Films That I Saw: January 2016

I hate 2016 and it’s barely been a month since the New Year began. It’s not because of what is happening personally which I’m fine on the contrary. It’s the fact that a lot of good people have died in the past month. Glenn Frey, Alan Rickman, Jacques Rivette, Paul Kanter, Celine Dion’s husband, and her brother. Death is very sad to deal with whether it’s someone you know personally or someone that you idolized. David Bowie’s death really floored me as I first heard about it on Twitter the night of the Golden Globes thinking it was a hoax. Once it was confirmed by his own son, I lost it. It was just a total shock and I couldn’t really do anything as I went to bed crying in my sleep. I spent the next day grieving as reading tributes and such were making me cry which forced me to write my own tribute.

While I’m sure that myself and many fans of Bowie are still processing and coping with this loss. It is worth noting that his music can be used as a sense of healing while discussing his music with other fans through forums and such was also helpful. At the Nine Inch Nails fan forum called Echoing the Sounds, there’s a lot of NIN fans who are also Bowie fans where a project celebrating his music was discussed as I made an announcement about this project that I’m going to do. It will be to not just chronicle every piece of music he made but also to uncover alternate versions of songs as well as rarities and material that many people probably haven’t heard of. For me as a fan, this is something I feel like I have to do as a way to cope.

In the month of January, I saw a total of 34 films. 15 first-timers and 19 re-watches. The highlight of the month wasn’t just one film but an entire trilogy in the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray which I believe are essential in the world of cinema. It’s one of the many reasons why I chose Pather Panchali, Aparajito, and Apur Sansar as part of the Blind Spot series. Here are the top 10 First-Timers of January 2016:

1. The Revenant

2. Bernie

3. Night and Fog

4. Thesis

5. Dear White People

6. The Avengers: Age of Ultron

7. All the Boys are Called Patrick

8. Charlotte et son Jules

9. Riley’s First Date?

10. Nobody Walks

Monthly Mini-Review

Riley’s First Date?

I saw this on YouTube as it is one of Pixar’s best short films as it’s a fitting sequel to Inside Out. Especially as it plays into the idea of parents fearing that their daughter might date while the emotions in their head try to figure out what is going on. It’s definitely one of Pixar’s funniest shorts where it explores what Riley’s parents are thinking where Riley’s mom tries to talk cool only to baffle Riley with Disgust just couldn’t take Riley’s mom’s cool talk. Yet, it’s the people that’s in the head of Riley’s friend that is funny as one of them is Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Top 10 Re-Watches:

1. Safe

2. The Untouchables

3. The Force Awakens

4. Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

5. Casualties of War

6. The Prestige

7. Face/Off

8. 9 to 5

9. A Knight's Tale

10. Superbad

Well, that is all for January. Aside from the 29 Days of Bowie, February will be a month that will feature a few Oscar winners as well as films from the past few years. Aside from upcoming Auteurs pieces on Alejandro Amenabar and Steve McQueen, some of the films I will see in February will include a few from Spike Lee and others in my never-ending DVR list. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2016