Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

The constant barrage of emotional moments is a bit much, but aside from that, I liked the tone of The Rise of Skywalker. There isn't a whole lot to the plot, but the characters are likeable and it looks good, which is about all I expect from a Star Wars movie.

I wasn't really into the first six movies, so I don't have any allegiance to what "Star Wars" is supposed to be. I did like the two new ones, though.

I can appreciate that it's a closing of the arc, but I didn't like how every 5 seconds they hit you with saying goodbye to another big character. There was also a constant barrage of triumphant moments. Somebody described the movie as being waterboarded. Sure you like water, but that's too much water. I kind of agree.

Leia looked kind of weird. I always like Rey's outfit, though. I liked the new droid, but it's kind of weird that they keep introducing new ones.

Punch-Drunk Love

I liked Punch-Drunk Love when it first came out 17 years ago, and I watched it again to see what I would think of it now. It's not a movie for everybody, but it hits perfectly for me. I can totally identify with Barry. The soundtrack gets a bit obtrusive, and the plot isn't terribly realistic. But I love the humor, and the way his sisters act is a spot-on representation of how people really are.

I generally haven't hated Adam Sandler movies. I liked 50 First Dates. I liked Billy Madison, although I was nine when I saw it, so my opinion might change if I saw it again. I think he eventually went south with the dumb comedies, though, and I haven't seen him in anything for a long time.

I saw Punch-Drunk Love when it came out, but that was 17 years ago, which is insane to think about. I liked it then.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a cool movie, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing. The tone hits all the right notes; it's farsical and, dare I say, quixotic. Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver bring a lot of charisma, and the side characters are interesting, too.

I read excerpts of Don Quixote in school, but I haven't read the entire thing. I remember liking it, though. I don't think I've watched anything Terry Gilliam has been involved with, other than Tristram Shandy, which I felt like was one of the worst movies I had ever seen.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a fully "okay" movie. I still like the magic and the creatures. It raises some questions about characters I previously thought of as "good," like Dumbledore and Queenie. I'm interested to see where they go with the rest of the series.

I had a lot of problems seeing Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. I wanted to see it in a theater on my birthday. It was only playing into theaters by then, one in Shoreline, and one in Tacoma. The one in Shoreline only had one showing a day. I don't see movies in theaters very often (in fact, it's about once a year, on my birthday). I didn't realize that a lot of the theaters have switched over to having you pick your seat when you buy the ticket.

I didn't get to the theater until about five minutes before the movie started. The only tickets that were left were in the front row. I tried it out, but it was impossible to see anything. I should have just seen a different movie, but I wound up not seeing anything at all, which really sucked.

I wound up waiting until Grindelwald came to the $4 theater to try again. I normally sit in the back row of the theater, but the screen at the Crest was so small that I wanted to sit in the middle. I ended up not being able to do that, even though there were open seats where I wanted to be. So I had to sit all the way in the back. For about the first third of the movie, I felt like I couldn't even see it, and I kept missing a bunch of dialogue because I couldn't hear it, either.

I read a review that said Newt's affect gets really annoying. Maybe my perception was just colored by that, but I definitely agreed. Like, just stand up straight at least.

From Dusk Till Dawn

From Dusk Till Dawn  is fine for what it is, a grindhouse movie. I think I'm starting to be over Tarantino's schtick. It reminded me of Feast, only Feast was way better, so I recommend watching that instead.

I thought I had From Dusk Till Dawn on the list of movies I had seen, but I don't. I'm not sure why I hadn't ever watched it. I tend to like Robert Rodriguez's movies, in general.

It's definitely a grindhouse movie. I don't know if that's really my thing these days. It reminded me of Feast.

The Ballard of Buster Scruggs

There are some interesting themes and visuals in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and of course a lot of great actors, but overall, it's just not my thing.

The Coen Brothers are hit or miss with me, and The Ballard of Buster Scruggs falls squarely in the category of "meh."

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins are great, and Dracula's character design is cool, but the movie is still way too cheesy.

I liked Bram Stoker’s Dracula slightly more the first time I saw it. Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins are still good, and the costumes are cool. But the rest is a little weird. It's way too cheesy and over the top.

Johnny Mnemonic

I'm too much of a William Gibson fan to not like Johnny Mnemonic, even if most of the acting is horrific. There are so many cool ideas, costumes, and characters, you just have to look past the line delivery.

I loved William Gibson's books in high school, although I don't actually remember them anymore. This was the second time I've seen Johnny Mnemonic. I did remember the book the first time I saw it, 11 years ago. I gave it a 3/5 then. I don't think I recognized how terrible *all* the acting was. I knew Keanu was bad, but this time I saw that everyone else was, too.

I still like the atmosphere and idea of it, the characters, and the costumes. They should do a remake with good actors. Keanu and Henry are atrocious. Everyone else is just flat. And some of the CG is really cheesy.

It definitely works a lot better if you've read the book. I still think all the stuff about implants and enhancements is cool, and the idea of the low-tech underground counterculture, and the whole "ghost in the machine" digital consciousness concept.

Wind

Wind is a sailboat-racing movie from 1992. The interpersonal stuff in it doesn't really work, and some of the sailing parts go on for a bit too long, but I guess it fits the bill if all you're looking for is a movie about boating.

I hadn't ever heard of Wind. I don't remember seeing any of the actors in anything else. It's kind of a weird movie. It's mostly about sailing, so I guess it's a good movie if you're into that.

Matthew Modine had a weird vibe going on. He was super charismatic, but also kind of creepy.

The Proposition

The Proposition is one of my favorite movies. Nick Cave's soundtrack is bewitching, and the landscapes are beautiful. All of the actors are great, and there’s so much depth to the characters. Everything about it is meticulous and nuanced. I’d dial back how graphic some of the violence is, but other than that, it's brilliant.

This is at least the third time I've seen The Proposition. I saw it when it came out, and it's one of my favorites. Apparently I don't even have a rating for the previous times I've seen it. I absolutely love it, though. It's great right from the beginning, when you've got everybody there -- Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, and Mikey. And they start right away cutting to the landscapes, and Charlie on his horse. The visuals are so great the entire time -- the scenery, the composition, everything. It makes you feel like you're really there.

Pacific Rim: Uprising

Pacific Rim was great, but you can stop there. The writing and acting in Uprising are horrible, and it isn't worth your time.

When I saw Pacific Rim, I liked it so much that I wished I had seen it in theaters. But I heard that the sequel wasn't that great, so I wasn't planning to see it. I wound up watching it anyway, except for about 15 minutes in the middle. I don't think I missed anything. In contrast to Gladiator, at least there were women in it. I appreciated that the cadets were split about 50/50. Cailee Spaeny is a terrible actress, though. All of the characters were horribly written. They were like caricatures.

I liked getting to hear John Boyega's British accent. The opening 30 seconds with him as a party boy were the best part of the movie. I want to see a movie about that character. I didn't *like* Charlie Day's character, but there's something about it that was interesting to watch.

Gladiator

I have a history of not liking Ridley Scott movies, and there's nothing in Gladiator for me. The time period reminded me of Titus (the Anthony Hopkins movie, not the comedian). I’d recommend watching that instead.

Gladiator came out the same year as Snatch. I guess I'm on an old movie kick. Like Snatch, I saw Gladiator back then, but I had completely forgotten all of it, and for some reason, I never saw the ending of Gladiator. It's widely regarded as a good movie, I guess. One of the people I was watching it with kept saying "this is such a good movie" during it, but I didn't share that sentiment. I think I'm pretty safe in saying I just don't like Ridley Scott's movies.

The opening fight scene reminded me of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. I guess Gladiator came out first, so it should be the other way around. It's not a very feminist movie. There's not really anything for women to identify with or like.

Snatch

Guy Ritchie might be my favorite director. I love his style, and it really shines here, more than in any other movie of his that I've seen. Snatch has a ton of good actors, all playing great characters. Each one contributes something, even if they’re only in a few scenes. It's consistently funny throughout, there's always something new and unexpected happening, and the way it all comes together is great.

I'm pretty sure I must have seen Snatch at some point. But I was only 14 when it came out, and I didn't remember it at all. I knew where the diamond ended up because I read a reference to it somewhere, but other than that and the fact that Brad Pitt played a gypsy, I didn't know anything about it.

I like Guy Ritchie's movies a lot, with the exception of Lock, Stock. Maybe I should watch it again. Or maybe not. Snatch seemed a lot like Rocknrolla and Layer Cake (not a Guy Ritchie movie), only a million times better. I don't know what the point of making Rocknrolla even was since he had already done Snatch. Lock, Stock would probably be similar enough that I wouldn't get anything out of it.
 
Snatch had me hooked right from the beginning. I love Jason Statham, although by the time I watched the second movie that I saw him in (The Bank Job, which incidentally, I didn't like him in), I had completely forgotten that he was in Snatch. To be fair, that was eight years later, which is a long time to remember an actor you've never seen in anything else.
 
But his character was great in Snatch. Although I didn't get why he needed to reference "zee Germans" three times. I loved his sidekick, too. I felt like I knew him from somewhere, but I don't think I really did, even though I've seen a few things that he's been in. I also felt like I had just seen the diamond guy and Brick Top as bad guys in similar movies, but apparently I hadn't.

A Quiet Place

The concept of A Quiet Place is great, and I'd love to see it executed without the characters constantly making maddeningly thoughtless choices.

I have a lot of problems with A Quiet Place. First, the fact that the family didn't really seem to understand the importance of staying quiet.

Ready Player One

Ready Player One is a really simple movie, and there are a lot of things about it that don't make sense, but it was still fun to watch.

I haven't read Ready Player One. A lot of people hated the movie, but it seemed like something to see, anyway.

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange looks good and the magic stuff is fun to see, but it’s still a pretty unremarkable movie, and Dr. Strange himself is a jerk.

I didn't know anything about Doctor Strange before I saw this movie, other than his scenes in Thor: Ragnarok. They really set him up in the beginning of the movie as a complete jackass.

The Beaches of Agnes

Beaches of Anges really gives you a feel for who Agnes Varda is. I loved listening to the way she narrates this documentary about her life, and seeing all the fanciful, whimsical images she comes up with.

Beaches of Agnes is basically about Agnes Varda remembering some stuff that happened to her around beaches. I just like Agnes Varda. It's interesting to see the things that she comes up with. They're so fanciful and whimsical. The mirrors at the beach at the beginning are so cool.

The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects was alright. It was interesting seeing how things played out, and I liked the ending, even if it was a little confusing.

The Usual Suspects came out 20 years ago, but somehow I never saw it. Now it's weird because of Kevin Spacey. It makes you look at things in a different light. His character comes off as pretty weird/creepy, and it turns out that he actually is creepy.

They wore really oversized suits in the 90s. The musical cues were super oldschool and distracting. They really liked doing shots of two characters in profile. Benicio del Toro was practically unrecognizable. I liked Stephen Baldwin's performance, for some reason. I don't think I've ever actually seen him in anything.

What We Do in the Shadows

I liked Flight of the Conchords, but What We Do in the Shadows is profoundly not my thing.

I liked Flight of the Conchords, but I didn't have any interest in seeing What We Do in the Shadows. The version I watched wound up having the opening text in a language that was similar to German, so I missed out on a bit of context there, but looking it up now, I see that it wasn't critically important.

I'm starting to think that Taika's sense of humor just isn't my thing. There's something off about it. It's sort of flat, and cringey, and not funny.

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand is a pointless abomination that deserved to be retconned. The ending is quite possibly the greatest failure in logic ever to exist.

X-Men: The Last Stand is easily the worst X-Men movie I've ever seen. Maybe it's because Bryan Singer wasn't involved. I can definitely see why they retconned it.

The entire thing was just terrible. Wolverine's hair looked ridiculous for most of the movie, and Storm's wig was super distracting. Kelsey Grammer was a weird Beast. Nick Hoult is much better. I still don't like Halle Berry as Storm. I do still like Rebecca as Mystique, though. Knowing her backstory gave the character more depth than it probably had for people watching the movie when it first came out. And I still liked Ian, too. Magneto's entire team was more interesting than the X-Men. I don't really see them as villains.