Movies the giraffe watched in 2019: July

First viewing - July 6th

Midsommar is not for everyone by any stretch, but those of us who are able to appreciate it are rewarded heavily. It's easily one of the best horror films of 2019, and I'd rank it among the best films of the year period. It's a film I thought about for a long time after it ended, and will gladly revisit it every several years.

On a side note, when I was watching this film which takes place almost entirely in daylight we had a big thunderstorm which could be heard in the theatre I was in. It was a little distracting to say the least, especially when the roof started leaking. I was too riveted by the film to walk away from it for even a moment, but thankfully someone else got up and came back with something to stop the noise from it. Next time I watch this film I'll aim for better weather conditions.

First viewing - July 4th

The kiddo and I kicked off July by catching Far From Home first thing in the morning on the 4th. She thought it was odd to go see Spidey travel to Europe on Independence Day, but once the film started she didn't mind anymore & to nobody's surprise she loved it. I thought it stumbled a bit out of the gate but eventually recovered, and overall I enjoyed it. It's no Spider-verse, but then what is?

First viewing - July 6th

Given that they managed to bring the Warrens back for this film, I figured I'd give it a chance. And it was fine. I wasn't very impressed by it, but it was a more entertaining film than Creation and The Nun. Granted that's not a high bar, but still. I doubt I'd bother sitting through it again, but at least I don't regret giving it a look.

First viewing - July 20th

This was an oddball of a film, one I appreciated more than enjoyed. It's certainly a dark comedy and a satire to boot, and easily one of the most original films I've seen this year. I saw one critic claim it's like if Yorgos Lanthimos remade The Karate Kid, which seems apt. It's not as great as that idea sounds, however, but I was constantly wondering where it would go next and it occasionally surprised me. Maybe my rating will change if I revisit it down the road now that I better know what to expect from it, but for now I'd say it's worth seeing once at least.

First viewing - July 20th

Crawl is just non-stop horror fun, and I had a blast with it. It's nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary, but the craft of it makes it worthwhile and I'd gladly sit through it again.

First viewing - July 25th

I had the kiddo for the opening weekend of the new Tarantino film, which meant I had to catch it on a Thursday night because I couldn't wait. That wasn't the best experience, however, as there were a handful of couples around me that insisted on talking to each other off & on throughout the film. I tried to tune them out, but when they're talking even through the quieter moments it's super fucking annoying.

I don't blame them, however, for my lukewarm response to this film. I knew going in that it's almost 3 hours long, and yet I felt like it was at least 30 minutes longer than necessary which has never happened to me with one of QT's films. I felt like the storylines failed to come together in a way that worked well, and wound up wanting more focus on Rick Dalton (his story is the best part of the entire thing for my money) without the Tate/Manson elements. I could go on, but suffice it to say I was left very conflicted for the next couple days, and thus I may have to revisit it in the near future to see if my opinions change at all.

Re-watch - July 4th

Maybe my tastes have changed a lot in the past 15 years, or maybe this film just doesn't hit the mark outside of the Bush years, but I barely tolerated it this time around. I thought it'd be a fun film to watch on the 4th, but I really struggled to appreciate the humor of it all. The songs remain the best part of the entire film, but overall it rubbed me the wrong way and I have zero interest in watching it again.

First viewing - July 5th

I've been hearing about Repulsion for so long now that when I found it while debating what to pick up during the 50% off Criterion sale this month I figured I'd spring for it and hope I liked it well enough to keep it. In hindsight I wished I'd picked it up as a rental back when I lived in Austin, because I don't think I'll bother with it again. That's not to say it's a bad film, mind you. Deneuve's performance is outstanding, and there are some truly memorable moments along the way. But I really struggled to connect with it in any meaningful way, and by the last half hour was more wishing it was done than anything else. So it's worth seeing, just clearly not my taste which is disappointing.

Re-watch - July 5th

Nothing new to add here except that I'm happy I picked up the Criterion Bluray because it looks and sounds better than it ever has. I can't wait to go through all the extras on there.

First viewing - July 10th

Been hearing quite a bit about The Perfection so I figured I'd give it a look. At various points it had me thinking of Three Extremes and last year's Revenge, which is a compliment. It never reaches the heights of either of those films, however, but it's entertaining enough that I appreciated it. I don't know that I'd need to watch it again, but I'm glad I did.

Re-watch - July 13th

The kiddo was itching to watch a movie before bedtime and this won out. It's safe to say she appreciated it even more the second time around.

First viewing - July 16th

PvtCaboose91 was generous enough to give me access to his new film Unleashing the Demons prior to its official release, so I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say about it. So I'll keep it simple and say that it'll be worth your time if and when you get to see it.

Re-watch - July 17th

I first came across Real Men in the late 80s when it was almost constantly on HBO, and watched it a handful of times after that initial viewing. So when it popped up that I could watch it again I decided to see whether it held up or not. And I'm happy to say I still enjoy it. It's not a great film obviously, but it's a fun one if you can get past the absurd premise and/or Jim Belushi. And the score by Miles Goodman is outstanding, I kept geeking out over some of the themes. So despite the fact I'm leaving it at a 7/10 I'd still watch it again in another decade or so provided it doesn't disappear entirely as culture continues to shift toward streaming-only options.

Re-watch - July 19th

It occurred to me that The World's End is the only one of Edgar Wright's films I hadn't seen more than once so I set out to fix that. Unfortunately the Bluray copy I own turned out to be scratched up at both the beginning and end of the film, which negatively impacted my overall experience. Such are the dangers of buying used, I guess, and let that serve as a reminder to me to always check the disks before dropping money on a used item. (The place I bought it from keeps everything in glass cases, however, which makes that a little more challenging. At least this is the first time I've had such issues.) As far as I can tell I liked it about the same as the last time I watched it which was during its theatrical run, though I'm torn now whether I prefer it over Hot Fuzz or not.

First viewing - July 20th

Chasing It Follows with Under the Silver Lake is very much like Richard Kelly chasing Donnie Darko with Southland Tales. This film swings for the fences and embraces its weirdness, and I mostly dug it. It's a mess, to be sure, but it's so interesting and original that it won me over in spite of its flaws. I don't think it's great, but it's damned interesting and I'll certainly revisit it down the road.

First viewing - July 21st

I know, I know, this is what I get for letting my curiosity get the better of me. Suicide Squad has some aspects that I appreciated, and a lot I didn't. It's entertaining enough, but I can't help feeling like the film should have jettisoned everything involving Jared Leto's Joker and it would have been the better for it. I get that you can't have Harley Quinn without Joker, and having him in her backstory makes sense, but they also try to shoehorn him into the main plot which doesn't work. It doesn't help either that Leto is the worst Joker ever, going so far over the top with his performance that he's just grating. Thankfully Robbie kills it as Harley, Viola Davis brings her A game as usual, and the rest of the Squad does a decent enough job with what they're given. The CGI is cheesy as hell though, which renders the main villain more silly than intimidating. So yeah, it's a very mixed bag, and I should've gone on ignoring it.

Re-watch - July 21st

I needed something genuinely good to watch after Suicide Squad, and gravitated to North by Northwest mainly because it was screening later in the week & I knew I couldn't make it. It's still great of course, and I appreciated it even more this time around I think. It's one I'll gladly return to from time to time.

First viewing - July 21st

This was among the extras on the North by Northwest Bluray, and I didn't realize until far too late that it was a full-length documentary. Still the whole thing was quite fascinating, and I learned a lot about his career arc and personal life that I wasn't aware of. It also had me itching to check out some of his films that I still haven't got to yet. If you've got access to it and dig Cary Grant it's worthwhile.

First viewing - July 24th

I'd skipped Gloria Bell during its theatrical run because there were far too many films I was more interested in seeing at the time. Now that I've seen it I can't say I regret that choice. Moore gives a strong performance here as usual, and watching what she goes through is engaging enough. The rest of the cast does a solid job as well. But I was left feeling indifferent to the entire film, which never comes together in a satisfying or very memorable way. I won't be surprised at all if in several years I can't recall whether I even watched it, though if anything sticks with me it'll be the fact that I hated the music throughout most of the film.

First viewing - July 27th

I'm a little disappointed in myself for not watching Megamind sooner, but I'm glad I finally gave it a look. The kiddo and I watched it together and I had a lot of fun with it. I love the premise, even if it does share some common ideas with Despicable Me, and the characters are delightful. I'll gladly watch this one again.

Re-watch - July 28th

I figured the kiddo would appreciate this, and I think she did. Hard to tell as she could barely sit still during it, which is not like her. Hopefully the timing just wasn't as good as it could've been. I still dig the hell out of it though, so at least I was happy with watching it again.

First viewing - July 31st

I really wanted to watch one more film before the month ended as this wound up being light overall, but by the time I sat down I didn't have enough time to watch anything too long. So I opted for Guava Island because it clocks in at about 55 minutes. The film is really interesting, if not very deeply developed. The music is outstanding throughout, and it's a joy to watch Donald Glover every moment he's on screen. The story is different and I appreciated its messages (both overt and understated), even if it might have achieved it better with a little more time and detail added to it. Still, for what it is I thought it was worthwhile.