I spent a good deal of December either not feeling well leading up to my pacemaker replacement surgery or recovering from the surgery, so my new-to-me film watching suffered, especially out in theaters (though I did do quite a bit of wonderful revisiting to some old favorites). Regardless, I saw some great films in December – and am much closer to finishing off François Truffaut’s directorial filmography! As always, everything I watched in December plus a few words about some favorites can be found after the cut.

1. The Man Who Came to Dinner
2. Kitty (2016)
3. Inner Workings
4. Moana
5. La sirène du Mississipi (Mississippi Mermaid)
6. La mariée était en noir (The Bride Wore Black)
7. Les mistons
8. L’enfant sauvage (The Wild Child)
9. L’histoire d’Adèle H. (The Story of Adèle H.)
10. L’homme qui aimait les femmes (The Man Who Loved Women)
11. La chambre verte (The Green Room)
12. O.J.: Made in America
13. 13TH
14. Into the Forest
15. Jackie
16. La La Land
17. Fences
18. Hidden Figures
19. The River (1928)
20. Underworld: Awakening
21. Keanu
22. Lion
23. No Home Movie

1880s: 0
1890s: 0
1900s: 0
1910s: 0
1920s: 1
1930s: 0
1940s: 1
1950s: 1
1960s: 2
1970s: 4
1980s: 0
1990s: 0
2000s: 0
2010s: 14

I’m not going to talk about 13TH, Jackie, or Hidden Figures because they were featured in my Favorite Fifteen Films of 2016 post from yesterday. Here are some other fave new-to-me films from December:

Kitty, 2016 (dir. Chloë Sevigny)

This is Chloë Sevigny’s directorial debut. The short film was part of Refinery29’s new Shatterbox series, which promotes a new short film directed by a woman each month. This one tells the story of a little girl who wishes she were a cat and what happens when she gets her wish. It’s a little rough at times, but it shows promise for Sevigny as a director and I hope she continues.

L’histoire d’Adèle H., 1975 (dir. François Truffaut)

I watched several Truffaut films in December (as they were about to expire from FilmStruck), and of the ones I watched, this was my favorite. Isabelle Adjani gives a tremendous performance as the titular character.

Fences, 2016 (dir. Denzel Washingt0n)

Every single performance in this film is dynamite. Denzel may not be the most visual or technically challenging director, but boy does he make up for it with his ability to get the best performances from every actor on his set.
The River, 1928 (dir. Frank Borzage)

This film is incomplete. It’s missing about 30 min of footage. What we have left is a gorgeous film about love and the connection between to people. Also Charles Farrell is butt naked floating in a river at one point.

Keanu, 2016 (dir. Peter Atencio)

I wish I had seen this one in theaters as I think it would have been much more fun with an audience. It doesn’t completely work as a feature film, but the parts that do work really work. Key & Peele have such amazing comic chemistry, I hope they keep making films together now that their show is gone.

So that was December. In a little bit I will be posting my 2016 in review post listing everything I watched in 2016 and discussing my cinematic highlights for the year. I hope you have a great first day of 2017 and a wonderful year filled with cinema!