Watching The Best: August 2017

Accepted [Revisit]

I think this film is appropriately funny, and also has a great message that I think more people should take to heart. I've always liked Justin Long, and he is great here.

8/10

Shanghai Knights [Revisit]

This film took the previous, made everything just a little bit worse, and added in a few more anachronisms for flavor.

5.5/10

Shanghai Noon [Revisit]

This film feels a bit too much like a cartoon come to life. The stunts are as good as always, but there aren't enough set-pieces and too many jokes that don't quite hit the mark.

6/10

Rush Hour 3 [Revisit]

The third installment is certainly lacking in many areas, and feels like a shadow of the first two films. Still, the stuntwork is there, and the chemistry is still present.

6.25/10

The team is back for more of the same. Everything that was enjoyable in the first is present here as well, without too many deviations. If anything, the two films are a bit too similar, but they're certainly entertaining enough.

7.75/10

Rush Hour [Revisit]

A fun take on the buddy-cop film, filled with all of the excellent stuntwork one would expect from Jackie Chan.

7.75/10

Pan's Labyrinth [Revisit]

A gorgeous, layered narrative filled with some of the most creative and beautiful imagery I've ever seen.

9/10

The Glass Castle

The darkest-timeline version of CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, this film gets wrong most of what FANTASTIC got right. The child lead, Chandler Head, is the biggest selling point, delivering a fantastic and difficult performance. The third act is wholly unearned and feels very fabricated, even though this is "based on a true story". In the end, though, the parents come across as deplorable monsters, without any sort of vindication or reasoning for their choices and behavior, and the film never really addresses that.

6/10

Supercop

This film stands out less for me, both in terms of stunts and plot, but Michelle Yeoh is absurdly great here.

7/10

Who Am I? [Revisit]

The plot is somehow much sillier than RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, but the stunts in this film reminded me that, until things like THE RAID came along and changed the game, the Chan stunt team was simply unrivaled in their expertise.

8.25/10

Rumble in the Bronx [Revisit]

An old favorite of mine. Sure, the dialogue and dubbing are cheesy at best. But the action is great, and what else are you watching a Jackie Chan movie for!?

7.5/10

The Shining [Revisit]

A superb classic, excelling in any way a suspense-filled thriller can. Fantastic performances all around, and just about perfect cinematography.

10/10

Barry Lyndon

I found this film to be difficult. I was reminded a lot of THERE WILL BE BLOOD, which is one of my favorite films, but this film was very deliberately paced and quite long on top of that. It's clearly a great film, but it wasn't quite right for me.

7.25/10

You're Next

A very solid horror film with some inventive scenarios and some great, tension-filled sequences.

7.5/10

The Dark Tower

I found Elba and Taylor to be great, and really enjoyed most of the things they did here. Conversely, almost everything McConaughey did came off as cartoony and silly. The film has big flaws, to be sure, but I still found enough to enjoy here. I think if the expectations are significantly low going in, most people will find enough to like.

6.75/10

Phoenix Forgotten

This was a barely passable found-footage film that left me bored most of the time, and didn't have a great payoff to make that worth the time spent.

3/10

Wilson

This film came off to me as old-people propaganda. Harrelson's titular character was entertaining at times, but more often I was bothered by his actions. The conclusion felt mostly unearned, as well.

4.5/10

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

The trailers for this film made it look like Guy Ritchie had a fever dream about King Arthur. Somehow, it was even crazier than that. I enjoy Ritchie's style and flare enough that I found this film enjoyable, but I suspect it won't be for everyone.

6.25/10

To The Bone

A really great film about a topic that doesn't get much attention in film. The team behind it lovingly crafted this film, and it shows with small details that aren't plot points or mentioned at all, but feel true to the situations.

8/10

Snatched

Amy Schumer's character is relentlessly annoying, which is the point to an extent, but I couldn't stand it. Worse than that, is that this film simply wasn't funny. At all.

3.5/10

Detroit

This experience was one of the most tense, visceral, and horrifying experiences I've had in a theater. The story is told expertly, and the guerilla-style camera adds to the frantic and unnerving aspects of the narrative.

9.25/10

The Way Way Back [Revisit]

A contender for my favorite all-time film, this one just resonates with me in a way that most films don't. Sam Rockwell shines as usual, but the whole cast is wonderful, especially the young lead Liam James, who completely nails a tough role.

10/10

Atomic Blonde

I loved the visual aesthetic this film presented, and the action scenes were really great. I found the spy narrative far too convoluted and overly-complex for it's own good, though.

7.75/10

The Lost City of Z

This adventure film, beyond being gorgeously shot, tells a great true story that probably isn't very widely known. The pacing was a bit on the slow side for me, but otherwise a very enjoyable film.

8.25/10

A Ghost Story

An phenomenally gorgeous film that takes a somewhat silly premise and carves out a tremendous work of art that tackles some gigantic themes. It has stayed with me for some time since watching it, and I can't wait to fall into it again.

9.5/10

Going in Style

This heist film manages to have some fun, but lacks any real depth or substance.

6/10

Monty Python and Holy Grail [Rewatch]

An endlessly quotable comedic classic that is just as funny today as it ever was.

9.75/10

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

The lead here is woefully miscast, and the narrative is vomited upon you with scene after scene of exposition dumps. The film really shines when nobody is delivering the nonsense dialogue, as it truly is visually stunning. The incredibly cool sci-fi concepts that the film litters all over the movie are wonderful, but they don't salvage the narrative mess.

5.5/10

Kingsmen: The Secret Service [Revisit]

Riotous fun with great action, an engaging narrative, and colorful charismatic characters.

9/10

Dunkirk

While technically dazzling, the narrative is framed in a way that creates unnecessary confusion. The film did a great job of delivering a harrowing experience to the audience, but it turns out that isn't very enjoyable. I'm also finding myself less and less interested with every war film as they're released, so take that for whatever it's worth.

7.25/10