This will not be on the midterm. This is not valuable information to anyone but me and those who stalk me (hi, Tim!). It’s just a list of what I watched and read this year.
MOVIES
As it happens, I watched exactly 366 different movies this year, one for each day. But I watched 12 of them twice, making a total of 377 screenings. That might sound like a lot, but at an average of 100 minutes per film, it only adds up to about 26 days’ worth. Links are to my reviews or other features I wrote.
2016 releases (224):
10 Cloverfield Lane
20th Century Women
13 Hours
31
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
The Accountant
Allied
Almost Christmas
American Honey
Antibirth
Approaching the Unknown
April and the Extraordinary World
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Arrival (x2)
Assassin’s Creed
Bad Moms
Bad Santa 2
Barbershop: The Next Cut
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Being Charlie
Ben-Hur
The BFG
A Bigger Splash
The Birth of a Nation
Blair Witch
Bleed for This
Boo! A Madea Halloween
The Boss
The Boy
Bridget Jones’s Baby
The Brothers Grimsby
Cafe Society
Captain America: Civil War
Captain Fantastic
Carnage Park
Cash Only
Central Intelligence
Certain Women (x2)
The Choice
Christine
Collateral Beauty
Complete Unknown
The Conjuring 2
Criminal (2016)
Dark Horse
The Darkness
Deadpool
Deepwater Horizon
Demolition
De Palma
Doctor Strange (x2)
Dog Eat Dog
Don’t Breathe (x2)
Don’t Think Twice
The Eagle Huntress
Eddie the Eagle
The Edge of Seventeen
Eisenstein in Guanajuato
Elle
Elvis & Nixon
Everybody Wants Some!!
The Eyes of My Mother
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Fences
Fifty Shades of Black
Finding Dory
The Fits
Florence Foster Jenkins
The Forest
The Founder
Free State of Jones
Free to Run
The Fundamentals of Caring
Genius
The Girl on the Train
Ghostbusters (2016)
Goat
Gods of Egypt
Good Neighbor (aka The Waiting)
The Greasy Strangler (x2)
Green Room
Hacksaw Ridge
Hail, Caesar!
The Handmaiden
Hands of Stone
Hardcore Henry
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
High-Rise
The Hollars
How to be Single
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
Hush
I Am Not a Serial Killer
Ice Age: Collision Course
In a Valley of Violence
Independence Day: Resurgence
Indignation
Inferno
The Infiltrator
The Intervention
The Invitation
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Jason Bourne
The Jungle Book
Keanu
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Kevin Hart: What Now?
King Cobra
Knight of Cups
Kubo and the Two Strings
Kung Fu Panda 3
La La Land (x2)
The Legend of Tarzan
The Light Between Oceans
Lights Out
Lion
Live by Night
The Lobster (x2)
London Has Fallen
Loving
Maggie’s Plan
The Magnificent Seven
Manchester by the Sea (x2)
The Man Who Knew Infinity
Mascots
Max Steel
Me Before You
Mechanic: Resurrection
The Meddler
Meet the Blacks
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
Midnight Special (x2)
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Miss Sloane
Miss Stevens
Moana
Money Monster
A Monster Calls
Moonlight (x2)
Moonwalkers
Morgan
Morris from America
Mother’s Day
Mr. Church
Mr. Right
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
My Blind Brother
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
The Neon Demon
Nerve
The Nice Guys (x2)
Nine Lives (2016)
Nocturnal Animals
Now You See Me 2
Office Christmas Party
The Ones Below
Operation Avalanche
Oriented
Other People
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Our Little Sister
Passengers
Pele
Pee-wee’s Big Holiday
Pete’s Dragon
The Phenom
Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
The Purge: Election Year
Queen of Katwe
Race
Ride Along 2
Risen
Rogue One
Rules Don’t Apply
Sausage Party
The Secret Life of Pets
The Shallows
Shut In
Sing Street (x2)
Slash
Snowden
Southside with You
Spaghettiman
Standing Tall
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad
Sully
Swiss Army Man
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Tickled
Toni Erdmann
Touched with Fire
Trash Fire
Triple 9
Trolls
The Wait
Warcraft
War Dogs
Where to Invade Next
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Why Him?
Wiener-Dog
The Witch
Under the Shadow
X-Men: Apocalypse
Yoga Hosers
Zoolander 2
Zootopia
Festival films to be released in 2017 (or possibly never) (34):
Sundance:
The Blackout Experiments
The Lure
Oxford (Miss.) Film Festival:
Embers
The Missing Girl
The Sinking of Sozopol
The Week
What Lola Wants
SXSW:
American Fable
Before the Sun Explodes
The Master Cleanse
My Father, Die
War on Everyone
Damn These Heels LGBT Film Festival (Salt Lake City):
Out Run
Fantastic Fest:
Buster’s Mal Heart
A Dark Song
Down Under
Fashionista
The Girl with All the Gifts
Headshot
The High Frontier
The Playground
Raw
Safe Neighborhood (aka Better Watch Out)
Split
Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl
They Call Me Jeeg
The Truth Beneath
We Are the Flesh
The Young Offenders
Another festival
I was on the screening committee for a festival. I can’t tell you which festival, or the names of the movies I watched, but I watched five of them. Just take my word for it.
Pre-2016 films that I re-watched (71):
2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
The Addams Family (1991)
Airplane! (1980)
All the President’s Men (1976)
The Amazing Colossal Man** (1957)
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Bowfinger (1999)
Brooklyn (2015)
The Brothers Solomon (2007)
Carol (2015)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Chi-Raq (2015)
Citizen Kane (1941)
City Slickers (1991)
Daddy-O** (1958)
Defending Your Life (1991)
Down with Love (2003)
Dreamcatcher (2003)
Elf (2003)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Frailty (2002)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Fugitive Alien** (1978)
Gamera vs. Gaos** (1967)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Half-Baked (1998)
Hook (1991)
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Inside Out (2015)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
Jack Reacher (2012)
The Jungle Book (1967)
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
The Last House on the Left (1972)
The Love Guru (2008)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Man of Steel (2013)
The Martian (2015)
Mary Poppins (1964)
Memento (2001)
Modern Times (1935)
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Once I Was a Beehive (2015)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Psycho (1960)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Running Scared (2006)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Spotlight (2015)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
State & Main (2000)
Step Brothers (2008)
Strange Brew (1983)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Time of the Apes** (1974)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
The Untouchables (1987)
The Violent Years** (1956)
Waiting for Guffman (1997)
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)
West Side Story* (1961)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
*in 70mm at Portland’s Hollywood Theatre, a choice experience I highly recommend
**the MST3K version
Pre-2016 films that I watched for the first time (49):
Always (1989)
American Gigolo (1980)
Animalympics (1980)
Billy Madison (1995)
The Blob (1958)
Blow Out (1981)
The Bodyguard (1992)
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Boy and the World (2015)
Bulworth (1998)
Cat People (1942)
The Changeling (1980)
Come Drink with Me (1966)
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1990)
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
The Crow (1994)
Dead Ringers (1988)
Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015)
The Flying Deuces (1939)
The Fog (1980)
Friday (1995)
Fright Night (1985)
Gimme Shelter (1970)
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)
Jerry Maguire (1996)
The Living End (1992)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Murder Party (2007)
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Paddington (2015)
Phantasm (1979)
Purple Rain (1984)
Risky Business (1983)
Rounders (1998)
Ruthless People (1986)
Schizopolis (1997)
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Sid and Nancy (1986)
Sisters (1973)
Stranded in Space (1973)
Stranger with a Camera (2000)
To Be or Not to Be (1983)
The Wicker Man (1973)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
TV
Huh. I wouldn’t have guessed there were 25 shows that I watched regularly (I’d have thought it was around 15), but the numbers don’t lie.
Angie Tribeca (S2)
Another Period (S1, started S2 but lost interest)
Archer (S7)
Better Call Saul (S2)
Black Mirror (S3)
Bob’s Burgers (S6-7)
BoJack Horseman (S3)
Broad City (S3)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S3/4)
The Exorcist (S1)
The Good Place (S1)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (S10-11)
Mr. Robot (S2)
The People vs. O.J. Simpson (limited-run series)
Rick and Morty (S2)
Saturday Night Live (S41-42)
Silicon Valley (S2-3)
The Simpsons (S27-28)
South Park (S20)
Supergirl (S1-2)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (S2)
Veep (S5)
Vice Principals (S1)
Westworld (S1)
The X-Files (S10)
BOOKS
As always, I don’t finish books I’m not enjoying, so all of these are at least partly recommended. But the ones I especially liked are marked.
All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)
**The Bone Clocks (David Mitchell)
California (Edan Lepucki)
The Fever (Megan Abbott)
**The Girl with All the Gifts (M.R. Carey)
**Mind of Winter (Laura Kasischke)
The Miniaturist (Jessie Burton)
The Paying Guests (Sarah Waters)
A People’s History of the Civil War (David Williams)
**The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)
**Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)
We Are Not Ourselves (Matthew Thomas)
