Loyal readers of this blog (all three of you, haha) should be familiar with my yearly movie rankings. Most of the time, I wait until the end of the year and then rank every movie I watched from worst to best. I've been getting a little lazy with my rankings lately. Last year for 2023, I watched 78 movies but only decided to rank my top ten. It's just such a giant task to look back on so many movies and rank ALL of them from best to worst.
My favorite way of doing this was back in 2016. That year, I broke things down by month. At the end of January, for example, I would list everything I watched in January and then carry my top 5 over to the year end rankings. For February, I'd do the same. And March. And April, etc. At the end of the year I had 60 movies: my top 5 from each month. I then trimmed it down to 50 and proceeded to rank my top 50 movies of the year. That is how I am going to do it this year.
I watched 12 movies in January:
Godzilla Minus One
Old
A Star is Born
Legends of the Fall
Sound of Freedom
Insomnia
Mystic River
Uncharted
V for Vendetta
Memento
Cloverfield
Cowboys & Aliens
Let's break them down and pick out my top 5 - who will move onto my year end rankings. The rest will be left in the dust... forever!
Not moving on:
Godzilla Minus One
My wife and I had heard so many good things about this movie. But we heard these things so very very late - almost too late to see it in the theater. The first weekend in January, my wife told me to go see the movie in the theater by myself as a special get away treat. She'd stay home and watch the little one. This was the very last showing of the movie in our area. I was able to get in to see it JUST in the nick of time.
While I wouldn't say the movie is as great as everyone says, I still enjoyed it. It is not just a mindless monster movie. It is gritty and realistic (as realistic as this type of movie can be) and really does service to the extremely flawed and accurately portrayed characters in the film. There is a feeling of dread that hangs over you as you watch this. It is just a really well made movie. I can see why people love it so much, but to be completely honest with you - it isn't good enough to crack my top 5 for January. Close, but not close enough. A very similar monster movie ended up just barely edging it out.
Sound of Freedom
I kept hearing about this movie last year during the Barbie/Oppenheimer event of the summer. Every comment section on Facebook was raided by people asking "What about Sound of Freedom?" "What about Sound of Freedom?" "What about Sound of Freedom?"
I finally decided to check the movie out, to see what all the fuss was about. Meh. I mean, I understand this is an important topic, but as a movie it just isn't very good. It's not bad necessarily, it is just not very memorable in any way. I kept pulling out my phone and looking at is as I watched this, which is never a good sign.
Insomnia
I saw this movie one time, a loooong time ago. Probably back when it first came out. I remember it being a big deal because Robin Williams was a bad guy in it. That's literally all I remember about the movie.
I decided to revisit it for the first time here in 2024. Meh is all I have to say. At its core it is a decent movie, but it is slow moving and I didn't really find myself liking any of the characters. I just don't feel it is very well written. Some of the character decisions were unusual, and many of the leaps in logic when it came to the story telling were head scratching. It is bit of a clumsy movie that could have been a lot more enjoyable with better execution.
Uncharted
I like the Uncharted games. Makes sense I'd want to check out the movie someday. My wife wanted to see it too. She's watched me play Uncharted a few times and she likes the Indiana Jones-like adventure and treasure seeking. When the grandparents were watching the little one earlier in the month, we decided to watch this and treat ourselves to movie night.
The game does an okay job capturing the feel of the game, but it just doesn't feel right in live action. The big-time battle sequences just come across really cheesy and corny. Like when Nate is jumping from cargo container to cargo container as they fall through the air. It doesn't translate well from a video game to live action. I also feel as if the casting was poor. I like Tom Holland and all, but he is not Nate Drake. And Mark Wahlberg is not Sully. I guess this was an entertaining movie. Moreso than Sound of Freedom and Insomnia. But that doesn't mean it was a good movie.
V for Vendetta
I watched this in the mid 2000s with an ex-girlfriend Jessica. I had never heard of V for Vendetta, but she was big into the comics and really liked the movie. Plus she was big into rebellion and anti-government stuff. Of course she had to show me this movie.
I remember thinking this movie was okay back then. I think it's okay now, too. Maybe it is because I am not familiar with the source material, but I had a hard time getting into the movie or finding any real interest in what was going on. It seemed very predictable with where it was heading as well. I guess I can understand why people like this movie. I didn't hate it. It was fine. Just not anything I was too nuts about. It's okay.
Memento
I've seen this movie small handful of times throughout my life. I always like the movie (kinda), even if I don't fully understand it. For some reason, I find it really hard to follow the backwards-moving narrative. I thought that this time, if I paid really close attention, it would be different. It wasn't.
I understand this is a well-made movie. Very artistic. Great cinematography. It's a thinking movie, too. You have to use your brain when you watch this. Maybe that's why I don't like it that much. I'm too stupid to fully understand or appreciate it. Each time I watch this, I keep hoping something will click in my brain - and I'll be able to see what everyone else does. Most people like this movie. To me, the jury is still out on it. Maybe I'll watch it again in another 5 years and give it yet another chance.
Cowboys & Aliens
I remember this was the first movie I ever burned onto a DVD. I probably still have it somewhere, buried in my storage unit. I watched it one time and then never again. I remember thinking it was okay, but nothing special. Decided to check it out here in 2024 to see if my mind had changed on it. Not really.
I think I was able to appreciate the movie more this time around. I like the characters and the Western element, even if it is trope-filled and not too original. The aliens add a much needed break from the cowboy action. The mashup of genres is certainly interesting. In the end, the idea turns out to be more interesting than the execution. It's an okay movie, but nothing that stands out to me. Ask me to recap this movie a few months from now, and I can guarantee you I will have forgotten most of the details. A decent popcorn movie, but ultimately forgettable in the long run.
Moving on:
Old
I remember hearing the basic premise for this movie and being intrigued by it. A beach where people rapidly age. That's all I knew about it coming in. The movie starts like an episode of the TV show The White Lotus, with some dysfunctional families at an exotic resort managed by a sleazy guy with a mustache. He promises to take them to a private beach that not many people get to enjoy.
These families are dropped off here, where they find themselves trapped. More families continue to get dropped off. When people try to leave, they pass out. They quickly discover that everyone is rapidly aging. I'm not going to recap the whole movie, but some crazy shit happens. The twist at the end is that this is some kind of government experiment that has been done like 90 some times with different combinations of people. It is never really explained why this is happening or what kind of scientific phenomena is causing this. Reminded me a bit of some shows like Lost or Westworld, with their unique mysteries. I don't think this movie will win my final ranking, but it definitely deserves to move on from January.
A Star Is Born
This is a movie that I have avoided for several years now. It always seemed like something I didn't think I would like. I was very wrong about that. I highly enjoyed this movie, and I think it is going to be a serious contender for the #1 spot when all is said and done.
Everything about this movie is just perfection. The cinematography, the music, the giant concerts, the characters, and the acting. The acting in particular is superb. I've never seen Lady Gaga in anything else, and she really kills it in this role. She is completely believable as Ally. She doesn't overact. It doesn't look like she is reading lines. She is a complete natural. You couldn't help but fall for her and her character as you watch this move. Bradley Cooper is great in this too. His chemistry with Gaga is a thing of beauty. I don't think I've been this invested in a love story in a movie in a long time.
This is a movie that has stuck with me. I keep thinking about it even though I finished it several days ago. I can't get it out of my mind. It's just so darn good. My favorite scene is when Jackson brings Ally onstage to sing her song with him in front of that massive audience. The acting in it is so incredible. The emotion that ran through me as Ally got up there and got to live her dream in front of all those people was something I haven't experienced in a movie in a long time. Pure joy. I'm glad there were no cameras on my face as I watched this. I had a big dopey grin on my face, and tears running down my face. It automatically became one of my favorite movie scenes of all time.
The rest of the movie is pretty good too. Don't be surprised to see this movie in my top 5 at the end of the year. The only thing that could hurt it is recency bias. Am I going to remember next January how much I loved this movie? I hope so.
Mystic River
I've seen this movie before, but it has been a long time now. Probably about 10 years, at the very least. I remember liking it, though. It got me into Dennis Lehane as an author, and I ended up reading all his books. I decided to revisit when I saw it was on Netflix.
It is just as good as I remember. Star studded, full of great performances. The cast is terrific. The central mystery of the movie is gripping, and really keeps you watching so you can see what happens next. It all concludes in a very emotional and tragic way. I can easily recommend this to anyone who has not seen it before. It is well worth the watch.
Legends of the Fall
I've seen this movie before, too - maybe once or twice in my life now. My long time ex Colleen used to love this movie and quote it all the time. I remember liking this movie, but remembering almost nothing about its plot. So when I saw it on Netflix, I decided to give it a shot.
This movie is so good. It has a great cast. The acting is superb. I question a lot of the choices of the characters, particularly Tristan. It seems like a lot of these tragedies could have been avoided if these characters had just made better life choices (like not going to war to begin with, cough cough). It makes for a great movie though, and one I am very glad I watched.
Cloverfield
I think Godzilla Minus One inspired me to watch this. I was in the mood for another good monster flick, and Cloverfield was it. This may be a controversial statement, but I liked Cloverfield more than Godzilla Minus One. It's close, though. It came down to these two movies for the final spot in my top 5. Cloverfield edges it out.
I love the handheld camera aspect to the movie. I've seen Cloverfield before, but this time I really decided to pay attention during the beginning of the movie with all the characters at the party. This isn't just some dumb monster flick, there is some emotional depth to be found here. I understand this is a fairly polarizing movie. Most people I know do not like it because the camera makes them dizzy, or they think it takes too long to get into the action. To me, though, it is perfection. The whole thing feels almost like a documentary with found-footage. I thought it was very believable - and a glimpse as to how things might actually develop if something like this were to happen in real life.
There you have it! The five moving on from January are:
Old
A Star is Born
Mystic River
Legends of the Fall
Cloverfield
This list will be updated at the end of each month. At the end of 2024, that will leave us with 60 movies. I'll trim this list down to 50, and then rank my top 50 movies of the year!
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