Swan's 2017 Movie Adventures

Captain America: Civil War -
(The Russo Brothers, 2016)

[REWATCH]



Certainly better than I remembered it being, due the fact that I DIDN'T FALL ASLEEP THIS TIME, but it's still a bloated mess of a film. My favorite thing about it was pissed off Tony Stark and the shot above. Why did I love this shot so much? Because it was literally the only shot in the film that dared to linger on a fight rather than swiftly cut to another shot in order to hide poor choreography. Jesus, talk about bad editing for the rest of it. It was so fast it was distracting. Man, now I feel I'm being too generous with my rating. Whatever. It's not that bad and there's some fun to be had here. It's just messy and poorly executed fun.

War for the Planet of the Apes -
(Matt Reeves, 2017)

[NEW WATCH]



Honestly might be one of the best pieces of blockbuster cinema I've seen. A stunning way to conclude what I call the Ceaser trilogy. And it was the best display of Serkis and his talent. I've been saying it since Rise.... Andy Serkis needs to be the first motion capture actor to win an Oscar for his work. And it should be for Ceaser, in War for the Planet of the Apes. Will it happen? Doubtful. But it should.

The Big Sick - +
(Michael Showalter, 2017)

[NEW WATCH]



da fuq

Okay, I was gonna just leave it there but I ought to say more. I don't usually care about Rotten Tomatoes and critical response but man, this is one of the biggest gaps I've yet experienced between critical and audience reception and my own personal opinion. I'm a bit stunned by it to be honest. I mean, I felt obligated to see this after I read some article headline talking about how it's 'time to start talking about The Big Sick as a Best Picture contender'. The hell? I admit this film had a big heart and the two main characters were likable enough, but otherwise it was such an awfully-made, unfunny, cliched mess. So cliched I nearly puked from the clichedness. I guess it's popular because it's culturally relevant? I mean, I guess it is, in the sense that it's about a Muslim guy dating a white American girl. But there is no weight to any of that, nothing profound or revealing. So what else is there? I guess I'm missing whatever it is.

The Skin I Live In - +
(Pedro Almodovar, 2011)

[NEW WATCH]



Thankfully I had this movie to come back to. Actually, I watched both these with my buddy, and this was his recommendation. He's been bugging me to watch it with him for some time now. I'm glad I finally did. Completely unpredictable and masterfully written and directed. Normally I feel like I'm one step ahead of the what's going to happen in movies, but this one completely took me by surprise. A very strange film indeed, in the best possible way.

Sin City - +
(Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller, 2005)

[REWATCH]



Stylish and brutal to the max in every way, this was my best viewing of the film. It's one that achieves what it sets out to do amazingly well. In fact, I feel like I'm underrating it. I really enjoyed it this time.

The Lego Batman Movie - +
(Chris McKay, 2017)

[NEW WATCH]



Just doesn't have that effortless charm and humor the first one had. I found it pretty unfunny despite it's attempts to be the opposite, and overall failed to become engaged with it.

Jodorowsky's Dune - +
(Frank Pavich, 2014)

[REWATCH]



Jodorowsky is a man with an unbelievably passionate and ambitious spirit, and that resonates and inspires me profoundly.