December has arrived, which means it’s finally social acceptable to start watching Christmas movies and listening to holiday music! (I actually started just after Halloween. I skip Thanksgiving and jump right into the twinkle lights, wreaths, and garland. Don’t judge me!) Before we become overwhelmed with holiday spirit, let’s take a look back at what I watched in November.

New-to-me viewings: 23

Re-watches: 10

TOTAL FOR NOVEMBER: 33

TOTAL FOR 2016 (so far): 274

Thirty-three is a pretty strong total for the month, considering my end-of-the-semester coursework woes and the fact that one of my free days was spent having a Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life viewing party.

The new-to-me list:

  • The Girl I Loved (1946)
  • While the City Sleeps (1956)
  • Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men (1933)
  • Inferno (2016)
  • Don’t Say a Word (2001)
  • Murder is My Beat (1955)
  • Men Are Not Gods (1936)
  • The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)
  • Arrival (2016)
  • Woman (1948)
  • Lady Snowblood (1973)
  • If I Were Free (1933)
  • Almost Christmas (2016)
  • Cinderella Jones (1946)
  • She’s Having a Baby (1988)
  • Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
  • Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
  • Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
  • Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)
  • Jane Got a Gun (2016)
  • Allied (2016)
  • Grand Central Murder (1942)
  • Carol for Another Christmas (1964)

One classic-era re-watch this month: Ball of Fire, which I revisited for the Stanwyck Filmography Project. Other re-watches included a few belated Halloween viewings (the 2006 version of The Wicker Man, the one and only original Halloween) and plenty of nostalgic viewing (Spice World, About Last Night…, Crossroads, Eternal Sunshine, and Garden State — the last of which, by the way, has not aged well at all).

Viewing methods:

  • At the cinema – 4
  • From my collection – 9
  • From my sister’s collection – 1
  • FilmStruck – 6
  • Movies! TV Network – 4
  • Netflix – 4
  • Warner Archive Instant – 1
  • WatchTCM – 4

FilmStruck launched this month, and I was quick to join up. I watched six films there in November, and (spoiler alert for the reviews) loved almost all of them. Starting this month I’ll be doing a FilmStruck Friday feature where I review a film from that streaming service every Friday (with the exception of the first Friday of the month, which is still reserved for “Favorite things about…”). NOT a sponsored series — I’m just really enjoying the content at FilmStruck and wanted a reason to feature everything I’m watching there regardless of release year!

This was also a big month for viewing from the collection. Nine of the month’s ten re-watches were viewed on DVD or Blu from my collection. Another observation — I didn’t watch a single film live or recorded on TCM this month (though I did watch four from WatchTCM). Unusual behavior ’round these parts! I suspect that will change with the spectacular December programming (Myrna Loy and Christmas movies!).

By decade:

  • 1910s – 0
  • 1920s – 0
  • 1930s – 3
  • 1940s – 5
  • 1950s – 3
  • 1960s – 1
  • 1970s – 2
  • 1980s – 2
  • 1990s – 3
  • 2000s – 8
  • 2010s – 6

That nostalgia viewing really did a number on the stats this month, haha. The 2000s are the most-watched decade, I think for the first time ever! I did manage 12 pre-1970 flicks, though, and reviews are in the pipeline.

The month in blogging:

As mentioned above, I took another look at Ball of Fire for the Stanwyck Filmography Project this month.

The featured “Favorite things about…” film of the month was King Kong (1933).

Continuing my exploration of period films and television, I reviewed the first season of a new 20th century period piece, Amazon’s original series Good Girls Revolt.

Other than that, the month was just full of reviews! A few favorites: Men in War (1957), Private Lives (1931), Tea for Two (1950), and The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936).

It’s hard to believe we’re now in the final month of 2016. I’m equal parts so ready for this year to be done, and so anxious over the beginning of a new year, as I find myself graduating from my certificate program this month and, at long last, entering the “real world.” (If you’ve been a reader for a while you may remember that I got my Master’s last December, but stayed at my graduate school for an additional year to get a technological certificate. Now I’m going to be done done, and on the full-time job hunt.)

In addition to the terror-inducing time of change I find myself in “IRL,” January will close the book on the fifth year of TMP. I’m not sure what the future will hold for the blog as I begin my “real world” career, I’d like to stick around for many years to come. I’ve already started scheduling reviews for 2017, so you won’t see me disappearing any time soon!

I hope you all have a wonderful December, full of movie-watching (and tinsel and snow and holiday cheer, if you’re celebrating Christmas and live in the Northern Hemisphere).