Film Friday

Starting a new thing…we’ll see how it goes. Film Friday will be a quick review every first Friday of all the movies I watched the previous month. (And since it’s National Women Inventors Month, let’s take a moment to appreciate the women inventors in filmmaking!)

Lavender (2016)

This one started out great. It had all the elements of being really good. Creepy setting, creepy atmosphere and music, good acting, suspenseful story, etc. And then it just unraveled. The obvious answer was, unfortunately, the answer. And then it got icky. Not that icky plot points are a bad thing per se, but since I was already feeling the disappointment of realizing it was exactly what I thought it was, I didn’t want to still sit through the (now unnecessary) discomfort of all of that. 3/5

Love and Monsters (2020)

Top-notch. I was chuckling right at the outset, during the intro segment and opening credits, all the way through the end credits. This made me feel so many things. It took an inherently sad topic (the apocalypse) and made it hilarious, but also very touching. Lots of great found-family stuff happening here, plus a wonderful dog. My biggest laugh of all was when we finally got to see “Cap”. What I loved most about this was that people didn’t all get crazy like every other apocalypse story I’ve ever seen, which I always find a little difficult to believe. For the most part, they worked together to maintain a semblance of society, which rings much truer for me of what an actual apocalypse would be like. 5/5

The Ugly Dachshund (1966)

I’m starting to go through all the old Disney live-actions I watched as a kid for the sake of nostalgia. I watched this so many times growing up, but didn’t remember a whole lot about it. It’s cute–sometimes too cutesy–and we got some good chuckles out of it. One thing I really didn’t recollect was just how awful that marriage was! Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette had great chemistry as actors. As characters, they needed a divorce! I’d also forgotten the horror and suspense I always felt at Brutus being continually framed by his sisters, wondering if the truth would ever come out. There’s enough here to stay entertained if you’re in the mood for that classic Disney vibe with bonus dogs. 4/5

Daybreakers (2009)

This was a great original take on the vampire genre! I was so impressed that it wasn’t just the same thing I’ve seen over and over again. And somehow I had never heard of it before. It was fascinating from beginning to end! Very entertaining and suspenseful. I don’t want to give too much away. 5/5

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

This was a rewatch. I read the book years ago when it came out. It’s a really clever concept, and I’m curious to read the sequel and prequel, too, now that I know they exist. I love the way just a few changes to the original plot created something so unique. The movie was well-shot and entertaining enough, but we just recently rewatched the five-hour BBC version with Colin Firth, so it was fresh on my mind while watching this. It just lacks the charm of that version, despite the fun added twists. Perhaps the book was the same way–it’s been so long now, I can’t recall. Maybe I’ll reread that and check out the other two. 3/5

Watership Down (1978)

“Ooh, let’s watch that one! That looks adorable!” my boyfriend said. I just chuckled. I had somehow never actually seen this one before (though it seemed right up the alley of the type of traumatic kids’ entertainment I’d have loved back in the day), but its reputation preceded it. Because of this (and the title), I had always assumed all the bunnies died on the raft. Fortunately, they did not. (The title is actually the name of a real hill in England–the hill they all migrate to in the story.) It does have a happy ending. And it was intense and full of blood. Maybe not for today’s kids, from what I’ve heard, but ’80s and ’90s kids would probably love it. I adored the beautiful animated English countryside. This was every bit as good as I always hoped it would be, and even more complex. 5/5

In/Sight (2011)

One of the first things I noticed about this one was that something about the way it was shot felt like a television show. I can’t put my finger on what. But I got the distinct impression that it was a made-for-TV production. As I began to recognize more and more actors I primarily know from television, this suspicion solidified. And, yes, as a whole, the acting was a bit subpar. Not dreadful, but not A-list quality, either, for the most part. A couple of times I found myself scoffing and laughing at the writing. The dialogue and even occasionally the choices the characters made got cringeworthy. But here’s what I’ll say for this one. That ending. Despite a hint that should have been pretty clear (but left me wondering what it could possibly mean), I didn’t come anywhere close to guessing that ending. I’m usually good at that, too. That ending blew me away. And while I was originally planning to give this one 2-3 stars, the ending alone brought it up to 3-4. I would say this is worth watching, just for that. 3/5

The Room (2003)

For me, this was a rewatch. But my boyfriend had never seen it before. And I knew, just from knowing him, that nothing in his life would have ever even clued him in to the existence of this cult classic (which shocked my friends, who watch this one about three times a year so they can introduce it to someone new). No, we completely blindsided him with what is commonly considered the worst movie ever made. I had only seen it once–maybe twice before–but had forgotten almost everything about it other than that I remembered it as a comedy. It isn’t a comedy, though–not even close. It’s just a poorly-acted, -directed, -written, and -produced drama. So poorly that it’s unintentionally funny. There’s even a parody/mockumentary/docudrama (?) about the making of the film, starring James Franco. (Based on a book by one of the three major actors in it, who now tours around the country showing this movie and following up with a Q&A.) This is so bad, it’s worth seeing once just to understand what people are talking about. I would imagine it’s probably shown in some film classes, too, as an example of what not to do. 1/5