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:
- Ant-Man – For a movie I was barely planning to see in theaters, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had with this. Michael Peña may have stolen the show, but Paul Rudd seemed perfect in the role and lent a perfect counterpoint to all the silliness with his dry wit. The action set pieces were quite entertaining with all the shrinking and blowing up.
- Spy – This is my favorite comedy of the year. Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy have a 3/3 track record in my eyes. It was hilarious and had a perfect ensemble. I really hope this lands a sequel after Ghostbusters wraps.
Re-watched:
- Mrs. Doubtfire -This was playing on Robin Williams’ birthday and I sat down and watched start to finish for the first time in a really long while. Such a bittersweet watch but also remains one of my childhood favorites. Williams will always live on as a treasure in his movies.
Off the Queue:
- Confessions of a Dangerous Mind – Lindsay told me awhile back that is was just okay. I wish I had listened and just not worried about it but I really want to see all of Charlie Kaufman’s work anyway. I didn’t downright hate it by any stretch but there was nothing I enjoyed about it in particular. Even Sam Rockwell who is downright lovable was at his least likable here. I didn’t know that was possible (I also know it was kind of the point but still). For a story this weird, it seems a movie couldn’t possibly be boring, but that’s how I felt.
- I’ve been off track with my movie watching… I blame it on Orange is the New Black. But I’m almost done with this latest season (what a roller coaster) so I should be back to devoting my evening hours to more movie watching.
New Movies:
- Ant-Man – I liked Paul Rudd as the lead, I thought it was cute/funny but overall I was disappointed. I must be suffering from Marvel fatigue because I often seem unimpressed with the superhero flicks that seem to be racking up so much praise.
- Vacation – Some laughs but nothing stellar (it’s an at home watch for sure) but overall it just doesn’t fit with the legacy of the original. Here’s my full review.
- Spy – Critics were on point with this one as it turned out to be one of the funniest movies I’ve seen this year. McCarthy, Byrne and even Jason Statham totally kill it.
- Tig – Documentary about comedian Tig Notaro’s cruel year she was diagnosed with cancer and the subsequent aftermath of her touching stand-up set about the ordeal. Very insightful and especially thoughtful for those interested in how stand up comedians work behind the scenes.
Re-watched:
- The Guest – This film rules. I think it might make my top 10 list if I go back and restructure it. It’s cool on more levels than I’ll ever be. In love with/terrified of Dan Stevens.
- The Terminator – This may or may not count as I can not accurately recall if I have seen this before. I don’t think I have? I’m not sure but I’ll count it. Watched this for an upcoming episode of the podcast and I really dug it. I can’t wait to watch (or rewatch?) T2.
Off the Queue:
- Tales From the Darkside – I believe this made it to my list thanks to Marc and it feels extremely in line with his sensibilities. It’s a collection of horror based, child friendly-ish stories painted in the broad strokes of the 80’s. It was an okay watch but its akin to watching a Goosebumps episode.
- I’m Not Scared – A young boy in rural Italy finds another boy about his age being held captive at the bottom of a hole. This was also an underwhelming viewing. There is nothing to moan about in a positive or negative way and it didn’t leave much of an impact on me. The story made more sense when I learned that it was partially based on real life events.