Watching
My last 10 watched from Letterboxd.
-
André Is an Idiot
I found this really relatable, facing my own various ailments and feeling like shit all the time despite my doctors insisting I’m not, in fact, dying. Like Andre I try to keep my sense of humor but some days it’s hard. This movie put things in perspective for me. There’s still time. Even when things seem dire, there’s still time.
-
Ad Astra
A bunch of amazing set pieces. This felt like Mission:Impossible in space. The movie looks and sounds great, too. But ultimately it felt kind of soulless. Everyone delivers their lines almost in monotone. Some real hand-wavey physics in the last act. Maybe it will connect with me more if ever I have to follow my own dad to Neptune.
-
Arrival
“Come back to me.” 😭
-
Project Hail Mary
Amaze. Amaze. Amaze.
-
To Kill a Mockingbird
“There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep them all away from you. That's never possible.” I found this movie kind of fascinating, if for no other reason than it’s largely told from the perspective of Atticus Finch’s children. It got me thinking about what kind of example I’m setting for my kids. Not sure why the result of the trial and its aftermath surprised me given the time period, but I felt like kind of an idiot. Peck’s screen presence is incredible but they don’t give him much dialogue or character to work with. But I guess from a child’s perspective it’s hard to really know our parents at that age and see them for who they are.
-
All You Need Is Kill
As much as I love the source material and the live-action adaptation, Edge of Tomorrow, I had a hard time staying awake for this. I must have rewound it a dozen times. The color and art style is great. For whatever reason everything just combined to give me chronic narcolepsy.
-
Blade Runner 2049
This has to be the greatest sequel of all time. And it just looks so good. From the production design to Deakins’ immaculate cinematography. The world feels so rich. It pays homage to the original without feeling too reverent. Was really struck by Sylvia Hoeks performance this time around as Luv, Wallace’s right hand. She’s formidable but she also brings real depth to her character that’s not on the page. It’s interesting watching this again as AI has become so prevalent even since the last time I watched. I wonder how prescient this movie will be thirty years from now.
-
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
An exhausting series of images that barely constitutes a movie. The first one is fine but it’s hard not to loathe this sequel when recent kids fare like Hoppers and even Zootopia 2 actually had a story and characters and humor. If you told me this was made by Sora right before they shut it down, I’d believe you. You know a movie sucks when Glen Powell is the BEST thing about it. My kids loved it.
-
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
This came out when I was in college and being Jim Carrey fans from his In Living Color days, my roommates and I watched this so many times we could practically recite it. Needless to say, it’s not a good movie! And hoo boy, that ending has not aged well. Still, I couldn’t help but laugh at parts where Carrey is so batshit over-the-top when no one is even watching him. This was the personality all the guys adopted who later went on to imitate Borat ad nauseam in the 2000s.
-
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Some of the humor hasn’t aged well but this is maybe the most wholesome raunchy movie ever made. Steve Carell is its heart and soul. The supporting cast is a who’s who of comedic stars in their own right.