What I Was Watching in November 2021
For the first month in quite some time, I actually wrote individual articles about more movies than I didn’t. It’s been a lot of fun, seeing biopics in theaters, indulging in a silly Netflix action flick and another Marvel movie on the big screen. But I still had to do my monthly ‘hunt through the leaving soon’ section tradition and I managed to pull out a few fun ones to watch through the start of the holidays.
Orange County
HBO Max
A friend of mine recommended this with the caveat that she hoped it aged well enough without nostalgia, and I think it did. It’s just anchored in the early 2000s that the nostalgia is baked in, even if you hadn’t seen it when it actually came out. It’s silly but has a truly impressive cast and is a fun, light story that also helps you realize just how much Colin Hanks sounds like his dad.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Deliverance
HBO Max
I felt that I really needed to watch this movie since I’ve only known it as a cultural punchline for years: “Paddle faster; I hear banjo music.” I was actually shocked to see how harrowing and traumatic this movie truly is, because I’d only heard about it in comedic terms. It’s an extremely well done movie, but it’s hard to say something is “good” when it’s relatively horrifying in content.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Adventureland
HBO Max
I realized this month that I often equated this movie with Zombieland due to them coming out around the same time, both featuring a handful of people (including Jesse Eisenberg in both) and having relatively similar titles. In an amusing twist, I’ve watched both for the first time this year and enjoyed both quite a bit. This one is a lot funnier than I anticipated.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Love Hard
Netflix
I decided to kick off holiday season off with a heavy hitter. This new Netflix movie had gained a bit of buzz and two friends had told me it was solid, and thankfully it held up to the hype. It was an extremely cute movie. There were a couple of questionable plot choices, mostly towards the end but overall, especially when compared to other Christmas romantic comedies, it was a lot of fun to watch.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
True Romance
HBO Max
I’ll admit, I heard about this movie really due to a Kourtney Kardashian couples costume that I saw all over social media. But I was intrigued enough to follow through and it was entertaining, even if it was not even remotely what I expected. It’s a very dated movie in an utterly ridiculous way, and I’m going to give you the warning I didn’t have before I started: it’s a Tarantino-written film. Enjoy.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Sleepless in Seattle
Hulu
My father was appalled that I hadn’t seen this movie considering my love of both romcoms and film in general, and when Hulu warned me this title was leaving come December, it was the perfect opportunity. I’ve never watched a romantic comedy where the leads didn’t really interact for this long, and that plus an absolutely adorable young Tom Hanks made this a fun movie to watch.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Next month will be interesting since I’m intending to partake in a 31 holiday films in 31 days challenge, but I also plan to sneak in a couple actual good movies to counteract the delightful mediocrity of the Christmas romcom, including the Matrix trilogy to prepare for the new one coming out.