Year: 2015

A24 Films

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[Number of movies rated as of 12/21/2015 is 1572]

I’ve been waiting for Amy to come out for a while since I missed it in theaters. The previews for other A24 films had me intrigued so I picked up The End of the Tour as well. I might have to go down a A24 rabbit hole now….

 

Amy

Netflix summary: Though singer Amy Winehouse released only two albums during her brief and stormy career, she left an indelible mark on pop music. This affecting documentary recounts her meteoric rise to fame and the addictions that ended her life at age 27.

★★★★ With interviews from friends and family, this movie shows us a more complete version of Amy Winehouse than other biographical films that have come out about her life. It reveals just how damaging being famous can be.

 

The End of the Tour

Netflix summary: In 1996, “Rolling Stone” reporter David Lipsky accompanied acclaimed author David Foster Wallace on a five-day promotional tour, which is chronicled in this affecting drama that focuses on the bond they form through casual and profound discussions.

★★★★ This movie would probably be uninteresting to someone who isn’t an English lit major or a big reader. I’ve had Infinite Jest sitting on my bookshelf for years now and this movie just might be the inspiration I’ve needed to pick it up.

They call me Mr. Tibbs

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[Number of movies rated as of 11/16/2015 is 1540]

I approach my 10th anniversary with Netflix and thus will be desperately attempting to achieve the goal I had when I originally signed up for the service: complete the AFI top 100 movies of all time list(s). This one makes 93/122.

In the Heat of the Night

Netflix summary: Black Philadelphia detective Virgil Tibbs helps a redneck Southern sheriff solve a murder in this riveting study in racism that still strikes a chord. Rod Steiger won a Best Actor Oscar for his turn as the put-upon lawman who comes to respect Tibbs.

★★★★ Virgil Tibbs deals with racism in a southern town while trying to investigate a homicide. I now understand the pop culture reference that was going on in this scene of The Lion King:

 

Action Movie Marathon

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[Number of movies rated as of 5/20/2015 is 1504]

I’ve always considered myself something of an action movie expert–my dad only owned intense war movies and my mom wasn’t a fan of buying us Disney tapes; her favorite movies were The Godfather and Bladerunner. I grew up on a strange mix of 80s-90s action movies with a few exceptions that included Home Alone, Home Alone 2, and Jurassic Park (all violent, basically).

Demolition Man

Netflix summary: In the violent 1990s, a cop (Sylvester Stallone) catches a relentless killer (Wesley Snipes), and both end up in a cryogenic deep freeze. In the peaceful year 2032, the criminal emerges from his long chill and attacks the now crimeless California. Unable to stop the bloodshed, a “Big Brother” boss (Nigel Hawthorne) defrosts the murderer’s past nemesis, who struggles to adapt to the ways of a new world and a restless new partner (Sandra Bullock).

★★★ tl;dr it was awesome minus the Bechdel test failure (not many action movies pass that test). Bullock’s character is painful.

Mad Max

Netflix summary: In a postapocalyptic future, jaded cop Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is ready to retire. But his world is shattered when a malicious gang murders his family as an act of retaliation, forcing a devastated Max to hit the open road seeking vengeance. As he travels the Australian outback’s empty stretches of highway, he tours the bloodstained battlegrounds ruled by marauding bikers who feed on violence.

★★★★ I hear they are making a re-make of this movie. (Need to go see the new one!) Update: the new version is incredible. For the first time probably since getting Netflix I went out and bought a copy. Must see.

Kickboxer

Netflix summary: When kickboxing champ Eric Sloane is crippled in the ring by the evil Tong Po, Eric’s younger brother, Kurt, seeks vengeance. But if he’s to vanquish Po, Kurt must first learn a martial art known as Muay Thai.

★★★ Van Damme is the king of 80s-90s action movies and this one is about average for what you expect. I feel like some of Kill Bill was pulled from this movie, but I could be wrong.

Con Air

Netflix summary: Newly released from prison, ex-con Cameron Poe finds himself on a transport plane that’s been hijacked by some of the most dangerous inmates in America. Cameron just wants to reunite with his wife and daughter, but the thugs have other plans.

★★★★ Once I watched Con Air I realized I’ve been missing out on one of the most actiony action movies ever! This movie has everything cheesey you could ever hope for, including Nicolas Cage with long hair that blows in the wind.

Divergent

Netflix summary: Born into a civilization in the distant future, Beatrice is a teenager who learns that her unique cognitive skills make her useful to the authorities. Over time she discovers that she’s a Divergent, and thus slated for elimination by the government.

★★★★ Not sure why I was instantly pulled into this movie, I do recall yelling to my actual-real-life-boyfriend (not Netflix, my true love), “Come here and watch this movie! It’s hot people doing hot things!!” We both thoroughly enjoyed it. Something so damn appealing about post-apocalyptic young adult trilogies I guess.

The Giver

Netflix summary: In a future society called The Community, pain, war and disease have been eradicated, as have individuality and free will. When a teenager named Jonas learns the truth about the real world, he must decide whether to reveal all or remain quiet.

★★★ Falls into the genre of started-as-a-YA-book about the distopian future in which we are all categorized into rigid identities. I have no problems with this genre. This movie also falls into the category of “wasn’t-as-good-as-the-book.” I remember reading The Giver as an eight-year-old and being completely mesmerized. The movie falls short of my expectations but still gets three stars.

50 movies you have to see in your lifetime

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Snagged this list from hellogiggles.com. Looks like I’m going to have to add more movies to my queue. And I was down to 150 too (the low end).

27/50–just over half. Will update as I see them.

  1. Heathers
  2. Together
  3. When Harry Met Sally
  4. The Big Lebowski
  5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  6. The Cabin in the Woods
  7. True Romance
  8. Wet Hot American Summer
  9. The Princess Diaries
  10. Casa Blanca
  11. Escape From New York
  12. Boyhood
  13. All About Eve
  14. Yojimbo
  15. Marie Antoinette
  16. The Usual Suspects
  17. The Big Chill
  18. The Beginners
  19. Singin’ in the Rain
  20. Frances Ha
  21. The Princess Bride
  22. Rushmore
  23. Jaws
  24. The Lives of Others
  25. (500) Days of Summer
  26. Jodorowsky’s Dune
  27. Short Term 12
  28. Repulsion
  29. The Royal Tenenbaums
  30. Harold and Maude
  31. The Apartment
  32. The Landlord
  33. The Up Series
  34. Paprika
  35. The Heartbreak Kid
  36. Black Cat, White Cat
  37. The Shining
  38. Clean, Shaven
  39. The General
  40. American Graffiti
  41. Love Actually
  42. In The Mood For Love
  43. Princess Mononoke
  44. This is Spinal Tap
  45. The Raid: Redemption
  46. Lord of the Rings
  47. The Godfather
  48. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  49. Vertigo
  50. Kramer vs. Kramer

Latest Movies: October 1 2014 – January 16 2015

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[Number of movies rated as of 1/23/2015 is 1465]

Super

Netflix summary: When his wife (Liv Tyler) falls in league with a drug dealer, average guy Frank D’Arbo (Rainn Wilson) dons the guise of a superhero, dubs himself the Crimson Bolt and tries to keep a tagalong comic-book store clerk (Ellen Page) from becoming his sidekick. But it’s hard to be a superhero when all you’ve got to work with is a pipe wrench. Kevin Bacon co-stars in this action-driven dramedy from writer-director James Gunn.

★★★★ It’s been several months since I watched this movie. Netflix says I gave it four stars so I’m going with that.

Django Unchained

Netflix Summary: Accompanied by a German bounty hunter, a freed slave named Django travels across America to free his wife from a sadistic plantation owner. Quentin Tarantino directs this modern-day spaghetti Western.

★★★ This was the second time I’ve watched this and I was hoping to enjoy it more than I did the first round considering my love for Tarantino. It lacks something in Tarantino’s other movies, however…is it that he doesn’t humanize the villains? I’m still not sure. Good, just not great.

Fargo

Netflix Summary:Police chief Marge Gunderson — a serious sleuth who’s sharper than her folksy accent suggests — is hot on the trail of a Minneapolis car dealer conspiring with two kidnappers to snatch his wife so he can pocket part of the hefty ransom.

★★★★★ Love this movie, it’s one of my favorites. I was tempted to watch it again after going to a wedding in the midwest. All of the accents reminded me of this movie.

Hungry for Change

Netflix Summary: This documentary exposes secrets the diet, weight loss and food industries don’t want consumers to know about: deceptive strategies designed to keep you coming back for more. Find out what’s keeping people from having the body and health they want.

★★★ Meh this movie does not introduce any theories you have not heard before.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Netflix Summary: Martin Scorcese’s high-rolling Wall Street drama is based on the memoirs of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, whose giddy career — involving audacious scams and confrontations with the FBI and other agencies — ended in federal prison.

★★★ Nothing new here. Just another movie glorifying drugs and financial fraud. Di Caprio and Scorcese’s names are the only thing that put this movie in the spotlight.

Tollhunter

Netflix Summary: While investigating a series of suspicious bear killings, a group of students trail a mysterious “hunter” who tries to elude them at every turn. The group soon learns that his prey is far more dangerous and mystical than mere bears.

★★★★ I am more familiar with Norwegian-grandmother version of trolls, so this was a pretty cool interpretation of Scandinavian folklore, for me at least. I haven’t seen too many Norwegian films, I’ll have to remedy that….

Women Who Kill

Netflix Summary: Top comediennes Amy Schumer, Rachel Feinstein, Nikki Glaser and Marina Franklin join up in New York City for one hilarious night of stand-up comedy. From racism to pregnancy, nothing is off-limits as each comic delivers her own sharp point-of-view.

★★★★ I credit this for introducing me to Marina Franklin, who I hope does more stand-up soon.

Women Aren’t Funny

Netflix Summary: Comedian Bonnie McFarlane enlists Joan Rivers, Wanda Sykes, Sarah Silverman and other greats to put to rest the notion that women aren’t funny.

★★ Sometimes funny things happen in this documentary but….mostly not. Women are funny…just not the woman who made this IMO.

Reefer Madness

Netflix Summary: In this 1930s propaganda film turned cult classic comedy, a group of teens seduced by the power of “reefer” take a few puffs and instantly become psychotic killers, rapists and jazz addicts.

★★★ In retrospect, propaganda is always hilarious.

Skyfall

Netflix Summary: When a serious menace threatens MI6, James Bond is on the case — putting aside his own life and personal issues to hunt and obliterate the perpetrators. Meanwhile, secrets arise from M’s past that strain Bond’s loyalty to his longtime boss.

★★★ Meh. For some reason I have zero interest in Bond movies. I just don’t. I’m not actually sure I’ve watched an entire one. Not even this one; I stopped paying attention and started playing around on the internet mid-movie.

Sleepless in Seattle

Netflix Summary: Fate and a tenacious 8-year-old boy conspire to unite lovelorn widower Sam Baldwin and unhappily engaged journalist Annie Reed in this Oscar-nominated romantic comedy inspired by the 1957 classic An Affair to Remember.

★★★ I haven’t watched this movie since I was a child and I decided to re-watch this in order to see if I could spot familiar Seattle landmarks now that I live in downtown. It’s a classic 90s RomCom.

Enlightened

Netflix Summary: After a major spiritual awakening during rehab, businesswoman Amy Jellicoe resolves to redesign her life toward higher goodness in this arch HBO sitcom. Trouble is, her friends and colleagues have little use for the new, philosophically improved Amy.

★★★★★ While a little slow-moving, I highly enjoyed this dark comedy HBO show. The pilot had me rolling on the floor. Laura Dern does a fantastic job of balancing a character who is both gratingly irritating and somehow inspiring. With the mask of a New Age compassion, she manages to take down the corporation that put her in mental-health treatment center she goes to in the pilot. One reviewer accurately noted it walks the edge between a life lesson and a parody. Definitely recommend.

Family Tree

Netflix Summary: In this mockumentary series from Christopher Guest and Jim Piddock, Chris O’Dowd plays a 30-year-old struggling to find his identity. Luckily, he inherits a box full of characters when a great-aunt leaves him her belongings.

★★★ I ❤ Chris O’Dowd and genealogy so this seemed like something I would enjoy. It definitely had the feel of a show that wasn’t doing so well and had to be wrapped up pretty quickly but I found it hilarious.

Now to start (late) what I call “Action Movie January” where I gather all my Stallone, JCVD, Hackman, Eastwood, Schwarzenegger, Gibson, and De Niro movies.