I'm kind of the suckiest

So, it's been quite awhile since my last post. I guess I'm not really cut out for blogging. But I also have a feeling no one is reading the blog anyway, so the only person I'm letting down is myself, oh well.

So the last movie I've watched from the list is Pandora and the Flying Dutchman for some reason I did not enjoy this film. I don't think I'm a James Mason fan, I also didn't like Odd Man Out (which I had to record from TCM cause it isn't out on DVD yet, it seems like a number of James Mason Movies aren't on DVD, I wonder why that is). Anyway, since I've sucked at updating I'll just try to do a quick update of some of movies I've watched over the last few months. My current total of movies watched from the list is now 438 so I have a feeling it'll take a few entries for me to catch up.

1. Thanks to Netflix I got to view Battleship Potemkin. This movie had a lot of stunning visuals and depicted a period of social unrest very well. I wouldn't say I puffy hearted this movie, but I am glad I saw it. And I appreciate the influential film making techniques that are now so prominent.
   
2. Now I can say that I did indeed puffy heart the next film on the list, The Gold Rush!! So great. I love Charlie Chaplin. Since I wasn't specific when I asked Netflix for this movie I ended up with the version that wouldn't be considered the original version. The version I viewed included narration by Charlie Chaplin, which I guess you can't complain about, but I am curious to see the film without the narration, which was probably the way the movie was intended to be seen.
3. Next up was The Big Parade, this movie I had a hard time getting a hold of. It was not on Netflix it was not at the Library so I ended up renting it from Rocket Video. I felt like this film illustrated an interesting perception of the first world war, and also presented a sweet love story. I enjoyed it and for the most part I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed watching silent films, I've really developed a respect for the style.
4. Metropolis was brought to me by Netflix, I was very impressed with this film and really like Fritz Lang's movies. There was a lot of sub-plot that was so interesting.
5. I was able to see Sunrise after it was on TCM. Gonna take a moment to say that I love TCM. Now back to Sunrise, I was surprised by the subversive nature of the plot of this film. Maybe this is cause it's hard to imagine that there were infidelities or murder plots in 1927. But I'm glad it all ended well for the most part.
6. Another Buster Keaton film...The General. This was one of the first silent films that I got from Netflix. I watched this movie about a year ago and LOVED it.
7. The Unknown is a fabulous movie. Lon Chaney plays an armless (or so we think) carnival performer who you can't help but care about. I was so moved by this film and became immediately endeared to Lon Chaney, it was also very interesting to see a very young Joan Crawford.
8. So, I think I'm alone with my feelings about The Jazz Singer....I think it may have been because for it was built up so much. In all my music classes I was instructed that the first film to utilize sound was the Jazz Singer, it was the answer to questions on some of my tests, I may have had unrealistic expectations. And I always have problems when I see films with "black face," I know and understand that it was something from the time frame and shouldn't be perceived as offensive, but when I see it I'm just instantly uncomfortable and put off by it. But, I guess with all of that aside and the fact that the use of sound was revolutionary and was the trailblazer for all future films with sound, I can't dislike the film that much, there were just elements of it that I didn't enjoy.
9. I was lucky enough to track down Abel Gance's epic Napoleon at the library in my hometown in NY. Shockingly this film is not available on DVD. While I was home for this past Winter Break I decided to check for some of the films I hadn't been able to find anywhere else, I was pleasantly surprised that they had it. I was just plain surprised that it was almost 4 hours long. Even with that running time I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were some many fascinating editing techniques and it was an interesting story. Definitely worth it.
10. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to find The Kid Brother, but through research discovered that this film was on a Harold Lloyd compilation DVD which was available through Netflix. I'm not a big fan of Harold Lloyd...I mean some of the situations he got himself into were funny, but I just didn't vibe with him, but I'm still willing to check out more of his films.

Alright, I think 10 is enough for now, I'll be back to bore you with more updates soon. :)