I've enjoyed maintaining my Books Read list for the last few years and thought I'd give movies a try as well.  Still not sure exactly what I'm going to count.  Only movies that are new to me?  Only movies seen in an actual theater?  Any movies?  What about movies that I've already seen a dozen times and am now half-heartedly watching on TV while I do other things around the house?  I think it'll be movies I'm making an effort to sit and watch, whether new to me or an old favorite (I do have a good-sized DVD collection).  As with the reading list, current month reviews will stay up until I see the first movie of the succeeding month.

1. Larry Crowne
2. Midnight in Paris
3. When Harry Met Sally...
4. Places in the Heart
5. Moneyball
6. Friends (Seasons 1 and 2)
7. Coraline
8. Juno
9. The Artist
10. Friends (Season 3)
11. Tree of Life
12. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

FEBRUARY

Finished up Season 3 of Friends on February 1st.  I'm not sure I'd put it near the top of my favorite seasons, but it does include what is perhaps my very favorite episode, "The One Where Monica and Richard Are Friends".  That story and Phoebe's boyfriend who is "coming out" are both wonderful, but Rachel and Joey reading each other's all-time favorite books is one of the best stories in all ten seasons of the show!

Since I was surprised to discover I had watched 7 of the 9 movies nominated for Best Picture, I figured I might as well try to see the other two before the Oscars telecast.  Even Tree of Life which held little interest to me.  Now, I didn't completely hate it, but if they had cut anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes of this movie, I probably would've liked it a lot more.  Not that it was too long but because there was so much of the movie that was so completely "What the hell is going on?" that I didn't enjoy it.  On the plus side, it was beautiful, both in images and in sound, and there was a lot of the movie I really enjoyed because of the feelings it invoked so well.  Nostalgic memories of innocent and fearless childhood.  And feelings that, although I couldn't specifically relate to them myself, were so poignant here--the complicated relationships between fathers and sons, between brothers.  Overall, I found it way too metaphorical and bizarre but there were some redeeming features.

And now my Best Picture Oscar watch is completed.  I went to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close this afternoon.  It probably doesn't have a prayer of garnering any major awards (though Max von Sydow could surprise in the Supporting Actor category) and I will even concede that it is probably not the best picture of the year, but I do think it was my favorite of the nine nominated films.  I don't often cry in public theaters.  I might get a little teary, or need to wipe away tears with my sleeve, but I was crying pretty hard in the middle of this movie and by the time the last scenes rolled around, I was digging frantically in my bag for a tissue.  I ended up using two of them and must have cried enough to garner some attention because as the credits were rolling, the grandmotherly woman two seats down from me patted my arm before she got up and left.  Although I was mildly disappointed by the fact that I guessed at the very first mention the connection between the boy and The Renter, there were several other surprises that I wasn't ready for that made up for it.  It was a very emotional movie, very touching, and yet with enough moments of laughter to keep me from wanting to slit my wrists.  I will probably own this one eventually.