Every Movie I Watched in 2015

Another year goes by, and the number of total movies I have seen goes way up.  It has been a decent year with some nice discoveries.  I look forward to starting a new Word document from scratch in 2016.  Take a look below at the way too many films I've seen this year (324), along with the year it was released in (), the director in [], and with an * if it came out this year.  Single-digit numbers in parentheses indicates multiple views (Ex: I watched Rosemary's Baby 3 times this year).  I also included my rating of each movie out of 10 and the date I watched it, so you can see which movies I loved and which days I ignored the sun.

In All Seriousness:

1. Manhattan (1979) [Dir. Woody Allen] – Rating: 9/10 – 1/1

2. Top Five (2014) [Dir. Chris Rock] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 1/2

3. The Theory of Everything (2014) [Dir. James Marsh] – Rating: 7/10 – 1/2

4. Force Majeure (2014) [Dir. Ruben Ostlund] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/3

5. Casino (1995) [Dir. Martin Scorsese] – Rating: 7/10 – 1/3

6. Locke (2014) [Dir. Steven Knight] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 1/4

7. Wild (2014) [Dir. Jean-Marc Vallee] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 1/6

8. Birdman (2014) [Dir. Alejandro G. Iñarritu] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/7

9. Whiplash (2014) [Dir. Damien Chazelle] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 1/7

10. Selma (2014) [Dir. Ava DuVernay] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 1/8

11. Cool Hand Luke (1967) [Dir. Stuart Rosenberg] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/9

12. Love Is Strange (2014) [Dir. Ira Sachs] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 1/9

13. The Interview (2014) [Dir. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg] – Rating: 5/10 – 1/9

14. The Thing (1982) [Dir. John Carpenter] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/10

15. A Most Violent Year (2014) [Dir. J.C. Chandor] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/11

16. American Sniper (2014) [Dir. Clint Eastwood] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 1/12

17. The Imitation Game (2014) [Dir. Morten Tyldum] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/12

18. The Searchers (1956) [Dir. John Ford] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/13

19. Playtime (1967) [Dir. Jaques Tati] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/13

20. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) [Dir. Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen]–Rating: 8.5/10 - 1/14

21. Collateral (2004) [Dir. Michael Mann] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/14

22. 12 Years a Slave (2013) [Dir. Steve McQueen]- Rating: 9/10 – 1/15

23. 30 for 30: The U Part 2 (2014) [Dir. Billy Corben] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/16

24. Contempt (1963) [Dir. Jean-Luc Godard] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 1/17

25. Man on Wire (2008) [Dir. James Marsh] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/19

26. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) [Wes Anderson] – Rating: 7/10 – 1/19

27. I Know That Voice (2013) [Dir. Lawrence Shapiro] – Rating: 7/10 – 1/20

28. Wild at Heart (1990) [Dir. David Lynch] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/20

29. Groundhog Day (1993) [Dir. Harold Ramis] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 1/21

30. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012) [Don Hertzfeldt] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/22

31. 30 for 30: Youngstown Boys(2013)[JeffandMichael Zimbalist]–Rating:7/10-1/22

32. Galaxy Quest (1999) [Dean Parisot] – Rating: 7/10 – 1/23

33. Mr. Deeds (2002) [Steven Brill] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 1/23

34. Bowling for Columbine (2002) [Michael Moore] – Rating: 8/10 – 1/24

35. Noises Off… (1992) [Peter Bogdanovich] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/25

36. Grosse Point Blank (1997) [George Armitage] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 1/28

37. Night of the Living Dead (1967) [George A. Romero] – Rating: 4/10 – 1/29

38. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) [Arthur Penn] – Rating: 9/10 – 1/30

39. Whiplash (2) (2014) [Damien Chazelle] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 2/1

40. Rashomon (1950) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 2/2

41. The Third Man (1949) [Carol Reed] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 2/4

42. M*A*S*H (1970) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 2/6

43. Chef (2014) [Jon Favreau] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 2/6

44. Frank (2014) [Lenny Abrahamson] – Rating: 7/10 – 2/6

45. The Babadook (2014) [Jennifer Kent] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 2/9

46. Sanshiro Sugata (1943) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 5/10 – 2/9

47. Breathless (1960) [Jean-Luc Godard] – Rating: 8/10 – 2/11

48. A Foreign Affair (1948) [Billy Wilder] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 2/12

49. Catch-22 (1970) [Mike Nichols] – Rating: 9/10 – 2/13

50. The House of the Devil (2009) [Ti West] – Rating: 5/10 – 2/14

51. Monsters (2010) [Gareth Edwards] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 2/15

52. Short Term 12 (2013) [Destin Daniel Cretton] – Rating: 9/10 – 2/18

53. Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) [Agnes Varda] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 2/18

54. Five Easy Pieces (1970) [Bob Rafelson] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 2/20

55. Holy Motors (2012) [Leos Carax] – Rating: 9/10 – 2/21

56. Clue (1985) [Jonathan Lynn] – Rating: 8/10 – 2/22

57. Drunken Angel (1948) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 2/23

58. Living in Oblivion (1995) [Tom DiCillo] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 2/25

59. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 8/10 – 2/27

60. Altman (2014) [Ron Mann] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 3/1

61. Barton Fink (1991) [The Coen Brothers] – Rating: 9/10 – 3/2

62. Seven Samurai (1954) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 9/10 – 3/2

63. *The Lazarus Effect (2015) [David Gelb] – Rating: 4/10 – 3/2

64. Wings of Desire (1987) [Wim Wenders] – Rating: 8/10 – 3/2

65. The ABCs of Death 2 (2014) [Various Directors] – Rating: 7/10 – 3/5

66. Badlands (1973) [Terrence Malick] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 3/6

67. The Producers (1967) [Mel Brooks] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 3/8

68. Ikiru (1952) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 3/9

69. Throne of Blood (1957) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 8/10 – 3/16

70. The Phantom of Liberty (1974) [Luis Bunuel] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 3/18

71. The Conversation (1974) [Francis Ford Coppola] – Rating: 9/10 – 3/20

72. Mulholland Dr. (2001) [David Lynch] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 3/21

73. The Bad Sleep Well (1960) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 9/10 – 3/23

74. The World of Apu (1959) [Satyajit Ray] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 3/25

75. Inherent Vice (2014) [Paul Thomas Anderson] – Rating: 9/10 – 3/25

76. Pretty in Pink (1986) [Howard Deutch] – Rating: 6/10 – 3/26

77. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) [Sidney Lumet] – Rating: 10/10 – 3/27

78. Blue Velvet (1986) [David Lynch] – Rating: 9/10 – 3/28

79. Toy Story (1995) [John Lasseter] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 3/28

80. A Bug’s Life (1998) [John Lasseter] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 3/28

81. Toy Story 2 (1999) [John Lasseter] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 3/29

82. Yojimbo (1961) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 3/30

83. Belle de jour (1967) [Luis Bunuel] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 3/30

84. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) [Sergio Leone] – Rating: 8/10 – 4/1

85. Monsters, Inc. (2001) [Pete Docter] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 4/4

86. Finding Nemo (2003) [Andrew Stanton] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 4/4

87. Wet Hot American Summer (2001) [David Wain] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 4/4

88. The Darjeeling Limited (2006) [Wes Anderson] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 4/5

89. Wild (2) (2014) [Jean-Marc Vallee] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 4/5

90. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) [Roman Polanski] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 4/6

91. Citizenfour (2014) [Laura Poitras] – Rating: 7/10 – 4/7

92. The Incredibles (2004) [Brad Bird] – Rating: 8/10 – 4/8

93. Cars (2006) [John Lasseter] – Rating: 4/10 – 4/9

94. Ratatouille (2007) [Brad Bird] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 4/9

95. *Furious 7 (2015) [James Wan] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 4/10

96. Wall-E (2008) [Andrew Stanton] – Rating: 8/10 – 4/10

97. Interstellar (2014) [Christopher Nolan] – Rating: 7/10 – 4/11

98. Dersu Uzala (1975) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 6/10 – 4/13

99. *Lost River (2015) [Ryan Gosling] – Rating: 7/10 – 4/13

100. All About My Mother (1999) [Pedro Almodovar] – Rating: 9/10 – 4/15

101. Nashville (1975) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 4/17

102. Kagemusha (1980) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 4/20

103. *30 for 30: I Hate Christian Laettner (2015) [Rory Karpf] – Rating: 7/10 – 4/20

104. Up (2009) [Pete Docter] – Rating: 8/10 – 4/21

105. Showrunners (2014) [Des Doyle] – Rating: 7/10 – 4/21

106. Dear Zachary (2008) [Kurt Kuenne] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 4/21

107. Serpico (1973) [Sidney Lumet] – Rating: 9/10 – 4/22

108. Night Moves (1975) [Arthur Penn] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 4/24

109. A Woman Under the Influence (1974) [John Cassavetes] – Rating: 7/10 – 4/25

110. Whiplash (3) (2014) [Damien Chazelle] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 4/26

111. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) [Ang Lee] – Rating: 8/10 – 4/27

112. Ran (1985) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 4/27

113. Big Night (1996) [Stanley Tucci] – Rating: 8/10 – 4/28

114. Taxi Driver (1976) [Martin Scorsese] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 5/1

115. High and Low (1963) [Akira Kurosawa] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 5/3

116. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) [Sam Peckinpah] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/3

117. A.K. (1985) [Chris Marker] – Rating: 6/10 – 5/4

118. Straw Dogs (1971) [Sam Peckinpah] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/4

119. Coming Home (1978) [Hal Ashby] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/6

120. Toy Story 3 (2010) [Lee Unkrich] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/7

121. Chicago (2002) [Rob Marshall] – Rating: 9/10 – 5/9

122. Brave (2012) [Brenda Chapman] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 5/12

123. Jaws (1975) [Steven Spielberg] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/15

124. Hitch (2005) [Andy Tennant] – Rating: 7/10 – 5/15

125. Field of Dreams (1989) [Phil Alden Robinson] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 5/17

126. *It Follows (2015) [David Robert Mitchell] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/17

127. *Slow West (2015) [John Maclean] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 5/19

128. *The Tribe (2015) [Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 5/19

129. Grizzly Man (2005) [Werner Herzog] – Rating: 9/10 – 5/19

130. O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000) [The Coen Brothers] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/19

131. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) [Wes Anderson] – Rating: 9/10 – 5/21

132. Gone Girl (2014) [David Fincher] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 5/23

133. The Princess Bride (1987) [Rob Reiner] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 5/23

134. The Long Goodbye (1973) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 5/25

135. Singin’ in the Rain (2) (1952) [Kelly and Donen] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 5/26

135. Leap Year (2010) [Anand Tucker] – Rating: 5/10 – 5/27

136. *Ex Machina (2015) [Alex Garland] – Rating: 8/10 – 5/28

137. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) [Thom Anderson] – Rating: 6/10 – 5/28

138. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) [Woody Allen] – Rating – 8/10 – 5/28

139. Stardust Memories (1980) [Woody Allen] – Rating: 9/10 – 5/29

140. Persona (1966) [Ingmar Bergman] – Rating: 9/10 – 5/29

141. Sherlock Jr. (1924) [Buster Keaton] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 5/30

142. Cars 2 (2011) [John Lasseter] – Rating: 6/10 – 5/30

143. Monsters University (2013) [Dan Scanlon] – Rating: 7/10 – 5/30

144. *Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) [George Miller] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 6/1

145. Reservoir Dogs (1992) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 9/10 – 6/1

146. M (1931) [Fritz Lang] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 6/2

147. Midnight in Paris (2011) [Woody Allen] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 6/4

148. The Prestige (2005) [Christopher Nolan] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 6/5

149. *Love & Mercy (2015) [Bill Pohlad] – Rating: 9/10 – 6/5

150. Stand By Me (1986) [Rob Reiner] – Rating: 8/10 – 6/9

151. Pulp Fiction (1994) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 10/10 – 6/10

152. Alien (1979) [Ridley Scott] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 6/12

153. Rosemary’s Baby (2)(1968) [Roman Polanski] – Rating: 9/10 – 6/13

154. *Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) [Elizabeth Banks] – Rating: 7/10 – 6/13

155. Annie Hall (1977) [Woody Allen] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 6/13

156. The Departed (2006) [Martin Scorsese] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 6/14

157. Jerry Maguire (1996) [Cameron Crowe] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 6/14

158. *Inside Out (2015) [Pete Docter] – Rating: 9/10 – 6/19

159. The General (1926) [Buster Keaton] – Rating: 9/10 – 6/19

160. Jackie Brown (1997) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 8/10 – 6/20

161. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 6/22

162. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 8/10 – 6/24

163. Goodfellas (1990) [Martin Scorsese] – Rating: 10/10 – 6/25

164. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [Stanley Kubrick] – Rating: 8/10 – 6/27

165. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) [Terry Gilliam] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 6/28

166. A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies (1995) [Martin Scorsese] Rating: 8.5/10 – 6/29

167. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) [Tomas Alfredson] – Rating: 6/10 – 6/30

168. Frances Ha (2013) [Noah Baumbach] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 7/1

169. The Third Man (1949) (2) [Carol Reed] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/2

170. The Blob (1958) [Irvin Y. Yeaworth Jr.] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 7/2

171. *While We’re Young (2015) [Noah Baumbach] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 7/3

172. Kicking & Screaming (2005) [Jesse Dylan] – Rating: 7/10 – 7/8

173. Death Proof (2007) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 4.5/10 – 7/8

174. Inglorious Basterds (2009) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 7/8

175. Django Unchained (2012) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/9

176. 12 Angry Men (1957) [Sidney Lumet] – Rating: 9/10 – 7/10

177. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) [Jonathan Demme] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/13

178. Take the Money and Run (1969) [Woody Allen] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 7/14

179. The Imposter (2012) [Bart Layton] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/15

180. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) [David Fincher] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 7/16

181. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) [James Gunn] – Rating: 9/10 – 7/17

182. *Irrational Man (2015) [Woody Allen] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 7/20

183. The Birdcage (1996) [Mike Nichols] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/22

184. *The Wolfpack (2015) [Crystal Moselle] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/25

185. High Fidelity (2000) [Stephen Frears] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/25

186. Barefoot in the Park (1967) [Gene Saks] – Rating: 6/10 – 7/25

187. *Tig (2015) [Kristina Goolsby and Ashley York] – Rating: 8/10 – 7/26

188. *Jurassic World (2015) [Colin Trevorrow] – Rating: 5/10 – 7/27

189. Fear and Desire (1953) [Stanley Kubrick] – Rating: 2/10 – 7/28

190. Killer’s Kiss (1955) [Stanley Kubrick] – Rating: 5.5/10 – 7/28

191. *Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) [Alex Gibney] – Rating: 7/10 – 7/29

192. Field of Dreams (1989) (2) [Phil Alden Robinson] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 7/29

193. The Babadook (2014) (2) [Jennifer Kent] – Rating: 8/10 – 7/30

194. *The End of the Tour (2015) [James Ponsoldt] – Rating: 9/10 – 7/31

195. *Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) [Brett Morgen] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 7/31

196. *Dark Places (2015) [Gilles Paquet-Brenner] – Rating: 2/10 – 7/31

197. *The End of the Tour (2015) (2) [James Ponsoldt] – Rating: 9/10 – 8/1

198. Kangaroo Jack (2003) [David McNally] – Rating: 4/10 – 8/1

199. Fletch (1985) [Michael Ritchie] – Rating: 8/10 – 8/1

200. The Green Mile (1999) [Frank Darabont] – Rating: 7/10 – 8/2

201. Birdman (2014) (2) [Dir. Alejandro G. Iñarritu] – Rating: 7/10 – 8/2

202. *Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) [Christopher McQuarrie] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/3

203. Hot Fuzz (2007) [Edgar Wright] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 8/5

204. Doctor Zhivago (1965) [David Lean] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 8/7

205. Fed Up (2014) [Stephanie Soechtig] – Rating: 7/10 – 8/7

206. Blow-Up (1966) [Michaelangelo Antonioni] – Rating: 9/10 – 8/7

207. Gladiator (2000) [Ridley Scott] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 8/8

208. *Welcome to Me (2015) [Shira Piven] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/8

209. *The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) [Marielle Heller] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/9

210. Apocalypse Now (1979) [Francis Ford Coppola] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 8/9

211. Godzilla (2014) [Gareth Edwards] – Rating: 5/10 – 8/10

212. In & Out (1997) [Frank Oz] – Rating: 6/10 – 8/11

213. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) [Robert Zemeckis] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/11

214. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) [Bong Joon-Ho] – Rating: 7/10 – 8/14

215. *Mistress America (2015) [Noah Baumbach] – Rating: 9/10 – 8/14

216. Casanova ’70 (1965) [Mario Monicelli] – Rating: 5/10 – 8/16

217. Due Date (2010) [Todd Phillips] – Rating: 6/10 – 8/17

218. Poetry (2010) [Lee Chang-Dong] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/18

219. *Straight Outta Compton (2015) [F. Gary Gray] – Rating: 8/10 – 8/18

220. El Sicario: Room 164 (2010) [Gianfranco Rosi] – Rating: 5.5/10 – 8/19

221. Ashes (2012) [Apitchatpong Weerasethakul] – Rating: 5/10 – 8/19

222. The Queen of Versailles (2012) [Lauren Greenfield] – Rating: 6/10 – 8/19

223. Top Gun (1986) [Tony Scott] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/19

224. *Trainwreck (2015) [Judd Apatow] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/20

225. To Be or Not To Be (1942) [Ernst Lubitsch] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 8/20

226. *The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) [Joss Whedon] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 8/21

227. The Marriage Circle (1924) [Ernst Lubitsch] – Rating: 5/10 – 8/21

228. Accepted (2006) [Steve Pink] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 8/23

229. Mission: Impossible (1996) [Brian De Palma] – Rating: 7/10 – 8/23

230. Tropical Malady (2004) [Apitchatpong Weerasethakul] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 8/24

231. Down Terrace (2009) [Ben Wheatley] – Rating: 7/10 – 8/24

232. Leviathan (2013) [Lucien Castang-Taylor/Verena Paravel] – Rating: 7/10 - 8/24

233. Some Like It Hot (1959) [Billy Wilder] – Rating – 9/10 – 8/25

234. Foreign Correspondent (1940) [Alfred Hitchcock] – Rating: 6/10 – 8/26

235. Vive l’Amour (1994) [Tsai Ming-Liang] – Rating: 7/10 – 9/2

236. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) [David Lynch] – Rating: 7/10 – 9/2

237. Boogie Nights (1997) [Paul Thomas Anderson] – Rating: 10/10 – 9/5

238. Two Lovers (2008) [James Gray] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 9/9

239. Boogie Nights (1997) [Paul Thomas Anderson] – Rating: 10/10 – 9/10

240. Major League (1989) [David S. Ward] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 9/13

241. Major League II (1994) [David S. Ward] – Rating: 5.5/10 – 9/13

242. Memento (2000) [Christopher Nolan] – Rating: 7/10 – 9/14

243. The Wayward Cloud (2005) [Tsai Ming-Liang] – Rating: 3/10 – 9/18

244. Reservoir Dogs (2) (1992) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 9/20

245. Breaker Morant (1980) [Bruce Beresford] – Rating: 8/10 – 9/22

246. *Love & Mercy (2) (2015) [Bill Pohlad] – Rating: 9/10 – 9/23

247. SLC Punk (1998) [James Merendino] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 9/25

248. Nashville (2)(1975) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 9/27

249. Four Days in October (2010) [MLB Productions] – Rating: 5/10 – 10/1

250. *Sicario (2015) [Denis Villenueve] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 10/6

251. Brian and The Boz (2014) [Thaddeus D. Matula] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 10/6

252. *Junun (2015) [Paul Thomas Anderson] – Rating: 8/10 – 10/9

253. Big Fat Liar (2002) [Shawn Levy] – Rating: 6/10 – 10/9

254. Beetlejuice (1988) [Tim Burton] – Rating: 8/10 – 10/10

255. *It Follows (2) (2015) [David Robert Mitchell] – Rating: 9/10 – 10/17

256. Marriage Italian Style (1964) [Vittorio De Sica] – Rating: 8/10 – 10/21

257. The Wedding Singer (1998) [Frank Coraci] – Rating: 8/10 – 10/23

258. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) [Ben Stiller] – Rating: 6/10 – 10/27

259. Rosemary’s Baby (3) (1968) [Roman Polanski] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 10/31

260. The Purge: Anarchy (2014) [James DeMonaco] – Rating: 5/10 – 11/5

261. City Lights (1931) [Charlie Chaplin] – Rating: 7/10 – 11/6

262. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt. 1 (2014) [Francis Lawrence] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 11/6

263. The Guest (2014) [Adam Wingard] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 11/7

264. Eraserhead (1977) [David Lynch] – Rating: 8/10 – 11/8

265. The Heartbreak Kid (2007) [Farrelly Brothers] – Rating: 4.5/10 – 11/10

266. *Spectre (2015) [Sam Mendes] – Rating: 6/10 – 11/11

267. Computer Chess (2013) [Andrew Bujalski] – Rating: 5/10 – 11/13

268. Two Days in April (2007) [Don Argott] – Rating: 5/10 – 11/14

269. Moneyball (2011) [Bennett Miller] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 11/16

270. Brick (2005) [Rian Johnson] – Rating: 8/10 – 11/20

271. *Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) [Alfonso Gomez-Rejon] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 11/23

272. Amelie (2001) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet] – Rating: 8/10 – 11/24

273. The French Connection (1971) [William Friedkin] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 11/24

274. *Tangerine (2015) [Sean Baker] – Rating: 8/10 – 11/25

275. The Thing (1982) [John Carpenter] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 11/25

276. The Player (1992) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 11/25

277. California Split (1974) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 11/27

278. 3 Women (1977) [Robert Altman] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 11/28

279. Street of Crocodiles (1986) [Quay Brothers] – Rating: 7/10 – 11/28

280. Elf (2003) [Jon Favreau] – Rating: 9/10 – 11/28

281. *Tu Dors Nicole (2015) [Stephane Lafleur] – Rating: 8/10 – 11/28

282. Mulholland Drive (2) (2001) [David Lynch] – Rating: 10/10 – 11/29

283. Blue is the Warmest Color (2013) [Abdellatif Ketchiche] – Rating: 9/10 – 12/4

284. Orange County (2002) [Jake Casdan] – Rating: 6/10 – 12/4

285. *Best of Enemies (2015) [Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/11

286. *Dope (2015) [Rick Famuyiwa] – Rating: 7/10 – 12/12

287. *The Duke of Burgundy (2015) [Peter Strickland] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/12

288. Bull Durham (1988) [Ron Shelton] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/12

289. *What We Do in the Shadows (2015) [Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/13

290. *The Ridiculous 6 (2015) [Frank Coraci] – Rating: 4/10 – 12/13

291. Nostalgia for the Light (2010) [Patricio Guzman] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/13

292. *Amy (2015) [Asif Kapadia] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/14

293. 30 for 30: Silly Little Game (2010) [Adam Kurland, Lucas Jansen] – Rating: 8/10 – 12/15

294. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) [Wes Anderson] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 12/16

295. Her (2013) [Spike Jonze] – Rating: 9.5/10 – 12/16

296. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) [Sidney Lumet] – Rating: 10/10 – 12/17

297. The Edge of the World (1937) [Michael Powell] – Rating: 5/10 – 12/18

298. *Room (2015) [Lenny Abrahamson] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/18

299. The Gleaners and I (2000) [Agnes Varda] – Rating: 9/10 – 12/18

300. Christmas Vacation (1989) [Jeremiah S. Chechik] – Rating: 9/10 – 12/18

301. *Beasts of No Nation (2015) [Cary Fukunaga] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 12/18

302. *Phoenix (2015) [Christian Petzold] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/19

303. *The Revenant (2015) [Alejandro G. Iñarritu] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/19

304. *The Hateful Eight (2015) [Quentin Tarantino] – Rating: 8/10 – 12/20

305. *Steve Jobs (2015) [Danny Boyle] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/21

306. Boy Meets Girl (1984) [Leos Carax] – Rating: 8/10 – 12/22

307. *The Martian (2015) [Ridley Scott] – Rating: 9/10 – 12/22

308. *The Assassin (2015) [Hou Hsiao-hsien] – Rating: 6.5/10 – 12/22

309. *Brooklyn (2015) [John Crowley] – Rating: 7/10 – 12/23

310. Die Hard (1988) [John McTiernan] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/23

311. *Spotlight (2015) [Thomas McCarthy] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/23

312. *The Walk (2015) [Robert Zemeckis] – Rating: 6/10 – 12/23

313. *Mistress America (2) (2015) [Noah Baumbach] – Rating: 9/10 – 12/24

314. *Crimson Peak (2015) [Guillermo Del Toro] – Rating: 7.5/10 – 12/24

315. *Creed (2015) [Ryan Coogler] – Rating: 8/10 – 12/25

316. *Joy (2015) [David O. Russell] – Rating: 5/10 – 12/25

317. The Arbor (2010) [Clio Barnard] – Rating: 8/10 – 12/26

318. *The Good Dinosaur (2015) [Peter Sohn] – Rating: 4/10 – 12/27

319. *Ant-Man (2015) [Peyton Reed] – Rating: 7/10 – 12/27

320. *World of Tomorrow (2015) [Don Hertzfeldt] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/28

321. *Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) [J.J. Abrams] – Rating: 8/10 – 12/28

322. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) [Milos Forman] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/29

323. *Love & Mercy (3) (2015) [Bill Pohlad] – Rating: 8.5/10 – 12/30

324. *The Big Short (2015) [Adam Mckay] – Rating: 8/10 – 12/31

Keep in mind that these rating were written down right after seeing the film, and thus maybe have changed in my head over time.  But for the most part they should be pretty accurate

Are You Not Entertained?: Week 1

Welcome all of you In All Seriousness followers to a new feature I like to call, 'Are You Not Entertained?'.

Named of course after the line from the movie Gladiator, Are You Not Entertained? will be a segment of this blog where I will be listing the various things that I'm using to entertain myself during any given week.  Now it says Week 1 because this is the first week that I'm doing this, however I doubt that I will have the time nor the motivation to follow through on making this a weekly feature (we all know how Netflix Pick of the Week went) so Week 2 could come next week or it could come in several weeks, maybe it will never come depending on how Week 1 is received.  Maybe Week 1 will disappear into the graveyard of failed blog posts alongside G'Day Mate: Arguing in Defense of the Film Kangaroo Jack, and Top 3 Men in Black Movies.  So for now at least enjoy reading about these things that are entertaining me, and hopefully check them out for yourselves so we can share in the entertainment.

HBO's Recent Programming

During the chore that was watching True Detective Season 2 I had one saving grace, and his name is John Oliver.  Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, since it began last year, has put together a consistent string of perfect episodes.  Look here for some of the best writing on tv and to soften the blow of Jon Stewart leaving The Daily Show.

I'm also really into David Simon's (created The Wire and Treme) miniseries Show Me a Hero, starring Oscar Isaac, about 1980's Yonkers mayor Nick Wasicsko and his fight to provide low-income housing for African-Americans in primarily white neighborhoods.  I have seen four of the six hour-long episodes that have aired over the past three weeks.  The first episode is a little slow with several characters to introduce, and plot lines that drag a bit, but episodes two through four have all been great.

And the third HBO show I have been watching is HBO's Hard Knocks, the behind the scenes doc-series on the Houston Texans training camp.  I've only seen bits and pieces of former seasons of this show, but this season has been great so far.  The Texans were a great pick for this season with star players like Brian Cushing, J.J. Watt, and Deandre Hopkins providing just as much entertainment as the lesser-known players who are fighting for a spot on the team.

Screwball Comedies from the 40's and 50's about pretending to not be themselves

A very specific category of films that I happened to watch this week.  Two films in particular have tickled my fancy, they are Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be (1942), a hilarious film made in the midst of WWII about a group of theater actors trying to get the Nazis in Poland to leave the country.  Trust me, it's funnier than it sounds.  The other film is Billy Wilder's classic film Some Like It Hot (1959), about two musicians in the Prohibition era who impersonate females in order to join a female-only band and escape the gangsters that are after them.  Both of these films are filled with some of the wittiest lines I've seen from a film of this era of Hollywood, and I look forward to eventually giving them both another view.

The album 'Let's Dance' (1983) by David Bowie

Starting with possibly my favorite David Bowie song, Modern Love, this short-but-sweet album is up rounds out my top 3 albums of Bowie's, alongside Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory.  It has 8 songs, none of which feel like fillers.  Containing some of Bowie grooviest songs, Let's Dance makes it hard not to dance.  I'll never listen to this album in that Footloose town.

Film Podcasts

Podcasting has become so huge, that no matter what your interests are, you can probably find one for you.  I found Filmspotting after looking for a podcast that talked about movies.  As far as I can tell, it's the best podcast when it comes to reviewing films.  In addition to that, the current co-hosts Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen reveal personal top 5 lists each week on various different topics ranging from Top 5 Best Road Trip Movies to Top 5 Movie Costumes.  And those are just two of the many cool things they do on the show.  Another thing they've done is introduce me to the other film podcast I'd like to plug in this post, You Must Remember This.

You Must Remember This is a podcast written, narrated, and edited by Carina Longworth.  In it she goes into detail about forgotten or lesser-known stories from the 20th century of Hollywood.  For film history nerds like myself, this podcast is like crack, and at only 40 minutes an episode you'll blaze through a lot of them in a short amount of time like I have.

D and K Podcast Instagram

https://instagram.com/dandkpodcast/

Above I posted the link to the instagram account called DandKPodcast.  It is easily the best thing on Instagram, so if you ever want something to watch other than your friends pictures of the beach, take a gander at DandKPodcast.  It's an account made by Dave McCary (D) who is a director of videos on SNL and Kyle Mooney (K) of SNL.  Start from the beginning and watch through all of the pictures and videos chronicling the creation of the D and K podcast, with plot lines and story arcs rivaled only by some of the greatest films and television shows ever created.  Do yourself a favor already and follow that link.

Ryan's 1000th Movie Extravaganza (plus a Quick Review of Top Gun)

It finally happened.  After spending 21 years (plus a week) on this earth, I have finally reached the milestone of having completely watched 1,000 movies.

Now I do have a confession to make about this milestone that few of you were aware of me being near and even fewer of you care about me reaching: I probably watched my 1,000th a month or two ago.  After logging in my 1,000th movie (the Tom Cruise film Top Gun, which I will review later on in this post), I did some more searching on Letterboxd and discovered several handfuls of movies that I have seen from start to finish, but forgot to log in to the website.

http://letterboxd.com/rytherb/

So if you take a look at the link above you'll notice that I am at 1,041 films seen as of now (Thursday, August 20th, 2015), and not currently sitting at the 1,000 mark.  So it's a bit like if baseball fans searched the archives of baseball footage and discovered that Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit ball, which he kept as a souvenir was actually his 3,041st hit, and instead his actual 3,000th ball was hit and then played with for a little bit until the pitcher threw a wild pitch and the ball got a little dirty, so the catcher gave it to the umpire to put in his pocket next to his sweaty crotch where it would stay for the remainder of the game before it inevitably ended up in baseball heaven (or wherever MLB baseballs go after they're used).  

I'm being dramatic.  Anyway, I reached (over) 1,000 movies seen, and there are still so SOOOOO many movies from the past that I have not yet seen, as well as many great films being released each year.  The situation I am in is similar to that of a heroin addict who has an overwhelmingly large amount of heroin at their disposal, but they are also being shipped tons of delicious, delicious heroin every week.  And they LOVE heroin, so really their best option is to try and continue doing as much heroin as they can until they die.  And maybe later on in their life, after college, if they get the opportunity, they'll start making some heroin of their own.  But they are still going to do other people's heroin, because other's people's heroin is just as awesome, in fact probably better.  And one day when the heroin addict is old and the heroin industry has changed in so many ways, he or she will be able to vividly describe to his or her grandkids what heroin was like when he was younger, and the kinds of heroin that he or she has tried.  And they'll say, "Shut up Grandpa, we're going to go play on our Hover Heely's."  Basically the heroin is a metaphor for my movie watching.

Here are a few statistics of my movie watching history:

-The oldest movie I have seen is Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896).  It's 1 minute long, and it's just a silent film of a train arriving at a station.

-The newest movie I have seen is the awesome N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton (2015), released last week.

-The average length of every movie I've seen is about 1 hour and 49 minutes long.  Using that average and multiplying it across 1,041 movies adds up to 113,469 minutes, or a little over 1,891 hours, or almost 79 days.  And that's not including the time that would be added from the additional viewings of movies after the first time seeing them.  If that time was included you could probably double the time I've spent watching movies in my lifetime.

-The shortest movie I have seen is the same as the oldest.

-The longest movie I have seen is the extended cut of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which is 4 hours and 11 minutes long.

-I have never walked out of a movie that I was seeing in theaters (not even R.I.P.D.)

-The movie I have seen the most is my at one time favorite movie, The Dark Knight, around 30 times.  The closest competitors are childhood favorites, which I still enjoy today, The Sandlot and Remember the Titans, around 20 times, and my current favorite movie, Boogie Nights, about 15 times.

-The only movies I have seen more than once in theaters are Fred Claus (twice) and this year's The End of the Tour (twice).

Plus a Quick Review of Top Gun

Ahhh, the 80's.  A time when the sun was setting 24 hours a day.  A time when straight men could play topless beach volleyball in jeans, and no one would think anything of it.  A time when Tom Cruise, was just starting to take your breath away.  Times were simpler...I'm guessing; I don't know, I was born in the 90's.

Risky Business gave Tom Cruise a nice jumpstart to his career, but Top Gun put that thing into overdrive and it hasn't slowed down yet.  With Maverick, as well as his several other cocky, be-the-best-there-is roles, Cruise brings a level of confidence and charisma that equals that of the characters he is playing.  Maverick is the kind of guy who at one moment is flying through the sky with a weapon surrounded by enemy fighter jets, and in another moment is trying to pickup a hard-to-get Kelly McGillis with same level of confidence.  To Maverick, there are two kinds of people in the world, those who are charmed by him, and those who are wrong.

While watching Top Gun, it's easy to get taken out of the film a little bit due to it's cheesier moments (silhouetted sex scene, volleyball montage, c'mon).  That's especially true if like me, you watch it for the first time ever, during the 21st century.  But what I'm sure were probably the film's best qualities back in 1986, remain it's best qualities today.  The relationship between Maverick and Goose is still perfect, the soundtrack is still great, the flying sequences are exciting and edited together really well, and Tom Cruise is still able to charm the pants off of anyone with a pulse.  If it was led by a lesser actor than Cruise, I don't see Top Gun being a very successful film, and without (SPOILERS even though it's been almost 20 years) the Maverick and Goose relationship in the announced Top Gun 2, there is no way it comes anywhere close to the original.  The only think that could possibly get me excited for it would if they change the title to Top Gun 2: Goose's Revenge.  I miss you Goose.

Rating: 7.5/10

-Ryan

10 Documentaries to Watch on Netflix

Documentaries are great.  They're shorter than fictional films (for the most part), they're real stories (for the most part), and they make us realize how horrible we are as people (for the most part).  After recently noticing that some of my friends, family, and enemies are becoming increasingly interested in documentaries, I decided it would be a good idea to share some of my favorites that are also viewable on Netflix.

In All Seriousness:

(These are in no specific order, just a list of 10)

1. A Few Documentary Series

Because I can never make these lists without cheating somehow, here is the sole cheat entry on the list.  In this slot I'd like to recommend ESPN's 30 for 30 series, Cosmos, The Story of Film: An Odyssey, and Planet Earth.  These are 4 very different documentary series that I enjoy quite a bit.  ESPN's 30 for 30 series is nearing the end of it's second season, and for those who are unaware of the greatness that is 30 for 30, it is a sport's documentary series presented by ESPN films, and they have released upwards of 70 sports-related documentaries that can be found (for the most part) on Netflix.  They also have made more than 30 shorts about various sports events/figures/etc, that can be found online.  I'll recommend Survive and Advance as my favorite of the 30 for 30 docs, but I would have felt bad not suggesting watching all or as many of these as you can.  Maybe in the future I'll have a ranking of my favorites from this series, but for now you're on your own.

The other series that I recommend are Cosmos, which is Neil Degrasse Tyson's reboot of the science series of the same name from the 80's.  He uses beautifully animated graphics, and narration straight from his vast knowledge of science.  The Story of Film: An Odyssey is similar in it's story telling, the history of film is told through narration by film historian/critic Mark Cousins, and through use of film clips (some popular and some that even the most avid filmgoer has never seen before).  And lastly, Planet Earth is a great series that showcases wildlife in every corner of our home, from the arctic to the rainforest to the deepest parts of the ocean, pretty much everything is touched upon, and yet there is still so much that hasn't been.  These documentaries are geared towards four separate interests (sports, science, film, and nature), and while the more curious of us who want to learn about everything should seek out all 4 series, they may not all be for you, so start with what you find interesting and work from there.

2. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

Exit Through the Gift Shop takes a look at the mysterious world of street/graffiti artists.  It starts off with a man traveling around with and film famous artist Shephard Fairey, and then eventually with the anonymous Banksy, who then turns it around on the guy.  Anyone who's even remotely curious about how street art is made should make this the next documentary they see.  Filled with some really interesting people, and a particularly exciting segment at Disney World, I can not recommend this film (which I've stated is my favorite documentary) enough.

3. Man on Wire (2008)

This thrilling documentary, set-up kind of like a heist film, is about Philippe Petit (a french tightrope walker), and his plan to break onto the roof of one of the Twin Towers to tightrope walk from one to the other.  With first hand accounts from Petit himself and the crew who helped him accomplish this feat, along with re-enactments and actual footage from the "artistic crime of the century", you get placed right in the middle of all the chaos.  The story is so exciting that it's being made into a non-documentary film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit.

4. The Act of Killing (2013)

What is probably the most critically-acclaimed documentary of two years ago, director Joshua Oppenheimer asks Indonesian death-squad leaders to create short films based on the mass-killings that they performed during an Indonesian genocide years ago.  At times hard to stomach for the viewer and even occasionally the death-squad leader subjects of the film, The Act of Killing is one of the most creative documentaries to be released in recent years.  If you wind up liking it, keep an eye out for the not-exactly-a-sequel, counterpart documentary to this that was just released this week, called The Look of Silence.  It's also by Joshua Oppenheimer, and about a family that survived the genocide and confronts the men who killed their brother.

5. Stories We Tell (2013)

In Stories We Tell, actor/writer/director Sarah Polley asks various members of her family as well as close friends to tell stories about Sarah's mother, who is deceased.  She seeks to uncover the truth about her mother, but that can be difficult when your family's stories start to not line up.  Polley, makes her quest for the truth, both entertaining and at times saddening.  A great story(ies) told by a family of storytellers.

6. The Imposter (2012)

This film is insane.  It's about a french man who pretends to be the missing son of a Texas family.  Beautifully filmed with re-enactments and talking head accounts from the family, and the imposter himself.  Without getting into too much of the plot, all I can say really is that the film digs a lot deeper than just this one case of him pretending to be this family's child, and by the end you're not gonna know who's side your on, or if there even is a side to be on.

7. Grizzly Man (2005)

Timothy Treadwell, the Grizzly Man who is the subject of this documentary, lived among grizzly bears for several consecutive summers in Alaska until he was killed by one in 2003.  The film documents his life as a grizzly bear activist, with Survivorman-esque footage shot by Treadwell himself over the years.  Director Werner Herzog carefully, and magnificently pieces together the right footage from the hours of footage recorded, in order to portray Treadwell as a complex human being, and not just a crazy guy living with bears.

8. The Thin Blue Line (1988)

This documentary was famously rejected from the Best Documentary category at the Oscars, because of it's use of scripted re-enactments.  This was the first time that these were used in a documentary about crimes, and started what you would later see in countless documentary and true crime tv shows later on.  This is documentary goes very in depth into this case of the murder of a cop, bringing in pretty much every one involved with the case, and giving really greatly film reenactments, and edited brilliantly.  Most crime documentaries that you have seen in your life, owe a lot to this one right here.

9. Hoop Dreams (1994)

This story of two inner-city Chicago African-American boys, following them through their journey as high school basketball players with dreams of making it into college and then the NBA, can be both heart-breaking and uplifting.  At nearly three hours, Hoop Dreams takes the time to touch upon several key moments in these two kids lives as high schoolers.  Whether it is injuries, getting good grades, or family problems, director Steve James shows us every struggle these boys have had to face realistically, without diving into the sea of sports movie clichés that he easily could have filled this movie with by interfering.  Like The Thin Blue Line was the godfather of crime documentaries, Hoop Dreams is the godfather of sports documentaries.

10. Life Itself (2014)

Director Steve James who I just talked about in the previous entry, also directed this touching portrait of the most famous film critic to ever put pen to paper, Roger Ebert.  James explores Ebert's life leading up to adulthood, and then his career as a film critic, leading up to the painful-to-watch last months of his life.  Ebert was an interesting man, and a brilliant film critic, and it's proved time and time again in this film.  A must-watch for any film fan.

Well those are 10 documentaries for you to watch on Netflix, but there an unbelievable amount of docs available on instant streaming, so let me know if there are any others you think are worth me giving a watch and maybe they'll be on a list like this in the future.

-Ryan

Career Review: Quentin Tarantino

Grab a Big Kahuna burger, blast K-Billy's Sounds of the Seventies, and enjoy this review of the career of Quentin Tarantino.  With The Hateful Eight being released later on this year, and me wanting to review the exact opposite of Pixar (my last Career Review), and the fact that he has only directed 8 feature films (although the poster for The Hateful Eight says that is his 8th film, which I guess means he considers Kill Bill one movie, but I don't, so he's made 8.), I decided Tarantino would be the best choice for the next Career Review.

In All Seriousness:

Quentin Tarantino's films:

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

It's not Tarantino's best film, but the most important film in his catalogue of films is his cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow debut.  For as much criticism that Tarantino gets for imitating aspects of films he has a fondness for, this film along with Pulp Fiction after it has been influential on countless films.  Regarded as one of the greatest independent films to ever be made, it's success has inspired independent filmmakers to make films as well as studios to take the risk of releasing those films.  It's success can be attributed to the snappy writing, the quality acting, and the overall coolness of the film.  Many of the motifs (trunk shot, talking in a diner/restaurant, use of popular music, slow-mo shots, etc.) that Tarantino would go on to use throughout his career can be seen in their first appearances in Reservoir Dogs.

Rating (out of 5 stars): ****1/2

Favorite Performer: Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink

Favorite Scene: Opening diner scene

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pulp Fiction I think is Tarantino's most fun movie.  Not a scene or word of dialogue is wasted.  It's exciting during every minute of this film.  Each actor in the film gives arguably the performance of their careers.  I think the true longevity of this film is proven by the fact that my favorite scene and performer usually changes each time I watch it. And it's really just one of the most quotable movies out there, and if that ain't Kool and the Gang, then I don't know what is.

Rating (out of 5 stars): *****

Favorite Performer: Samuel L. Jackson as Jules

Favorite Scene: The Bonnie Situation

Jackie Brown (1997)

I watched this movie for the first time almost three years ago, I was very on the fence about it.  Upon re-watching it for this blog post, I realized it's brilliance.  It has elements of a Tarantino film sprinkled throughout for sure, but it's definitely the oddball of his canon, being the only of his films that's adapted from a novel.  Tarantino favorite Samuel L. Jackson gives another great performance here, Pam Grier is cool and perfectly cast (because he wrote the role for her), Robert Forrester is wonderful and deserving of his Oscar nomination, but it's Robert De Niro's stoner who really won me over.  The subtlety of his performance and the moments of him that Tarantino shows are hilarious, and the brightest spot of this very good film.  

Rating (out of 5 stars): ****

Favorite Performer: Robert De Niro as Lewis

Favorite Scene: The real money swap

Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)

Kill Bill Vol. 1 is incredibly entertaining, and that's primarily owed to the brilliant choreography and editing of each and every second of these fight scenes.  Tarantino's choice of music, and his quirky dialogue is a lot more fun than I remembered.  The animated sequence and the crazy 88 fight and fight with O-Ren are among my favorite scenes of the entirety of Tarantino's filmography, and they are all packed into volume 1, which is why...

Rating (out of 5 stars): ****1/2

Favorite Performer: Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii

Favorite Scene: Crazy 88 Battle or the anime section.

Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

... I'm not as big into Vol 2., as against the grain as that might be.  It has a lot of great moments, for example the training with Pai Mei, and the entire last 30 minutes.  However, the rest of the film is less exciting to me than the purely entertaining and intense Vol 1.  Also of all of the violence that is scattered throughout all of Quentin Tarantino's films, the only instance of it that I can never watch it the eyeball squishing scene.  Eye stuff grosses me out.

Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2

Favorite Performer: Uma Thurman as Beatrix Kiddo

Favorite Scene: The training with Pai Mei

Death Proof (2007)

Even Tarantino has acknowledged the fact that this is his worst film.  It's a bit of a fun little experiment to try and capture the look and feel of Grindhouse films for his dual-film collaboration with Robert Rodriguez called Grindhouse.  Kurt Russell brings a nice enthusiasm, and some of "The Girls" give pretty good performances, but that's the best I can say about the film.  It's a fun experiment with some enthusiasm.  This was my second time seeing this film, and I'm not sure if there will be a third time, at least not for a very long time.

Rating (out of 5 stars): **

Favorite Performer: Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike

Favorite Scene: The end chase.

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Oddly enough, this was the first Tarantino film I ever saw.  It was around the time where I was first starting to be allowed to watch rated-r movies, and I got this on blu-ray hoping it would be interesting, and it blew me away.  I had never seen a movie before this that mixed english and foreign languages, had longs scenes with tons talking, and jumped around with timelines a little bit.  Then I watched this film and became interested in the person who made it, which led me to Pulp Fiction and then Reservoir Dogs afterwards.  So this film means a lot to me in terms of introducing me to Tarantino.  I also think this movie has the best writing of his career (slightly edging out Pulp Fiction), and a great ensemble cast of actors who would later become much more famous (Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Bruhl, etc.).

Rating (out of 5 stars): *****

Favorite Performer: Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine

Favorite Scene: The basement bar scene.

Django Unchained (2012)

Django Unchained and it's countless references to the Western genre's classic make this a very enjoyable watch for me.  It's a genre I probably admire more than most, and Tarantino's take on it is very fun.  The soundtrack has been frequently played on my iPhone, and Tarantino achieves his best-looking film with Django.  The only thing keeping this movie from being on the same level as a Pulp Fiction or an Inglorious Basterds is that it is a little too long.  At 2 hours and 45 minutes, it can be slower at times than I want it to be.  Also the mandingo fighting scene is another one that's hard for me to watch (again, I can't do eye stuff).

Rating (out of 5 stars): ****

Favorite Performer: Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie (Favorite small performance: Don Johnson as Big Daddy)

Favorite Scene: The raid on the dentist wagon.

Overview

The films of Quentin Tarantino seem to be either loved or hated by anyone who has seen them.  There is rarely, if ever a middle ground.  Some, like myself, enjoy the hyper-stylized, dialogue-heavy, shockingly-violent, sometimes pretentious work of the director.  Many others believe he is overrated, and don't like him for those reasons.  Others might like him or not like him for a variety of different reasons (for example: they hate feet).  The one thing I'm sure of, is that I like his films.  I eat up all of the dialogue, I think the characters he writes and the music choices he makes are cool as hell, and I'm always excited when I hear about his latest project.  He has stayed pretty consistently good throughout his career, with one blip.  Besides that, his movies are pretty easy to lend multiple viewings to, and will receive multiple viewings from me for as long as I'm watching movies.

Side Note: For anyone who is interested, although I didn't include them on this list, Tarantino directed a portion of the film Four Rooms, and also wrote the movies True Romance, From Dusk Till Dawn, and conceived the story for Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers.

Final Ranking:

1. Pulp Fiction

2. Inglorious Basterds

3. Reservoir Dogs

4. Kill Bill Vol. 1

5. Django Unchained

6. Jackie Brown

7. Kill Bill Vol. 2

8. Death Proof

Keep and eye out for the next Career Review, which will be a look at either Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch's careers.  I haven't decided yet, but if you would like to help me decide, please let me know in the comments.

-Ryan