Watching The Best: June 2017

The Transporter [Revisit]

I remember really enjoying this film when I bought it on VHS from Target for ~$2. There is some solid action choreography here, but the rest of the film is pretty thin, unfortunately.

6/10

Major League [Revisit]

A classic sports-comedy that hasn't aged tremendously, but is still quite funny and enjoyable.

8/10

To Kill a Mockingbird

One of the truly great book adaptations that continues to be extremely effective and prescient to this day. I was especially enamored with the performances from the children in the film.

9.75/10

Berlin Syndrome

An extremely tense film with that rare 'the protagonist is trying all of the things I might try in that situation' quality that modern-day films so often seem to lack.

8.25/10

Dax Shepherd and Michael Pena outshining The Rock and Zac Efron was not something I was expecting, but that's where I landed on this year's classic TV show revival films. Still, the film wasn't that much better than BAYWATCH.

4.75/10

Shimmer Lake

A fun little heist/murder mystery film that unwinds its plot much like MEMENTO did.

7.75/10

Idiocracy [Revist]

Another diabolically clever film from Mike Judge that unfortunately becomes closer and closer to our reality every year, it seems.

9.25/10

Office Space [Revisit]

I had forgotten how funny this film was! It's an old favorite, with razor-sharp writing and endlessly quotable lines.

8.75/10

Chef [Revisit]

Energetic, vibrant, and gorgeously shot with a narrative that is a joy to behold.

10/10

The Animatrix [Revisit]

This anthology film provides more opportunities to play in the incredible world built by the Wachowskis. Some of the shorts are better than others, and the same goes for the different animation styles on display.

7.75/10

The Matrix Revolutions [Revisit]

Watching the dominoes set in place by the first two films begin to topple is a blast. This film is almost entirely action set-piece after action set-piece. They're grand and ambitious, and I've enjoyed it quite a bit each time.

8.75/10

It Comes At Night

This film was a masterclass in building an atmosphere, as well as using lights and shadows to present gorgeous shots. The narrative left a bit to be desired, but I was definitely thoroughly unsettled for most of the film.

8.75/10

The Matrix Reloaded [Revisit]

My personal favorite of the series, and not coincidentally the film with the best fight choreography. The CGI is fairly dated and silly-looking at times, which is unfortunate, but looking past that leaves a very solid follow-up to the first.

8.5/10

The Matrix [Revisit]

Despite the numerous parodies and jokes, this remains a top-notch sci-fi film that builds an incredible world in which to play.

10/10

Drive [Revisit]

A tremendous story dripping with style as evidenced by the outstanding cinematography and phenomenal soundtrack. Ryan Gosling delivers a sublime, subdued performance and the film is peppered with some tremendous supporting characters and actors.

10/10

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping [Revisit]

A truly underrated gem that far too many people missed altogether. The Lonely Island and a huge host of incredible cameos all work together to provide an absolutely hilarious 90 minutes.

9/10

Wonder Woman

Oh boy, here we go. I'm going to start with what I liked. Gal Gadot is pitch-perfect, which makes the second DCEU film in which she was basically the only stand-out part. Chris Pine was good, but his character was part of a deeply flawed third act. The second act action set-piece was wonderful in every way, with gorgeous shots and really fun fight choreography. In fact, the opening action sequence was quite solid as well.

Unfortunately, from literally the first line of dialogue, I knew we were in a lot of trouble. That started a trend of, every 20-25 minutes or so, a character spouting something so offensively stupid that it ripped me out of whatever hold the film had on me. At least one of the characters in the film does literal zero relevant things. The third act final fight is beyond lifeless, and I couldn't believe that this film ended on such a weak confrontation.

I love that the film tried to do some great things; a strong female-led superhero film, an anti-war, pro-peace-and-love message, etc. Any time Gadot was ignoring the fools trying to control her, magic happened. But the events that occurred in the back half of the film between Gadot and Pine were largely unearned, and undermined some crucial themes of the film in my eyes. All of this culminates in easily the best film of the DCEU, but WONDER WOMAN only barely limps over that very, very low bar.

3.75/10

Saw 3D [Revisit]

I loved the premise for the main set of traps in this film. In the world they've constructed over the past six films, of course there would be a joker trying to profit by claiming to have survived a trap. Although this film continues the trend of mostly weak games, the narrative continues to be the most compelling part of the franchise.

7.25/10

Saw VI [Revisit]

This film was the low point of the series for me. At this point, the main game of the film has such a small, tangential relation to the key characters of the story, and none of the traps are particularly interesting. The plot developments are similarly tame, as they're mostly setting the board for what was to be the final installment.

6.75/10

Saw V [Revisit]

This film is almost an inverse of the fourth; the main game is probably the most interesting from a game theory perspective, even if the individual traps are a bit weak. There are important plot developments here, to be sure, but one of the weaker films in that series in that regard.

7.5/10

Saw IV [Revisit]

At this point, the series has settled into a main set of traps surrounded by precious new insights into the intricately constructed narrative. This films main game is on the weak side, but the film makes up for it with a great third act for both elements.

7.25/10

Saw III [Revisit]

The game is a bit less interesting, and the dialogue takes a pretty significant dip. Still, this film continues to build the best part of this series by delving deeper into the interesting characters and weaving a narrative that incorporates all previous films.

7/10

Saw II [Revisit]

This film does what any good sequel should: take the concepts and ideas that were effective in the previous film, and build upon them. The twist to the "game" only adds to the interesting game-theory decisions the characters face, and begins to build the intricately layered narrative that endeared this franchise to me.

8.5/10