Moviesfor Music Lovers:2011 EditionClick herefor the2010editionSome of these films premiered in the US in 2010, but didn't maketheir way to Seattle until this year, in which case I deferred to lo-cal release dates. Some missed the city altogether, in which case Icaught up via DVD, Blu-ray, or download. Altogether, I saw over250 titles, and wrote about most of them for Amazon, Siffblog, Line Out, and Video Librarian (the links lead to my reviews).Just as my 2011 music list revolves around post-punk, a post-punk vibe runs through many of these films. Animals also a-bound, as do animalistic human beings, like Ryan Gosling's Driver with his scorpion jacke

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Songs for Cineastes: 2011 Edition Click here for the 2010 edition. To clear upany confu-sion: Thisisn't a listof filmscores orsoundtracks. It's a list of music recommended for movie loverssuch as myself. Some independent film fans prefer mainstreammovie fare. Similarly, some art house aficionados prefer major-la-bel music. There's nothing wrong with that; I just can't relate to it(and try to avoid giving the Man my money whenever possible).If you share my taste in movies, there's a good chance you mightshare my taste in music. And to further clarify matters, I've drop-ped Swingin' from the title of these posts, i.e. Songs for Swing-in' Cineastes. I t

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December ReviewsThese are the reviews and other pieces I'm working on this month.Amazon DVDs: Griff the Invisible (with Ryan Kwanten), No Strings Attached (with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher),and Wayne Wang's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan [Blu-ray].Amazon Theatricals: Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo andA Separation (from the director of Fireworks Wednesday).Still playing (or yet to open): 50/50, Contagion, The Descendants, Drive, The Help, Hugo, Into the Abyss, Melancholia, The Skin I Live In.Armchair Commentary: Best Art House & International.KCTS 9: on-line original interview ("Grunge: Mem-ories of Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney").Line

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November ReviewsThese arethe reviewsand otherpieces I'mworking onthis month.Amazon DVD: The Tree (with Charlotte Gainsbourg).Amazon Theatricals: Werner Herzog's Into the Abyss,Alexander Payne's The Descendants (with George Cloon-ey), and Martin Scorsese's Hugo (with Asa Butterfield).Still playing (or yet to open): 50/50, Contagion, Drive, The Help,Melancholia, The Rum Diary, The Skin I Live In, and Weekend.Line Out: Graveyard Smash: Thee Cormans - "Openthe Gates," The Darkest of Waves: Soft Moon - Total De-cay, Fucked Forever: SpokAnarchy!, Back for the Attackwith Black Bananas, In the Blue TV Screen Light: JamesBlake vs. Joni Mitchell, German-Enginee

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October ReviewsThese arethe reviewsand otherpieces I'mworking onthis month.Amazon DVD: Smurfs Holiday Celebration, Bedlam - Sea-son 1 [two-disc set], and Whitechapel - The Ripper Returns.Amazon Theatricals: Lars Von Trier's Melancholia (withKirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg), Pedro Almodóvar'sThe Skin I Live In, and The Rum Diary (with Johnny Depp).Still playing (or yet to open): 50/50, Contagion, Drive, The Help, Sarah's Key, Warrior, and Weekend.Line Out: Les Bonnes Femmes - C'est Chic: French Girl Singersof the 1960s (including Anna Karina), Cats & Dogs - Jacuzzi Boys vs. Superchunk, Why Bowie Is the Best, Running up That Hill: Kathryn C

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Movie ofthe Month:Part 31I recentlyreviewedthe follow-ing DVDfor Video Librarian, and thought the results were worth sharing. BAL (HONEY) [***1/2](Semih Kaplanoğlu, Turkey, 2010, 103 mins.)In the conclusion to Semih Kaplanoğlu's Yusuf Trilogy (Yum-urta and Süt), a farming family faces the end of their way of life. Bal centers on future poet Yusuf Özbek (Bora Altas, excellent),a diminutive six-year-old with a stammer and a jingling, CharlieChaplin-like walk who lives in a mountain village in northern Tur-key where he enjoys a close relationship with his beekeeper fath-er, Yakup (Erdal Besikçioglu), who teaches him about the region-al flora, and a perfu

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SeptemberReviewsThese arethe reviewsand otherpieces I'mworking onthis month.Amazon DVDs: Bill Cunningham New York, The 5th Quar-ter (with Aidan Quinn), Henry's Crime (with Keanu Reeves),The Hour (with Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai, and DominicWest) [two-disc set], Secret Diary of a Call Girl - The FinalSeason, and Parenthood - Season Two [five-disc set].Amazon Theatricals: Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law) and Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive (with Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan).Still playing (or yet to open): 50/50, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Circumstance, The Help, Sarah's Key, Warrior, Week-end, Winnie the P

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