So much of my waking hours is spent like this:
Buy national newspaper of my choice, usually the Guardian, turn to film section to check out weekly film releases and within time, sulk.
Buy monthly Sight & Sound magazine, coo over the latest the world of cinema has to offer, turn to reviews for monthly releases and sooner or later, sulk.
Watch Film 2011, despair at the continuous dumbing down of what could be a great programme, hear about the latest film releases and pretty much a quarter of a way through, sulk.
Listen to podcasts, read reviews, articles of the latest festivals, the greatest films being released in the UK, the artistry, the originality. And. Sulk.
Sulk, why? Not one of those great films I spend fawning over have the slightest chance of penetrating the multiplex death-grip that activates whenever a non-Hollywood endorsed product tries to muscle in at a local cinema. I live in a town where the most obvious of all Oscar bait is seen as something of a risk, could you imagine the chances of seeing the latest Haneke, Dardenne or Ramsey film? My nearest cinemas are in London, a one hour train journey (which I can handle) and a £20 return fee (which I can't), so basically I sulk because that's my lot, for now.
#46 - ?
Buy national newspaper of my choice, usually the Guardian, turn to film section to check out weekly film releases and within time, sulk.
Buy monthly Sight & Sound magazine, coo over the latest the world of cinema has to offer, turn to reviews for monthly releases and sooner or later, sulk.
Watch Film 2011, despair at the continuous dumbing down of what could be a great programme, hear about the latest film releases and pretty much a quarter of a way through, sulk.
Listen to podcasts, read reviews, articles of the latest festivals, the greatest films being released in the UK, the artistry, the originality. And. Sulk.
Sulk, why? Not one of those great films I spend fawning over have the slightest chance of penetrating the multiplex death-grip that activates whenever a non-Hollywood endorsed product tries to muscle in at a local cinema. I live in a town where the most obvious of all Oscar bait is seen as something of a risk, could you imagine the chances of seeing the latest Haneke, Dardenne or Ramsey film? My nearest cinemas are in London, a one hour train journey (which I can handle) and a £20 return fee (which I can't), so basically I sulk because that's my lot, for now.
So that's what I mean by Playing Catch-Up, I'm usually two to three years behind in terms of what each year has to offer and, despite my continuous sulking, I've made peace with that. So starting with 2009 and moving forwards I'm charting my top 50 films of each year, for which if I'm honest will give me time to watch the best of 2010 and so on.
In the countdown so far..
#50 - Public Enemies
#49 - Frozen River
#46 - ?
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