movies

Molly's Game (2017)
A film that takes a subject I'm uninterested in and creates a compelling watch will always be appreciated despite its revisionist romanticism.

Carry-On (2024)
I did not expect this to be a Christmas movie nor to have this much fun with it. This is Die Hard modernized.

A Goofy Movie (1995)
This kids movie surprisingly holds up as an adult. I caught a glimpse of why this is supposedly a core memory for Millennials.

A Man Called Otto (2022)
Tom Hanks is a curmudgeonly widower whose neighbours are blissfully unaware as they cheerfully put up with him and life daily. It's a decent redemption story but now I need to watch the original at a later date to see which I prefer.

American Fiction (2023)

I have wanted to watch it for a while, so I was happy to see the Blu-ray available at my local library. I really enjoyed it, it was a great critique on the publishing industry and how the major ones treat African-American authors. I laughed so many times, good full belly laughs too.

Super Mario Bros (1993)

I managed to snag this on DVD at Barnes and Noble. It’s one of my favorites, even though I know it’s terrible. I recommended it to the gal at the register because it’s a great bad movie.

Idiocracy - My 18yo was turned off by the repeated use of F and R slurs even when I tried to explain the movie to her. She left.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - I had no interest in another reboot, but finally gave it a shot. It was really good. Looking forward to watching the rest.

Raiders of the Lost Ark - Well...I had it on while I was sick this weekend so I more listened to bits as a drifted in and out of sleep. Woke up in time for the finale though, and that shit is still awesome.

Godzilla Minus One (2023) 9/10

• I finally got around to watching this one, and I quite enjoyed it! I prefer the movies where Godzilla is the antagonist and the only monster, so having a movie like that with memorable characters was a breathe of fresh air! The atmosphere of dread Godzilla evoked when on screen was very good, and that lingered even when they were gone. I really liked a lot of the characters, and although I don't understand Japanese I thought the actors did a good job. I'm also a plane fan, so seeing a J7W portrayed in a movie was a treat as well! Other than a few minor nitpicks I enjoyed it a good bit, and I watched it for the second time the next day, which is something I rarely do.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) 6.5/10

• Star Wars as a franchise has never really clicked with me, although I did think the original movie was pretty good as a standalone. However, I did get hooked on the Andor series and really enjoyed it, so I watched this movie after finishing season 2. Due to watching it as a follow-up to a very good series I may have rated it a bit lower than I would have otherwise, so I may revisit it later.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 7.5/10

• This is a film I've seen several times, and I think it holds up pretty well. It does a good job of building the tension throughout, and the atmosphere was good as well.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) 7/10

• An interesting, although somewhat predictable, time loop story. I did feel like they overdid some parts of the loop just a little bit, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. If it would have surprised me a bit somewhere along the way I would have been happy, but it kept me entertained, which is the important part!

Lilo and stitch 1 and 2.

Revenge (2017) on Mubi

A girl on a getaway with her boyfriend is raped and nearly killed by his criminal friends. Goes on a self-finding trip and gets her revenge. Surprisingly good play on action tropes with a slight dash of sarcasm and cultural sensitivity. I had a lot of fun watching it.

The Bourne Identity 4/5 - Really solid action flick. The sounds are a little cartoony and dated but definitely holds up

Final Destination 5 4/5 - Honestly I think it's the best in the series. It has the right mix of murder contraptions and plot contrivance. The whole "you can steal time by killing other people" kinda comes out of nowhere but it does give us a villain

Final Destination Bloodlines 3.5/5 - I'm a little surprised to hear people call this the best in the series. The premise was interesting but I feel like despite the big cast there just weren't as many big kills. I think it got a little too bogged down in the plot and forgot we're here for Rube Goldberg murders

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 3.5/5 - That title didn't age well. I like it as a MI movie but it does feel like it lowers the tension from the previous ones, a likely necessity due to it being part 1. Maybe this score changes aftrf I see Final Reckoning

The Death and Life of Bobby Z 2/5 - A common criticism I have of these B movies is that there are just too many plots going on. This is another case of that, Laurence Fishburne's character is confusingly motivated, I don't really agree that the central concept of the movie is valid. It's fine, but I expected better from this cast

Finally got around to watching Detective Pikachu. Had a more satisfying end than the game.

All the President's Men (1976)

A movie about the Watergate scandal and the men who reported on it. Beautiful, well shot film, gave me a ton of nostalgia to see the world be “normal” again as an elder millennial. Obviously the story is interesting. Absolutely holds up, looks good and it’s wild how much Robert Redford looks like Brad Pitt

I liked how the dialogue was shot also, slips of the tongue or partially misspoken lines were left in and it made it feel more real

My kids hadn't seen Lord of the Rings, we just finished the Two Towers. 4 hours to go.

Star Wars, the machete order, then the sequels.

for anyone interested in machete order: https://www.rodhilton.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/#toc-introducing-machete-order

I watched The Central Park Five (2012), a documentary about the Central Park jogger case from 1989. I actually watched it on the PBS History channel on Samsung TV Plus, of all places. I just decided to flick through to see if anything interesting was on and when I saw that was starting I thought it might be a good time to sit down and learn about the case. It was my favourite type of documentary, where there is no narrator or visible journalist so you just get witness testimonies, music and archival footage and it really sucks you into that moment in time.

I also watched a bit of Terminator 2, also on Samsung TV Plus. I've seen it before and I wasn't really in the mood to sit through the entire thing but the first 30 - 40 minutes or so were as fun as I remembered. I don't know why, but sometimes watching a film "live" on TV, even in lower quality and ad breaks, is more enjoyable to me. I guess it's because when I was a kid watching films on commercial TV was actually a big thing. It's hard to describe but I've always loved the feeling of knowing there is someone else out there watching it at the same time as me, maybe getting up at the same time to make a cup of tea or get some snacks during an ad break.