Lot of spare time this month. I went whole hog on the movies, people.

Two things of note before I begin -
This month saw me reaching 489 on the TSPDT list, making my goal of 500 a virtual reality.
Beginning now I'm adding on the only two recommendations I really need to give, the STAMP OF APPROVAL and the SEAL OF APPROVAL. The seal, requiring wax AND a stamp, is naturally the stronger of the two. It's the difference between "see this movie" and "SEE THIS MOVIE."

In alphabetical order for my amusement:

Apocalypto - I was constantly surprised. I was surprised by how involved I was in the story, especially the first half. I wasn't surprised by how gory the film was, but I was surprised by how explicit it wasn't and by how cartoonish some of the action was. I honestly thought I would see knives get plunged into bodies instead of the cutaways I received. Not that it wasn't violent enough for me, I definitely got a fix, it's just that I expected it to be more brutal. Which brings me back to the cartoonish aspect - early on a man is yanked through his wall with such distance and force the invisible wires that did the trick bled into my mind. The same goes for the computerized bees, snake, and animal-trap spikes. The backdrop and violence were shown with so much realism that the diversions were painful. Despite these qualms I must admit I was gripped throughout and would gladly watch this again. Hell, I even listened to the commentary. STAMP OF APPROVAL.

Brick - I'll give it to Rian, the dialogue did its job; I instantly knew this was film noir. I guess. Sure, the dialogue was snappy, but outside of two exceptions ("You put Brad Bramish in the game!") it felt like a teen writing the way he assumes adults talk. Luckily the plot was strong enough to keep me interested because I don't know if I could have dealt with all that too-cool-for-school dialogue.

Crank 2: High Voltage - Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Yep, I'm in the cult now. I can't get this movie out of head. Must... see it.... again. SEAL OF APPROVAL

Dead Ringers - I am investigating Cronenberg slowly, but once every three months or so has worked fantastically. If I wait long enough I start to get a Cronenberg craving and he has yet to disappoint. I was nervous early on with this one because I found the lead actress wooden and unappealing. Once it switched to completely about the brothers it took off. STAMP OF APPROVAL

Death at a Funeral (the original) - The first movie I watched this month, it stayed middle of the pack for the duration. When, later in the month, another British comedy came up for viewing my girlfriend declined with the reasoning "British comedy isn't very funny." This got a few solid laughs, but I can't say it comes to my mind very often. The biggest positive of this movie came in my realization that my respect for farce does not match my enjoyment. A well done farce seems like the greatest of scripts, but the necessary foreshadowing and payoff work against my desire to be surprised by film. The acting was great yet I can't say I'm wholly for the notion that this version MUST be better than the remake. Don't know if/when I will see the Chris Rock version, but I'm not averse to it.

Floating Weeds - I never thought this would happen: an Ozu film was my favorite of the month. I had seen "Tokyo Story" and was not impressed. The story and style were underwhelming, I cared about no one and nothing. Why then did I watch "Floating Weeds?" Well, it was on. Duh. It's been a few weeks now and it still hasn't left me. I could go on for days with superlatives to describe this movie, but my joy is so great none of them will do it justice. That said, I'm still nervous about the rest of his catalog because this was barely over "too quiet" and it was his version of melodrama. This troubles me. SEAL OF APPROVAL

The Haunting - A very pleasant surprise. Because I don't believe in ghosts, I'm rarely scared by ghost movies. This movie effectively convinced me that the haunting was all inside our lead's head. As a result, I stayed engaged. Yes, there were times that were a bit talky, but I genuinely felt like I got closer to the characters during this time. I then was able to have my own reading of what was happening in each ghostly encounter, which it turns out I appreciate. STAMP OF APPROVAL

Hausu - I went into this movie wondering why the title sounded familiar. As soon as I realized the soundtrack wasn't going to relent to the dialogue I started laughing and it never let up. What a wild ride. If you watch it, watch with friends. There will be no end to the discussion. Thank you, TCM Late Night. SEAL OF APPROVAL

The Insider - Hated "Public Enemies," loved "Heat." This movie sits immediately between the two. Some good, some boring, some great, some bland.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance - I've never really liked martial arts movies, but seeing so much Kurosawa got me thinking I might be into samurai movies. This was the first of the two I watched this month. I think I will see more this series but not at any incredible rate. Has anybody seen this series? I know there is a stretch of 5 or so in a row, but I need to know if this handful has an overarching storyline. If so I'll be more anxious to check out the others. The shot of Lone Wolf and Cub walking between walls of fire and water was perfect.

The Lady Killers - Better than the Coens version but not as enjoyable as "Kind Hearts and Coronets" or "The Lavender Hill Mob." Alec Guiness grows larger in my heart with each new performance.

Murder! - Hitchcock count climbs to 42 and that was all this movie was good for. Not as bad as "Topaz" or "Number Seventeen," this was too dull to reach any significant height on my list.

Murder on a Sunday Morning - Sigh, Duval. Fun fact: 8 years to the day after the verdict, the two lead defense attorneys in this movie were fired from the public defenders office for "budget cuts." Ahem. SEAL OF APPROVAL

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - I found this to be very similar to "Castle in the Sky" but better. I appreciated the relationship of the children in "Castle in the Sky," but I thought it was a bit too long. The solo lead in this was more well rounded than that co-leads in "Castle" and the story was told at just the right pace for me. There was a great mixture of the magical and the grotesque in this movie, one of my favorite things about Ghibli. STAMP OF APPROVAL

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht - This is the German version of the Herzog/Kinski collaboration and the opposite of Van Sant's "Psycho." There was only one completely unique sequence, Lucy's wanderings through the devastated village, and I loved it. The rest I enjoyed because and in spite of the original. I'd watch another "Nosferatu."

The Palm Beach Story - I had seen the first scene of this movie a year or two prior and knew within that scene my mood couldn't handle it at the time. This month the proper mood finally came to me and I checked it out. Having bought into the quick pace this go-round, I strapped in and let myself go. The ending was bizarre, which I didn't mind, and abrupt, which I did. I could have watched this movie with twice as many scenes before I got my fill. STAMP OF APPROVAL cause I can't rank it with "Sullivan's Travels" SEAL.

Punisher: War Zone - I took the "How Did This Get Made Challenge" with this one and made it a drinking game with a few buddies. We chose 5 things to drink on, including "Every time there is a head wound" because we assumed this wouldn't happen very often. Wrong. Comically absurd and I loved it. Then I watched "Crank 2" and I now only like "War Zone."

Sleuth - Ugh. This was painful to get through. I thought the acting was great but even when things were twisting and turning I couldn't get into it. Too old school for me this month.

Stranger Than Paradise - My first Jarmusch. I can see the appeal in the minimalist style which I never though I would. That said, this particular story wasn't to my taste even if it was cool to see Vito. I like to imagine that he came back from this movie to work at Sal's. Anyways, unless recommended otherwise, I am putting "Dead Man" and "Ghost Dog" on my to watch list. I'll leave Jarmusch's other films out of my mind until I decide whether or not I'm committed.

The Tenant - I liked this more after the fact than I did during the watching, and it was my own fault. I, for some unknown reason, went into this thinking it would be more surreal. When the movie finished I could see the journey in my rear view and appreciated it more. "Nosferatu" and this I was introduced to Isabelle Adjani. More, please.

Thieves' Highway - If it wasn't for Jules Dassin's involvement I prolly never would have seen this movie. Nothing terrible, nothing special.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Vicky got a raw deal. She was by far the character I was most interested in; she got as much if not more screen time than Scarlett, let alone Penelope; her story drove the movie as much as Scarlett's did; yet she is nowhere to be seen on the cover because she isn't as famous as her co-stars. Bummer. In other news, Javier Bardem is one sexy man.

Z - I actually had to start this film from the beginning after SPOILERUNLESSYOUREADTHEBOX the assassination ENDSPOILERONTHECOVEROFTHEDVD because I thought the aforementioned DVD case had deliberately mislead me during the first 15-20 minutes. "Political campaign procedural? I didn't sign up for this!" WRONG. Everything after was a roller coaster for one reason only: as a viewing I inherently knew this was an assassination attempt and not a mundane accident. Had the director allowed from the beginning the idea that this could have been accidental it would have lost all of the dramatic intensity in the following cover up and investigation. I loved not being able to see the cover up. I grew increasingly frustrated along with our hero, who doesn't even show up until 30 minutes into the picture. I enjoyed being taken on the ride and felt satisfied with the end. Adding on to all of this was the films style: quick cuts, often to visualizations of the thoughts of different characters, made the pace of the film feel surprisingly modern even while the thickness of the subject threatened to slow things down. STAMP OF APPROVAL. (End note: The only reason this movie does not receive the SEAL is because the combination of subtitles and subject matter may turn some of our more conservative friends off)

Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi - Because there are only two Yojimbo movies I will watch more Zatoichi. Even if it is a step below, it seems like a reliable series to get a samurai fix.

Alright, that's it for me.