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Hang on in there

10:01 PM / General / 6 Comments

I haven't forgotten about this place, guys. I intend to be back very soon with some actual posts once I've got this thesis done and dusted. I finished the redraft of Chapter 5 (of 7) yesterday evening, so the end is definitely in sight.

See you all at the other end of the tunnel (if anyone's still reading this site, that is).

It's coming together

7:47 PM / General / 12 Comments

Slowly but surely.

Note: some section titles and all page numbers beyond Chapter 2 are placeholders, but the final structure is pretty much nailed down at this stage.

Top 10 films of 2012 - #1

12:00 AM / Cinema / 3 Comments

And there we have it - my ten favourite films of 2012, by UK release date (hence the inclusion of the likes of SHAME, which actually came out in some countries in 2011).

If you're interested, my entire Top 20, as it currently stands, looks like this:

1. Polisse (France, Maïwenn)
2. Argo (USA, Ben Affleck)
3. Skyfall (UK/USA, Sam Mendes)
4. Prometheus (USA/UK, Ridley Scott)
5. Headhunters (Norway/Germany, Morten Tyldum)
6. Killer Joe (USA, William Friedkin)
7. A Royal Affair (Denmark/Sweden/Czech Republic, Nikolaj Arcel)
8. Rust and Bone (France/Belgium, Jacques Audiard)
9. Shame (UK, Steve McQueen)
10. Brave (USA, Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman)
11. Lawless (USA, John Hillcoat)
12. Carnage (France/Germany/Poland/Spain, Roman Polanski)
13. The Innkeepers (USA, Ti West)
14. Ted (USA, Seth MacFarlane)
15. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (UK/USA, Peter Lord)
16. The Imposter (UK, Bart Layton)
17. Ruby Sparks (USA, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris)
18. The Muppets (USA, James Bobin)
19. The Hunger Games (USA, Gary Ross)
20. The Dark Knight Rises (USA/UK, Christopher Nolan)

Top 10 films of 2012 - #2

12:00 AM / Cinema / No Comments

Top 10 films of 2012 - #3

12:00 AM / Cinema / 3 Comments

Top 10 films of 2012 - #4

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Top 10 films of 2012 - #5

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Top 10 films of 2012 - #6

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Top 10 films of 2012 - #7

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Top 10 films of 2012 - #8

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Top 10 films of 2012 - #9

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Top 10 films of 2012 - #10

12:00 AM / Cinema / No Comments

I'm going to reveal these gradually over the next ten days - i.e. at a rate of one a day. Hopefully, by the time I reach #1, those who are interested will already have listened to our podcast on the subject and therefore won't have had any of the surprise spoiled.

Movie Matters #19 - Top 10 of 2012

3:00 PM / Podcast / 14 Comments

Later than intended and longer than anticipated, the Movie Matters podcast returns for its first instalment of the new year. In the first part of this bumper six-hour epic, co-hosts Lee Howard and Michael Mackenzie count down their personal top ten films of the previous year, celebrating both the very best and worst that 2012 had to offer. In part two, the attention shifts to the listeners' choices as Lee and Michael read out and listen to MP3s of submitted Top 10 lists, before turning their attention to the year ahead, revealing their most anticipated films of the next twelve months.

• Part I - Top 10 of 2012
• Part II - Honourable Mentions, Listeners' Lists and 2013 Preview
• iTunes

The music in this episode is all sampled from films in our Top 10 lists.

Created by Lee Howard & Michael Mackenzie
Edited by Michael Mackenzie
Music selection and editing by Lee Howard

PS. Listeners, we want YOUR feedback. What do you think of the format for this year's show? Do you like the listeners' lists being kept separate, or would you prefer them to be interspersed with the hosts' Top 10 lists? Do you like the show being split into two instalments, or would you prefer just to have a single MP3 file? Let us know how this experiment was for you, and we'll take any suggestions into consideration this time next year when we come to do our "best of 2013" show.

http://moviematterspodcast.blogspot.com
http://letterboxd.com/moviematters

Last call for Top 10 lists

3:23 PM / Podcast / 9 Comments

The Movie Matters "Top 10 Films of 2012" podcast is being recorded this Sunday, meaning that tomorrow, Saturday 26th January, will be the final day for submissions of your Top 10 lists. If you'd like to submit a list and have it read out on the show, please post it as a comment here or on my original post from December.

Thanks!

Movie Matters [Mono] #1 - The Eye

5:31 PM / Podcast / 2 Comments

The New Year brings with it the first in a string of single-host episodes as we launch the all-new Movie Matters [Mono] series. Intended as an enrichment opportunity for our podcast and an optional piece of extra content for you our lovely listeners, these Movie Matters [Mono] shows will feature a solo host introducing and reviewing a single film. So join Lee as he hosts the first-ever Movie Matters [Mono] instalment by meeting the haunting gaze of the Pang Brothers' THE EYE (2002).

All feedback and comments regarding the idea of Movie Matters [Mono] and this opening episode most welcome and appreciated.

• Direct link
• iTunes

The music sampled in this podcast is all from THE EYE by Orange Music.

Created, edited and with music selection by Lee Howard

http://moviematterspodcast.blogspot.com
http://letterboxd.com/moviematters

2010 and 2011 revisited

1:57 PM / Cinema / 4 Comments

Happy New Year, everyone!

It's a little early for me to be unveiling my Top 10 films of 2012 (I'll be saving that for the Movie Matters "best of 2012" special, to be recorded in the not too distant future), but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to look at my Top 10 lists from the previous two years and see to what extent, if at all, they've changed since I initially put them together.

Top 10 of 2010

Originally:

1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (USA, David Fincher)
2. TOY STORY 3 (USA, Lee Unkrich)
3. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (Sweden/Denmark/Germany/Norway, Niels Arden Oplev)
4. THE GHOST (France/Germany/UK, Roman Polanski)
5. SPLICE (Canada/France/USA, Vincenzo Natali)
6. PONYO (Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
7. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (USA, John Musker and Ron Clements)
8. WHIP IT (USA, Drew Barrymore)
9. AMER (France/Belgium, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani)
10. VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP & VIDEOTAPE (UK, Jake West)

As of January 2013:

1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (USA, David Fincher)
2. TOY STORY 3 (USA, Lee Unkrich)
3. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (Sweden/Denmark/Germany/Norway, Niels Arden Oplev)
4. MONSTERS (UK, Gareth Edwards) * NEW! *
5. THE TOWN (USA, Ben Affleck) * NEW! *
6. THE GHOST (France/Germany/UK, Roman Polanski)
7. PONYO (Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
8. SPLICE (Canada/France/USA, Vincenzo Natali)
9. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (USA, John Musker and Ron Clements)
10. WHIP IT (USA, Drew Barrymore)

(Two films added, two dropped, five moved positions.)

Top 10 of 2011

Originally:

1. BLACK SWAN (USA, Darren Aronofsky)
2. ANGELS OF EVIL (Italy/France/Romania, Michele Placido)
3. SUPER 8 (USA, J.J. Abrams)
4. THE SKIN I LIVE IN (Spain, Pedro Amaldóvar)
5. THE ARTIST (France/Belgium/USA, Michel Hazanavicius)
6. DRIVE (USA, Nicolas Winding Refn)
7. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (France/UK/Germany, Tomas Alfredson)
8. 127 HOURS (USA/UK, Danny Boyle)
9. FAIR GAME (USA/UAE, Doug Liman)
10. HANNA (USA/UK/Germany, Joe Wright)

As of January 2013:

1. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (France/UK/Germany, Tomas Alfredson)
2. BLACK SWAN (USA, Darren Aronofsky)
3. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (UK/USA, Lynne Ramsay) * NEW! *
4. ANGELS OF EVIL (Italy/France/Romania, Michele Placido)
5. SUPER 8 (USA, J.J. Abrams)
6. DRIVE (USA, Nicolas Winding Refn)
7. THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (USA, George Nolfi) * NEW! *
8. PERFECT SENSE (UK/Sweden/Denmark/Ireland, David Mackenzie) * NEW! *
9. THE ARTIST (France/Belgium/USA, Michel Hazanavicius)
10. THE SKIN I LIVE IN (Spain, Pedro Amaldóvar)

(Three films added, three dropped, nine moved positions.)

2011 was a particularly turbulent year, stemming mainly from my overall disappointment with the line-up of films and the real struggle I had even finding ten titles that I felt legitimately belonged in a Top 10 list - my #2 choice wasn't even added until the night before we recorded our podcast and unveiled our lists! Consequently, quite a few fringe cases ended up being either bumped further down the list or off it entirely as, over the course of 2012, I saw more of the previous year's output. The big surprise was TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, which I found improved immeasurably on a second (and third) viewing, going from a film I originally wasn't sure about including at all to my #1 film of the year.

What about you guys? Do you find that your Top 10 lists from the last few years have changed significantly, or have they remained fairly static?

Post-Christmas sales

4:07 PM / Blu-ray / 3 Comments

Five for £30 at HMV...

Christmas swag 2012

10:21 AM / General / 7 Comments

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here is what I have accumulated this year.

Movie Matters #18 - Christmas Special III

11:19 AM / Podcast / No Comments

In the third annual Movie Matters Christmas special, co-hosts Lee Howard and Michael Mackenzie exchange and review seasonal gifts: Ron Howard's FROST/NIXON and Michele Placido's ANGELS OF EVIL, two well-received recent films based around real life historical figures. In addition, Lee and Michael select and announce a winner for the BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW Blu-ray competition.

• Direct link
• iTunes

The music sampled in this episode is from THE POLAR EXPRESS by Alan Silvestri, SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT by Morgan Ames and Doug Thiele, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION 2: EDDIE'S ISLAND ADVENTURE by Nathan Furst, FROST/NIXON by Hans Zimmer, and ANGELS OF EVIL by Negramaro.

Created by Lee Howard & Michael Mackenzie
Edited by Michael Mackenzie
Music selection by Lee Howard
Audio support by David Mackenzie

http://moviematterspodcast.blogspot.com
http://letterboxd.com/moviematters

Call for Top 10 lists

6:53 PM / Podcast / 9 Comments

The end is nigh! No, not the end of the world. That's just silly. But there are only ten days left in 2012, which means it's once again time for myself and Lee to begin preparing for that most sacred of annual traditions, the Movie Matters "Top 10 Films of the Year" special.

And we want your lists.

Last year, we had an overwhelming response - so overwhelming, in fact, that we weren't able to feature all the MP3s we received in the episode itself and had to do a supplemental mini-episode for them. This year, we're going to be slightly strict and impose a five-minute limit on any MP3 files.

So, send us your Top 10 films of 2012 in either text or MP3 form (email MP3s to moviematterspodcast[dot]gmail[dot]com; either email text lists or simply post them as a reply to this thread). The criteria can be of your own choosing, but let us know what they are - e.g. theatrical releases by UK release date, theatrical releases by US release date, DVD/Blu-ray releases. We'll be recording the show at some point in January - there's no confirmed date yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we have one so you can be sure to get your lists in on time.

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