Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Movies This Month: July 2016

A feature I used to do back in the day and, hey, if I'm looking for things to blog about, this is a decent one. Here are all the new-to-me movies I watched in July and even mini-er versions of my mini reviews of them. Star ratings are out of 5.

The Railway Man (2013) - What started as a fairly generic little romance became actually a very moving story about revenge and forgiveness. It just could have been a lot more with less awkward framing. 3 stars.

How to Steal 2 Million (2011) - This is one of those movies that I kind of feel bad rating so low on my Flickchart, because it's actually a decent little crime movie, but nothing about it really stands out to me. 2 stars.

Beasts of No Nation (2015) - Oh, this is brutal. So difficult to watch but so engrossing and well-done. 4.5 stars.

I've Loved You So Long (2008) - Every so often a drama comes along where every scene is just interesting to watch because the characters are so engaging, they're acted so well, and the interactions ring so true. This is one of those movies. 4 stars.

Finding Dory (2016) - It was a fun ride and probably the best a sequel for Finding Nemo was likely to be, but it still wasn't good enough to justify its own existence. 3.5 stars.

Don Juan DeMarco (1994) - This movie was very reminiscent of The Fisher King, one of my favorite movies, but this one isn't nearly as good. The magic the movie is trying to capture just doesn't come through. 1 star.

Monsters (2010) - Impressive little film, but a worthy scriptwriter could have moved it up to being a very good one. 3 stars.

Maggie's Plan (2015) - It's hard to think of a recent movie that left less of an impression on me than this one. 1 star.

Paris, Texas (1984) - This was a really interesting movie and I'm glad I finally buckled down and watched it. My only complaint is that I wasn't quite sold on the ending. 3.5 stars.

The Secret Life of Pets (2016) - This movie was a massive disappointment. It could have been so great and then it sabotaged itself. 1.5 stars.

When I Walk (2013) - I like the meta-narrative here, of someone trying to make what they know will be their last movie before they fully lose their vision, but the idea of that narrative is unfortunately more interesting than the movie itself. I wish the film was better than this, but it's much flatter than the premise promises. 2.5 stars.

She Loves Me (2016) - It's a sweet little romantic comedy but at best it's a good production of a half-baked show. 2.5 stars.

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) - There is a LOT going on in this movie, with a lot of characters and subtext to keep track of. It definitely left me feeling like there is a lot more beneath the surface. This is one that's going to take me awhile to process. 3.5 stars.

The Zen of Bennett (2012) - This is an awkward documentary in that it doesn't seem to be putting any effort in to actually giving us a glimpse of its subject's life or personality. I wish they'd focused more heavily on the music and left the rest alone. 2 stars.

What did you watch in July? Have you seen any of these?

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