Blog Archives
What I Watched In… January 2018
Favorite of the Month: Split (2017)
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written or talked about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
- Batman and Harley Quinn (2017), B-
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013), B
- Lethal Weapon (1987), B+
- Robocop (1987), B+
- Dr. Cyclops (1940), C
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), B+
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996), A
- Hercules Unchained (1959), D; MST3K Riff, B+
- The Little Unicorn (2002), D-; RiffTrax Riff, B
- Samurai Cop (1991), F; RiffTrax Riff, A-
- Unbreakable (2000), A-
- Split (2017), B+
- The Howling (1981), C+
- Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017), B
- Prom Night (1980), C
- All-Star Superman (2011), A+
- Merlin: The Return (2000), D; RiffTrax Riff, B
- Godzilla Raids Again (1955), C
- Scooby-Doo and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018), B-
- Mothra Vs. Godzilla (1964), B+
- Babylon 5: The Gathering (1993), B+
What I Watched In… July 2017
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written or talked about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
July’s favorite of the month is a rare tie. Dunkirk was an excellent war movie. The Big Sick was a romantic comedy that struck me on a remarkably personal level. The two films are so different from one another that I simply couldn’t rank one above the other.
- Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), C
- Invasion of Astro-Monster aka Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero (1965), B+
- Mothra Vs. Godzilla aka Godzilla Vs. the Thing (1964), B+
- Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), B-
- Godzilla’s Revenge aka All Monsters Attack (1969), F
- Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (1995), B-
- Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), B
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), B+
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), B+
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), B
- Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth aka Godzilla Vs. Mothra (1992), B+
- Despicable Me 2 (2013), B
- Minions (2015), B
- The Secret Life of Pets (2016), B+
- Rodan (1956), B+
- Airplane! (1980), A
- The Lego Batman Movie (2017), A
- Dr. No (1962), B
- Harvey (1950), B+
- From Russia With Love (1963), B
- Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s the Fantastic Four (2015), B+
- The Time of Their Lives (1946), B+
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), A-
- Goldfinger (1964), B+
- The Amazing Spider-Man (1977), C
- Sing (2016), B+
- The Car (1977), D
- Thunderball (1965), C
- Return of the Fly (1959), C
- Godzilla 2000 (1999), C
- Father of the Bride (1950), A
- Jaws (1975), A+
- Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), C-
- Bratz (2007), D
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), A-
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), A
- Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978), C-
- You Only Live Twice (1967), B
- T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous (2017), C-
- Gymkata (1985), F
- War For the Planet of the Apes (2017), B+
- The Big Sick (2017), A+
- Galaxy Quest (1999), A
- Summer Magic (1963), B+
- Spaceballs (1987), B+
- Lifeboat (1944), A-
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), A
- Kong: Skull Island (2017), B
- Dunkirk (2017), A
- Ducktales: Treasure of the Golden Suns (1987), B+
- Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990), B+
- Daffy Duck’s Movie: Fantastic Island (1983), B-
- The Man Called Flintstone (1966), B
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), B-
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), A-
What I Watched In… May 2017
Favorite of the Month: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written or talked about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
- The Time Travelers (1964), D+, MST3K Riff, B+
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), A
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), A-
- Fast Five (2011), B
- Inglorious Basterds (2009), A+
- Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), A
- It Follows (2014), B
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) B
- Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics (2013), B
- Avalanche (1978), C-; MST3K Riff, A-
- Lord of the Flies (1963), A
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), B
- The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956), F; MST3K Riff, B+
- Prometheus (2012), B-
- Tombstone (1993), A-
- Aziz Ansari Live in Madison Square Garden (2015), B
- Phantasm (1979)
- Invasion of Astro-Monster aka Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero (1965), B+
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995), C+
- Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017), B+
- Aliens (1986), A
- The Painted Hills (1951), D; MST3K Riff, A-
- Alien: Covenant (2017), C+
- The Mars Generation (2017), B
- The Prestige (2006), A-
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), A
- The Unknown Marx Brothers (1993), B-
- Knights of Badassdom (2013), B-
- Super (2010), B
- John Carter (2012), B+
- The Noose Hangs High (1948), B+
- Gargoyles (1972), C
- Starcrash (1978), D+; MST3K Riff, A
- The Land that Time Forgot (1975), D; MST3K Riff, B
- The Loves of Hercules (1960), D-; MST3K Riff, B
- Yongary, Monster From the Deep (1967), D+; MST3K Riff, B
- The Legend of Tarzan (2016), B
- The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues (1955), D
What I Watched in… April 2017
Favorite of the Month: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written or talked about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981), B+
- The Discovery (2017), B+
- Sky High (2005), B+
- The Giant Spider Invasion (1975), D; MST3K Riff, A
- Soultaker (1990), D; MST3K Riff, A-
- The Pumaman (19800, D-; MST3K Riff, A+
- Godzilla Vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), B
- Reptilicus (1961), C; MST3K Riff, B+
- Jaws (1975), A+
- Speed Racer (2008), B
- Cool Runnings (1993), B+
- Beauty and the Beast (2017), A-
- Interview With the Vampire (1994), B
- Spiral (2007), B
- Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy: We’ve Been Thinking (2016), B
- The Blues Brothers (1980), A
- Cry of the Bewitched (1957, as Yambao), D; RiffTrax Riff, B+
- Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), B
- Cry Wilderness (1987), D-, MST3K Riff, B
What I Watched In… February 2017
Favorite of the Month: The Lego Batman Movie
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written or talked about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
- Keanu (2016), B
- Stardust (2007), A-
- The Guy From Harlem (1977), F; RiffTrax Riff, B+
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), A-
- Being From Another World aka Time Walker (1983), D-; MST3K Riff, B
- The Day of the Triffids (1962), B
- Kung Fu Elliot (2014), B
- Maniac (2012), B-
- Crimson Peak (2015), C+
- The Lego Batman Movie (2017), A-
- Godzilla (1998), D
- The Pixar Story (2007), A
- Midnight Special (2016), B+
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A
- Godzilla Raids Again (1955), B
- ARQ (2016), B-
- Justice League Dark (2017), B
- First Blood (1982), A
- Blair Witch (2016), B
- The Good Dinosaur (2015), B
- Danger!! Death Ray (1967), C-; MST3K Riff, B
- King Kong (1976), B-
- Good Burger (1997), B
- Miami Connection (1987), D-; RiffTrax Riff, A
- The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969), C; RiffTrax Riff, B+
- Girlfriend’s Day (2017), B
- Beware the Slenderman (2016), A-
- Beverly Hills Cop (1984), B+
- Arrival (2016), A
- I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017), B
- Zindy, the Swamp-Boy (1973), D; RiffTrax Riff, B
- Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), C+
What I watched in… July 2016
Favorite of the Month: Star Trek Beyond (2016)
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written or talked about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
- Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (1995), B
- Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002), B+
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), B
- Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus (2000), B
- Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla (1994), C+
- Godzilla (2014), A
- Red Dawn (1984), B; RiffTrax Riff, B+
- Bone Tomahawk (2015), A-
- The Neverending Story (1984), A-
- Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1985), F; MST3K Riff, A
- Ring of Terror (1962), F; MST3K Riff, B
- Monster A-Go Go (1965), F; MST3K Riff, B-
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), A-
- Star Trek (2009), A
- Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), B
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), B
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), A+
- Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984), B+
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), B+
- Ghostbusters (2016), C-
- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), C-
- Star Trek Beyond (2016), A
- Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) B+
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), A-
- Star Trek: Generations (1994), C+
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996), A-
- Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), C+
- Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), B-
- LEGO DC Comics Superheroes: Justice League-Gotham City Breakout (2016), B
- Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015), B
- Back to the Beach (1987), B
- Summer Rental (1985), B-
- Scooby-Doo (2002), C+
What I Watched In… July 2015
Favorite of the Month: Hector and the Search For Happiness
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written or talked about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
2014: The Year in Film
Favorite of the Year: Captain America-The Winter Soldier
It’s been quite a year. I got married. My wife and I put together a little home together. I directed one play, I’m currently in rehearsals for another. I wrote a new book that — God willing — will be available relatively early in 2015. And in the meantime, I managed to see a few movies.
Not all the movies, mind you. There are still several 2014 releases I haven’t seen yet, often because the aforementioned activities got in the way of my movie time. I still haven’t seen Boyhood, for instance, and I’m dying to. I’m delinquent in keeping up with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, and despite all my efforts to the contrary, I’ve yet to get around to The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
So consider this list highly incomplete. These are all the films from 2014 that I have seen, in order of my favorite to my least favorite. This includes direct-to-video and made-for-TV movies. I’ll leave comments for the ones where I have comments to leave.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Marvel has had a good year — a good couple of years, actually — but this to me was the movie that really elevated their universe beyond simple superhero action into something with greater depth and meaning.
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Similar to Captain America, this film took what Rise of the Planet of the Apes began and ran with it, creating a larger world and a highly intelligent, powerful science fiction film.
- Guardians of the Galaxy. This was just pure fun.
- X-Men: Days of Future Past. Easily the best X-Men film to date, and so good that it actually erases some of the sins of the previous films.
- The LEGO Movie. Again, pure fun, but with a surprising amount of heart to it.
- Gone Girl. Incredibly tense and engaging.
- Interstellar. One of the most engaging, entertaining pure sci-fi films in years
- Godzilla. Fantastic reboot of the franchise.
- Edge of Tomorrow. Great movie hurt by atrocious marketing.
- Big Hero 6.
- Stripped. Fine documentary about the comic strip form.
- I Am Santa Claus.
- St. Vincent.
- Doc of the Dead. Interesting documentary about zombie fiction.
- Stage Fright. Little seen but actually entertaining musical horror comedy about a slasher killer attacking a theater camp. It’s on Netflix streaming right now. Meatloaf is in it.
- A Merry Friggin’ Christmas. One of Robin Williams’s final performances, alongside Community‘s Joel McHale.
- Son of Batman.
- Justice League: War.
- Mr. Peabody and Sherman.
- Big Driver.
- Chilling Visions: 5 States of Fear. Okay anthology, but the premise holding the segments together is paper-thin.
- JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time.
- Maleficent. Could have been a great remake from the villain’s perspective, but a horribly invasive voice over and some poor performances really hurt.
- Print the Legend.
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
- Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. The original remains one of my favorites. This film seems like further proof that Frank Miller has lost his mind.
- Robocop. Unnecessary, lifeless remake.
- Lucky Duck. Treacle-filled animated kiddie film I watched with my niece. Just because a movie is targeted for children is no excuse for making it bad.
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2. After a first movie that I thought was just as good as — maybe better than — the Toby Maguire films, I couldn’t believe how utterly this one fell apart.
- I, Frankenstein.
- Happy Christmas. “Hey, you know all those dull, unscripted movies about obnoxious people who can’t get their lives together? Let’s make one at Christmas. And put Lena Dunham in it.”
- Sharknado 2: The Second One. In fairness, they weren’t trying to make a good movie. They succeeded.
- Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever. All I can say is that the title was accurate.
What I Watched in… August 2014
Favorite of the Month: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. I also choose my favorite of the month among those movies I saw for the first time, marked in red. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
What I watched in… May 2014
Favorite of the month:
X-Men: Days of Future Past
In the interest of full disclosure (and to generate a little content here) I thought I’d present a regular tally of what movies I managed to see in the previous month. Some of them I’ve written about, most of them I haven’t. This list includes movies I saw for the first time, movies I’ve seen a thousand times, movies I saw in the theater, movies I watched at home, direct-to-DVD, made-for-TV and anything else that qualifies as a movie. Feel free to discuss or ask about any of them!
1. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), A+
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), C
3. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), A
4. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010), B+
5. The Grapes of Wrath (1940), A
6. The Great Gatsby (1974), A
7. Time Piece (1965), A-
8. The Rescuers (1977), B
9. Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (2011), B
10. Son of Batman (2014), B
11. +1 (2013), C+
12. Class of Nuke ‘Em High (1986), C-
13. Zeta One (1969), D
14. The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), D; MST3K Riff, B
15. A Trip to the Moon (1902), B; RiffTrax Riff, B+
16. Godzilla Vs. the Sea Monster (1966), C; MST3K Riff, B
17. Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah (1991), C+
18. Maximum Overdrive (1986), D
19. The Frankenstein Theory (2013), B-
20. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), B
21. Godzilla (2014), B+
22. Dragon Wars: D-War (2007), D; RiffTrax Riff, B
23. Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension (2011), A
24. Dear Mr. Watterson (2014), B+
25. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), B
26. Super Mario Bros. (1993), D; RiffTrax Riff, B+
27. The Way, Way Back (2013), A
28. Don Jon (2013), B-
29. The Croods (2013), B+
30. X-Men: First Class (2011), A
31. Sisters of Death (1977), F; RiffTrax Riff, A-
32. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), A+
33. The Bermuda Triangle (1978), D; RiffTrax Riff, B+
34. Goon (2011), D
35. Stalled (2013), C
36. Godzilla Raids Again (1955), B-
37. Escape From Tomorrow (2013), C
38. Gabriel Iglesias: I’m Not Fat… I’m Fluffy (2009), B-
Reel to Reel 