Sunday 31 December 2017

Happy New Year 2018



Happy New Year 2018
Here we are again, the last day of the year. Another year went by and that one went super fast. It feels like yesterday I was sitting here writing a New Year post.

In any case, Happy New Year to all readers of this blog. May 2018 bring happiness and joy to all.

So, what happened in that split second that was 2017?

My movie project is continuing more or less as planned. I went from movie no. 368 on the List to no. 422. That makes 54 movies, exactly the same as last year. This has brought me from 1959 to 1963.

I cannot say that I am overjoyed with the List in the sixties, though. My apprehension at all the experimental and obscure films I saw on the horizon was not unfounded. It seems more the rule than not when my reviews take a negative slant, especially when you add the massive amount of French new wave films of which only a few have struck a chord with me. There are highlights of course, and I live and breathe for those, but all that junk taking up space on the List has also encouraged be to introduce a new feature on my blog: two to three movies each year that should have been on the List. It turns out that these years are not actually as terrible as they look on the List, that there are several movies out there that ought to be there instead of some of that dross I am committed to watch.  

I get some help from Bea at Flickers in Time to pick my off-list movies (thank you for that, Bea!) and while I may still be missing some truly wonderful movies, at least I get to pick up some obvious mistakes of the editors. Adding the off-List movies to my count makes it almost respectable too.

On the movie side I also keep discovering new 1001 blogs, which I add to my blog roll. It is great to see there are still people who take on this project and I love reading what other people have to say about the movies I have watched.

On my book blog things are happening in a far more sedate pace. 2017 saw me adding 6 books to my list, which certainly does not sound like much, but is actually better than my stated goal of 5 books per year. It becomes a little better when I add that two of the books completed were 1000 pages bricks, Gargantua and Pantagruel, which I hated and Don Quixote, which I loved. I am in full swing with the next one and expect to review it in January.  Maybe my count sounds better if I add that those 6 books cover a 50 year period. Yeah, now I feel I can hold my head high…

Sadly, I have found very few book blogs doing this project. If anybody knows of such sites, do let me know and I will add them to my blog roll.

Again, I wish everybody a great 2018. May you all enjoy the movies you watch and the books you read and all the things that matter a lot more than movies and books.

Thomas Sørensen

Kfar-Saba

31/12-2017

 

7 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! I own Don Quixote but the page number is intimidating. Will look forward to your movies that should have been on the List. Will you review Raven’s End (1963) by Bo Widerberg? A Swedish film I loved from the Danish 1001 book, a few story elements are a bit dated yet an affecting watch.

    Other films from 1959-63, not in the book, I recommend: Imitation of Life (1959),Ballad of a Soldier (1959),Village of the Damned (1960), The Innocents (1961), Harry og kammertjeneren (1961), Il Sorpasso (1962), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), Ride the High Country (1962), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Fire Within (1963), High and Low (1963), Lilies of the Field (1963)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you as well, Chris.
      I can only recommend Don Quixote. of the books I have reviewed so far, that one is by far the best.
      Raven's End is indeed on the Danish version of the List and therefore coming up for me in a not too distant future. High and Low I reviewed just before Christmas. I remember watching Harry og kammertjeneren ages ago and had forgotten about it. The others I don't know. Perhaps I should look into them.

      Delete
  2. Wishing you a happy healthy 2018! 1964 looks to hold out a bit more hope on the movie front.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You too, Bea. 64 certaintly looks better, here at a distance.

      Delete
  3. So...we've got a good news/bad news situation for you here. The bad news is, well, there's some additional trash coming in the years ahead, and some of these years in the '60s have a ton of movies in them.

    The good news is that you've got some great movies still in 1963 and some all-time greats in the next few years. Really.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Steve, and to you as well.
      Almost every year so far has had its ups and downs. The "downs" are just becomming deeper and more frequent than they used to. There used to be one or two crappy movies in a year, but I think I have been negative towards about half so far in 63. And you say the next years will be more of the same? deep sigh. Well, I will look forward to the good ones then.

      Delete