Tag: Lists

Avengers: Endgame’s release last weekend, got me thinking about how the seventeen years I’ve been in a relationship with Matt have coincided with the rise of the modern superhero movie.

We both like superhero films. He grew up reading comic books, I love an origin story. We both experienced Christopher Reeve’s Superman and the sequels that followed. There was the Batman in the 80s.

The start of “us” was around the release weekend of the 2002 Spider-Man movie. We watched the movie separately, but we talked about it in one of those long start-of-relationship phone call or email.

Quantity increasing:

At the beginning, we watched most of the superhero movies as they were released, usually on opening weekend, or close to it. And now? We mostly do the same thing, but there are so many more opening weekends for us. Look what happened:

Anniversary Celebrations

Because our anniversary is always celebrated the weekend before Mother’s Day, and that’s often the launch of the summer movie season, we’ve had more than one anniversary at the movie theater. Actually, there have been six, and had the last two Avengers films not moved their release dates one week earlier, we would be at eight.

Here’s a snippit from the blog circa 2007.

Here we are in 2015 waiting to see Avengers: Age of Ultron:

And here we are last weekend:

(The self-portrait skills have not improved over the years. In fact, they may have degraded.)

Who we like:

Our films fall into four categories:

• DC (Navy)
• Spider-man (Red)
• X-Men (Purple)
• Marvel (Orange)

You can see which universe is the clear winner in our house. It’s Marvel by a long shot, probably because they have perfected the superhero film universe. Matt’s a big fan of X-Men, I have a soft spot for Spider-Man and neither of us prioritizes DC. Most of those DC films are Christopher Nolan’s Batman series.

DC

While I liked the Christopher Nolan Batman world overall, and we both liked Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises, Matt and I disagree about the Dark Knight. It’s his favorite, I thought it was much too dark.

I like Superman, but haven’t made time for him among the superhero glut and we’ve missed most of the DCEU. Exceptions: Wonder Woman, because no way was I missing that female icon’s big-screen debut, especially with a female director; Shazam! because the podcast Feminist Frequency gave it their seal of approval so Matt wanted to go. We both liked it, me more than him.

Here’s a nice 8-minute analysis of DC that compares that world unfavorably to Marvel.

Spider-Man

I’m not sure if the fact there have been four different actors portraying Spider-Man says more about our longevity, or the lack of originality in Hollywood.

As a big fan of Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man, I wasn’t a big fan of the reboot with Andrew Garfield coming so soon after Spider-Man III. We still watched the Amazing Spider-Man, though we both skipped the sequel.

For the next reboot, Matt went on opening day and I skipped it, but the argument “it’s a really great high school film” eventually won me over and Matt watched Spider-Man: Homecoming with me on DVD. Tom Holland is a delight; he might just be the best of the bunch.

When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released, I was feeling rather full of superhero movies and almost didn’t go, but was so glad we did see the film. Miles Morales is the best animated Spider-Man I’ve ever seen and the movie is visually stunning. Plus, it has a great plot.

If they keep going at this rate, there will be another actor portraying Spider-Man by the time we celebrate our 25th anniversary.

X-Men

X2: X-Men United was the first superhero movie we watched together. We saw it at the Laurelhurst Theater as part of a double feature with the original Superman.

Hot tip: a double feature of those two films should start with Superman, as following early-2000s filmmaking with 1970s filmmaking makes the older film feel like it is playing at half speed. Plus there’s a rhyming poem-like series of thoughts in the middle that we both cringed through.

Since then we’ve seen an X-Man film that Matt still refers to as “the fan film” and refuses to acknowledge as part of the cannon. We’ve gone back in time to see James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender portray younger versions of Patrick Stewart (Magneto) and Ian McKellen (Professor X)

We’ve also seen the titles of films featuring everyone’s favorite mutant (Wolverine, of course) shed punctuation and articles as the years go by.

We’ve seen Logan’s origins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) (terrible film), watched him go to Japan (The Wolverine)(okay film) to the end of his story (Logan)(a very violent, but higher quality film)

I’m guessing we will be at the theater for X-Men: Dark Pheonix. I’m looking forward to Evan Peter’s re-appearance as Quicksliver. His Jim Croche scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past was a highlight of the franchise for me.

Marvel

Marvel reigns supreme over our superhero moviegoing world. We’ve been to films with Marvel characters since the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a pipe dream.

That’s right, we’ve seen Hulk.

Not only that, but we watched The Incredible Hulk, and not just to catch up before the first Avengers movie came out.

What is it about the MCU that is so good? They take their movies seriously. They cast brilliant actors. They create a unified movie world, where one movie builds on another for an ultimate story, but where also each movie can stand on its own.

And they never lose sight that super heroes are fun, and the best ones are funny.

Though I have superhero fatigue right now, I still want to watch their films, because they do good storytelling. And that’s led them to a $20 billion worldwide box office take on movies that have cost around $4.5 billion to make.

(Numbers come from Wikipedia and are probably changing every second since Endgame’s release.)

In summary:

It’s been 17 years and an average of 2.35 new superhero movies per year. Will we keep up with the pace? I don’t know, but probably. But regardless, I’ve enjoyed our shared interest in the superhero world.

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

I’m a completist. I watched all the Best Picture nominees. You might not have my level of dedication, or time. If not, here’s a handy guide to help you plan your best picture nominee viewing.

Roma.

You want to watch Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma if you are fan of movies that unfold slowly, are more character driven than plot driven, and are sad and cathartic. Also, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to have a live-in servant.

Green Book.

You want to watch Peter Farrelly’s Green Book if you are fan of excellent performances, pithy things said by lead actors, and if you are not at all convinced by the arguments about white saviors and racism your college-age niece made at the Thanksgiving table.

Black Panther.

You want to watch Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther if you are at least mildly interested in superhero films, like a popcorn movie that actually deals with contemporary issues, and love movies that feature women fighters prominently (though still not in the lead). Also if you are only going to watch one movie in the Avengers universe, this is the one.

A Star is Born.

You want to watch Bradly Cooper’s A Star is Born if you like movies about music, are looking for some killer performances, or are a fan of romantic love. Also, to forever banish the memory of the ’76 version.

BlacKkKlansman.

You want to watch Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman because it’s funny, tense, has a lot to say about race in the USA, and so you can weigh in on the discussions about the final scene.

The Favourite.

You want to watch Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite because you love movies where women get to really act, love movies where everyone is terrible to some degree, and love random weird stuff dropped into the narrative.

Bohemian Rhapsody.

You want to watch Bryan Singer’s* Bohemian Rhapsody because you love or like the music of Queen, want to see some amazing 70s/80s costumes and Rami Malek’s excellent performance, and don’t mind that this movie is a standard draggy biopic that takes no chances.

*IMDB credits Singer as the director. But he only worked on half of it.

Vice.

You want to see Adam McKay’s Vice if you are a fan of actors radically changing their appearance to get in character, if you are an Amy Adams completist, and if you don’t have any lingering feelings about the George W. Bush presidency.

If our movie tastes align.

You want to see: The Favorite, A Star is Born, Roma, BlacKkKlansman, and Black Panther in that order.

You don’t mind seeing: Bohemian Rhapsody

You should stay far away from: Green Book, Vice

If you want to watch the movies most likely to win.

You want to see: Roma, Green Book, Black Panther, and A Star is Born in that order.

Movies I watched in 2018 that were just so good I think you should watch them too. Today’s (non) theme: Hodgepodge

Dads with Daughters

Movies with dad/daughter combinations seem to be more common than movies with moms/daughters. It’s easy to see why. The mom/daughter relationship is hard to get right. (Lady Bird did, though.)

Hearts Beat Loud—Nick Offerman and Kiersy Clemons together in a movie about endings of things. Music is the connection that keeps us together, no matter Kiersy Clemons’ reluctance.

Leave No Trace—Sometimes a dad provides for his daughter the best he can, despite his demons. Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie are so very good in this so very good film by Debra Granik

First Man—The daughter isn’t on the scene for long. But her death from cancer fuels Ryan Gosling’s Neil Armstrong portrayal.

Also a dad/daughter movie? My 2018 #1 film, Eighth Grade

Documentaries I Loved

I don’t see as many documentaries as I would like too. There are only so many hours in a day and I prefer fiction to nonfiction. I did see these two films, and they were worth my time.

Three Identical Strangers—Every person who has ever fantasized of having a long lost twin will love this movie. If you aren’t convinced, watch the preview.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?—Fred Rogers. A movie theater full of crying people, and yet it’s so cathartic. In these hectic times, you know you want to spend 1.5 hours in Mr. Rogers’ calm presence.

Classics for a reason

Some classics that I watch are like taking medicine. And some have me sitting up saying, “Yes! This film! This is good!” These are those films.

High Noon—The movie that had me wondering just what exactly was going on in 1952. (It was blacklisting.) Even if you don’t know about that subject, this is a tense film.

Witness for the Prosecution—Best viewed when you don’t know much about it, and there’s a fun disclaimer at the end where they ask you to avoid spoilers when talking about the movie, except they didn’t have the term spoiler. (I can recall when that term came into use, and boy was it a handy language innovation.)

Defying categorization. Still good.

Sometimes you get to the end of your categorization and you can’t find a common thread. Wait! The common thread is women as lesser beings. But that’s too much of a bummer to make a heading.

Battle of the Sexes—I initially avoided this film becuase I wasn’t up to the normalized sexist attitudes of the 1970s. But the movie was complex in a way I wasn’t expected and was well worth my time. My DVD copy had an interview with Billie Jean King that I suggest searching out.

The Gift—A psychological thriller that is nearly a perfect film. So. Incredibly. Creepy.

Wind River—I initially avoided this film because I was annoyed that a movie set on an Indian reservation was written by a white dude and stars white people. I eventually set those things aside and I found a taut thriller that calls attention to the many unsolved murders of Native American women.

Are you looking for the Volumes I and II?
Find Volume I here
And Volume II here

Movies I watched in 2018 that were just so good I think you should watch them too. Today’s theme: funny, romantic, and romantically funny

Romantic Comedy Renaissance

Oh my goodness, it’s like the Hollywood execs looked at their spreadsheet of excess and said, “Whoa, Nelly! We’ve been pumping out superhero films like there’s a big comet headed toward the earth and only a superhero movie can save us! But where is the love?”

They seem to have said that a year ago because this summer was the summer of romantic comedies for me. And they were so good! Here are the standouts.

Just getting started. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Lana Condor’s unsent love letters are mailed, and she gets a fake boyfriend out of the deal.

Young career women. Zoe Deutch is an assistant who cooks up a matchmaking scheme with Glen Powell in Set it Up. Gillian Jacobs is on a business trip to Spain in Ibiza and Jessica Williams is a marvel in The Incredible Jessica James.

What else do these three movies have in common? Two of them follow the new romantic comedy formula that provides romance, but is just as focused on the woman staying true to herself.

A more mature romance. Rose Byrne confronts her relationship at midlife in Juliet, Naked. Maybe her boyfriend’s (Chris O’Dowd) obsession with recluse musician Tucker Crowe is going to be the thing that breaks them up. Or maybe Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke) is.

Sanaa Lathan is a successful career woman who’s got everything under control in Nappily Ever After. Until Everything falls apart.

Couples Walking and Talking

The Before Sunrise trilogy set the bar high, and these two films are worthy entries into the genre.

In Blue Jay, Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass’ chance meeting in their hometown leads to a night of remembering their high school relationship.

Alice Eve and Chris Evans meet by chance and spend an evening walking around New York City, trying figure a way to get out of a conundrum in Before We Go.

I could not stop laughing, it was so funny

Really great comedies are cathartic and I recommend them for Friday nights. All that laughter wipes away the work week and makes you lighter for the weekend. Here were three that were great.

In Blockers, three friends decide to lose their virginity on Prom night. Their parents (Leslie Mann, John Cena, and Ike Barinholz) get wind of the pact and spend the evening trying to thwart their daughters’ efforts.

In Game Night, Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman have friends over for an evening of entertainment via board games. From that point, nothing goes according to plan, resulting in much hilarity and many homages to games.

Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel create a different kind of humor in Lost in Paris, the story of a Canadian woman who heads to Paris to find out what’s become of her aunt. Very odd hilarity ensues.

Looking for You Should Totally Watch this Volume I? It’s here. And here is Volume III.

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Movies I watched in 2018 that were so good I think you should watch them too. Today’s theme: people

The women (and girls)

Longtime readers know I love to see stories grounded in the female experience, and I watched a lot of them in 2018.

Are you looking for a steely drama with women (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki) attempting to pull off a heist after their husbands die? Look for: Widows. Maybe you want the comedy/suspense story of a simple mommy blogger (Anna Kendrick) whose life turns upside down when her friend disappears? You’re looking for A Simple Favor.

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette. If you watch one comedy special this year, this should be the one. Hannah Gadsby dismantles the comedy process and makes us laugh, though not in that order.

Women’s work. Whether it’s running a high-stakes poker ring (Molly’s Game) or trying to qualify for the Winter Olympics (I, Tonya) it’s fun to watch these women do their jobs.

Further connections: both movies deal with Winter Olympic trials. Molly’s Game opens with a skiing trial.

Women in new life stages, or attempting them. Toni Collette is excellent in Lucky Them, about a music writer on a quest to find her long-gone (but possibly not dead after all?) boyfriend. In a much higher income bracket, Reese Witherspoon is trying to build a post-divorce life in Home Again. Kathryn Hahn is trying to become a mother in Private Life. Whereas Charlize Theron is transitioning from having two children to having three with the help of a night nurse in Tully. (This was my #2 film of the year and no one I know has seen it.)

Mid-career. Juliette Binoche spends time talking about art and work in the Clouds of Sils Maria while Melissa McCarthy needs to find a new way to make a living because no one is interested in her Fanny Brice biography in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

2018 was the year I also saw Belle (finally) and I think you should not miss Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s performance as Dido Elizabeth Belle in 18th Century England.

And a list about of women (and girls) cannot end without a mention of Eighth Grade, my top movie of 2018 and a brilliant portrayal of the last week of middle school for one Kayla Day.

The men (and boys)

While I don’t seek out movies about males as much as I do about females, they come to me regardless, mostly due to the fact that men tend to think their stories are universal. Here are three films about men that I deeply loved.

Let’s start with the youngest of our charges. In Taika Waititi’s funny, sweet and tragic Boy we see James Rolleston (Boy) deal with his father being away. He then gets to deal even more when his father comes home.

Moving into early adulthood, director Chloe Zhao directs Brady Jandreau in The Rider, a story about finding what one can do with their life when they are supposed to stay away from the one thing that makes them happy, in this case, riding horses. In a look at settled adulthood, Paterson is Jim Jarmusch’s tale of a bus driver who is also a poet and stars a very good Adam Driver and a very wacky (and also good) Golshifteh Farahani as his creative wife.

Lynn Shelton is the best!

One woman who excels at putting both the women and the men together to make very interesting movies is director Lynn Shelton. In 2018, I had the joy of watching three of her films.

How far will two competitive friends go? Perhaps all the way? In Humpday, Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard push the boundaries of their friendship.

Thank goodness Edie Falco is still getting roles. In Outside In she plays a teacher who has worked to reduce the sentence one of her former students, (Jay Duplass) and their post-prison relationship is a complex one.

Finally, Touchy Feely ostensibly concerns itself with a massage therapist (Rosemary DeWitt) who doesn’t want to touch skin anymore, but it’s really the story of a variety of people in her orbit, including her brother, niece and boyfriend. Josh Pais and Allison Janney’s reiki scene was perhaps one of my favorites in 2018.

What did you see in 2018 that you loved?

Are you looking for Volume II and Volume III? Click those links.