After my lackluster input in June, I stepped up my game during July. Caught more films, wrote more articles, and attempted to reach out to new writers and websites throughout the month. Here’s the full rundown of what I watched over the past 31 days. Enjoy!

New Viewing:

The Front ~ Woody Allen not playing a neurotic, rather a front for blacklister writers during McCarthyism.

The Amazing Spiderman ~ A reboot that surprised us all with pure entertainment.

Smart People ~ Dreadful exploration of pseudo intellectualism.

Earrings ~ Withrow’s dark and eerie debut that emotionally delivers.

The Sting – May just top the buoyancy and chemistry of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

A Guide For Married Men ~ Matthau charms in this provocative 60s comedy.

The Dark Knight Rises ~ Scintillating conclusion to a super-hero franchise that has perpetually dared to dream bigger.

The Big Year ~ A terrible film until the final heartwarming 20-minutes.

Savages ~ Oliver Stone going back to his pulpy action film roots, just not in a good way.

Tales From A Script ~ An intriguing documentary providing us with a inside look of Tinsel town and how they treat screenwriting.

Goon ~ I’m not sure why everyone fell head over heels for this film?

To Rome With Love ~ Conventional Woody Allen pastiche set in the Eternal city.

George Harrison: Living In The Material World ~ The existential one.

Stalag 17 ~ Never misses a beat with fun characters and an ingenious perspective of World War I.

Being Flynn ~ De Niro delivers a brilliant performance worth of a better film.

Robocop ~ I’m sorry Eric!

Mr. Popper’s Penguins ~ Embarrassment and travesty considering the amount of talent Jim Carrey contains.

Sleeper ~ Not a fully-fleshed story and lacks any of the wit and humor Allen has shown us time and time again.

Magic Mike ~ For a film that revolves around male stripping, it’s an effective stylized drama.

Repeated Viewing:

Stardust Memories ~ Allen channeling his inner Federico Fellini. More and more I watch this film, the more I begin to appreciate its commentary on a filmmaker searching for reason and purpose.

Unstoppable ~ Insipid filmmaking has never been so enthralling to watch.

Jerry McGuire ~ Sentimental to a fault. Thankfully, it’s Cameron Crowe.

12 Angry Men ~ No 10-15 word sentence can even come close to adequately describing the greatness Lumet’s debut possess.

Pulp Fiction ~ Zeds dead baby. Zeds dead.

48 Hrs. ~ Buddy-cop that breaks the barriers, Murphy and Nolte are electric on screen.

His Girl Friday ~ Some of the finest screenwriting in the history of cinema.

Woody Allen Documentary: Part 1 & 2 ~ Just about a perfect documentary detailing the life of one of the greatest filmmakers in cinema.

The Third Man ~ Middling midsection, but showcases three incomparably brilliant scenes.

Game Change ~ Politically grounded reincarnation of the 2008 Presidential primaries.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ~ I’m still not in love with this movie.

Cedar Rapids ~ Looses some of its humor on repeated viewings – still an infectiously charming comedy.

Films Seen in July: 30

Films Seen in 2012: 205

The Essentials:

12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940).

George Harrison: Living in a Material World (Martin Scorsese, 2011).

Stalag 17 (Billy Wilder, 1953).

The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973).

The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949).