What I Was Watching in August 2022
This is the saddest of days, as I believe I’m accidentally breaking my streak of watching at least one Nicole Kidman movie a month. Such a strangely stupid thing that amused me so much. Maybe there’s another actor I can inadvertently keep up with in my wrap-ups.
Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris
In theaters
When I first saw a trailer and poster for this movie, I knew it was tailor-made for me. I wasn’t wrong. Mrs. Harris is charming, emotional and underrated. I giggled, I teared up and I immediately texted a friend as I left saying how much I loved it. It’s a historical drama with a really solid heartfelt tone to its tale. Also, how often do you get to see the guy who played Lucius Malfoy as a movie’s love interest?
The Verdict: 4/5
The Shape of Water
Hulu
I knew this was going to be weird before I ever hit play thanks to what I learned during its Oscar season press and from trailers. However, I figured there had to be more to draw me in than just “woman with hearing impairment hooks up with mer-man creature,” but I never could find it. I suppose technically, it is well done, and I don’t really have any complaints about the acting or abilities of anyone involved.
The Verdict: 3/5
DC League of Super Pets
In theaters
This is basically The Secret Life of Pets but better, plus superheroes. It’s a really cute movie and could be an excellent gateway film to introduce kids to the magical world of comic books. The voice cast is top notch, the plot is relatively simplistic and it’s entertaining. For a children’s movie, it’s exactly what you would expect, and in a good way.
The Verdict: 3/5
Easter Sunday
In theaters
I cannot stress just how much I wanted this movie to be good. It’s a romantic comedy, it features a cast of mostly all people of color and the star is a really solid comedian. Jo Koy is normally hilarious, but this script was definitely not up to par. The dialogue was cringey, and I didn’t really root for anyone. It takes a lot for me to be put off by a movie completely, and Easter Sunday somehow managed to do that.
The Verdict: 2/5
Blade II
HBO Max
This is definitely the weakest of the Blade trilogy. They just retread a lot of the first movie, but added an iffy alliance with some other vaguely-bad-but-maybe-not-terrible people. Too many people were introduced out of nowhere and were given no time to develop, so the stakes were far too low for me to have any concern about everyone’s fate.
The Verdict: 2.5/5
Blade Trinity
HBO Max
While this is definitely the worst dialogue out of the three movies, the plot was a bit more intriguing and I was very pleasantly surprised by Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel showing up. It was clearly one of the first films where Reynolds just started acting as a snarky version of himself in most of his roles. Watching all of these did make me even more excited for the upcoming remake.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Horrible Bosses
HBO Max
I am a bit late on this astonishment, but it was so unsettling to witness Jennifer Aniston being so crass and gross. And that she would be hitting on Charlie Day. It was utterly baffling. Once I got past that, I was actually pretty amused and entertained. It’s a really great cast, had a decent amount of twists and turns in the plot and it gets points for being pretty unique for a comedy.
The Verdict: 3.25/5
Gangster Squad
HBO Max
I remember being so into the idea of this when it came to theaters, but I never ended up seeing it. It was in the era of putting Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone together whenever possible. My expectations may have been a tad too high, and it was a fine movie, but it didn’t wow me. Some of it sounded forced and cliche to strive to be “old school gangster” but it wasn’t entirely - which was baffling.
The Verdict: 3/5
The Dark Crystal
HBO Max
This movie is utterly insane. I think I remember hearing it had become somewhat of a cult classic, and there was a lot of excitement about a miniseries of it on streaming recently. Without the nostalgia, though, I was just slightly terrified. The puppetry is amazing but I think I’ll be sticking to my standard Muppet fare. There seemed to be a lot of lore I was missing out on, as well.
The Verdict: 2.5/5
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
HBO Max
Slight spoiler on this one, but it is necessary to fully explain my thoughts. I had a weirdly high hope that this would not go a romantic route in regards to Steve Carell and Keira Knightley, but I was sorely disappointed. It would have been a much stronger movie if it was a platonic relationship, because the love story felt so forced in to an otherwise really good movie.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Hot Fuzz
Hulu
Since I am still trying to work my way through a lot of pop culture gaps, it was time for another installment of the Cornetto Trilogy. I liked it better than Shaun of the Dead (maybe because I’m not a huge fan of zombie media), but it was also fascinating to see the stylistic trademarks that thread their way through both movies. Simon Pegg is so solid, and I’m pretty sure he can improve almost any film.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Wall Street
HBO Max
In a world where there are more antiheroes than heroes in media, it was really fun to see one of the earlier representations of this character trope. Everyone in this movie is relatively despicable, but once you become hooked on something like Succession, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was basically a race to see who would get screwed over most and the quickest.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
I worried due to the alarming amount of Love Island I watched this month that I wouldn’t have a solid list for this wrap up, but apparently I watch more things than even I realized.