Movies I Watched in July 2021 Movies

Date: 7/1/2021
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
Re-watch

Note: I haven't seen Alphaville since I was a teenager, and I've been in the mood to watch it. Kino Lorber recently released it on Blu-ray, but my wallet has been tight at the moment. Thankfully, you can rent it in HD on Itunes (As of 7/1/2021). Alphaville is still a great movie even 55 years later in my opinion. You can tell that Alphaville has easily influenced later sci-fi movies such as Blade Runner (1982) and Dark City (1998).

I love how unique Alphaville feels by being shot in black and white while being set in the far future. Alphaville has no big futuristic cities like you would see in films such as Metropolis (1927). Instead, you have normal everyday looking buildings that we have now. It makes Alphaville feel more grounded in reality in my opinion. The black and white cinematography from Raoul Coutard (Band of Outsiders) is excellent because it really captures the tone of the film. Alphaville is set in a dark future that humanity could be heading into the far future.

Alphaville also feels like an episode of the Twilight Zone with the film being avant-garde. The story starts to head in a strange direction by being surreal. Jean-Luc Godard also did a great job by mixing different elements of other different genres in my opinion. Alphaville has action, drama, and mystery mixed into one sci-fi film. Some of the gun violence is surprisingly graphic for a film that was released back in the mid-1960s. The writing in Alphaville is fantastic with the symbolism of the Cold War. The arrows that you see are an emblem of readiness for war with Alpha 60 trying to start a war with the rest of the galaxy similar to how the Soviet Union was trying to start a war with the United States. Alphaville also has fantastic performances from Eddie Constantine (Europa), Anna Karina (Cleo from 5 to 7), Akim Tamiroff (The Trail), and Howard Vernon (Delicatessen). The slow pacing will turn some people off because it takes a while for the movie to get started in my opinion.

Overall, Alphaville is a fantastic movie and I highly recommend checking it out.

Date: 7/2/2021
Viewed: Hulu
First Viewing

Note: I remember seeing the advertisements for Pandorum when it came out back in 2009 and I never had the chance to see it. 12 years later, I finally got the chance to watch it on Hulu (As of 7/1/2021). After watching it for the first time, I thought it was pretty good. Pandorum is a solid sci-fi horror movie in my opinion. It's hardly the most original movie ever, but I do love how atmospheric it is. Pandorum takes a lot of inspiration from both Alien (1979) and Event Horizon (1997) because Pandorum has a similar style and atmosphere to those two films. I love how it makes you feel that you are alone in outer space with these characters. Having everything so quiet allows the film to be scarier. The set designs look fantastic and I love the green lighting that they used for the film. You have really cool designs for the alien creatures that are noteworthy in my opinion.

What stops Pandorum from being a great film is the characters. To be honest, I didn't find them to be very interesting. They try to make them mysterious by giving them almost no backstory. It almost works, but the characters are boring. I didn't remember their names after the movie was over. The acting does make up for it because you do have solid performances from Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma 2007) and Dennis Quaid (Traffic).

Overall, Pandorum is still a pretty good movie despite the flaws. I recommend checking it out if you enjoy sci-fi horror movies.

Date: 7/2/2021
Viewed: 4K UHD (Amazon Prime Rental)
Re-watch

Note: I have been in a Jurassic Park mood lately and I wanted to revisit the original trilogy. I decided to rent them in 4K UHD on Amazon Prime (I'm not buying the Jurassic World boxset) and I was curious to see the transfers for them. There's not much that I can say about Jurassic Park other than it's a great movie. It does have flaws with the writing and some of the CGI is dated, but it's still a well-made movie in my opinion. Jurassic Park is an important movie in my life because it kicked off my obsession with dinosaurs at a young age. If you were a kid in the 90s, dinosaurs were all over the place thanks to Jurassic Park. I had so much dinosaur stuff as a kid, you can fill a whole bedroom with it :P. The first Jurassic Park novel was one of the first grown-up books that I read when I was a kid as well.

The 4K transfer is breathtaking and it made me feel like that I'm watching the movie for the first time all over again. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should get on that ASAP (Don't forget to read the book as well).

Date: 7/3/2021
Viewed: Netflix
Re-watch

Note: Today is the 30th anniversary of Terminator 2 and it was the perfect day to revisit it. Terminator 2 is one of the best action movie sequels and the perfect summer blockbuster in my opinion. I can see why some people prefer the first Terminator movie, but I always like the second movie more. Terminator 2 is filled with non-stop action and has a great story. I love the relationship between John Connor and T-800. The T-800 went from being a killer robot to an anti-hero to a good guy during the events of these two movies. The special effects are obviously dated by today's standers, but they were groundbreaking for their time. I still love early 90s CGI because it has a cool aesthetic to it unlike dated CGI in the late 90s and early 2000s in my opinion. It really shows how far technology has changed in the last 30 years.

Another thing that I love about this film is the theme of the possible outlook on humanity. If a machine can learn not to kill, humanity can learn as well. The franchise should have ended here because the ending is perfect. The later Terminator movies try to re-capture the story and feel of Terminator 2, but totally miss the point. I have nothing else to say about Terminator 2 other than it's fantastic.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should get on that ASAP.

Date: 7/4/2021
Viewed: 4K UHD
Re-watch

Note: For the 4th of July, I wanted to watch something that is not Independence Day (1996) or Uncle Sam (1996). I decided to watch Air Force One in 4K UHD after buying it on sale at my local Best Buy. Air Force One holds a special place in my heart for being one of my earliest R-rated theatrical experiences when I was a kid. Air Force One is not the best action movie ever made, but I still consider it to be a fun movie to watch in my opinion. Air Force One is pretty much Die Hard (1988) on an airplane, but I consider it to be better than the other Die Hard clones that came out in the 1990s.

Harrison Ford plays a total badass when playing as the President of the United States. Gary Oldman also does a great job of playing a memorable movie villain in my opinion. You also have a fun role from both Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster 1-2) and Tom Everett (Friday the 13th Part 4) that is worth mentioning. What I like about Air Force One is that the movie is a nice balance of action and thriller. The action sequences put you on the edge of your seat and you really want to see the President get out alive. The production values are solid and most of the visuals still hold up. Too bad, some of the CGI looks so awful by today's standers. I don't have anything new to say because I feel like plenty of people have already seen this movie.

Overall, Air Force One is a fun popcorn flick and I recommend checking it out.

Date: 7/6/2021
Viewed: 4K UHD (Amazon Prime Rental)
Re-watch

Note: Seeing that I rewatch the first Jurassic Park movie, I decided to rewatch the sequel. This is the Jurassic Park movie that I have been looking forward to revisiting the most. I have a lot of fun nostalgic memories of me watching this movie in theaters when it came out. I was so hyped up for a sequel that I would count down the days for it coming out in my school notebook back in 1997. It was also the last movie that my dad and I saw together before my family went separated (not divorced). That's a story for a different day and time (I don't feel like going into it). I thought the second Jurassic Park movie would age poorly, but I was wrong. The Lost World: Jurassic Park aka Jurassic Park 2 is a pretty good movie in my opinion.

I still never get why this movie is look down so poorly. I do agree that the first movie has better characters and a better story, However, I still think the second Jurassic Park movie tends to get overlooked. You still have themes of corporate greed, anti-colonization, and messing with parenthood. The movie plays a homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (both the novel and movie) by going to an isolated area filled with living dinosaurs. They both have a theme of mankind's desire to exploit nature for personal gain. In this film, you have a T-Rex that goes on a rampage through San Diego similar to how the Brontosaurus did in The Lost World. Showing us that taking an animal outside its natural habitat is not a good thing. People will get themselves killed and big corporations will still find a way to make money from it.

While some of the CGI does look a bit goofy at times, I do think the special effects hold up very well. You get plenty of great practical effects that really stand out when you are watching it in 4K UHD. Another thing that I love about the second Jurassic Park movie is the jungle setting. The jungle atmosphere gives the film a more unique feeling to it. You also have Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) as the main character, and you can never go wrong with more Jeff Goldblum ;). My biggest issue with this film is that some of the dialogue is not very good in my opinion.

Overall, The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a good movie sequel and it is worth checking out.

Date: 7/10/2021
Viewed: Blu-ray
Re-watch

Note: Today is the 40th anniversary of Escape from New York and it was the perfect time to revisit it. Escape from New York is one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time because it has left a huge impact on me growing up. I first watched Escape from New York back in 1996 when they were airing it on TV to promote Escape from LA and I have loved it ever since. I consider Escape from New York to be one of the best action films of the 1980s in my opinion. Everything about this film is oozing with perfection. Sure, the story is dated with it being set in 1997 and the World Trade Center does play a major plot point in the story, but that's the charm of the film. It's always fun to look back on what people thought on what the future will look like.

Escape from New York has a perfect mix of suspenseful horror and testosterone-fueled 80s action. I love how John Carpenter is able to make New York City feel like a dangerous and scary wasteland that is run by criminals. Every part of New York City feels like a war zone and Snake Plissken (played by Kurt Russell) is a soldier that is drop in the middle of an ongoing war. You can feel the danger that Snake Plissken is going through when he is on his mission to save the President of the United States. He only has 22 hours to live, and he hardly has character shields like most 80s action movie heroes do. Snake Plissken is my favorite movie character ever because he is a total badass. Snake Plissken is my favorite movie character ever because he is a total badass. He has a cool and edgy personality, who is forced to save the world because he has to and not because he wants to. He is also a simple character done right. No long origin story or anything complex to his character. Keeping things nice and simple can be a good thing if it is done right.

The special effects are fantastic and I love the miniatures of New York City that they created. 40 years later and they still look lovely. The rest of the characters are memorable and awesome in my opinion. Isaac Hayes as The Duke is one of the coolest movie villains of the 1980s. The music from both John Carpenter and Alan Howarth is perfect because I love how it fits perfectly with the tone of the story. The main theme for Escape from New York is also memorable and I can listen to it for 24 hours without being bored. I don't have anything new to say about Escape from New York other than it's a great movie.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should get on that ASAP.

Date: 7/16/2021
Viewed: In theaters
First Viewing

Note: I haven't been to the movie theaters since April and I decided to check out the new Nicolas Cage movie. The premise for this film sounds amazing with Nicolas Cage having his own John Wick type of movie. Unfortunately, Pig was a letdown for me. Maybe I went into this movie with the wrong mindset, or I was too stupid to get it. Pig has solid acting and great production values. I love how pretty the cinematography was because it really captures the atmospheric tone of the story. I even laugh a few times when Nicolas Cage goes out on freak-out mode. Alex Wolff (Hereditary) and Adam Arkin (Lake Placid) also did a good job with their performances. It was even cool to see Gretchen Corbett (Jaws of Satan) in a movie on the big screen.

The reason why I didn't like Pig is that I found it to be slow and boring. For a 90-minute movie, it feels like it took two hours to be over (Not in a good way). You have scenes that go on forever with not much happening and I didn't care for anyone except for Nicolas Cage's character. For a movie about a guy finding his pig, I was hoping to see Nicolas Cage kicking some major ass. He barely fights anyone in the story at all. Some of the themes in the story are well done though. The story tackles serious issues such as forgiveness and losing someone close to you. I will give Pig A for effort.

Even though I didn't like Pig, I still recommend it if you're curious. Maybe I will give this film a second chance in the near future.

Date: 7/16/2021
Viewed: Blu-ray
First Viewing

Note: I was able to borrow a working laptop, so I can finally start being active on Letterboxd and Listal again. My Blu-ray copy of this film has finally come in the mail today and I have looked forward to watching it. I love Yoshihiro Nishimura's work and I always wanted to see this movie for years, but it has been stuck on VHS with no subs for decades. Thankfully, Team Error 4444 was able to release this movie on Blu-ray and I can finally watch it in good quality. After watching this movie for the first time, I loved it. Anatomia Extinction is a cool gem in my opinion. You don't get unique Japanese films as you used to.

You can easily tell that Yoshihiro Nishimura was easily influenced by movies from Shinya Tsukamoto. Anatomia Extinction does feel similar to the Tetsuo the Iron Man movies when it comes to style and atmosphere. While the story in Anatomia Extinction may not be high art, I still find it to be interesting. What I love about Anatomia Extinction is the atmosphere and the aesthetics. It has the aesthetics that you would find in Japanese exploitation films from the late 1980s and early-mid 1990s. Anatomia Extinction has cool special effects, dark colorful lighting, surreal imagery, and a dark chilling atmosphere. It feels right at home with other dark tokusatsu such as Hiruko the Goblin (1991), Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue (1992), etc. I also like that the film is under an hour long and it feels nicely paced. It feels like a 90-minute movie (in a good way) in my opinion. Nothing about it feels rushed at all.

Shinya Tsukamoto would later remake this film in 2008 as Tokyo Gore Police. While Tokyo Gore Police is a better-made film, I still feel like Anatomia Extinction is still worth checking out.

Date: 7/19/2021
Viewed: HBO Max
Re-Watch

Note: It's been years since I have seen this movie and I finally had the time to rewatch it. The Brood is not my favorite Cronenberg movie, but I still enjoy it. The Brood is a solid horror movie from the 1970s in my opinion. One of my favorite thing about The Brood is the atmosphere. I love how it feels cold and windy in my opinion. The cold atmosphere really captures the feeling of fall weather. You can feel the cold windy weather when watching this film. Just like any other movie from David Cronenberg, it's a very violent movie with plenty of blood and gore. The gory scenes are both disgusting and satisfying to watch. In The Brood, the dwarf creatures are really creepy in my opinion. They look cute and harmless, but they are very deadly.

Oliver Reed (Gladiator), Samantha Eggar (The Exterminator), Art Hindle (Black Christmas (1974), and everyone else did a good job with their performances in my opinion. Another thing that I like about this film is the themes of mental illness and parenthood. The entire movie is reflecting on Cronenberg's fears and depression after going through a divorce from his wife. The Brood won't be everyone's cup of tea because it does have a slow start and some of the graphic scenes will turn off some people.

Overall, The Brood is a great movie and I recommend checking it out.

Date: 7/20/2021
Viewed: Amazon Prime
Re-Watch

Note: I was in the mood to watch a Rudy Ray Moore movie and I decided to rewatch Disco Godfather. It may not be my favorite Rudy Ray Moore movie, but I still consider Disco Godfather to be a fun movie in my opinion. Rudy Ray Moore is awesome as always, and it's cool seeing him beat up bad guys. I love the music and the poor special effects. It's always fun to see the strings and the boom mics when watching Disco Godfather. It gives it that special B movie charm to it. The hallucinations scenes are my favorite thing about Disco Godfather because they are very surreal to watch. The hallucinations scenes feel like they are ripped straight from a horror movie. Another cool thing about Disco Godfather is that you get to see an early role from Keith David. This was one of the first movies that he did before he did major movies such as The Thing (1982).

My least favorite thing about Disco Godfather is that some scenes feel like pointless filler. You could cut out 10 minutes of the story and nothing would have changed. I still recommend checking out Disco Godfather if you enjoy Blaxploitation films or movies from the 1970s.

Date: 7/26/2021
Viewed: Vudu
Re-Watch

Note: I remember when the Sci-Fi channel would air this movie along with Ticks (1993) back in the late 90s. I'm glad that I decided to rewatch Evolver because it's pretty good for what it is. I like the aesthetics that Evolver has because it's a time capsule of the early-mid 1990s. This film has outdated CGI, and characters wearing outdated fashion trends. Evolver feels right at home with movies such as Ghost in the Machine (1993) and The Lawnmower Man (1992). I even like the design for the Evolver robot because it looks cool.

While the story is nothing groundbreaking, I still find it to be entertaining. I do wish that they did a better job on creating the characters because I didn't really care about them. The Evolver robot was the only good character in my opinion. At least, the practical effects are pretty good. You also have some fun performances from Ethan Embry (The Guest), Cindy Pickett (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and William H. Macy (Fargo). You can tell that William H. Macy was having a blast when voicing the Evolver robot.

Overall, Evolver is a decent movie and I do recommend checking it out if you've got time to spare.

Date: 7/30/2021
Viewed: In theaters
First Viewing

Note: I didn't know anything about this film other than it's good. I'm glad that I watched it on the big screen because this film is fantastic. As of July 30th, 2021, The Green Knight is my favorite movie of 2021. I'm not into medieval fantasy stuff with some exceptions, and I'm glad that The Green Knight is a very different fantasy movie. I love how atmospheric that this film is because it really sucks you into the world that these characters live in. The cinematography from Andrew Droz Palermo (You're Next) is breathtaking, and it really captures the artistic vision that the director (David Lowery) was going for. The cinematography also has a dream feeling to it as if you are watching a classic fairy tale told from an adult perspective. You also have absolutely terrific performances from Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Ralph Ineson (The Witch), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Joel Edgerton (The Gift), and several other actors.

I don't have much else to say because you need to see the movie for yourself (I don't want to spoil things). I highly recommend checking it out.