Saturday Double Feature

Last night I watched two movies and I wanted to write up a few quick thoughts about them.

The Guest:

Holy Cousin Matthew!!  I never would have recognized Dan Stevens as David (sorry, "David") if I didn't know the actor by name. 

I hesitate to say much of the plot.  I actually didn't know much about it going in, which sometimes is the best way to see a movie.  One thing I will say is that this is not strictly a horror movie, it's more of a thriller (in terms of broad genres).  It's a fun little escapist movie where you might find yourself feeling a tad bit too sympathetic towards the bad guy (and he IS bad).  In real life, of course, you'd call the police and have him carted off, but in the fun of movie-watching you might rather wish you could have him carted off to your bedroom.

When it was over, I said to myself "That was a great flick."  And I mean that in the best way.  If you saw "You're Next" and liked it, you'd probably like this one (both from director Adam Wingard).  They're both a little throw-back-y and they're both really well done.  Of especial note was the '80's synth-y score. 

The Babadook:

I had really high hopes for this one.   All of the horror nerds were praising it up and down and right and left and it seemed tailor-made for me.  Australian horror movie?  Creepy house and creepy kid?  YES, PLEASE.  But maybe I was simply over-saturated with haunted house movies of late.  I watched three on Halloween weekend, which wasn't that long ago.

And it's not that this movie is without its charms.  I think upon a re-watch I will like it better.  Part of the problem was simply that I was so annoyed with the kid in the movie that it took me out of the spooky realm I needed to be in to be captivated and taken away by the horrors.  I just wanted him to shut the fuck up already and let his mom get some damn sleep.

Cuz DAMN.  That poor mom, Amelia.  And I get that the kid is supposed to be annoying.  And for once he wasn't annoying in the sense of "shit, that child actor is horrible."  The actor did an admirable job.  I just couldn't see past it somehow.

Oh, and I cannot BELIEVE I got through the whole movie and did not realize that Amelia was played by the actress Essie Davis, who plays Phryne Fisher on Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.  Holy fuck.  She's so glam as Phyrne and Amelia was the exact opposite (but still fucking gorgeous anyway).

All that said, I would definitely recommend this movie.  Just not as heartily as I would recommend The Guest.

Returning show roundup

And now for some thoughts on returning fall shows and where I'm at with them.

American Horror Story: Freak Show -- I am aware of just how much of a mess this show can be.  The first season was very mixed bag, although I mostly enjoyed it.  The second season was definitely the peak for me.  It had some iffy bits sprinkled throughout, but on the whole, I thought it was quite excellent and the ending was very good.  That third season, though.  Coven had all the elements for awesome and it just...fizzled.  There were a lot of great moments, but nothing cohesive.  Not that cohesion is really a thing with Ryan Murphy shows.  But I was all set to watch a fourth season and see what he'd cook up.
And...I dunno.  There were things I liked about the first episode.  That scary clown?  OMG.  That's one to haunt your nightmares, for sure.  Jessica Lange in Marlene Dietrich drag singing Bowie's "Life on Mars?"  OMG, yaaaas.  The rest?  Meh.  After a while it all blurs.  Things that are supposed to be shocking are just old hat by now.  We know all of Murphy's tricks now and nothing is shocking anymore.
The verdict?  I will probably watch another few episodes.  If something doesn't grab me soon, I'll be out.

Scandal -- Season three kinda lost me.  I almost stopped watching but I went back and finished the season.  And I was okay with it.  Not excited for season four, but not dreading it either.  But I watched the premiere and was just...done.  If I could watch the show for the five or ten minutes with Mellie, I would.  But Olivia and Fitz?  They're just gross and horrible and I just can't.  Send them off to Vermont so they can make jam and fuck all they want.  Quinn and Huck, JUST NO. 
The verdict?  I'm out.  I'll keep an eye peeled for good Mellie gifs, but that's it.

Sons of Anarchy -- This show is just mentally and emotionally exhausting.  I already had some thoughts on the season premiere, so I won't re-hash that.  But I'm three episodes behind right now because I just can't deal with these characters anymore.  I hate them all and I don't care what happens to them. 
The verdict?  I'm mostly out.  I will continue to read Zack Handlen's excellent reviews at the AV Club so I know what's going on, and I will watch the finale, but I doubt I'll watch the other episodes now or ever.  I've invested enough time in this story that I want to know how it ends, but that's it.

The Vampire Diaries -- This show.  I didn't watch the first season but then I Netflix'd it and watched it up in time for the second, and man, did I love this show.  There was a lot to like.  And then last season, it just all fell apart.  Partly to blame is the continued existence of Bonnie.  She was a fine character but they never really gave her anything good to do and she'd just show up and do one thing and save everyone but then go away again.  And I suppose that was fine, if boring.  But then they killed her off and I was so happy except then she was an annoying ghost and I started hating her more than I loved the show around her.  And then there's Caroline, who at one point was my favorite character but then it was like they didn't know what to do with her anymore.  Caroline should NEVER be boring, goddammit. 
The verdict?  I'm out.  I didn't watch the fifth season premiere and I likely won't keep up with the show unless someone tells me it gets better. 

New show roundup

Some quick thoughts on new teevee shows and whether or not I will stick with them.

The Flash -- I quite enjoyed this pilot.  I think it will make a nice companion to Arrow and the fact that it feels like it might embrace its own silliness a bit more makes it not just a copy of Arrow with different characters.  I love Arrow but considering how silly a lot of it is, it's a rather serious show at times.  Oliver is more of the "tortured hero" and I think Barry Allen (partly because he's younger) will be a bit more fun.
Likelihood of watching a full season: Most definitely.  Unless the quality dips considerably, I'll be sticking with this one.

Gotham -- When I first heard about this one, I was in.  A show about a young Commissioner Gordon?  Yes, please.  But then I watched the pilot and while I mostly enjoyed it, I wasn't completely certain about it.  The problem is that it starts out with the familiar killing of Bruce Wayne's parents.  I'm just not sure we need to have a young Bruce Wayne in this show every week (although Sean Pertwee as Alfred is ACES).  There's no chance we'll ever actually see him as Batman and I'd rather have him be a very minor character, if he has to be there at all.  And my initial thoughts about the pilot had me loving Ben McKenzie as Gordon and Donal Logue as his usual awesome self.  However, after 3 episodes, I'm not loving McKenzie quite as much.  I'm not sure if it's the writing or the acting, but I'm not seeing a lot of range there.  Plus, all the women (with the exception of Jada Pinkett Smith, who is a HOOT) are BORING AS FUCK.  Well, young Selina Kyle is all right, but she's not a woman.  Also, that third episode had the most awful scene at the end where I was just laughing my ass off at how bad the dialogue was.  Not good.
Likelihood of watching a full season: At this point, it's not looking as likely as it was before that third episode.  I'll give it at least one more, but if there's no real improvement or reason to keep going, I'll just stop watching and wait for people to tell me whether it gets better or not.

How to Get Away With Murder -- I wasn't sure about this show when I first started watching the pilot.  It looked like it would just be a case-of-the-week show, which I tend to get bored with after about 2 seasons (see: Castle, Elementary).  But after three episodes, it's clear that while there will be a case-of-the-week, there are also a few sub-plots that will likely be running through the entire season.  And those sub-plots are intriguing enough that I'll probably keep watching. 
Likelihood of watching a full season: Fairly likely, as long as Viola Davis continues to be a compelling character.  The other cast around her are fairly dull, with the exception of the blonde lady whose name I don't know (I am terrible with large casts in the early goings of shows).  The others are fairly generic. 

Black-ish -- I liked the first two episodes this show but actually stopped halfway through the third.  I just don't really like family shows.  I had the same problem with Trophy Wife.  I enjoyed it for the most part, but just didn't really care enough to keep watching. 
Likelihood of watching a full season: Not a lot.  It's possible I'll revisit it if there's a guest star I'd like to see, but I won't be watching it on a regular basis.

Selfie -- I actually thought the pilot had potential.  It was problematic, and I didn't much like Amy Pond having an American accent, but I liked John Cho and I thought the two of them had interesting chemistry.  However, I only got through about 8 minutes of the second episode before saying, "Nope." 
Likelihood of watching a full season: The thing is, I still think this one has potential.  Comedies are just difficult.  They sometimes take a while to percolate before they become something good. So if this one sticks around and people tell me it's gotten better, I may go back and revisit it.

TV quickies

Just some quick thoughts on some of the shows I watch:

Sons of Anarchy started its final season and it looks like it's going to be a huge fucking slog to get through (based on the premiere).  There's only one character I don't want to fucking slap across the face, and that's Jimmy Smits' character.  And he's likely to die soon.  The one good thing about all this is that as this show is loosely an homage to Hamlet, everyone is going to die by the end of it all, so at there's there's that to look forward to.  But come on, Sutter.  Can it with the fucking musical montages.  There were two in the premiere and that's just utter bullshit, dude.  The second one was scored to a horrific cover of Bohemian Rhapsody and just would not end.  I was mentioning this to hubbie on the way to the grocery store (we live an exciting life) and he said he'd thought it would never stop.  He also joked that the finale would likely just be one long musical montage and that is a quality joke.  But don't get any fucking ideas, Sutter.  I just want them all DEAD.  And yes, this has always been a show about problematic characters but they were people you could still, I dunno, maybe not root for, but they were complicated.  Now they've all just become one-note EVIL and that's just lazy and boring.  We'll see if I actually make it through the season, but I'm pretty stubborn, so I likely will. 

The Leftovers finished its first season and I quite enjoyed it overall.  I mean, as much as you can "enjoy" a fucking depressing show.  And it is.  A fucking depressing show.  But it was compelling with characters I wanted to spend time with, and that's about all I ask for.  A lot of people really disliked it because they didn't understand why it had to be so depressing, which is just weird to me.  I can understand not liking it because it's depressing.  But to say a show that's exploring depressing issues should be more, I dunno, cheery?  Kinda misses the point. 

I'm enjoying Outlander.  It's based on a series of books that I got burned out on around halfway through the second or third book.  But even though I got burned out on them (I think some things just aren't meant to be consumed so quickly) I really enjoyed the characters.  Some people are annoyed with it because Claire and Jamie haven't fucked yet, but I like that the show is working to build a world around a couple people that you know are going to have a major romance.  I can understand anyone who thinks the show is going a bit slowly, because it is, but for some reason I'm liking that.  I don't mind a show that takes its time as long as I'm being entertained.

Everything is Awesome

If you've seen The Lego Movie, you're welcome for that ear worm of a blog title.

I don't remember when I first heard about the Lego Movie, but I do know my reaction was something akin to "UUUUGHHHH.  WHY?????"  Cuz, ya know, a 90-minute movie-mercial for Legos just didn't sound appealing to me.  But then a few months ago, or whenever the trailer dropped, people on Twitter were squeeing like crazy and I was like, "Whuh????  Oh, Chris Pratt's voicing the main character?  Well, all right, I'll watch it.  Grudgingly."  And I watched it and I was like "GET THIS MOVIE IN FRONT OF ME NOW!!!"

And I'm happy to say, I really enjoyed the movie.  Yeah, it is a big movie-mercial for Legos, but come on.  Legos are COOL.  There were just so many clever things they did with the visuals that made me very happy.  And it's funny as hell.  I highly recommend it. 

I am not an academic

Considering that I have a bachelor's degree in English, you might think I would write more book reviews than I do.  I'm not really sure why I don't.  It might partly be because I once got a C on an essay I wrote about Pride and Prejudice because the professor said that I "wrote about the characters as if they actually existed."  Well, um, what?  To me, they DO exist.  I think I was just never cut out to write about literature because I'm too much of a fangirl.  I can't be objective.  I have the feels and I can't turn them off. 

I also once had a friend who used to be an English professor, and we were talking about The Simpsons.  He was the kind of snooty asshole who said he "never watched television" but he liked The Simpsons.  Yeah, I don't get it either.  ANYWAY.  There was an episode where Ralph Wiggum said something that I thought was actually pretty perceptive.  The plot was something about the kids breaking in to an old prison where the electric chair was and when they go in the room, Ralph says "It smells like hot dogs."  And then later, through some plot twist, Mayor Quimby is in the chair and the power has been turned on and someone's about to pretend-fry him (they think the power is off) and Ralph says, "He's gonna smell like hot dogs."  Which, come on!  That's pretty smart of Ralph.  He made a connection between two things and said something much less stoopid than his usual bon mots.  I told this to old Snooty Pants and he said something like "You know Ralph isn't a real person, right?"  Like, duh.  No, SP, I thought I could book a trip to Springfield, Whatever and meet good old Ralph.  DUH.  So, ya know, if I had to sound all snooty pants and condescending to be a good literature writer, then I think I'm better off being all semi-delusional.

So I guess I don't write book reviews because I think I'm gonna sound stoopid and I've been scarred by snooty English professors who made me feel silly and I hate snooty men who make me feel silly.  Which is stoopid.  I'm just not an academic.  I'm a fangirl.

Movie Review: Evil Dead

Hi there, Mia.  You're looking a little...evil dead crazy there.  You're kinda creeping me out TBH.

EVIL DEAD, YOU SO BLOODY!!  Seriously.  I thought Dead Alive was the bloodiest movie I'd ever seen, but I dunno.  Evil Dead was just very seriously gory.  I'm not complaining.  But it must be said, if you don't like blood and other fluids, stay away. 

The night I watched this, I unfortunately broke my main rule regarding horror movies: I watched it with the lights on, knowing dinner was on the way.  Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking.  I guess I figured since I'd seen the original and already knew the plot, I didn't need to do my usual thing.  Which is too bad because the movie is very atmospheric.  I was hugely unsettled by the mood and tone and it would have been an even greater effect had the lights been out.  Plus, of course, the matter of dinner.  I mean.  Come on.  I had to pause the movie and turn on some regular teevee while I hurriedly ate my dinner so I could get back to the movie.

As a remake, it was a pretty good one.  My only real complaint was that the two women in the movie (other than Mia) were pretty boring and forgettable.  Which is too bad, considering the awesomeness of Mia.  Of course, when you have Jane Levy playing a character, you know she's gonna be fun to watch.

I'll just end on this note cuz TOTES ADORBS:

TV 2013: Disappointments

I'm just not feelin' it this year.  Meaning, I don't feel like doing a big roundup of anything from last year like I usually do.  It would help if I did the whole year-end wrap-up stuff earlier.  Well, maybe next time.  Anyway, here's a quick hit of some disappointing shows from last year so I can keep clearing out the Drafts folder.

THE BIGGIE:
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
I soooooo wanted this show to be good.  I waited.  And waited.  And made excuses.  And ya know?  It's just not good.  It's made enough improvement that unless the quality goes backward, I'll probably keep watching the rest of the season, but I dunno.  I don't look forward to it and it mostly makes me sad.  It should look like and BE a high quality show, but instead it's not much better than a crappy SyFy original.  Don't get me wrong: SyFy has a few quality shows, but the crappy ones are quite crappy.  And a show with this much money behind it should LOOK like it has a big budget.

Downton Abbey
It was mostly fine until that car crash.  SO BAD.  Such a bitchy and sad way to remove a character who decided he was ready for the Big Time in Hollywood.  (Dan...Somebody...)

Community
The 4th season just wasn't...right.  Let's move on.

Cougar Town
Despite a stoopid title, I gave this show a try and it turned into a fun little show about a bunch of weirdos hanging out together.  And I loved it.  And then it moved to TBS, and it was ... okay.  I won't blame that on TBS because I just don't know if that's why I started falling out of love with the show, but it went from being something I watched on the DVR the next evening, right away, to something I got behind on.  And I "flew to Florida" for the newest season, but have yet to watch any and I suspect I won't.  I guess it just couldn't last forever.

The Tomorrow People
I wanted to like this show so much.  Pretty people, interesting concept...CW...I was THERE.  And I quite liked the pilot.  But I dunno, I just...lost interest.  The characters weren't interesting enough.  It didn't feel like it was going anywhere.  And I just stopped watching, and I likely won't go back.

TV 2013: Odds and Ends

SHOWS THAT ENDED
30 Rock
Breaking Bad
Eastbound and Down
Fringe
Spartacus

SHOWS I GAVE UP ON 
Awkward
DaVinci's Demons
Family Tree
The Following
Graceland
The Heart, She Holler
Homeland
Legit
Low Winter Sun
The Mindy Project
Parenthood
Under the Dome
Raising Hope
Ray Donovan
Suburgatory

SHOWS I GAVE UP ON  BUT MAY CATCH UP TO VIA NETFLIX INSTANT
Lost Girl
Switched at Birth

TV 2013: Favorite Shows

I did this up and it came to 11, so I have a top 11 list.  No one's paying me to write this, so I can make my own rules.

American Horror Story: Asylum

The Americans

Archer

Arrow

Boardwalk Empire

Bob's Burgers

Breaking Bad

The Good Wife

Key and Peele

Justified

Mad Men

Favorite New Shows

Almost Human

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Hannibal

Masters of Sex

Orange is the New Black

Orphan Black

Rectify

Witches of East End

Pilot Watch: Chozen / Rick and Morty

Quick thoughts on a few new shows I watched last night.  I'm lumping them together since they're both animated.  Beyond that, there's not too many similarities.

Chozen is on FX, paired with Archer, so I thought it might be up my alley since I LOVE Archer.  It's basically about a gay white rapper (one might use the politically incorrect term "wigga" since he says thinks like "errrybody" even though he's very white) voiced by Bobby Moynihan, who I like a lot.  Unfortunately, the character is just annoying and I dunno, even though it's about a gay rapper and no one seems to really notice, comment or care that he's gay, its humor seems more aimed at the kind of guys who like Eastbound and Down and think Kenny Powers is actually someone to emulate.  I loved Eastbound and Down because it took an unlikable character and made him sympathetic.  And I know I only watched one episode of Chozen and as Linda Holmes from NPR always says, "comedies take time."  So I may go back to this one at some point and see if it gets better.  But for now, there's just too much to watch and there wasn't enough in this one to make me want to watch it again.

Rick and Morty, on the other hand, I LOVED.  I think it's up to three episodes and I only watched the pilot, but I will definitely watch more.  It's an Adult Swim show created by Dan Harmon and it is FUNNY.  It's basically about a kid named Morty whose uncle Rick takes him on weird adventures in different worlds and I dunno how else to explain it.  It's WEIRD and delightful and the voice work is really good.  I no longer have a DVR, but if I did, I'd set a series recording for it.

TV watched in 2013

30 Rock
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Almost Human
Alphas
American Horror Story
The Americans
Archer
Arrow
Awkward
Banshee
Bates Motel
The Blacklist
Boardwalk Empire
Bob's Burgers
Breaking Bad
The Bridge
Broadchurch
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Children's Hospital
The Colbert Report
Community
Cougar Town
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Dallas
DaVinci's Demons
Defiance
Downton Abbey
Dr. Who
Eagleheart
Eastbound and Down
Elementary
Enlightened
The Eric Andre Show
The Fades
The Fall
Family Tree
The Following
Fringe
Game of Thrones
Girls
The Good Wife
Graceland
Grimm
Hannibal
Happy Endings
The Heart, She Holler
Hemlock Grove
Homeland
In the Flesh (mini-series)
Inside Amy Schumer
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Justified
Key and Peele
The League
Legit
Lost Girl
Low Winter Sun
Luther
Mad Men
Maron
Masters of Sex
The Mindy Project
Misfits
New Girl
Nikki and Sara Live
NTSF:SD:SUV::
Orange is the New Black
The Originals
Orphan Black
Parenthood
Parks and Recreation
Peep Show
Raising Hope
Ray Donovan
Rectify
Revenge
RuPaul's Drag Race
Scandal
Shameless
Sherlock
Sons of Anarchy
The Soup
South Park
Spartacus
Strike Back
Suburgatory
Suits
Supernatural
Switched at Birth
Teen Wolf
The Tomorrow People
Top of the Lake (mini-series)
Treme
Under the Dome
The Vampire Diaries
Veep
Wilfred
Witches of East End

TV I caught up with this year

Kroll Show (2 episodes) Will continue in 2014
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (1 episode) Will continue in 2014
Black Mirror (2 episodes) Will continue in 2014
The Peter Serafinowicz Show (2 episodes) Will continue in 2014
The In-Betweeners (series 1, about 4 episodes) Will continue in 2014
Southland (season 2) (disc 1)
Southland (season 1)
The O.C. (season 2) (through disc 3)
The Thick of It (season 4)
The O.C. (season 1)
Breaking Bad re-watch
Teen Wolf (season 1-2)
Elementary (season 1)
Arrested Development re-watch (season 1, about 3 episodes)
Banshee (season 1)
Suits (season 2)
Suits (season 1)

Book Read 2013

Here's a list of all the books I read in 2013.  100 in total, 6 I'd read before.  And 2 I only read about half of, so maybe that should be 99 books?  Meh.

Favorites:
And the Mountains Echoed / Khaled Hosseini
Beautiful Chaos / Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Creatures / Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Darkness / Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Redemption / Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
City of Ashes / Cassandra Clare
City of Bones / Cassandra Clare
City of Fallen Angels / Cassandra Clare
City of Glass / Cassandra Clare
Curtsies and Conspiracies / Gail Carriger
Double Feature / Owen King
Etiquette and Espionage / Gail Carriger
Fangirl / Rainbow Rowell
Let's Pretend This Never Happened / Jenny Lawson
Paddle Your Own Canoe: one man's fundamentals for delicious living / Nick Offerman
The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers, and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever / Alan Sepinwall
Save Yourself / Kelly Braffet

Disappointments:
The Demonologist / Andrew Pyper
Reviver / Seth Patrick (Didn't live up to the intriguing premise)
The Woods are Dark / Richard Laymon (In the top 5 of the most unpleasant books I've ever read)

Didn't finish:
The Flamethrowers / Rachel Kushner (read about half)
Tenth of December / George Saunders (about half)

The rest:
99 Percent Perspiration / Jef Mallett
A Fistful of Charms / Kim Harrison
A Game of Thrones / George R.R. Martin (re-read)
Angel and Faith, vol. 2
Astonishing X-Men, vol. 1-4 / Joss Whedon
Buffy TVS, season 9, Vol. 2
Cold Days / Jim Butcher
Crap Kingdom / DC Pierson
Dead Ever After / Charlaine Harris
Dead Witch Walking / Kim Harrison
DeadSet / Richard Kadrey
Dexter's Final Cut / Jeff Lindsay
Die Trying / Lee Child
Divergent / Veronica Roth
Doctor Sleep / Stephen King
Every Which Way But Dead / Kim Harrison
Evil at Heart / Chelsea Cain
The Fault in Our Stars / John Green
The Girl Next Door / Jack Ketchum
The God Engines / John Scalzi
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead / Kim Harrison
Hater / David Moody
Heartsick / Chelsea Cain
House of Mystery, vol. 1 / Matthew Sturges
The Howling / Gary Brandner (re-read)
The Howling 2 / Gary Brandner (re-read)
The Howling 3 / Gary Brandner (re-read)
I Can Barely Take Care of Myself / Jen Kirkman
In the Woods / Tana French
Joyland / Stephen King
Kill You Twice / Chelsea Cain
Kinsey and Me / Sue Grafton
Let Me Go / Chelsea Cain
The Likeness / Tana French
The Madness Underneath / Maureen Johnson
Messy / Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
The Morels / Christopher Hacker
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore / Robin Sloan
The Name of the Star / Maureen Johnson
The Night Season / Chelsea Cain
NOS4A2 / Joe Hill
Night Film / Marisha Pessl
The Ocean at the End of the Land / Neil Gaiman
The Passage / Justin Cronin (re-read)
Planetary vol. 4 / Warren Elllis
Ship of Magic / Robin Hobb
Sweetheart / Chelsea Cain
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made / Stephan Pastis
Transmetropolitan, vol. 3-10 / Warren Ellis
The Twelve / Justin Cronin
Unbreakable / Kami Garcia
The Unwritten, vol. 1-2 / Mike Carey
W is for Wasted / Sue Grafton
The Waking Dark / Robin Wasserman
Walkers / Gary Brandner (re-read)
Walkers / Graham Masterton
Wanted / Mark Millar
Witches of East End / Melissa De La Cruz
Y the Last Man, vol. 1-10 / Brian K Vaughan

Movies 2013

Movies I watched in 2013

I watched 114 movies in 2013.  Holy Crapola.  I only watched 25 last year.  Movies in bold with asterisks are the ones I saw in the theater.  YES.  I only saw 5 movies in the theater.  And one was Admission.  IT WAS HUBBIE'S CHOICE.  (And it was cute.  Forgettable, but cute.  Not worth spending 20 bucks on, but cute.)

5 stars
M

4 1/2 stars
It Happened One Night
Pitch Perfect

4 stars
A Face in the Crowd
Argo
Behind the Candelabra
Dial M For Murder
Django Unchained
Epitaph
Gilda
Higher Ground
The Innkeepers
*Iron Man 3
Magic Mike
Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Road House
The Sessions
Skyfall
Stoker
The Third Man
*Thor: The Dark World
*The Wolverine
*The World's End
You're Next

3 1/2 stars
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 
Castle Freak
Four Flies on Grey Velvet
The Fury
John Hodgman: Ragnarok
Killer Joe
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Men in Black 3
Paranorman
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) 
Pusher
Pusher 2: With Blood on My Hands
Red Riding: 1983
Scanners
Source Code
Tango and Cash
Valhalla Rising
Videodrome
The Woman in Black

3 stars
21 Jump Street
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
*Admission 
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
The Apartment
The Campaign
Child's Play 2
Chronicle
Cold Prey 2
The Dark Knight Rises
Dead and Buried
Demons
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)
Dredd
Empire Records
Final Destination 5
Hard Target
Horrible Bosses
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Lockout
Magnum Force
Mama
Maniac Cop
The Manitou 
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Moonrise Kingdom
Night of the Demons
Opera
Parnormal Activity 4
Premium Rush
Rabid
Red 2
Red Riding: 1974
Red Riding: 1980
Return of the Living Dead 3
Rob Delaney: Live at the Bowery Ballroom
Safety Not Guaranteed
Seven Psychopaths
Shadow of a Doubt
Singin' in the Rain
Ted
This is the End
We Need to Talk About Kevin
While You Were Sleeping
White House Down
Zoltan ... Hound of Dracula


2 1/2 stars
Beyond the Door
Demons 2
Don't Torture a Duckling
The Gate
The Lady EveLes Miserables
Looper
Maria, Full of Grace
National Treasure
Sharknado
Star Trek Into Darkness
Tommy Boy

2 stars
The Beyond 
Child's Play 3
Curse of Chucky
The Dark Crystal
Frozen(2010)
Killing Them Softly
Puppetmaster
The Raid: Redemption 
Real Steel
Side Effects

1 star
House of 1,000 Corpses

1/2 stars
Sleepaway Camp 2