What movies did you see last week? (7/19-7/25)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
8 Mile
(500) Days of Summer
Luca

My most prolific week in a few months. Good ol lockdown.

Battle of the Sexes - 7.5 / 10

The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 - 5 / 10

Space Jam: A New Legacy - 3 / 10

The Minus Man - 4 / 10

Richard Pryor: Live in Concert - 8 / 10

A Fistful of Dollars - 7.5 / 10

Hesher - 5 / 10

Moonlight Mile - 6.5 / 10

17 Again - An okay 'My age has changed!' comedy. Probably would've been better had the central performance been more memorable. Efron is fine but these movies require a stronger central presence. But as a time-killer the movie is alright.

Sandy Wexler - This will not win Happy Madison any new fans but those who have at least some appreciation for those movies will probably enjoy it. I find Happy Madison stuff to be pretty mediocre for the most part BUT I kinda like the overall idea of Sandler essentially making silly movies with his friends and family. No pretensions, no malice - just stupid comedies with those closest to him. A lot of people hate him for that but I don't see any reason for such hostility. I think it's cool that after his big breakout he didn't abandon his buddies and, on the contrary, stayed loyal to them for all these years. Sandman is a good dude. This movie is like "The Avengers" of Happy Madison. Pretty much everybody's here, there's a shitton of cameos by all sorts of stars, and it's got a quintessential Happy Madison plot too. On top of that, it's a tribute to Sandler's real-life manager, Sandy Wernick (who gets a hilarious cameo too). I can already see the Sandler haters rolling their eyes at all of that. But I'm on the opposite side of the issue. And in addition to appreciating the concept behind it...I just kinda enjoyed the film itself. The oversized running time, the stupid jokes, the silly Sandler voice, the sap - I kind of liked all that stuff.

Allan the Dog - Wasn't aware of its existence but then suddenly had to watch it for work. It's basically a cheap "Ted" knockoff. And it's obviously bad. Pretty much on par with "Ted 2" though, even if it is like a thousand times cheaper.

Lincoln - REWATCH. Elegant direction, wonderfully colorful dialogue and an incredible ensemble which continues an old Hollywood tradition of 'Let's put a big actor in every scene' make this a really engaging experience. But on top of it all is the majestic Daniel Day-Lewis performance which is kind of miraculous in how it manages to both absolutely command our attention and at the same time be an absolutely organic part of every scene which he shares with other actors. Spielberg does a terrific thing here of rarely framing Lincoln as this big statuesque figure in his ensemble scenes (which are most of the movie). He's always framed as an equal to the other characters on the screen. And yet, through the great dialogue and the great DDL turn, our eyes are drawn to him. I must say, I don't really see this movie as a masterpiece anymore (I think I kinda hyped it up for myself to feel that way back then but now my tastes are changing) but it's still a rock solid picture.

When Marnie Was There - I was floored. Among the most emotional cinematic experiences I've had in a long time. It's also gorgeous to look at, often times wonderfully abstract and just totally splendid. Studio Ghibli truly is the best animation producer in the world.

No Sudden Move-9
Jolt-2
Black Widow-(re-watch)8

The Long Goodbye
Erin Brockovich
Lethal Weapon 3
J. Edgar
Fight Club
Disturbia
Old
Jolt

second movieless week in a row

Haha I don't have nearly as good an excuse. Best of luck of you on your thesis! What's the degree focus?

'Nobody' is good, until