Wrap Up: What I Was Watching In April 2020
Okay! I made a concerted effort to watch a few movies outside of my deep dives into streaming services (in April it was Hulu and CBS All Access), but I’m also going to try to do two of those a month or so for May and June since there won’t really be anything in theaters until July at the earliest.
So I have a couple of round ups and a couple of randoms because, well, what else do we have to do? To be honest, a lot of my free time outside of the binges have been watching mindless tv shows (help! I’m sucked into the never-ending pile of Love Island episodes) and listening to podcasts. But movies are still my true love, so I’m making sure to take time for them.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Youtube TV
I remember thinking the previews for this movie looked a bit too silly for me so I never watched it, but I heard more and more good things about it so I finally caved and I watched it. I was beyond pleasantly surprised. It was such a fun, ridiculous movie in the best ways. They really leaned hard into the goofiness of it and had some nods to the original with Robin Williams - it’s well worth a watch.
The Verdict: 4/5
Jumanji: The Next Level
Rental on Amazon
Once I watched the first one, my friend let me sneak on to her account where she had just rented the sequel, and while it was still cute and managed to strike the same chord, it was almost a bit too similar. I felt like it was a rehash of the first of the sequels but it started out with a twist. While I still enjoyed it, I wished there had just been something a little more different.
The Verdict: 3/5
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Netflix
I think this one also suffered a tiny bit from the sophomore slump, but it was still a fun movie. The characters are still endearing, even if it is still just more of the same when it comes to their personalities. I think I wanted a bit more development with them, but instead, we did get a really great character from the new racing game introduced (and voiced by Gal Gadot - how do you beat that?).
The Verdict: 3/5
The Jungle Book
Youtube TV
This had been on my list for some time but I had put it off for a while because the Disney film was never my favorite. So despite the incredible voice cast, I never got around to this remake. However, I really am glad I finally watched it. It’s visually stunning, but I felt like they cherry-picked a combination of details from the original book and the Disney film that made it not always line up seamlessly for me.
The Verdict: 3/5
The Little Hours
Netflix
The cast on this movie is pretty fantastic, but unfortunately, I think that’s where the positives end. The plot was disjointed and almost nonexistent, and it got so insane by the end that I wasn’t quite sure what was happening anymore. It was probably one of the least enjoyable movies I’ve watched in a while. The acting was good but I don’t think I had any fun with it.
The Verdict: 2/5
The Skeleton Twins
Hulu
I was unsure if I should venture into this one when it does deal with some darker things with everything going on right now, but it was a really wonderful movie. There is a very serious trigger warning for suicide as the whole movie revolves around that, and mental health, but I loved every moment of it. I thought it was great to see two normally comedic actors take on entirely new attitudes in roles, and they were incredible.
The Verdict: 4/5
Literally, Right Before Adam
Hulu
I will watch just about any movie that even resembles a rom com. And this reeked of rom com on the surface. But, man, as much as I love the actors in this movie, I could not bring myself even to care a little bit. There was exactly one scene that had me fully staring at the screen and taking it in, but other than that, I felt like I was just trying to get the film over with. And no one wants that out of a light movie.
The Verdict: 2/5
I know I’m doing my Prime binge next but I cannot for the life of me decide which other one to tackle in May. If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments!