[CASUAL] January Movie Challenge

[xofelf]

Oh it's just like "hey did you watch stuff? great!"
I'll admit I was like slightly excited thinking Guess the Movie by the Screenshot was back, but I don't hate this. I already tend to track stuff on Letterboxd, so maybe I'll remember to hop in for this here.

[xofelf]

No Vash, video essays count for NOTHING,

just like in the real world

.

[xofelf]

I also got a question, what happens if you happen to watch a ton of things with someone you know is already participating here, and thus likely to end up having similar amounts of points? Does that me co-winners?

[xofelf]

1) The Matrix Resurrections(2021)

I wasn't sure what I was going to get from a Matrix reboot, and I gotta say, I genuinely enjoyed what I got. It could have been better, but I had such a good time with what I was given. It was a nice way to start the new year.

[xofelf]

1) The Matrix Resurrections(2021)

I wasn't sure what I was going to get from a Matrix reboot, and I gotta say, I genuinely enjoyed what I got. It could have been better, but I had such a good time with what I was given. It was a nice way to start the new year.

I haven't seen it yet and I've heard mixed reviews. How would you rank it against the other movies in the Matrix quadrology?

I heard someone say that if you liked the sequels, then you'd like the reboot, and I think that holds up. Additionally also if you liked Neo and Trinity's romance. If you didn't, then you probably won't have a good time with it. Also, I did enjoy how many actors from the sense8 series were in the movie. I don't know that i'd say it was good, but it was definitely fun. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it was better than many of the movies, but I don't think it was significantly worse either. Idk, it just felt solidly "yeah, I can get behind these choices." It's not as good at the first at all, but i think part of that is just you already know what to expect with this, and one of the things the original had going for it was nothing was quite like it yet.

[xofelf]

2) How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Look, who doesn't love flying cats? (I also rewatched this because it was requested that I do.)

[xofelf]

3) Crimson Peak(2015)

I'm a sucker for Guillermo del Toro films, and I hadn't seen this one yet. And as always I was struck by the vivid colour palettes throughout this whole movie. And as he seems to do with his horror films, there's always this melancholy and sadness with nuggets of hope tucked in. The story was pretty straight-forward in a way I didn't mind. Costume work was brilliant as I expected. There was a lot of good acting, and it was nice to see a lot of the Pacific Rim actors, but I genuinely wanted just a little more from Mia Wasikowska. Maybe fragile and curious is her whole gig, and if so, she did that bit well. I think I just wanted a bit more than just one note. She seemed more a vehicle for the plot than an active participant, even at the end. Credit where credit is due, Jessica Chastain really knocked it out of the park. Would I recommend the movie? Probably not, it's not one I feel like I want or need to rewatch for more interesting nuance, but if you're trying to specifically watch as many del Toro, or Tom Hiddleston movies as you can, definitely don't forget this one. It's beautifully made, and hits all the right gothic romance notes you could want, it's just not a movie experience I'd want again in it's entirety. But clips from this movie? Oh fuck yeah, it's got some genuine creepy and visceral scenes. But also GDT, I gotta ask, why you gotta injure people in the face like that so often? I get it will always get a gut reaction from people, but I don't

like

that feeling.

Oh but also, I do find this to be an interesting and different perspective on exploring what makes a monster than GDT usually takes and that's awfully sexy of him.

Edit: Also, the ghosts are a metaphor, I promise.

[xofelf]

Also, while you *technically* allow shows and the like, I'm going to be using this month challenge to purposefully do more movies and knock some of my to-watch list down. So even though I watched an unreasonable like 4 hours of Without a Trace as my background show today, I'm not gonna count it.

Also maybe the reviews I write here, I'll even put on my letterbox'd rather than just vague unexplained ratings, you don't know

[xofelf]

4) Firestarter(1984)

You know, I got a real important tip for you people who are terrified about the potential one powerful little girl could have if she lost control: Perhaps leave her alone and let her have what she wants before she figures out how to be bulletproof? Just a thunk.

This movie had come up in a bunch of places as a something that should be seen, so I have now seen it and it was fascinating. A+ on the casting, I could believe that Drew Barrymore was the daughter of Heather Locklear and David Keith. There's really not much to say about the plot of this movie, it's an awful lot like a lot of these powerful psychic kid movies from the 80's as well as you instantly know it's based on something Stephen King wrote. This isn't a criticism, it just is what it is. A lot of the plot is told in flashbacks pretty early on which I appreciated because it left things ambiguous enough for long enough you were genuinely worried that perhaps the kid had truly done something awful rather than you know, set fires with her mind that often is connected to her being annoyed. A vast majority of this movie was filmed with a specific lens type that I'm not sure what to call it as it wasn't a complete fisheye, but it definitely was curved a bit and fuzzy on the edges, which meant that it gave the entire movie a very surreal vibe and you really only noticed if you were paying attention and when the camera panned. For being only 8, Drew Barrymore did a very good job, which was important given she was going to have to carry most of this movie on her shoulders. I have the distinct impression that the ending of this movie is much kinder than then ending in the original story, and I'm quite okay with this ending. It felt very Matilda, and we're all good with that.

[xofelf]

5) The Secret of Kells(2009)

This is a rewatch, and really there's not much to say about it. Story is fine, it's really all about the visuals. And they're just beautiful. It's got a very distinct artistic style to it that is just utterly charming. And putting the animation on the illuminated pages of this manuscript is just worth seeing at least once.

[xofelf]

Also does NOT feature several woodland creatures flying an airship disappointingly.

Is this a Once Upon a Forest reference???

Yes, yes it is. I'm debating making him watch it again at some point this month if he's going to casually reference it like this.

[xofelf]

Oh! I really liked that Power Rangers movie. It could have been a lot worse than it was, it was acceptable.

[xofelf]

I wonder if it's because they left that largely out of credits at the time cuz she was a child and Disney just... didn't update it? The early voice contracts for Disney were pretty shit for a long time.

[xofelf]

6) The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer(2009)
Fuck, is that actually what it's called? God, I hate everything. So, I was forced to watch this movie a long time ago, and I made the mistake of watching it without alcohol. I have not repeated this mistake this time. When we talked about what terrible movies to inflict upon other people including my sister, this was brought up and I said that unless someone bought me booze for it, I would not be doing it again. Alas, the wine showed up yesterday, so I was now obligated to watch this disaster fever dream. This is by and far the worst movie I've seen, and I genuinely can't describe why it's so bad, but it is, and you should not watch this movie sober. Sadly 20 minutes in, I was entirely out of the bottle of wine I set aside for this film and too tipsy to try to open another to survive the rest of this film. And as it went on, I got less and less tipsy and that was also a mistake and I had forgotten how bad it was. I have terrible friends and if you want to be a terrible friend, make people watch this movie. There's a scene that goes on for 10 minutes where one small dolphin talks about how important his farts are and how they belong only to him, there is not enough booze in the world to do that twice so I have several regrets. No stars.

[xofelf]

Idk, I think it's awfully nice of KK to calculate points based on runtime given so many things aren't consistent lengths. But also, I'm only listing movies so nobody has to do extra work

[xofelf]

7) Encanto(2021)

I was well aware going in that this movie was going to call me out and take my heart out of my chest and stomp it into the ground, and it did, and I loved it. I only sobbed like 8 times, it's fine. It just has a lot of very specific feelings I definitely feel in my bones and I appreciate them being put to music and visuals. The songs aren't quite as catchy and memorable as other recent Disney movies, but I'm okay with that. They still had an emotional impact for me and that's all I'm looking for from songs.

[xofelf]

8) Sharp Objects Episode 1 + 2(2018)
Since it's a limited series which is more like a very extended movie, I'm allowing myself to count this. I started this a while back but I hadn't fully finished the second episode. I remember when I started it then, I thought the pace was a little slow and odd and that's kinda why I stopped. But now, I'm okay with it since I know it's only got so many episodes anyways. Amy Adams does a real good job at giving you this very broken character who may be trying her best, it's unclear. Really all of the acting is very good, and it's got a lot of tension all underneath it and you're not quite sure where this is going to go in the end. There's a lot of backstory we're getting in flashes now and again. I don't know if I'd say it's good? But given it's based on a book by Gillian Flynn, it's definitely real good on tension and character building. Will definitely keep doing more of this through the next day or so since it's only 8 episodes.

[xofelf]

Oo, I may add that to my rewatch list.

[xofelf]

9) Sharp Objects(2019) Episodes 3-8
Um holy shit?? Like I thought this was going to go one way, and it uh does not do that. This is several levels of fucked, and I was not expecting it to end like it did. Well worth the build up, and it's definitely one of those after you've seen the end, you will want to rewatch it because there are minor details that are everywhere throughout that make the final ending completely worth it and how did I not see that coming? This is exactly the kind of story that limited series are made for. Shorting this story down to a single 2-3 hour movie would not have given nearly enough. A+ work from everyone. Patricia Clarkson is terrifyingly good at the role she plays. There's a lot of content warnings you'll want with this one, but man, well worth the watch.

[xofelf]

10) Santa Claus: MST3K version. Season 5 or something
Idk what year or when it was, but I've done this movie before and it's good every time. also also wine is very goooood. 11/10

[xofelf]

I don't think that's how you're supposed to count it? But also harrumph. Counting something I watched with you *knowing* I won't, harrumph sir.

Also, you're wrong about Season 1, it was very good. Season 2 is just better.

[xofelf]

*gasp* what happened to new post for each thing?
(note: I am extremely only giving you shit in an affectionately sarcastic way)

[xofelf]

I mean if you're implying that you'll wanna keep doing this as like a... long term thing, I'm very in for that. I'll still be doing my own self-inflicted only movies and things that are like extended movies, but I wouldn't hate continually doing this. I watch tons of stuff, and have tons of thoughts about things.

[xofelf]

11) Suicide Squad (2016)
That sure was a movie, huh? I'll admit I was watching this because I wanted to see just how far the Harley Quinn and new Suicide Squad films had improved upon their source characters. And dear god, it sure was all it promised to be on the bad front. The script was just real bad. I can't say the acting was bad cuz I think people did real good with the shit they were handed, and boy was it some shit, huh? There were some cool visuals at least, but all the action scenes were all trash with singular moments of *okay*.

[xofelf]

12) The Suicide Squad (2021)
James Gunn understood the assignment. Honestly this was just beautifully shot, good script, good characterization. Just all around real good enjoyable film.

[xofelf]

You probably missed it, but their, not her. <3

[xofelf]

You probably missed it, but their, not her. <3

Crap. Sorry. I fixed it.

It's all good <3

[xofelf]

13) The Faculty (1998)
You know, I wasn't sure what to expect with this movie. There was this one tape I own somewhere around here that had a trailer for this movie that I've seen since I was a kid and I have always wondered what this movie was all about and it's been on my watch list forever. What I was not prepared for was how star-studded this cast is. You've got everybody from Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Clea DuVall, Jordana Brewster giving pretty decent acting jobs for the teens they're playing, but then you also have the likes of Robert Patrick, Salma Hayek, Jon Stewart, and Famke Janssen playing various adults here. It's wild.
But the movie itself, it's your basic alien bodysnatching horror really. I've seen a lot of movies kinda like it. Effects aren't bad, there's a couple of lines that just don't hit the way they're supposed to and are kinda funny instead. I don't know if I would call it a fun time, but I still liked it and I appreciate seeing it. It hits all the right notes you'd expect from Robert Rodriguez.

[xofelf]

14) Sucker Punch(2011)

I've seen this one several times. It's incredibly stylized and beautifully shot. The story isn't the best, but it's at least largely coherent. The fantasy worlds within fantasy worlds is a pretty nice touch tbh. I appreciate how video game esque the furthest one in is. Also the soundtrack slaps.

[xofelf]

15) Lady Bird(2017)
I'm a little disappointed. Like, yeah this was a good movie. But it had been hyped up so much and it just wasn't quite what I expected it to be after all of that. It was well acted, well shot, and well done but idk.. it didn't quite snag my emotions in the way I thought it was going to.
Edit: Okay, I'm being a little harsh. Like... there's really not a bad character. They all have moments and there's all sorts of nuance everywhere. It is really well done. I think some bits hit too close where I didn't feel things I thought I was going to.

[xofelf]

16) Alias Grace(2017) All 6 episodes of the Limited Series
So I had started this a while back when I was on a period drama kick, but I stopped in the middle for some reason and never went back. It's based off of a novel by Margaret Atwood, and it's definitely got all the highlights of such things. I don't know if I'm satisfied with how it ended, but I did rather enjoy the way they went through finding out does Grace actually know how the murders she was convicted of happen, or has she truly forgotten? If period pieces that also deal with murders are your jam, this might be for you. Also it seems there is an actual Grace Marks the novel was based on, so if that appeals also, enjoy.

[xofelf]

17) Ocean's Eleven(2001)
So I watched Ocean's Eight when it came out and I really enjoyed that one, but I had never seen any of the other Ocean's films in their entirety. So it was about time to fix that. It was like fine? Like it's a heist film, and that's effectively what you get from start to finish. It's not overly flashy, it's just pretty solid. Can't really complain. I get why people like the series, some bits were very slick and clever. I think I just also like people to be more characters than stereotypical roles ya know? Tess deserves better.
But also, it kinda made me appreciate a lot of the nods from Ocean's Eight that I hadn't quite caught as being specific references to story beats here. I may just like that one more cuz at least I understood who everyone was as a character and not just their stereotypical role, where like here a few people felt slightly superfluous and just basically the same cookie-cutter character.

[xofelf]

18) FernGully: The Last Rainforest(1992)

God when I was a kid I remember really liking this movie and also finding Hexxus a horrifying nightmare creature. Rewatching now though? Man, this movie did not hold up at all in any way. Sure the story is... whatever, but a lot of this movie is needless filler that I didn't really want on my screen. It just made me want to watch a lot of better movies that have this same message. Sidenote though, people don't go around calling each other bodacious enough anymore and we as a society should change this immediately.