January Flicks

Here are all of the movies that I watched last month. Special shout out to Cerpts for inspiring this post!

- Mad Hot Ballroom - A wonderful and uplifting documentary. I dare you, the viewer, to not fall in love with these kids. 

- Emulsion - Moody and intriguing Indie Brit flick. It's shot gorgeously (is that even a word - it should be in this case) and is the kind of film you wanna watch again and again as you discover something new each time.

- Mistress America - Interesting film with another fab Gerwig performance - I've loved her since Baghead. Michael Chernus (from OITNB and Captain Phillips) was so funny. When he admitted that he only recently (what did he say, like, last week or something??) learned what Case Sensitive meant I busted out laughing. God, I feel the same way...

- Open Hearts - Great acting, however the female lead's character was super annoying. What a fickle c-word.

- August: Osage County - An absolutely excruciating movie to sit through - including the entire last hour which I fast-forwarded. The only golden ray of sunshine was Chris Cooper. He is always extraordinary.

- A Case of You - "Can I cook you dinner sometime?" - this is the best way to ask a woman out. Such a romantic line.

- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Exceptional film. Not immature or predictable, but honest, charming, and beautifully made.

- Beauty is Embarrassing - I saw this a few years back and I'm so glad I re-visited it - really interesting to know there's an artist out there with a fantastic and unique sense of humour and that he puts it right into his art.

- A Walk Among the Tombstones - An extremely disturbing scene at the beginning where you think it's one thing and then you realise it's the exact opposite; it messes with your brain completely. I stuck with it and it turned out to be a pretty damn good movie. A stand out performance from Dan Stephens and of course, Liam Neeson is always fabulous. I really dug the throwback to classic 70s NYC PI flicks.

- How to Cook Your Life - eh...

- Clean, Shaven - Didn't like it and don't feel the need to justify why.

- The Goonies - After the last film, I needed something that was gonna make me smile and Goonies always delivers. When it was all over I re-watched it with the commentary, which is so good, and laughed all over again. So many fun moments and fabulous acting that tends to be overlooked since it's a "kids movie" - but honestly, as a kid, a teenager, an adult, I have always loved this film and damn it, I always will!

- What We Do in the Shadows - Austin Kleon mentioned this movie and I gotta say, it was pretty damn original and very odd. But in a good way. I did love every moment with Stu. The scene where they all watch a sunrise on YouTube? Hilarious.

- 5 to 7 - Evan, a fella I used to work with, will text me every so often with film suggestions. Even though he has peculiar taste in movies (his favourite films are Oliver! and The Expendables - I'm not joking.) he was responsible for introducing me to The Giant Mechanical Man, which I absolutely adored. 5 to 7 was excellent. I really like Anton Yelchin and have ever since he played Bird on Huff - god, he was wonderful in that role. Yelchin has the ability to pack so much maturity, knowledge, youthful optimism, and gentle power in this performance. I was really wowed by him. Also, Glenn Close and Frank Langella were cast in small, but stellar parts and they were, as always, outstanding.

- We Are The Best! - I saw that this film was playing at the Theatre N in Wilmington, but didn't get a chance to see it, so I made a note of it to check it out on DVD. It was a really fun and honest portrait of how most punk bands get their start - friends with something to say, feeling a bit angry and looking for an outlet decide to form a band and learn how to play their instruments as they go along. Really great acting from the three female leads.

- Plan Bart - A Belgian flick with three actors I've seen in other shows, but truth be told, I picked it up for Wouter Hendrickx because he is super delightful. Plan Bart was just a nice movie to watch on a Saturday afternoon when there's a blizzard coming down right outside the walls of your home.

- Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - I love this beautiful film.

- Esio Trot - After Mr. Magorium I needed more of Dustin Hoffman. I dug out my region 2 copy of Esio Trot and was as charmed by it as the first time I watched it last Summer. When I was in Belgium I saw Dustin and Judi Dench on Graham Norton discussing their experiences on the set of Esio Trot and the clip of the film that was shown convinced me that as soon as I could, I would need to snatch up a copy of the DVD for myself. I'm so glad that I did because it was such a sweet movie. Judi Dench is sexier and sassier than ever as Mrs. Silver and no one but Dustin Hoffman could have played Mr. Hoppy. A totally gorgeous picture. 

- Enough Said - Just as witty and endearing as the first time I saw it.

- Trumbo - see more here.

- Ricki and the Flash - Better than I expected. I think what I liked most about it was seeing Meryl Streep play a completely normal, regular person. The scene where she is working the register and ringing up that guy at the supermarket was perfection. The look on Streep's face when she is essentially scolded by her teenage manager is why she is the best there ever will be in the business.

- BearCity - My cousin Donna, just before her death, had told me that her two favourite movies were BearCity 2 and BearCity. In that order. I finally bumped it up in my Netflix queue and had a look. It was a typical Indie Gay film, with lots of likable characters, a few scamps, some sleaze, some romance, and with a happy ending, of course. The stand out, obviously, was Stephen Guarino, who is the most infectiously hilarious and adorable man of all time.

- Umbrellas of Cherbourg - I didn't go gaga over this film, but I did love how it looked and that every word to be spoken was sung. Such a unique and beautiful looking film - so glad I watched it!

- Blue Is the Warmest Colour - I hadn't seen this film since it was first released on DVD and I'd forgotten just how captivating it was. Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux were such a great onscreen couple, with incredibly sensual love scenes (which sadly get talked about more than other moments). I most enjoy the scenes in romances where the characters fall in love and the performances in this film felt so real and truthful.  I wanted them to stay in love like that forever. 

Holy schnikes, 24 films in one month...and that doesn't include my watching Hart to Hart and McMillan and Wife reruns...more film posts with mini-reviews to come on March 1st!