What I Was Watching in August 2021
Between watching The Wire and indulging in a stupid amount of Love Island, I still managed to find time to watch some pretty fantastic movies this month, and starting out my list with three 4/5 ratings definitely is a rarity, but a welcome one. Rather than babble on here, I’ll let the movies speak for themselves.
Barb & Star Go to Vista del Mar
Hulu
I remember thinking this movie looked incredibly silly when seeing the trailers in theaters pre-COVID times, and I suggested it to a friend completely offhand earlier this month when I saw it on Hulu. It’s one of the best movies I’ve accidentally stumbled into. I laughed out loud more times than I could count and was entertained every single second. It turns out, it is ridiculously silly, and that’s what’s amazing about it.
The Verdict: 4/5
Free Guy
In theaters
I had no idea what to think about Free Guy going in. Reviews were super positive, but I was still suspicious. It turned out to be great that I knew nothing about it because it also fully surprised me. I usually do enjoy Ryan Reynolds, but this was more than that. There was such an endearing tone to this movie and between an intelligently written script, great actors and unexpected cameos, it was a delight.
The Verdict: 4/5
Raya and the Last Dragon
Disney+
And now we continue with another truly amazing movie. Somehow, this one totally slipped through the cracks for me, despite me normally enjoying most everything Disney puts out. This was one of their best recent films, by far. It gave me Moana meets Mulan meets Brave, and you can never go wrong with a bad-ass young woman who is brave, noble and determined to make the world better, especially with an animal sidekick.
The Verdict: 4/5
Stillwater
In theaters
Stillwater didn’t seem to make much of a splash, and I feel like it suffered from being a slower moving, semi-based-on-a-true-story-ish film released in the heart of summer blockbuster territory. The story was interesting, even if I felt unfulfilled by the ending. There were plenty of interesting aspects to the plot, and the acting was good, but it didn’t connect with me as an audience member like I think it intended to.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Midsommar
Amazon Prime
I hate horror movies. Full stop. Jump scares irritate me. Villains with no motivation annoy me. I have nightmares that are ridiculously vivid for way too long after them. So, naturally, I watched this with a friend in the middle of a sunny day. And it was….pretty great? It’s hard to say you enjoy a movie that is this unsettling, but I think they accomplished exactly what they intended, and Florence Pugh is, of course, perfection.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Jack the Giant Slayer
HBO Max
I have no idea why this was one of the movies I picked out of the “leaving now” section of HBO Max, but it seems ambivalence ended up working in Jack’s favor. It was fine. CGI was decent, there were some amusing moments, and they did have some new takes on a super well-known fairy tale. Also, the cast of this movie is un-freaking-believable, so that was a huge pro in its favor.
The Verdict: 3/5
Date Night
Hulu
I had already assumed that any movie starring Steve Carrell and Tina Fey automatically had to be - at worst - decent. It turned out to be better than just fine. Shocker, right? The plot itself is actually the worst part of the movie, which sounds damning, but it’s really just because there are two improv geniuses leading the cast with stellar comic timing and a supporting cast filled with at least half of all their famous friends.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Beetlejuice
Hulu
I thought I had seen Beetlejuice before, but within seconds, I realized none of it seemed familiar and I must have only gotten bits and pieces of it over the years. I wanted to love it, between the nostalgia I know so many millennials have for it and the incredible cast, but it just didn’t work for me. It was disjointed, I felt like he who must not be named a third time was all but a cameo at times and I didn’t care like I had hoped to.
The Verdict: 2.75/5
Coda
Apple TV+
A friend recommended this movie to me a few times before I finally managed to sneak in a viewing of it. It’s a wholesome tale that seems like it is still very easily grounded in reality. The performances are incredibly strong, the familial chemistry among the actors is convincing, having so many hard of hearing actors and characters at the lead was beautiful and it felt good to have a movie tug at my heartstrings the way Coda did.
The Verdict: 4/5
We’re about to come into the weird time in between blockbuster summer and Oscar movie winter, so I see some potential classics-I-somehow-missed viewings in my future. Do you have any movies you always find yourself seeking out this time of year? I know it’s a TV show and not a movie, but fall is always Gilmore Girls season for me.