By Luca Newton
Damn, is it already August?! Well, as promised, I'm gonna go over everything I've seen this month just like last month. Buckle in, I've seen a similar amount..
July has been a very long month for me. I caught COVID-19 at the beginning of the month through my sister. So I was isolated in my room for about 10 days. I've watched a very hefty amount of films in that time. I always enjoy talking about movies I watch each month. I've only done it once before, but I can already tell I'm gonna enjoy this tradition. Hopefully you do too.
Without further ado, let's start this (since it'll be pretty long)..
The Rest of the Disney Animation Binge (All Rewatches)
As I said last month, I had started a Disney binge on a whim, after I saw Raya and the Last Dragon. Well, this month, I watched a large amount of the modern golden age films. I started the month with Wreck It Ralph, which I still absolutely love. Zootopia is still incredible as always. I also saw the two previous films to Raya, and they were pretty underwhelming. Ralph Breaks the Internet is very bad, worse than I remembered. Frozen II isn't bad, but it's pretty average to me.
As Good As It Gets
I watched this because my Dad suggested it to me, as he thought this was very good. I watched it, and yeah it's pretty good. Though it's weird how this film changes what it is like 3 times in the narrative, but each aspect works pretty well. It's a really enjoyable film. I also liked Jack Nicholson's performance here. The film tackles how a bitter man can change when they embrace life, although his character was a huge asshole, and never actually changes and still gets the girl at the end. It doesn't matter much, it's trying to be a very feel-good movie and succeeds at that.
America: The Motion Picture
I have never been as repelled by a movie in my life. It's the most unfunny thing I have ever seen. America: The Motion Picture is an animated "comedy" movie about George Washington formed a group of American symbols to get independence for the USA after Abraham Lincoln is killed. I would go more in depth with the premise, but I don't remember much from this movie. It's forgettable. It's also boring. An hour in, and you want it to end already. It's an hour and a half, but feels like a lifetime. All the jokes fail because there's no substance to them. They seem like the kind of jokes I'd laugh at when I was 9.
The Tomorrow War
Ugh, yet another terrible movie. This was the same week too. This was better than America The Motion Picture to be fair. The Tomorrow War stars Chris Pratt, and is about these aliens invading Earth and waging war. They are winning, so some soldiers travel back in time to recruit people to fight in the future and help them potentially win. Chris Pratt is a family man, and is drafted out. This film is not only painfully generic, but it's also very stupid. Its entire premise is stupid when you have a shred of common sense. It takes 3/4s of the film for anyone to figure out the logical answer, which costs so many unnecessary deaths. I can look past that if the film is fun, but to me this wasn't even remotely entertaining. It was very boring because it's so bland, the dialogue is nothing and the action doesn't catch your eye or keep you entertained.
Cast Away
Had to cleanse my palette after the dogshit I watched. Cast Away was a film I wanted to watch for ages, but only got around to this month. To no surprise, it's great. Tom Hanks is absolutely great in this, and I love how much of this film is just silence, since he's on his lonesome. It made for some quiet moments I really appreciated.
A Ghost Story
Well, another film I was curious to watch because a friend of mine was pushing me to do so. All I knew about it going in was the fact it was distributed by A24 and a vague premise. I also knew it was slow. So when I watched it, I didn't know what exactly to expect. I got an incredible film. By the time I had finished the film, I was blown away by how engaging it was despite being a very slow and uneventful movie. Especially since I'd seen multiple films I wanted to end way before they did. It's just got this bizarre, enchanting vibe to it. Like, holy crap, I was so awe-struck by how much I was into this. There' s a scene when Rooney Mara is eating a pie for 5 minutes and that was more entertaining than the entirety of The Tomorrow War.
The Start Of My Pixar Binge (All Rewatches)
I decided to rewatch all the Pixar films to keep my score on them up to date, and damn they're mostly absolutely incredible pieces of art. I got up to Toy Story 3 this month, was very hesitant to watch Cars 2, so haven't yet. But this will probably come back up next month most likely. Out of the films I've seen from this month, I think Monsters Inc is my favourite so far, with Ratatouille not far behind. Unfortunately, I didn't really like A Bug's Life.
The Rest Of David Fincher's Repertoire
From my last article, you'd know I watched the rest of Fincher's films this month. It really established him as my favourite filmmaker. I'd already seen Mank, The Social Network, Gone Girl, Fight Club and Zodiac. This month I saw Seven, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Game and Panic Room. If you want to see my thoughts on them, look at my last article. Just know I love all of these except The Game.
Wish Dragon
Another Sony Animation film this year, that released last month I believe. To me, it never gave me an incentive to see it. It looked fine, nothing mind-blowing. I was right. It's a fun film, but man it's a very shameless Aladdin clone with none of the same charm. It just didn't fully click for me. But I did like how the main character just wants friendship with the girl, and it isn't a conventional love story. The art-style looked off to me, but the actual animation was very smooth and cartoony.
First Man
After La La Land and Whiplash, I realised I wanted to see another Damien Chazelle movie that I hadn't seen yet, First Man. It's not as good as his other works, but First Man is a really intriguing biopic about Neil Armstrong. The visual effects and score are absolutely top notch in this, and the final act is absolutely magical. However, the first 2 acts aren't nearly as good and this film is unbelievably slow. Overall, I really liked it, but I'd say Damien Chazelle's other movies are much stronger.
Black Widow
As you know, I'm a Marvel fanboy. I wasn't specifically excited for this going in, but honestly it exceeded my expectations. I've said before, it's not a flawless movie. Taskmaster is terrible, and some of it is absurdly stupid. But what this films TRIES to do, works for me. It has a very strong beating heart, and all of the protagonists are very likeable and have great chemistry. This film is a really fun time, I saw it again with a friend and kept that sentiment. Not top tier Marvel by any means, but still really good.
BlacKkKlansman
I had a lot of interest in this based on its premise. A real story of a black cop who got an operation running where they go undercover in KKK, to be able to take them down. John David Washington and Adam Driver were both very good in this. It's just the reality of this situation that helps make this film deeply fascinating as a watch. It's pretty slow, but it's a very important film, as is all of Spike Lee's films.
Supernova
This was a cinema watch for me, when I got back to the cinemas after they opened, there were a lot of trailers for this, as the type of movies I watched fit with this. So I was interested. A gay couple dealing with one of them getting dementia is interesting. The issue is it's pretty forgettable, and doesn't ever reach its potential for me. I left the theatres wanting more from it. Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci were good, the film had astonishing cinematography. But it's overall pretty bland.
Matilda (Rewatch)
I don't know why, but I decided to rewatch Matilda by Danny DeVito. It was one of those films I watched a lot when I was younger. I loved it then, and I still do. It has a certain charm to it that nobody could resist. It's genuinely such a great experience, it feels very whimsical and that works in favour of it. It's definitely my favourite superhero origin movie, and within my top 3 horror films.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
I tend to love Wes Anderson's films. I was definitely interested in watching this one, as it is based on a book I grew up on with Fantastic Mr Fox. It's an animated film unlike any other you've seen, yet it has that distinct Wes Anderson style to it you cannot shake off. The voice cast is great as usual, the story is excellently retold in a funny and heart-warming animated movie for all ages really.
Space Jam
I decided to watch Space Jam before seeing the new one. I respect it, but I didn't like it. It's got that 90s charm all over it, but as someone not born in the 90s, it didn't really work on me. The film has a charm I can see why people like it, but to me it was boring. I will say, I did like the actual final basketball game, but the rest of the movie I didn't really like.
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Yeah this one wasn't good. It was literally a WB advert. I mean, that's okay I guess but when there is quite literally no substance or anything other than the adverts, it kinda just makes a terrible film. I won't lie and say the crossovers didn't make me go "oh cool", but the film was too long and was incredibly dumb and wasn't even fun. I aggressively cringed at so much of this, and was flat-faced for the rest of it. This film doing as well as it did is the real indication of how cinema is nowadays, not the Marvel films.
Kingsman: The Secret Service & The Golden Circle (Rewatch)
I decided to rewatch the Kingsman films since my friend was watching them for the first time. The first one has always been a movie I really love. It's got that secret agent vibe to it, but it goes so wild with it in the best way possible. The action choreography is incredible, and just the film is so absurd and it KNOWS it is. Its self-awareness makes it works. Golden Circle.. not so much. There are aspects of it I like, but overall it's a bit too absurd, I'm having to really stretch to believe it. The first one works because it's absurd, but it never goes too far where I can't believe what's going on. Golden Circle absolutely goes too extreme. I feel like if it was like the first one with the same general premise, it could have worked.
The Matrix
This came to Netflix this month in the UK, and so I took it as my opportunity to FINALLY watch it. It delivers. The Matrix is so incredibly iconic, and for good reason. It's insanely fun, the action is badass, the whole concept is so cool and unique. Everyone refers to this classic when it comes to references. Keanu Reeves was also great in this. I'm still interested in watching the sequels before the 4th one comes out, despite them apparently being pretty bad.
Nomadland (Rewatch)
I saw this film in April, when it came to Disney+ and liked it, but after the fact I wasn't really sure of what I thought it. I decided to rewatch it, and I liked it more than I did before. Yeah, it's pretty slow and is documentary-like with mostly nothing happening, but damn it's so good with each and every conversation. Each conversation was special and had meaning behind it, and it was also a beautiful movie too, with such incredible cinematography.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
So, I've talked about this, but this was so incredibly underwhelming to me as someone who adores Groundhog Day and even Palm Springs. I've said everything I wanted to a couple posts back, but it is really bad. It wastes its concept that it stole from a movie that uses it perfectly. It's actually hilarious to me how it failed. But it just wasn't a good time for me.
Groundhog Day (Rewatch)
Groundhog Day is my favourite movie of all time and I've said why in a post a few back. So there isn't much else to say, but just know that to me, this is a masterpiece. Completely perfect and it is infinitely rewatchable.
Avengers: Infinity War (Rewatch)
Another movie that is definitely within my favourites. It's absolutely Marvel's best film, it's just flawless in how it is this huge crossover and proper introduction to Thanos. It is just so good and it only gets better on rewatch.
Edge of Tomorrow (Rewatch)
I saw this in cinemas when it came out, but hadn't seen it since. I really liked it upon rewatch, although a little less than a lot of people, and my old self. Still, it's a really entertaining action film which takes the time loop concept to a different place that works flawlessly. Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise are great in this.
Hamilton
`I'd been wanting to see this since it came to Disney+, however I kept pushing it back. I finally got around to it, and yeah it's incredible. I wasn't sure if I could handle constant singing for 3 hours, but it worked for me. The songs are all very good and made the time go by quickly. I loved the actors in this, so I'm glad they're getting into Hollywood films now.
The Dark Knight Trilogy (Rewatch)
I hadn't seen these for ages, I decided to see them again. They're still very good. Batman Begins is a great origin story, The Dark Knight is clearly the best one of the trilogy with Heath Ledger being incredible. Rises isn't that great, but I did love all the themes within the trilogy, and how it worked as a trilogy really well. Definitely a great action movie due to Nolan's direction.
Bo Burnham Comedy Special Trilogy
A lot of people had been hyping up these comedy specials from Bo Burnham, so I watched all 3. what., Make Happy and Inside. what. was definitely the weakest of these, but Make Happy and Inside were incredible. Make Happy was absolutely hilarious, while Inside seems so significant, it's almost like an achievement for these weird COVID years.
The Sixth Sense
A film I'd been meaning to watch for ages, I finally did before Old. To me, it didn't quite do it for me. I have immense respect for it, and it is well made, but something about it didn't click for me. To be honest, I feel like I'd have liked it more if it I didn't know the twist. I really wish I hadn't found that out. It was impossible to avoid unfortunately.
Old
Old is very odd. I mean, it has an intriguing premise with a beach that ages these people up. It just doesn't really make it work. The script was abysmal, and the acting was also pretty bad. It kinda made me laugh for the whole duration rather than feel suspence. The final twist is interesting but it is easily predictable. It just made for a film that isn't TERRIBLE, but it isn't good at all, and it had the potential to be much better. But I had a good laugh so I can't complain.
Pokemon Detective Pikachu (Rewatch)
After the reports of a Pokemon Netflix series, I decided to rewatch Detective Pikachu. This is a solid little film. I honestly like it a lot more than a lot of other people do. It's not flawless, it has a lot of them. But man, it's fun. From the perspective of a Pokemon fan, I just adored all the references and fanservice, but I thought the film really worked with its narrative, and makes for this genuinely solid mystery film featuring Pokemon. Ryan Reynolds steals the show, and just the CGI in general does, all the Pokemon look great in live action.
One Night in Miami.. (Rewatch)
Oh this film absolutely rocks. The best movie from last year or this year or whatever. It's mostly these 4 titans of the black community in the 50s; Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown. It takes place over a single night where, when celebrating Clay's big win, Malcolm makes everyone talk and discuss the issues of inequality. The majority of the film is just this debate between Sam Cooke and Malcolm X on how to use his career for social issues. This is just right up my ally, the actors are incredible, and the film flies by because of how great the script is. There's nothing wrong with this film, it's just a film I will think about for years to come.
Da 5 Bloods
One of the 2020 films I wanted to see, especially with how Spike Lee directed it, and had Jonathan Majors and Chadwick Boseman in the cast. It was incredible. It's relatively divisive, but for me I really loved it. It was a great insight on PTSD, as well as a commentary on the aftermath of the Vietnam War from the perspective of black men. This group of ex-soldiers set out on an adventure to find gold that they hid for later, as well as finding the remains of a dead friend of theirs, to properly bury them. This film has heart, emotion and some action that to me, was thrilling. Some people find it too over the top or on the nose, I disagree.
Gravity
The final film I saw this month was Gravity. Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in space, however when one astronaut goes uncontrollably spinning away from the station, it starts to build up tension for the remaining alive crew. I can't say much else, I feel this film is very much based on its atmosphere, the story isn't overly complex. The cinematography, score and sound design was brilliant, as was the acting. But to me, it didn't quite do it for me. I wasn't very invested in the narrative, and felt it was pretty aimless. I feel this would've benefited from a cinematic viewing rather than on a computer.
...And that's all. Wow that was a lot. Well, anyway, I'm gonna go watch another film.. Which one? You'll find out next month..
Thanks for reading.
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