I've watched a lot of movies recently thanks to my three-week break between classes (no homework! AAHHH!)
The Abyss - I watched this the day after the eclipse, which in hindsight was a poor decision. It's an interesting movie but is super intense and I felt totally drained after watching it (no pun intended). Worth checking out....but I don't know that I'll watch it again any time soon.
Does anyone remember playing the board game Scene It a few years ago? That game had a ton of questions related to this movie, which I think is how it first got on my radar.
Independence Day - I guess I'd never seen this entire movie until a couple weeks ago. I did not realize the plot was going to be so serious/sad and was thus unprepared emotionally. I expected it to be a fun summer blockbuster, not a disaster movie where aliens kill a huge chunk of the US population. I don't know where I got the idea it was a funny movie - maybe because I associate Will Smith with Men in Black? Regardless, I have no excuse for not knowing what this movie is about because it's very famous and everyone has already seen it.
The Thing - Looks a bit dated now, but I can see why this one is a classic. The plot is nice and simple, which is the main thing I want out of an action movie. What is the deal with Kurt Russell's giant hat?
Gravity - I enjoyed this but it didn't blow me away. The reviews made me expect more. More of a straightforward space movie than Interstellar; maybe that's why people liked it? I'm still firmly on team Interstellar.
Pan's Labyrinth - I re-watched this for the first time since seeing it in the theater during its original run in 2006. I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around. This one holds up well and is really one of a kind - it's hard to even categorize it by genre.
Titanic - This is available to stream on Netflix and I hadn't seen it in almost 20 years so I figured, "eh? why not?" I got bored with the dialogue after about an hour and turned it off. I hadn't remembered the background score being really annoying, but it is. Why was new age-y faux Irish music popular in the 90s? Is it because of Riverdance?
Million Dollar Baby - This one totally holds up. Even though I knew what was coming at the end, it still felt like a gut punch. This one also won Best Picture (2005) but is totally deserving, in my opinion.
The Abyss - I watched this the day after the eclipse, which in hindsight was a poor decision. It's an interesting movie but is super intense and I felt totally drained after watching it (no pun intended). Worth checking out....but I don't know that I'll watch it again any time soon.Does anyone remember playing the board game Scene It a few years ago? That game had a ton of questions related to this movie, which I think is how it first got on my radar.
Independence Day - I guess I'd never seen this entire movie until a couple weeks ago. I did not realize the plot was going to be so serious/sad and was thus unprepared emotionally. I expected it to be a fun summer blockbuster, not a disaster movie where aliens kill a huge chunk of the US population. I don't know where I got the idea it was a funny movie - maybe because I associate Will Smith with Men in Black? Regardless, I have no excuse for not knowing what this movie is about because it's very famous and everyone has already seen it.
The Thing - Looks a bit dated now, but I can see why this one is a classic. The plot is nice and simple, which is the main thing I want out of an action movie. What is the deal with Kurt Russell's giant hat?
Gravity - I enjoyed this but it didn't blow me away. The reviews made me expect more. More of a straightforward space movie than Interstellar; maybe that's why people liked it? I'm still firmly on team Interstellar. 
Titanic - This is available to stream on Netflix and I hadn't seen it in almost 20 years so I figured, "eh? why not?" I got bored with the dialogue after about an hour and turned it off. I hadn't remembered the background score being really annoying, but it is. Why was new age-y faux Irish music popular in the 90s? Is it because of Riverdance?
How did this win Best Picture at the Oscars?
Zodiac - I feel like this movie is really underrated, maybe because it didn't do huge business at the box office. It's got so many layers to it, and all the main actors are great. Especially Mark Ruffalo. What a natural actor. If you haven't seen this one yet, it is well worth your time.
Spotlight - Another movie I've seen a bunch of times that is still SO GOOD every time I watch it. This is a masterclass in understated film-making. Everything is perfect. Aside from the emotional power of the story, I love how it shows a team of regular people working together to unravel a huge mystery--there's no single hero and no single villain. It reminds me of my team at work and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Silence - Of all the movies I watched for the first time recently, this one was my favorite. It had been on my list for a while and I finally found time to check it out last weekend while Eric was in California. I expected it to be an arduous film-watching experience and it did not disappoint. It's about two young priests who go searching for one of their mentors, who's gone missing in 17th century Japan. They enter Japan to find the government brutally cracking down on Japanese Catholics and trying to purge all evidence of Christianity from the country. A very interesting, unique movie and I have to give Martin Scorsese kudos for taking on such difficult material late in his career. It takes a lot of guts to do that and he doesn't have to--he could just kick back and enjoy a comfortable retirement at this point. But instead he keeps showing up and bringing his A game.
I highly recommend this if you like serious/historical movies, but I should warn you that it's almost three hours long and has very little music. It's not exactly a crowd pleaser.
Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver are fantastic as the two leads. I'll be shocked if Andrew Garfield doesn't win an Oscar at some point in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment