The final 8 movies watched in February, making a total of 28! I strongly doubt I will approach one movie a day in any other month this year.

33. (340.) Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
I would've expected a film that featured John Cusack and Chevy Chase to be more accurate in depicting the atmosphere of the 1980s than this. Considering that we are more than 2 decades removed from the era, I should expect modern media to remember only the most caricatured aspects of the decade as found parodied in a modern Nickelodean teen sitcom. I did enjoy watching this film, but its false nostalgia was less satisfying than I think it was meant to be.

34. (341.) The Stunt Man (1980)
Great movie. The opening of the movie, as the criminal runs from the cops through the woods and stumbles into a movie set of a WWI war movie shooting on a beach in modern California, is a tremendously enjoyable entrance into the openly referenced Through the Looking Glass Hollywood fantasy-world in which the movie takes place. I loved it.

35. (342.) Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
For what it's worth, this is superior in all ways to Ocean's Twelve.

36. (343.) Safe House (2012)
An action/thriller spy movie with the genre-standard who-can-you-trust plot twist and entirely unnecessary Bourne Identity-emulating unsteady-cam. It's all right if you're in for that sort of thing, but it's really not very deep.

37. (344.) The Broadway Melody (1929)
Also not deep is this cliche-ridden musical. This, the first talkie to win Best Picture, has one greatly redeeming number, "Wedding of the Painted Doll," which stands up well over time. More amusing is the fact that the more attractive of the two female leads is the one that the movie treats as comparatively ugly (Bessie Love). Go figure.

38. (345.) Drumline (2002)
Shallower and shallower. Stop me if you've heard this one: very talented boy learns what it takes to make it in the cutthroat of competitive college sports. That in this case the sport happens to be "marching band" is the closest that this film deviates from this well-worn movie cliche.

39. (346.) Out Cold (2001)
A comedy of the same sub-genre as Hot Tub Time Machine, which we may as well call "Meatballs on ice." I did much enjoy Lee Majors as the Snidely Whiplash of the picture.

40. (347.) The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The bio-pic is a genre that I have greatly mixed emotions about. What's the point of learning about someone's life in the most inaccurate way possible? I will say that the film inspired me to look up some more factual history of Ziegfeld and his cast, which I wouldn't have done otherwise. I've come to like William Powell, and his snappy delivery of some clever dialogue — did Flo Ziegfeld really say any of these things? — and his interactions with Frank Morgan gave me plenty to watch between the elaborately staged musical numbers. (Added bonus: Ziegfeld's second wife is played by Myrna Loy!)

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I enjoyed keeping track of my movies watched last year, so even though I don't have any goals for 2013, I'm just going to keep on tracking.

I watched 12 movies in January, which puts me on pace for 144. I think that's probably about average for me, as that's what I initially expected when I planned to watch 150 last year. I guess we'll see if I keep up that pace.

1. (308.) Love Crazy (1941)
Another William Powell and Myrna Loy film, this time firmly in the "screwball comedy" genre. Like all screwballs, the plot is more forced than the average primetime situation comedy, but the interaction between Powell and Loy is, as always, fantastic.

2. (309.) Rounders (1998)
This film featuring Matt Damon as a poker savant denying his destiny and his chance at love has a strong Good Will Hunting vibe. I didn't like Good Will Hunting.

3. (310.) The Swan (1956)
Grace Kelly plays a wannabe princess, but it's really Alec Guinness who steals the show as the aloof prince. This movie shows its age at the end: 21st-century Hollywood would NEVER tolerate this film's fitting finale.

4. (311.) Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Just because a movie is intended for kids doesn't excuse a script from being this bad. Fortunately, all the actors -- who I suspect are all Robert Rodriguez's drinking buddies -- know how bad it is and are all trying to out-ham one another.

5. (312.) Rififi (1955)
To get the taste of Spy Kids out of my mouth, I turned to this French caper film. Truly a must watch for anyone who loves noir cinema.

6. (313.) Island of Terror (1966)
My friend Otto paid $90 for a copy of this late 1950s British sci-fi/horror film. That was money well spent.

7. (314.) Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
An Italian lampoon of the caper sub-genre that is genuinely funny, if a little long-winded.

8. (315.) Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
Oh, Nic Cage. Just because someone tells you you only have two options ("commit suicide" or "steal 50 cars in 12 hours") doesn't mean you have to immediately take his word for it. But you're not really know for making good decisions, now are you?

9. (316.) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
There may be too much James Bond in this Sherlock Holmes for my taste (it brought to mind my least favorite Agatha Christie mystery, The Big Four), but it is entirely worth it for the Holmes/Watson interaction.

10. (317.) Gosford Park (2001)
I can't say enough great things about this murder mystery story. If you haven't seen it, correct that mistake.

11. (318.) Suspicion (1941)
An early Hitchcock where Cary Grant plays the scheming villain. Not Hitchcock's best work, but not bad by any stretch.

12. (319.) A Thousand Words (2012)
Did I just say "bad by any stretch"? This film is too risque for kids and too juvenile for adults. It's nothing but an excuse for several un-funny "comedy" bits glued together by a clumsy smattering of forced sentimentality. IMDB.com says this performed so poorly in the U.S. that it's overseas release was aborted. Don't let it be said that there isn't at least one advantage to living in Greece.

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These statistics from my year-long movie watching experiment in 2012 may interest no one but me, but it's my blog. So there.

First up is actors. You can see the totals for January through June here.

• July: Arthur O'Connell, Ryan Gosling (2)
• August: Lillian Gish (2)
• September: Karl Urban, Maureen O'Hara, the Thunderbirds cast (2)
• October: Jonah Hill, Lionel Barrymore, Owen Wilson, Rance Howard, Regis Toomey, Stephen Colbert (2)
• November: Tilda Swinson (2)
• December: Dee Bradley Baker, Myrna Loy, William Powell (3)
• Total: William Powell(8); Kristen Stewart, Myrna Loy (7)

Comedies continued to be the big draw for me, 82 in all. What can I say, I like to laugh. Dramas was a distant runner up overall, although there were as many months in which I watched more action movies than any other type as there were months where dramas were the leading category (2 each).

By the end of June, I hadn't seen any director's work more than two times. By the end of the year, I smashed that ceiling, seeing more than 2 films from four separate directors (W.S. Van Dyke [5], Frank Capra [4], Morgan Spurlock [3], David Gordon Green [3]). Van Dyke directed the best of the Thin Man movies, and was very skilled with giving the actors room to work and showing the clues to the mysteries, without making it entirely obvious that was what he was doing. I enjoyed his work.

Given that I've seen all 5 Twilight movie this year and that they were all written by Melissa Rosenbrerg, it seems a no-brainer than she should be the most-watched screenwriter of the year. And she was. The only other writer I saw more than twice was Frank Capra's frequent partner in crime, Robert Riskin (4). For the record, I saw multiple films from 20 different writers, and Paddy Chayefsky and William Rose both stand out from the crowd.

In case you were wondering, the studio that released most of the pictures I saw was Warner Brothers (35), although MGM (34) ran a close second. I've always had a soft spot for WB films, probably because I must share some of their sensibilities. They do own DC Comics, after all.

It must be something of the Obsessive Compulsive in me, but I really enjoyed keeping track of the movies I watched, maybe more than I enjoyed watching them. Even if I don't set any goals for 2013, I might keep tracking, just for giggles. We'll see what we shall see, won't we?

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The big movie experiment of 2012 is finally complete.

299. Gun Crazy (1950)
This movie is your typical "boy loves girl, girl loves murder" story. It's obvious pretty quickly that this isn't going to end well for the boy, but isn't that always the case?

300. Another Thin Man (1939)
The Thin Man movies are easily the highlight of my 2012 movie experiment. Not a bad one in the bunch.

301. The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
I read that Rob Zombie set out to make a Scooby-Doo episode with cursing and nudity. As much fun as that may sound in concept, no one wants to watch a 90-minute long Scooby-Doo episode. As my movie-watching buddy Otto would say, "it's not very good, but at least it's long."

302. The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
I had to get the final, unseen Thin Man in under the wire. I'm getting good at figuring out who the guilty party is in these mysteries. Too bad I've seen them all. I look forward to watching them all over again in a few years once I've forgotten who the murderers are!

303. Speak (2004)
I think having seen this movie, made when Kristen Stewart was 14, it becomes hard to defend what she does in Twilight as "acting." There is exactly one scene in this movie where Kristen briefly acts extroverted and excited, but for the rest of the film she plays the same wallflower you see when you watch her promote her films on talk shows or "act" in other movies. Is "typecasting" the right word when you're always asked to play yourself?

304. The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
Silly and all too short, this film seems to have been made for the DVD generation. There's far too much detail on the screen to take in with a single viewing.

305. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
I expected to hate this direct-to-DVD adaptation of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. And I did.

306. Justice League: Doom (2012)
Why do these television adaptations of comic book super heroes have to display super heroes as borderline weak and incompetent? This film plays with that cliche in its conclusion, but doesn't manage to salvage my irritation at several scenes of heroes acting like teenagers gone wild.

307. I Love You Again (1940)
I closed the year with a William Powell/Myrna Loy film that isn't a Thin Man movie. The pair lived up to expectations, which should be no surprise considering that they appeared in 14 movies together overall. The studio wouldn't have done that if it wasn't working.

So that's it: 307 new-to-me movies watched in 2012. That means I started a new movie, on average, nearly once every 28 hours. I don't think I'll try to break that record in 2013, so I guess I'll have to try to find something else to occupy my time. Any suggestions?

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Twelve more for July 2012:

175. The Thin Man (1934)
Seeing the c-list actors they assigned to round out its cast, it's obvious immediately that MGM didn't expect this film to be great. Myrna Loy and William Powell are so adorable together, it's hard to believe that the company didn't recognize the film would be a sure-fire hit as soon as the cameras started rolling. Highly recommended.

176. Frankenstein 80 (1972)
Every few years, someone tries to update the old monster stories by adjusting the science or politics. In this case, the modern "science" is a bottle of neon-blue juice instead of lightning. Wow. Too bad Mary Shelly didn't think of that.

177. The Ides of March (2011)
Dad watched this movie and told me it sucked. Trey watched this movie and told me it was great. It's a pretty damn cynical movie, and of course I liked it.

178. Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
Sweet, sweet Emma Stone. I never, ever want to meet you in person. You cannot possibly be as awesome in real life as you are on the silver screen.

179. The Naked City (1948)
IMDB.com recommended this to me because I watched In Cold Blood. This movie is like a 2-hour Dragnet episode. In other words, it's awesome.

180. 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
Tony Randall must have been quite a power broker to get MGM to make this vanity project. Sure, the makeup and effects are great, but there's not enough pancake makeup in the world to disguise 2-hours of tired sight gags as plot. Very boring.

181. East of Eden (1955)
Really, I hate Steinbeck's stories. If he were writing today, his work would be called teen fiction. "Oh, what is my place in life? Why is this happening to me?" Repeat for 200 pages, close book. Ugh. At least now I've seen the complete filmography of James Dean as a lead actor. All three of them. What a shame.

182. My Favorite Year (1982)
I don't think I've ever seen a movie set behind-the-scenes of television/movies/radio/theater that I didn't enjoy. (Heck, The Player, Radioland Murders, Noises Off! are some of my favorite films.) Add this to the stack.

183. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Another behind-the-scenes of Hollywood that manages to be a comedy and a message movie at the same time. The third act seemed a little long, but writer/director Preston Sturges is trying to make a point. Since the first two acts built up such good will, I'm not willing to pick a fault with it. I think, in fact, I'll seek out more Preston Sturges movies.

184. 41 (2012)
This documentary on the life of George H.W. Bush relies entirely on interviews with the man himself, and is therefore less robust than I would have hoped. More autobiography than journalism.

185. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
I'd been trying to decide if I wanted to watch this movie for years. After seeing Ryan Gosling in two other movies this week, I decided to take the plunge. Gosling is impressive in the role, and the film is gently sincere. I'd gladly recommend it, but I'm not sure I could sit through it again.

186. Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
Yes, Natalie Wood was sexy. No, I still don't like her. This movie is what passed for a raunchy sex comedy in the 60s, being some combination of risque vaudeville routines and leftover It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World slapstick from the year before. I'm no fan of Mad, Mad World, which like this movie fails to respect the old truism about the relationship between brevity and wittiness. Listen, Hollywood: nothing is funny for 3 hours.

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The following are the rest of the movies I watched in May.

127. Drive Angry (2011)
This movie was a surprise. I chose to watch it because my brother made a joke about Nic Cage and I set out to demonstrate that everything they say about Cage's acting is true. You can say this about the guy: he leaves it all on the screen. Years from now, this film will be used in college classes to demonstrate that Nic Cage is to cinema as Velveeta is to cheese. That said, I loved this film. From a storytelling standpoint, it does so much right that it's easy to forgive its forced Tarantino-esque dialogue and cliched characterization. This is the film that Robert Rodriguez keeps trying -- and failing -- to make.

128. Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011)
As Trey said, "there is no point while watching this movie that you think, 'this is a good movie.'" But it's not trying to be a good movie. It's a bad movie that's got some good jokes that blindside you for big laughs. After watching this, I happened to watch the first 15 minutes of the 2012 AVN Awards on Showtime, where the porn stars being interviewed on the red carpet made awkward and clueless Bucky Larson look like an Oxford professor. Oh my.

129. Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Just like its predecessor, I wanted to dislike this flashy Dreamworks Disney-esque kung-fu cliche, but it's too cute to hold a grudge against.

130. The Ladykillers (1955)
I saw the Coen brothers remake years ago without realizing at the time it was a remake. (I know. I'm clueless.) The remake is good; the original is better, simultaneously funny and suspenseful without ever overplaying its hand.

131. The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
Trey, this is a film in which the death of a dog does not ruin the film. Don't worry: the guy who dies in this whodunit is the one who killed the dog. He got his comeuppance! Suave and comedic, sleuth William Powell may be among my new favorite actors.

132. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Watched because I had read the story and seen many variations (*cough* Ice-T is Surviving the Game! *cough*), this film stand up very, very well 80-years after it was made.

133. Ride the High Country (1962)
This is another one of those movies that I appreciate more as time passes. I was dissatisfied with what I felt was a meandering story (and some really cheap sets and action-blocking) by mid-way through this Western, but in the end, they are relevant to the outcome and message of the film. Recommended.

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