As for television, I continued through the brilliant True Detective (just two episodes left in S1) and watched the entirety of House of Cards S2, which started with a bang and eventually fell apart under the weight of its surprisingly soapy cheesiness, and a lack of enticing subplots.
New-to-Me Films (In Order of Preference)
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Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) - A timeless classic. My first viewing was a restored and 4K remastered 50th Anniversary blu-ray copy on my TV, but it was spectacular, nonetheless. Phenomenal film-making...on every level.
His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940) - Gee, this script sure does rocket along. Very very funny. I have never seen Rosalind Russell in anything before, but she's terrific.
Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, 1949) - I loved this film. A very-likely major influence on the noir procedural and the rookie/vet buddy cop thriller. Right up there with Kurosawa's best - Seven Samurai, Rashomon and Ran. While its phenomenal technical aspects warrant lengthy discussion, I was fascinated by the thematic layers and post-war setting, the analysis of the different paths taken by veterans - an emasculated and still-green homicide detective (Mifune, outstanding) tracks down an embittered and disillusioned thief/murderer through the unforgiving Tokyo underworld.
Clue (Jonathan Lynn, 1985) - So what's the consensus on Clue? It wasn't very well received initially, but I get the sense that could have had something to do with whichever ending was screened. Three different endings were distributed to cinemas, and the cinemas did not know which one they had. On home video, all of the endings play back-to-back, and a cult following has spawned. I found it to be a hilariously entertaining parody of the Agatha Christie-like cosy school mysteries. I love a good whodunit, and Lynn manages to match the immeasurable campness with intelligence and wit.
Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975) - With sweltering tension and stellar Pacino, Lumet tackles 70's paranoia, marginalized individuals and crime-fueled media circus.
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