Fool's Views (1/1 - 1/15)

Welcome to 2012, my friends. It’s been a bit of a slow start for the old Fool, or rather, I’ve been operating at what might be considered “normal” speed for most. Chalk it up to a combination of acclimating to a new schedule, rehearsals for a new play, and writing a new HorrorHound article, the subject of which might be immediately apparent based on the brunt of the films below. Plus, there was all that tallying and discussions about everyone’s top 10, 20, etc. of 2011 – plenty to keep the Doc a-hoppin’.

But back in the saddle we are, and it’s finally feeling like winter, so there should be plenty of good Viewing ahead. Hope you enjoy what we’ve got in store for you this week, and as always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

Civilian 2011 Wrap-Up and Year-End Stats!

Back again!

Having addressed the horror genre in the previous entry (hey, the title of the blog is HORROR 101 after all), it seems only fair to give the civilian flicks their moment in the sun, seeing as how they composed nearly half the total Views this year. As before, all of the films listed were encountered for the first time from January 1 to December 31, 2011 (i.e. no repeat viewings were eligible), with my top picks denoted with an asterisk.


2011 TOTALS: 640 films, 419 1st time views, 355 horror, 59 cinema
(2010 Totals: 364, 253, 242, 45)
(2009 Totals: 472, 276, 289, 38)
(2008 Totals: 384, 278, 226, 39)
(2007 Totals: 409, 284, 260, 40)




TOP CIVILIAN 2011 RELEASES
Adventures of Tintin, The (2011)
Another Earth (2011)
Bridesmaids (2011)
Drive (2011)*
Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Hugo (2011)
Margin Call (2011)*
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Moneyball (2011)
Tree of Life, The (2011)*
War Horse (2011)

Dr. AC's 2011 Horror Wrap-Up Extravaganza!

Howdy troops,

Greetings, fellow lovers of the moving image,

First off, let it be duly noted – this year was INSANE. 2011’s total of 640 films represents the 3rd highest I’ve ever amassed in a single year. As a result, narrowing things down to a simple Top 10 just didn’t seem in the cards, and with an abundance of worthwhile cinema to be tallied, why impose such an arbitrary limit? Why indeed.

Therefore, after much deliberation, below is my assessment of the horror year that was. All of the fright flicks listed herein were encountered for the first time sometime between January 1 and December 31, 2011 (i.e. no repeat viewings were eligible). To accommodate and acknowledge as many films as possible, I've broken them down into various categories in alphabetical order, with my top pick denoted with an asterisk. (*)

If you are curious about or want to celebrate/debate why a certain title landed in a certain category, please leave a comment and we’ll go at it. Also, if you’re interested in reading the original reviews of the films in question (and really, who wouldn’t be?), you can easily access them via the Blogger search function in the upper left hand corner of the screen.

Thanks so much for the past year of rapping and chatting - looking forward to more of the same in 2012!






BEST HORROR RELEASES IN (OR AROUND) 2011
Attack the Block (2011)
Chillerama (2011)
Chop (2011)
Dream Home (2010)
Exorcismus (2010)
Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), The (2011)*
I Saw the Devil (2010)
Kidnapped (2010)
Last Circus, The (2010)
Let Me In (2010)
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010)
Rammbock: Berlin Undead (2010)
Red State (2011)
Red White and Blue (2010)
Stake Land (2010)
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)

Fool's Views (12/26 – 12/31)

Boom. There it is.

The last week of 2011 featured no fewer than seven current theatrical releases, as well as a bevy of recent video releases and a continued game of catch-up from the decade gone by. Hope you like, and I’ll be seeing you very soon with the year-end totals!

As always feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

Fool's Views (12/19 – 12/25)

Hey kids,

Welcome to 2012! But, before we dole out the year-end goodies, we need to commune with the remaining 2011’s Views. Wouldn’t you know it, since they were the final weeks, and since I had little to do after placing my meager offerings to the femalien under the tree, I dug out the eyelid toothpicks and again drank deeply from the cinema pools. The Chicago public library continued in my catch-up of notable civilian films gone by, Netflix kept the horror blood pumping, and the penultimate Cronenberg features in our year-long examination unfurled before us. Good stuff.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!