Hey, this blog still exists! It’s been about half a year since I’ve written anything up, and it’s been a bussyyyyy time in my life. Got married, started a new position and found out I’m going to be a father next spring! Amidst all of those changes, I’ve still somehow managed to see a bunch of movies over the last 6/7ish months. I wanted to do a kind of catch-up on here to make up for lost time, a kind of ‘speed round’ for the blog. I’ll still do my end of year top 8 early January I’m sure, but I wanted to get something up before then (and I’ll be honest, we ran out of work at my job today and they’re making us watch Hocus Pocus on a super small TV in the auditorium so I’m boooorrrred). So anyway, here’s some thoughts on a selection of movies I’ve caught over the last few months!
I wanted to write about this one from earlier in the year because I wrote about Director Nacho Vigalondo’s other film ‘Timecrimes’ way back in the day for the blog (check it out with the archives link above if you feel like it). This movie was a ride. From moment to moment, I had no idea where this movie was going next. Vigalondo makes movies that nobody else could, straight from his wild imagination. Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudekis are both great in their roles, especially the latter in a shockingly dynamic role that I won’t spoil here. There are a lot of gender politics at play in this one that I wasn’t expecting, but it makes for a poignant finished product that I’m super glad I caught in theaters. Check this one out at Redbox if you want a dark, funny and totally original, unpredictable experience.
What else could I say about this one that hasn’t been said by most critics and obviously the worlds box office. This movie clicked with seemingly everyone, taking the #1 spot at the box office for 2016 so far, surprising everyone. I had a blast with this movie, with it’s creative and beautifully shot action scenes and measured pace. Wonder Woman isn’t afraid to slow down and let its characters breathe a bit, creating one of the best relationships I’ve ever seen in a superhero movie between Steve and Diana. Gal Gadot is revelatory as Diana and Chris Pine is as good as ever. I’ve always been more of a Marvel fan, but I’m truly happy that the DCU finally got a win, and I hope they have plenty more to come.
I’ve been eagerly waiting for the latest from Edgar Wright and as expected, it did not disappoint. The guy is one of the most exciting new directors working right now, possibly the MOST exciting, and his latest is a pure blast of energy like only he can deliver. More akin to a musical than his usual dark action/comedies, he’s doing something different and more challenging with Baby Driver. He’s getting even better as an action director, and the editing especially in this movie deserves an Oscar. This is one of the most fun movies you’ll see all year, and I’ll recommend it to everybody I meet.
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that director Bong Joon-ho is one of my favorite directors working today. I wrote about The Host and Snowpiercer on here, and his latest might be my favorite work of his yet. His usual balancing act of tones is on display in Okja, a movie that is equal parts a Spielberg Amblin-era film with some Miyazaki, and a good amount of dark satire to top it off. It’ll make you second guess eating meat for a while after watching it. Okja also has one of the most bonkers, out-there performances of the year with Jake Gyllenhall’s psychotic TV nature-show host. This one is a Netflix exclusive, so definitely carve out some time for Okja.
The third attempt at Spider-Man finally nails the character like only Marvel studios could. Don’t get me wrong, I really love Raimi’s Spidey 1 and 2, but Tom Holland is the PERFECT Peter Parker AND Spider-Man. The movie is more of a coming of age story than a typical superhero movie, and it benefits from having a much smaller scale than a lot of the typical Marvel/superhero movies. It also benefits greatly from taking place in this universe Marvel has been crafting for almost 10 years now. It also has probably the best Marvel villain yet in Michael Keaton’s ‘Vulture’, a character as grounded and human as our heroes. It’s another great addition to the MCU, and I can’t wait to check this one out again.
The second to last one I wanted to write about is ‘It’, the surprisingly huge box office sensation. I didn’t expect much out of this movie for one reason or another. The trailers were effective, but I just expected a run of the mill jump-scare fest. I had also watched the original movie/miniseries awhile back and thought I knew what to expect. The movie definitely has plenty of jump scares, but I was surprised at how much heart the movie had. The cast of child actors were great across the board, and I was surprised at how emotionally engaged I was with their journeys through the movie. On top of that, all of the creepy clown stuff really worked for me, and Skarsgard killed in the role of Pennywise (no pun intended). I was surprised at how much I enjoyed It, and I’m stoked to see where the story goes next in part 2
I really can’t believe this movie exists in its current form. The fact that Marvel locked down Taika Waititi for a ‘Thor’ movie is ridiculous, and that he didn’t quit mid-production is even more shocking in this Hollywood climate. Thor Ragnarok is a breath of fresh air for not only the Thor series (yes it’s obviously the best of the three) but really, for Marvel as well. In my opinion, it one-ups Guardians vol. 2 (which isn’t on here but I really enjoyed) by being a straight-up delivery machine of fun and hilarious moments. Jeff Goldblum at his Goldblumiest, Waititi as the scene stealing ‘Korg’, and Thor actually being an awesome, badass character?! Yes!
That’s going to do it for this speed round on the blog! I just wanted to do a bit of a catch up on some of what I’ve been watching lately. I’ve seen a lot more than these, and will definitely write up more near the end of the year. Some of these might be on my faves list but most won’t be. If there’s something surprisingly absent from here, chances are it’ll pop up later this year. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this, and as always hit me up to talk about any of the above movies! I’ve been busy with my movie podcast ‘Director Showdown’ that I make with Adam Daufen, so go check that out on iTunes if you haven’t and thanks for reading!
