Gendo watches more movies in 2022

[Gendo]

R29. Kill Bill - In honor of Tarantino, I watched this as a single film and am writing it up as a single film. The only one of all his movies that I've seen multiple times before this (though never both parts all at once like this). And for good reason; this is easily one of my favorite movies. Everything from the action, storytelling, music, etc. It really goes by fast, too... at just over 4 hours total, it never feels slow. I would love to see his single-movie cut of it. Although one of my favorite moments in the entire thing is the very ending of part 1 with the reveal that her daughter is alive. Such a thing wouldn't have worked as if that wasn't the end of the first film. One way that it does work well as 2 films is that each film does have a different feel. As a whole, I liked volume 1 more, though I think in the past I've said the other way around. Also, the animated section was beautiful and amazing; I want to see an entire film of just that.

[Faustus5]

R29. Kill Bill - In honor of Tarantino, I watched this as a single film and am writing it up as a single film. The only one of all his movies that I've seen multiple times before this (though never both parts all at once like this). And for good reason; this is easily one of my favorite movies. Everything from the action, storytelling, music, etc. It really goes by fast, too... at just over 4 hours total, it never feels slow. I would love to see his single-movie cut of it. Although one of my favorite moments in the entire thing is the very ending of part 1 with the reveal that her daughter is alive. Such a thing wouldn't have worked as if that wasn't the end of the first film. One way that it does work well as 2 films is that each film does have a different feel. As a whole, I liked volume 1 more, though I think in the past I've said the other way around. Also, the animated section was beautiful and amazing; I want to see an entire film of just that.

This brings back some fond memories, I should watch both movies again.

Really hope he makes the sequel where Copperhead's little girl comes after Beatrix.

[Gendo]

I heard something about him wanting to do a part 3 some day, but I'm always more interested in seeing new stories rather than reboots or sequels to old things.

R30. Death Proof - So ends the streak of each film being Tarantino's best so far. This is overall pretty bad, mostly. I get that it was meant to be a homage to a particular type of bad movie to begin with, so a lot of the bad stuff is intentional. But while I liked the stylistic choices in making it feel like and old low-budget film, what bothers me is that most of it is just really boring. You basically have a half-hour of nothing happening, just uninteresting people sitting around talking about uninteresting things. Then 10 minutes of fun thriller action. Then another half hour of a different group of uninteresting people sitting around talking about different uninteresting things. Then ending with a stupid but stupid in a really fun way exciting chase scene. I really enjoy the last 20 minutes; as well as that 10 minutes in the middle. I also really love the very ending, as completely stupid as it is, it makes me laugh in a good way.

[Raxivace]

I've never been a big fan of Death Proof either, though I wonder if the shorter "Grindhouse" cut is better.

[Gendo]

Yeah I've never seen Planet Terror or Grindhouse in general.

R31. Inglourious Basterds - Excellent. The opening scene at the farmhouse is among the best 20 minutes of all films of all time. Granted the rest of the film isn't quite up to the standard set b that opening, but it's still all pretty great. The storytelling structure feels a bit like Pulp Fiction, though without the nonlinear time. All the performances are strong, though Brad Pitt comes off as a bit too silly for my liking. As a whole, a lot of fun and very well made.

R32. Django Unchained - Good, but not consistently good. It's really long and it feels long. I would have been happy if they'd just cut 30 minutes out; mostly from the time spent at Candyland. DiCaprio was great, but although he himself was never boring, the scenes he was in did drag on unnecessarily. I did really love the beginning of the movie; especially due to Waltz's great performance and fun character.

R33. The Hateful Eight - Loved it. The setting makes for some wonderful character interactions and suspense throughout. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives an amazing performance. And really the first Tarantino film to really have what you would call a twist ending (unless you count Kill Bill: Vol. 1's revelation about the baby).

So that's all the Tarantino rewatches. Now onto Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, then I'll give a final ranking.

[Gendo]

57. Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood - I didn't particularly care for it. Similar to Death Proof, it felt like there was a lot of uninteresting stuff happening for a while until interesting things started happening. The acting and directing were great, but it just felt like the story wasn't going anywhere. I do think I would have gotten more out of it if I had known more about the real-life events that took place during the movie's setting. I didn't know anything about Sharon Tate beforehand, and although I had heard of the Mason murders, I had no idea that that's what was going on during the movie; not until the very end. I would have likely found it more interesting had I understood things such as the hippies at the ranch being the Manson family.

Because of that, I can see why it could be better on a second watch. As well as just knowing what to expect going in... because this was not what I expected from Tarantino. Like with Death Proof, I enjoyed the end when it felt more like a Tarantino film, I think.

Anyway, my very subjecting and opinionated rankings:

1. Kill Bill
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. The Hateful Eight
4. Jackie Brown
5. Pulp Fiction
6. Reservoir Dogs
7. Django Unchained
8. Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
9. Death Proof

Really any of 2-5 could be in any order there; they're all great.

[Gendo]

R34. Tommy Boy - Pretty good comedy that holds up. Mostly due to Chris Farley's excellence at physical comedy. It's dumb, but it works.

[Gendo]

58. The Great Escape - Not bad. I didn't know going into this that it was based on a true story. I didn't know at all what it was about. It was a bit long, and dragged in some parts. But overall it was well done and entertaining. Sad, though.

R35. Interstellar - This is really good; better than I remember. It doesn't stand out as much as some other Nolan movies, but it's at least close to as good as the more popular ones.

R36. Executive Decision - Cheesy 90s action. Nothing too special, but it's fun.

R37. The Rock - Basically the same plot as Executive Decision, and came out the same year. It's definitely better, though. Ed Harris is great, and his character is really good too. This is also the only good Michael Bay movie. It is a bit too long, though. Really the whole car chase scene could have just been cut.

[Gendo]

59. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) - Danny Kaye was fantastic. The rest of the movie was fine. I don't remember too much about the remake, other than the fact that I liked it. But from what I remember, it's a stretch to call it a remake. The main character has the same name, and some of the same characteristics. Other than that, completely unrelated movie; no plot similarities. Anyway, Danny Kaye makes this definitely worth a watch.

60. Term Life - About as good as I expected, which isn't great. I almost never like Vince Vaughn doing non-comedy. This wasn't bad, just nothing special. I did like the ending though. Also the whole "term life" insurance thing basically doesn't play much into the plot; I wish it had been a much bigger deal. The idea of someone trying to stay alive just long enough for his insurance policy to kick in is neat, but that basically isn't what this is about.

61. Killer Diller (1948) - Some ok music, combined with some hilarious comedy bits. Dusty Fletcher was hilarious. It was a bit strange how suddenly the movie went from a comedy to a musical review, and then back again. Not sure why the comedy plot wasn't interlaced with the music numbers a bit.

[Raxivace]

Have you seen Pain & Gain? I know people try and place that as a second good Michael Bay movie.

[Gendo]

I was wanting to see it until I found out it was Bay, lol. I’ll try to check it out. Someone else reminded me about Bad Boys; I always forget that’s him also, but I like both 1 and 2.

[Gendo]

R38. The Godfather Part II - Many delays after watching part I, finally got here. This is great, but also slow and hard to follow sometimes. They really cram a lot of story into it; even if not counting the fact that it's basically 2 separate movies intercut with one another. I do really like the idea that they did with that, though; it really did a great job of showcasing the similarities and differences between Vito and Michael. Fun fact, only 2 characters have earned an acting Academy Award for 2 separate actors... one being Vito Corleone, the other being The Joker.

62. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole - For Snyder, not bad. I wasn't very impressed by the animation, but surprisingly I really liked the colors. Surprisingly, because I wasn't aware that Snyder knew what colors were. The action was good, and the overall feel of the film was good. But the story itself as well as the characters seemed really basic and lacking.

[Gendo]

63. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - I watched this well over a week ago but that's just how lazy and busy I've been. This was ok. Kind of cute in some parts, but nothing all that special. Felt like a cross between Scott Pilgrim and Before Sunrise, and it suffers from both of those being way better. And the Scott Pilgrim comparison isn't just because it's Michael Cera... the character himself seems very similar. (Awkward/nerdy bass player in a just ok band with a gay best friend who's still struggling to get over his bitchy ex-girlfriend while also chasing after a new love interest).

[Gendo]

64. Nobody - Pretty good. While the plot itself was quite basic and been done to death, it had a lot of personality and was quite entertaining. The humor was pretty great, and Odenkirk really sold it. Basically just good fun all around.

65. Julie & Julia - Also quite good. Really solid performances from Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. It pulls off the two separate stories across time thing really well, with both parts being equally interesting.

[Gendo]

66. Upstream Color - I've been looking forward to seeing this since it came out in 2013. Been on my wish-list for years, but the blu-ray was always pretty expensive online. Finally bought it, and watched it immediately. My feelings and opinions are best summed up with this:



Basically, I don't know at all how to form an opinion yet. I know that I had a good time watching it, and I know I want to watch it again, soon. I missed so much about the actual plot and just not understanding what was happening. But after reading a couple plot summaries, I just want to watch it knowing what I now know. I think Carruth went a bit too far with making it so that you had to struggle to understand the actual plot. Primer has a very convoluted and tricky-to-understand plot, one which rewards multiple viewings in terms of gathering understanding. This on the other hand seems to have a much simpler plot, but one that is pretty hidden within the imagery. At least the way things were worded in the few plot summaries I read, it didn't seem as though these plot details were just fan theories about what different things meant; it was just literally what the plot was... and I missed a lot of it. Maybe that's because I didn't pay close enough attention, who knows. Either way, I never felt bored while watching it, despite not understanding what I was watching.

67. Much Ado About Nothing (2012) - Pretty good. I don't think it was as good as Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet", in terms of how it brought the original dialogue into a modern setting. Mostly the setting didn't seem to matter. But it was still fun to watch. Makes me want to give the 1993 version a re-watch.

R39. Hellraiser: Bloodline - No idea why, felt like watching this again. It's not good, but it's fine. Not scary at all, which is a shame for a Hellraiser movie. But the ideas presented are interesting, and it's cool to see some of the history, and future, of the Hellraiser universe.

68. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Good except for the pacing. This movie really had no beginning, you just turn it on and everything's happening. Which is a fine way to start a movie, but it basically never slow down. It felt like it was still part of the cold opening and I was waiting for the movie title to actually appear at some point. That aside, the main plot points which were kept pretty secret even having watched all the trailers were good surprises. Like I had no idea who the main villain was going to be, and was surprised. Raimi seems to have been given a lot more freedom than I expected him to have in the MCU. Parts of it could be called horror as much as Army of Darkness can. A lot of creative visuals and fun action.

[Faustus5]

66. Upstream Color. . .I missed so much about the actual plot and just not understanding what was happening. But after reading a couple plot summaries, I just want to watch it knowing what I now know.

Loved this movie. Everything does come together pretty well on a second viewing. I personally appreciate the fact that he refuses to hold the hand of the audience. The information is all there, you just have to figure it out yourself.

[Gendo]

69. The Great Gabbo - Not bad for a crappy old musical. The main story was pretty interesting, with some good performances. But the musical part of it was kind of dumb. All lumped together as a bunch of songs near the end that had nothing to do with the movie itself. The ventriloquism stuff was pretty good, too, even though it was obviously all fake.

[Gendo]

66. Upstream Color. . .I missed so much about the actual plot and just not understanding what was happening. But after reading a couple plot summaries, I just want to watch it knowing what I now know.

Loved this movie. Everything does come together pretty well on a second viewing. I personally appreciate the fact that he refuses to hold the hand of the audience. The information is all there, you just have to figure it out yourself.

I'm all for avoiding hand-holding in general, but I do somethings think it goes to far. I seem to remember saying a similar thing about another movie not too long ago, that while trusting the audience to figure it out is all well and good, but it can be taken too far to the point where the movie is overly ambiguous. But I looked through pretty much all my reviews here and couldn't find that, so not sure what I'm remembering there. *Edit* Looked some more; it may have been Resolution+Endless that I remember thinking that same thing about. Though I don't think I ever said it here. I liked them both, but felt that they avoided hand-holding a bit too much to the point that the audience just has to make up their own opinions of what the plot is in some parts.

Anyway:

R40. Upstream Color - Yeah, that's right. I actually intended to watch again this literally the next day, but ended up being 1 week later instead. It's definitely a good film. The music and sound really stand out as excellent, even though it's not the sort of music where I'll find myself listening to the soundtrack.

What I really noticed this time is that the film registers strongly on an emotional, maybe even subconscious level. That is to say, my mind still didn't know quite what to make of it by the end this time; there were still things where I felt either confused or just not sure what I was supposed to think. But I know what I felt. Not that I can easily put it into words, but I was having strong feelings throughout the film, and left with strong feelings by the end. While not the type of movie that's "entertaining" in the normal sense, it's a pleasure to actually watch.

In terms of following the plot this time around, there were a lot of things where the plot summaries I'd read make perfect sense and I felt like it was just my fault for not paying close enough attention. Though there were still some other things where I think that even when you know what's supposed to be happening, the film doesn't make it clear at all. Either way, it is indeed a film that rewards at least a second watch. I don't see it being one that I'm going to come back and watch over and over, but I will for sure watch it again.

[Gendo]

70. Onward - Excellent. Up there with some of the best Pixar like Up, Inside Out, and Coco. It was a fairly unique story, or at least told in a unique way. The characters were interesting and fun. The ending was fantastic in terms of how they went against the common expectations of such films. Maybe it should have been obvious, but I really didn't see the "twist" with the todo list/brother thing coming. And as expected, gorgeous animation.

R41. Liar Liar - Holds up as a great heartwarming comedy. Probably the best physical comedy performance from Jim Carrey.

[maz89]

66. Upstream Color. . .I missed so much about the actual plot and just not understanding what was happening. But after reading a couple plot summaries, I just want to watch it knowing what I now know.

Loved this movie. Everything does come together pretty well on a second viewing. I personally appreciate the fact that he refuses to hold the hand of the audience. The information is all there, you just have to figure it out yourself.

I'm all for avoiding hand-holding in general, but I do somethings think it goes to far. I seem to remember saying a similar thing about another movie not too long ago, that while trusting the audience to figure it out is all well and good, but it can be taken too far to the point where the movie is overly ambiguous. But I looked through pretty much all my reviews here and couldn't find that, so not sure what I'm remembering there. *Edit* Looked some more; it may have been Resolution+Endless that I remember thinking that same thing about. Though I don't think I ever said it here. I liked them both, but felt that they avoided hand-holding a bit too much to the point that the audience just has to make up their own opinions of what the plot is in some parts.

Anyway:

R40. Upstream Color - Yeah, that's right. I actually intended to watch again this literally the next day, but ended up being 1 week later instead. It's definitely a good film. The music and sound really stand out as excellent, even though it's not the sort of music where I'll find myself listening to the soundtrack.

What I really noticed this time is that the film registers strongly on an emotional, maybe even subconscious level. That is to say, my mind still didn't know quite what to make of it by the end this time; there were still things where I felt either confused or just not sure what I was supposed to think. But I know what I felt. Not that I can easily put it into words, but I was having strong feelings throughout the film, and left with strong feelings by the end. While not the type of movie that's "entertaining" in the normal sense, it's a pleasure to actually watch.

In terms of following the plot this time around, there were a lot of things where the plot summaries I'd read make perfect sense and I felt like it was just my fault for not paying close enough attention. Though there were still some other things where I think that even when you know what's supposed to be happening, the film doesn't make it clear at all. Either way, it is indeed a film that rewards at least a second watch. I don't see it being one that I'm going to come back and watch over and over, but I will for sure watch it again.

I love Upstream Color and I had a very, very similar experience as you did. I didn't fully get it on my first watch either (but it left me hypnotized and floored), but its circular story became clearer to me after I read a few plot summaries and re-watched it. The sound is such a strong piece of it too. I rewatched this a few months after COVID started, when I was feeling low and needed something somber, contemplative, yet simultaneously uplifting and this little hypnotic mood poem fit the bill. I should see it again.

[Gendo]

Yeah my friend who has been recommending it to me for years since it came out (i-am-robin from IMDB in case anyone happens to remember) said that he re-watches it all the time and can't get enough of it.

71. Clash of the Titans (2010) - Pretty bad, but a little entertaining. Aside from the story and acting being overall blah, the effects were hilariously bad; especially Medusa. Like, Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns bad. Ok, slightly less bad than that.

[Gendo]

72. The Suicide Squad - Not to be confused with Suicide Squad lol. This was pretty great. James Gunn's dark humor really shines. The cold opening was fantastic; easily one of the best cold openings out there. So glad I didn't know anything about the film going in; to not have any of that spoiled. The creative title cards were great, although started to lose their unique appeal by the end. The only thing it was missing was some of the heart that I know Gunn is good at as demonstrated in Guardians 2 or Super. But overall just a lot of fun comic book action, and quite funny.

73. Sunny (1941) - Not bad; nothing too special. A few different particularly enjoyable scenes, but didn't flow together as a whole too well. Also even worse film preservation job than most of the old musicals in my set; making some parts particularly hard to follow.

74. Wrath of the Titans - Surprisingly better than the first one. Still not great, but definitely an improvement as a whole. The effects and the story were both improved by a good bit.

[Lord_Lyndon]

I saw Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans. I thought they were very enjoyable. I actually preferred the first one, unlike you. I was also quite fond of Sam Worthington in those films, but I think everyone else hated him in that role.

[Gendo]

75. In the Good Old Summertime - Pretty good; definitely better than the remake, You've Got Mail. This is also a remake of a movie based on play which hd a Broadway musical based on it later on, so popular story to tell. The whole love story part of it wasn’t even that much of a focus it seemed; really it was just about some people and various amusing things that happen with them. S. Z. Sakall was great, and Judy Garland's singing was fantastic. I want to see the older version, The Shop Around the Corner, now.

76. Jersey Boys - Not bad. Great performances, and the music was excellent. The Four Seasons was my favorite group as a kid who listened to mostly nothing but 60s music back then, so of course I’m going to love a soundtrack featuring their stuff. The story as a whole wasn’t all that interesting, but it was well told. Not exactly the right kind of movie for Clint Eastwood's directing, I don’t think.

77. Thumbelina - Good; as usual Don Bluth puts out some amazing art. The animation was just beautiful, with some great camera work happening too. The music and characters were all good; the story itself was pretty basic and nothing special.

78. Legend (2015) - It was fine, but not great. Tom Hardy was very enjoyable and did a great job of playing 2 different main leads. But as a whole it was just another gangster story, and didn’t have much to offer to make it better than any of the others. There’s just so many of these movies, and I don’t tend to be a fan of most of them.

79. First Man - Excellent. Damien Chazelle does an amazing job of showing instead of telling; with the camera and actors' expressions making excessive exposition completely unnecessary. Gosling does great but Claire Foy really stood out as fantastic. Shame she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. The cinematography and set design was wonderful, and made it so that I was never bored even in a movie that moves pretty slow at times. I don’t think it’s better than Whiplash, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing more from Chazelle.

[Lord_Lyndon]

1. Serpico - Pretty good. Young Pacino always feels like a different actor to me than old Pacino. Some interesting drama and overall well-written. I didn't even know it was based on a true story until the end.

I liked Serpico. Sidney Lumet, who directed it, also directed another cop film called Prince of the City (1981). That film is even better than Serpico. It is certainly a more complex film. I recently made a list of my favourite 30 films and Prince of the City (1981) is on that list. I love it and I think it's a masterpiece.

[Lord_Lyndon]

10. Doctor Sleep - This was good, but not scary. It almost seemed like it was trying to be 2 separate films. Parts of it, mostly the very beginning and the last act, were a horror movie sequel to The Shining, with some good scary moments and paying proper homage to the original classic. But the majority of the runtime was like a completely different movie; a supernatural thriller about good people with mind powers trying to stop bad people from mind powers. It didn't need to have anything to do with The Shining; that story would have worked fine and was interesting enough on its own.

It was also really long, though it didn't feel too slow or anything. And I was watching the director's cut, which added a fair bit of runtime. Ewan McGregor was fine, but didn't stand out as particularly amazing for the role. But despite various little issues, it was very well made and enjoyable. I just wish it had leaned more into the horror film that we got at the beginning and the end.

This was very good. I liked it. I also saw the director's cut. Anyway... I think Kubrick's The Shining is not only the best horror film of all time, but also one of all time great films.

[Gendo]

80. Murder with Music (1948) - Very poorly done but still entertaining. Apparently the movie is mostly footage from an older movie which was never released, with some new scenes shot to add in music and such. And it really shows. The plot makes no sense at all, and the entire murder, investigation into the murder, and reveal of who the murderer was all takes place in the last 2 minutes of this hour-long film. It's quite weird. Some good music and dance numbers, though.

[Gendo]

I think Kubrick's The Shining is not only the best horror film of all time, but also one of all time great films.

Absolutely. One of the very few horror movies that has actually made me feel scared.

I plan to watch the much less-well received King version soon.

[Raxivace]

I think the problem with Jersey Boys is that its Clint trying to ape Scorsese in his coked out Goodfellas mode, and their sensibilities are just not similar enough for it to work. The weird kinda stilted acting in Eastwood films just really clashes with the lively, energized tone he's trying to get too, leading to the whole thing feeling kind of awkward.

[Gendo]

81. The Lucky Ones - I bought this movie 100% blind, having not heard of it at all, due to Neil Burger and Michael Peña. (More accurately, I hadn't heard of Neil Burger by name, but it said it was from the director of The Illusionist, which was all I needed to hear).

I really liked it. It's a bit of a mess in terms of the writing; with various scenes that felt like they could have just been left out, or changed somewhat to make the whole thing have a more cohesive voice. But as a whole, it works due to all 3 actors giving great performances, and them playing great characters. It was a very different role for Rachel McAdams, and I think she pulled it off wonderfully. You really get to know and like all 3 characters, and even if their circumstances aren't relatable, the characters are.

Neil Burger probably just needs to figure out what types of films he wants to make. I've liked all 3 things I've seen by him, but they're each so very different from each other, and the other 2 aren't nearly as good as The Illusionist.

[Lord_Lyndon]

R10. Zoolander - Haven't seen this in about 20 years. Still great. Most of the jokes work, and overall it's just fun. Owen Wilson is pretty good here; maybe the only thing I've seen him in where I thought that. So many cameos also. I didn't know or remember that Trump was in it.

Allegedly, this is one of Terrence Malick's favourite films. Very interesting.

[Gendo]

82. Due Date - Pretty much terrible. I was expecting a stupid comedy, but stupid comedies can still be good (see above, re: Zoolander). Never been into whatever genre it is you call Grownups, Neighbors, Hot Tub Time Machine, Knocked Up, etc... but I thought this might be different because of RDJ, and the plot of a guy trying to get home for the birth of his kid seemed more mature/serious. But ultimately it was just a poor remake of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I will say that unlike some other stupid comedies that I didn't like, I did laugh a few different times. The problem is that in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, both characters are ultimately good people, whereas in Due Date. both are basically terrible people.

[Gendo]

R42. Get Out - Great film, and probably better after you know the ending.

R43. October Sky - Good stuff. Chris Cooper is pretty much fantastic in everything he's in; and he stands out here. We watched this while visiting a coal town in West Virginia; that whole history is both interesting and tragic.

R44. K-PAX - I'm a big fan, even though it's not anything particularly special. The acting is lacking a bit; not that Spacey is bad, but it's not an amazing performance or anything. Some great music and an overall interesting story.

[Gendo]

83. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - I have no idea how to judge this film. It's like Terry Gilliam actually had restraints on when he made Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but no restraints at all when he maid this. It's just pure insanity the entire time. Entertaining insanity, though. There were certain bits where it felt like Monty Python, but not as a whole. Basically, I liked it. John Neville was great.

[Gendo]

84. Mulan (1998) - Not bad, but Disney has done better, especially in that era. No particular complaints, it just didn't impress me much. The music and scenery were pretty good.

[Gendo]

85. Paddington - Amazing. I'd heard good things (mostly about part 2, actually), but still didn't expect a silly kids movie based off of a silly kids book to be this well done. Almost every aspect was great; the cast, the actions, the jokes, the story. The thing is, they didn't have to actually do any of that. Given the target audience and the IP they were using, they could have probably cranked out your typical average silly kids movie and it would have been just as successful.

The only thing I didn't like was Nicole Kidman; either the character or the performance. I feel like she was miscast, and her acting was just bad compared to the rest of the cast. But also the character itself was just written to be way too silly compared to the rest of the film. The movie didn't need a comic relief character; it had plenty of good humor without it. I did think the villain's backstory was a good one, once you find out her motivations.

86. The King of Comedy - Great, mostly. De Niro and Lewis both give great performances. The comparisons everyone was making when Joker came out are obvious, but still they're pretty clearly different enough. I didn't particularly like the ending. I'm not sure if it was one of those things where Scorsese wanted the audience to feel angry at the outcome, but De Niro's character was far more disturbed and dangerous than the legal system in the film made him out to be. It's one thing for Joker to "win" in the end of his film, as it's an origin story for a well-known villain. But for Pupkin to basically just get everything he wanted, with the implication seemingly being made that everything will just turn out fine, bothers me. Again, maybe that was the point, that hollywood doesn't care as long as they get their ratings. Still, the atmosphere throughout all but the very end was excellent, with it being both suspenseful and lighthearted at the same time somehow.

[Gendo]

Falling behind here...

R45. Fracture - For some reason this movie got on my mind and I wanted to watch it again. It's pretty good. In general I just like movies about a smart person outsmarting everyone.

87. Black Hawk Down - Good, but brutal. Not a feel-good film, that's for sure. It does a great job portraying the mix of confidence and inexperienced scaredness of the main characters. A pretty great cast, too. During a lot of the action, I found it really hard to follow and understand what all was going on in the different scenes as they relate to each other, but I think that's common for me with war movies. And it kind of works anyway, because the soldiers themselves felt a bit the same way. Overall just a good suspense-filled war film.

88. The Big Show (1936) - Pretty good, certainly one of the better 30s musicals I've seen. Compared to many others, it was much more of a "real movie" with an actual coherent plot. First Gene Autry movie I've seen; he was good. Some really funny moments, and also a lot of surprisingly good action. I kind of want to see the film that they were filming at the beginning of the movie; looked like a well-done old action film.

[Gendo]

89. Paddington 2 - Excellent. I don't know if I liked it more than the first one, though it did seem at least as good if not better. It fixed the only issue I had with the last one, with Hugh Grant being a great and entertaining villain. The only problem with it is that it didn't offer much that was new over the first one; just more of the same. And while the first one amazed me with how good it was, I already had high expectations for this one, so it didn't benefit from that aspect. Still, a great family movie. Also, plus a million points for Brendan Gleeson, who was absolutely terrific.

90. Trainspotting - Just finished this one a few minutes ago; writing while it's fresh. My love/hate relationship with Danny Boyle continues, as this film was great, yet not in an "I loved it!" sort of way. As a whole, I think Requiem for a Dream did a better job at portraying the harsh realities of drug addiction, but this came close. Boyle does a great job at putting the audience into the characters' shoes, and a absolutely hate him for the baby scene. I still can't clear it from my mind. Not since Hereditary has a movie scene left me this disturbed and upset. Also, it was probably Ewan McGregor's best role. Some of the thick accents gave me trouble, and I actually had on subtitles for most of the movie just to help when I needed it.

[Gendo]

91. Tangled - Loved it! Good music, beautiful animation, nice unique story. Mother was the most evil and terrifying villain Disney has created. Normally their villains are over-the-top evil, but Mother was just way too realistic a portrayal of abuse. Flynn was also a refreshing change from the average DIsney hero.

[Gendo]

92. Made for Each Other (1939) - Quite good. Jimmy Stewart is always a joy to watch, and you really want to root for his character here. There's not a whole lot to the plot, but a lot of funny moments as well as others that were quite somber and even hard to watch (not as bad as Trainspotting or anything). I really liked the supporting cast as well.

[Gendo]

93. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - Really good. I watched the remake shortly after it came out and don't remember much other than not really liking it. But this was great. A bit slow to get going, but once it did it was exciting and suspenseful throughout. The simultaneous messaging of having the communists be threat while also anti-communist McCarthyism being the threat was clever and well-done. Great performances, especially from Angela Lansbury (RIP). Don't think I've ever seen her play evil before.

[Gendo]

94. That Obscure Object of Desire - Wow. So I bought this movie about 13 years ago in response to making a thread on IMDB asking people to name a movie I should buy. Don't remember for sure who recommended this. But finally got around to watching it! It's excellent. One of those movies where I want to go and watch a bunch of deep-dive videos about the film, and yet sadly I couldn't find any. The two-actress thing was really cool, and I actually didn't even realize that was happening until I read about it after... sure I could tell she sometimes looked different, but between the subtitles taking my attention away from the faces, and just generally not being that observant, I was just thinking it was different makeup/costuming. Anyway, great film, I only wish I were better at fully understanding all the themes at play.

95. Hotel Transylvania - Pretty good. Although the general idea is something that's just way overdone to the point of being a dumb cliché, it still managed to feel generally fresh due to the way things were done. The animation itself was nothing special, but it had a few jokes that worked really well. And a lot of good heart to the whole thing.

96. Hotel Transylvania 2 - Also pretty good. Not sure if I liked it more than the first one or not; about the same I guess. It was an interesting choice to make the story jump forward in time the way they did, I feel like normally a sequel to a movie like that would have just been all about Johnny working up the courage to ask Mavis to marry him. I feel like the beginning and the end were both rushed, with some important plot details being glossed over in seconds of dialog. The themes of prejudice were continued from the last movie, but laid on a bit too thickly. And Dracula learning to accept his grandson for who he is seems lessened a fair bit by him turning out to be a vampire after all.

[Gendo]

97. The Shining (1997) - Much better than I was expecting. Granted, I went into it with the lowest expectations possible. Both because I'd heard bad stuff, and because it's a remake of the greatest horror film ever made. But it really was enjoyable for the most part. The family dynamic between the 3 characters was explored pretty thoroughly, and they were all likable characters that I enjoyed learning about. It made Jack's downfall more of a tragic thing for him compared to Nicholson's version. It wasn't very scary, but what would you expect for something made for TV. There were still some parts that felt a bit scary. Where it got bad was any time it tried to do special effects. Which thankfully wasn't often. Those parts were laughably silly and I have no idea why they ever bothered.

[Gendo]

98. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation - Not as good as the first two. Not terrible, but it lacked a lot of the charm and originality of the others. I didn't realize it until after watching part 3, but part of what made both of the first 2 good is that they weren't action-adventures. The main plot was driven by drama and family dynamics. Here, that focus it thrown out for a boring and typical kids' adventure story.

99. I Can Only Imagine - Excellent. Easily one of the best, maybe the best, Christian film I've seen. And that's because it's not even fair to call it a Christian film, really. It comes off as a movie first, with the Christian messaging being more a central theme rather than the driving plot point. In other words, other Christian films generally feel like the creator wanted to preach the Gospel, and that making a movie would be a good way to do that. Here, it feels like the creators wanted to make a good movie, and the story that the movie is about necessitated that the Gospel would also be preached in the movie. I don't think you have to be a Christian to like this one. Also, I have to talk about Dennis Quaid. Like in The Intruder, he made his scenes so much fun to watch. It's a weird mix of hammy over-the-top acting, and just pouring himself into the character in a good way.

[Gendo]

100. The Duke is Tops (1938) - Not bad, but nothing special. Some good musical numbers, and the elixir sales scenes were pretty funny.

[Gendo]

R46. Men in Black - Watched this a week ago, that's how bad I've been about posting. This holds up. I've seen it a bunch, but it's always fun. Tommy Lee Jones stands out as the best part.

101. BlacKkKlansman - Powerful. Hard to watch, but it's supposed to be. Excellently made. The Birth of a Nation scene comparing the 2 gatherings was especially amazing.

102. Pain & Gain - Good. Surprised that Michael Bay was able to do this sort of film. Very much not his usual stuff. Good dark humor throughout. Great casting too; the role seems like it could have been created specifically for Wahlberg, and The Rock manages to do something different than I've seen from him before. Definitely hard to believe it's a true story, but from some very basic research seems like most of the really unbelievable stuff was real.

R47. The Batman - Still great. Michael Giacchino is climbing the ladder of my favorite film composers. There's a couple plot things that bother me... like how The Riddler personally attacks each of his victims in brutal ways, yet when he wants to kill Bruce Wayne he simply mails him a letter-bomb? As if Bruce Wayne would be someone who personally gets his own mail? Anyway, it's a great film. It is too dark in terms of the overall lighting, but the story and atmosphere more than make up for it.

[Gendo]

103. Turning Red - Very interesting. Probably the most ambitious thing Pixar has done; certainly since WALL-E at least. The themes explored aren't all too different from things like Inside Out, but they definitely step it up a bit in maturity. But then there's the actual style of the film. Pixar's first anime, I guess you could call it. It's weird. Fun, but weird. You don't go into Pixar expecting the first 5 minutes to remind you of the first 5 minutes of Kodoma no Omocha. And the thing is, the style had nothing to do with the plot or themes, so it just felt tacked-on. The colors and lighting bothered me too. Everything was very bright and somewhat washed-out. I wasn't quite sure what they were going for there. As a whole, it scores points with me for trying something different, and for finding more mature ways to address themes. But it doesn't stand out for me as one of the best recent Pixar movies.

[Gendo]

104. Paradise in Harlem (1939) - Quite good. Easily one of the better 1930s musicals I've watched this year. Good acting from the lead, a few different good musical numbers. and an actual real story. Some stuff was hard to follow in the story with understanding some of the different characters. But as a whole, good stuff.

[Gendo]

105. Bone Tomahawk - Meh, it was ok. It was really slow until the end. Very little horror or suspense; it just felt like a typical western, and I don't generally like westerns much. The end was better, when it actually got into more horror-type elements. The cast was great, I always like Richard Jenkins and he really shined here. I didn't even recognize him at first.

106. Soundies Festival (1945) - Another 3 shorts, similar to Soundies Cavalcade from a couple years ago. All 3 were pretty entertaining. The first 2 had some really good music, and the third was Dusty Fletcher's Open the Door Richard routine. He was awesome. Apparently we watched them out of order, since the one from a couple years ago had the Answer to Open the Door Richard.

[Gendo]

107. Uncharted - Pretty good. Basically a version of National Treasure except a bit bigger and crazier. It was fun, and the ending scene with the ship chasing was over-the-top ridiculous and creative in a good way. But nothing all that special; National Treasure had more charm and a better villain.