In an attempt to stick to our movie-related New Years resolutions, Jess and I plan to keep a weekly record of our progress towards our goal. See if we hit our goal this week and what movies we watched. You can also check out our initial resolutions post here.
My big goal this year is to watch three types of movies a week:
- 1 New Movie (anything that has come out in the last 3-4 months)
- 1 Movie From My Netflix Queue (it has to be from the list I cemented in stone at the beginning of 2014 to count)
- 1 Movie I’ve Been Meaning to Rewatch
Lets take a look at what was watched this past week.
New Movies:
- Cinderella – This was definitely one of the better Disney live adaptations/reboots/what-have-you of the last few years. There’s really little to complain about besides it being so damn familiar. It’s really handsomely made and the acting is very good from Lily James (definitely made me interested to see her next project) and Cate Blanchett (as usual). Maybe it’s a lesson to some of those other Disney movies that maybe they’ll fare better if they stick to their more classic routes than trying to do a weird update.
- Clouds of Sils Maria – This was one of my most anticipated movies this year – I thought the trailer made it look like a fantastic Black Swan kind of movie in the theater world. It’s actually not like Black Swan much at all though. It’s not a thriller, but really a very well done character study. Juliette Binoche is fantastic as the aging actress who’s having a hard time letting go of her youth and Kristen Stewart is just as great as her intelligent and loyal assistant. The film left me a bit underwhelmed but I’m still thinking about it, so it’s one of those that sit better the more you marinate on it. It’s a fantastic look at how age makes you interpret a work of art (and aspects of life, of course) differently depending on perspective.
- Insidious Chapter 3 – Review will be up today!
Re-watched:
- The Virgin Suicides – It both was less and more resonant in different ways than when I watched it in my young teen years. Looking back 10 years later I can see things in a different light (hey, just like Clouds of Sils Maria). Just go listen to the minisode we recorded all about the film.
- 22 Jump Street – This is one hilarious film that was just as laugh-out-loud for me as the first time I saw it in theaters. It doesn’t benefit from the freshness that first one had but it has its own merits in taking the meta to the max. I’m still bitter that Marc only gave this a 69% on his review (even though he really liked it). Totally would be just behind 21 Jump Street for me with a score in the 80’s.
Off the Queue:
- Upstream Color – I’m having a hard time figuring out how I feel about this movie. Part of it is that I didn’t watch it under the optimal conditions – you really need to stay alert during this super quiet film and I was sleepy as hell. I thought this would have a more exciting tone, but instead it’s a more dreamlike experience. I honestly could not follow the plot very well after the initial abduction sequence (which was my favorite part). Afterwards I read the wiki sypnosis and was able to go “ohhhh I get it now”, but I don’t think I can really give the film that credit if I couldn’t even pick up on what was happening. How much of that was my lowered sleepy brain activity, I’m not sure though. I don’t think I’ll take the time to revisit, but I also can’t discernibly give a solid opinion either.
- The Gift – This isn’t vital viewing by any means, but I did enjoy it. Cate Blanchett plays a psychic who’s gift comes to play when a local woman in her small town is murdered. There’s some thriller elements mixed with horror and crime drama. Effectively weaves in quite a few suspects. It was neat seeing a Sam Raimi directed film that stood out a bit from everything else I’ve seen by him.
New Movies:
- Zombeavers – This is a movie about zombie beavers so that’s what we’re working with here. It’s an attempt at a goofy b-movie that succeeds by most accounts and even though it never becomes terribly memorable it still manages to be fun.
- Insidious Chapter 3 – I’ll have a review out for this tomorrow so for now I’ll just say that my head is all over the place on it. Hopefully, I find clarity among my thoughts before sitting down to do a write up.
- The Skeleton Twins – Both Jess & Rob enjoyed this indie outing starring Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader when they saw it last year. I wasn’t as bowled over by the film but I did agree that the lead duo’s chemistry elevated the story.
Re-watched:
- John Wick – This is quickly becoming one of my most rewatched flicks of the last five years (behind Jack Reacher.) The action is great but my favorite part of the film is the world building. The film is layered with details but its narrative isn’t concerned with explaining everything to the audience. It’s really fun and refreshing.
- Boyhood – This was one of my favorite films from last year but I was worried about what the rewatch experience would be like. It still holds up and on this watch I had two particular takeaways. First, I seriously love Ethan Hawke. He has such an alluring presence on screen and a natural rhythm in front of the camera that feels so authentic. Second, I’m very impressed with what Linklater was able to do here. He is a director that has always interested me just because of his varied filmography but this movie combines all of his strengths as a director and showcases the filmmaker’s more visionary flourishes.
- You’re Next – Another heavily rewatched film that I find very entertaining. I immediately wanted to revisit director Adam Wingard’s other oddball film The Guest. Til next time.
Off the Queue:
- In Fear – Very suspenseful horror flick but if you like your scary movies to answer questions and provide adequate motivations then look elsewhere.
- How I Live Now – This was on my queue solely because of Ronan which proved to be the film’s main asset as well. A fairly intriguing take on dystopian love story but nothing too new too fresh to breath life into the genre.