movie reviews 2018

Another year, another list for people who have a neurotic need to record events in their lives as mundane as what movies they've watched. (Hi there!) There's a usefulness in play because I also have a terrible memory, so the lists serve as a reference for when I can't remember if I've actually already seen a film, and I like to sometimes look back to read my initial brief reaction to a movie. As I see more movies throughout the year, I'll come back here and add them to the list. As usual, these posts really only serve me, but if you have the slightest interest in what I thought about a flick I've seen, then boy are you in luck.

I've done this a lot of years so far, so clearly I can't quit now. It all started back in 2009 and continued through 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. So for the 10th year, let's all go to the movies, shall we?

34. 12/29/18
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
(Netflix)
Well, that was just lovely. Each of the actors was lovely. The scenery was lovely. It was comforting the way a real pie is- warm and exactly what you expect. I adore this book, but it's been a few months since I read it again for book club so I wasn't as bothered by the tiny details that changed in the transition from the page to the screen. And it certainly didn't hurt that they cast an absolutely gorgeous actor to play Dawsey. Yeah.



33. 12/26/18
Aquaman
(theater)
We couldn't convince the oldest to go with us, so the four of us went off instead to see what could have been called Wet Momoa Intensely Looks Back Over His Shoulder. Now, I'm not complaining about all the cool visuals on the screen (ahem, see title suggestion), because that was certainly fun, but I'm pretty sure this plot was as full of holes as a loosely knit blanket. I'm pretty sure there was dialogue, at some point, but I wasn't paying too close attention, honestly. But the 11-year-old thought this was the best movie he's ever seen. So, there's that.



32. 12/24/18
The Christmas Chronicles
(Netflix)
It was Christmas Eve, and I was looking for a family movie that we could all watch while we ate pizza and relaxed. The 12-year-old lasted only a few minutes before declaring it stupid, and the 18-year-old removed himself shortly thereafter. The 11-year-old, however, had a grand time, and while Hubby was on his phone for much of the movie, at least my youngest and I had fun with the silliness. There were several times that he or I predicted the next move in the plot or even the very next line, and that only made us giggle more.



31. 12/23/18
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
(theater)
It probably would have helped if I had seen the first FB movie, or remembered a whole lot from the Harry Potter series (which I read all of, but may or may not have seen all the film adaptations, I'm not sure). For much of the beginning of this movie, I was confused but tried to just go with the flow. I still left with some questions, but the movie on the whole was fun and exciting. The downside of seeing flicks in the theater is that you can't ask them to put on the closed captioning like I do at home for any movie with characters with accents! Hopefully, hubby didn't mind too much the few times I turned to him to ask, "What did he say?"


30. 12/22/18

Bad Santa 
(DVD)
Apparently, I'd never seen this movie before, even though some of the bits seemed familiar. But, since it's a fave of some of our friends', we were invited over for dinner and a movie and we all laughed and felt terrible about laughing at the inappropriateness that is this flick. BBT was grossly perfect for this degenerate St. Nick, and I was slightly nauseated for most of the running time. But, damn, did we laugh.




29. 11/24/18
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(DVD)
The eleven-year-old recently finished this book and was begging to watch the film. I went against the Common Sense Media recommendations and gave in a year early, but I think he was okay. I'm pretty sure that I'd never seen this movie before, and I was so icked out by Dolores Umbridge that I was seriously uncomfortable at times! Yes, I'd read all the books years ago, so nothing was a huge surprise, just murky memories. The kid, however? He was in heaven.



28. 11/4/18
The Hunger Games
(DVD)
My twelve-year-old daughter read this entire series very quickly last month, and she immediately began asking to watch the films. I still wanted to wait a little, but I acquiesced and allowed the first movie for now. She borrowed the DVD from a friend and we settled in to watch together while her younger brother was out for the afternoon. She didn't seem too overwhelmed with the visual nature of the story coming to life, but I found myself flinching here and there again, remembering the actual horror of this story. All in all, though, I still think this was a pretty solid adaptation.



27. 10/11/18
BlacKkKlansman
(theater)
Well, damn, this movie was overwhelming, but that's obviously not a bad thing. I'm interested in learning more about the Ron Stallworth's work as an undercover detective, but as an introduction, this was powerful. There was no missing the connections to the current state of politics-- the shitshow that we're living in-- sprinkled throughout the film with specific phrases and language used by the current administration. There's no doubt that the people depicted were working toward what we have right now in top levels of government and that is so fucking infuriating. I was not prepared for the abrupt shift from the artsy look of a Spike Lee film to the real footage of the Charlottesville, VA, march of 2017 with its explicit hatred and violence. It was a shock that was nothing but intentional to take viewers from the feeling of watching events from 40 years ago in the gloss of a "based on a true story" movie format to the horror of a current reality that should be terrifying. Fuck.



26. 8/31/18
Okja
(Netflix)
Well, damn. I did NOT know what I was getting into when my friend turned this flick on while we were visiting. I thought, at first, that it was just a goofy and larger-than-life film, and it was for a while, and then it got super dark and made me feel super bad about my eating habits. I shouldn't need a fantastical film to force me to think about how the animals who become my food are treated before they make it to my plate, I know. Incidentally, the next day I ate a hot dog from a vendor at the National Book Festival, and it tasted like shit. Coincidence? I think not.




25. 8/29/18
Crazy Rich Asians
(theater)
I'll preface by saying that I did not read the novel so I had no preconceived notions of the story beforehand. Actually I didn't know anything, really, beyond what the title suggests. And in a quest for a fun and basic romantic comedy, it fits the bill. Imagine-- a rom-com full of typical character tropes and a fairly predictable plot can be made with a bunch of actors who are NOT white! It can have recognizable American songs sung in different languages and still be quite fun! (Please tell me you hear my biting sarcasm here.) No, I wasn't surprised at all, it was exactly what I expected-- a funny and sweet story-line with a drop-dead gorgeous cast and huge elaborate sets.



24. 8/27/18
Predestination
(YouTube)
I watched this on recommendation from a friend after we read my all-time favorite time-traveling novel for book club. After I finished it, I messaged him asking what in the $%^ I just watched! This was a total mind-boggling film, and even though I "get it," I'm not sure that I could explain it to someone else. It drops a ton of hints throughout, so figuring out the twist isn't rocket science, but it's still super tricky to wrap one's head around. I've always liked Ethan Hawke, and I thought he did a great job with this crazy role.



23. 8/19/18
Christopher Robin
(theater)
Okay, this was sentimental and sweet, and I'm old and adore Ewan McGregor, so it was a likely win for me going in. No big surprise, I was enchanted. The 10- and 12-year-olds liked it, too, so it wasn't just a hit for me and the Hubby because of our mid-life statuses. I was happy for a family movie that was actually pretty sincere and non-violent (minus one short war scene), non-sexy, and unoffensive. And I started crying before the initial illustrations and text left the screen. Another big surprise.



22. 8/4/18

Hook
(theater)
This special showing during a "family summer movies" series in town was a fun event for us all to attend. Hubby adores this movie, so he was all smiles, and all three kids (17, 12, 10) actually loved it, too. There were things that stood out to me as slightly offensive now with my 2018-mindset, but overall, it was as fun as ever.




21. 7/22/18
Ant-Man and the Wasp
(theater)
Well, I remember being a little bit awed by the first because we had gone in with pretty low expectations, and while I didn't have a ton of experience with Marvel or other superhero movies, I wasn't expecting what I ended up seeing-- most especially, something pretty damn funny. Now that's a bit more commonplace, and perhaps my hopes were too high because this one wasn't at the same level, and I dare say, even a little bit boring at times. But, it was still Paul Rudd doing his PR thing, and that's entertaining, so all in all, I laughed at times and enjoyed it just fine, I guess.



20. 7/17/18

Hearts Beat Loud
(theater)
Okay, I just adored this film. It was lovely and quiet and emotional and tender. I cried just a little, and I laughed more. I delighted in each of the characters because they were all just perfectly played. I honestly didn't feel one sour note in the entire flick, and I enjoyed absolutely all of the music. In fact, I've downloaded the soundtrack to my phone and I imagine it will be in heavy rotation in coming weeks.






19. 7/2/18
Won't You Be My Neighbor? 
(theater)
This documentary helped me learn more about Mr. Rogers, the man, than I had ever known before. His respect for young children was the key to his show, and it's something that is missing in the vast majority of children's programming. While I didn't watch Mr. Rogers' show that much as a child, I do have some fond memories of it from when my mom apparently changed her mind and allowed me to watch. (Yes, my mom wasn't a big fan!) This doc was so touching and tender, and I definitely shed tears, often when it was shown just how much Mr. Rogers was affected by world events because he was so in tune with how the events would be seen through the eyes of children. What a man.



18. 7/1/18
Deadpool 2
(theater)
Oh yeah, we went again. Even knowing what was coming, I still laughed like a maniac. It was fun sitting next to a friend who hadn't seen it yet, so hearing the surprise in his laughter made it even more awesome. So profane and so fun.








17. 7/1/18

10 Things I Hate About You
(TV)
After seeing two articles go by on the Facebook about this movie within a couple hours, I had the sudden urge to revisit this movie after more than a decade. I remember that I laughed, and I remember falling for Heath Ledger's infectious smile. After not finding it on Hulu or Netflix, and not wanting to pay four bucks for it on Amazon, I discovered a TV version on the On Demand feature. I don't know how much of it was sanitized for this form, but there was a whole lot left that wasn't, that's for certain. It was a ridiculous romp all over again and perfect for a crazy hot summer afternoon spent on the couch.



16. 6/28/18
The Glass Castle 
(DVD)
God. Damn. Just as when I read the book (twice, about a decade ago), I was left feeling a sense of awe that Jeannette Walls could tell this story with any positive feelings left toward her father and her mother, but most especially her father. The neglect and abuse was so apparent as to be unforgivable, to me, yet she did find a way, it seems, to at least try to understand her parents' perspectives and situations. My husband had even stronger feelings in this direction, made evident by his declaration of "BULLSHIT!" as the credits rolled.



15. 6/6/18
Life of the Party
(theater)
Did I laugh? Yes. Was this a fantastic comedy? Not so much. Were there funny moments? Hell yeah, because Melissa McCarthy knows comedy, especially physical comedy. The premise was simple and funny enough, and the supporting cast was fine. It was fine. Although, doing the math, MM's character couldn't have been more than 42 at the oldest, yet they dressed her and had her act like she was elderly. C'mon, now! I happen to know plenty of 42-year-olds who aren't freaking ancient. (Ahem.) But, it served its purpose-- it made me and my parents laugh.



14. 6/5/18
The Goonies
(DVD)
Who knows how many times I've seen this, but I do actually enjoy it each time. I do have to look past the 80s share of -isms, after explaining to the children how messed up it was, and then I can enjoy the simple adventure story. This was the 10-year-old and 12-year-olds' first time seeing this old flick, and other than being a little scared (the younger one), they both seemed to enjoy it a lot. The funniest thing came after the movie was done and our daughter explained how an episode of Teen Titans Go! followed this movie's main plot line. They had seen that episode more than once before, but had no idea that it was based on a classic! Even funnier, that very episode aired the next morning!


13. 6/4/18

Focus
(On Demand)
Yeah, this was shit. I really can't say much else. It was terrible. Will Smith is terrible. My father-in-law put it on while we were all on vacation together, and we were forced to be in the same room as this steaming pile of dog doo.






12. 5/17/18
Deadpool 2
(theater)
Okay, I have no idea what to say other than this-- I laughed so fucking hard again and again. Like, leaning out of my seat with my hands clasped over my mouth laughing hard. Thanks to our Marvel-obsessed teen, I actually got more references than I would have expected, and I happily pointed them out in the moment with pride. The almost-18-year-old treated me and Hubby to a late showing of this on opening night, and we all were hysterical with laughter.



11. 5/14/18
Girls Trip
(DVD)
Oh, there was a whole lot going on here, and like movies in this vein, much of it was purposefully over the top. Yes, it was a blast, and yes, I laughed pretty much every time Tiffany Haddish was on screen, for both her crazy-ass antics and her unstoppable friendship. Actually, I think that was what I liked the most, even though it wasn't necessarily constant-- the friendship aspect. If there was something to learn from this raunchy gal-pal comedy it's to take a close look at your own friend relationships.



10. 4/17/18
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
(theater, simulcast from The Old Vic theatre in London, via National Theatre Live)
Why do I love this play so? That's hard to answer, but after reading it in high school, watching the movie adaptation several times over the years, and even getting to see it performed on stage just three years ago at the Folger Shakespeare Library, I know I get excited at each new opportunity to see it adapted again. I think I'm understanding a fraction more each time, and that's good because this show makes me think so hard during a viewing. I laugh, a lot, but merriment is not the emotion I'm left with by the end. Its brilliantly crafted word play impresses me anew each time, as well. I adored this presentation tonight, even as I left the theater with a heavy heart and a renewed desire to finally try to understand this whole existentialism thing, once and for all.



9. 4/10/18
RBG
(theater, Athens International Film & Video Festival)
How is it even possible that I get to breathe the same air as Ruth Bader Ginsburg? I've admired her for years, as I've become more politically aware, especially reading some of her dissents on impactful Supreme Court cases. But, I seriously only knew a fraction of an iota about this incredible woman. I was absolutely wowed by what I learned about her personal life and her unbelievable stamina to earn her place in the male-dominated world of law. Little did I know what a pivotal role she played in fighting for equal rights for women to be codified. Honestly, she is a giant in a tiny woman's body. The 17- and 11-year-old came with me, and were the only kids younger than some college students in the theater, and I couldn't have been prouder... especially in the moment when my daughter and I identically loudly scoffed at some commentary in the film made by an opponent of RBG's. This is a must-see documentary.



8. 4/1/18
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
(DVD)
Okay, so if this movie had dropped even just a few instances of cursing, it would have been much more awesome for our family with a 10-year-old as the youngest viewer. Otherwise, it was pretty funny and certainly adventurous. The whole family laughed a ton, and we had some conversations about relationships and gender expectations, to boot.






7. 3/29/18
Masterminds
(DVD)
Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh at all at this one. It was stupid, mind you, but I laughed. That's about all I can say. Apparently, it was based on a true story, which I should have heard about but don't remember at all. But, jeez, this was a ridiculous flick.







6. 3/16/18
Peter Rabbit
(theater)
The ten-year-old and I had a lunch and movie date today, and this was his pick. I was not terribly enthused about the movie as the trailer hadn't given me the impression that there'd be much to enjoy. But, I actually found myself laughing quite a bit! (Damn, the rooster gag had me in stitches, seriously.) There was some cleverness to this adaptation of these characters, and the voice actors were well cast. James Cordon brought just the right amount of cheekiness fitting to Peter Rabbit, and all in all, it was much more pleasant than I had predicted.




5. 3/7/18
The House
(DVD)
Wow, I'm glad that we didn't pay money for this one but borrowed it for free from the library instead. I adore all the actors who play major roles in this flick, but I'm disappointed in all of them after watching this. It could have been better, that I'm sure of, and I'm certainly not saying that I didn't laugh at all. But, it was just way too violent and way too ridiculous to be a hit for me.




4. 3/6/18
Brad's Status
(DVD)
Yeah, I really wanted to like this flick. I tried. But it was just a little TOO much on all points for me. Ben Stiller's character was too neurotic, and that's saying something for an actor who is known for playing nuerosis perfectly. The score was definitely too repetitive and I found myself actually getting physically uncomfortable when that goddamn violin started playing again. There were aspects that I could relate to but because it all went too extreme, it left me with zero compassion for these characters rather than any understanding.




3. 2/19/18
Wonder
(DVD)
I'm embarrassed to say that I still haven't read this incredible book, even though my 10- and 11-year-old kids absolutely adore it. I even stood in line with my daughter for a long time to meet RJ Palacio, the author, at the National Book Festival last year. When the movie came out, the kids went to see it with my son's 3rd-grade teacher, which was the coolest offering at our school's silent auction, and they both came home singing the movie's praises. Well, I knew once it was on DVD that it needed to be in our collection. Even though the kids watched it this morning on their day off from school, my daughter totally wanted to watch it again this evening so I could finally see it. What an incredible film, and yes, just as my daughter predicted, I absolutely cried, even though I was slightly distracted by gathering tax documents! I loved so much about this story, and I so appreciated that Auggie's sister's perspective was given some time, too. So well done.




2. 1/7/18
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
(DVD)
I read this book early last year and was blown away, especially by the atrocious treatment the medical community gave both Henrietta and her family after she'd died. The movie put a spotlight on Henrietta's daughter Deborah Lacks, and the pain and suffering she experienced after the loss of her mother. Oprah's performance as Deborah was astounding, and it was heartbreaking all over again to be reminded that Deborah passed away shortly before the book was published. Though she had only a little screen time, Renée Elise Goldsberry brought Henrietta to life with her quiet presence, full of emotion.




1. 1/4/18
The Greatest Showman
(theater)
Yup, we went again. Honestly, I don't think I've ever loved/hated a movie as much as this one. I am not ashamed to say that I'm an absolute sucker for a musical like this-- energetic music, loud stomping group dance scenes-- I was immediately drawn in. (With suckers being born every minute, I can't be alone!) The first time we saw it, I hadn't heard any of the music before, but I couldn't help moving in my seat and tapping my feet. By the second time, we'd already listened to the soundtrack about a bajillion times, so I knew most of the lyrics and had to restrain myself from literally dancing in the aisles. All that said though, I really hate that they've memorialized P.T. Barnum in this celebratory flick when he was really an ass. The reality of his life is so, so very different than what was portrayed on the screen. His first "show" involved parading around an elderly slave he had purchased and claimed was George Washington's nursemaid. As a state politician, he sponsored legislation in CT that outlawed contraception. Two characters portrayed in the film as adults who chose to be part of his crew of "human oddities" were actually brought into his show as children- 9 months old and 4 years old to be exact. Seriously, this guy was a piece of crap. Other beefs: two primary characters in the film were completely fabricated, race was never mentioned explicitly as the reason particular characters' presence was hated by protesting crowds, the real-life character of Jenny Lind was given the shaft majorly with her very unrealistic portrayal, the movie completely ignored the fact that while their events were happening the country was in the middle of a freaking civil war and the president was killed! Grrrr. So there you have it. I loved this movie so much that I paid to see it twice with my three kids. (Though with movie tickets at $5 for adults and $4 for kids, it was still cheaper than all of us going once in our old town!) I've been singing the songs from the film nonstop for days, and I don't see that slowing down anytime soon. But I have to loudly and publicly proclaim my love for it as a wholly fictionalized story because P.T. Barnum himself gets none of my adoration. It's almost as if Barnum himself was behind this film... a whole lot of dazzle, not a lot of truth, and the audience-- or at least, in this case, me and my crew-- leaves happy.