Finishing off November movies:

209. (516.) Mean Streets (1973)
Watching Martin Scorsese's most famous early work was like reading Walt Whitman. It feels cliche, but only because it has been referenced so much. Every gang picture owes this film a real debt.

210. (517.) The Last Picture Show (1971)
Fantastic coming-of-age tale. The only other film by director Peter Bogdonavich that I have seen and liked was Noises Off, which has NOTHING in common with this film. Go figure.

211. (518.) Silkwood (1983)
Meryl Streep really is fantastic at creating characters on screen that make you forget she's Meryl Streep. Cher is also really good here. I do wonder, after the fact, how much of this biography is factual. It seems almost to farcical to be based in reality.

212. (519.) The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
I wanted to hate this film. It was directed by Steven Speilberg, and it showed. All his little visceral tricks are in there. But it does such a great job of evoking the feel of the Tintin comics that it's impossible not to love.

214. (521.) Hugo (2011)
Dad described Hugo as weird and confusing. I thought it was magical and endearing. (Then again, I've seen some of Melies' films.) I suspect that it might be the best 3D movie ever made (on a 2D screen, the 3D elements feel far more organic than, say, Avatar), and I'm tempted to find a way to watch it in 3D to find out.

If you're counting along at home, you know I skipped one. That's because I'm saving the best for last.

213. (520.) Disco Godfather (1979)
This film is bad, so bad that it comes back out the other side. Of all the films I watched this month, this is the one I keep recommending. The following scenes are just a small portion of what makes this movie great:

Here's hoping I can do half as good with my movie choices in December.

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