Movies watched in May 2013
In order of most favorite to unwatchable. My ranking system is primarily based on how much I enjoyed the movie–i.e. would I watch it again, and recommend it to others. An asterix indicates whether I have seen the movie before.
Star Wars Trilogy* — Yeah, these are pretty good movies.
Captain America* — Such a great movie. The only negative thing I can say about this movie is the same thing I would say about most Marvel movies (especially Spiderman)–tone down on showing the violence and killing. I think these movies would be just as good if they didn’t show everyone getting killed–we don’t need to see the grandma with a tommygun getting gunned down. I’m holding off on showing many of these superhero flicks to my kids, when they should really be the prime audience.
MI 2 and 3* — The second Mission Impossible movie is a tad overwrought with its stunts and action sequences, but the third one is a great heist movie. Plus, Philip Seymour Hoffman is always a great villain.
Running Man* — Such a great 80’s movie. The reality TV experience depicted in this movie is almost too close for comfort when you think about current shows. How far are we really from having this show become a reality?
Roadhouse* — A hefty dose of nostalgia here. So much beautiful hair, 80’s gratuitous T&A, and Sam Elliot! This movie goes from being a carefree, fun movie to a gruesome bloodbath of a revenge movie–and then everyone just laughs it all off in the final scene. Classic 80’s.
Prince Caspian — I was surprised by this one. After seeing the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, my expectations weren’t all that high, but this movie was a lot of fun and had some intense battle scenes.
Streets of Fire* — Like watching a string of 80’s music videos on a row–and it’s glorious. Two words: Diane Lane. Two more words: sledgehammer duel! Whatever happened to that lead actor? He was pretty bad, and the shirtless overall look didn’t help.
Battle: Los Angeles — Another one of those movies where it’s just a bunch of Call of Duty cut scenes woven together. Aaron Eckhart was really good in this movie and would be watchable in any gritty war movie. Amazed that they actually kept Rosario Dawson in full battle gear for the entire movie, which is more believable than her stripping down to a tank top as probably would have been done in 99% of every other movie she is in.
Crazy Stupid Love — I really enjoyed this movie for its more realistic take on love and marriage. Steve Carrell and Ryan Gosling are both great. Not a laugh out loud riot, but a refreshing take on the typical rom-com format for us middle-agers.
Lockout — Guy Pearce should be in more action movies. This was a fun distraction of a movie with a silly plot, and some good action sequences.
Paranorman — Warm-hearted story and good animation but not much reason to revisit this one again. I had been avoiding this one for a while because I thought it would be too gory and gruesome for the kids, but surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad.
Safe — Jason Statham using guns is nowhere near as much fun as Jason Statham using his fists and feet. Certainly watchable, but overall a forgettable movie.
Blitz — Another night, another Jason Statham movie. This one wasn’t very good, but I liked seeing Littlefinger from the Game of Thrones as the cocky villain.
Old Boy — I’ve started and stopped this one a few times in the past, but finally powered through it and watched it until the very bitter end. The payoff is worth it, but I will not revisit this one…ever. The ultimate revenge flick, but movies like this are hard to watch because you really don’t like any of the characters.
I really loved ParaNorman. I thought it was really funny and a little subversive in a way a Disney animated movie could never be, and it’s definitely going to be an annual watch around Halloween for me.
Totally agree about Battle: LA, and (along with Michael Bay producing) that’s a reason why I’m not looking forward to the new TMNT movie.
Yeah, Paranorman is definitely NOT a Disney movie. I could see it becoming a Halloween staple on the networks.
I’ve never seen Roadhouse, and I know that’s probably a crime. I really need to watch it for all its 80s goodness.
You NEED to correct that ASAP! 😉 Roadhouse is so full of pop culture talking points, you definitely have to add it to your arsenal.
I thought he’d be taller.
I don’t know what it was about ParaNorman. I was totally pumped for it and I guess expecting something a little different because it just didn’t connect with me. I much preferred Frankenweenie and even Hotel Transylvania a little bit more.
Yeah, I was expecting it to be more creepy along the lines of Nightmare Before Christmas. i also thought the ending was a little too mature for the intended audience.
Lol Roadhouse is 80s epitomized! “I’ll have all the sleep I need when I’m dead”
Here’s a favorite question of mine to other Star Wars fans…..favorite quote from the original trilogy?………go!
Hmm, I never thought of Star Wars as all that quotable beyond the biggies “use the force” and “I know.” I guess the one that would be on my list would be “laugh it up fuzzball.”
Hello….”I AM YOUR FATHER!”
I was just talking with a friend of mine about Statham movies. He said Safe wasn’t that great but Parker is much better. My favorite of his more recent movies is The Mechanic. Spectacular action flick.
Speaking of, I just watched Fast 6. OMFG…that movie is amazing.
I’m looking forward to seeing both Parker and Fast6. You can’t go wrong with Statham or Diesel–two of my favorites.
OLD BOY-good hammer fight but the ending had me looking for a forget-me pill
Michael Pare was the lead in STREETS OF FIRE and he was in the classic BLOODRAYNE
The third movie in the Narnia series is worht a watch to finish them up, but it is the cheapest and worst of the 3. No Disney money this time around.