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The Great Movie Conquest of 2022 - January

This fool's errand is the fruition of an idea I've wanted to try out for years now but have always talked myself out of. Watching a new movie a day for one full year is a bit of a challenge for a number of reasons, not in the least of which being that I'm the kind of guy who likes to revisit favorites. As a film lover, I'm prone to expanding my circle and watching films I haven't seen before, I've just never watched a new film every day for a year. So why am I going to attempt to pull that off at all, and why am I going to attempt it now?

I've put off a yearlong commitment because it just felt like too much to bite off. One such time, actually, was right when I first premiered this blog. You know ... the start of 2020? The year where we had nothing to do but watch Netflix all day? Time makes fools of us all, I guess.

I doubt it's ever going to be easier to pull off such a feat, so why not now? 

    Mostly, though, I really just want to help enliven my study of film. There are days when I am cocky enough to consider myself a critic of some expertise--I have seen a lot of movies--but the further I wade into the waters, the more I realize that there will always be more movies for me to see. More corners of the map I have yet to unlock. There are cult classics that have shaped the way movies are made today that I haven't seen. There are hidden gems begging to find their way to the mainstream that I haven't seen. There are sources of national trauma (looking at you, The Hobbit) that I haven't seen. Forcing yourself to diversify your exposure helps develop your palette, and this is a chance for me to do that in a significant way.

Anyways, some highlights from my first month into this endeavor ... 

    I hit the theaters twice in January. First with Belle, then with Scream the next week. Scream was the rare legacy sequel that arguably surpassed the film it was honoring while Belle genuinely left me reflecting on my purpose as a film critic. There was a good two-and-a-half month span this last year where I didn't much care for any of the movies that I reviewed, so I'm grateful that I got to come up for air.

    The passing of Sidney Poitier compelled me to look more into his filmography, leading me to discover Pressure Point, a fascinating intersection between the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and America reflecting on Naziism in the nation some twenty years earlier. I'm genuinely surprised that I haven't come across this exact movie before as both topics have been thrust into the public eye in recent years in such a large way.

I feel like the world should also be aware that in 1952 Cary Grant made a film with his at the time wife, Betsy Drake, called Room for One More. I guess I'd have to research the matter more thoroughly to be sure, but this film has to be one of the earliest onscreen depictions of the foster care system. If you loved the film "Instant Family," I'd heartily recommend checking this one out.

    As recently as this week, I checked out the mini-series version of Stephen King's Salem's Lot after finishing the book this weekend. Regrettably, this adaptation did not leave me particularly impressed. It's fascinating how the film managed to translate almost all of the plot from the novel without carrying any of the personality. We're due for another film adaptation this September, and I'm praying it's much more lively than what we got here. I'm comforted remembering that the recent It movies were both leaps ahead of the 1990 miniseries based on the same novel. Perhaps we can hope for a similar jump when the new film hits theaters (I hope) this fall.

    Anyways, one-twelfth of the way into this trek, and I haven't started to burn out yet. I'm hoping that I find some new favorites with this challenge. Wish me luck. 

--The Professor


An image of The Professor bracing himself for the challenge (I'm the one in the blue)



January's Harvest:

His People (1925)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
The Mortal Storm (1940)
Begin Again (2013)
The Batman (1989)
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
The Grand Hotel (1932)
Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
Room For One More (1952)
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Braveheart (1995)
Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Delightfully Dangerous (1945)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
Belle (2021)
Pressure Point (1962)
Scream (2022)
Armageddon (1998)
The Wild Swans (1977)
Robocop (1987)
I Am Sam (2001)
Children of the Corn (1984)
Tombstone (1993)
The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
The Fisher King (1991)
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932)
All the Right Moves (1983)
Beyond the Moon (1954)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Salem's Lot (1979)
The Tender Bar (2021)
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  1. Mark DavisFebruary 28, 2022 at 2:32 PM

    1989' s Batman is the best of the Batman movies in my opinion. I love the reboot with Christian Bale but the Keaton/Nicholson version is the perfect balance of bleakness and cartoonishness. And of course it is, its a Tim Burton film.

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