You had me at "Movie Night".
Hey everyone! Here's my fourth weekly catch up, where we look at all of the films I've watched this week. The episode of The Drive Back this week had one film that we had to watch, and the rest were watched on my own time (for better or for worse). This week was busy, with more going on for me than usual, so there were only five films watched this week.
Let's start with the film we watched for the show.
Real Steel (2011) REVIEWED ON PODCAST
SCORE: 64/100
Directed By: Shawn Levy
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo
Synopsis: In the near future, robot boxing is a top sport. A struggling ex-boxer feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot.
Quick Review: A fun and harmless film about fighting robots that has a few surprises, but not many as it sticks to a way too predictable formula.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Netflix until October 6th.
Spirited Away (2001)
SCORE: 100/100 (MUST WATCH)
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki
Synopsis: During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Quick Review: Spirited Away is a masterpiece. It's beautifully animated, with imaginative characters and locations adding the cherry on top of a wonderful story. The film remains overlooked when showing families look for films to show their kids, which continues to anger me. Whether it's the original Japanese classic or the wonderful English dub, the film's cast adds an emotional core that resonates with viewers of all ages. The music is also incredible, especially the train sequence that makes a tear come to my eye every time I watch it. I'd love to write a fuller length essay about wy this film is so good, so let me know if you'd like to see it!
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max.
Planet of the Apes (2001)
SCORE: 18/100
Directed By: Tim Burton
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter
Synopsis: In 2029, an Air Force astronaut crash-lands on a mysterious planet where evolved, talking apes dominate a race of primitive humans.
Quick Review: Tim Burton's remake of the classic 60's Sci Fi masterpiece is a flawed mess that has very few redeeming parts. It's a masterwork for makeup, as the artists responsible have created incredible work as well as the costume design for the apes, while the humans and Mark Wahlberg's costumes are either forgettable or just bad (especially Wahlberg's lazy-looking space outfit). Other than that this film is either flat out bad or incredibly weird. Respectable actors like Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, Tim Roth, and Helena Bonham Carter are reduced to acting like animals along with the rest of the ape cast, which gets old very fast. Mark Wahlberg is also incredibly dull and boring here, which isn't the only result of poor writing. The film also goes for spectacle and fights over the more interesting tones set by the original. There's also a moment of two adult apes in a room about to make love, when they just start screeching at each other. This movie is weird, and it's bad, so just skip it.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Prime Video.
Willy's Wonderland (2021)
SCORE: 58/100
Directed By: Kevin Lewis
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant
Synopsis: A quiet drifter is tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Willy's Wonderland, where the mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics.
Quick Review: While it's an undeniable fun time due to its wordless performance from Nicolas Cage and its over the top violence, Willy's Wonderland can't quite rise above the factors that hold it back. The most obvious thing is its cinematography, which is half Dutch tilt and half ugly. I don't know if these decisions were from the director or the cinematographer, but it didn't work for me. Its tone is inconsistent, but is still likable due to the fact that it's a horror-comedy, but the addition of another supernatural cult storyline was a little too boring for me. What could have been a more action-heavy version of the popular Five Nights at Freddy's turns more into your typical indie horror storyline. While I don't think it's the strongest horror comedy out there (I'd rather watch Shaun of the Dead), it's still a lot of fun, and a watch that I would still recommend you try if you're in the mood. I mean come on, it's Nicolas Cage!
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on Hulu.
The Blob (1958)
SCORE: 32/100
Directed By: Irvin S. Yeaworth
Starring: Steve McQueen, Aneta Corseaut, Earl Rowe
Synopsis: An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.
Quick Review: The Blob is considered a classic monster/horror movie from the 50's and I can see the reason why. It had incredible effects for its time, and the Blob was a stand-in for the spread of communism, so you can understand why it was so popular. However, watching it today instead yields one of the most boring films I've come across. Its spends far too much time with characters having repeated conversations, and none of them further the plot. McQueen is supposed to be playing a teenager, but looks like a 40 year old trying to fit in. It's not a good film by today's standards, but it's an important film in horror history, and film as a whole. Worth a viewing for horror fans, but perhaps a skip from everyone else.
If you'd like to watch it, it's available on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel.
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