November, December, January Movie Roundup
January 17, 2020
Going through the movies I watched in the last few months.
Frozen II (November 30)
I enjoyed the untraditional story telling of Frozen II. There wasn't a typical "villain" here, and the twist was telegraphed from miles away. What was untraditional was that the "antagonist" in this story, which was a wrong from the past that had to be righted.
Some of my gribes were about some of the consequences, or lack thereof. There were three major consequences in the movie, and all of them were reversed by the end. At least one should've stuck to make the stakes seem real. One could've lead naturally into a great ending montage of everyone coming together.
Overall, I enjoyed it. The trailers made it look like a better adventure than it was.
Last Christmas (December 1)
Not much to say about this one other than it was a fun, cheesy Christmas movie.
Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding had fantastic chemistry. The supporting cast was hilarious throughout. If you want an uplifting, sentimental Christmas story, this is the one for you.
My only complaint was that the final third was really cramed, and it kind of went over-the-top with the cheese.
Knives Out (December 4)
An aboslute blast of a film. The story is so tight. Not a single moment was wasted. Rian Johnson takes the usual whodunnit genre and turns it on its head in the first 20 minutes.
It's so entertaining that I think a second watch is worth it to catch all the little details. Rian Johnson even has an audio commentary that you can listen to while watching it in theaters.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (December 5)
This is more of a story how Mr. Rogers affected one reporter's life than a biopic, and it's a touching story. There's not much to say other than that the world could really use his brand of wholesomeness and earnesty.
It's verging on Oscat bait, but it's good Oscar bait if that makes sense.
Jumanji: The Next Level (December 16)
Jumanji is a popcorn flick if there ever was one. Unfortunately, the formula is a little stale this time around, and the story is paper thin. The only two redeeming parts of the movie are Jack Black and Kevin Hart, who are hilarious throughout. A surprisingly large role from Awkwafina was also welcome. It's clear the Rock can't act, so he just hams it up.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (December 19)
By far one of the dumbest movies of all time. It gets dumber the more you think about it, too. It really proves that JJ Abrams is an uninspired hack who tries to mimic greatness instead of creating his own. And in doing so, he missings the point completely on half the things he emulates.
I still enjoy 7 and 8, but 9 is the worst conclusion to what the previous two movies set up.
Little Women (2019) (January 12)
A thoroughly enjoyable film for the whole family. The worst thing I can say is that a few actors' accents slipped up, but other than that, every performance was amazing. Apparently some people didn't like the non-linear storytelling; however, I thought it did well to keep things interesting, and it serves to juxtapose what happened in the past versus what happened later in their lives.
Final thoughts
Shout-outs to Regal Unlimited. Without it, I wouldn't've gone to see so many movies.
I thought about going to see Cats, but after watching the trailer, I don't think I can stomach it, even for the price of free. It looks like a massive waste of time, and I derive some pleasure seeing it flop so massively.
Hi! I'm Jeff Chheng.
This is my blog where I ramble about web dev, video games, and TV.