First entry and I’m already late haha.
Every watch and revisit for the month.
✔️= Recommend
𝙓 = Don’t Recommend
～= Mixed
Hard Boiled (Rewatch) [✔]
Mesmerizing on every watch. Hard Boiled says a lot about what a great action movie can be. Relentless gunfights and a tight emotional core, can’t beat it.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day [～]
Frankly, I was completely unengaged. The story couldn’t focus on anything in particular, with a weak villain, and an almost-decent emotional arc for the hero. I went in excited but left feeling a sort of hollowness. Probably less the film’s fault, and more my disconnection from superhero movies these days.
The Drama [～]
Slowly becomes interesting before devolving into something candidly silly. It’s a story that takes itself pretty seriously without a lot of weight. What made it initially uncomfortable spirals out of control in ways I just don’t buy. However, The Drama looks pretty, with solid acting from the two leads. I admire Borgli’s attempt, though I wish the payoff was more earned.
Burn After Reading [✔️]
While not the Coens at their best, Burn After Reading leaves plenty of humor and twists to keep it an engaging watch. The cast is phenomenal, and though the story is rather conventional (compared to their filmography), it still felt inspired.
Crawl [𝙓]
Cheap alligator monster thriller. Not much to say except it bored the hell out of me. Watched it in Florida so that’s kinda fun, I guess.
Cloverfield [𝙓]
Found footage can be very enjoyable for me, but Cloverfield is full of annoying characters, cliche moments, and trite emotional arcs. I need to watch better alien invasion movies.
The Machinist [𝙓]
Wow, I went on a bad run here. I promise I don’t dislike this many films typically. “Acting vessel” films can be so serviceable, and The Machinist is one of those. The Fight Club–esque story has as much stimulation as paint drying. Can’t stand twists that reveal themselves instantly. Bale clearly commits to the role, and besides that, there isn’t much left here. Simply, meh.
Barbarian [✔️]
Watched on an airplane with one AirPod and still enjoyed this one. Zach Cregger is quickly becoming my most anticipated director. He enjoys unconventional storytelling in accessible narratives. I didn’t know anything going in and was left surprised. Clearly a debut, full of kinks left unironed, but promising and inspired.
War of the Worlds (2005) [～]
Spielberg’s answer to America’s answer to 9/11. Tom Cruise is able to be Tom Cruise, the wonder is there, but the pacing is terrible and the son is an unnecessary dud. Tim Robbins’s part is especially slow. A better alien invasion film, but still fairly mediocre.
Bugonia [✔️]
Pleasantly surprised at how engaging the material is. The film really got me with its characters, ideas, and commentary (however obvious it may be). Bugonia keeps you guessing, largely due to Emma Stone’s cold and calculated demeanor, a type of intensity she’s starting to tap into. That’s not to say Jesse Plemens doesn’t kill it as well. Pretty damn good, maybe my favorite film of the 20s?
10 Cloverfield Lane [✔️]
Nothing especially groundbreaking, but a much-needed improvement over the first. John Goodman is menacing and able to lift the script. Most of the film is self-contained and kept me enveloped in its mystery. A solid slow burn creeps up on you before dropping the ball in the last 30 min, becoming a generic alien/action film.
Funny Games (1997) (Rewatch) [✔️]
One of my favorite films of the 90s. Fair warning, it’s not very funny.
Mean Girls [✔️]
Love me a good chick flick and Mean Girls is one of them. Great to just throw on when you’re tired or drained from the day. There are better but let me have this one.
Groundhog Day [✔️]
Bill Murray is my comfort actor. He’s polarizing to many but if you appreciate him, you can enjoy just about anything he does. Groundhog Day might just be his best leading role. Clever idea mixed with outstanding charisma and timeless irony. It moved me that day and the moral can apply to many.
Psycho [✔️]
My second Hitchcock film, and yeah I get it now. Psycho is cunning and inventive. Anthony Perkins absolutely kills it (no pun intended) and while the first act is slow and meandering, the rest pays off. Excited to explore more of his filmography.
The Conversation [✔️]
Gene Hackman has proved to me time and time again that he was one of the greatest presences to grace our screens. Every quiet moment, you know exactly what he’s thinking. Every paranoid tangent becomes skin-tingling. Coppola captured a fear that was relevant then, and remains apparent in our daily lives. Phenomenal final sequence.
Minions and Monsters [𝙓]
Who was this movie even for? Buster Keaton and Chaplin homages mingled with fart jokes and nonsensical gags. Please tell me.
Lars and the Real Girl [✔️]
Flew under the radar for many, including myself, but telling of Gosling’s range. He is totally believable as this strange but simple human being. Doesn’t go too serious and leaves room for your empathy to slither its way out. Don’t try to explain this movie to someone who hasn’t seen it though, take it from me.
Bad Lieutenant (1992) [𝙓]
A film that doesn’t work for me. You get into it for Keitel, but in an act of self-indulgence, you’re zipped out of it by the end. Have to explore more from Ferrara. Full warning, Harvey Keitel’s penis is in full focus.
The End of Oak Street [𝙓]
Ahhh, I really wanted this to be good. There was truly potential here in an unexplainable way, like the first hour builds upon its own tension and is shot well enough to take away the average blockbuster feeling to the plot. After that, we get a cliché-filled romp with an unearned story! It just needed to be okay, as long as there was some cool dinosaur stuff, but surprisingly it was lacking in that department. I’ll respect the concept and lose-lose potential of a dinosaur film after Jurassic Park, but The End of Oak Street needed more time in the incubator.
From Dusk Till Dawn [✔️]
Had a lot of fun with this one. Heartily original with a wacky, sometimes incompatible cast. Tarantino, just write the damn movie, we don’t need to see you suck feet. Too silly for its own good. Too depraved for its own good. Pretty stupid but still a fun time with good action, great makeup, and entertaining campiness. Keitel is back!
The Terminator [✔️]
Way more focused and horror-forward than I expected. The Terminator makes it obvious how Cameron was able to invade the American cultural zeitgeist. Includes a great villain in an ambitious sci-fi flick. Definitely needed more from Linda Hamilton, and thankfully the next entry would terminate that issue.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Rewatch) [✔️]
On top of the great effects, T2 includes solid character work and a tight emotional core. Hamilton quickly explores her range, becoming one of film’s greatest heroines, and Cameron changes the action sequel forever, while following the previous format. A great villain in an ambitious sci-fi flick.
Wolf of Wall Street (Rewatch) [✔️]
Great movie. Average for Scorsese. That says a lot about him as a filmmaker. Totally quotable with classic performances. Paced within an inch of its life, and you remember scenes like they were your own experiences. Wolf is a film I enjoy revisiting, but the main thing that holds it back from being an all-timer is the thing that makes it stand alone. It is just too grotesque and indulgent at times. Granted, it serves the story well, but it’s not always that enjoyable to watch. It just kind of becomes numbing, which is a solid artistic choice, but becomes more noticeable on each rewatch.