Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi doesn't do a lot to advance the plot considering the length of the movie, but it still feels pretty epic in places.

I didn't really know what Star Wars: The Last Jedi was going to be about before I saw it. I guess it's not really about much of anything. It definitely feels like a middle movie. I didn't like the old Star Wars movies, although I don't really remember them, so I should probably watch them again. But I do like the new ones.

This one seemed really "big," like it was a spectacle, and I was glad I saw it at the theater. There were a couple of times when the music went up and you felt the grandiosity of things, and it was nice.

I liked what they did with Kylo and Rey connecting. Kylo really is a lackluster villain, though. He always just seems whiny and weak. The entire First Order seems pretty hackneyed, especially that red-headed general they featured so much this time.

They went really heavy on the animals, with the big donkey horses, and the ice foxes, and the bird things. It just stood out, it didn't really blend well.

Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child

The acting and the dialogue in Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child aren't always the greatest, but I enjoyed it anyway.

I didn't know that Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child was a small-budget movie. I just saw a trailer for it and thought it looked interesting. The trailer kind of misrepresents what it is. It basically shows the first 10 minutes of the movie, but there's a lot more to it than that.

The timeline is kind of crazy. It's all over the place. But I liked it. It kept things interesting. And I liked the chapter headings. The only thing that didn't work at all was the slo-mo during the jail fight. That was super weird.

Swiss Army Man

Swiss Army Man is a weird movie. It makes a valid point, but the presentation is pretty rudimentary.

Swiss Army Man didn't pique my interest when I saw the trailer for it. I think any reviews I saw about it said it was "okay," which certainly didn't motivate me to see it. When I started watching it, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it starred Paul Dano. I remembered that Daniel Radcliffe was in it.

They kind of beat you over the head with the theme that we're really all the same, and we all do embarrassing things that wouldn't be embarrassing if we would stop making people feel bad for doing them. It's a valid idea, but the way in which it was conveyed wasn't terribly entertaining.

Moon

I can't really say that I *liked* Moon, but seeing how things played out was interesting.

It seems like everybody I know has seen Moon. Somehow I didn't hear anything about it until seven years after it came out. I didn't really know what to expect. All I knew about it was basically "a guy on a space station, something something AI."

The Hitman’s Bodyguard

The Hitman's Bodyguard, which it was not my choice to watch, brings nothing new to the genre and isn't worth watching.

I didn't have any interest in seeing The Hitman's Bodyguard. It definitely doesn't bring anything new to the "straight-laced guy gets teamed up with a crazy partner" genre. Samuel L. Jackson was good, I guess. They milked the whole "people like to hear him saying motherfucker" thing too hard, though. It wasn't done well. 

I think I'm officially tired of Ryan Reynolds playing Ryan Reynolds. Somebody let me know when he starts doing a different character. The chase scene in the Netherlands was cool, at least. I don't remember ever seeing one there before.

It had a few funny moments, but it's not worth watching unless you have some sort of niche interest in it. Although I did love the scene where Ryan was talking to the bartender, and pandemonium was breaking out behind him.

The Dark Tower

It's baffling why they even made this Dark Tower movie. It has nothing to do with the books. The characters and plot are completely different. That makes it pretty painful for someone who's read the series, and I'm not sure there's anything there for someone who hasn't.

I knew The Dark Tower wasn't going to be good, but I figured I might as well see it anyway. I read all the books, but it was a while ago, so I don't remember much about them anymore. When I saw the trailer, my reaction was, "what was that, there was nothing there." Reviews said it was just painful to watch because there was so much potential, and they didn't do anything with it. I definitely agree with that.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

I've liked all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and Dead Men Tell No Tales is no different. It's not going to win an Oscar or anything, but Javier is appropriately menacing, the plot holds things together well enough, and overall it's fun and familiar.

I like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I used to like Johnny Depp, but that's getting more difficult with all the "personal life" stuff that's been happening with him recently. I like the tone of the movies, though. And they're so familiar, with the music and everything. I like the "pirate adventure" angle, and seeing Jack running around doing crazy stuff.

The witch was super weird. I couldn't get behind her at all, or figure out if we were supposed to remember her from one of the other movies. They kind of overdid it with the makeup on the pirates. They all looked like they had some hardcore sun damage going on, and I felt like it wasn't necessary.

Fist Fight

Fist Fight is long, boring, and most significantly for a comedy, not funny.

The trailer for Fist Fight was funny, and I stubbornly insisted on watching it even though most of the reviews were terrible. Strangely, the reviewer on Ebert's website liked it, which everyone in the comments section was rightfully confused about.

2010

I'm not really sure what anyone was supposed to get out of 2010, the sequel to 2001. It was just kind of weird.

I didn’t really have any interest in seeing 2010 (the sequel to 2001), and I was really tired when I watched it, so pretty much the entire time I was just waiting for it to be over. It was kind of weird.

In Order of Disappearance

In Order of Disappearance isn't flashy, but it has a certain novelty factor just by virtue of being Norwegian, and it is interesting to watch how everything plays out.

In Order of Disappearance wasn’t supposed to be very good, but I wanted to see it anyway. I watched it on Netflix, and at first the sound didn’t sync up with the video at all, and it was really confusing. But then we figured out that was the dubbed version, and luckily we were able to change it to “Norwegian audio, English subtitles,” which was a lot better.

Okja

Okja is definitely a touching movie, but the tone was off, and a lot of the characters were like caricatures. I could never quite get into it.

Okja is a weird movie. It’s about a genetically modified “super pig” that looks like a giant hippo. It gets raised by a little girl in the forest for ten years, and then the company that made it wants it back. The characters are super odd. They’re like caricatures. I didn’t particularly enjoy Tilda’s performance as twin sisters – which by the way, is she typecast into only playing twins now? And Jake was super bizarre as the doctor.

Best of Enemies

Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal is a documentary about some televised debates that took place between a liberal and a conservative in the '60s, which doesn’t sound that interesting, but it’s actually fascinating to watch. You get all kinds of insights into the time period and their motivations, and we’re still facing the same issues they were then.

I wanted to see Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal when it came out, but the library didn’t get it. And then eventually I checked Netflix and there it was. I didn’t have any idea who either person was beforehand, but luckily they set everything up in the opening of the movie. It’s interesting how they said the country was so divided then. Nothing changes.

Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph has some funny moments, but there’s nothing “extra” to push it past being a standard kids’ movie.

Wreck-It Ralph is another movie I didn’t really have any interest in seeing. I did like Jane Lynch’s character, though. They incorporated a lot of her personality into the animation. It’s kind of a cool concept, like the secret lives of videogame characters.

The Departed

The Departed is a bit dated, but the acting is good, and I guess it’s interesting enough, if you like that kind of thing.

I had always heard that The Departed was good, but I wasn’t interested in it. Now that I finally got around to seeing it, it seems kind of dated, but I guess that’s what happens when you watch something that’s a decade old.

2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is one of those iconic movies that you kind of have to see whether you want to or not. I can’t exactly say that I enjoyed it, but it did have a couple of cool moments.

I had seen parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey before (who hasn’t?), but I hadn’t ever watched the entire thing, and it seemed like a movie one should have seen, in general.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

You pretty much know the plot of King Arthur from the trailer – Arthur has to kill the evil king – and Guy Ritchie’s style doesn’t exactly mesh seamlessly with the genre and tone. But it’s fun to watch anyway; Charlie Hunnam is a charismatic lead, there are some great musical choices, and it looks amazing.

 
I like Guy Ritchie’s movies, and I knew I wanted to see  King Arthur: Legend of the Sword as soon as I saw the trailer. His style of dialogue doesn’t 100% mesh with the tone of the movie, but it wasn’t disastrous, and I like it, anyway. It was kind of funny to see them setting up the assassination attempt like a heist. The whole “here’s what everybody’s going to say” schtick isn’t my favorite, though.

Man of Steel

We all know Superman’s story already, so I didn’t really get what the point of watching this was, but it was fine.

I never had any interest in seeing Man of Steel; or in fact, any Superman movies, because I’ve never seen one. And this wound up being another one I was only halfway paying attention to. I like Michael Shannon. He was good in Boardwalk Empire, and he did well playing Zod. Henry Cavill is fun to look at, and that’s pretty much my overall opinion of the movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a little campy, and I’m still not a fan of the makeup, but there’s something likeable about the characters, and I enjoyed the story.

I got to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in the theater, which was pretty cool, although I had to sit closer than I would’ve liked (even though we got there almost an hour early and there were seats available in the back). It does kind of make you feel like you’re more “in” it when you sit six rows back, I guess.

I’m still not a fan of the bold colors. I guess that’s just the look they’re going for. But the greasepaint aspect is annoying. Groot looked pretty good. He didn’t really stand out as CG. I guess everything is a little cartoon-y, so he blended in. Rocket looked super scruffy.

I do like all the characters, especially Drax for some reason. Mantis’ outift was cool. I liked how it resembled an insect. They kind of lost me in the opening scene. I felt like the level of camp or just the general vibe wasn’t my thing. But I either got used to it or they toned it down, because I didn’t notice it after that.

Logan

Logan was pretty decent. It works well as another chapter in the X-Men series, even if it is a sad one. The relationships between the characters are engaging, and Pierce is a cool villain.

As you know if you read my posts, I like X-Men. And I was probably the only person who liked Origins: Wolverine. I didn’t see the point of The Wolverine before or after I watched it. But I like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Which is probably why I didn’t enjoy seeing him being all old in this one.

Assassin's Creed

I wound up not 100% paying attention to Assassin’s Creed, but the general feeling I got was that it’s not that good. It’s a little hollow, and there are some weird plot and editing choices. It does look pretty good, though.

I’m kind of fond of the Assassin’s Creed games, even though I’ve never played them. But I’ve seen them played through at least partially and they look cool. And I like Michael Fassbender, so I wanted to see this even though the reviews weren’t good. I wound up not really being able to pay attention to it, but I think I can tell it wasn’t good enough to be worth watching again.

It did look cool, for the most part. Not cool enough that I regret not seeing it in the theater, though. I liked the character design for the past. The clothes and tattoos were cool. They did seem to be doing a lot of superhuman stuff for no reason. I was like wow, people’s abilities were a lot different in the past. I kind of missed what they were talking about with how the assassins first got created. That might have been interesting to know.

Storks

Storks is mostly insipid and pointless, but it does have a few funny moments.

I had zero interest in seeing Storks. The trailer made it look like Tulip was really annoying. And it turns out, she was. The whole premise of the movie is silly. And it’s just kind of dumb in general. Although for some reason I thought Pigeon Toady was basically the funniest thing ever. Brah. And I just got the joke of his name now that I see how it’s spelled. That makes so much sense.

Dancer

Dancer (aptly titled since that’s all the subject is, having no room in his life for anything additional) is pretty sad, but I guess it’s kind of interesting, and at least it ends on a hopeful note.

I read a review for Dancer and checked out Sergei’s “Take Me to Church” performance, which is pretty amazing, and decided the movie might be interesting to watch. It was kind of interesting. And also kind of boring. And also sad.

John Wick: Chapter 2

John Wick 2 doesn’t hold a candle to the original. The action is boring, the plot doesn’t make sense, and it’s all just a setup for the next one.

I didn’t see John Wick in the theater, and when I watched it, I wished I had. So I was determined to see John Wick 2 in the theater (and I did). There were only two other people there, so that was nice. The opening scene was great. I loved the view of New York, even though I had no idea that’s what city it was. And the opening car chase was cool, too. But it was all downhill from there.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

There’s nothing really spectacular about Kiki’s Delivery Service, but it holds up well for something that’s 27 years old, and it’s interesting seeing how everything plays out.

Kiki’s Delivery Service holds up pretty well for a movie that’s old as hell. I didn’t have any idea it was so old when I watched it. It’s weird that they translated the term to “witch.” I guess it makes sense with the broom and the familiar and the black and everything. But it sounded like they were saying something more like “mage.” I feel like there’s probably a more positive term they could have used/could have been using other than “witch.” I’m sure the dialogue as a whole was better in Japanese. It’s always a bit weird in the subtitles.

Sully

Sully is kind of a disaster. It manages to have a few engaging moments, but there’s not much point in watching it.

I knew before I watched it that I wasn’t interested in seeing Sully. There wasn’t any point. Tom Hanks looked really weird with that mustache, and so did Aaron Eckhart.

I guess I kind of liked the drama of “is Sully really mentally sound or not.” It did make you question if he really needed to land the plane like that or if he could’ve gotten back to an airport. I felt bad about the whole situation between him and his wife. I wonder how that turned out. Although they showed the real Sully at the end and he seemed like kind of a jerk. I think Tom Hanks’ version was a lot nicer than the real guy.

Strange Days

This was either my third or fourth time watching Strange Days. It might just be because I first saw it when I was young and unjaded, or because I love William Gibson’s stuff and it’s cool seeing it come to life, but it’s still one of my favorite movies. The dystopian cyberpunk atmosphere is great; there’s romance and action; all of the characters are compelling; and Ralph Fiennes’ performance totally steals the show.

This was either my third or fourth time seeing Strange Days, and I still love it, even if it does look dated as hell these days. I wonder if someone who hadn’t read William Gibson’s stuff would have the same affinity for it, though. There’s just something cool about seeing something you read about being brought to life. The whole cyberpunk dystopian atmosphere is great.

Layer Cake

Layer Cake is your typical crime movie, but there are some interesting shots, characters, and events here and there, so it's worth watching if that's your thing.

Off to a slow start this year with only one movie a month so far. I don't know if I've ever actually known anyone who liked Layer Cake, but it's a name you hear thrown around, so I figured I should see it. I didn't know anything about it, but I do like Daniel Craig. His eyes are crazy blue. I wound up turning the subtitles on about a third of the way through, which I probably should've done to begin with, because it helped a lot.

Len and Company

Len and Company is kind of interesting, but there's nothing profound about it, and it's one of those movies that leaves you wondering what the point of making or watching it was.

The reviews for Len & Company weren't that great, but I wanted to watch it anyway. There was something weird going on with the audio syncing, and you heard the lines with a significant delay after you saw them being spoken, which was really weird. And this was an especially bad movie for that to happen on since it's almost exclusively people talking. It was probably just a DVD/player issue, but it made it difficult to get a handle on the movie.