What Films did You Watch Last Week (21/01 - 27/01) CLOSED

The Favorite: 10/10, my #4 of last year and one of my 5 10/10s of 2018. Haven't seen your other movies.

FIRST TIME VIEWINGS

Portal: No Escape (2011, Dan Trachtenberg)
A little short film I watched before First Man. An interesting take on the Portal games. Nothing extraordinary, but it shows the talent director Trachtenberg has. I do want to say that there is so much potential for a feature length Portal movie.
6/10

First Man (2018, Damien Chazelle)
A great movie about the space race, but more importantly the people involved. The soundtrack and visuals are amazing. I love how the switched from complete soundtrack to complete soundscape during the movie, delivering that sense of reality. In general, the performances are great. I love the wide shots and I liked the unconvential use of shaky cam, even though it was a bit too much at times for me. I do have one major con: I didn't fully invest in all the characters which lessened the impact of some scenes. Therefore, it doesn't reach the greatness of let's say Whiplash. While it's probably my least favorite Chazelle movie so far, I still really like it and I'll say that it's a mission accomplished.
8/10

The Edge of Seventeen (2016, Kelly Fremon Craig)
I always thought that teen rom-com stuff wasn't for me. And I think this is more coming-of-age than teen rom-com, but still this movie made me come back on my initial statement. Because it's amazing. I was in the train and this movie made me tear up (got a lot of weird looks btw). So yes, anyone who thinks they don't like teen rom-com, watch this. It'll change your mind.
9/10

IO (2019, Jonathan Helpert)
A new Netflix movie I watched. Take away some terrible exposition and the premise is quite interesting. But the execution is so lackluster, making a 96 minute movie feel like 150 minutes. Not without its good moments, but definitely not something I'd recommend.
3/10

Extinction (2018, Ben Young)
Congrats Sierra Burgess Is A Loser, you're no longer my least favorite movie of 2018. This contains some of the worst line delivery and writing I've ever seen, especially in the first half. Some semi-okay plot twists in the second half that result in a mediocre story instead of a terrible one are the only reason that this is a 2/10 and not a 1/10.
2/10

House of Flying Daggers (2004, Zhang Yimou)
Wow, what a movie. About halfway during the movie I suddenly started tearing up. There wasn't anything especially emotional happening at the moment, but the beauty of the environment and the story just did it for me. I slightly prefer the first half over the second half (which feels a tiny bit unbalanced at times), but it's easily one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen, visually.
9/10

Argo (2013, Ben Affleck)
A very interesting and intense look at the Iranian hostage crisis. Especially on a technical level it's very well made and it shows Ben Affleck's directing talent. Tension is built masterfully and the pacing is very good. However, while I can't say for sure, having just seen it, it doesn't seem to leave much of an impact after the viewing experience. I also think it went a bit overboard in the last 20 minutes, diverting from the well thought out narrative earlier in the movie. But even with those shortcomings, it's a very good movie and one I'd recommend you to watch.
7/10

Pixels (2015, Chris Columbus)
Not really sure why I do this to myself. Like, I wasn't expecting it to be even remotely good. But still, I wasn't prepared for how awful it was. I will say one thing: at least it's not as bad as The Emoji Movie. Because a few things in the movie are just 'standard' terrible and not 'Disaster Movie' terrible, I will be generous and give it a 2/10. But I can totally understand all the 1/10 ratings.
2/10

REWATCHES

No rewatches this week.

TV WATCHES

The Expanse (Season 3, episode 10 - 13)
For some reason I never finished season 3 of The Expanse until now. I think I was just really busy around that time
and then I forgot about it. But I finished it now and it's amazing. The best season of The Expanse so far and a confirmation
that this is one of the best tv shows at the moment.

How I Met Your Mother (Season 1, episode 12 - 20)
I watch this tv show on Netflix when I have some free time I have each day. I really like it so far.

AWARDS

BEST FILM: House of Flying Daggers
BEST ACTOR: Ryan Gosling - First Man
BEST ACTRESS: Hailee Steinfeld - The Edge of Seventeen
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Alan Arkin - Argo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Claire Foy - First Man
BEST SCRIPT: The Edge of Seventeen
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Zhao Xiaoding - House of Flying Daggers
BEST DIRECTOR: Zhang Yimou - House of Flying Daggers