Saturday, December 29, 2012

Every Movie Released In New York City In 2012

Here is a list of every new film shown commercially in New York City in 2012. (Movies must have screened for one week in the city in a theater where the public could buy a ticket. Thus, film festivals and the like don't count.) It was compiled by Howard Karren, a fellow member of the IRAs (and the person who gave me my first national byline in a story I wrote for Premiere magazine). Here's a link to the IRA Film Awards for last year.  Creating the list is a laborious, demanding task and we are indebted to him for the work.

Some 837 films were shown in the city last year. Only a certifiably crazy person would have seen them all. It began with The Hunter at the IFC Center on January 4 (movies are listed alphabetically on each date) and ended on December 28 with Matt Damon in Promised Land, the second proper script he's written since winning the Oscar for Good Will Hunting. How many did you see? And if you notice any omissions, by all means let us know.


IRA ELIGIBLE FILMS 2012 (one-week theatrical release NY, NY)

1. The Hunter, dir. Rafi Pitts (Olive). IFC Center, 1/4/12
2. John Mellencamp: It’s About You, dir. Kurt Markus and Ian Markus (MPI). IFC Center, 1/4/12
3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Cinema Guild). Film Forum, 1/4/12
4. Beneath the Darkness, dir. Martin Guigui (Image). 1/6/12
5. Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, dir. Madeleine Olnek (self-distributed). 1/6/12
6. The Devil Inside, dir. William Brent Bell (Paramount). 1/6/12
7. Norwegian Wood, dir. Tran Anh Hung (Soda/Red Flag). IFC Center, 1/6/12
8. Pom Poko, dir. Isao Takahata (Disney). 1/6/12
9. Loosies, dir. Michael Corrente (IFC). IFC Center, 1/11/12
10. Robinson in Ruins, dir. Patrick Keller (BFI). Anthology Film Archives, 1/12/12
11. Albatross, dir. Niall MacKormick (IFC). 1/13/12
12. Contraband, dir. Baltasar Kormakur (Universal). 1/13/12
13. The Divide, dir. Xavier Gens (Anchor Bay). Sunshine, 1/13/12
14. Domain, dir. Patric Chiha (Strand). 1/13/12
15. Don’t Go in the Woods, dir. Vincent D’Onofrio (Tribeca). 1/13/12
16. Fake It So Real, dir. Robert Greene (4th Row). 1/13/12
17. Joyful Noise, dir. Todd Graff (WB). 1/13/12
18. Lula, Son of Brazil, dir. Fábio Barreto (New Yorker). 1/13/12
19. Man on a Mission, dir. Mike Woolf (Gravitas). 1/13/12
20. Sing Your Song, dir. Susanne Rostock (S2BN). IFC Center, 1/13/12
21. Vettai, dir. N. Lingusamy (UTV). 1/13/12
22. The City Dark, dir. Ian Cheney (Argot). IFC Center, 1/18/12
23. Crazy Horse, dir. Frederick Wiseman (Zipporah). Film Forum, 1/18/12
24. Grey Matter, dir. Kivu Ruhorahoza (Global Film Initiative). MoMA, 1/19/12
25. The Front Line, dir. Jang Hun (Well Go USA). Empire, 1/20/12
26. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, dir. Rie Kugimiya (Eleven Arts). 1/20/12
27. Haywire, dir. Steven Soderbergh (Relativity). 1/20/12
28. Miss Bala, dir. Gerardo Naranjo (FIP). 1/20/12
29. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, dir. Chad Freidrichs (First Run). 1/20/12
30. Red Tails, dir. Anthony Hemingway (Fox). 1/20/12
31. Scalene, dir. Zack Parker (Along the Tracks). 1/20/12
32. 16-Love, dir. Adam Lipsius (Gravitas). 1/20/12
33. Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston, dir. Whitney Sudler-Smith (Paladin/Tribeca). 1/20/12
34. Underworld: Awakening, dir. Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein (Screen Gems). 1/20/12
35. The Viral Factor, dir. Dante Lam (China Lion). 1/20/12
36. Watching TV With the Red Chinese, dir. Shimon Dotan (Roam). 1/20/12
37. How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?, dir. Norberto López Amado and Carlos Carcas (First Run). IFC Center, 1/25/12
38. After Fall, Winter, dir. Eric Schaeffer (FilmBuff). 1/27/12
39. All’s Well That Ends Well 2012, dir. Chan Hing-ka (Pegasus). 1/27/12
40. Declaration of War, dir. Valérie Donzelli (Sundance Selects). 1/27/12
41. Five Time Champion, dir. Berndt Mader (Bear Media). 1/27/12
42. The Grey, dir. Joe Carnahan (Open Road). 1/27/12
43. Man on a Ledge, dir. Asger Leth (Summit). 1/27/12
44. One for the Money, dir. Julie Anne Robinson (Lionsgate). 1/27/12
45. The Wicker Tree, dir. Robin Hardy (Anchor Bay). 1/27/12
46. Bad Fever, dir. Dustin Guy (Factory 25). 2/3/12
47. Big Miracle, dir. Ken Kwapis (Universal). 2/3/12
48. Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, dir. Dori Berinstein (Entertainment One/Dramatic Forces). Empire, 2/3/12
49. Chronicle, dir. Josh Trank (Fox). 2/3/12
50. The Innkeepers, dir. Ti West (Magnet). Village East, 2/3/12
51. Kill List, dir. Ben Wheatley (IFC). 2/3/12
52. Perfect Sense, dir. David Mackenzie (IFC). 2/3/12
53. Splinters, dir. Adam Pesce (Snag). 2/3/12
54. W.E., dir. Madonna (Weinstein). 2/3/12
55. Windfall, dir. Laura Israel (First Run). Quad, 2/3/12
56. The Woman in Black, dir. James Watkins (CBS). 2/3/12
57. The Miners’ Hymns, dir. Bill Morrison (Icarus). Film Forum, 2/8/12
58. Bonsai People: The Vision of Muhammad Yunus, dir. Holly Mosher (Hummingbird). Quad, 2/10/12
59. Chico & Rita, dir. Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, and Tono Errando (GKIDS/Luma). Angelika, 2/10/12
60. The Dish & the Spoon, dir. Alison Bagnall (Submarine). reRun Gastropub, 2/10/12
61. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, dir. Brad Peyton (WB). 2/10/12
62. Private Romeo, dir. Alan Brown (Wolfe). Cinema Village, 2/10/12
63. Return, dir. Liza Johnson (Focus World). Village East, 2/10/12
64. Safe House, dir. Daniel Espinosa (Universal). 2/10/12
65. The Turin Horse, dir. Béla Tarr (Cinema Guild). Munroe Film Center, 2/10/12
66. The Vow, dir. Michael Sucsy (Screen Gems). 2/10/12
67. Ek Main aur Ekk Tu, dir. Shakun Batra (Dharma/UTV). 2/10/12
68. Michael, dir. Markus Schleinzer (Strand). Film Forum, 2/15/12
69. The Forgotten Space, dir. Allan Sekula and Noël Burch (Doc.Eye). Anthology Film Archives, 2/16/12
70. Bullhead, dir. Michael R. Roskam (Drafthouse). Empire, Angelika; 2/17/12
71. Cirkus Columbia, dir. Danis Tanovic (Strand). Quad, 2/17/12
72. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, dir. Neveldine/Taylor (Columbia). 2/17/12
73. Jess + Moss, dir. Clay Jeter (Strand). reRun Gastropub, 2/17/12
74. Love, dir. Doze Niu Chen-Zer (Huayi Brothers/China Lion). Empire, 2/17/12
75. On the Ice, dir. Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (PMK*BNC). Munroe Film Center, Village East; 2/17/12
76. Putin’s Kiss, dir. Lise Birk Pedersen (Kino Lorber). Cinema Village, 2/17/12
77. The Secret World of Arietty, dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Disney). 2/17/12
78. Thin Ice, dir. Jill Sprecher (Art Takes Over). 2/17/12
79. This Means War, dir. McG (Fox). 2/17/12
80. Undefeated, dir. Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin (Weinstein). Quad, Empire; 2/17/12
81. Act of Valor, dir. Scott Waugh and Mouse McCoy (Relativity). 2/24/12
82. The Fairy, dir. Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, and Bruno Romy (Kino Lorber). Quad, 2/24/12
83. The Forgiveness of Blood, dir. Joshua Marston (Sundance Selects). Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza; 2/24/12
84. Gone, dir. Heitor Dhalia (Summit). 2/24/12
85. Hipsters, dir. Valery Todorovsky (Leisure Time). Cinema Village, 2/24/12
86. How to Start a Revolution, dir. Ruaridh Arrow (Seventh Art). reRun Gastropub, 2/24/12
87. Jodi Breakers, dir. Ashwini Chaudhari (Yash Raj). 2/24/12
88. Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya, dir. Mandeep Kumar (UTV). 2/24/12
89. Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds, dir. Tyler Perry (Lionsgate). 2/24/12
90. Wanderlust, dir. David Wain (Universal). 2/24/12
91. This Is Not a Film, dir. Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb (Palisades Tartan). Film Forum, 2/29/12
92. Art Is… the Permanent Revolution, dir. Manfred Kirchheimer (First Run). Quad, 3/2/12
93. Being Flynn, dir. Paul Weitz (Focus). 3/2/12
94. Better Than Something: Jay Reatard dir. Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz (self-distributed). Nitehawk, 3/2/12
95. Black Butterflies, dir. Paula van der Oest (Tribeca). Cinema Village, 3/2/12
96. Boy, dir. Taika Waititi (Paladin). Angelika, 3/2/12
97. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, dir. Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda (Universal). 3/2/12
98. Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?, dir. Donald Goldmacher and Frances Causey (Connecting the Dots). Quad, 3/2/12
99. Last Days Here, dir. Don Argott and Demian Fenton (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, 3/2/12
100. Let the Bullets Fly, dir. Jiang Wen (Well Go USA). Cinema Village, 3/2/12
101. London Paris New York, dir. Anu Menon (FIP). Empire, 3/2/12
102. Paan Singh Tomar, dir. Tigmanshu Dhulia (UTV). Empire, 3/2/12
103. Patriocracy, dir. Brian Malone (Cinema Libre). Quad, 3/2/12
104. Project X, dir. David Wain (WB). 3/2/12
105. The Salt of Life, dir. Gianni Di Gregorio (Zeitgeist). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 3/2/12
106. The Snowtown Murders, dir. Justin Kurzel (IFC Midnight). IFC Center, 3/2/12
107. Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, dir. Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (Magnet). Sunshine, 3/2/12
108. Where Are You Taking Me?, dir. Kimi Takesue (Icarus). Anthology Film Archives, 3/2/12
109. The Woods, dir. Matthew Lessner (Cinemad). reRun Gastropub, 3/2/12
110. Apart, dir. Aaron Rottinghaus (Truly Indie). Quad, 3/9/12
111. Attenberg, dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari (Strand). IFC Center, 3/9/12
112. The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye, dir. Marie Losier (Adopt). Chelsea, 3/9/12
113. The Decoy Bride, dir. Sheree Folkson (IFC). IFC Center, 3/9/12
114. Dissolution, dir. Nina Menkes (Cinemad). Anthology Film Archives, 3/9/12
115. Footnote, dir. Joseph Cedar (Sony Classics). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 3/9/12
116. Friends With Kids, dir. Jennifer Westfeldt (Roadside Attractions). 3/9/12
117. Good for Nothing, dir. Mike Wallis (Screen Media). Quad, 3/9/12
118. Jiro Dreams of Sushi, dir. David Gelb (Magnolia). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 3/9/12
119. John Carter, dir. Andrew Stanton (Disney). 3/9/12
120. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, dir. Lasse Halström (CBS). 3/9/12
121. Shakespeare High, dir. Alex Rotaru (Cinema Guild). Munroe Film Center, 3/9/12
122. Silent House, dir. Chris Kentis and Laura Lau (Open Road). 3/9/12
123. Sound of Noise, dir. Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjarne Nilsson (Magnolia). Cinema Village, 3/9/12
124. A Thousand Words, dir. Brian Robbins (Paramount). 3/9/12
125. Gerhard Richter Painting, dir. Corinna Belz (Kino Lorber). Film Forum, 3/14/12
126. Delicacy, dir. David and Stéphane Foenkinos (Cohen). Sunshine, 86th St. East; 3/14/12
127. Casa de Mi Padre, dir. Matt Piedmont (Pantelion). 3/16/12
128. Detachment, dir. Tony Kaye (Tribeca). Village East, Empire; 3/16/12
129. Free Men, dir. Ismael Ferroukhi (Film Movement). Quad, Lincoln Plaza; 3/16/12
130. The FP, dir. Brandon and Jason Trost (Drafthouse). Village East, 3/16/12
131. Jeff, Who Lives at Home, dir. Jay and Mark Duplass (Paramount). 3/16/12
132. The Kid With a Bike, dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 3/16/12
133. Natural Selection, dir. Robbie Pickering (Cinema Guild). Angelika, 3/16/12
134. Pray for Japan, dir. Stu Levy (AMC Theaters). Empire, 3/16/12
135. Reuniting the Rubins, dir. Yoav Factor (Monterey). Quad, 3/16/12
136. Seeking Justice, dir. Roger Donaldson (Anchor Bay). 3/16/12
137. 21 Jump Street, dir. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Columbia). 3/16/12
138. The Wise Kids, dir. Stephen Cone (Cone Arts). reRun Gastropub, 3/16/12
139. Brake, dir. Gabe Torres (IFC). IFC Center, 3/21/12
140. All In: The Poker Movie, dir. Douglas Tirola (4th Row). Cinema Village, 3/23/12
141. Come On Eileen, dir. Finola Geraghty (Blinder). reRun Gastropub, 3/23/12
142. The Deep Blue Sea, dir. Terence Davies (Music Box). Angelika, Paris; 3/23/12
143. An Encounter With Simone Weil, dir. Julia Haslett (Line Street). Quad, 3/23/12
144. 4:44 Last Day on Earth, dir. Abel Ferrara (IFC). IFC Center, 3/23/12
145. The Hunger Games, dir. Gary Ross (Lionsgate). 3/23/12
146. Losing Control, dir. Valerie Weiss (House Lights). Quad, 3/23/12
147. Musical Chairs, dir. Susan Seidelman (Paladin). 3/23/12
148. October Baby, dir. Jon and Andrew Erwin (Goldwyn/Provident). Empire, 3/23/12
149. The Raid: Redemption, dir. Gareth Huw Evans (Sony Classics). 3/23/12
150. The Trouble With Bliss, dir. Michael Knowles (Variance). Village East, 3/23/12
151. The Island President, dir. Jon Shenk (Goldwyn). Film Forum, 3/28/12
152. The Beat Hotel, dir. Alan Govenar (First Run). Cinema Village, 3/30/12
153. Bully, dir. Lee Hirsch (Weinstein). Angelika, Lincoln Square; 3/30/12
154. Dark Tide, dir. John Stockwell (Wrekin Hill). Village East, Empire; 3/30/12
155. Four Lovers, dir. Antony Cordier (Oscilloscope). Quad, 3/30/12
156. God Save My Shoes, dir. Julie Benasra (Caid). Quad, 3/30/12
157. Goon, dir. Michael Dowse (Magnet). Village East, Empire; 3/30/12
158. Intruders, dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Millennium). Loews Village, Empire; 3/30/12
159. Love in the Buff, Pang Ho-Cheung (China Lion). Loews Village, Empire; 3/30/12
160. Mirror Mirror, dir. Tarsem Singh (Relativity). 3/30/12
161. Paraísos Artificiales, dir. Yulene Olaizola (Cinema Tropical/Interior 13). reRun Gastropub, 3/30/12
162. Re:Generation Music Project, dir. Amir Bar-Lev (D&E). Quad, 3/30/12
163. Scenes of a Crime, dir. Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh (Submarine). Cinema Village, 3/30/12
164. Turn Me On, Dammit!, dir. Jannicke Systad Jacobsen (New Yorker). Angelika, Munroe Film Center; 3/30/12
165. Womb, dir. Benedek Fliegauf (Olive). Cinema Village, 3/30/12
166. Wrath of the Titans, dir. Jonathan Liebesman (WB). 3/30/12
167. Tatsumi, dir. Eric Khoo (Match Factory). MoMA, 4/4/12
168. American Reunion, dir. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Universal). 4/6/12
169. The Assault, dir. Julien Leclercq (Screen Media). Village East, 4/6/12
170. ATM, dir. David Brooks (IFC Midnight). IFC Center, 4/6/12
171. Damsels in Distress, dir. Whit Stillman (Sony Classics). Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza; 4/6/12
172. The Hunter, dir. Daniel Nettheim (Magnolia). Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza; 4/6/12
173. Keyhole, dir. Guy Maddin (Monterey). IFC Center, 4/6/12
174. MIS: Human Secret Weapon, dir. Junichi Suzuki (United Television Broadcasting). Quad, 4/6/12
175. Player Hating: A Love Story, dir. Maggie Hadleigh-West (Film Fatale). Quad, 4/6/12
176. Surviving Progress, dir. Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks (First Run). Cinema Village, Munroe Film Center; 4/6/12
177. We Have a Pope, dir. Nanni Moretti (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 4/6/12
178. We the Party, dir. Mario Van Peebles (XLrator/ARC). 4/6/12
179. Your Brother. Remember?, dir. Zachary Oberzan (self-distributed). reRun Gastropub, 4/6/12
180. The Lady, dir. Luc Besson (Cohen). Union Square, Lincoln Square; 4/11/12
181. Post Mortem, dir. Pablo Larrain (Kino Lorber). Film Forum, 4/11/12
182. Blue Like Jazz, dir. Steve Taylor (Roadside Attractions). Empire, 4/13/12
183. The Cabin in the Woods, dir. Drew Goddard (Lionsgate). 4/13/12
184. Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, dir. Morgan Spurlock (Wrekin Hill). Village East, 4/13/12
185. Deadline, dir. Curt Hahn (Freestyle). Quad, 4/13/12
186. Detention, dir. Joseph Kahn (Goldwyn). Empire, 4/13/12
187. Here, dir. Braden King (Strand). IFC Center, 4/13/12
188. Hit So Hard, dir. P. David Ebersole (Well Go USA/Variance). Cinema Village, 4/13/12
189. How to Grow a Band, dir. Mark Meatto (International Film Circuit). Village East, 4/13/12
190. Kids of Today, dir. Jérôme de Missolz (Memento). reRun Gastropub, 4/13/12
191. Last Will and Embezzlement, dir. Deborah Louise Robinson (Starjack). Quad, 4/13/12
192. Late Bloomers, dir. Julie Gavras (Olive). Cinema Village, 4/13/12
193. L!fe Happens, dir. Kat Coiro (PMK*BNC). Empire, 4/13/12
194. Lockout, dir. Stephen Saint Leger and James Mather (FilmDistrict/Open Road). 4/13/12
195. Monsieur Lazhar, dir. Philippe Falardeau (Music Box). 4/13/12
196. A Simple Life, dir. Ann Hui (China Lion). Empire, 4/13/12
197. The Three Stooges: The Movie, dir. Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly (Fox). 4/13/12
198. Unraveled, dir. Marc H. Simon (Go Digital). Village East, 4/13/12
199. Inside Hana’s Suitcase, dir. Larry Weinstein (Menemsha). Quad, 4/18/12
200. Chimpanzee, dir. Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield (Disneynature). 4/20/12
201. Darling Companion, dir. Lawrence Kasdan (Sony Classics). Union Square, Paris; 4/20/12
202. The Day He Arrives, dir. Hong Sang-soo (Cinema Guild). Lincoln Plaza, 4/20/12
203. Downtown Express, dir. David Grubin (International Film Circuit). Quad, 4/20/12
204. Fightville, dir. Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker (MPI). Cinema Village, 4/20/12
205. Going Down in La-la Land, dir. Casper Andreas (Embrem). Cinema Village, 4/20/12
206. Goodbye First Love, dir. Mia Hansen-Løve (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 4/20/12
207. Jean Gentil, dir. Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas (Canana/Bärbel Mauch). Anthology Film Archives, 4/20/12
208. The Lucky One, dir. Scott Hicks (WB). 4/20/12
209. Marley, dir. Kevin Macdonald (Magnolia). Sunshine, 4/20/12
210. The Moth Diaries, dir. Mary Harron (IFC). IFC Center, 4/20/12
211. Murder Capital of the World, dir. Charlie Minn (self-distributed). Empire, 4/20/12
212. My Way, dir. Kang Je-kyu (CJ/PMK*BNC). 4/20/12
213. Snow on tha Bluff, dir. Damon Russell (Screen Media). f Gastropub, 4/20/12
214. Think Like a Man, dir. Tim Story (Screen Gems). 4/20/12
215. To the Arctic, dir. Greg MacGillivray (WB). Lincoln Square, 4/20/12
216. Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment, dir. Toby Perl Freilich (First Run). Quad, 4/25/12
217. Payback, dir. Jennifer Baichwal (Zeitgeist). Film Forum, 4/25/12
218. Bernie, dir. Richard Linklater (Millennium). Angelika, 4/27/12
219. Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story, dir. Raymond De Felitta (Tribeca). Quad, 4/27/12
220. The Broken Tower, dir. James Franco (Focus). IFC Center, 4/27/12
221. Citizen Gangster, dir. Nathan Morlando (IFC). IFC Center, 4/27/12
222. Dolphin Boy, dir. Dani Menkin and Yonatan Nir (First Hand). Quad, 4/27/12
223. Elles, dir. Malgoska Szumowska (Kino Lorber). Angelika, Chelsea; 4/27/12
224. The Five-Year Engagement, dir. Nicholas Stoller (Universal). 4/27/12
225. The Giant Mechanical Man, dir. Lee Kirk (Tribeca). Village East, 4/27/12
226. Headhunters, dir. Morten Tyldum (Magnolia). 4/27/12
227. Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance, dir. Bob Hercules (Hybrid). Cinema Village, 4/27/12
228. 96 Minutes, dir. Aimee Lagos (XLrator/ARC). Empire, 4/27/12
229. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, dir. Peter Lord (Columbia). 4/27/12
230. The Raven, dir. James McTeigue (Relativity). 4/27/12
231. Restless City, dir. Andrew Dosunmu (AFFRM). Empire, 4/27/12
232. Safe, dir. Boaz Yakin (Lionsgate). 4/27/12
233. Sound of My Voice, dir. Zal Batmanglij (Fox Searchlight). Sunshine, 4/27/12
234. Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, dir. Wei Te-sheng (Well Go USA). Empire, 4/27/12
235. Whores’ Glory, dir. Michael Glawogger (Kino Lorber). Lincoln Plaza, 4/27/12
236. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, dir. John Madden (Fox Searchlight). 5/4/12
237. Chronicling a Crisis, dir. Amos Kollek (Am Ko). Quad, 5/4/12
238. First Position, dir. Bess Kargman (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Munroe Film Center; 5/4/12
239. Jannat 2, dir. Kunal Deshmukh (Fox Star/Vishesh). Empire, 5/4/12
240. Jesus Henry Christ, dir. Dennis Lee (eOne). Cinema Village, 5/4/12
241. Last Call at the Oasis, dir. Jessica Yu (ATO). Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza; 5/4/12
242. A Little Bit of Heaven, dir. Nicole Kassel (Millennium). Loews Village, 5/4/12
243. Marvel’s The Avengers, dir. Joss Whedon (Disney). 5/4/12
244. Mother’s Day, dir. Darren Lynn Bousman (Anchor Bay). Village East, 5/4/12
245. The Perfect Family, dir. Anne Renton (Variance). Empire, Chelsea; 5/4/12
246. You Hurt My Feelings, dir. Steve Collins (Film Science). reRun Gastropub, 5/4/12
247. Patience (After Sebald), dir. Grant Gee (Cinema Guild). Film Forum, 5/9/12
248. The Observers, dir. Jacqueline Goss (self-distributed). Anthology Film Archives, 5/10/12
249. A Bag of Hammers, dir. Brian Crano (MPI). Village East, 5/11/12
250. Bonsái, dir. Cristián Jiménez (Strand). IFC Center, 5/11/12
251. Dangerous Ishhq, dir. Vikram Bhatt (Reliance). BIG Cinemas Manhattan, 5/11/12
252. Dark Shadows, dir. Tim Burton (WB). 5/11/12
253. Girl in Progress, dir. Patricia Riggen (Lionsgate/Pantelion). 5/11/12
254. God Bless America, dir. Bobcat Goldthwait (Magnet). Sunshine, 5/11/12
255. Hick, dir. Derick Martini (Phase 4). Loews Village, 5/11/12
256. I Wish, dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda (Magnolia). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 5/11/12
257. Nesting, dir. John Chuldenko (PMK*BNC). Village East, 5/11/12
258. Nobody Else but You, dir. Gérald Hustache-Mathieu (First Run). Cinema Village, 5/11/12
259. Portrait of Wally, dir. Andrew Shea (Seventh Art). Quad, 5/11/12
260. The Road, dir. Yam Laranas (Freestyle). 5/11/12
261. Sleepless Night, dir. Frédéric Jardin (Tribeca). Cinema Village, 5/11/12
262. Small, Beautifully Moving Parts, dir. Annie J. Howell and Lisa Robinson (Long Shot Factory). Cinema Village, 5/11/12
263. Tonight You’re Mine, dir. David Mackenzie (Roadside Attractions/Stage 6). Loews Village, 5/11/12
264. Under African Skies, dir. Joe Berlinger (Abramorama). IFC Center, 5/11/12
265. Where Do We Go Now?, dir. Nadine Labaki (Sony Classics). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 5/11/12
266. You Are Here, dir. Daniel Cockburn (Traction). reRun Gastropub, 5/11/12
267. The Dictator, dir. Larry Charles (Paramount). 5/16/12
268. Elena, dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev (Zeitgeist). Film Forum, 5/16/12
269. American Animal, dir. Matt D’Elia (Screen Media). Village East, 5/18/12
270. Battleship, dir. Peter Berg (Universal). 5/18/12
271. Beyond the Black Rainbow, dir. Panos Cosmatos (Magnet). Cinema Village, 5/18/12
272. Bill W., dir. Kevin Hanlon and Don Carracino (Page 124). Quad, 5/18/12
273. The Color Wheel, dir. Alex Ross Perry (Cinema Conservancy). BAM Rose, 5/18/12
274. Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story dir. Ari Daniel Pinchot and Jonathan Gruber (International Film Circuit). Quad, Cinemas 1 2 3, Munroe Film Center; 5/18/12
275. Hysteria, dir. Tanya Wexler (Sony Classics). Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza; 5/18/12
276. Indie Game: The Movie, dir. Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky (BlinkWorks). IFC Center, 5/18/12
277. Lovely Molly, dir. Eduardo Sánchez (Image). Loews Village, Empire; 5/18/12
278. Mahler on the Couch, dir. Percy Adlon and Felix Adlon (National Center for Jewish Film). Munroe Film Center, 5/18/12
279. Mansome, dir. Morgan Spurlock (Paladin). Angelika, 5/18/12
280. Never Stand Still: Dancing at Jacob’s Pillow, dir. Ron Honsa (First Run). Quad, 5/18/12
281. Polisse, dir. Maïwenn (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 5/18/12
282. Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog, dir. Yoichi Sai (Music Box). Cinema Village, 5/18/12
283. The Samaritan, dir. David Weaver (IFC). IFC Center, 5/18/12
284. Tales From Dell City, Texas, dir. Josh Carter (Philofilm). Quad, 5/18/12
285. Virginia, dir. Dustin Lance Black (eOne). Empire, 64th Street and 2nd Avenue; 5/18/12
286. What to Expect When You’re Expecting, dir. Kirk Jones (Lionsgate). 5/18/12
287. Arjun—The Warrior Prince, dir. Arnab Chaudhuri (UTV). Loews Village, 5/25/12
288. Battle Royale, dir. Kinji Fukasaku (Anchor Bay). IFC Center, 5/25/12
289. The Intouchables, dir. Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache (Weinstein). Angelika, Paris; 5/25/12
290. Men in Black 3, dir. Barry Sonnenfeld (Columbia). 5/25/12
291. Mighty Fine, dir. Debbie Goodstein (Adopt). Empire, Loews Village; 5/25/12
292. Moonrise Kingdom, dir. Wes Anderson (Focus). Union Square, Lincoln Square; 5/25/12
293. OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger’s Movie, dir. Glenn Holsten, Scott Johnston, and Bud Clayman (Fisher Klingenstein). Village East, 5/25/12
294. Oslo, August 31st, dir. Joachim Trier (Strand). IFC Center, Cinemas 1,2,3; 5/25/12
295. Redlegs, dir. Brandon Harris (Nappinati). reRun Gastropub, 5/25/12
296. Chernobyl Diaries, dir. Bradley Parker (WB). 5/25/12
297. 5 Broken Cameras, dir. Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi (Kino Lorber). Film Forum, 5/30/12
298. A Cat in Paris, dir. Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol (GKIDS). Empire, 6/1/12
299. Cellmates, dir. Jesse Baget (Viva). Quad, 6/1/12
300. Chely Wright: Wish Me Away, dir. Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf (First Run). Quad, 6/1/12
301. Crooked Arrows, dir. Steve Rash (Freestyle). E-Walk, 6/1/12
302. For Greater Glory, dir. Dean Wright (ARC). 6/1/12
303. Found Memories, dir. Julia Murat (Film Movement). Lincoln Plaza, 6/1/12
304. Hide Away, dir. Chris Eyre (MMC Joule). Munroe Film Center, 6/1/12
305. High School, dir. John Stalberg, Jr. (Anchor Bay). Empire, Loews Village; 6/1/12
306. Music From the Big House, dir. Bruce McDonald (Matson). Cinema Village, 6/1/12
307. One Day on Earth, dir. Kyle Ruddick (self-distributed). Quad, 6/1/12
308. Pink Ribbons, Inc., dir. Léa Pool (First Run). IFC Center, 6/1/12
309. Piranha 3DD, dir. John Gulager (Dimension). Loews Village, 6/1/12
310. Richard’s Wedding, dir. Onur Tukel (Factory 25). reRun Gastropub, 6/1/12
311. Rowdy Rathore, dir. Prabhudheva (UTV). BIG Cinemas Manhattan, 6/1/12
312. Sexual Chronicles of a French Family, dir. Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold (IFC Midnight). reRun Gastropub, 6/1/12
313. 6 Month Rule, dir. Blayne Weaver (Abramorama). Village East, 6/1/12
314. Snow White and the Huntsman, dir. Rupert Sanders (Universal). 6/1/12
315. U.N. Me, dir. Ami Horowitz and Matthew Groff (Visio). Empire, 6/1/12
316. Wallander: The Revenge, dir. Charlotte Brändström (Music Box). Cinema Village, 6/1/12
317. Bel Ami, dir. Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod (Magnolia). Sunshine, Beekman; 6/8/12
318. Corpo Celeste, dir. Alice Rohrwacher (Film Movement). Munroe Film Center, 6/8/12
319. Dark Horse, dir. Todd Solondz (Brainstorm). Angelika, 6/8/12
320. Double Trouble, dir. David Hsun-Wei Chang (China Lion). Loews Village, Empire; 6/8/12
321. For the Love of Money, dir. Ellie Kanner-Zuckerman (Archstone). Empire, 6/8/12
322. Lola Versus, dir. Daryl Wein (Fox Searchlight). Loews Village, Lincoln Square; 6/8/12
323. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, dir. Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon (Paramount). 6/8/12
324. The Oregonian, dir. Calvin Lee Reeder (Factory 25). reRun Gastropub, 6/8/12
325. Patagonia Rising, dir. Brian Lilla (First Run). Cinema Village, 6/8/12
326. Paul Williams: Still Alive, dir. Stephen Kessler (Abramorama). Angelika, Village East; 6/8/12
327. Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, dir. Bruce Beresford (IFC). IFC Center, 6/8/12
329. The Pigeoneers, dir. Alessandro Croseri (self-distributed). Cinema Village, 6/8/12
329. Prometheus, dir. Ridley Scott (Fox). 6/8/12
330. Safety Not Guaranteed, dir. Colin Trevorrow (FilmDistrict). Loews Village, Lincoln Square; 6/8/12
331. The Skinny, dir. Patrik-Ian Polk (Tall Skinny Black Boy). Quad, 6/8/12
332. We Won’t Grow Old Together, dir. Maurice Pialat (Filmax International). BAM Rose, 6/8/12 [first theatrical release in U.S.; premiered in U.S. at 1972 New York Film Festival]
333. In Bed With Ulysses, dir. Alan Adelson and Kate Taverna (Monarch). Brooklyn Heights, 6/11/12
334. Tahrir: Liberation Square, dir. Stefano Savona (Icarus). Maysles, 6/11/12
335. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, dir. Matthew Akers (Music Box). Film Forum, 6/13/12
336. UFO in Her Eyes, dir. Xiaolu Guo (Match Factory). MoMA, 6/13/12
337. Americano, dir. Mathieu Demy (MPI). Sunshine, 6/15/12
338. Extraterrestrial, dir. Nacho Vigalondo (Focus). reRun Gastropub, 6/15/12
339. The Girl From the Naked Eye, dir. David Ren (Archstone). Empire, 6/15/12
340. Ikland, dir. Cevin Soling and David Hilbert (Spectacle). Quad, 6/15/12
341. Patang, dir. Prashant Bhargava (Vagrant). Cinema Village, 6/15/12
342. Rock of Ages, dir. Adam Shankman (WB). 6/15/12
343. Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, dir. Ice-T and Andy Baybutt (Indomina). Sunshine, Empire, Magic Johnson Harlem; 6/15/12
344. That’s My Boy, dir. Sean Anders (Columbia). 6/15/12
345. The Tortured, dir. Robert Lieberman (IFC). IFC Center, 6/15/12
346. The Woman in the Fifth, dir. Pawel Pawlikowski (ATO). Village East, Lincoln Plaza; 6/15/12
347. Your Sister’s Sister, dir. Lynn Shelton (IFC). IFC Center, Munroe Film Center, BAM Rose; 6/15/12
348. Kumaré, dir. Vikram Gandhi (Kino Lorber). IFC Center, 6/20/12
349. Men on the Bridge, dir. Asli Özge (Farbfilm-Verleih). MoMA, 6/20/12
350. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, dir. Timur Bekmambetov (Fox). 6/22/12
351. Brave, dir. Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman (Disney). 6/22/12
352. The Invisible War, dir. Kirby Dick (Cinedigm). Loews Village, 6/22/12
353. The Last Ride, dir. Harry Thomason (Live Bait). Cinema Village, 6/22/12
354. Nate & Margaret, dir. Nathan Adloff (Breaking Glass). reRun Gastropub, 6/22/12
355. Ordinary Miracles: The Photo League’s New York, dir. Nina Rosenblum (Daedalus). Quad, 6/22/12
356. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, dir. Lorene Scafaria (Focus). 6/22/12
357. Stella Days, dir. Thaddeus O’Sullivan (Tribeca). Quad, 6/22/12
358. To Rome With Love, dir. Woody Allen (Sony Classics). Angelika, Cinemas 1,2,3, Lincoln Plaza; 6/22/12
359. Beasts of the Southern Wild, dir. Benh Zeitlin (Fox Searchlight). Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza; 6/27/12
360. Gypsy, dir. Martin Sulík (MK2). Film Forum, 6/27/12
361. A Burning Hot Summer, dir. Philippe Garrel (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, 6/29/12
362. Busong, dir. Auraeus Solito (Solito Arts). Quad, 6/29/12
363. Magic Mike, dir. Steven Soderbergh (WB). 6/29/12
364. Neil Young Journeys, dir. Jonathan Demme (Sony Classics). Sunshine, Empire; 6/29/12
365. People Like Us, dir. Alex Kurtzman (DreamWorks/Disney). 6/29/12
366. Take This Waltz, dir. Sarah Polley (Magnolia). Sunshine, Munroe Film Center; 6/29/12
367. Ted, dir. Seth MacFarlane (Universal). 6/29/12
368. Top Priority: The Terror Within, dir. Asif Akbar (Fleur De Lis). IFC Center, 6/29/12
369. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection, dir. Tyler Perry (Lionsgate). 6/29/12
370. Unforgivable, dir. André Téchiné (Strand). IFC Center, Beekman; 6/29/12
371. The Amazing Spider-Man, dir. Marc Webb (Columbia). 7/3/12
372. Katy Perry: Part of Me, dir. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz (Paramount Insurge). 7/5/12
373. Bol Bachchan, dir. Rohit Shetty (Fox Star). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 7/6/12
374. China Heavyweight, dir. Yung Chang (Zeitgeist). IFC Center, 7/6/12
375. Collaborator, dir. Martin Donovan (Tribeca). IFC Center, 7/6/12
376. Crazy Eyes, dir. Adam Sherman (Strand). Cinema Village, 7/6/12
377. The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, dir. Jay and Mark Duplass (Red Flag/Fox Searchlight). Quad, 7/6/12
378. Last Ride, dir. Glendyn Ivin (Music Box). Cinema Village; 7/6/12
379. The Magic of Belle Isle, dir. Rob Reiner (Magnolia). Quad; 7/6/12
380. The Pact, dir. Nicholas McCarthy (IFC Midnight). IFC Center, 7/6/12
381. Savages, dir. Oliver Stone (Universal). 7/6/12
382. Starry Starry Night, dir. Tom Shu-Yu Lin (China Lion). Empire, 7/6/12
383. United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, dir. Jim Hubbard (self-distributed). Quad, 7/6/12
384. Invisible, dir. Michal Aviad (Plan B). MoMA, 7/9/12
385. Easy Money, dir. Daniél Espinosa (Weinstein). Film Forum, 7/11/12
386. Alps, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos (Kino Lorber). Cinema Village, 7/13/12
387. Ballplayer: Pelotero, dir. Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, and Jonathan Paley (Strand). Quad, 7/13/12
388. Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott, dir. Stan Warnow (Cavu). Quad, 7/13/12
389. Drunkboat, dir. Bob Meyer (Seven Arts). Empire, 7/13/12
390. Family Portrait in Black and White, dir. Julia Ivanova (Interfilm). Empire, 7/13/12
391. Farewell, My Queen, dir. Benoît Jacquot (Cohen). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 7/13/12
392. Gei Oni (Valley of Strength), dir. Dan Wolman (self-distributed). Quad, 7/13/12
393. Grassroots, dir. Stephen Gyllenhaal (Goldwyn). Village East, 7/13/12
394. Ice Age: Continental Drift, dir. Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier (Fox). 7/13/12
395. The Imposter, dir. Bart Layton (Indomina). Sunshine, 7/13/12
396. It’s the Earth Not the Moon, dir. Gonçalo Tocha (self-distributed). Anthology Film Archives, 7/13/12
397. Ponies, dir. Nick Sandow (Creative Chaos). Cinema Village, 7/13/12
398. Red Lights, dir. Rodrigo Cortés (Nu Image/Millennium). Empire, 7/13/12
399. Trishna, dir. Michael Winterbottom (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 7/13/12
400. Union Square, dir. Nancy Savoca (Dada). Angelika, 7/13/12
401. Lung Neaw Visits His Neighbors, dir. Rirkrit Tiravanija (Estudio de Producción). MoMA, 7/16/12
402. The Dark Knight Rises, dir. Christopher Nolan (WB). 7/20/12
403. Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai, dir. Takashi Miike (Tribeca). IFC Center, 7/20/12
404. The Queen of Versailles, dir. Lauren Greenfield (Magnolia). Angelika, Munroe Film Center; 7/20/12
405. 30 Beats, dir. Alexis Lloyd (Roadside Attractions). Village East, 1st and 62nd Street; 7/20/12
406. The Well-Digger’s Daughter, dir. Daniel Auteuil (Kino Lorber). Quad, Munroe Film Center; 7/20/12
407. Planet of Snail, dir. Yi Seung-jun (Cinema Guild). Film Forum, 7/25/12
408. Ruby Sparks, dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Fox Searchlight). Union Square, Lincoln Square; 7/25/12
409. Abendland, dir. Nikolaus Geyrhalter (self-distributed). Anthology Film Archives, 7/27/12
410. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, dir. Alison Klayman (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 7/27/12
411. Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, dir. Fredrik Gertten (WG). Quad, 7/27/12
412. Burning Man, dir. Jonathan Teplitzky (Transmission). IFC Center, 7/27/12
413. Falling Overnight, dir. Conrad Jackson (Osiris). Cinema Village, 7/27/12
414. Killer Joe, dir. William Friedkin (LD). Sunshine, Empire, Lincoln Plaza; 7/27/12
415. Klown, dir. Mikkel Norgaard (Drafthouse). Village East, 7/27/12
416. Nuit #1, dir. Anne Émond (Adopt). Angelika, 7/27/12
417. Rites of Spring, dir. Padraig Reynolds (IFC Midnight). IFC Center, 7/27/12
418. Sacrifice, dir. Chen Kaige (Goldwyn). Quad, 7/27/12
419. Searching for Sugar Man, dir. Malik Bendjelloul (Sony Classics). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 7/27/12
420. Shut Up and Play the Hits, dir. Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace (Oscilloscope). IFC Center, 7/27/12
421. Step Up Revolution, dir. Scott Speer (Summit). 7/27/12
422. The Watch, dir. Akiva Schaffer (Fox). 7/27/12
423. Assassin’s Bullet, dir. Isaac Florentine (XLrator). Cinema Village, 8/3/12
424. The Babymakers, dir. Jay Chandrasekhar (Millennium). Loews Village, 8/3/12
425. Celeste and Jesse Forever, dir. Lee Toland Krieger (Sony Classics). Sunshine, Lincoln Square; 8/3/12
426. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, dir. David Bowers (Fox). 8/3/12
427. Dreams of a Life, dir. Carol Morley (Strand). IFC Center, 8/3/12
428. Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film, dir. Pip Chodorov (Celluloid Dreams). Anthology Film Archives, 8/3/12
429. Girlfriend Boyfriend, dir. Ya-Che Yang (China Lion). Loews Village, Empire; 8/3/12
430. Jism 2, dir. Pooja Bhatt (Vishesh). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 8/3/12
431. Mosquita y Mari, dir. Aurora Guerrero (Wolfe). Cinema Village, 8/3/12
432. Soldiers of Fortune, dir. Maxim Korostyshevsky (MGM/Roadside Attractions). Empire, 8/3/12
433. Sushi: The Global Catch, dir. Mark Hall (Alive Mind). Quad, 8/3/12
434. 360, dir. Fernando Meirelles (Magnolia). Sunshine, 8/3/12
435. Total Recall, dir. Len Wiseman (Columbia). 8/3/12
436. You’ve Been Trumped, dir. Anthony Baxter (International Film Circuit). Angelika, 8/3/12
434. Hope Springs, dir. David Frankel (Columbia/MGM). 8/8/12
435. Meet the Fokkens, dir. Rob Schröder and Gabrielle Provaas (Kino Lorber). Film Forum, 8/8/12
436. Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D, dir. Gregg Godfrey and Jeremy Rawle (ARC). 8/8/12
437. Almayer’s Folly, dir. Chantal Akerman (Shellac). Anthology Film Archives, 8/10/12
438. The Bourne Legacy, dir. Tony Gilroy (Universal). 8/10/12
439. The Campaign, dir. Jay Roach (WB). 8/10/12
440. Goats, dir. Christopher Neil (Image). Cinema Village, 8/10/12
441. It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl, dir. Richard Trank (Moriah). Quad, 8/10/12
442. The Lion of Judah, dir. Matt Mindell (JEC). Quad, 8/10/12
443. Max et les Ferrailleurs, dir. Claude Sautet (Rialto). Munroe Film Center, 8/10/12
444. Red Hook Summer, dir. Spike Lee (Variance). Sunshine, Empire, Magic Johnson Harlem; 8/10/12
445. $upercapitalist, dir. Simon Yin (Random Art Workshop). Village East, 8/10/12
446. 2 Days in New York, dir. Julie Delpy (Magnolia). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 8/10/12
447. 2016: Obama’s America, dir. Dinesh D’Souza and John Sullivan (Rocky Mountain). Union Square, 8/10/12
448. The Chilean Building, dir. Macarena Aguiló (Magic Lantern). Maysles, 8/13/12
449. The Odd Life of Timothy Green, dir. Peter Hedges (Disney). 8/17/12
450. The Awakening, dir. Nick Murphy (Cohen). 8/17/12
451. Beloved, dir. Christophe Honoré (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 8/17/12
452. Brother, Can You Spare a Dollar?, dir. Thom Hoffman (self-distributed). Quad, 8/17/12
453. Chicken With Plums, dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud (Sony Classics). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 8/17/12
454. Compliance, dir. Craig Zobel (Magnolia). Sunshine, 8/17/12
455. Cosmopolis, dir. David Cronenberg (Entertainment One). Sunshine, Munroe Film Center; 8/17/12
456. Ek Tha Tiger, dir. Kabir Khan (Yash Raj). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 8/17/12
457. The Expendables 2, dir. Simon West (Lionsgate). 8/17/12
458. The Green Wave, dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi (Red Flag). IFC Center, 8/17/12
459. The Matchmaker, dir. Avi Nesher (6 Sales). Quad, 8/17/12
460. Painted Skin: The Resurrection, dir. Wuershan (Well Go USA). Empire, 8/17/12
461. ParaNorman, dir. Sam Fell and Chris Butler (Focus). 8/17/12
462. Robot & Frank, dir. Jake Schreier (Goldwyn). Paris, 8/17/12
463. Sparkle, dir. Salim Akil (TriStar). 8/17/12
464. Speak, dir. Paul Galichia and Brian Weidling (Tumbleweed). Quad, 8/17/12
465. True Wolf, dir. Rob Whitehair (Shadow). Cinema Village, 8/17/12
466. Why Stop Now?, dir. Philip Dorling and Ron Nyswaner (IFC). IFC Center, 8/17/12
467. Alms for a Blind Horse, dir. Gurvinder Singh (National Film Development Corporation). MoMA, 8/22/12
468. Hit & Run, dir. Dax Shepard and David Palmer (Open Road). 8/22/12
469. Teddy Bear, dir. Mads Matthiesen (Film Movement). Film Forum, 8/22/12
470. The Apparition, dir. Todd Lincoln (WB). 8/24/12
471. Death by China, dir. Peter Navarro (Area23a). Quad, 8/24/12
472. General Education, dir. Tom Morris (PHP/Well Go USA). Cinema Village, 8/24/12
473. Hermano, dir. Marcel Rasquin (Music Box). Empire, 8/24/12
474. Knight Knight, dir. Christina Bucher (Hermit). Quad, 8/24/12
475. Little White Lies, dir. Guillaume Canet (MPI). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 8/24/12
476. Neighboring Sounds, dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho (Cinema Guild). IFC Center, Munroe Film Center; 8/24/12
477. Premium Rush, dir. David Koepp (Columbia). 8/24/12
478. The Revenant, dir. Kerry Prior (Lightning). Cinema Village, 8/24/12
479. R2B: Return to Base, dir. Dong-Won Kim (CJ E&M). Empire, 8/24/12
480. Samsara, dir. Ron Fricke (Oscilloscope). Sunshine, 8/24/12
481. Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, dir. Bela  Bhansali Sehgal (Eros). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 8/24/12
482. Sleepwalk With Me, dir. Mike Birbiglia (IFC). IFC Center, 8/24/12
483. Somewhere Between, dir. Linda Goldstein Knowlton (Long Shot Factory/Ladylike). IFC Center, 8/24/12
484. The Victim, dir. Michael Biehn (Anchor Bay). Quad, 8/24/12
485. Wild Horse Wild Ride, dir. Alex Dawson and Greg Gricus (Screen Media). Village East, 8/24/12
486. The Ambassador, dir. Mads Brügger (Drafthouse). IFC Center, 8/29/12
487. The Day, dir. Douglas Aarniokoski (WWE/Anchor Bay). Empire, 8/29/12
488. Lawless, dir. John Hillcoat (Weinstein). 8/29/12
489. Little Birds, dir. Elgin James (Millennium). Angelika, 8/29/12
490. The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, dir. Matthew Diamond (self-distributed). 8/29/12
491. Breathing, dir. Karl Markovics (Kino Lorber). Cinema Village, 8/31/12
492. The Bullet Vanishes, dir. Lo Chi-leung (China Lion). Loews Village, Empire; 8/31/12
493. Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, dir. Tsui Hark (Indomina/IMAX). Loews 34th Street, 8/31/12
494. For a Good Time, Call…, dir. Jamie Travis (Focus). Empire, Chelsea, Lincoln Plaza; 8/31/12
495. The Good Doctor, dir. Lance Daly (Magnolia). Cinema Village, 8/31/12
496. Hollywood to Dollywood, dir. John Lavin (Bloodrush). Quad, 8/31/12
497. Joker, dir. Shirish Kunder (UTV). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 8/31/12
498. The Possession, dir. Ole Bornedal (Lionsgate). 8/31/12
499. Side by Side, dir. Christopher Kenneally (Tribeca). Quad, Munroe Film Center; 8/31/12
500. The Tall Man, dir. Pascal Laugier (Image). Loews Village, 8/31/12
501. Until They Are Home, dir. Steven C. Barber (Vanilla Fire). Quad, 8/31/12
502. For Ellen, dir. So Yong Kim (Tribeca). Film Forum, 9/5/12
503. Girl Model, dir. David Redmon and Ashley Sabin (First Run). IFC Center, 9/5/12
504. Las Acacias, dir. Pablo Giorgelli (Outsider). Quad, 9/7/12
505. Ajj de Ranjhe, dir. Manmohan Singh (Reliance). Empire, 9/7/12
506. Bachelorette, dir. Leslye Headland (RADiUS-TWC). Angelika, Empire; 9/7/12
507. Beauty Is Embarrassing, dir. Neil Berkeley (Future You). IFC Center, 9/7/12
508. Branded, dir. Jamie Bradshaw and Alexander Doulerain (Roadside Attractions). 9/7/12
509. The Cold Light of Day, dir. Mabrouk El Mechri (Summit). 9/7/12
510. Detropia, dir. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (self-distributed). IFC Center, 9/7/12
511. Desperate Endeavors, dir. Salim Khassa (LBYL). Quad, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 9/7/12
512. The Eye of the Storm, dir. Fred Schepisi (Sycamore). Cinema Village, Lincoln Plaza; 9/7/12
513. Green, dir. Sophia Takal (Factory 25). reRun Gastropub, 9/7/12
514. Hello I Must Be Going, dir. Todd Louiso (Oscilloscope). Angelika, 9/7/12
515. The Inbetweeners, dir. Ben Palmer (Wrekin Hill). Union Square, 9/7/12
516. Keep the Lights On, dir. Ira Sachs (Music Box). Chelsea, Munroe Film Center; 9/7/12
517. Mulberry Child, dir. Susan Morgan Cooper (American Dream). Quad, 9/7/12
518. Raaz 3: The Third Dimension, dir. Vikram Bhatt (Fox). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 9/7/12
519. [REC]3: Genesis, dir. Paco Plaza (Magnolia). Cinema Village, 9/7/12
520. Serving Up Richard, dir. Henry Olek (Dance On). Cinema Village, 9/7/12
521. Toys in the Attic, dir. Jirí Barta and Vivian Schilling (Hannover House). Union Square, 9/7/12
522. Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution, dir. Deborah Riley Draper (Coffee Bluff). IFC Center, 9/7/12
523. The Words, dir. Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal (CBS). 9/7/12
524. I’m Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful, dir. Jonathan Demme (Clinica Estetico). IFC Center, 9/12/12
525. Francine, dir. Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky (Factory 25). MoMA, 9/12/12
526. Mark Lombardi: Death-Defying Acts of Art and Conspiracy, dir. Mareike Wegener (Real Fiction). MoMA, 9/13/12
527. Arbitrage, dir. Nicholas Jarecki (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions). 9/14/12
528. Barfi!, dir. Anurag Basu (UTV). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 9/14/12
529. Bangkok Revenge, dir. Jean-Marc Minéo (China Lion). Empire, 9/14/12
530. Last Ounce of Courage, dir. Darrel Campbell and Kevin McAfee (Rocky Mountain). Empire, 9/14/12
531. Liberal Arts, dir. Josh Radnor (IFC). IFC Center, 1st and 62nd Street; 9/14/12
532. The Manzanar Fishing Club, dir. Cory Shiozaki (self-distributed). Empire, 9/14/12
533. The Master, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson (Weinstein). Angelika, Village East, Lincoln Square; 9/14/12
534. Resident Evil: Retribution, dir. Paul W.S. Anderson (Screen Gems). 9/14/12
535. The Right to Love: An American Family, dir. Cassie Jaye (self-distributed). Quad, 9/14/12
536. Snowman’s Land, dir. Tomasz Thomson (Music Box). Cinema Village, 9/14/12
537. The Stand Up, dir. David Wexler (Cinéma 59). Quad, 9/14/12
538. Step Up to the Plate, dir. Paul Lacoste (Cinema Guild). Quad, Lincoln Plaza; 9/14/12
539. 10 Years, dir. Jamie Linden (Anchor Bay). Sunshine, Empire; 9/14/12
540. The Trouble With the Truth, dir. Jim Hemphill (Winning Edge). Quad, 9/14/12
541. Radio Unnameable, dir. Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson (Kino Lorber). Film Forum, 9/19/12
542. Tears of Gaza, dir. Vibeke Løkkeberg (Nero). Cinema Village, 9/19/12
543. Knuckleball!, dir. Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (FilmBuff). IFC Center, 9/20/12
544. Switch, dir. Harry Lynch (Arcos). Sunshine, 9/20/12
545. About Cherry, dir. Stephen Elliott (IFC Midnight). IFC Center, 9/21/12
546. Backwards, dir. Ben Hickernell (Dada). Cinema Village, 9/21/12
547. Blinky & Me, dir. Tomasz Magierski (Smoking Mirror). Quad, 9/21/12
548. Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best, dir. Ryan O’Nan (Oscilloscope). Village East, 9/21/12
549. Dear Mandela, dir. Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza (Sleeping Giant). IndieScreen, 9/21/12
550. Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, dir. Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, and Frédéric Tcheng (Goldwyn). Lincoln Plaza, 9/21/12
551. Doctored, dir. Bobby Sheehan (Submarine Deluxe). Village East, 9/21/12
552. Dredd, dir. Pete Travis (Lionsgate). 9/21/12
553. Electoral Dysfunction, dir. David Deschamps, Leslie D. Farrell, and Bennett Singer (Trio). Quad, 9/21/12
554. End of Watch, dir. David Ayer (Open Road). 9/21/12
555. Fred Won’t Move Out, dir. Richard Ledes (Virgil). BAM Rose, 9/21/12
556. Head Games, dir. Steve James (Variance). Empire, 9/21/12
557. Hellbound?, dir. Kevin Miller (Area23a). Empire, 9/21/12
558. Heroine, dir. Madhur Bhandarkar (UTV). Loews Village, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 9/21/12
559. House at the End of the Street, dir. Mark Tonderai (Rogue). 9/21/12
560. How to Survive a Plague, dir. David France (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, 9/21/12
561. Masquerade, dir. Choo Chang-Min (CJ). Empire, 9/21/12
562. My Uncle Rafael, dir. Marc Fusco (Slater Brothers/Rocky Mountain). Empire, 9/21/12
563. 186 Dollars to Freedom, dir. Camilo Vila (Four Fish). Quad, 9/21/12
564. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, dir. Stephen Chbosky (Summit). Sunshine, Lincoln Square; 9/21/12
565. 17 Girls, dir. Delphine and Muriel Coulin (Strand). Lincoln Plaza, 9/21/12
566. They Call It Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain, dir. Robert H. Lieberman (PhotoSynthesis). Munroe Film Center, 9/21/12
567. Three Stars, dir. Lutz Hachmeister (First Run). Quad, 9/21/12
568. Trouble With the Curve, dir. Robert Lorenz (WB). 9/21/12
569. Unconditional, dir. Brent McCorkle (Harbinger). Empire, Magic Johnson Harlem; 9/21/12
570. Tales of the Night, dir. Michel Ocelot (GKIDS). IFC Center, 9/26/12
571. The Waiting Room, dir. Peter Nicks (International Film Circuit). IFC Center, 9/26/12
572. American Autumn: An Occudoc, dir. Dennis Trainor, Jr. (Artful Dodger). Quad, 9/28/12
573. BearCity 2: The Proposal, dir. Douglas Langway (TLA). Cinema Village, 9/28/12
574. Bringing Up Bobby, dir. Famke Janssen (Monterey). Beekman, 9/28/12
575. Give Up Tomorrow, dir. Michael Collins (Submarine). IndieHouse, 9/28/12
576. Harvest of Empire, dir. Peter Getzels and Eduardo López (EVS/Onyx). Quad, 9/28/12
577. Headshot, dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Kino Lorber). Cinema Village, 9/28/12
578. Hotel Transylvania, dir. Genndy Tartakovsky (Columbia). 9/28/12
579. Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal, dir. Priyadarshan (Applied Art). BIG Cinemas Manhattan, 9/28/12
580. Looper, dir. Rian Johnson (FilmDistrict). 9/28/12
581. My Life as Abraham Lincoln, dir. Shari Berman (Four Reel). Cinema Village, 9/28/12
582. OMG Oh My God!, dir. Umesh Shukla (Viacom18/Grazing Goat). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 9/28/12
583. The Other Dream Team, dir. Marius A. Markevicius (Film Arcade). IFC Center, 9/28/12
584. Pitch Perfect, dir. Jason Moore (Universal). Loews Village, Empire, Lincoln Square; 9/28/12
585. Primum Non Nocere: First — Do No Harm, dir. James Reynolds (Asia Geographic). Quad, 9/28/12
586. Six Million and One, dir. David Fisher (Fishman). Lincoln Plaza, 9/28/12
587. Stars in Shorts, dir. various (ShortsHD). IFC Center, 9/28/12
588. Solomon Kane, dir. Michael J. Bassett (RADiUS-TWC). Empire, 9/28/12
589. Vulgaria, dir. Pang Ho-cheung (China Lion). Loews Village, Empire; 9/28/12
590. Won’t Back Down, dir. Daniel Barnz (Fox). 9/28/12
591. The Yakuza and the Mermaid, dir. Chris Benker (Four Reel). Cinema Village, 9/28/12
592. The Double Steps, dir. Isaki Lacuesta (m-appeal). MoMA, 10/1/12
593. Avé, dir. Konstantin Bojanov (Le Pacte). MoMA, 10/3/12
594. Bel Borba Aqui, dir. Burt Sun and André Costantini (Abramorama). Film Forum, 10/3/12
595. Now, Forager, dir. Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin (Argot). IFC Center, 10/3/12
596. Butter, dir. Jim Field Smith (RADiUS-TWC). Loews Village, Empire, Beekman; 10/5/12
597. Decoding Deepak, dir. Gotham Chopra (Snag). Quad, 10/5/12
598. English Vinglish, dir. Gauri Shinde (Eros International). BIG Cinemas Manhattan, 10/5/12
599. Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, dir. Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke (Roadside Attractions). Loews Village, 10/5/12
600. Fat Kid Rules the World, dir. Matthew Lillard (ARC). Cinema Village, 10/5/12
601. Frankenweenie, dir. Tim Burton (Disney). 10/5/12
602. #holdyourbreath, dir. Jared Cohen (The Asylum). Empire, 10/5/12
603. The House I Live In, dir. Eugene Jarecki (Abramorama). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 10/5/12
604. It’s Such a Beautiful Day, dir. Don Hertzfeldt (Cinemad). IFC Center, 10/5/12
605. The Oranges, dir. Julian Farino (ATO). 10/5/12
606. The Paperboy, dir. Lee Daniels (Millennium). Chelsea, Lincoln Square; 10/5/12
607. Sister, dir. Ursula Meier (Adopt). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 10/5/12
608. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, dir. Roberto Faenza (FilmBuff). Village East, 10/5/12
609. Taken 2, dir. Olivier Megaton (Fox). 10/5/12
610. Trade of Innocents, dir. Christopher Bessette (Monterey). Quad, 10/5/12
611. V/H/S, dir. various (Magnet). Sunshine, 10/5/12
612. Wuthering Heights, dir. Andrea Arnold (Oscilloscope). Film Forum, 10/5/12
613. In My Mother’s Arms, dir. Atia Al-Daradji and Mohamed Al-Daradji (KinoSmith). Maysles, 10/8/12
614. An Affair of the Heart, dir. Sylvia Caminer (Films Transit International). IFC
Center, 10/10/12
615. Argo, dir. Ben Affleck (WB). 10/12/12
616. Aiyyaa, dir. Sachin Kundalkar (Viacom 18). BIG Cinemas Manhattan, 10/12/12
617. Atlas Shrugged, Part II, dir. John Putch (Rocky Mountain). Union Square, Empire, 64th and 2nd Avenue; 10/12/12
618. The Big Picture, dir. Eric Lartigau (MPI). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 10/12/12
619. Ethel, dir. Rory Kennedy (Moxie Firecracker). Quad, 10/12/12
620. Excuse Me for Living, dir. Ric Klass (Dada/Required Viewing). Loews Village, 10/12/12
621. Fame High, dir. Scott Hamilton Kennedy (Black Valley). Quad, 10/12/12
622. Gayby, dir. Jonathan Lisecki (Wolfe/Film Collaborative). Cinema Village, 10/12/12
623. Here Comes the Boom, dir. Frank Coraci (Columbia). 10/12/12
624. Hotel Noir, dir. Sebastian Gutierrez (Locomotive). Cinema Village, 10/12/12
625. The Iran Job, dir. Till Schauder (Paladin). IFC Center, 10/12/12
626. Janeane From Des Moines, dir. Grace Lee (Wilsilu). Cinema Village, 10/12/12
627. Least Among Saints, dir. Martin Papazian (Brainstorm). Loews Village, 10/12/12
628. Madrid, 1987, dir. David Trueba (Efish). Quad, 10/12/12
629. Middle of Nowhere, dir. Ava DuVernay (Participant/AFFRM). Empire, 10/12/12
630. Photographic Memory, dir. Ross McElwee (First Run). IFC Center, 10/12/12
631. The Prosecution of an American President, dir. David J. Burke and Dave Hagen (Independent). Loews Village, Empire; 10/12/12
632. Seven Psychopaths, dir. Martin McDonagh (CBS). 10/12/12
633. Simon and the Oaks, dir. Lisa Ohlin (Film Arcade). Paris, 10/12/12
634. Sinister, dir. Scott Derrickson (Summit). 10/12/12
635. Smashed, dir. James Ponsoldt (Sony Classics). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 10/12/12
636. Smiley, dir. Michael Gallagher (Fever). Empire, 10/12/12
637. Special Forces, dir. Stéphane Rybojad (Entertainment One). Empire, 10/12/12
638. Split: A Deeper Divide, dir. Kelly Nyks (Feature Presentations). Quad, 10/12/12
639. The Thieves, dir. Dong-hoon Choi (Well Go USA). Bay Terrace, 10/12/12
640. 3,2,1… Frankie Go Boom, dir. Jordan Roberts (Variance). Cinema Village, 10/12/12
641. Two Years at Sea, dir. Ben Rivers (Cinema Guild). Anthology Film Archives, 10/12/12
642. War of the Buttons, dir. Christophe Barratier (Weinstein). Angelika, 10/12/12
643. A Whisper to a Roar, dir. Ben Moses (Appleseed). Quad, 10/12/12
644. Holy Motors, dir. Leos Carax (Indomina). Film Forum, 10/17/12
645. Just 45 Minutes From Broadway, dir. Henry Jaglom (Rainbow). Cinema Village, 10/17/12
646. Alex Cross, dir. Rob Cohen (Summit). 10/19/12
647. All Together, dir. Stéphane Robelin (Kino Lorber/Tribeca). Quad, 10/19/12
648. Bad 25, dir. Spike Lee (40 Acres and a Mule). Loews Village, 10/19/12
649. Bestiaire, dir. Denis Côté (KimStim). Anthology Film Archives, 10/19/12
650. Brooklyn Castle, dir. Katie Dellamaggiore (PDA). Sunshine, Monroe Film Center; 10/19/12
651. The First Time, dir. Jonathan Kasdan (Goldwyn). Empire, 10/19/12
652. The Flat, dir. Arnon Goldfinger (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 10/19/12
653. Le Grand Amour, dir. Pierre Étaix (Janus). Film Forum, 10/19/12
654. My Worst Nightmare, dir. Anne Fontaine (Strand). Quad, 10/19/12
655. Nobody Walks, dir. Ry Russo-Young (Magnolia). Sunshine, 10/19/12
656. Paranormal Activity 4, dir. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Paramount). 10/19/12
657. Question One, dir. Joe Fox and James Nubile (Fly on the Wall). Chelsea, 10/19/12
658. Sassy Pants, dir. Coley Sohn (Phase 4). Cinema Village, 10/19/12
659. The Sessions, dir. Ben Lewin (Fox Searchlight). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 10/19/12
660. Sexy Baby, dir. Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus (Area23a). Quad, 10/19/12
661. Student of the Year, dir. Karan Johar (Dharma/Red Chillies). Loews Village, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 10/19/12
662. Tai Chi Zero, dir. Stephen Fung (Variance/Well Go USA). Empire, 10/19/12
663. That’s What She Said, dir. Carrie Preston (Phase 4). Cinema Village, 10/19/12
664. Unmasked Judeophobia: The Threat to Civilization, dir. Gloria Z. Greenfield (Doc Emet). Quad, 10/19/12
665. La Vie au Ranch, dir. Sophie Letourneur (Umedia). BAM Rose, 10/19/12
666. We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, dir. Brian Knappenberger (Luminant). Quad, 10/19/12
667. Yogawoman, dir. Kate Clere McIntyre and Saraswati Clere (Shadow). Angelika, 10/19/12
668. Chakravyuh, dir. Prakash Jha (Eros International). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 10/24/12
669. The Zen of Bennett, dir. Unjoo Moon (Abramorama). IFC Center, 10/24/12
670. The Black Tulip, dir. Sonia Nassery Cole (Snag). IFC Center, 10/26/12
671. Chasing Mavericks, dir. Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted (Fox). 10/26/12
672. Cloud Atlas, dir. Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski (WB). 10/26/12
673. Dinotasia, dir. David Krentz and Erik Nelson (Flatiron). IFC Center, 10/26/12
674. Dust Up, dir. Ward Roberts (Breaking Glass). IFC Center, 10/26/12
675. Fun Size, dir. Josh Schwartz (Paramount). 10/26/12
676. Gut, dir. Elias (FilmBuff). Cinema Village, 10/26/12
677. In the Night, dir. Götz Neumann (UnitedRain). Angelika, 10/26/12
678. The Loneliest Planet, dir. Julia Loktev (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, 10/26/12
679. Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story, dir. Franklin Martin (Dutchmen). Quad, 10/26/12
680. Orchestra of Exiles, dir. Josh Aronson (First Run). Quad, 10/26/12
681. The Other Son, dir. Lorraine Lévy (Cohen). 1st and 62nd Street, Brooklyn Heights Cinema; 10/26/12
682. Pusher, dir. Luis Prieto (Entertainment One). Village East, 10/26/12
683. The Revisionaries, dir. Scott Thurman (Kino Lorber). Munroe Film Center, 10/26/12
684. The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965, dir. Peter Whitehead and Mick Gochanour (ABKCO). IFC Center, 10/26/12
685. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, dir. Michael J. Bassett (Open Road). 10/26/12
686. Sleep Tight, dir. Jaume Balagueró (MPI). Cinema Village, 10/26/12
687. Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters, dir. Ben Shapiro (Zeitgeist). Film Forum, 10/31/12
688. Ata Pata Laapata, dir. Rajpal Yadav (Cinergy). BIG Cinemas Manhattan, 11/2/12
689. The Bay, dir. Barry Levinson (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions). IFC Center, Empire, Munroe Film Center, 1st and 62nd Street; 11/2/12
690. Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, dir. Stacy Peralta (self-distributed). IFC Center, 11/2/12
691. The Details, dir. Jacob Aaron Estes (Weinstein). Angelika, Munroe Film Center; 11/2/12
692. Flight, dir. Robert Zemeckis (Paramount). 11/2/12
693. Girl Walk // All Day, dir. Jacob Krupnick (IFP). reRun Gastropub, 11/2/12
694. High Ground, dir. Michael Brown (Red Flag). Quad, 11/2/12
695. Jack & Diane, dir. Bradley Rust Gray (Magnolia). Cinema Village, 11/2/12
696. A Late Quartet, dir. Yaron Zilberman (Entertainment One). Lincoln Plaza, 11/2/12
697. Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, dir. Sameer Sharma (UTV). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 11/2/12
698. A Man’s Story, dir. Varon Bonicos (Trinity). IFC Center, 11/2/12
699. The Man With the Iron Fists, dir. RZA (Universal). 11/2/12
700. North Sea Texas, dir. Bavo Defurne (Strand). Chelsea, 11/2/12
701. This Must Be the Place, dir. Paolo Sorrentino (Weinstein). Sunshine, 11/2/12
702. The Understudy, dir. David Connolly and Hannah Davis (Indican). Cinema Village, 11/2/12
703. Wreck-It Ralph, dir. Rich Moore (Disney). 11/2/12
704. Skyfall, dir. Sam Mendes (Columbia). 11/8/12
705. Burn, dir. Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez (Area23a). Quad, 11/9/12
706. Café de Flore, dir. Jean-Marc Vallée (Adopt). Angelika, 11/9/12
707. Chasing Ice, dir. Jeff Orlowski (Oscilloscope). Cinema Village, 11/9/12
708. Christmas in Compton, dir. David Raynr (Barnholtz). Empire, 11/9/12
709. Citadel, dir. Ciaran Foy (Cinedigm). Angelika, 11/9/12
710. Coming Up Roses, dir. Lisa Albright (Dada). Loews Village, 11/9/12
711. Dangerous Liaisons, dir. Jin-ho Hur (Well Go USA). Empire, 11/9/12
712. Festival of Lights, dir. Shundell Prasad (Durga). Loews Village, 11/9/12
713. In Another Country, dir. Hong Sang-soo (Kino Lorber). Lincoln Plaza, 11/9/12
714. A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman, dir. Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson, and Ben Timlett (Brainstorm). Angelika, 11/9/12
715. Lincoln, dir. Steven Spielberg (Disney). 11/9/12
716. Lunch, dir. Donna Kanter (self-distributed). Quad, 11/9/12
717. Nature Calls, dir. Todd Rohal (Magnet). Village East, 11/9/12
718. Otelo Burning, dir. Sara Blecher (IFP). reRun Gastropub, 11/9/12
719. The Return of Lencho, dir. Mario Rosales (Ocularis). Quad, 11/9/12
720. A Royal Affair, dir. Nikolaj Arcel (Magnolia). Paris, 11/9/12
721. A Secret Affair, dir. Nuel Crisostomo Naval (Viva). Empire, 11/9/12
722. Starlet, dir. Sean Baker (Music Box). Sunshine, Munroe Film Center; 11/9/12
723. Vamps, dir. Amy Heckerling (Anchor Bay). Loews Village, 11/9/12
724. Jab Tak Hai Jaan, dir. Yash Chopra (Yash Raj). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 11/13/12
725. Son of Sardaar, dir. Ashwani Dhir (Yash Raj). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 11/13/12
726. Buffalo Girls, dir. Todd Kellstein (Paladin). IFC Center, 11/14/12
727. The Law in These Parts, dir. Ra’anan Alexandrowicz (Cinema Guild). Film Forum, 11/14/12
728. Barrymore, dir. Érik Canuel (Image). Village East, 11/15/12
729. A Man Vanishes, dir. Shohei Imamura (Icarus). Anthology Film Archives, 11/15/12
730. Anna Karenina, dir. Joe Wright (Focus). Loews Village, Chelsea. Lincoln Square; 11/16/12
731. The Comedy, dir. Rick Alverson (Tribeca). BAM Rose, 11/16/12
732. First Winter, dir. Benjamin Dickinson (Ghost Robot). Videology, 11/16/12
733. Generation P, dir. Victor Ginzburg (New World). Angelika, 11/16/12
734. Habibi, dir. Susan Youssef (IFP). reRun Gastropub, 11/16/12
735. Hitler’s Children, dir. Chanoch Ze’evi (Film Movement). Quad, 11/16/12
736. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, dir. Alex Gibney (HBO Documentary). Film Forum, 11/16/12
737. The Normals, dir. Kevin Patrick Connors (FilmBuff). Cinema Village, 11/16/12
738. Price Check, dir. Michael Walker (IFC). IFC Center, 11/16/12
739. La Rafle, dir. Rose Bosch (Menemsha). Quad, 11/16/12
740. Silver Linings Playbook, dir. David O. Russell (Weinstein). Angelika, E-Walk, Lincoln Square; 11/16/12
741. 16 Acres, dir. Richard Hankin (ro*co). Quad, 11/16/12
742. Turning, dir. Charles Atlas (Bullitt). IFC Center, 11/16/12
743. 28 Hotel Rooms, dir. Matt Ross (Oscilloscope). Village East, 11/16/12
744. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2, dir. Bill Condon (Summit). 11/16/12
745. Who Bombed Judi Bari?, dir. Mary Liz Thomson (Hokey Pokey). Quad, 11/16/12
746. Life of Pi, dir. Ang Lee (Fox). 11/21/12
747. Red Dawn, dir. Dan Bradley (FilmDistrict). 11/21/12
748. Rise of the Guardians, dir. Peter Ramsey (Paramount). 11/21/12
749. The Central Park Five, dir. Ken Burns, David McMahon, and Sarah Burns (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 11/23/12
750. Gottfried Helnwein and the Dreaming Child, dir. Lisa Kirk Colburn (First Run). Quad, 11/23/12
751. Hitchcock, dir. Sacha Gervasi (Fox Searchlight). Union Square, Kips Bay, Lincoln Square; 11/23/12
752. The King, dir. Dejan Acimovic (DA). Quad, 11/23/12
753. Man at War, dir. Jacek Blawut (self-distributed). Quad, 11/23/12
754. The Mystical Laws, dir. Isamu Imakake (Eleven Arts). Cinema Village, 11/23/12
755. Rust and Bone, dir. Jacques Audiard (Sony Classics). Sunshine, Lincoln Plaza; 11/23/12
756. Seeds of Resiliency, dir. Susan Polis Schutz (IronZeal). Quad, 11/23/12
757. The Gatekeepers, dir. Dror Moreh (Sony Classics). Lincoln Plaza, 11/26/12
758. Beware of Mr. Baker, dir. Jay Bulger (Snag). Film Forum, 11/28/12
759. Ex-Girlfriends, dir. Alexander Poe (FilmBuff). Cinema Village, 11/28/12
760. Back to 1942, dir. Feng Xiaogang (China Lion). Loews Village, Empire 11/30/12
761. California Solo, dir. Marshall Lewy (Strand). Quad, 11/30/12
762. Certainty, dir. Peter Askin (FilmBuff). Quad, 11/30/12
763. The Collection, dir. Marcus Dunstan (LD). Union Square, Loews 34th Street, Empire; 11/30/12
764. Dragon, dir. Peter Ho-Sun Chan (Weinstein). Village East, 11/30/12
765. Drivers Wanted, dir. Joshua Z Weinstein (self-distributed). reRun Gastropub, 11/30/12
766. Elza, dir. Mariette Monpierre (Autonomous). MIST Harlem, 11/30/12
767. I Do Bidoo Bidoo, dir. Chris Martinez (FliPelikula). IndieHouse, 11/30/12
768. Killing Them Softly, dir. Andrew Dominik (Weinstein). 11/30/12
769. King Kelly, dir. Andrew Neel (GoDigital). Cinema Village, 11/30/12
770. Love, Marilyn, dir. Liz Garbus (HBO Documentary). Film Forum, 11/30/12
771. My Brothers, dir. Paul Fraser (Olive). Cinema Village, 11/30/12
772. New Jerusalem, dir. Rick Alverson (Made Bed). Videology, 11/30/12
773. Parked, dir. Darragh Byrne (Olive). Cinema Village, 11/30/12
774. Patricia, dir. Juan Carlos Hernández Nava (Eagle Eye). Empire, 11/30/12
775. Shady Lady, dir. Tristan Loraine (Fact Not Fiction). Quad, 11/30/12
776. Silent Night, dir. Steven C. Miller (Anchor Bay). Empire, 11/30/12
777. Talaash, dir. Reema Kagti (Reliance). Loews Village, Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 11/30/12
778. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, dir. John Hyams (Magnet). Village East, 11/30/12
779. Walk Away Renee, dir. Jonathan Caouette (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, 11/30/12
780. What a Man, dir. Matthias Schweighöfer (Fox). Empire, 11/30/12
781. Young and Wild, dir. Marialy Rivas (Sundance Selects). IFC Center, 11/30/12
782. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, dir. Donald Rice (IFC). IFC Center, 12/7/12
783. Deadfall, dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky (Magnolia). Sunshine, 12/7/12
784. Delhi Safari, dir. Nikhil Advani (Applied Art). 12/7/12
785. The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, dir. Edward Burns (Tribeca). Village East, 12/7/12
786. Flying Lessons, dir. Derek Magyar (New Films). Empire, 12/7/12
787. Happy New Year, dir. K. Lorrel Manning (Snag). Quad, 12/7/12
788. Heleno, dir. José Henrique Fonseca (Screen Media). Union Square, 12/7/12
789. Hidden Colors 2: The Triumph of Melanin, dir. Tariq Nasheed (King Flex). Cinema Village, 12/7/12
790. Honor Flight, dir. Dan Hayes (Freethink Media). Quad, 12/7/12
791. Hyde Park on Hudson, dir. Roger Michell (Focus). Angelika, Lincoln Square; 12/7/12
792. In Our Nature, dir. Brian Savelson (Cinedigm). Cinema Village, 12/7/12
793. Khiladi 786, dir. Ashish R. Mohan (Reliance). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 12/7/12
794. Lay the Favorite, dir. Stephen Frears (RADiUS-TWC). Village East, 12/7/12
795. Off White Lies, dir. Maya Kenig (Film Movement). Lincoln Plaza, 12/7/12
796. Only the Young, dir. Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims (Oscilloscope). IFC Center, 12/7/12
797. Playing for Keeps, dir. Gabriele Muccino (FilmDistrict). 12/7/12
798. The Rabbi’s Cat, dir. Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux (GKIDS). IFC Center, 12/7/12
799. Sahkanaga, dir. John Henry Summerour (IFP). reRun Gastropub, 12/7/12
800. Saying America’s Horses: A Nation Betrayed, dir. Katia Louise (Humanion). Quad, 12/7/12
801. The Sheik and I, dir. Caveh Zahedi (Factory 25). Videology, 12/7/12
802. Tchoupitoulas, dir. Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross (Oscilloscope). IFC Center, 12/7/12
803. Wagner & Me, dir. Patrick McGrady (First Run). Quad, Munroe Film Center, 12/7/12
804. Waiting for Lightning, dir. Jacob Rosenberg (Goldwyn). Village East, 12/7/12
805. A Werewolf Boy, dir. Jo Sung-hee (CJ). Empire, 12/7/12
806. Consuming Spirits, dir. Chris Sullivan (self-distributed). Film Forum, 12/12/12
807. Any Day Now, dir. Travis Fine (Music Box). Sunshine, Munroe Film Center; 12/14/12
808. The Girl, dir. David Riker (Brainstorm). Sunshine, 12/14/12
809. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, dir. Peter Jackson (WB). 12/14/12
810. Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet, dir. Jessie Vile (Kino Lorber). Cinema Village, 12/14/12
811. Let Fury Have the Hour, dir. Antonino D’Ambrosio (CAVU). Quad, 12/14/12
812. Save the Date, dir. Michael Mohan (IFC). IFC Center, 12/14/12
813. Saving Grace B. Jones, dir. Connie Stevens (New Films). Quad, 12/14/12
814. Stand Up Guys, dir. Fisher Stevens (Lionsgate). Munroe Film Center, 12/14/12
815. Trashed, dir. Candida Brady (First Pond). Quad, 12/14/12
816. Yelling to the Sky, dir. Victoria Mahoney (MPI). Cinema Village, 12/14/12
817. Amour, dir. Michael Haneke (Sony Classics). Film Forum, Lincoln Plaza; 12/19/12
818. Zero Dark Thirty, dir. Kathryn Bigelow (Columbia). Loews Village, E-Walk, Lincoln Square; 12/19/12
819. American Empire, dir. Patrea Patrick (Heartfelt). Quad, 12/21/12
820. Aquí y Allá, dir. Antonio Méndez Esparza (Torch). Munroe Film Center, reRun Gastropub; 12/21/12
821. Barbara, dir. Christian Petzold (Adopt). Angelika, Lincoln Plaza; 12/21/12
823. Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away, dir. Andrew Adamson (Paramount). 12/21/12
824. Dabangg 2, dir. Arbaaz Khan (Xoom). Empire, BIG Cinemas Manhattan; 12/21/12
825. The Guilt Trip, dir. Anne Fletcher (Paramount). 12/21/12
826. The Impossible, dir. J. A. Bayona (Adopt). Sunshine, Lincoln Square; 12/21/12
827. Jack Reacher, dir. Christopher McQuarrie (Paramount). 12/21/12
828. Not Fade Away, dir. David Chase (Paramount Vantage). Union Square, Lincoln Square; 12/21/12
829. On the Road, dir. Walter Salles (IFC/Sundance Selects). IFC Center, Lincoln Plaza; 12/21/12
830. This Is 40, dir. Judd Apatow (Universal). 12/21/12
831. Django Unchained, dir. Quentin Tarantino (Weinstein). 12/25/12
832. Les Misérables, dir. Tom Hooper (Universal). 12/25/12
833. Parental Guidance, dir. Andy Fickman (Fox). 12/25/12
834. West of Memphis, dir. Amy Berg (Sony Classics). Angelika, Munroe Film Center; 12/25/12
835. Tabu, dir. Miguel Gomes (Adopt). Film Forum, 12/26/12
836. Allegiance, dir. Michael Connors (XLrator). Cinema Village, 12/28/12
837. Promised Land, dir. Gus Van Sant (Focus). Loews Village, Lincoln Square; 12/28/12

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Beavis, Meet Matisse!





Mike Judge, 'fess up! I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when suddenly I saw Beavis and/or Butt-head's great great grand-dude staring me in the face. Does the Matisse estate get a cut of the profits from the Beavis and Butt-head empire? I'd love to think so.
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Friday, May 25, 2012

Books: Kim Stanley Robinson's Latest Sci-Fi Gem


2312 BY KIM STANLEY ROBINSON *** 1/2 out of ****
$25; Orbit
561 pages

Science fiction at its best can accomplish one of two things. Either an author is adept at extrapolating current scientific thought and expands our ideas of the possible (like Arthur C. Clarke's popularization of putting satellites into geosynchronous orbit) or an author uses a futuristic setting to shine a spotlight on the present.

Kim Stanley Robinson does both. His new book 2312 is bursting with so many ideas and vivid characters that readers will be almost upset to hear it's a stand-alone. How could anyone create such a vivid, believable, mind-bursting future and not want to explore it further?

The story takes place 300 years in the future. Humanity has expanded beyond the earth to colonize various planets and moons and asteroids and any other heavenly object you can name. Tension between the over-crowded dysfunctional earth and the people on the outer worlds is always high despite their mutual dependency. Limited resources, ever-lengthening lifespans (200+ years and counting), and good old lust for power are bringing the crisis to a head.

Terrorist acts soon sabotage the safety of everyone but who is committing them? Is it the work of multinational corporations still struggling to hold onto power? Resentful people trapped on a dying planet? Power brokers desperate to swing popular support to their own particular vision for the future? Or could it be the work of qubes, those quantum-based computers of a sort that serve as artificial intelligence and which apparently are starting to act "strangely" and may have achieved some sort of consciousness and -- along with it -- a desire to be free?

This grand scale narrative is immediately anchored in the story of Swan Er Hong. She's the granddaughter of Alex, a very powerful player in interstellar politics who apparently feared some qube revolt and insisted on doing most of her work face to face. When Alex dies at the beginning of the book, Swan finds herself drawn into multiple conspiracies and a need to revenge the attack on her home city Terminator, located on Mercury. Complicating matters? The landscape artist Swan may be falling in love; indeed, her own implanted qube is aware of it before Swan.

Okay, that's the very broad outline of this tale. Robinson's narrative fun reminds me of Melville's Moby Dick, thanks to playful interruptions of the story with lists and internal monologues and extracts, such as the intro to a manual on how to terra-form your own asteroid. ("As your assembly hollows the interior, be aware that ejection of the excavated material (best aimed toward a Lagrange salvage point, to collect the salvage fee) will represent your best chance to reposition your terrarium, if you want it in a different orbit.")

I haven't even touched on the polymorphous, polygender world of 2312, where referring to someone's gender is akin to using the informal "tu" in Spanish and not something you'd want to even hazard a guess at in many circumstances. Humans have modified themselves into "talls" and "smalls" for various reasons. (It turns out smaller body ratios invariably live longer and work better in low gravity environments.) And sexual organs of all types can be added on to your body as you please.

Even that doesn't capture the humor, such as the way Robinson brilliantly maps out a future history of economic systems in just a few short pages (all reflecting the various influences of solar colonies and the type of trading in raw materials and finished products they'd engender) with the kicker being a one-line reference to the almost complete disappearance of capitalism as one of the main accomplishment of the colonization of Mars. (Capitalism remains a "sport" for some, a game to be played on the margins of the real economy. Being good at this rough and tumble endeavor is a hobby or almost an art form. Almost.)

In short, Robinson's story is gripping, funny, and rich with vivid characters -- like the "small" Inspector Jean Genette and the imperturbable, frog-like Warham. It describes a possible future in such vivid and exciting ways you can't wait for it to arrive.

But Robinson doesn't just spell out future possibilities; he inhabits them. One section lays out the way to hollow out an asteroid and create a terrarium to support life -- Swan in fact spent much of her early artistic career creating these various worlds and coming up with themes and interesting combinations of Earth environments to make each one she worked on unique and fascinating. We learn how these interiors are circular and therefore you can be standing on the "ground" and look up: "above" the clouds you can see a lake, located in the sky from your perspective but simply the opposite side of the asteroid. Wonderful, memorable stuff. But it's not until a character is in one such space and remarks that he feels like he's inside a map that has been rolled up and put into a tube that this idea truly comes to life in a simple but effective image. Robinson offers such insight again and again.

The story ends on a perfect note that's emotionally satisfying and implies a remarkable new development in what constitutes life in one brief, amusing exchange. Then Robinson indulges in one more extract and a rose-tinted epilogue that is quite unnecessary. It's a minor complaint about a novel that is so sure-footed throughout.

2312 is clearly one of the best books of the year but I'm not sure I can recommend it to people who aren't already steeped in sci-fi. I fear they might be lost by the ideas and assumptions that sci-fi fans now take for granted as future possibilities. Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt is still my favorite book to introduce people to his talent; it goes far into the future but begins in the past and includes ideas of reincarnation that make that millennial spanning work easier for newbies to grasp. Then  I would send people to his landmark trilogy -- Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars -- a wonderful tale about colonizing and terraforming Mars that is as good as hard science fiction gets; being set in the near future makes it easier for readers not accustomed to sci-fi to follow the possibilities as they slowly arise.

In contrast, 2312 throws you into the deep end. For those ready to take the plunge, it's an exhilarating experience.




BOOKS I'VE READ SO FAR IN 2012

1. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt ***
2. Jack Holmes and His Friend by Edmund White ***
3. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle **
4. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel ***
5. Death Walks In Eastrepp by Francis Beeding ***
6. Lumious Airplanes by Paul La Farge ***/
7. The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen ** 1/2
8. Unterzakhn by Leela Corman **
9. The Child Who by Simon Lelic ***
10. Hinterland by Caroline Brothers ***
11. The Yard by Alex Grecian *** 1/2
12. The Alienist by Caleb Carr ***
13. On The Wings Of Heroes by Richard Peck *** 1/2
14. A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs *
15. The Gods Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs **
16. The Warlord Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs ** 1/2
17. Undefeated: America's Heroic Fight For Bataan and Corregidor by Bill Sloan ** 1/2
18. Stoner by John Williams ****
19. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt *** 1/2
20. The 500 by Matthew Quirk **
21. The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton ****
22. The Alienist by Caleb Carr ***\
23. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi **
24. Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household ***
25. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky **
26. Traitor's Gate by Avi ** 1/2
27. Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins ***
28. 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 1/2
29. The Twelve Rooms Of The Nile by Enid Shomer ** 1/2
30. Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel *** 1/2
31. In One Person by John Irving **
32. A Million Heavens by John Brandon ***
33. The Case Of The Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall ***
34. Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr *** 1/2
35. The Kings of Cool by Don Winslow ***
36. The Case of The Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall ***

Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.  Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available  for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and  gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.

Note: Michael Giltz is provided with free galleys and/or final copies of books to consider for review.
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Books: HIlary Mantel Triumphs (Again); John Irving Is Confused (Sexually)


BRING UP THE BODIES BY HILARY MANTEL *** 1/2 out of ****
IN ONE PERSON BY JOHN IRVING ** out of ****

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BRING UP THE BODIES BY HILARY MANTEL *** 1/2 out of ****
$28; 410 pages
Henry Holt

Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall was the literary event of 2009, winning the Man Booker prize, breaking onto the bestseller list and ultimately becoming inescapable. Simply everyone read it and loved it. Mantel's accomplishment was multifold: she brought history to life, turned the very familiar event of Henry VIII dumping his wife for Anne Boleyn into a nail-biting political thriller and upended our image of Thomas Cromwell from a villain who persecuted the saintly Thomas More into the most modern and likable of men.

She does it all again with Bring Up The Bodies, the second of what Mantel now promises will be a trilogy of tales about Cromwell. (The third book will be called The Mirror And The Light and it can't come soon enough.) It is just as good as Wolf Hall and if I couldn't help myself and started casting the movie (surely Gary Oldman and the team behind Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy would be marvelous with this intrigue?) don't think this is a film or play waiting to happen. (Though it would be a fine riposte to the musty A Man For All Seasons.) It is a novel both literary and page-turning and confirms her status as a writer of the first rank.

The sheer audaciousness of what Henry VIII demanded in Wolf Hall came across thrillingly. Even the most casual fan of history knows Henry dumped one wife after another in search of an heir and blithely risked war and a schism with Rome by creating his own church just so he could get a divorce. Cromwell made it happen despite the overwhelming odds against it. Even the king of England is not so free and omnipotent as he'd like to believe but it happened and Henry was wedded to Anne Boleyn.



Now -- brazenly -- he wants to do it again. Anne has produced no male heir but many enemies with her sharp tongue and undiplomatic ways. Henry's eye is caught by the demure Jane Seymour and her family wisely keeps her within sight but out of reach of the monarch. Can't a king have what he wants? Henry wants Jane. Cromwell moved heaven and earth and prevented a military catastrophe in holding England together and placing Anne on the throne. Can he do it again? And if he's successful will Henry hate him for it, deciding that Cromwell was the mover and shaker that "pushed" him towards Anne in the first place?

The entire novel takes place over nine months but it lasers in on the few sharp, dangerous weeks when Cromwell must act. The pure pleasure Mantel provides is the joy of being inside the mind of the smartest person in the room. Cromwell is prone to flattery and revenge as much as anyone. But seeing him spar with courtiers, parry with diplomats, bow to royalty without ever debasing himself and always, always striving to both give the king what he wants and anticipate how quickly such desire can change is genuinely exciting.

Cromwell is above all a practical man, something the nobility despise in him but a character trait that the common born Cromwell learns to prize above all else. Watching him out-think, out-maneuver and out-wit them all is deeply satisfying. After pulling off this literary feat twice, you realize the smartest person in the room isn't Cromwell after all -- it's Mantel.

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IN ONE PERSON BY JOHN IRVING ** out of ****
$28; 425 pages
Simon & Schuster

What is a bisexual? A bisexual is a person who can have an emotionally and physically satisfying relationship with someone of either gender. It's not strictly about sex. Anyone can have sex with anyone or anything and that merely makes them indiscriminate or horny or bored or adventurous or -- if they're a frat boy -- "really really drunk" and determined to pretend they don't remember a thing the next day. Sex is not the same thing as love.

Author John Irving (profiled here by Time magazine) knows this intellectually and having a bisexual at the center of his latest novel is not a big deal. As he points out, Irving has always embraced sexual suspects, as he calls them. The wikipedia entry for Irving even amusingly details recurring topics in his books (like Vienna and bears, for example) and you can see sex and violence in all their permutations appear again and again: homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, pedophilia, sex workers, transexuals, adultery, swinging (as they called it in the Seventies), rape, gang rape, self-mutilation, May-December romance and on and on.

But emotionally, as a writer, I don't think Irving quite "gets" bisexuality, despite his public avowal of schoolboy crushes on other guys. I think that explains the emotional flatness and odd repetitiveness of this book.

The story is eccentric and filled with memorable characters, like all of Irving's books. Billy is our bisexual hero, which can't have been easy at an all boy's boarding school in the early 1960s. Still, for all the insistence of how hard this was, Billy sure had about as welcoming and accepting an environment as one could hope for outside of a gay commune. His step-father is very open to sexual variety (something Billy appreciates once he gets over an awkward crush on the man), his grandfather is so good at playing female roles in the local community theater that it's clear to everyone grandpa ain't just acting and the local librarian is a woman of deep understanding and empathy who always provides the perfect book at the perfect time for Billy's education. He also enjoys a transgender role model (which will become a life-long attraction for him) and ultimately even more positive gay role models.

Billy can "pass" so he doesn't even endure taunting from fellow students except for one guy on the wrestling team that is merciless. But then everyone wants to sleep with that guy anyway and he's soooo merciless that it doesn't take much thought to realize there's more going on here than bullying.

The novel stretches from childhood to the age of AIDS  but it returns again and again to the small town where Billy was formed emotionally. The plot twists are hard to swallow. Billy and another student both suffer from severe speech defects that banally signal their aversion to this or that sexual possibility. Difficulty in saying "vagina?" Check. That other boy -- Tom -- becomes Billy's first boyfriend and they cap off graduation by touring Europe. But Tom is a hopelessly jealous lover so averse to the idea of women and that dreaded vagina that he literally throws up again and again at the possibility. Once he throws up simply because Billy is reading Madame Bovary to him.

Time and again Irving seems to be worried that we'll forget Billy is bisexual or exactly what bisexual means. If Billy isn't interested in a girl, we're told not to worry, he likes breasts. It's just her breasts that don't interest him. This would be fine once but Irving seems pushed to explain Billy's proclivities again and again as if we might be confused. It doesn't help that Billy feels cursed never to be satisfied with just a man or a woman (or just guys or girls), playing into the old stereotype that a bisexual could never be faithful or satisfied with just one person. Now any particular individual can be incapable of monogamy, of course, be they straight or gay or bisexual. But it seems more general here, hence Billy's fascination with those who are transgendered and/or transitioning, as if only thus could he find "in one person" everything he needs.

This book has the odd tone of a memoir in which the writer can't distinguish between what is important and what's not. Stories are repeated again and again; at one point, Irving even acknowledges it, though the slightly new detail added to that anecdote hardly made it worth rehashing. A deflating finale in which Irving panders to the current vogue for not putting labels on people (as if gay, straight and bisexual weren't quite handy descriptions for the vast majority of people) doesn't help matters. As always, he writes with empathy and can spin a tale. But here his imagination is lacking and the erotic quotient is quite low. Billy agonizes a lot over who he is but rarely if ever do we sense the pleasure of desire.

BOOKS I'VE READ SO FAR IN 2012

1. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt ***
2. Jack Holmes and His Friend by Edmund White ***
3. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle **
4. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel ***
5. Death Walks In Eastrepp by Francis Beeding ***
6. Lumious Airplanes by Paul La Farge ***/
7. The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen ** 1/2
8. Unterzakhn by Leela Corman **
9. The Child Who by Simon Lelic ***
10. Hinterland by Caroline Brothers ***
11. The Yard by Alex Grecian *** 1/2
12. The Alienist by Caleb Carr ***
13. On The Wings Of Heroes by Richard Peck *** 1/2
14. A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs *
15. The Gods Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs **
16. The Warlord Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs ** 1/2
17. Undefeated: America's Heroic Fight For Bataan and Corregidor by Bill Sloan ** 1/2
18. Stoner by John Williams ****
19. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt *** 1/2
20. The 500 by Matthew Quirk **
21. The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton ****
22. The Alienist by Caleb Carr ***\
23. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi **
24. Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household ***
25. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky **
26. Traitor's Gate by Avi ** 1/2
27. Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins ***
28. 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson *** 1/2
29. The Twelve Rooms Of The Nile by Enid Shomer ** 1/2
30. Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel *** 1/2
31. In One Person by John Irving **
32. A Million Heavens by John Brandon ***
33. The Case Of The Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall ***
34. Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr *** 1/2

Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.  Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available  for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and  gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.

Note: Michael Giltz is provided with free galleys and/or final copies of books to consider for review.
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Monday, April 30, 2012

DVDs: "TinTin" Can't Defeat Creepy Motion-Capture Animation Style



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The Adventures of Tintin ($44.99 BluRay combo; Paramount) -- I'll be forever confused by the fact that two of the savviest, smartest directors in Hollywood oversaw the Tintin feature film -- a life-long dream of so many fans of the Herge stories - and yet neither one of them took a look at the tests or rough footage and said, "Hold it, hold it! This looks weird." Clearly motion-capture technology has its place. It worked in the semi-realistic world of Avatar (it helps if most of your characters have cat eyes). It worked to allow Andy Serkis to deliver brilliant performances in both Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and The Lord Of The Rings (an ape and a Gollum mixed in with live actors and all sorts of other special effects). But when the film is fully animated as in The Polar Express and The Adventures Of Tintin, the weird look of it -- not quite live action, not quite animated -- and the dead eyes of the characters is genuinely ugly. It's like stop-motion animation with none of the charm, animation with none of the freedom and beauty, computer animation with none of the sharpness. It's neither fish nor fowl and it's hard to understand why Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson couldn't see that. I think either a live action film or classic hand-drawn animation to harken back to the original illustrations would have been the way to go. In any case, the script needed more work. Tintin is all about pell-mell adventure but the rather bland hero could use some fleshing out, in every sense of the word. Serkis has some fun as Haddock but it's unimpressive visually or as an adventure, though tiny kids might be captivated. Better to read them the books.


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Happy Feet Two ($35.99 BluRay combo; Warner Bros.)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ($39.99 BluRay combo; Fox)
Hop ($39.98 BluRay combo; Universal)
Wizards ($34.99 BluRay; Fox) -- As Tintin proves, animation ain't easy. Here are four more examples of that. George Miller is one of the boldest, most interesting directors working today. His foray into animation seemed unlikely but Happy Feet was a massive surprise hit. The sequel did a disastrous one-third of the business and was probably one-third as charming as the modest original. Perhaps the biggest factor is that no sequel was needed. Alvin and the gang are back (happily with Jason Lee back on board) in Chipwrecked. The title isn't nearly as clever as The Squeakquel, by the way, and unless you're very young, the hijinks on tap pale quickly. Mind you, it's genius compared to Hop, an almost indifferently made flick starring James Marsden. I don't know why Christmas inspires such great movies and Easter is a flop, but there you are. Finally, I feel bad saying anything bad about the pioneer Ralph Bakshi, whose work the rest of Hollywood still hasn't caught up with. Animation can do so much more than tell fairy tales or family friendly Pixar fare. But Wizards was made for pennies and it shows; you have to really be into his simple tale of good vs evil in a post-apocalyptic future to handle the rough-edged work offered here. Rotoscoping was obviously a precursor to motion-capture and Bakshi always pushed the envelope in terms of story and content. The best elements are the making-of comments by Bakshi himself.


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Letter Never Sent ($29.95 BluRay; Criterion) -- The Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov made a string of remarkable films I'm just catching up with. I Am Cuba is the best known -- it's a visually dazzling travelogue. But I was truly blown away by The Cranes Are Flying, one of the greatest works of cinematic history. It tells the story of lovers torn apart by World War II and like I Am Cuba is show-stoppingly beautiful in its imagery but in Cranes that camerawork is geared towards telling an emotionally gripping story. Letter Never Sent falls in the middle and is nearly as great. In it, four geologists are trekking through Siberia looking for traces of diamonds that scientists say are likely there. It's backbreaking work and it doesn't help that the only woman on the trip (the Bjork-like Tatyana Samojlova) is dating one man and deeply desired by another. Forest fires prove an even greater threat as the film becomes an adventure story of humans versus nature a la Never Cry Wolf. The camerawork is again stunning -- courtesy of the great, great Sergei Urusevsky, the talent behind all three films. Sometimes his imagery has the power of political iconography, such as the scene where they're hacking away at the earth and the team looks like Soviet strength personified. Other times it's keyed to the human element. But it's always jaw-dropping. Start with The Cranes Are Flying (also on Criterion) but anyone who loves this sort of tale or fans of great cinematography should jump.


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Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel ($29.99 BluRay; Anchor Bay)
Camel Spiders ($24.99 BluRay; Anchor Bay) -- A documentary like Corman's World seems like the easiest thing imaginable to pull off. Heck, who wouldn't have a great story to tell about legendary B movie producer Roger Corman, who gave seemingly everyone in Hollywood a break and let them pay for the privilege of it. Still, it can be so easy that people get lazy whereas this fun endeavor does what you would want. The names are here, such as Martin Scorsese and Peter Fonda to Joe Dante and William Shatner. I'll bet Corman could have made it for less money, however. And he's still at it: witness Camel Spiders, a B movie with a goofy premise (giant camel spiders), a happy obliviousness to logic (the poster features a web because when you hear "spider" you think of webs, never mind that camel spiders don't spin webs) and it stars an actor either on their way up or on their way down (hi, C. Thomas Howell!). It's dumb, it's stupid and people keep watching and Corman keeps laughing.


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My Week With Marilyn ($39.99 BluRay combo; Anchor Bay)
Young Adult ($39.99 BluRay; Paramount)
The Myth of the American Sleepover ($24.98; Sundance Selects/MPI)
Gainsbourg ($34.95; Music Box) -- Women dominate these films. The best Michelle Williams to come out in 2011 was Meek's Cutoff. But I was not expecting her to create such a full character out of Marilyn Monroe. The movie is a trifle (and should be called My Month With Marilyn), but Williams avoids imitation and gets to the heart of what might have made this sex-bomb/ambitious actress so beguiling. Is screenwriter Diablo Cody's time in the spotlight passing? That's the fear that drives Young Adult, in which a prom queen (Charlize Theron) moves back home and sets her sights on the boy that got away. The fact that he's married is immaterial. David Robert Mitchell's Sleepover may prove to have enduring legs, thanks to the very talented cast assembled for this quiet drama about the last night of summer. Finally, a man is at the heart of the fitfully engaging Gainsbourg but he sure liked women, didn't he? It's rather routine as far as biopics go, but it's fun to hear those songs again.


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In Their Own Words ($49.99; Athena) -- I can't even imagine why not a single US channel chose to pick up this BBC series about great writers and thinkers. Not PBS, not A&E, not any of them? It's a tad pricey as these specialty titles can often be. But this six part series is exactly the sort of thing you expect from public television. You hear audio recordings of Virginia Woolf, J.R. R. Tolkein speaking in Elvish, Jane Goodall on her pioneering work, William Golding, Salman Rushdie and many more.


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The Killing First Season ($49.99 BluRay; Fox)
Scarecrow and Mrs. King Third Season ($39.98; Warner Bros.)
That '70s Show Season One ($24.98 BluRay; Mill Creek) -- Since The Killing was famously pilloried for failing to resolve the season-long story arc about uncovering the killer, you'd think they would find some different cover art for the BluRay release than "Who Killed Rosie Larsen?" Uh, we don't know yet so why are you taunting us? I sampled a few episodes but decided to wait until I could watch the season in one gulp. Since the major plot point is left hanging, I'll be waiting till season two comes out but it looks great and the cast is strong. Scarecrow never made people wait longer than a single episode to resolve its mysteries. Kate Jackson was always my favorite Angel (I like smart women) and she proved her talent with this froth. That 70s Show barely let any suspense linger beyond a single scene. Some music cues are not original but the BluRay looks good and the price is right. It's a so-so sitcom elevated by a great cast including Ashton Kutcher, Laurie Prepon (who deserves better than the Chelsea Handler sitcom) and of course Topher Grace, the Jack Lemmon of his generation with an equal flair for drama and comedy.


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The War Room ($39.95 BluRay; Criterion) -- Filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker have made more important, more illuminating films. But The War Room is great fun and captures a moment in the ever-changing world of political campaigns (They've always been nasty and barbed, mind you). Ah, how young George Stephanopolous looks; how tame in comparison to today's vipers the fact-based James Carville appears. It's all great fun and the extras are illuminating, such as the 2008 documentary film Return Of The War Room, panel discussions, video interviews with the filmmakers and a fascinating piece on my personal bete noire polling.


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The Three Muskateers ($30.49 BluRay; Summit) -- Do you need a "reason" to make yet another version of the Dumas swashbuckler? No, of course not. It's a perennial. Still, 3D is certainly no excuse; you do need a good cast and some passion for the material. Despite Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz and Milla Jovovich in key roles, this version is let down by it's D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman, who I still remember fondly for the TV series Jack & Bobby). He's better at likable than the arrogant jerk he's asked to assay here. And you'd be hard-pressed to top the defining version from 1973. So you don't need a "reason," you just need the talent to put your own special stamp on this tale.


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My Joy ($29.95; Kino Lorber) -- Documentary filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa shows an impressive command of technique and actors but fails in the rather important department of story in his fictional debut. The production notes helpfully inform me that the film's structure is based on the road system of Russia: main roads lead to arteries which lead to smaller roads which can dead end in a village. If you want to get anywhere, you have to turn around and go back. Not knowing that when watching the movie, all I knew was that one character led to the next in a series of vignettes, most of which ended in violence and corruption. A truck driver delivering flour gets "trapped" in a town. At one point, he takes up with a very young prostitute, who is maybe 14 or 15. His decency is somehow so obvious, we know he's not going to buy her services. What's amusing is how furious she becomes when he tries to do her a good turn. Like so many scenes in this film, it's vivid and funny and memorable. Unfortunately, the driver is killed and we move on to new characters. One after another is knocked off, with venal and vicious authority figures a favorite source of pain. Russia is trapped in a cycle of violence? Corruption is endemic? Life is bleak? Take your pick. It's a pity the film reduces itself to slogans since so much solid acting is on display.

Most titles listed here will be available in multiple formats and in multiple combinations, including DVD, Blu ray, digital download, video on demand, streaming and the like. The format listed is the format provided for review, not all the formats available. It is often the most expensive version with the most extras. Do check individual titles for availability in all their various guises and price points.

Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available  for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and  gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.

Note: Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of DVDs and BluRays with the understanding that he would be considering them for review. Generally, he does not guarantee to review and he receives far more titles than he can cover.
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Sunday, April 29, 2012

DVDs: "Tinker, Tailor" Quietly Brilliant; Peak For Oldman



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TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY ($34.99 BluRay combo; Universal) -- it's not as if this sober, subtle spy film was ignored -- it was one of the most acclaimed films of the year and received three Oscar nominations. But I think the stock of this remarkable achievement is going to rise steadily. Frankly, I would have thought condensing the convoluted, indirect, intellectual novel by John Le Carre into a feature film was impossible.  (The British did it with a terrific miniseries starring Alex Guinness, but that was a seven part miniseries.) Instead, the compact film meant that audiences could concentrate intently on the tale of intrigue and betrayal unfolding before our eyes, including a career peak for actor Gary Oldman as George Smiley, a role I thought belonged forever to Guinness. Every element is superb and above all it's a sensational second feature from director Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In). He's a major talent we'll be watching for years to come.


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I. CLAUDIUS ($59.99; Acorn) -- From a new classic to an all-time great. This BBC miniseries based on the novel by Robert Graves is often cited as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. I've said so myself. But how does it hold up? It's been 20 or 30 years since I've watched it and I worried it might seem a bit stagey or tame given what's followed. This is The Sopranos in Rome and maybe all the shows that have come since will make it look stodgy. Ha! First, this newly remastered set looks simply terrific. And the story of betrayal and lust and madness in ancient Rome (with good old stuttering-but-clever Claudius staying quietly in the background and outliving them all) is as soapy and compelling and fun as ever. What a cast! Sian Phillips is stunning as the power-mad Livia, who'd poison her own husband or son to get what she wants. But she's just one of many, including Brian Blessed, Patrick Stewart and of course Derek Jacobi in the title role. Thirty-five years on and it's as compelling as ever. Indeed, one of the all-time greats.


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THE MUPPETS ($49.99 BluRay combo; Disney) -- One of the year's most delightful surprises, Jason Segal co-wrote and stars in a sweet, successful update of the Muppets that features good songs, all your favorite characters, celebrity cameos and just the right mix of knowingness and simplicity (the Muppets are never arch or ironic, thank goodness). Yet again, the Muppets need to defeat a bad guy and put on a show to save their run-down amusement park/theater. It's easily the best Muppet movie since the original. Here's hoping they maintain the high standards in the movies to come. And yes, get the Muppets to host the Oscars!


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THE SWELL SEASON ($29.95; Docurama)
BATTLE ROYALE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION ($49.99 BluRay; Anchor Bay) -- Here are two releases for people needing a new fix on their favorite loves. Fans of The Swell Season and the Broadway show Once can turn to this documentary for a look at the couple at their center. Following them for three years, it watches as their romance fades but they find a way to continue to collaborate fruitfully. Sad but sweet. And if you have already seen The Hunger Games three times and read the books over and over again, why not dive into the Japanese version that got there first? Battle Royale was a novel about a class of students plucked out of their lives and placed on an island to battle to the death. It was always compared to Lord Of the Flies until The Hunger Games books came out. You can read the book and then watch the two films in this deluxe set, which includes the fun original, a director's cut, a lesser sequel and a disc of extras. It is even more hyper-violent than The Hunger Games, so parents take note.


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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER ($39.95 BluRay; Criterion)
TITANIC: THE COMPLETE STORY ($19.95; History/New Video) -- With the 100th anniversary, we're being crushed with Titanic-related programming from a new miniseries to a 3-D reissue of the James Cameron blockbuster, books, articles and on and on and on. But if you take the time to watch only one new release, make sure it's A Night to Remember, the sober, quietly moving British film from 1958 that was scripted by the spy novelist Eric Ambler and is noted for its then-up-to-date historical accuracy, ability to keep the human drama in the forefront and a reserve that makes the tragedy all the more moving. Not surprisingly, Criterion provides loads of great extras, including audio commentary, a 60 minute making-of film, a 50 minute BBC documentary about the disaster, a Swedish show interviewing survivors and archival footage of another survivor, Eva Hart. If you haven't completely gorged, the History Channel's collection of three documentaries is more than 5 hours in all.


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THE DESCENDANTS ($39.99 BluRay combo; Fox)
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO ($49.99 BluRay combo; Sony)
EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE ($35.99 BluRay combo; Warner Bros.)
CARNAGE ($35.99 BluRay combo; Sony)
IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY ($40.99 BluRay combo; Sony)
MELANCHOLIA ($29.98 BluRay; Magnolia) -- Ah, the best laid plans.... Here are six films made with passion and care and the highest expectations. They all fall short, which makes it all the more remarkable when movies do work. These certainly had everything going for them. Most would call The Descendants a major success and rightly so. It enjoyed critical acclaim and serious box office all over the world. I think it's a step back from the brink for director Alexander Payne and certainly George Clooney is as good as ever while Shailene Woodley is one to watch. But for me, the drama was essentially inert -- I never felt terribly involved and kept wondering about the central dilemma: wouldn't the government of Hawaii want to buy the land for a state park, keeping everyone happy? You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who thought this Dragon was better than the foreign language original. Plus, the books becomes increasingly un-cinematic (the foreign trilogy dropped hard in the grosses for movies two and three) so I'd think long and hard before making the sequel. You know a film is in trouble when it's scared of its central storyline -- Extremely Loud was always desperate to insist it's NOT about 9/11, but
"about every day after." Except, of course, it is about 9/11, just not very interestingly. Carnage should have been a slam-dunk but the thin but well-constructed play by Yasmina Reza loses what power it has when you're not literally trapped in a room (or theater) with these characters. A fine cast brings some fun to the proceedings but it's not enough. Angelina Jolie has every right to be proud of her film debut. But it takes a lot of work to grow as a director and not everyone can be Charles Laughton or Orson Welles right out of the box. Next time, she should take on someone's else's script. She's smart enough to make a good director but you know what it takes to get to Carnegie Hall. Finally, Melancholia is a fairly dull end of the world saga set in a stately home (not exactly the sort of folk designed to elicit sympathy as the world comes crashing down). But what  a sensational opening scene -- it's worth owning just to show off your home theater system.


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THE BBC NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION ON BLURAY ($134.99 BluRay; BBC/2Entertain)
THE BBC NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION ON DVD ($179.98 DVD; BBC/2Entertain) -- The BBC has so thoroughly raised the standards of natural history programming that it makes Wild Kingdom from my youth look like kiddie stuff. You really should be watching Frozen Planet Sunday nights on Discovery. And either one of these sets will give you a wealth of amazing television. They both rather confusingly have the same name but contain mostly different specials. The BluRay set is of course demo-ready and it contains the terrific show Planet Earth, along with Wild China, Ganges and Galapagos. All look sensational though Planet Earth is head and shoulders above as programming. The DVD set (which contains 18 discs) is the artistic high point. It features Planet Earth and the landmark Blue Planet, as well as David Attenborough's The Life of Mammals and The Life Of Birds. It's absorbing television of the highest order. You can bet that Blue Planet and Planet Earth will be packaged with Frozen Planet someday soon on BluRay and, if you're like me, you already own at least one of them. But as a starter set, either one is going to blow you away.

MOST TITLES LISTED HERE WILL BE AVAILABLE IN MULTIPLE FORMATS AND IN MULTIPLE COMBINATIONS, INCLUDING DVD, BLURAY, DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, VOD, STREAMING AND THE LIKE. THE FORMAT LISTED IS THE FORMAT PROVIDED FOR REVIEW, NOT ALL THE FORMATS AVAILABLE. IT IS OFTEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE VERSION WITH THE MOST EXTRAS. DO CHECK INDIVIDUAL TITLES FOR AVAILABILITY IN ALL THEIR VARIOUS GUISES AND PRICE POINTS.

Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available  for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and  gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.

Note: Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of DVDs and BluRays with the understanding that he would be considering them for review. Generally, he does not guarantee to review and he receives far more titles than he can cover.
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