Total Films Seen: 115 Annihilation: B Ant-Man and the Wasp: C Araby: A At Eternity’s Gate: D+ Ava*: A- Avengers: Infinity War*: C- Bad Times at the El Royale: C+ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: B+ Beautiful Boy: C+ Before We Vanish: C Bird Box: C- Bisbee ’17: A BlacKkKlansman: B Black Panther*: B+ Blindspotting:…
Category: archive
Films Seen in 2017 – Alphabetical
Total: 134 Abacus: Small Enough to Jail: B After the Storm: B* Alien: Covenant: C All the Money in the World: D All These Sleepless Nights: C American Fable: C Annabelle: Creation: D Atomic Blonde: A-* Baby Driver: C- Battle of the Sexes: B- Beach Rats: B Beatriz at Dinner: B+* Beauty and the Beast:…
Where Were They Then?: Submarine (10, C-) – Originally completed 7/24/18
Why this film?: Because I didn’t want to watch a Mike Leigh film that featured Leslie Manville in an even more prominent role than it did Hawkins and had already seen Happy-Go-Lucky and Vera Drake. The crime thriller Layer Cake, where Hawkins plays a gangster’s girlfriend going by the name Slasher was the definite runner-up,…
Where Were They Then?: About Time (13, B-) – Originally completed 7/16/18
Why this film?: Because I’d already seen Wolf of Wall Street, wasn’t about to watch Z for Zachariah, gave Mary Queen of Scots to Saoirse, and wanted to pick something fun after Dark Matter. The review: In retrospect, it is not surprising that About Time was written and directed by the same scribe behind Love, Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral. As much as About…
1994 Supporting Actress Smackdown – Originally completed 5/31/18
Bad news: I ended up missing the deadling for this month’s Smackdown and didn’t submit my ballot on time. Good news: My favorite performance won! and I decided to reverse my decision not to limit myself to 94 words in mt write-ups. Shit was getting way too bloated. Next month in 1943, and I’ve decided…
June 2018 Viewing Log
Crooklyn (94, A-): Bursts with life, from its smartly directed ensemble, nimble grip on time, risky and colorful stylistic choices. Sees the kids, parents, and community. 6/1/18 According to Alfre Woodard’s Wikipedia page she did not receive a SINGLE nomination for Crooklyn which is a SHAM when she should’ve been Oscar nominated at the VERY LEAST. WHAT is that…
Where Were They Then?: Dark Matter (07, D+) – Originally completed 6/29/18
Why this film?: Because for all of Meryl’s non-nominated films, successful or not, this was the one that seemed to have almost no reputation among her fans from my cursory investigations, even though its negative reviews were known to me. The unusual matching of Streep to such a politically heavy topic and a foreign director…
Where Were They Then?: Conviction (10, C+) – Originally completed 6/23/18
Why this film?: Because even people who weren’t psyched by Rockwell steamrolling the televised awards spoke fondly of this performance, and since I trusted those people, this seemed like the place to go. The film: Conviction is the kind of film that makes you root for it, makes you want to root for it, even as you…
Where Were They Then?: I Heart Huckabees (04, A-) – Originally completed 6/13/18
Why this film?: Because I’ve heard too many good things about Huckabees to pass up the chance to watch it for a project, though I might have gone for a different film had I known about the smallness of Jenkins’s part beforehand. I’d like to say Flirting with Disaster, Let Me In, and Bone Tomahawk were the runners-up, but it was…
Where Were They Then?: Rampart (11, B+) – Originally completed 6/9/18
Why this film?: Natural Born Killers and The Edge of Seventeenwere tempting choices, but everything I’d heard about Rampart’s politically rich storyline and ambitious execution made this an easy choice right off the bat. Plus, a character actor like Woody Harrelson in a lead role feels like the kind of treat more films should offer, especially when they’re…
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