Thanks

Hey, all. Mike here not with a new list, but simply giving thanks for catching the following revivals over the past calendar year:

TRUE CONFESSIONS (a forgotten Robert de Niro/Robert Duvall pairing that I wish those of you out there who don't know it, would catch. And unless you go under the pseudonym of Myles Moffit, you probably never heard of it. A very good morality tale told in the guise of a film noir, similar to L.A. Confidential. Jump on this on Netflix.),

MY MAN GODFREY (a wonderful screwball comedy that deserves a higher reputation than it has. And it's reputation is pretty good.),

I'M NO ANGEL,

LAWYER MAN, BLONDE CRAZY (Part of a Joan Blondell double feature. The first one was disappointing, but Blonde Crazy was a very pleasant surprise. A con man/person film with bits of romance and comedy thrown in, with terrific leads in Blondell and Jimmy Cagney. This one is ripe for a remake),

NIGHT AND THE CITY (The original. I won't say "let's pretend the de Niro remake doesn't exist. But except for the Gene Tierney scenes, this film noir holds up),

Z (well crafted, angry political thriller with an ending that kicks you in the teeth for good measure. Jump on this Netflix),

BRUTE FORCE (not every revival can be a winner. Not bad, But for something that was highlighted by the Criterion Collection, I expected better),

LEON MORIN: PRIEST (a philosophical discourse of religion that you'd expect to be boring but isn't. With good character study work to boot. Boy am I beginning to embrace Melville as a director more and more each year),

CATCH-22 (underrated black comedy. I'd say catch it on Netflix, but I wonder how much this would work on some of you on TV),

SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA, RASHOMON,

10 RILLINGTON PLACE (British serial killer film based on a true story. Richard Attenborough succeeds as the milquetoast killer, but John Hurt stood out more as the rather stupid husband framed for his wife's murder. Incredibly difficult to play someone with a 70something I.Q. without going into overacting, but Hurt walks that line and gives an acting lesson to all in the process),

THE KILLING, ALIEN,

THE LION IN WINTER (boy do I wish more people know this film more. Wonderful script, with Hepburn and O'Toole working at their peaks),

TITUS (deserves to be seen on a big screen. Bloody good, figuratively and literally. Good leads, and plenty of recognizable people who would later work on shows such as 24, The Tudors, Damages and Dollhouse),

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (the 1979 Sensurround edit of the original series' pilot, which cuts some subplots and a portion of the bad acting. But not all. On at least two occasions, the guys who came with me, all of whom had either never seen the original series, or hadn't seen it since Reagan's first term, went to me and said "Wow, you weren't kidding about the bad acting.". Yeah, like THAT was why I was dragging people to see this),

THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, IN A LONELY PLACE, ODD MAN OUT, FAT CITY, SOME LIKE IT HOT, TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2,

THE RED SHOES (this will replay next month at the Forum. If you missed this before, and you're a fan of either dance or film making, this picture will wake your ass up real quick),

SMALL CHANGE (Would be interesting to see this as part of a double feature with another French film, The Class. See Small change first, a mostly upbeat look at kids growing up and the adults around them. Then follow that with The Class; shot over thirty years, from the perspective of a teacher burned out from dealing with kids at least 2-5 years older than the group from Small Change)

THE INVISIBLE MAN, FRANKENSTEIN,

THE KING OF COMEDY (another black comedy that needs to be put on your Netflix now. If you're a de Niro/Scorsese fan and you don't know this, and you're 18, shame on you),

IN THE LOOP, and THE HIDDEN FORTRESS.

31 films in all. 7 less than last year, but at similar levels as the previous years I've been doing this. Thank you for all who caught at least one. Special thanks to Ed, who took a chance on so many of these pictures, at times merely on my insistence, I'm grateful. Later all.