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November 2016 Movies

  1. I Was Born, But - Ozu's 1932 silent film plays like a Japanese Our Gang and it's wonderful.
  2. The Victim - Thai horror film has as good a first hour as any I've seen, then the puzzle begins.
  3. The Sea Of Trees - Van Sant fails, by making the most predictable movie ever made.
  4. Cold Fish - Starts off strong, but devolves into splatter film with very little to admire.
  5. Sausage Party - A 90 minutes dick joke that lost me in the first 90 seconds.
  6. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword Of Vengeance - Part one of six is everything you could want.
  7. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart At The River Styx: Wonderful second part delivers loads
  8. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades: A tad slower than the first two, but quite good.
  9. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart In Peril - A little better than third, but still fun.
  10. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart In The Land Of Demons: Gets back on superb starting track.
  11. Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven In Hell - Superb finale. Absolutely brilliant set.
  12. I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House - Good acting can't save it from itself.
  13. What We Become - Decent Zombie film, but lack of character development is a problem.
  14. Manhole - Korean serial killer could have been so much better, but worth a look.
  15. We Are What We Are (2013) - Dreadful remake, with Bill Sage's brooding all to blame.
  16. How I Live Now - A willingness to forget certain things adds to this well acted drama.
  17. Global Waste: The Scandal of Food Waste - well intentioned doc, fails in its delivery.
  18. Scherzo Diabolico - Horror is there, if Bogliano could get away from sex and nudity overkill.
  19. Brave - Re-watched - Like this Disney film more the second time.
  20. The Keeping Room - Exceptional acting makes this dud watchable. Marling shines.
  21. Stitches - Clown horror that is neither funny or horror. It's silly. 
  22. The Naked Prey - The lack of any true message hurts, but it's an intense ride.
  23. Colin Quinn: The New York Story - Easily the best standup in the past few years.
  24. Chronicles Of Evil - Korean crime thriller that delivers. First film in a while to shock me.
  25. The Duke Of Burgundy - It's beautiful and erotic, but it's so repetitive, it's hard to finish.
  26. High Lane - Beautiful people go hiking. All hell breaks loose. Tense and lovely scenery.
  27. The House Of Small Cubes - 12 minute Oscar winning short film. Absolutely perfect!
  28. Meridian - Short film that might be the worst thing I've watched in 2016
  29. Walt Disney Animated Short Collection - Wonderful with Paperman and The Little Match Girl!
  30. Goodbye To Language - Sorry Godard, but this is freshman philosophy and film. Why?
  31. Kathleen Madigan: Bothering Jesus - Hilarious at times, with a calm delivery. Refreshing.
I won't put shorts in the top or bottom three, but The House of Small Cubes was by far the best thing I watched this month and Meridian was by far the worst thing I watched. I also will stick to films and leave off any standup

Top Three: I Was Born, But..., Lone Wolf & Cub (all six films), Chronicles of Evil
Bottom Three: Stitches, We Are What We Are (remake), Sausage Party
Biggest Surprise: Chronicles of Evil
Biggest Letdown: Sea of Trees

November was filled with a lot of just good or just bad films. Only one great full length film, but some real duds. My lack of DVD availability this month really hurt my choices. It made me realize how much I rely on film for my sanity and to free my mind. This month, reality won.

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