Without further ado...
I first read this book several years ago, and completely fell in love with it. While it will almost always be the case that the book version of something is better than the movie (and I believe this holds up for Room as well), I still thought the movie was pretty darned good.
The first half of the movie actually wasn't as strong for me as I thought it would be. Perhaps it was the frame of mind I was in while watching it. I expected to get sucked into the movie and completely engrossed in it, but for some reason I found my mind wandering, and then (big surprise) I fell asleep right before the escape. I woke up the next day clearheaded and finished the movie, and I found that I enjoyed the second half of the film much more than the first.
I think it was more of a me thing, Room. and not a you thing. If I'm not in the mood to watch something, or if I have something else on my mind that is hampering my concentration, I find that I can not enjoy a movie nearly as much as I would otherwise. Which is perhaps why I enjoyed the second half more than the first. I was wide awake, I had nothing else to do, and I was able to invest emotionally in the movie, which was something I had a hard time doing the first half of the film. This movie will likely move on, but I wouldn't be surprised if I watched it later on in the year because I think I will like it better the second time around - similar to how I felt about Wild, which finished second on my ranking list last year.
The Friday the 13th series got off to a strong start, in my opinion, but the quality of the series has definitely taken a nosedive as I continue watching its sequels. This movie actually doesn't feature Jason at all. It focuses on Tommy, the boy from the last film who killed Jason. Now he has grown up and is considered an "at risk" teen. He goes to a camp for kids like him, and brings a lot of his emotional baggage with him.
In typical Friday the 13th fashion, kids at the camp start getting killed. We are led to believe that Jason is back doing the killing. If not Jason, then maybe Tommy has snapped and picked up where Jason has left off as a copycat killer. It turns out to be neither. I won't spoil it, but the movie definitely keeps you guessing the whole way through.
I liked the movie overall, but it still doesn't stand up very well compared to the first 1 or 2 entries in the series. The film is a lot more goofy and silly in tone, and I didn't find it very scary at all. It was entertaining, but not exactly a world beating horror film. Favorite scene for me is by far the port-a-potty murder.
I'd seen this movie a loooong time ago, but I couldn't really remember if I liked it or not. I decided to watch this again because I was in the middle of the TV series Fargo, and I wanted to compare the show to its movie predecessor. It is a good thing I did this, because in the very next episode of the show one of the characters found something left behind by one of the characters in the film. I didn't think that the two tied together, but they definitely do.
I enjoyed the movie a lot. It has mystery, there is humor, and there is also some decent blood and violence. The cast is great. Steve Buscemi and William H Macy automatically make anything they appear in better. This is one of the rare cases where I actually prefer the show to the movie, however. The movie, while entertaining, does do a few things that annoy me. They make too big a deal out of the North Dakota/Minnesota accents. Yeah they are funny, but this kind of becomes overkill after a while. There seem to be entire scenes in the movie where the character just "yaaah" back and forth at one another.
Overall, I liked it a lot, though. I wouldn't be shocked to see this one move on.
I'm not a huge fan of Westerns, but I saw this show up on Netflix one random night, and it just really jumped out as something that I should watch. I have seen it once before, but that was back when I was in high school. I didn't remember anything about it, so seeing it now was like watching it for the first time.
I enjoyed this movie a lot. I thought it would drag on and seem like a super long movie, but it didn't at all. The story is basic, nothing really too special. I watch a lot of the show Hell on Wheels, so nothing done in this film really surprised me too much. What really carries the film is its characters, and the performances by the actors and actresses of the film that bring these characters to life. The world of the film is alive and feels very authentic as well. I couldn't help but feel like I was being transported back in time and I was watching actual events that took place in the past.
That's really what made the movie for me. The story about an old bounty hunter/outlaw coming out of retirement for one last gig is something we've all seen before, but the way the film makers bring this world to life is what makes the movie so great.
Of all the superheroes out there, Deadpool is probably the one character I am the least familiar with. I've never read any of the comics, don't know anything about his background. I was familiar with his brand of humor and violence, however. So I was very excited to see this.
The movie not only lived up to my expectations, but it exceeded them. I love vulgar humor, I love blood and gore. This movie provides both of these in spades. Deadpool himself is a great character. This movie transformed him from someone I knew almost nothing about to perhaps my favorite character in the entire Marvelverse (although I do still love Tony Stark).
I don't feel as if the story of the film was anything to write home about, but that didn't really matter to me. Usually I am a stickler for a great story, but with all the death, destruction, and inappropriate humor flying around, I didn't even think twice about the plot of the film. I thought this was really good, and I can't wait to see it again, this time knowing what to expect coming in.
I watched this movie last year, and I believe it got a somewhat middling ranking on my list. I've read the books in the series, and I really liked them. But for some reason I wasn't feeling the movie that much.
So I decided to give it a shot and see if I would like it upon watching it a second time. Unfortunately, I had very similar feelings about it once again. I did overall like the movie, but I wasn't really able to throw myself in and invest myself in what was happening on the screen. I don't know if it is because the movie isn't that good, or if it is because - having read the books - a lot of the mystery that makes the story more appealing is no longer a mystery to me. I feel as if I had come in blind and not knowing what was going to happen I would have liked the film a lot more. As it stands, the film is just a good, solid adaptation. There is nothing too horribly special about it.
When this showed up on Netflix, I immediately put it on my queue. The movie is about a man who receives a visit from his estranged, adopted brother. The two go on a tour of famous sites related to the Manson killings. As the movie goes on, the brothers fight, make up, go through a whirlwind of emotions with one another. And we find out a very dark, disturbing secret about the adopted brother.
I enjoyed the movie a lot. Not only is the topic of the Manson killings one of the big themes of the film, but the movie is actually very touching as well and delves into the topics of family, mortality, and brotherly love. The overall feel of the movie reminds me somewhat of Little Miss Sunshine. They are completely different movies, but do have some similarities. If you liked that movie, you should definitely check this one out. This movie is as big a lock as any to make my top 5 for the month.
I had never heard of this movie until a few weeks ago, when I read an old Entertainment Weekly that built it up as one of the scariest and most disturbing films of 2015. I'm all for scary and disturbing, so it seemed to be right up my alley.
The movie is about a woman who comes home after undergoing some kind of undisclosed facial surgery. Her two little boys, twins, think that her behavior has become erratic, and start to question whether or not this is really their mom. I'll try to be as spoiler free as I can, but the movie quickly takes a turn for the disturbing. I don't know if the film is really that scary, but it definitely weirds you out with its scenes of torture and physical violence.
I liked this a lot. If a movie can make even a jaded moviegoer like me feel uneasy watching it, it has done a good job because I like blood and gore. The story is strong, and there is a big twist at the end as well. I was so fixated by the mother, that I didn't even notice that something else is definitely amiss. This is another film I consider a close a lock as any to make the top 5 for March.
Oh dear. I had mentioned in my Friday the 13th Part V write up that the movies had been slowly getting worse as they progressed. And they have definitely hit rock bottom here.
Up until this point, the films had at least been relatively believable. But here, they completely take a turn for the weird. And the stupid. Tommy from the last movie returns, looking to dig up Jason's grave and burn his corpse once and for all so he can rest easy. He inadvertently ends up reviving Jason when he is struck by lightning - and a big killing spree ensues.
Tonally, this is by far the least scary film in the series. It is almost a satire or a parody of itself. The characters are goofy, the deaths are ridiculous. The movie is a joke. I mean, I was able to pluck some enjoyment from the film. But the Friday the 13th I fell in love with back in the beginning is no more. I plan to watch the rest of the movies in the series, so hopefully the series returns to its roots and the rest of the films aren't as dumb as this one.
Manson Family Vacation definitely rekindled my interest in the Manson case, and I made it a point to seek out this documentary since I had heard it was good.
The documentary doesn't reveal anything I didn't already know, so I did feel a little cheated in that regard. The appeal of this film to me, however, was the fact that it mixes actual original footage of the Manson family with modern day footage recreated by actors. At first I thought this would be a lame gimmick, but the two types of footage blend well, and are often indistinguishable from one another. The documentary recreates the killings from Linda Kasabian's perspective (she was the driver for the Tate and the LaBianca killings, but she never actually hurt anyone) and offers some insight into her frame of mind as all this was going on.
Very interesting, very well done. I wish the film included a few things I didn't already know, but I still enjoyed this a lot. Was it enough to make my top 5? Time to think on it and come up with my decision.
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All my write ups are done and I now have a chance to reflect on what movies should move on from March of 2016. A few of these are easy, some were hard. In no particular order, moving on are:
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven
This was a very tough call for me. Fargo and Manson just missed the cut. In the end, the final spot went to Unforgiven, simply because it is so immersive, so wonderfully made. It took someone who isn't a big Western fan and made him a true believer who wanted to see more films of the genre.
It is just one of those tough months where there were too many quality films to choose from. I wish I had that problem every month! February in particular was horrible for me. but the show must go on.
So far, three months of films are in the books. 15 films have been selected to move on. By the end of the year we will have 60 films, 10 of which I will eliminate immediately. And then I shall rank my top 50.
Your top 15 for 2016 are as follows:
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Cake
American Sniper
Predator
Friday the 13th Part 2
Locke
Evil Dead
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Elysium
Snowpiercer
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven
What will April hold in store for us? Stay tuned and we shall see.
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven
What will April hold in store for us? Stay tuned and we shall see.
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