In an attempt to stick to our movie-related New Years resolutions, Jess and I plan to keep a weekly record of our progress towards our goal. See if we hit our goal this week and what movies we watched. You can also check out our initial resolutions post here.
My big goal this year is to watch three types of movies a week:
- 1 New Movie (anything that has come out in the last 3-4 months)
- 1 Movie From My Netflix Queue (it has to be from the list I cemented in stone at the beginning of 2014 to count)
- 1 Movie I’ve Been Meaning to Rewatch
Lets take a look at what was watched this past week.
New Movies:
- Jurassic World – I thought this was so much fun! Sure, I could nitpick or hold it to higher standards of narrative and character depth if I wanted to, but this is ultimately a monster movie. There’s so much fun dino action and I really loved how they brought this theme park to life. I really want to kayak on that river, guys.
- Hot Girls Wanted – Pretty slight, but still enlightened me a bit on the world of pro-amateur porn. It feels like an episode of True Life with the way it’s styled and definitely has an angle that I know has been critiqued. At the beginning the women they feature seem like they’re on their own little Spring Breakers escapist adventure but eventually they all seem variously degrees of disillusioned or unhappy. There were a few parts that I could barely stomach watching the girls talk about how they felt while shooting certain porn scenes. I just think it’s too simplistic to be a really successful exposé.
Re-watched:
- Pitch Perfect – A little refresher before I catch the sequel. I can’t get over how well this movie works. It shouldn’t be as entertaining as it is considering some of the terribly corny moments and lame gags, but it’s still charming. Anna Kendrick is the best.
Off the Queue:
- Scoop – This is a nice, light watch but ultimately nothing too stand out. I really liked seeing Scarlett in a different kind of role than she played in Match Point. It’s not hard to see how she could become a director’s muse.
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – I will be discussing this in length when I guest on the Mad, Bad, Downright Strange Showcase podcast next month. Short version: I really dug this weird movie and all the bizarre, drug-fueled insanity.
New Movies:
- Jurassic World – I enjoyed this way more than expected! Take a look at my full review here.
- The Captive – I liked the trailer for this when I saw it a while back but I remembered hearing not so great things. The movie has solid performances from all involved but suffers from some confusing edits and unsatisfying end notes. In the end, I’m not mad I gave it watch though.
- Unfinished Business – This was a weird, disjointed film with a lot of meandering plots and an underutilized cast but I did laugh a bit. It’s one of those comedies that I would have hated in a review but going into it with no strings attached I was able to get out and not feel any pain from it. Still, there are better films to occupy your time with.
- Begin Again – I loved this! It’s one of the best romance films of recent memory and just feels so effortless and breezy. It hooked me early on and I loved the way the story handled every character’s story. It was sweet and touching in a soft way that I appreciated. Lovely music.
Re-watched:
- Kingsman: The Secret Service – Admittedly, I should have spent my rewatch on something more deserving considering I just saw this in February but it’s too damn fun to stay away. I always appreciate the silliness of Matthew Vaughn’s work & hope more Kingsman sequels pop up soon.
Off the Queue:
- A Simple Plan – Great thriller and moral tale. It makes me wish that Sam Rami continued down this path of smaller films. I could see him working towards an Oscar instead of his next big budget opportunity. *Fingers Crossed*
- Thank You For Smoking – Parts of this were fun but I’m not sure I totally understand all of the praise it received. It is an early stand out for Reitman and a fun performance from Aaron Eckhart but meh…I don’t know if I’ll return to it any time soon.