You might think that with college beginning, I won’t have as much time for my typical viewing habits. To that I say, nonsense! I very easily struck a balance in being responsible with my work and doing my duties as a lover of pop culture -- and what a jam-packed month for those duties! What follows is what I watched in September 2021.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Viewed on: September 3
Rewatched on: September 19
Read my full review here.
The Princess Bride (1987)
Viewed on: September 4
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Viewed on: September 4
Like Ted Lasso, Jerry Maguire is a sports story that isn’t really about sports. Tom Cruise is the eponymous disgraced athletic manager who attempts to gain relevance again by representing football player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.). Jerry Maguire is a bit too long, but that isn’t unheard of for a sports film -- not to mention Cameron Crowe is in the writer/director behind it all. There’s sports, there’s romance, there’s comedy, but most of all, there’s heart. It may not be my favorite kind of genre-blending movie, but Jerry Maguire had me at hello. [Grade: A-]
Viewed on: September 6
The first rule of fight club is, and say it with me...you don’t talk about fight club. This is an unfortunate development, as I had hoped to review it in this post, but I suppose this will have to do. But...if we’re not allowed to talk about fight club, how did all those people find out about the fight club? Some mixed messages there (completely coincidentally, just like this movie)...hmmm... [Grade: A]
Sing Street (2016)
Viewed on: September 7
Being a teenager in Ireland during the Troubles can’t have been easy. Derry Girls offers a satirical take on the idea, and Sing Street approaches it from a more adolescent point of view. Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) starts a band to impress a girl, and that’s just about all there is too it. Sing Street is an undeniably good time, giving us characters we can easily empathize with and some stunning realized sequences, elevated by some really solid performances. Throw an excellent soundtrack into the mix, and you have a charming musical with heart to spare. That last bit seems to be a theme so far this month, doesn’t it? [Grade: A]
Their Finest (2016)
Viewed on: September 8
Broaching philosophical and ethical questions about the nature of honor during World War II is not the only thing Their Finest does well. The film examines a fictional story of Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton), who helps craft the perfect propaganda film to boost the reputation of the Allies after Dunkirk. One thing I did not expect Their Finest to be is bitterly funny (mostly due to the out-of-work actor Ambrose Hilliard, playing impeccably by Bill Nighy), but it brings a particular attitude to the aspect of the war that most have forgotten about. I had never heard of this movie before watching it, and I believe more should see it. [Grade: A-]
Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (2019)
Viewed on: September 10
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Twilight (2008)
Viewed on: September 11
Before watching Twilight, I genuinely thought the term “sparkly vampires” was an exaggeration, but no, it turns out it was a very literal description of the effect of the sun on Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his vampiric family. Kristen Stewart stars as Bella, the new girl in town, who finds herself falling for Edward, not caring about his true identity. Twilight was not nearly as bad as I was expecting, but it still presents itself as essentially a zero-sum movie. Despite the establishment of characters, nothing much happens. The conflict is jammed-in and secondary to everything else. Did I have to watch this series? Absolutely not, but I had to see what all the fuss was about. Let’s just get on with it. [Grade: C]
Viewed on: September 12
The acting is undeniably fantastic and the character development is strong, but First Cow drags on endlessly. I suppose I should expect this from an A24 film, and hey, maybe The Green Knight was the exception. [Grade: B]
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
Viewed on: September 13
While it maintains a visual edge over its predecessor, New Moon is in no ways a better film. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart still need acting coaches, but at least the fight sequences are marginally better and Michael Sheen makes a scene-stealing appearance. If the rest of the series continues in this vein, it might leave me dead in the water. Please help me with my vampire puns. [Grade: C]
Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
Viewed on: September 14
The innovation that has come in the last century is absolutely remarkable, and experimental documentaries like Man with a Movie Camera serve to further impress us as snapshots of what was possible way back when. Progressive documentarian Dziga Vertov (real name: David Kaufman) is behind the camera along with his brother Mikhail, and over a period of three years, they filmed pieces in three major Soviet cities. You will be genuinely amazed at some of their methods, and they still hold up to this very day. It just goes to show what a man with a movie camera can really do. [Grade: A]
I Love Sarah Jane (2009)
Viewed on: September 15
A small, contained story set during an evidently larger conflict, this short film debuted at Sundance, and I can only imagine the reaction it got. Every other piece of dialogue is a curse word, but it manages to incorporate a surprising amount of themes into its brief runtime -- including, but not limited to: boyhood, toxic masculinity, devastating loss, and fitting in. Future Disney star and del Toro darling Mia Wasikowska plays the titular Sarah Jane, whom young Jimbo (Brad Ashby) is smitten with. Zombies roam the world and they are surrounded by idiots, but Sarah Jane is the only thing that matters to him. Fantastic production design and makeup aside, I Love Sarah Jane is far too brief, but it certainly has its well-paced moments. [Grade: B+]
The Company of Wolves (1984)
Like Man with a Movie Camera and Sarah Jane, I watched The Company of Wolves in an academic context, but I still very much enjoyed it. The best way to describe it is as existential fairy tale horror, a tamely R-rated film crowded with metaphors about desire, willful repression and everything in between. We, as the audience, keep descending through layers of dreamlike narrative until the climax brings us a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood that is...odd, to say the least. Still, like Sarah Jane, the makeup is exceptional and the performances are solid. This is 1980s fairy tale if ever I saw one. [Grade: A-]
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
Viewed on: September 15
I fear I am becoming numb to the mundanities these movies are subjecting me to. While Eclipse mercifully has some action built up and some actual skill behind the camera, there is still the undeniable fact that the leads are just blatantly uninteresting. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have proven their acting skills elsewhere (Lautner less so), but they are still just so lifeless in their Twilight roles. My puns are getting better, right? Still, the plot moves slightly forward, and the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob seems to be coming to a welcome end. Unfortunately, there are still two more movies, but this means the story has to start picking up steam, right? Right?! [Grade: C+]
Rocky (1976)
Viewed on: September 20
I could do Sylvester Stallone impressions all day. Maybe not all day, but most of the day. To watch the movie (for the first time) that made him a star with the hindsight we have on his career now is truly astounding. Rocky is a victorious, self-contained power anthem disguised as a movie, and it really is Stallone that tethers it; as the writer and star, he has a personal tie to this movie that will not be ignored. I also did not expect to genuinely laugh at this movie as much as I was expecting to -- it definitely has charm to spare, which again can be contributed to its lead. Seeing Rocky in theaters must have been a true experience, even more so than watching it with retrospective. [Grade: A]
Viewed on: September 21
Las Hurdes, also known as Land Without Bread or Unpromised Land, was directed by Luis Buñuel to showcase a village that is poor to such extremes that it is barely comprehendible. I will not spoil its true nature (do more research if you wish), but I believe it is better once looked at in hindsight. Its ethics are certainly debatable, but it remains a very interesting examination of poverty and suffering, no matter its presentation method. [Grade: B]
Black Mirror: Men Against Fire (2016)
Viewed on: September 23
Subtlety is not the specialty of Black Mirror, and this became apparent when I watched Men Against Fire, the finale of the third season. A by-the-numbers story that follows a futuristic soldier (Malachi Kirby) hunting mutants known as roaches, Men Against Fire makes its message known very early and has no use for delicacy when addressing it. Unfortunately, though, that same message is as timeless as it ever has been, which is by no means a good thing. [Grade: C+]
Psycho (1960)
Viewed on: September 25
I can only imagine what it must have been like to sit in a theater and watch Janet Leigh get brutally stabbed in glorious black-and-white on the big screen sixty-one years ago. Psycho plays its cards close to its chest, all while masterfully setting up (sometimes albeit confusingly) an amazing twist that allows Anthony Perkins to show off his off-kilter, multi-varietal acting talent. Not only is it a convincing horror, Psycho is also a great mystery, capped off by one of the most unnerving and slowly exciting endings of the 20th century. [Grade: A+]
Viewed on: September 27
If you were looking for proof that Twilight was an extended metaphor for abstinence and caution, I present to you Breaking Dawn Part 1. In a movie that absolutely did not need to be the commencement of a two-part finale, Bella and Edward get married and have a baby, all in the span of a week. Everything you love to hate about the Twilight series is here, from the bizarre editing choices to the weirdly underperformed drama. The conflict is different but still feels exactly the same, and just like the last installments, I have absolutely no idea where the story can go from here. Also, I feel lied to -- the Netflix cover art for this movie featured Aro, played by the magnificent Michael Sheen, sitting on a throne in a pure white room. Not only does Michael Sheen make a brief ten-second appearance, but the throne was nowhere to be seen. I would be surprised if the last movie offers any sort of penance for the unfortunate mess the series not only started as, but has progressed further into. [Grade: D]
The Power of Ten (1977)
Viewed on: September 28
If you want to ponder our place in the universe and have a small existential crisis, watch The Power of Ten and take a good, long look inside yourself. No, seriously, watch it. [Grade: A+]
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