But before I do that, I must make my December selections. I watched 14 movies in December. 5 will move on, 9 will be eliminated. Let's get down to it.
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I got sick in early December and I decided that it would be a good time to see how long it would take me to get through the TV show Firefly and its companion movie, Serenity. Now I have seen the show and the movie multiple times before and I enjoy them both immensely. But I was looking for something that I knew would make me feel good and help me through my illness, so that's why I decided to give it another go.
The movie picks up after the events of the TV show. The crew of Serenity discovers that River knows a secret that could doom the Alliance. They created the Reavers and destroyed an entire planet's civilization in the process. The movie is one big cat and mouse chase between the crew of Serenity, the Alliance forces dispatched to bring River in, and the Reavers themselves.
It is a solid movie and it ties up a lot of loose ends, answers a lot of questions that the show had posed during its brief run. A lot of the humor and the heart of the show are missing here, however. I felt the movie was a little too focused on action. It also felt a bit gloomy at times as the crew is forced into a do or die situation.
All in all though it was a pretty decent way to wrap up the series. I wish things had ended on a slightly more positive note, but at least we got answers to all or most of the questions we didn't get during the show's brief television run.
Is it good enough to make my top 5 for the month? It is going to be close. If I was going based on how I felt about the show it would be a lock. But I am trying to separate show from movie as this is a movie ranking and not a show one. We will see when all is said and done.
I wanted to watch something different from the usual Hollywood blockbuster or sci-fi/horror genre that I am so fond of. I am not a huge fan of old black and white movies, but I had heard good things about Laura. Plus it was really short so I figured it was worth the risk.
Despite the movie's overwhelmingly positive reviews, I did not like it. I thought it was pretty boring. A lot of the characters just talk and ramble on. I found myself pulling out the phone and playing Candy Crush while the movie played in the background. I quickly lost track of everything that was going on.
I didn't like it at all. I'm sure if I had paid closer attention I might have enjoyed it more - but I didn't. This was a big snoozefest for me that has no chance of making my top 5 for the month.
My wife and I wanted to watch something fun and Christmas themed for the holidays, so we gave this a chance. Honestly, Shatner's presence sold us on the film. If he was not in it, we probably would have skipped over it and tried something else.
But we actually ended up really liking the movie. It is an anthology of scary Christmas stories. Kind of in the same vein as something like Creepshow or Trick r Treat. But more campy and silly rather than scary.
It is not an earth shattering movie. It is not going to win any awards. And it doesn't really stick with you after you are done watching it. But it is really entertaining while you are watching it. It is pure, unabashed fun. It doesn't try to be anything more than what it is. It is a good time and that's all there is to it.
Back in January I watched the first 2 Predator movies, and had planned to watch this shortly thereafter. But for some reason, I never did. We got alllll the way to December before I finally remembered oh yeah I wanted to watch this. So I did.
Again, just like with A Christmas Horror Story, this is not a movie to be taken too seriously. It won't win any awards. It probably didn't get a lot of critical acclaim. But it is FUN and that is really all I am looking for when I watch a movie.
There was never a dull moment this entire film. There is a big, diverse cast. I liked the sense of mystery and the feeling of "wtf is going on?" that the characters were experiencing. Whereas the original Predator movie had the Predator stalking its human prey here on Earth, this movie brings the human prey to a different world. An alien hunting preserve, so to speak.
It is fast, it is fun. Its action packed. And there were a ton of nice little shout outs to the original Predator movies. I enjoyed this a lot. Whether or not it will make my top 5 against such stiff competition remains to be seen.
I've already caught a fair amount of grief on social media for my critical remarks about this movie, but I didn't really enjoy it all that much. I had heard it was a fun Christmas movie, but honestly this film could have been set at any time of the year and it wouldn't have changed the story much. Maybe it is just because this is set in LA where there is no snow or cold weather, so it didn't feel very Christmas-y to me. I don't know.
Aside from that, the movie was just okay in my opinion. Yes I like the character of John McClane. I like the limo driver, the cop, and the bad guy Hans Gruber. So there are some nice characters here. But I did find the story a little dull and slow moving. I'm not saying that this had to be nonstop action but there were definite lulls in the story where I found my attention drifting away.
Maybe this is something you just had to grow up watching to truly appreciate. I mean, it was okay and I didn't hate it. But I didn't think it was spectacular. The same premise has been done in other movies that I have enjoyed much more. It probably won't make my top 5. In fact I can guarantee it won't.
Maybe I will come back in another couple years and give it another shot knowing what to expect. Could be I was just not in the right mood to watch it this time around.
I used to love this movie when I was a kid. I haven't seen it in probably over 20 years, but when I noticed this on Amazon Prime I had to give it a shot. The nostalgia factor was great. So many jokes, characters, and action scenes that I had completely forgotten about.
This movie just oozes classic charm. No it is not as iconic as something like Home Alone or Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - but it comes close. I'm sure I will get mocked for saying this but I enjoyed this movie much more than I did Die Hard!
It is a lot of fun. Yes it is really goofy and stupid in parts, but it has heart. I had a lot of fun watching this.
I am a huge fan of the original Independence Day movie. I remember when that movie first came out, it opened to mixed or negative reviews. So when I read that most critics were giving this movie terrible marks, I still maintained an open mind.
But as much as I wanted to like this movie, it is terrible. It retains none of the classic charm of the original film. It takes itself too seriously at parts. In other parts, it is cringe worthy in its stupidity. Yes the special effects are really great, but you can't just throw nice looking alien technology and battle scenes at people and expect them to be entertained.
What a disappointment this was. I didn't like it one bit.
At first glance this doesn't really appear to be my type of movie, but I remember reading about Big Eyes in an issue of Entertainment Weekly a year or so ago and being intrigued by the real life story behind the film. The movie is based on the true story of a woman who painted pictures of kids with big eyes. Apparently the popularity of these paintings took off and they were big back in the 50's and 60's. But back then women weren't taken seriously as artists, which allowed her controlling husband to come forward and take all the credit for her work.
Eventually they separated and she came forward with the truth. There was a big lawsuit over who should get the money and artistic credit for the paintings. Her ex-husband was proven to be a con man and a fraud. The movie is basically a retelling of these events. I am not too familiar with the back story so I don't know how historically accurate it is.
But I did enjoy the film. It is done by Tim Burton so expect his signature style to be applied to the movie. It is not too over the top and is a little subdued by his standards. But I didn't mind that at all. I liked what he did with the movie.
The movie didn't blow me away, but it didn't bore me either. I had a decent time watching it. I am not sure if it will crack my top 5, but if you are considering giving this movie a go I would not discourage you from doing so.
I've seen this movie 2 or 3 times, but those viewings all came a loooooong time ago. I was familiar with the basic premise of the film but watching it in 2016 was almost like watching it for the first time.
I was genuinely surprised at how much I liked the movie. I expected it to be good, but not this good. For a movie that is over 2 hours long, there is never a dull moment. The story line is pretty good, the action scenes are very well done. But what makes this movie go is its cast. Nicolas Cage is the obvious weak link here (and his sex scene in this movie is cringe inducing) but the supporting cast is phenomenal. Obviously Sean Connery is a great actor, but I don't think Ed Harris gets enough credit for his work over the years. He is really, really good here.
The movie is a thrill a minute, and I can imagine that I sat there watching this whole thing with a giant smile on my face. I loved it. It is a lock to make my top 5 for the month. Seeing as how I am going to be writing more about this movie when I do my top 50 year end ranking, I will stop now and not go into too much more detail. But this is a great movie and a serious contender to make my top 5 for not only this month, but the whole year.
I have seen this movie before, but I wanted to check it out one more time in preparation for my eventual watching of Finding Dory. It is one of the better Disney/Pixar movies out there, in my opinion. I like that there is no singing in it, as movies where the characters spontaneously bust out into song irritate the crap out of me.
The movie is gorgeous to look at, particularly on Blu-Ray on a big TV screen. The story line is a blast, and the whole movie is populated by creative and fun characters. I like how the movie begins, tugging at your heart strings a little bit. What's with Disney and dead parents, though?
The movie is one big adventure that never gets boring. For a kids movie, I really enjoyed this a lot. And kids movies are not my favorite genre by any stretch of the imagination. But this was good.
My quest to watch every Jason movie continued with Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.
If you've seen any of the other Jason movies, you should know what to expect here. Jason terrorizes a bunch of randy teens on a ship which is headed to Manhattan. The first half of the movie follows your basic Friday the 13th formula. I wasn't too impressed by it. It isn't until the ship arrives in Manhattan that the movie changes gears and becomes a lot more enjoyable.
It is funny seeing Jason and the supporting characters adapt to their new surroundings. Even though Jason is surrounded by thousands of potential new victims, he pursues the remaining kids from the ship relentlessly through the city. And not only do the kids have Jason to worry about, they have to deal with other criminals and lowlifes getting in their way as well.
All in all I did like the movie. It is one of the better Friday the 13ths. The second half of the film was definitely good enough to make me forget about the so-so first half. Still, the movie is a long shot to make my top 5 for December considering that there are 3 Star Wars movies coming up.
I had been looking forward to this movie for a long time. I did manage to come in to the film completely unspoiled, which was definitely the right decision on my part. I mean, I knew what the basic premise of the movie was (the Rebels stealing the plans for the Death Star) but I didn't know any details.
I had a really good time with this movie. There are a lot of Easter Eggs, a lot of nice shout outs to lifelong fans of the movies. I love how it seamlessly ties into A New Hope. If you are a pure, unadulterated Star Wars fan like me, this movie will probably be a real treat for you.
Which isn't to say it is a flawless movie. There were some convoluted plot points that were difficult to follow, in particular early in the movie. I didn't know who a lot of the characters were, or what their connections were with one another. Things aren't really spelled out too well for the viewer. I can imagine this being hard to follow if you are a casual fan. But things iron themselves out eventually.
Great action, great special effects, great battle scenes. And the tone of the film is very dark, too. Don't expect a happy go lucky or lighthearted Star Wars film. This movie definitely has its fair share of heartbreaking, emotional moments.
The movie is well worth the wait, and well worth seeing in the theaters. And as I said it is a real treat for lifelong Star Wars fans such as myself. I expect this to make my top 5 for the month, but we'll see how I feel when looking back over everything I watched in the month.
Seeing as how Rogue One ends right where A New Hope begins, it only made sense for me to watch a New Hope immediately after coming home from watching Rogue One in the theater.
It is funny how watching that movie made me look at a New Hope in a different light. I have seen this film sooooo many times in my life that I thought it had lost all enjoyment for me, but that wasn't the case this time around. It was like watching a continuation of Rogue One, almost as if these two films were one long movie put together.
And it works really, really well watching these two movies in tandem like this. It is true that I have seen a New Hope hundreds (?) of times before, and it is true that it may not make my top 5 for the month because of this. But watching it right after watching Rogue One did make me appreciate this movie in a way that I hadn't in a long time.
I was on a roll with watching Star Wars movies, so of course I was going to continue with The Empire Strikes Back. Just like with A New Hope, however, I have seen this movie a countless number of times. So many times that it has begun to lose its appeal for me.
I only half watched the first chunk of the movie. I've seen it all a hundred times before. It wasn't until the characters arrived in Cloud City that the film began to regain my attention again. Lando's betrayal and eventual redemption. Luke and Vader's epic fight. Vader's bombshell. It is all so iconic and riveting to watch.
And the second half of the movie contains perhaps my favorite single scene from any Star Wars movie out there.
"I love you."
"I know."
The whole scene with Han getting frozen in carbonite is cinematic perfection. Not just the famous dialogue between Han and Leia. Chewie's growling, the musical score. That pulse pounding sense of anticipation and dread. Everything.
A lot of people say this is the best Star Wars movie, and I certainly can't argue with that. The fact that I didn't pay much attention during the first half of the film hurts it chances to make my top 5, but the amazing second half of the film puts it right back in the race.
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I have given my thoughts on all 14 movies watched in December. Now it is time to pick the 5 that will move on. Without further adieu, the 5 which will be moving on are:
The Rock
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Predators
Star Wars: A New Hope
Was there any question that the 3 Star Wars movies wouldn't make it? Actually, it was close with A New Hope. But I just couldn't justify putting something like a Christmas Horror Story, Finding Nemo, or Serenity above it.
So the year is complete. I have selected my 5 favorite movies from each month, and I now have my top 60 favorite movies watched in 2016. These movies are as follows:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Cake
American Sniper
Predator
Friday the 13th Part II
Locke
Evil Dead
Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
Elysium
Snowpiercer
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven
Big Driver
The Martian
Pixels
JFK: The Smoking Gun
Crimson Peak
It
Creed
The Revenant
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
No Good Deed
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Krampus
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Night of the Living Dead
Mad Max: Fury Road
Forrest Gump
The Little Rascals
Deliverance
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Zombieland
Coming to America
American History X
Ghostbusters (2016)
Darkman
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
ARQ
Quills
The Visit
Platoon
Saving Private Ryan
Green RoomCaptain America: Civil War
10 Cloverfield Lane
Circle
Would You Rather
The Shallows
Funny Games
The Nightmare
Edge of Tomorrow
Judge Dredd
The Rock
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Predators
Star Wars: A New Hope
In my next blog post, I will trim the 10 movies I find to be the least deserving from the list, making this a top 50. And then I will begin my countdown. Are you excited? You should be.
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