Films in 2017: May

May was another month filled with a good mix of movies from TCM and FilmStruck (which are of course my go-to sources for movie-watching). I also spent much of the month (as well as in April) re-watching Twin Peaks before the new season, so that’s one reason why the month fell a little short of reaching a number equal to seeing a movie a day. This wrap-up post will be brief today as I’m taking a mini-vacation this weekend and visiting family. So onto what I watched in May…

New-to-Me: 22

Re-Watched: 5

New-to-Me Films by Decade:

  • 1920s – 0
  • 1930s – 5
  • 1940s – 1
  • 1950s – 3
  • 1960s – 1
  • 1970s – 7
  • 1980s – 1
  • 1990s – 2
  • 2000s – 0
  • 2010s – 2

List of New-to-Me Films:

  1. Bound for Glory (1976)
  2. Wild Rovers (1971)
  3. The Rage of Paris (1938)
  4. Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
  5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
  6. Shield for Murder (1954)
  7. No Man of Her Own (1932)
  8. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
  9. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
  10. The Sugarland Express (1974)
  11. Love on the Run (1936)
  12. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
  13. Hold Your Man (1933)
  14. Camelot (1967)
  15. Velvet Goldmine (1998)
  16. An American Tragedy (1931)
  17. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
  18. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
  19. Paris, Texas (1984)
  20. The Beguiled (1971)
  21. Corvette Summer (1978)
  22. Roxie Hart (1942)

A Few Favorite Discoveries:

Camelot (1967)

Camelot (1967), directed by Joshua Logan

After watching Jackie a few months ago, my interest in Camelot grew as the title song from the musical played in one of the former film’s most memorable scenes. Despite being three hours long, it was very enjoyable throughout, and I loved it all from the catchy songs to the intricate costumes. I’ve always liked the King Arthur tale, and Richard Harris was wonderful as the famous medieval figure. Vanessa Redgrave was also radiant in her role as Guinevere, and she had great chemistry with both Harris and her real-life beau Franco Nero as Lancelot.

Muriel’s Wedding (1994)

Muriel’s Wedding (1994), directed by P.J. Hogan

This was a movie I watched on FilmStruck under a theme showcasing Toni Collette’s films, and there’s no better way to display her talents than in her breakout role in Muriel’s Wedding. The film is a ton of fun, filled with lots of humorous scenes, along with some heartwarming moments between Collette and Rachel Griffiths. Also, any movie that features ABBA music automatically gets some love from me.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Smokey and the Bandit (1977), directed by Hal Needham

I saw Smokey and the Bandit as a part of TCM’s Big Screen Classics series with Fathom Events, and I’m sure had I not seen it for the first time in theaters, it’s possible I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as I did. First, TCM host Ben Mankiewicz introduced the movie with so much enthusiasm, it was hard not to be excited for what was to come following it. It’s a great ’70s action movie, and Burt Reynolds is perfectly cast in the title role. Sally Field is also wonderful here as she matches wits with him for one crazy ride across Southern state lines.

Paris, Texas (1984)

Paris, Texas (1984), directed by Wim Wenders

I posted another entry for the 2017 Blind Spots series a few days ago on Paris, Texas, which ended up being my favorite discovery of the month. My thoughts on the film can be found here.

8 thoughts on “Films in 2017: May

  1. Some great films! I love Paris, Texas so much – the imagery, the memories, the story, the acting – SO GOOD! Muriel’s Wedding is such a treat, and The Sugarland Express is excellent as well. There are many movies you listed that I have not seen yet, so thank you for putting them on (or back on) my radar!

  2. Nice mix of decades! I’m eager to revisit THE BEGUILED and WILD ROVERS and would love to discover several of the others, especially MURIEL’S WEDDING.

  3. This is just the strangest of weeks…in three days three bloggers have mentioned Smokey and the Bandit (1977). I definitely see this as a sign that I am overdue to watch this one again. I thought two bloggers/two days was a sign but you’re the third so definitely have to watch it now 😉
    I see you have Wild Rovers on your list. I just recently did a rewatch for a review on that one – curious as to how you enjoyed it?

    • Apologies for just getting to your comment now, but I did enjoy Wild Rovers! I’m down for any movie featuring William Holden, and I liked him in this, it was interesting seeing him opposite Ryan O’Neal.

      That’s so funny about Smokey and the Bandit! I hope you got a chance to watch, or have a chance to see it soon, it’s a fun one. 🙂

      • Don’t worry about the delay…not a problem at all.
        Another William Holden film that I enjoy more than Wild Rovers is The Revengers.
        Haven’t gotten around to Smokey & the Bandit yet – so many movies on my To Watch list.

      • I’ll have to check that one out! And I feel you there, I seem to have a never-ending watchlist of movies.

  4. A first time for ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ AND ‘Shield for Murder’? What a month! I love the tag line for ‘Shield for Murder’: Dame-Hungry Killer-Cop Runs Berserk! And I’ll be re-watching ‘Twin Peaks’ as well, but I’ll have to wait to watch the new season on disc, whenever that will be.

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