July 2015 - MDP Film Journal

Los (James Benning, 2001)

July found me traveling to Alaska for some R&R at my in-laws house and beginning a new viewing project: a study of film noir. I have seen most of the main texts of the genre but have never spent the time to really get my mind around what the genre is and with any clarity or precision. I created a list to guide my genre viewing in that vein which can be found on my letterboxd. It is easy to see that Los Angeles continued to be a major theme of my viewing, as was a large part of the impetus behind the genre study.

With all the vacation time for movie watching, it was a very productive month of viewings.

Best of July 2015
1.  Los (James Benning, 2001)
2.  The Wolves (Kineto Shindô, 1955)
3.  Detective Story (William Wyler, 1951)
4.  Park Row (Samuel Fuller, 1952)
5.  Reign of Terror (Anthony Mann, 1949)
6.  Union Station (Rudolph Maté, 1950)
7.  Crime Wave (André de Toth, 1954)
8.  La Petite Lise (Jean Grémillon, 1930)
9.  Bitter Lake (Adam Curtis, 2015)
10.  The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (Lewis Milestone, 1946)

Favorite Rewatches of July 2015
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (James Cameron, 1991)
Raw Deal (Anthony Mann, 1948)

Films watched in July: 24
Rewatches in July: 5
Total tally for 2015: 125

(I'm borrowing this format idea from Curtsies and Hand Grenades.)