Yeah... it was kind of a sad year in terms of movies.
Probably the first year since I was maybe 6 I hadn't seen a movie in theaters. Part of me was hoping that everything would be back to normal and the next time I'd see a movie in theaters, it'd be Sherlock Holmes 3. Because it'd be the perfect bookend- my last theater movie was "Dolittle" so I kinda wanted my first movie back at a theater would be an RDJ movie... sadly, none of that happened.
Since he hung up his Iron-Man suit, RDJ has been busy doing pretty much anything BUT acting. He and his amazing wife Susan (who just celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary) are more behind-the-camera work with projects like Perry Mason and a Netflix series I forget the name of...
I also get the feeling he'd been spending too much time with Mark Ruffalo because all of his posts lately have been about saving the planet... granted, not to the same obnoxious level of Mark Ruffalo (or Leonardo DiCaprio for that matter...) and there's plenty worse he'd done with his free time in the past... I dunno, maybe I'm just being selfish about wanting my favorite actor in the world to just do movies and hopefully win an Oscar.
2011 was when I went into full-on Robert Downey Jr. fangirl mode and saw tons of his movies... 10 years later, I really thought things would be different.
The one difference I really can celebrate is the fact I'd been happily employed since 2014 :shrug:
***
Of course, just because I didn't go a theater doesn't mean that I didn't see movies.
I saw 40 total... not one of my strongest shows, but there was an interesting variety.
Some Spoilers will be ahead so tread lightly...
Like with last year, there was a bunch of Hallmark/Lifetime movies because there were a few nights where there was nothing to watch in December.
Most of them, I choose just because of the main actress. Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen from "Twilight") was in "Christmas on my mind" this year so I watched that. A little different from the typical Hallmark formula, but she still gets the happy ending with her first love. She gets amnesia during the opening credits and she's mentally transported back 2 years when she was still engaged to her previous boyfriend.
Some of the story, I kinda wish was developed more because it coincided with some of the new hobbies I'd acquired this year- inspired by someone I follow on YouTube. In the movie, she was an art teacher and during one of the holiday activities, she had kids in the town create reinterpretations of famous paintings. And she co-runs an art foundation and wanted them to create a youth outreach program- it's all about encouraging kids to enrich themselves with creative endeavors. We'd come to a point where such things are discouraged after you reach a certain age because you can't earn a comfortable living through art.
I feel like that message has been coming up a lot lately. And it still kinda blows my mind that some of the people I follow on YouTube actually make money by doing what they love. Whether it's playing video games or doing the Bob Ross thing.
Some other Hallmark-esque movies that stood out:
The Nine Kittens of Christmas- okay, maybe not the most creative plot and the kittens being named after Santa's reindeer was a bit over the top... but they were cute kitties...
Five More Minutes- based off a Scotty McCreery song... I'd never heard the song until the actual movie, but I liked him on American Idol so I took a chance. It was a sentimental gem about a granddaughter getting to spend a little extra time with her recently departed grandfather. But through means only Christmas magic could create. Dang, that ending was a tear-jerker
A Christmas Dance Reunion- co-starring Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman from High School Musical. They were dance partners as kids and come back together during Christmas at a hotel that used to be a winter vacation destination. She helps plan a bunch of activities to bring in tourists and they wind up saving the hotel.
A Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls- I didn't see the first one, but all I saw was Jonathan Bennett from Mean Girls and I was all for it. He and his brother were going to be part of a TV show where they decorate holidays houses and there's a winner at the end. It was a really nice break from the typical Hallmark formula. The only love story was his brother working up the courage to propose to his long-time girlfriend. Jonathan, on the other hand, is half of the first gay couple to star in a Hallmark movie. And the way they wrote their dynamic is was really well done. Their parents also did a really funny play "You Sleigh Me" about Mr. and Mrs. Claus and let's just say the innuendos run the risk of ruining your childhood. Over the top and ridiculous... and the two guys get into such a stupid argument they actually get thrown out of the theater because they're being too disruptive.
Also, the brother's girlfriend has a son- Liam from "A Million Little Things." He was also cool because he was all about the upcoming engagement, despite the fact his dad kept making random appearances and disrupting things.
***
Let's see... I saw a couple of sequels. Some better than others.
We streamed a couple of movies through HBO Max.
Godzilla vs. Kong was REALLY good... although at the moment, I can't really remember anything about it. Aside from the fact it kinda ended in a tie because the two of them had to team up to fight a different foe. I just remember there was a conspiracy theorist that some of the characters wind up teaming up with. And there's a little girl who can communicate with Kong through sign language and she's deaf in real life. That actress was really good too.
We also streamed Rodan from 1956- where we kinda made fun of the bad acting and translation... but it's one of those movies you wind up feeling bad for the monster despite the destruction they're causing. The original Frankenstein from 1931 gave me that feeling too. The townspeople only wanted him dead because he caused the accidental drowning of a little girl, but it wasn't like he'd done it on purpose.
We also streamed Wonder Woman 1984...I love the 80's more than anyone, so I can't help but feel like they did this decade dirty in this movie. It had some promise early on, but then things feel off the rails.
There's this stone that can grant people's wishes and it causes chaos, as is expected. Diana gets back the love of her life and it's kinda funny seeing him trying to adjust to the 80's. But then there's the nerdy lab assistant played by Kirsten Wiig. She was a character I feel like I could relate to and I wanted her to succeed... which is why it bummed me out so much that she became power hungry to the point she stopped being likeable.
It just made me want to ask- why can't underdogs achieve what they want and get the respect they'd been denied without turning into complete jerks? It perpetuates the message that we're all supposed to stay in the roles we're given because it'll throw the universe into chaos if we try to change that.
Plus, they had all this hype about Diana putting on the armor that belonged to this legendary Amazon that saved their people centuries ago... and she gets into a fight with Kirsten Wiig and the armor gets dismantled piece by piece like it was made of cardboard.
There's also the surprise ending, which was really cool... Lynda Carter makes a cameo. I know who she is (anyone who doesn't has been living under a rock) and how significant that was, but I was saying how she's the Amazon from that legend they were talking about in the movie and everyone else was not hearing me... they just kept saying "that's the original Wonder Woman" like my point was completely irrelevant... both things are true, but I just thought it was cool to have that twist of an ending and I was the only one who made that connection.
Toy Story 4 was interesting for a few reasons. They really didn't have a true villain because the bad guys all turned good in the end. I get this movie was made to turn Little Bo Peep into a feminist icon and that angle is being marketed HEAVILY these days. But it felt like it disrespected the ending of the previous movie. Andy gives Woody to Bonnie because she liked him and she agrees to take care of him. But shortly after, she kinda forgets about Woody altogether. Granted, kids her age are like that. Their favorite toys change.
But it's bittersweet for Woody to run away at the end with Bo Peep and he leaves all of his friends behind. Although the two of them do have a fun new lot in life- they help other lost toys get adopted by kids that come to this county fair.
The Evil Knievel character is also kinda funny. Commercials hyped him up to be this action figure that could do amazing stunts, but he got abandoned because his kid found out the TV ads were just false advertising.
I also kinda wonder if Bonnie is on the spectrum or if she's just shy... because she was having a difficult time adjusting to school and her way of coping was making a new friend. Hence, we got Forky.
Zombieland 2: Double Tap- pretty much everything you can ask for from a sequel. I loved it. The plot is kinda similar to the original movie and a lot of the humor is the same. But it was hilarious. One highlight was meeting two characters that were bizarro versions of Columbus and Tallahassee; the other Columbus was played by Thomas Middleditch from "Silicon Valley" and "B Positive" and he had his own list of "rules" for dealing with zombies.
The main plot was about the main characters looking for Little Rock, who'd left the group to run away with a guy named Berkeley... my folks make fun of the fact people from Berkeley are over-the-top liberals so they found it kinda funny when I was recollecting the movie to them. The climax happens at a commune where it's all about peace and love and all of the weapons are confiscated at the door... yeah, you kinda know where this is going... the zombies make a strike there and they need to get a little more creative about defeating them.
Trolls: World Tour, I got for my sister last Christmas because it was another theater movie we missed out on. I liked how it had a different world of trolls for the different kinds of music and it was about all music coming together as one in the end. I don't remember too much of it at the moment, but it had some great jokes and was funny. But it also had a lot of heart.
Black Widow is a movie I'd been waiting to see for quite a while. Not just because of the theaters not being open, but also just wanting that origin story for Natasha. It took some interesting turns I really didn't expect.
The opening credits where they show how the "Black Widow" program runs, how they recruit little girls and brainwash them to become assassins- set to a reimagined version of Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit." It reminded me a little bit of the opening of "SuckerPunch" with an alternate version of The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams are Made of This," but it was even darker.
One thing that kinda threw me off about the whole movie- Natasha is so good at manipulating people and convincing them that they have the upper hand until she flips the script on them... we'd seen this in previous Marvel movies, but every other time, we're in on "the joke" so to speak. Two or three times during this movie, I was freaking out that things couldn't be fixed, the bad guys were going to win... and it's not until the last minute we see "oh yeah, she knows what's she's doing, it'll be fine"... I dunno... maybe it's because this whole institution made me uncomfortable and it's been a while since I'd seen a villain I wanted defeated so badly. This guy didn't even have Oscar Isaac's good looks to make him easier on the eyes... he was just a creepy man.
And yeah, part of me is still kinda disappointed there wasn't a Tony Stark cameo somewhere. This was technically in the middle of "Civil War" so he was still alive, but I know a cameo of any kind would detract from her ability to carry a movie. (This was my post-End Game Marvel movie... I know what I've said about wanting RDJ to do other projects, but I feel like Tony Stark's death took away any motivation for me to follow these movies anymore).
On the other hand, there were some funny moments. Like her father figure saying how he had all of the same superpowers as Captain America, but he wasn't being taken as seriously. Or how her "sister" makes fun of her superhero landings... and then she does one of her own and is immediately disgusted with herself. (I honestly didn't notice how she tends to do this until this was mentioned... and I'd seen these movies how many times?!)
But maybe they took these meta/self-referential jokes a little too far... because there were so many of them.
***
With the push these last few years promoting black cinema, I saw a few movies this year that fall under that umbrella.
Judas and the Black Messiah- my folks and I kinda panned it because it was a little too slow paced and the dialogue was difficult to understand. Either because it was too quiet or they were using dialects we had trouble understanding.
Essentially it's about a criminal who, in lieu of charges, goes undercover for the FBI to infiltrate the local chapter of Black Panthers. The climax leads to the Chicago police assassinating their charismatic leader. This was all based on a true story and they reveal at the end; after the undercover agent tells his whole story for a PBS documentary, he commits suicide because he couldn't live with what he did.
The movie reminded me a little bit of "BlacKkKlansman" because both involve undercover work and The Black Panthers. But I think I preferred the other movie because it had a little humor to it and it was more dynamic and interesting to watch.
Anyone who's really interested in movies about racial injustice, it's a good example. But it's the kind of movie I could only sit through once.
Moonlight won the Best Picture Oscar a few years ago... and I think it deserved it. Maybe not more than "La La Land"... I'm still pissed that movie didn't win Best Picture (or that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling didn't end up together at the end, but I'd told that story already)...
It's the kind of movie I don't think my dad would really get into because there isn't much of a plot to it. And the ending is a bit ho-hum... it was just a thing that happened. There wasn't a great epiphany or an epic Hollywood happy ending.
But I liked it a lot. It wasn't just a coming of age story for a black man. He was also gay and some of the bullying he experienced was because of that. He also had the common black youth backstory where he didn't know his dad and his mom wasn't always around to take care of him. But early on he meets a good father figure and surrogate mother that helped set him on the right path. Again, another great role for Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monae (his wife) shows again that she's a really good dramatic actress.
All three actors who played Chiron were also really good.
***
Some movies were kinda out there...
Plan 9 From Outer Space is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made... if not the worst. When I watched it, I kinda wish I'd seen "Ed Wood" more recently because a big chunk of that movie is about the making of this one.
I was actually with the movie up to a certain point... not sure where it was... but the plot (yeah, that was somewhat of a plot) kinda lost me and the rest of it dragged as a result.
It was kinda cool seeing Bela Lugosi in his final role and those instances where they had to do extra shooting after his death and the stand-in always had his cape dragged across his face... funny in an unintentional way.
Private Lessons was a movie my mom and dad saw when it came out in theaters way back when it first came out. And they'd agree it was its own experience. A teen named Philly comes from money and his parents are going on vacation, so they hire a housekeeper to look after him. A Mrs. Robinson type of thing winds up happening, but it's a little more... uncomfortable. It's considered softcore porn because they don't show as much as you'd expect. But the fact she talks a 15 year old (after several attempts) into losing his virginity... ick...
Things get really weird when she has a heart attack during the act and he thinks he'd killed her... we find out she's in cahoots with the groundskeeper for the seduction plot because he's blackmailing her over her immigration status. But then the tables get turned a number of times and the groundskeeper ends up with the short end of the stick.
It's also notable for its soundtrack, including "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind & Fire.
Supposedly the movie is so hard to come by; my dad found it on Amazon and the seller literally said that stock would be the last that'll ever be sold. But in some circles, I guess it's a cult favorite.
***
Tenet was one of those movies that was being hyped in theaters around the time 2020 happened... it came out finally on streaming and we saw on HBO to see what all the hype was about... I still don't get it... it's one of those strange movies you need to see more than once to really grasp. But there's two timelines with the same characters occurring at the same time, but we don't find out until later that the newbie at the start of the movie was the brains behind the operation.
"Inception" was kinda confusing too (both Christopher Nolan movies), but I at least understood "Inception" without having to see it more than once.
***
High Fidelity, I'd heard some things about for years and finally got to see it... for anyone who loves music to the point they geek out about it, this is their type of movie. Although John Cusack's character is kind of a jerk to his girlfriends and that detracts from it a bit. Jack Black is pretty funny in it, especially when he gives someone grief for asking for "I just called to say I love you" by Stevie Wonder, implying Stevie's earlier stuff was way better and that one song is a cheesy commercial sell-out.
Spin is the first Disney Channel original movie I'd seen in ages... it's about an Indian teen who learns how to become a DJ and she enrolls in an annual competition. Her mom recently passed away so she helps out at her family's restaurant, but her grandma (and one of her teachers) want her to find her own dreams to pursue. Not that her dad is overbearing and only wants her to work, but he wants her to keep her commitments when she makes them. The climax at the competition has her programming a song her mom recorded, remixing it and in the background is a collage of photos she'd collected. There's also modern elements like live streaming and social media.
The High Note touched on a lot of things I found incredibly interesting. It's another movie with Dakota Johnson and I'd seen her in nearly everything since she did the 50 Shades movies. I don't know why; I just really enjoy seeing her play these different roles. She's an assistant to a well-established artist played by Tracee Ellis Ross, one of those types in the music business who has several people doing tasks for her and she doesn't often give them the time of day. (I saw some similarities to how Prince ran his affairs, so maybe that was part of why this movie grabbed me).
She discovers another upcoming artist and decides to help him establish a career as his producer, but this gets in the way of her other job. Her boss also is at a point in her career where she's considered over the hill and the record label would rather her do a greatest hits tour than put out a new album that'll break the mold. A lot of female artists reach a point in their careers where the masses lose interest and move on to the next new thing. It's sad. It's also kinda sad that Dakota Johnson wants to break stereotypes and her boss gives her grief for trying to redirect her career. I guess because she prefers the steady paychecks? Her logic didn't really make sense to me...
That typical third act thing happens where the plot stops- nobody wants to deal with her anymore and she hides out at her dad's place at Catalina Island. Then her boss comes over there to look for her and winds up convincing her to come back-- her overall demeanor doesn't change or anything, but you can tell she's grateful to have her on her payroll.
Drinking Buddies, I'd wanted to see for years. Either because of Anna Kendrick or Jake Johnson. Or Olivia Wilde. Either way, it's a movie where Jake and Olivia are working at a brewery. Both of them are otherwise attached to other people and four of them like to hang out a lot. There are hints dropped that maybe they'll switch partners or at least cheat on each other. Only one of those things wind up happening, but one couple stays together and another breaks apart.
I wouldn't say that plot plays a huge role. But I enjoyed it... if only as 90 minutes to spend hanging out with these actors.
Butter- it was on during one of those nights where there was nothing to really watch. But I recognized enough of the actors in it that it was worth a try. Its humor was a little bit out there and over the top, but it was a surprise in a good way.
Basically, it's about a couple of people competing in an annual butter sculpting contest. Ty Burrell had won it so many times over the years that the council running things want him to step down to make room for new up and comers. This does not sit well with his wife, Jennifer Garner, who just wants him to keep on winning so she can continue enjoying the prestige that comes along with it. (Ashley Greene plays their daughter and her character is the type angsty teenager who's so over the drama of her parents).
There's also a black girl who's a veteran of the foster system. Her sardonic humor in the narration is pretty funny. Her introduction talks about all the different foster parents she'd had over the years, but she also says more than once "white people are weird."
So Jennifer Garner and the girl compete to get into the main contest. Another contest is a stripper that Ty Burrell owes money to. Olivia Wilde plays her and she is incredible! There's also a scene where she gets in bed with Ashley Greene...we don't see them really do much, but the fact that was part of the movie... dang! It's no wonder Marissa Cooper switched teams on "The O.C."... it was a temporary thing, sure, but if I were in her position, I'd probably do the same.
Jennifer Garner sinks so low that she has her ex-boyfriend, played by Hugh Jackman, sabotage the girl's competitive chances. First, he tells a bold faced lie that he'd helped her create her sculpture, so the two of them wind up going to the competition to determine the real winner. Then after it's done, he goes in there after hours to ruin her sculpture.
Joke's on her, though, because that sabotage is why the judges ultimately picked it as the winner.
I'd say this movie was like "Best in Show"- about an underrated competition where the contestants take things WAY too seriously. But there's a lot more heart and humor in this one. Plus, it winds up with the girl getting formally adopted by her current foster family, so that was nice. She finally gets to unpack that suitcase she'd carried from one home to the next. For anyone who'd been through that system, that speaks volumes.
Promising Young Woman- that movie stayed with me for a while after seeing it...they made a really big statement about the Me Too movement. Despite the happy ending, it was really bittersweet... because the main character didn't get to reap all of the benefits from the actions she took. (This time, I'm purposely not going into all of the details- it's something you really need to see for yourself).
Her M.O. was that she'd go to bars, appear intoxicated and an unsuspecting man takes her home, aiming to take advantage of her. But she flips the script on them and makes them pay for being horrible people. Her ultimate goal is to do this to the man who did this garbage to her best friend and afterwards, her friend killed herself.
The way the director talked about the ending and how it wasn't believable for her to get her revenge exactly as planned, no matter how much you want that to be the case... that makes me so angry. Plus that LONG two minute scene where everything goes to hell- literally because that's how long it would take to transpire in real life... that alone is the reason I couldn't sit through this movie again. It was too difficult to watch.
One thing I'd really noticed about myself this year- just in general- I think I'm becoming more of a feminist with age. Not to the point where I'd join a march or a rally or anything that extreme. But when women are disrespected or their health concerns aren't being properly addressed, I want so badly for that not to be the case.
***
Finally, a bunch of TCM classic movies.
Christmas in Connecticut, we all saw for the first time. It was funny and took a lot of turns we didn't expect. Although in the last few minutes, there were too many twists that I couldn't tell which way was up anymore.
Basically, it's about a woman who makes a living writing for a magazine. All stories about her living on a farm, cooking homemade recipes and having a husband and baby. This whole biography was fabricated, but the readers ate it all up. Her boss wants her to host a dinner party for a sailor who'd recently come home as a war hero... and it's a rom-com that does both romance and comedy really well. Probably the funniest part is that they needed babies to stand in for the one she wrote about... a comedy of errors comes out of this and we're losing it laughing at it. It's so ridiculous.
But it was a lot of fun.
Flower Drum Song, I think we watched because we didn't know what else to watch. But it was one of the first movies with a predominantly Asian cast. Every now and then, I still think about it. It's a musical so there's a lot of songs and musical numbers that go on for several minutes. The protagonist, she comes to America to be part of an arranged marriage. But the guy she's promised to is in love with someone else and he tries to hook her up with someone else. The guy that plays opposite her and she winds up with- James Shigeta. I learned that night that he was like Japan's Elvis- he was really famous and was a great singer.
Desk Set- my first Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn movie... this wound up being a fun one too. I hadn't seen any of their movies as a duo, so I didn't know what to expect. It could be considered a Christmas movie because there's a lot of build-up about whether the women who work in the reference library will have jobs next year. Because the company is looking into upcoming technology, they might be replaced with an oversized computer.
Of course this computer is only as good as the person who programs it. The machine goes haywire, much to the dismay of the engineer hired to operate it, and the women wind up being able to keep their jobs.
Yours, Mine & Ours- a remake had been made in my lifetime starring Dennis Quaid, but I'd never seen it.
A few nights ago, again, nothing to watch... I saw that Lucille Ball was in it and I'd only seen Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men... I figured, why not?
It's a really crazy story about two people with large families that fall in love and get together. And their kids aren't really fond of the idea, especially when it comes to adoption. They're afraid this means they want to put their other parent behind them.
I'd only seen a couple of "I Love Lucy' reruns in my life- most of them were special colorized presentations on CBS... this movie made me want to see more of them. She was so funny on this movie- that's all I can say cuz no way I describe it would be able to do her justice.
