Movies I Watched in December, Part 1

By now, you know the drill. Month almost over. Blogger procrastinating as usual. Better write about movies of December before January ends. Make it short and sweet. So here we go.


Watched this in preparation for our special Out of Theaters crossover episode focusing on "The Empire Strikes Back," which was timed to coincide with the release (sort of) of "Rogue One" (which we'll get to soon). I know I've written about "Empire" before, but it really is the best "Star Wars" movie ever made, partly because it doesn't have to worry about a beginning or ending and gets to focus, instead, on the nice, juicy middle. Highlights: the battle of Hoth (which feels like an actual battle), the introduction of Yoda (puppet, not CGI, and better for it) and the best light saber battle in the entire series. Plus, of course, The Big Revelation. Listen to our podcast discussion here .


One of the classic, entertaining movies from Hollywood's Golden Age, beautifully re-released from the fine folks at Criterion. A group of tough-as-nails pilots in a fictional South American country congregate around a bar/hotel/airfield and go through a series of rivalries, pissing contests (I'm speaking metaphorically -- this is 1939, after all) and bouts of male bonding. It's great stuff with a great cast -- Cary Grant, Thomas Mitchell, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthlemess, Rita Hayworth, Sig Ruman -- and a wonderful combination of action, drama, comedy and surprising moments of heartfelt emotion. Seriously, this is one of the greats. Check it out if you've never seen it.


Charming little documentary about Canadian cartoonist Seth, one of the most interesting, idiosyncratic artists working today. It focuses on his life, his work and the many offbeat projects he's undertaken over the years, including an elaborate miniature town beautifully built from cardboard boxes and a complete design of his wife's barber shop. Befitting Seth's sophisticated design sense, the DVD comes packaged in a gorgeous hardcover book that opens from both the front and back -- one side with photos from Seth's life, the other with examples of his work. Highly recommended, especially if you're a fan of Seth (or cartooning in general).


Caught this one late one night on Turner Classic Movies, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Now, more than a month later, I'm still not sure what I saw. It's an anthology horror film that was cobbled together from three full-length failed movies and awkwardly linked by a framing sequence that involves God and Satan on a train making vague bets about humanity while a disco song accompanied by very '80s dancers plays incessantly. It sounds terrible -- and it is, on a certain level -- but it's also one of the most astounding things I've seen in a long time. I really can't convey how insane this movie is on every possible level --story, direction, editing, performances, you name it. In other words, it's awful. And great.


Watched this one for our annual "Die Hard" Christmas episode of Out of Theaters. Here's a bit of what I said in the intro to that episode:

"It’s no surprise that Hollywood rushed out a sequel to “Die Hard” a mere two years after the original hit theater screens. What is surprising is how everything that went right the first time around was royally screwed up for Part 2. The elegantly simple skyscraper setting was swapped for a sprawling, confusing airport. Poor Al Powell, who played so nicely off our hero in the original film was relegated to a mere cameo here. The diabolical Hans Gruber (Rickman) was replaced by a whole bunch of villains, none of them especially memorable. And Bruce Willis, whose wisecracking asides made the original “Die Hard” special — and refreshingly human — came across as an asshole this time around, strutting through the movie arrogantly, making most of it a genuine pain to watch."

In other words, it's not as good as you might have been remembering it. You can hear our podcast discussion of its various shortcomings here .

Up next: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling and Rudy Ray Moore!