I have been watching a lot of movies as of late. Usually 1 or 2 for every weekday night and many more on the weekends. These past few weeks are as follows:
Song of the sea - Loved it. You can find a lot of Irish mythology in this but even better is the hand drawn animation. You can tell a lot of love went into it and I liked it a lot more than a lot of the cookie cutter Disney animated movies that have been coming out. Touching story, nice flow to the movie.
Gravity - First of all, BEAUTIFUL visuals. My wife did not like it but I understand, you have to be in the right mood for this. At the very least, you do not need to think as plot is pretty bare bones. Plain and simple, eye candy, but oh so enjoyable!
A cat in Paris - Short and sweet, I loved the pacing of this movie. Interesting story, great style.
Akira - The story is a little confusing and might require a 2nd watch, at least in parts, to fully grasp. A lot was packed into one movie and it shows, for better or worse. With that said, for 1988 the animation is absolutely mind blowing!
Demon Seed - Starts a bit slow but the tension that develops is unavoidable. I liked it a lot. Very good for a 70s movie.
District 9 - Started off slow but the 3rd act is where it really came together. Tons of potential but I do not like the found footage-esque style, of the first 2 acts especially. Overall, I would recommend it just the same as you actually feel a little sympathy for certain..things you would not expect.
Mad Max Tetralogy - I saw all four in the span of about 10 days or so. Amazing stunts for such old movies (the first 3) and despite going big budget for the 4th, I really felt the movie did NOT lose its soul in the process but, instead is one of the best action movies I have ever seen. In fact, it even had a good plot IMO, by action movie standards at least. I love dystopia films and this one (4th) hits the spot! The first 3 are not without their faults, including sometimes confusing story development, but are recommended just the same.
House Party - A "turn your mind off" movie I have seen a few times over the years and saw it again about a week and a half ago. My (Colombian) wife got a kick out of the slang and the story is simple to follow.
National Lampoons christmas - Why? Just showing my wife some movies I liked as a kid. This one holds up after many years and we got a kick out of it.
5 Centimeters per second - GORGEOUS animation, some of the best I have seen in my life. So good it makes up for a movie that is a bit slow at times. However, it is also very short and ends rather abruptly, seeming to set up for (I hope) a sequel. Gentle movie about young love.
Leon the Professional - Awesome movie!
Kramer vs Kramer - I watched it, I think, for the third time recently. Very touching, awesome acting.
Me before you - My wife told me about this one. Not one for romance movies, but this one is better, good story, nice twists, touching overall.
12 Feet deep - The premise sounds stupid but it is actually quite ...decent. Girls get trapped under a fiber glass pool cover and are locked in the building to boot. It does not sound plausible, I know. But as I watched it I said to myself "Somehow how they get trapped, by movie logic, somehow kind of makes sense. Not the best, but not bad and at least some directors are trying something new.
Clerks - Another movie I watched as a kid and wanted to show my wife. She did not like it. Has some potty humor but great jokes too and cinematography.
Back to School - One of those movies I watched as a kid and showed to my wife when neither of us wanted to think. RD is funny, one of his best. We liked it enough.
Circus Kane - Just. Awful. I want 90 minutes of my life back.
Killer clowns from outer space - Just, no, just like the above clown movie, terrible. Even for B movie standards, god awful acting. Only redeeming factor is to tune in quickly, for 5 minutes or so to check out the cool clown masks, which were indeed well done. That is it.
Meatballs - A young Bill Murray, of course I had to watch this! My first time watching this and a nice romp! For sure a product of its time (1979) but fun just the same.
Soylent Green - Why does this movie get so much love? Painfully boring, sorry and super slow. Fast forward to the last 5 minutes or so, only part worth seeing. I LOVE dystopia films, so I wanted to like this. I prefer Logans run as far as mid 70s dystopia.
Blade Runner - Had to pause this because my wife was exhausted, 30 minutes in but seems promising. Hope it is good. Will watch tomorrow.
EDIT: Finished this one. I feel like it has so much potential but does not quite live up to it. I love the atmosphere it creates, nice music used sparingly but effectively. But just a little too slow for my tastes.
Whats Eating Gilbert Grape - A bit slow but a beautiful and bittersweet movie. Leo at his best, IMHO. (I do not like Leo, here he was just amazing).
The great outdoors - Another one I wanted to show my wife. She liked it okay. Not sure it has stood the test of time as other comedies of its time.
The Purge Election Year - Okay guys, enough with these movies. For real.
The secret of kells - Found this one to be boring with a messy plot. Song of the sea is way superior!
Unfriended - Just god awful. One of the worst I have ever seen.
jumanji remake - Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Worth it.
Don't hang up - Another cheesy low budget horror flick. Nothing new here and some annoying cliches, like the main characters making every mistake in the book. But I like that they get what is coming to them, so to speak as they are such dbags at the start.
Movies I will watch soon, in my que:
The gods must be crazy - I could watch this a million times. Just a great movie. I will watch it for the 1,000,001 time to show my wife, haha.
Airplane - want to watch again soon to show my wife.
The red turtle
Darbareye Elly - I am really interested in Iranian films, this will be my first.
Persepolis - Ditto the above.
St. Elmos fire - Another one I want to show my wife from when I was young. Ahhh Gtown.
The Triplets of Belleville
Stand by me - A coming of age movie I loved as a kid and want to show my wife.
PART TWO:
(and I am sure I am forgetting a few)
The burning - For an early 80s low budget slasher flick, not actually that bad. If you view it using the aforementioned standards. Camera work was low quality but character development is decent for an 80s horror flick and the worst actors die the quickest, thankfully.
The boxtrolls - Starts a bit slow but by the end you develop sympathy for the boxtrolls. They are cool. Some fine stop motion in the vein of Coraline, though that movie is better.
John Wick - A well put together movie and a lot of action, though I have seen better action scenes in other movies and there were plenty of cliches like the bad guys missing easy kill shots and taking their sweet time to kill John, like, seriously? Overall, an enjoyable movie, and all for a dog...(and yes I get the meaning behind him).
THX 1138 - George Lucas' first full length film and it shows its age. This has not aged well but there are some interesting qualities that would be shown in future GL films and some worthwhile scenes, including the last 10 minutes.
The running man - More or less, Hunger games ripped this movie (and a few others like Battle Royale and Logans Run) off. Despite being old, 1987, it is a more bad *** version of H. games. Superior.
The Secret World of Arrietty - Studio Ghibli does it again! They have a knack for creating gorgeous environments that just suck the viewer into its world. An intelligent kids movie during a time that is bombarding kids with, well, just dumb trashy flicks.
The Woman - Did not like it. No artistic merit, just torture p***. Few redeeming qualities.
The loved ones - Considering what I said about the above movie, you might expect me to dislike this one, but actually it was "torture" "done right" with an interesting (for horror flicks) plot.
Stepbrothers - A "bro" movie that immature HSers or drunkern frat boys might enjoy. Otherwise, just a Peepee and poopie jokes kind of movie including a scene when Riley puts his junk on a drum set. For real? No redeeming jokes or scenes, sadly. It had potential but the movie decided to take the low brow angle right from the start. Does not really work when both main characters are basically playing the same role but..
Chuck and Buck ....though not great, this movie is a more mature look at what happens when ONE, out of the duo, of old friends fails to grow up. Character development is more nuanced than the aforementioned movie and the writers do not take the lazy way out by making the duo quite different from each other. The twist at the end was expected though Buck plays a creepy boy child well.
Seeking a friend for the end of the world - Meh. An over rated plodding Indie flick. The two main characters have to be some of the most boring duos ever, like, I did not care about the chemistry between them at all. Sad, a good premise gone to waste.
She's Out of My League - Another bro movie, but a slightly more intelligent (than stepbrothers) bro movie with the cliche, and expected, twists at various parts of the movie.
Laputa - Castle in the Sky - Beautiful, and older, Studio Ghibili film. Nothing really to say, but it is a great adventure with top notch animation that has aged very well.
Hounds of Love - There seems to be a trend towards these types of "kidnapped, now escape before you die" types of movies. It is a brutal movie BUT all of the brutal stuff happens off screen. The sound effects are used to full effect, making the scenes all the more disturbing as you are forced to use your imagination...
Berlin Syndrome - Another trapped/now escape movie! I found the character development to be poor and the choices the main girl made to be, well, maddening in an obnoxious kind of way. Over rated Indie flick IMO though some people could find some things to like about it, the pacing is off.
Fast Times At Ridgemont High - A childhood favorite of mine, most people have seen this I am sure. For a cheesy 80s teen comedy, it has aged well.
Darbareye Elly - An above average Iranian film. Though predictable, it is an interesting story with good cinematography.
Persepolis - A fantastic French/Iranian film about a girl growing up during a rough parch in Irans recent past and how she copes with the issues and, basically a documentary with interesting artistic style. Well done movie.
Basic Instinct - A solid mystery/thriller from the early 90s which has aged pretty decently. Not the most convoluted plot but it keeps you on your toes long enough and at the end, you are left to determine one of two possibilities. Good acting.
Single, white female - The two lead characters do an amazing job acting in this early 90s mystery/thriller. A solid flick that has done a pretty good job standing the test of time. JJL does a great job playing the creepy room mate.
The cat returns - Studio Ghibili turns out another hit in the early 90s! Short but sweet with a well paced fantasy story to tell!
All hallows eve - what I presume to be low budget and tries something somewhat new (though it has obvious inspiration) and, for the most part, falls flat on its face. Not worth it.
Ex Machina - Really well done movie about a secluded scientist and his robots. A few nice twists and great camera work, character development and tension.
Get out - One of the best horror films of 2017. Solid character development, a few interesting twists that, just the same can be seen ahead of time if you pay attention and awesome acting by almost everyone in the movie.
Less than zero - An under rated late 80s flick. Though not amazing, a solid story is told here.
Where the wild things grow - Just awful. One of the most iconic parts of the book is not even in the movie. The main character, Max is not likable the wild things are creepy. And a long drawn out "fight" scene just feels pointless and lacking direction. Avoid.
What about Bob - One of Bull Murrays best acting performances ever. A very funny movie.
Best in show - Not the best mockumentry, but decent. I laughed at a few things but overall it is forgettable.
Black Panther - I am not totally buying the hype but it is not bad, when it does not take itself too seriously. My favorite part is the stunning camera work, shots and angles + the development of Wakanda, fun to think about a place like that and you are easily drawn into the world despite a cliche plot. Whoever created some of the more high tech scenes in the movie did a superb job. Regardless of some of the over acting and over emphasis on "hollywood-ing" it up, one of the better super hero movies I have seen.
10,000 BC - Just awful. One of the few movies I stopped before I finished. poorly constructed plot, no redeeming characters, poorly paced nonsensical flow to the story. I guess some of the CGI is nice, though nothing new in regards to how it is used.
Encino Man - Watched bits and pieces of this as a kid while missing chunks and never seeing the end. I was not sure why I missed the entire flick until I actually decided to sit down and watch it. An interesting premise that is ruined because of Pauly Shore. What an obnoxious hack with buzz phrases/words that are dead almost as soon as he utters them. This is a cringeworthy movie and I now understand why I skipped out (changed the channel) as a kid. I was more discerning when I was younger dagnabit!
Karen Gillan. Expected that I would hate it. Instead I just hated Emma Watson's character. Is there anything more annoying than blind idealism? Hanks was really good, and having worked at massive tech companies, he handled the part well. Lots of ridiculous aspects, including how easily some new employee became known to leadership.
