The Obsessive Viewer

I’ve been keeping track of my movie watching for longer than I care to admit and March 2013 was my third consecutive “best month on record” in terms of the amount of movies I watched. Below are some numbers and a bunch of words. Enjoy.

Make sure you follow the blog on Twitter: @ObsessiveViewer for thoughts on movies and TV in 140 characters. And like The Obsessive Viewer on Facebook for site news, pictures and general musings on entertainment.

Total Viewings: 33
First Viewings: 13
Theater Viewings: 1

Best First Viewing: Wreck-It Ralph (buy it on Amazon)

Wreck-It Ralph is a fantastic nod to video games with storytelling as rich and deep as Pixar’s offerings as of late. John C. Reilly is the perfect choice for the voice of Ralph, the bad guy who just wants to do good.

As a die-hard Pixar fan boy since 1995, it’s hard for me to watch a non Pixar animated movie without being extra critical. Wreck-It Ralph is the best non Pixar animated movie I’ve ever seen, by a large margin. It was made by Disney Animated Studios and produced by Pixar’s John Lasseter, so Wreck-It Ralph is still “in the family” so to speak.

I can’t wait for Wreck-It Ralph 2.

Honorable Mention: Event Horizon (buy it on Amazon)

I watched Event Horizon completely on a whim. The only thing I knew going in was that it had something to do with space and I was in a sci-fi mood thanks to the Alien Anthology set.

The movie is a little much at times. But it never gets too over the top. It tries to be “The Shining” in space and almost succeeds at it. Overall it’s a fun, genuinely frightening space movie that managed to impress me soon after I dove into the Alien franchise.

Worst First Viewing: Piranha Part 2: The Spawning (buy it on Amazon)

Later this week I’m posting a 2-part entry reassessing James Cameron‘s movies. So you’ll be able to read my more in depth thoughts on the movie that’s credited as his first even though he was fired after a week of shooting. For now all I’ll say is, not only is this flying piranha movie the worst movie I watched in March, it’s one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.

Dishonorable Mention: The Parking Lot Movie (buy it on Amazon)

Ugh. I spent the entire 70 minute runtime of this parking lot attendant documentary wondering if it was a mockumentary or if I was expected to take these ultra douchey displays of unwarranted superiority complexes seriously.

According to Google, it was a straightforward documentary. According to me, it was a waste of the bandwidth used to stream it on Netflix.

Biggest Surprise: The Abyss (buy it on Amazon)

Another James Cameron movie that you’ll get to read more about when I post my James Cameron Reassessment in a few days. For now, however, I’ll say it’s my favorite Cameron movie and the lack of a blu-ray release is a bigger crime than expecting us to believe Leo couldn’t find a second piece of wood to lay on at the end of Titanic.

The Abyss felt like an underwater Close Encounters of the Third Kind and features one of the best performances I’ve ever seen Ed Harris deliver.

Biggest Letdown: Compliance (buy it on Amazon)

I shared my thoughts about Compliance in my first Streaming Saturday post. Now that it’s had time to settle, I still think it wasn’t a good movie. Nonetheless, it was a letdown. I was under the impression that it would be a taut thriller and very intense. It didn’t live up to those expectations and it wasn’t for a lack of trying, either.

Returning Favorite: Alien (buy it on Amazon)

Like many of these movies, I already wrote about Alien. Suffice it to say, Alien is an incredible and highly rewatchable sci-fi/horror movie whose pacing alone should be an example young filmmakers.