Finally wrote up thoughts on the 250 movies I saw in 2018:
Part 1
Part 2

This year I really need to get back to quarterly film posts. This was far too difficult to do in one fell swoop.

Part 1

Love Assault on Precinct 13.

I've written about The Innocents in my early sixties horror series. It's an amazing movie. (script by Truman Capote!) and very influential on John Carpenter's Halloween.

Vivacious Lady has that incredible slap scene with Ginger Rogers.

I love The Black Cat and White Zombie! What's the problem here?

They both have the weirdness I crave in pre-code horror.

Noirvember:

Clash by Night, Ride the Pink Horse and Criss Cross are all favorites.

I associate Clash by Night in a double bill of my imagination with another Stanwyck melodrama/noir Crime of Passion (with a rare female noir scriptwriter, Jo Eisinger).

Ride the Pink Horse is based on a novel by female crime writer, Dorothy Hughes. (NYRB Classic has started reissuing her work).

Criss Cross is usually a noir double-bill with The Killers for Burt

Thanks, Megan. Delightful resource.

Vivacious Lady has that incredible slap scene with Ginger Rogers.

I'm pretty sure that was on my radar because you suggested it when I did my series on screwballs way back when. At the time I couldn't get a hold of it, but the SFPL just got a copy.

I love The Black Cat and White Zombie! What's the problem here?

Crappy transfers is a big part of it. Also, I'm not a huge Legosi fan. But mostly I watched a lot of horror and they just ended up at the bottom. I rate everything I watch and always put the five lowest on that list. There's a pretty big distance between the three horror films and Mac and Me.

And I've since listened to Karina Longworth's podcast series on Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, which gave me a new appreciation for Bela. Do you listen to You Must Remember This? If not, you would love it I think. Stories of old Hollywood. Mostly stars, but she also did a great series on Manson.

Crime of Passion (with a rare female noir scriptwriter, Jo Eisinger).

I think this is on my noir spreadsheet, if not, I'll add it. There are still so many noirs I haven't seen. BTW, I'm going to try to hit a few of the Noir City double bills at the Castro in a few weeks if you are interested.

Ride the Pink Horse is based on a novel by female crime writer, Dorothy Hughes.

Yes, I had noticed that. I liked her In a Lonely Place (which is quite different from the film) so I might give this one a go. I just finished Bedelia (which is not nearly as good as Laura sadly). There's a film adaptation but I don't know how accessible it is.

Finally saw Spider-verse. I really enjoyed it. Also, as an IT the whole "hacking" scene and it's aftermath was absolutely wonderful.

Also, as much as a lot of things in the Ultimate universe rubbed me the wrong way, I always loved that version of Aunt May, which seemed to inform this one.

I will say I really like the implications that Aunt May in this universe is an accomplished scientist herself. She makes Miles' webshooters, seems very familiar with the various Spider-tech and calls Doc Ock "Liv" which makes me wonder if they were scientific colleagues/friends at one point.

Oh, I'm sure it goes beyond that, given the history of the two characters in 616.

I was aware of that history. I suppose her acid tone could imply a bad breakup.

Some folks at IO9 were throwing out the theory that the reason the Peter Parker in Miles' universe was so successful and had a Spider-cave full of toys was he fessed up to Aunt May early in his career and she took the Lucius Fox role in his super heroing.