The Obsessive Viewer
Film and TV Reviews and Podcasts
May was a bit of a return to form for me, as far as movies are concerned. I managed to get 30 viewings into the month and an astonishing (for me) 5 theater viewings. Unfortunately for my bank account, it was also my most expensive month so far. Between the $157.52 and all the lost minute expenses I incurred for […]
May was a bit of a return to form for me, as far as movies are concerned. I managed to get 30 viewings into the month and an astonishing (for me) 5 theater viewings.
Unfortunately for my bank account, it was also my most expensive month so far. Between the $157.52 and all the lost minute expenses I incurred for Indy PopCon at the end of the month, I really think I need to start budgeting my money more. I’ll worry about that on my own time. For now, let’s break down my month in movies.
Click here for a chronological list of the movies I watched in May.
Money Spent on Movies/TV in May: $157.52
Running Total for 2014: $551.78
Best First Viewing: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
My viewing of Days of Future Past came at the end of a week-long X-Men movie watching/reviewing binge. So I went into Bryan Singer‘s first X-Men movie since the franchise’s second entry in 2002 with the entire franchise fresh in my head.
This worked incredibly in my favor as I could pinpoint the pieces of canon they were actively retconning from the franchise’s less desirable entries (what the fuck Brett Ratner? Seriously). Not only that, but I was also privy to an intense and personal story that employed my favorite narrative device in all of fiction: time travel.
Given Singer’s previous distance from the franchise, watching Days of Future Past was like seeing an old friend reconnect even older friends. You can read my full review (and reviews for the rest of the franchise) here.
Honorable Mention: Neighbors (2014)
To be completely honest, I was not expecting much from Neighbors. I thought the trailers looked funny enough and the cast was really appetizing. Something about the premise and the trailers made me feel like the movie would be a studio project with no heart that’s designed to get people into the theater based on the cast alone.
I was totally wrong. Neighbors delivered on the laughs in a big way and quickly became my favorite comedy of the summer, possibly the year. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne were great together and I loved seeing Ike Barinholtz in a supporting role (this guy needs to be a bigger star).
The dynamic between Zac Efron and Dave Franco was the high point of the movie for me. Their comedic timing and overall chemistry was really great. Memories of their expressions after the resolution of their fight scene about midway through the movie still make me burst into laughter when I think of it.
Neighbors has heart and laughs. I was floored by it.
Worst First Viewing: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
For my Franchise Review of X-Men, I was forced to confront some movies I had disowned or otherwise avoided. I had successfully gone through my life having never seen X-Men Origins. It was a happy life. But that life was shattered in pursuit a week-long franchise dissection
To be clear, my expectations were low going into X-Men Origins. In fact, they were spectacularly low. However, some part of me still held out just a little bit of hope that maybe the fanboys who railed against this movie were just expecting a Singer-quality movie.
That’s not the case. X-Men Origins is a hit movie. I liked Taylor Kitsch as Gambit and I liked Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (in the beginning of the movie). Aside from that, I have nothing nice to say about this movie.
You can read my full review here.
Dishonorable Mention: Days of Thunder (1990)
I watched Days of Thunder for the podcast’s Car Movies episode. I’m really proud of the episode, so if you haven’t listened to it, you should really check it out.
Having said that, I feel just a little bad giving this movie the Dishonorable Mention treatment. It’s not a horrible movie. It’s really not so much a “bad” movie. It’s just a movie that didn’t quite click with me.
The NASCAR backdrop did nothing for me and the plot was pretty formulaic. I don’t know if it would have been so bad when it was released but watching it now, I just couldn’t get into it.
Biggest Surprise: I Give it a Year (2013)
I watched I Give it a Year based on the recommendation of my friend and podcast cohost Tiny. When he brought it up in conversation, he specifically said “You need to watch this movie.”
I really did. It was hilarious. Tiny knows me well enough to know that I have a penchant for romcoms and this movie satisfied me greatly in that regard. The beauty of I Give it a Year is that it takes the familiar romcom formula and delivers it in a package that bucks the genres tired traditions.
The movie centers around a newly married couple who quickly discover they’re not exactly living happily ever after. What ensues is a very charming and funny look at how two people who aren’t right together get along. I really liked it.
Biggest Letdown: A.C.O.D. (2013)
A.C.O.D. really should have been a better movie. At the start it presented itself as a comedy that could have overcome a flimsy plot to be a fun look at dysfunctional family dynamics. However, there’s a shift after the first act that transforms A.C.O.D. into a character-driven dramedy centered around the always loveable Adam Scott.
The finished product isn’t anything bad, necessarily. In fact, it’s a pretty good movie overall. I just found myself bored throughout the majority of the movie and clinging to the foolish hope it would become the family farce the first act established it as. Nevertheless, it’s worth watching.
Returning Favorite: Superbad (2007)
What can I say about Superbad? We covered it on the podcast in our “One Night Party Movies” episode (a personal favorite ep of mine, by the way). The long and short of it is that Superbad is the quintessential teen movie for people who graduated in the early 2000s. It’s hilarious and holds up impeccably well to dozens of repeat viewings. I love it.
That does it for this month. June is shaping up to be a very big one for me I’ll try to get that breakdown posted much sooner than I have been posting them recently
The Obsessive Viewer 