Pleasantly Absurd: movies

So, there was a hellla lack of watching new movies in June. And it took me too long to post this.
I'm not completely content with the number of movies, buut between the week of Firefly festival, hanging out with da peeps, getting sucked into new fandom holes, and re-watching feel good movies, I just wasn't focused enough. I was trying to watch more Studio Ghibli movies but only crossed four more from the list.

THE LONELY INDIE

i. Raw | 2016 · R · drama/horror · 1h39m |

This movie was so intense. I loved it. It had very cringe and chills-inducing moments, but I couldn't look away. The performances were great. And I loved how among the story of the character having a cannibalistic problem, it was also a coming-of-age story. The ending completely threw me off.

ADVANCE SCREENINGS

ii. The Mummy | 2017 · pg-13 · fantasy/thriller · 1h51m |

I had really high expectations for this movie. The trailer looked really good when I first watched it. I was enjoying the first 30 minutes of the movie. And then...it went to shit. The writing got really sloppy, some characters were completely unnecessary and didn't add anything to the plot. The ending was honestly so anticlimactic, in my opinion, and by the time the movie had reached its middle to third act, I just wanted it to hurry up and wrap up. I hated it. I was so disappointed, maaannn. I'm so lucky I was able to get seats for the free screening haha. The only thing that was great about it was Sofia Boutella; I've loved every role I've seen her in so far. Even though this movie was shit (it literally has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 15%), her performance was still great.

iii. The House | 2017 · R · comedy · 1h28m |

This movie actually scored higher than The Mummy, lol that says a lot. It got an 18% (which is still bad), but honestly, I really enjoyed it. I was dying from laughing in some parts; the audience was having a lot of laughs too. It's one of those movies to watch at home once it's on DVD or Netflix or you're skimming your channels and it happens to be on. I didn't even know what it was really about before I got passes, and I watched the shortest trailer for it. But it's still a hecka enjoyable movie about two parents and their best friend running an illegal casino to raise money for their daughter to go to college. You know, normal stuff.

ANIME

iv. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time | 2006 · drama/romance · 1h44m |

I've loved every movie by Mamoru Hosoda that I've watched so far. And this one did not disappoint. The story was exciting, light and funny. It has its serious and dark moments, but compared to Wolf Children and The Boy and The Beast, this one didn't make me blubber like a baby at the end. All of Mamoru Hosoda's characters are always so full of life and his stories have amazing overall messages. This is definitely a must watch.

v. Princess Mononoke | 1997 · pg-13 · fantasy/drama · 2h15m |

Of all the Studio Ghibli movies I watched this month, Princess Mononoke was my favorite. It's full of badass characters who fight for what they believe in. I didn't realize this was the first pg-13 Studio Ghibli movie I'd watched, until I saw a character get decapitated. It was savage, and a little bit gory haha. And I love, love, love it. Miyazaki knows how to create timeless stories. Not to mention the art is always breathtaking to me when I watch Japanese animated movies.

vi. Spirited Away | 2001 · pg · fantasy/mystery · 2h5m |

vii. My Neighbor Totoro | 1988 · G · fantasy/drama · 1h40m |

viii. Castle In The Sky | 1986 · pg · fantasy/action · 2h6m |

A very short list compared to the one for May haha.

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monthly movies · may

movies Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Here's my list of movies I watched in May.

And heck yes, I managed to complete my goal of 31 movies.

Which means this list is clearly very long... lol. In no specific order, just categorized really.

Also, like I said in my last monthly movies post, I won't be talking about everything. These aren't movie reviews; I'd be here forever if they were.

SCI-FI, OUTER SPACE SHIT & FANTASY

i. Passengers | 2016 · pg-13 · scifi/drama · 1h56m |

ii. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | 2017 · pg-13 · scifi/action · 2h18m |

iii. Alien | 1979 · R · fantasy/thriller · 1h57m |

alien (1979)

Ye, okay, so I'm pretty late in watching the Alien movies. But Covenant's trailer looked pretty good, so of course I finally got to them. The only movie I had previously watched was actually Prometheus, mostly because I love Michael Fassbender and at the time I didn't even know it was part of the Alien franchise, oops.
I've seen a lot of people hate the newer movies. And I can understand their viewpoints but despite all of that, I really enjoyed Covenant. I loved the first two movies, Alien and Aliens, but Alien 3 and Resurrection... I just, it was not the same anymore. It's like they spiraled somewhere way different. But solid franchise.

THE INDIES

xiii. Hide Your Smiling Faces | 2014 · NR · drama · 1h21m |

xiv. Love At First Fight | 2014 · NR · drama/romance · 1h40m |

xv. American Honey | 2016 · R · drama · 2h43m |

xvi. Dear White People | 2014 · R · drama/comedy · 1h48m |

xvii. Little Men | 2016 · PG · drama · 1h30m |

xviii. Get Out | 2017 · R · mystery/thriller · 1h44m |

I loved 20th Century Women a looot, it was definitely a favorite of that month. It was so well written. Great, strong cast in my opinion. I loved the way we learned about all the characters' stories. But it was so beautifully tragic, especially the end, I almoooost shed some tears.

I liked Little Men, but I was pretty torn up by how it ended. I didn't like that outcome at all. SIGH. Even though the ending wasn't what I hoped would happen, it was still a very realistic type of ending, and I think the story itself is a pretty great representation to what can happen to young friendships. Plus, I loved watching the two boys' friendship blossom on screen.

little men (2016)

get out (2017)

Wow, this movie. So well done. I liked it a lot. The characters were amazing, my favorite was Rod haha. It was a perfect mix of eerie and fucked up. The ending was perfect. Changing the game on the horror/thriller genre.

THE FUCKED-UP RELATIONSHIPS / (MORE INDIES)

xxiii. Lie With Me | 2005 · R · drama · 1h33m |

xxiv. Heartbeats | 2010 · pg-13 · drama/romance · 1h42m |

un amour de jeunesse (2011)

the diary of a teenage girl (2015)

I adored the direction of this movie. It was enjoyable from the first minute to the last. The characters and story were great. I was in love with the way animation was integrated since the main character wanted to be a cartoonist and the story itself was based on a graphic novel. Definitely another one of my favorites.

ADVANCED SCREENINGS

(sometimes I get lucky and score free movie screenings, aye)

xxviii. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | 2017 · pg-13 · action & adventure/fantasy · 2h6m |

xxix. Everything, Everything | 2017 · pg-13 · drama/romance · 1h36m |
xxx. Wonder Woman | 2017 · pg-13 · action & adventure/fantasy · 2h21m |

So, I'm not a huge fan of the DC Extended Universe movies. I just can't sit through them without getting bored. It's a shame because I'm in love with just about all the DC shows such as Gotham, Flash, Arrow, etc. Although they're not part of the new universe, The Dark Knight trilogy and some of the classic Batman movies, are still some of my favorites.

HOWEVER, I reaally enjoyed Wonder Woman. It's definitely the best one by far in the DCEU. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine had such amazing chemistry, I just wanted to see more of them together. There were a lot of genius comedic moments. And the level of BADASSERY in the movie performed by Gal was beautiful. The action sequences were great. Apart from the last fight scene; I think it dragged on waaay too much. And I definitely think there should be less use of the slow motion, but still. It was a top notch, fun movie overall.

LASTLY, MY MOST FAVORITE

xxxi. Swiss Army Man | 2016 · R · fantasy/drama · 1h37m |

I feel like this movie is waaaaay underrated to be honest. Quite frankly, I'm in love with this movie. AND quite frankly, I'm upset that it has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 69% (though it cracks me up, considering how the movie is.) But anyways. I wouldn't even know how to begin to talk about this movie.
It's just, like, ahhhh, amazing.
I was laughing so much throughout the majority of it. Not only that, but it honestly dives deep into a lot topics, such as why we exist and the universe and life and death and what means to be a person, like?!?!?! Not to mention, I love the chemistry between Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano; I think they picked a great duo to star in this movie. I just feel this is something that deserves more appreciation and I really think you should watch it.

I feel accomplished watching so many movies in a month.

It makes me happy. But I think for June, I'm gonna tone it down a notch..

Maybe.

We'll see, haha.

Anyways, go watch some movies!

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monthly movies · april

movies Saturday, May 20, 2017

I'm in love with movies.

I took some film classes in le college cause the history and magic of movie making always fascinated me, but I still don’t think I know enough/have watched enough of the classics & whatnot.

But I got a load of time ahead of me to binge watch movies. So, currently, I've set a goal for myself to watch 31 movies (new to me) during this month of May. I usually try to watch a new one every night, or at least a good 2-3 during the week. So this is one of the first times I'm setting a legit number for a month, lol.

I used to make it a habit of jotting down the ones I'd watch, then I just simply forgot. I also keep track of them on icheckmovies. I came across the site a few years ago, and it’s puuurty dang neat (if you're a big movie tracking nerd like me.)

Anyways, this year, I've started that up again. I have my own list starting from January and since I'm currently on movie 19 of 31 for this month, I thought I'd share the ones I watched in April. Cause that's a relatively smaller list.
But I'll probably also start sharing movies every month from now on. These are basically the new movies I discovered/watched in theaters/or finnaaalllly got to cross off my Must-Watch List. (I got a lot of lists. Who doesn’t?)

1. They’re in no specific order. Just going to group them however I feel like that day.

2. My movie lists tend to be long by the end of a month...sooo, I won't be summarizing all the movies.

3. I'll definitely have links for everything though.

4. So if you think this is some extensive movie reviews type of thing, LOL you wrong. This is just a way for me to keep track of muh shit cause why not?

5. But maybe there’s a title you find interesting though?¿

6. Will most likely talk about ones I enjoyed the most. Or a lot, or whatever.

7. (Not all the movies I find are actually good, beeteedubs.)

8. Like sometimes you’ll come across really great sounding summaries for a movie but then ya watch and it’s utter shit. It tends to happen.

9. Ya never know until ya watch it!

10. Everyone has different tastes, so maybe something I hate, you might like. I dunno?¿

Quick side note: I gotta thank my friend for having me watch From Up On Poppy Hill in February because ever since then, I've been pretty crazy about watching anime movies. I've always found some of the art style beeeeautiful. But I guess I never really had a sort of influence to push me to watch them before. It's a shame really. But I'm glad she kept insisting because I'm honestly in love. Thanks Elsie haha.

THE LOVE STORIES & INDIES

bang gang: (une histoire d'amour moderne)

i. Bang Gang: (une histoire d'amour moderne) | 2016 · Drama · 1h38m NR | · I thought this was a cute indie French drama. The soundtrack is amazing, it was done by White Sea. I loved the cinematography and pacing. I felt like it changed gears on you slightly towards the middle/end because it didn't just focus on one specific character. I think that's what I liked about it. It was an enjoyable coming of age/romance with a satisfying ending in my opinion.

ii. Cashback | 2006 · Drama/Romance · 1h42m R | · Honestly, this one was quite boring. I appreciated it some of its artsy/stylistic choices in the way certain bits were filmed. But the plot was just a bore.

iii. Esteros | 2016 · Drama/Romance · 1h23m NR |

iv. Krámpack | 2000 · Drama/Romance · 1h31m R | · Loved this one. Two teenage boys spending the summer together in a beach house, and all that nice teen angst and sexual awakening gooooodness.

ANIMATED BEAUTIES

howl's moving castle

v. Howl’s Moving Castle | 2004 · Fantasy/Drama · 1h59m PG | · I don’t want to say too much about this one because I feel like I enjoy a lot of the movies that come from Studio Ghibli. Some of them don’t impact as me much as others, but there isn’t one I’ve watched that I don’t like. They’re all so beautiful in art and story telling. They are all worth a watch.
vi. When Marnie Was There | 2014 · Mystery/Drama · 1h43m PG |

Back in March I started watching Makoto Shinkai’s movies. The next three were just the last ones I watched. I feel like I’ve seen pretty much everything he’s created, apart from some shorts. And the artwork is just so beautiful. I’m so in awe. I can’t even express how much I love it.

vii. Journey to Agartha | 2011 · Fantasy/Drama · 1h56m NR |

viii. The Place Promised in Our Early Days | 2004 · Sci fi/Drama · 1h31m NR |

your name

ix. Your Name | 2016 · 1h52m PG | · I also watched this one in theaters (they screened it at my theater eep), but I wanted to keep it in the animated section. This movie was also probably the one I liked most of his. It had more comedy than the other two films which lie in a more dramatic and serious tone. The plot for Your Name kept me on the edge of my seat though.

x. Hal | 2013 · Drama/Romance · 1h NR | · This little gem is only an hour long but it’s sooo good. If you’re into A.I/futuristic romantic stories, this is for you. The ending is pretty amazing, it sorta blew my mind.

perfect blue

xi. Perfect Blue | 1999 · Fantasy/Mystery · 1h30m R | · This was actually also like thriller/crime/drama type of movie to me. It was pretty different from the rest of the anime movies I previously watched/listed. But it was certainly a very interesting mind fuck, haha.

ma vie de courgette

xii. Ma Vie De Courgette | 2016 · Drama/Comedy · 1h10m PG-13 | · This was my favorite movie of the month for sure. I was completely in love with the art style, it was so quirky and vibrant. Plus, I'm in love with stop motion, I think it's fucking incredible. The story was also very sweet, and it hit me in the feels. I'm still upset it didn't win that Oscar. Definitely give this a watch if you haven't.

ABOUT TIME I WATCHED THIS

xiii. Hacksaw Ridge | 2016 · History/Biography · 2h19m R | · I loved THIS. I loved this. I was so captivated. Andrew Garfield was pretty darn amazing in this role. And the second hour of the movie, once they hit the battle grounds, w o w. It was brutal. Amazing cinematography.

IN THEATERS · I feel like ya either know these titles or ya don’t. And if ya don’t, well just go click on the link. Unless the movie punched me in the gut and I NEED to tell you about it, wellll, I probs won’t say anything in this section for future posts. Just so ya’ll know.

xiv. The Fate of the Furious | 2017 · Crime/Thriller (according to google, okay) · 2h40m PG-13 | · but come on, the zombie cars scene.

xv. The Promise | 2017 · Drama/History · 2h15m PG-13 |

SHIT OF DA MONTH

xvi. Beneath the Skin (2015) - So, as I said before, not everything I find is good. And this movie was definitely NOT GOOD. The summary sounded interesting and I wanted to give it a shot. But the acting was horrible, the audio was horrible, the constant piano playing as background music was horrible. It was just bad all around. I would have stopped watching after fifteen minutes, but I have a rule that once I start a movie, I must finish, no matter how shit it is. I was really upset because the summary on IMDb sounded alright and I wanted to give it a chance. But just, no.

WHEW.

Anyways, hope you didn’t think this post was a rank mess. And if you did, well that’s why there’s a ton of movie sites and blogs out there for you to search for, amirite.

Whichever the case, go watch some movies okay?!?

Amazing people create this art so that it’s seen!

(Then maybe come back and let me know what must-see movies I must see, yeah?)

(p.s. artwork created by me.)

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