Dir. Steve McQueen – UK 7/10
Tomboy (2011) Dir. Celine Sciamma – France 9/10

Out of the Past: The Week In Film 11/25/11 – 12/1/11

Of Interest:
Afraid of the Dark (1991) Dir. Mark Peploe – France/UK
The Silent House (2010) Dir. Gustavo Hernandez – Uruguay
The Aluminum Fowl (short) (2006) Dir. James Clauer – US
The Clairvoyant (1935) Dir. Maurice Elvey – UK

Recommended:
Bad Teacher (2011) Dir. Jake Kasdan – US

Essential Cinema:
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966) Dir. Sergio Leone – Italy/Spain/West Germany

Theatrical Screenings:
Answers to Nothing (2011) Dir. Matthew Leutwyler – US 2/10
My Week With Marilyn (2011) Dir. Simon Curtis – UK/US 5/10
Knuckle (2011) Dir. Ian Palmer – UK/Ireland 6/10
The Artist (2011) Dir. Michel Hazanvicius – France 9/10

Rewatched:
Strangers With Candy (2005) Dir. Paul Dinello – US
Airplane! (1980) Dir. Jim Abrahams & Jerry & David Zucker – US

Out of the Past: The Week In Film 11/18/11 – 11/24/11

Cess Pool Cinema:
Arirang (2011) Dir. Kim Ki-Duk – South Korea

Of Interest:
Sordid Lives (2000) Dir. Del Shores – US

Recommended:
The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1971) Dir. Jack Starrett – US

Essential Cinema:
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Dir. Rupert Julian – US

Theatrical Screenings:
Outrage (2010) Dir. Takeshi Kitano – Japan 6/10
Immortals (2011) Dir. Tarsem Singh – US 7/10
Rampart (2011) Dir. Oren Moverman – US 9/10
Another Happy Day (2011) Dir. Sam Levinson – US 10/10

Rewatched:
Half Moon Street (1986) Dir. Bob Swaim – US
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Dir. George Lucas – US

Out of the Past: The Week In Film 11/11/11 – 11/17/11

Cess Pool Cinema:
Trespass (2011) Dir. Joel Schumacher – US

Banal:
The Party Crashers (1958) Dir. Bernard Girard – US
A Serbian Film (2010) Dir. Srdjan Spasojevic – Serbia
A Horrible Way to Die (2010) Dir. Adam Wingard – US

Recommended:
Priest (1994) Dir. Antonia Bird – UK
Expecting (2011) Dir. Francisca Fuenzalida - Chile

Essential Cinema:
Sleeping Sickness (2011) Dir. Ulrich Kohler – Germany
Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005) Dir. Katsuhito Ishii/H. Ishimine/S. Miki – Japan
He Who Gets Slapped (1924) Dir. Victor Sjostrom – US

Theatrical Screenings:
The Rum Diary (2011) Dir. Bruce Robinson – US 4/10
The Descendents (2011) Dir. Alexander Payne – US 8/10
We Have a Pope (2011) Dir. Nanni Moretti – US 9/10

Best of AFI Fest 2011

Best of Titles Caught at AFI

I find it hard to put together a “Best of AFI” list because many of the titles playing here I already caught at Toronto or various screening opportunities before the festival began. But what I was able to catch because of the existence of the festival, I have tallied here:

1. Jeff, Who Lives At Home - Dir. Jay & Mark Duplass (US)
2. Faust - Dir. Aleksander Sokurov (Russia)
3. The Turin Horse - Dir. Bela Tarr (Hungary)
4. Attenberg - Dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece)
5. Bullhead - Dir. Michael Roskam (Belgium)
6. Café De Flor - Dir. Jean-Marc Vallee (Canada/France)
7. Restless City - Dir. Andrew Dosunmu (US)
8. Coriolanus - Dir. Ralph Fiennes (UK)
9. The Invader - Dir. Nicholas Provost (Belgium)
10. The Color Wheel - Dir. Alex Ross Perry (US)
11. Butter - Dir. Jim Field Smith (US)
12. Target - Dir. Alexander Zeldovich (Russia)
13. Wuss - Dir. Clay Liford (US)
14. Play - Dir. Ruben Ostlund (Sweden)
15. Kinyarwanda - Dir. Alrick Brown (US)
16. J. Edgar - Dir. Clint Eastwood (US)
17. Green - Dir. Sophia Takal (US)
18. With Every Heartbeat - Dir. Alexandre-Therese Keining (Sweden)

Out of the Past: The Week In Film 10/28/11 – 11/3/11

Cess Pool/Guilty Pleasure:
The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) Dir. John Boorman – US

Of Interest:
The Exorcist III (1990) Dir. William Peter Blatty – US

Banal:
The Nesting (1981) Dir. Armand White – US

Recommended:
Green (2011) Dir. Sophia Takal – US
Which Way Is Up? (1977) Dir. Michael Schultz – US
The Comedy of Terrors (1963) Dir. Jacques Tourneur – US
The Color Wheel (2011) Dir. Alex Ross Perry – US
Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1998) Dir. Katsuhito Ishii – Japan
The Business of Strangers (2001) Dir. Patrick Stettner – US

Theatrical Screenings:

Like Crazy (2011) Dir. Drake Doremus - US 7/10
Le Havre (2011) Dir. Aki Kaurismaki – Finland/France 9/10
Miss Bala (2011) Dir. Gerardo Naranjo – Mexico 10/10

Rewatched:
The Exorcist (1973) Dir. William Friedkin - US