Movies the giraffe watched in 2022: July

First viewing - July 23rd

This was very cute. Love the insights along the way, the positivity of it, & the many ways Marcel & his grandmother repurpose human objects & foods. Plus the script is wonderfully constructed functionally & emotionally. It was a great way to spend time with my daughter & I'll happily watch it again.

Re-watch - July 1st

I wanted my daughter to watch at least one of Jordan Peele's films before we caught Nope this month, and she picked this one over Get Out. Which is fitting really, given that it has rabbits & some Michael Jackson in it, both of which she's a big fan of. She really liked it & totally got it & kept squealing with delight every time the rabbits were on screen. So we had a good time watching it together.

First viewing - July 4th

HBO Max
I liked this better when it was called Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Can't fault the cast, it's the story that stumbles its way from start to finish. Course it doesn't help that the main thread of the story is centered on a rich Southern white dude imposing his will on his daughter's body with no regard for her intellect or desires. Despite some good individual scenes, the story never fully comes together in a satisfying way, & the ending had me rolling my eyes so hard you could've heard them were the sound not drowned out by fireworks. I guess it's fine, but far from essential.

First viewing - July 6th

Shudder
Figured I should check out this knockoff of Jaws since it's on Shudder, & it's about as good as I'd anticipated. The cast is mediocre, the score for some reason goes for evoking the beauty of nature over dread, & the dialogue leaves much to be desired, but the bear shenanigans make up for it. Lots of ridiculous deaths with plenty of blood, & they at least clearly convey that nobody is safe from being attacked. The ending is laughably stupid though. Definitely a mixed bag & nothing I'd watch twice.

Re-watch - July 7th

Showtime
I had to watch something with James Caan when the news broke of his passing, so what better choice than the film I first remember seeing him in? He gives a truly great performance & really brings Paul Sheldon to life. Plus he gets to go toe-to-toe with Kathy Bates, which is constantly entertaining to watch. I love Buster & Virginia too, their dynamic brings some comic relief to the film that's welcome. Misery has long been a favorite, and I'm glad he was able to help make the adaptation worthwhile.

First viewing - July 9th

Netflix
Threw this on to watch with my daughter, & found it solidly entertaining & heartfelt. The emotional moments are well earned, even if some aspects don't work. Really the main thing that bothered us was the dreadful attempt to de-age Keener via CG, which looks painfully fake & breaks the spell. Otherwise it's a fun time if you have zero expectations for it as I did.

First viewing - July 9th

Netflix
I've never been much into sports, but if you craft a good story around one & make it a movie I can get behind it. Sandler shines yet again, & the film uses plenty of actual NBA players to ensure it all looks legit. It's clearly a love letter to the sport, & a better version of The Scout. The characters are handled right & the story hits the familiar beats for this type of film while mostly earning them, & I just really enjoyed it overall. I'd even watch it again, maybe make it a double feature with Hoosiers.

First viewing - July 10th

Netflix
Gave in & put this on to check into the hype, & it's pretty good. I can't speak to the historical or cultural context of the film, but it's a solidly entertaining if overlong action flick. Lots of impressive visuals, the cast kills it, & the musical numbers are decent. Plus it's got the best bromance since Pee-Wee's Big Holiday. Ultimately it's not entirely my taste & feels unnecessarily bloated, but definitely worth a look.

First viewing - July 10th

Showtime
First Cow is fine. The cast is excellent & the overall story is a good one. It winds up being a good look at American frontier life through the central friendship & the dangers of pushing for more for too long. Pacing is way too slow at times though & I never fully connected on an emotional level. Not bad, but I don't see myself watching it twice.

First viewing - July 12th

Netflix
Norm's performance is a mixed bag, but that's often the case for him. When jokes land it's wonderful & when they don't it can be underwhelming or even irritating. That's how he rolled, & he didn't care if you liked it. Yet you can tell the main drive behind all the material here came from him staring down the end of his life, even as he goes out of his way to avoid explicitly saying so. He touches on it but never digs in. By the end of it I mostly just admired his bravery to give one final performance & I'm thankful he recorded it warts & all.

Watching his friends perform an autopsy of the performance afterwards was unnecessary, though it provided an opportunity to hear some great stories about Norm so I didn't totally hate it. Overall if you're a fan there's no reason to not watch this.

First viewing - July 14th

Shudder
Good Madam is clearly dealing with the generational effects of Apartheid, albeit with mixed results. The story relies too heavily on avoiding clarity with regard to whether what we're seeing is real, as well as what the motivations are of at least one character. If you came here for horror, you're in for a slow burn with little payoff. And yet it's interesting enough that it held my attention, even if I never got all the answers I wanted. The cast performs well & there are some creepy images, plus there's a dog I wanted to adopt. Maybe I should watch it again to see whether I get more out of it, but my first impression was that it fails to satisfy.

First viewing - July 16th

Netflix
Nope, not reciting the incantation with you. Keep that one to yourself.

Really dug this one. The effects are wonderful, there are plenty of creepy images, & the cast does a solid job all around. Could maybe have used a little less of the jumping back & forth between past & present, but it worked well enough for me.

First viewing - July 17th

Shudder
This was the first of the 7 short films featured in this year's edition of Etheria Film Festival, which left Shudder on the 21st. The collection showcases short films from women. Given how much I enjoyed the shorts at Chattanooga Film Festival the past few years, I wanted to give these a look while I could.

Really dug the way this short plays out, plus the overall exploration of what hypocrites people can be when forced to directly confront reality. Kinda wish the roommate wasn't so stereotypical, but otherwise it's a blast.

First viewing - July 17th

Shudder
Can we invest in this "McCoy field" technology & use it to permanently escape conservatives?

First viewing - July 17th

Shudder
Adding this short to the list of reasons women should have creative control over rape stories. Diana/Dana is relatable & I deeply appreciated her journey & the fact her actions are questioned even if it's not very deeply explored. Bonus points for the blood sprays.

First viewing - July 17th

Shudder
Sometimes you've got to go all in & make a big splash to silence your critics. Dug the overall vibe & aesthetic of this one, & the ending is appropriately great.

First viewing - July 17th

Shudder
Feels like a Black Mirror short, & I mean that as a compliment. Such a fresh way to look at unexpected pregnancies, & I'm glad it used humor effectively. I just hope this technology never comes into being.

First viewing - July 17th

Shudder
Liked the concept, though it ultimately felt like it's looking to earn a feature-length version to fully flesh its ideas out. Didn't see a single familiar either.

First viewing - July 17th

Shudder
The ways this subverts expectations...so so good. Kudos for taking an idea from a bizarre Craigslist ad & running with it, & bonus points for the closing credits presentation.

First viewing - July 17th

Netflix
A fun thing about watching this film when you also grew up in Texas, albeit in a completely different decade, is seeing the little ways experiences overlap. My family lived in Houston for 4 years in the '80s, so I recognized some details laid out in the film...the humidity, trips to Galveston beach, being close to NASA, to name a few. It also reminded me that we never made it to Astroworld. Overall this was a nice little time capsule, a trip down memory lane with a detour into a boy's imagination, & wonderfully narrated by Jack Black. It floats from one memory to the next, sticking to the family dynamic, & the approach works even if it occasionally feels a little repetitive. It's absolutely a Linklater film, & while not among his best work it's worth spending the time with.

First viewing - July 18th

Showtime
I got it, I just didn't want it. I put this off because I was pretty sure it wasn't for me, & this is a good reminder I should trust that feeling over the fact I regularly see praise for this film from people whose tastes in film I trust.

Re-watch - July 20th

Shudder
I remember back in high school my friends rented this & we got together & had a fun time with it. Before tonight I thought I'd seen it a second time since, but now I'm fairly sure I hadn't. It's still a fun B movie though. The puppets remain the best reason to watch it, as their designs are iconic & the stop-motion animation is well executed. They may not get much screen time, but they make the most of it & really when it comes to low budget horror that's what counts. The film does fall short in exploring its ideas & clearly communicating what's going on beyond the broader details, a lack which I suspect the rest of the franchise will eventually make up for (I haven't seen every sequel yet, just a couple, but given there are 10 of them I have to believe they eventually flesh out everything that could matter). Some parts are very dated now, & the cast is mostly fairly average. The effects are quite good though, & there's plenty of puppet violence to keep it going. Plus Barbara Crampton makes an appearance, which is always a good thing in my book. It's ultimately not great, but it's worth a look. Since Shudder has the 2nd & 3rd films at the moment I'll watch them soon.

Re-watch - July 23rd

Managed to pick up a Blu-ray copy of Wonder recently at a deep discount (along with a few other films) and when my daughter spotted it she asked if we could watch it. She read the book already, and wound up liking the adaptation too. Most amusing to me was her telling the family they needed to take their dog to the vet, then when the dog dies she was like "see?". I liked it about the same as the first time I watched it, it's a nice, positive film with good messages.

First viewing - July 24th

Netflix
Sure this is basically How to Train Your Dragon mixed with Pirates of the Caribbean, but it's refreshing to see an animated film with so much diversity & bucking the pirate cliché of "women are bad luck" to the point that nobody even utters the phrase. I also appreciated the way it looks at how the wealthy winners get to dictate history for the undereducated masses. There's at least one shot that'll stick with me for a while too. But most of all I'm glad it had Blue for my daughter to geek out over every time it's on screen. Overall it's worth a look, especially for families.

First viewing - July 27th

Showtime
From a purely functional standpoint, Old Henry hums along nicely from start to finish. The quiet moments held my interest as strongly as those full of gunfire, thanks in no small part to the strong cast. While it's a straightforward Western, it's also thematically rich & those themes are clearly communicated. It may be familiar in many aspects, but it feels freshly realized & I'm thankful it exists.

First viewing - July 29th

Shudder
The atmosphere & characters kept me engaged as the film slowly revealed where it was headed, & my patience ultimately paid off. Appreciated the well deployed humor sprinkled in instead of forcing everyone to stay serious also. Glad I gave this film a chance as it's a modern folk horror tale that's worthwhile, despite some untrimmed fat here & there. Had it been a little tighter it could've been great.

First viewing - July 31st

Netflix
I wanted to check this film out since it's from the same guy who directed Maverick, & I thought it was solid. The cast is very good overall (though I don't understand why they thought Nathan Jones needed to be covered in tattoos to look scary) & the story held my interest. It's nothing great, but I felt it was worth a look.

Re-watch - July 31st

Netflix
I decided to end my Netflix run by revisiting an old favorite, which doesn't seem to pop up on streaming too often. And I still enjoy the film, despite the misogyny & homophobia that occasionally rises to the surface. The horror elements & the soundtrack are excellent, & I especially love the effects. Plus overall the story is well told, exploring themes of coming of age, love, power, & obsession. The cast performs well too, even if some are in their early to mid twenties pretending to be in high school. It's been even longer since I read the book, but it seems like a solid adaptation from what I recall...all of which makes it worth a look & keeps me coming back periodically.

First viewing - July 2nd

Kinda weird that the most terrifying & upsetting scene in the entire film doesn't involve the Grabber at all. It's been a while since I read the short story this was based on, but it clearly kept some aspects. Couldn't say what specifically was altered though. I thought the characters were mostly well fleshed out, & there are some suspenseful moments that worked well. The Grabber's mask design is fantastic. Also rather appreciated that the cops don't actually solve anything despite their efforts.

And yet there are a handful of issues I had with it, especially an attempt to try to redeem a character that doesn't earn it. But overall it's a solidly entertaining horror flick, & safe to say my daughter enjoyed it a bit more than I did so I'm glad I took her with me.

First viewing - July 8th

In Taika we trust, & while this film falls short of its predecessor it still manages to be the second best Thor film so far. The humor mostly works well, though one running gag far overstays its welcome. The cast is terrific even if some of them are underutilized. The story could use some better fleshing out in places & just a little breathing room now & then, as the emotional moments don't fully hit. The shadow planet scenes are gorgeous. The soundtrack slaps, though at times it drowned out the dialogue which isn't great. Overall it's a fun film, but I don't see myself revisiting it very often. I do, however, see myself listening to GNR all weekend now.

First viewing - July 16th

As excellent as Austin Butler is in this, the script can't be bothered with making his Elvis a fully realized person, much to its detriment. Perhaps if the film wasn't actually centered on Col. Tom Parker, portrayed by Tom Hanks doing a ridiculous accent while covered in slightly less ridiculous make-up, instead of Elvis that'd be different. The film also insists on flying through the details of Elvis's life so quickly that few leave any lasting impression, & yet the last hour or so seems to drag on forever. Baz can't seem to find the beating heart of his film, so instead he overcompensates with style in hopes we won't notice. There are some excellent musical performances throughout that help make the film more palatable, but by the end I was just thankful it finally let me go.

First viewing - July 23rd

So glad my daughter & I caught Nope in IMAX so we could get the full effect. It's solidly entertaining, the cast is excellent, & as I've come to expect from Jordan Peele there's a lot going on beneath the surface. It's a film I suspect will grow on me with repeat viewings, but there were a handful of scenes that really impressed me. Just not sure it quite crossed my personal line of greatness.

Bonus points awarded for the Rage Against the Machine, Mr. Bungle, The Jesus Lizard, & Butthole Surfers tees.

First viewing - July 30th

Alamo Drafthouse spent the past week on Twitter helping promote Vengeance, which put it squarely on my radar & lured me to the theatre (sadly non-Drafthouse, as they're all in states I don't live in) to give it a fair chance. And by the end of it, I was very glad I did.

It's a darkly comic thriller, sharply written & featuring a very strong cast. If you'd told me at any time beforehand that in 2022 one of my favorite scenes in a film all year would be centered on dialogue delivered by Ashton freaking Kutcher, I would've called you a liar. Yet here we are. I deeply appreciated the social commentary/satire throughout, plus the Texas setting made me miss home (not just the people I love there, but now I want to go to Whataburger too). At its heart the film is really about examining assumptions & breaking free of a solipsistic, echo-chamber reinforced worldview, & we need reminding of the importance of that. All of these things make it very much my kind of film, & my only disappointment is that I was one of only 6 people watching it on a Saturday afternoon. Hopefully others find their way to it, because it's very much worth seeing.

First viewing - July 11th

HBO Max
Easy to see how this earned Edwards the opportunity to jump to Legendary's Godzilla. There are big monsters & human relationships weaved together in a way that mostly works. Plus it's an interesting if not especially deep look at immigration from Mexico to the U.S. The world building is solid too. Less thrilled about the opening sequence being what it is, though I'll give points for not repeating it. Overall this is a solid debut & I'm glad I finally gave it a look.

Re-watch - July 13th

HBO Max
The last time I watched Fled it was in theatres, so when I noticed it was leaving Max this month I wanted to revisit it. It may not be a great film, but it's solidly entertaining and the interactions between Baldwin & Fishburne make it worthwhile. It'd be a better film if they hadn't telegraphed where it was headed so clearly & embraced the mystery side of things more. Regardless I still had fun with it all over again, & while I don't need to watch it again I also wouldn't mind revisiting it at least once more.

First viewing - July 30th

HBO Max
Since this was leaving HBO Max at the end of July & it's the only one of Scott Derrickson's feature films I hadn't already seen to date I figured I'd give it a look. And it's fine. An exorcism tale framed by a courtroom drama makes for a fresh take, but also detracts a bit from the effectiveness of the horror elements. The reliance on CG effects doesn't help much either, as a lot of them looked hokey. The film's strengths lie primarily in its cast, with Laura Linney & Tom Wilkinson bringing their A game, plus Jennifer Carpenter's physicality. I dug that it uses the courtroom to pit science against superstition, & those scenes fare better than the flashbacks. Overall it's nothing essential, but worth a look.