Highs? Plenty of them including sitting in on a total of 571 movies these past 12 months. That’s a big number for me but I must point out I watched plenty of sixty minute programmers from the 1930’s and early 40’s. Easy to shoehorn a couple of them in late at night.

Lows? I’m wondering if I’ve lost a step or two. I’m so busy watching films in my free time that I’ve let my writing slip. As of December 19th I’ve been at this for 10 years. I guess I’ve earned a break.

Time to drop a whole bunch of titles for different reasons to wrap up 2023 pulled from a variety of genres.

Movie Theaters rarely interest me these days and that’s partly out of laziness. I live outside the city and once I’m home from work I’m not overly excited about heading back in but thankfully my two sons have the same interests and sometimes give me a nudge. Just 4 trips….. A chance to see both The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Wild Bunch (1969) on a big screen proved irresistible and as for new films I joined the boys for Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and naturally, Godzilla : Minus One (2023).

Of all the visitors that drop by Mike’s Take throughout the year these are the 5 most hit upon links for 2023. What the Peeper Saw (1972), Jill Ireland Joins Charles Bronson On Camera, Fathom (1967), Midway (1976) and Charles Bronson In the Movies : From A to Z.

New to Me Titles that I think are worthy of mentioning and seeking out …. Marshall of Mesa City (1939), They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), Hollywood Story (1951), Ilya Muromets (1956), Brothers-In-Law (1957), Mill of the Stone Women (1960), The Frightened City (1961), The Witch (1966), The Producers (1968) yes I’m rather embarrassed to admit I’d yet to see the Mel Brooks classic. Witchhammer (1970) and a quirky forgotten gem from Canada called The Rainbow Boys (1973) starring Donald Pleasence.

The Hard Part Begins (1973), Sugar Hill (1974), Fade to Black (1980), Undeclared War (1990), Stone Cold (1991), Villains (2019), Phantom of the Open (2021), Sisu (2022), Nobody (2022), The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) and the previously mentioned Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and most definitely Godzilla ; Minus One (2023).

I found myself binging on the George Sanders’ Saint movies, The Boris Karloff – Mr. Wong flicks, The entire run of Torchy Blane films and finally a dozen westerns starring George O’Brien proving once again there are always more films to discover from yesteryear.

Old Favorites are always plentiful on my year end scorecard, here’s a few of the many revisits … The Maltese Falcon (1941), House of Frankenstein (1944), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Criss Cross (1949), Garden of Evil (1954), Vera Cruz (1954), Comanche Station (1960), Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1964), Shenandoah (1965), True Grit (1968), The Wild Bunch (1969), Mr. Majestyk (1974), King Kong (1976), High Anxiety (1977), Slap Shot (1977), Fright Night (1985), Murphy’s Law (1986), Waxwork (1988), In the Line of Fire (1993), Hard Target (1993) and Bubba Ho Tep (2002).

Which leads me to rediscoveries. Films I’d seen ages ago and either forgotten about or maybe just appreciated them far more upon a revisit ….

Sahara (1943), All My Sons (1948), Treasure Island (1950), A Man Alone (1955), Hell on Frisco Bay (1955), Naked and the Dead (1958), The Hangman (1959), City of Fear (1959), Hell Is For Heroes (1962), Hombre (1967), Number One (1969), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1973), The Missouri Breaks (1976), The Dead Zone (1983), Extreme Prejudice (1987), Sundown (1990), A Bronx Tale (1993), 12 Angry Men (1997),

Guilty Pleasures always offers up a bevy of weird titles, Jack Palance or maybe gross out humor ….

Konga (1961), Queens of Evil (1970), Lady Frankenstein (1971), Daughters of Satan (1972), The Doll Squad (1973), Dracula and Son (1976), Angel’s Brigade (1979), Alone in the Dark (1982), Lust in the Dust (1984), American Gothic (1988), Night of the Demons (1988), Kingpin (1996) and a flick that sees William Shatner and his toupee go toe to toe with karate expert Jeff Speakman in a swamp called Land of the Free (1998).

Sadly I did waste a number of hours this year on movies I place under the Dishonorable Mentions. Meaning I don’t think they’re worthy of your time …. Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Bombs (1966), Speedway (1968) sorry Elvis. Zeta One (1969), Blackenstein (1973), The Blockhouse (1973), Empire of the Ants (1977), Hellriders (1984), SHE (1984), Dead Heat (1988), Fortress of Amerikka (1989), Edge of sanity (1991), Jury Duty (1995) and Six String Samurai (1998). What actually led me to these less than stellar movies? Sometimes an actor or actress. I mean Tia Carrere is in Jury Duty don’t you know.

While my writing output dropped drastically this year I still had fun with a few features including a look at a trio of unrelated Roy Scheider movies that cast him as the U.S. President. A look at Walter Brennan’s singing career, yes you heard me right. A look at some of cinema’s Lethal Ladies. Finally I even had a Q&A with writer Dwayne Epstein on his most recent publication, Killin’ Generals : The Making of The Dirty Dozen, The Most Iconic WWII Movie of all Time. A book he was kind enough to give me a thank you nod to in the acknowledgements.

Memorabilia? Yeah I’m still collecting and my poster/lobby card collection has leaked out into the hallways here at home and overtaken my closet. What can I say. Earlier this year on a road trip to Canada’s capital of Ottawa, I researched the cities my wife and I would pass thru and found a seller looking to unload about 200 posters. Yes they made the return trip. It’s a passion as are the DVD’s and blu rays I have added to the piles here in the vault this year. While I love the work the so called boutique labels do, they are costing me a fortune. Still I wholeheartedly suggest you check out the film libraries of Arrow Video, Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Severin, Vinegar Syndrome, Warner Archive Collection, Scream Factory, Eureka!, Mondo Macabro and Indicator.

I’d be out of line if I didn’t give a big shout out to the customer service that Vinegar Syndrome puts forward. A first class operation.

For the last few years I’ve picked one poster each year from my collection to be restored via linen backing and this year I settled on a 1954 one sheet for the Kirk Douglas epic, Ulysses. The folks at Backing to the Future did a wonderful job of bringing it back to life.

I’m not about to make any promises about what lies ahead here at Mike’s Take as I enter my tenth year of blogging. I’ve got a few ideas and maybe if I find some inner drive I’ll put them together and share some movies and themes.

As always I’d like to thank each and every one of you who take the time to drop in both past and present. May each of you find success in the year ahead and while the world seems a little crazy at times, the one thing we can all agree on and share with each other is a beloved movie.

Looks like I’ve got a few hours till the calendar turns to 2024 which gives me a chance to watch my 572nd film of the year. An old favorite with the Duke.

Cheers and all the best.

Mike Perry.