weekly

Weekly Watchlist: Week 6

Eduardo Orozco

Weekly Watchlist: Week 6. Unfortunately, finals week took its toll and took my time away from films this time around as I had to study for once.

We have a good mixture of oldies and modern films in this batch, though not that many in quantity. This summer I plan on watching around 200 movies before I have to go back into regular school year. Yeehaw, au revoir this is my last article of the semester and maybe for a while now as I am taking on new responsibilities as the new Video Director of this fine website/organization.

So here’s what I watched this time around.

Monday (4.29.19)

Boyz n the Hood (1991) – 4.5/5

  • Rip John Singleton: dude made this when he was 23. This movie is good and real af n I’m mad I haven’t seen it before. Quote of the decade: “They either don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about the hood”

Tuesday (4.30.19)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – 4/5

  • Planet of the Apes + Gravity + Star Wars – any logic + awesome lighting & set design + interesting mixture of cinematography styles – any more logic that remained + a huge baby = this movie

Guava Island (2019) – 3.5/5

  • Really big fan of the cinematography; it looks really beautiful and I’m glad they shot it on film,., BUT,.,., this is basically a super long music video with a cool animated intro. Rihanna’s talent is hugely wasted and the story/plot doesn’t entirely work that well; I wish I liked this more

Madeline’s Madeline (2018) – 4/5

  • Everything about this is wow; the cinematography flirts with a documentary style of filming at times. The plot is great and the acting is phenomenal. Lots more I could say but hard to put into words really.

Saturday (5.4.19)

Avengers: Endgame (2019) – 4/5

  • A second viewing I went to with my friend who hadn’t seen it. Glad I saw it though cuz I was able to catch more jokes and step back to analyze the cinematography/visual aspects more.

Tuesday (5.7.19)

The Last Summer (2019) – 1/5

  • Only watched this because my girlfriend had it playing as I woke up. Sad to see that Netflix is spending money on s**t like this. Overall: dumb, fake, & a waste of time.

Saturday (5.11.19)

Whiplash (2014) – 4.5/5

  • I don’t remember the last time I got so emotionally invested into a movie; very nice cinematography, extremely tight framing & extremely tight focus. The acting/directing is incredible w anxiety ridden writing fueling the entire plot. A good movie to watch at 9am but gives me PTSD to when I played the drums

Whiplash (Short Film) (2013) – 4/5

  • I prob should’ve seen this before the feature-length film but I enjoyed it nonetheless; they basically took out one great scene from the feature and made that into a short (which is a great way to get a feature funded; its cool how they translated some of the exact same shots into the feature and kept some of the same actors but I’m very glad they replaced the dude who was eventually played by Miles Teller.

Badlands (1973) – 4.5/5

  • I love the colors in this a lot; the cinematography is simple and nice. This is an extremely impressive director debut: i like the story of people on the run tbh. This film is like bonnie n clyde except bonnie ain’t really feelin’ it; I’m a fan

Naked (1993) – 3.5/5

  • sex -fueled monologues for days in this film; David Thewlis’ character is a god of sarcasm in this. This has a rather nice score & an extremely interesting storyline that goes in every direction. The long takes mixed in with long monologues by Thewlis’ hobo-esque character is such an interesting combination that we see multiple times in this film; each time either ending in screaming or sex. Felt dragged on and annoying at times though, especially towards the end.

Thank you for reading along for this week; I hope these comments offer insight into your choice of what to watch and what to avoid.

I thank those who read along and hope that you watch as many movies as you possibly can; this way, people can become educated on cinema.

Weekly Watchlist: Week 5

Eduardo Orozco

On this edition of Weekly Watchlist, an overwhelmed editor works through his backlog, and Eduardo might as well call this “the superhero edition” considering that he watched 11 superhero movies.

I’ve been on a s**t ton of student film sets this semester and these past 2 weeks were fairly busy for me so I didn’t have as much time to watch as many films unfortunately. AlsoRIP Stan Lee; you created a childhood for a lot of people. Not gonna lie though, I’m gonna go back to watching normal movies not filled with action and spandex outfits for a while. Anyways, here’s what I watched this time around.

Friday (4.5.19)

Shazam! (2019) – 2.5/5

  • Score was ass; the acting was the trashiest of trash. The cheap dialogue accompanied by the weak subplots almost ruined it completely. I guess it was really more for kids with adult jokes here and there. Zachary Levi did wonderful and was a great casting choice that saved the movie but other than him, I was thoroughly disappointed

Saturday (4.6.19)

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) – 4.5/5

  • A fun time viewing this and one of the MCUs most stylistic film but groot probably didn’t have to die ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ they honestly could’ve figured something out but oh well

Sunday (4.7.19)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) – 2.5/5

  • Not much to say about this one; wish we got to see more of Quicksilver. Not a terrible movie but not a bad one I guess?

Tuesday (4.9.19)

Raging Bull (1980) – 4/5

  • The only non-marvel movie I was fortunate enough to see. The character development is what sticks out most to me as we see De Niro’s character evolve from a boxer to a bum. Great performances with great directing; the cinematography was pretty well done but the sound design is a technical aspect that was very unique (animals sounds during fights and some experimental stuff thrown in); an overall enjoyable and good film if you don’t mind seeing chubby De Niro and hella blood

Wednesday (4.17.19)

Ant-Man (2015) – 2.5/5

  • Pretty decent and good casting with Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas; not my favorite though and boring-ish at times; Luis is my fav character prob with his story rants

Wednesday (4.24.19)

Captain America: Civil War (2016) – 3/5

  • I think we all feel bad that this is titled as Captain America when it’s literally a marvel movie; this movie has more Avengers in one scene that Avengers: Age of Ultron.        ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Pretty good though and sets up Infinity War/Endgame really well.

Doctor Strange (2016) – 3/5

  • A good origin movie I think and a good cast; ending credit sets up a sequel that will be coming out within the next 2 years.

Thursday (4.25.19)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) – 2.5/5

  • Honestly disappointing; it’s all about Starlord’s dad in this one and it’s not very interesting; not necessarily important either but there’s some good tunes

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – 3.5/5

  • I think it’s safe to say that this might be my favorite Spider-Man but it’s hard to say. It feels way too high-schooly for me and was a severe change watching this after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and then Thor: Ragnarok. Tom Holland is great in this role though and Michael Keaton makes a great Vulture; I’m sure that Scorpion will be a villain in either Spider-Man: Far From Home or the next one after that.

Friday (4.26.19)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – 3/5

  • The best Thor movie in the trilogy and seals him as the most badass dude; nice to see more of the Hulk in this as we all know he ain’t gonna get his own solo movie ever again. Jeff Goldblum is awesome in this and I loved the director cameo.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – 3.5/5

  • Had to watch this before Endgame and I’m really glad I did; it’s so pleasing to see almost every single character they’ve created in one movie. I have too much to say about this and the whole series to jam into this article.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) – 4/5

  • Honestly extremely good and a wonderful end to the 11 year movie timeline; so many subplots and beautiful moments; there was some flaws in the plot and in the film overall but this was a gift to the fans and well executed. I honestly have quite a lot to say but it’d take several several paragraphs that I don’t have time to write.

Thank you for reading along for this week; I hope these comments offer insight into your choice of what to watch and what to avoid.

Make sure to check in next week to see what I watch.

Written by: Eduardo Orozco

Weekly Watchlist: Week 3

Eduardo Orozco Leave a Comment
weekly watchlist

Weekly Watchlist Week 3: Lots of films in this edition; a few of them are Marvel movies as I have started a binge chain ahead of Avengers: Endgame. I didn’t watch many classics this week but next article will include a few Criterion Collection films and more movies in theatres again.

So here’s what I watched this time around.

Monday (3.11.19)

Captain Marvel (2019) – 2/5

  • Marvel story structure + throwaway Star Wars characters – any substance whatsoever = this movie. Honestly a disappointed on this one because it was fairly hyped up and not very good; props to Marvel for finally making a female led movie.

Tuesday (3.12.19)

The Kid (2019) – 2.5/5

  • Not really as great as I had hoped it would be; Ethan Hawke kills it but that’s about it; the other performances kind of annoyed me (especially the title character) but Chris Pratt did fine as a villain. Not enough yeehaws in this western.

Alien (1979) – 4/5

  • My professor was the 1st Assistant Director on this movie and clearly made it known when he screened it in class; other than that, this movie has really nice lighting, nice set design and just some really advanced stuff for 1979. The movie itself was not all that scary and it was semi-predictable but it wasn’t necessarily cheesy.

Wednesday (3.13.19)

I’m Not Here (2017) – 2/5

  • This movie had nice casting but I feel like this idea has been way overdone; it just felt like a super long PSA about alcoholism. Also, I’m not sure what made me sicker: J.K. Simmons bare as cheeks or the overpriced movie nachos.

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2019) – 3.5/5

  • I really love the dialogue in this; the writing is very nice and feels natural/real. The casting was really well done and I think each actor gave a pretty good performance. Other than that, the cinematography was adequate and that’s about it.
  • I really love the dialogue in this; the writing is very nice and feels natural/real. The casting was really well done and I think each actor gave a pretty good performance. Other than that, the cinematography was adequate and that’s about it.

Friday (3.15.19)

Iron Man (2008) – 3.5/5

  • Don’t think I’ve seen this since it came out in theatres and I was 9 years old. The CGI looks shit but back then it was new technology so it’s kinda cool to see how far we’ve come. Gwyneth Paltrow was kind of annoying in this; everyone else is pretty good; this movie makes you highly dislike Jeff Bridges but he’s a king.

Saturday (3.16.19)

The Incredible Hulk (2008) – 2/5

  • This movie was not very good; not very Hulk. Glad they changed the lead role to Mark Ruffalo; Edward Norton was a little stale in this.

Sunday (3.17.19)

Iron Man 2 (2010) – 2.5/5

  • If you haven’t noticed, I’m doing a Marvel binge in anticipation of Avengers: Endgame. Very glad they replaced the James Rhodes character and brought on Don Cheadle; he kills it; excited to see how these characters develop in the 2 following phases of the MCU (or at least rewatching it).

Tuesday (3.19.19)

Thor (2011) – 2.5/5

  • Alright the cinematography in this is really really bad. It is not good. Literally 60% of all shots are dutch angles and it just does not fit the story…It’s fairly cheesy and Lord of the Rings-esque (if it took place in space) but that’s okay considering its a superhero origin film. It was funny to read and find out that the director of this is the guy who voiced Miguel in The Road to El Dorado (2000).

Wednesday (3.20.19)

Climax (2019) – 4/5

  • So, Act I consists of sexual dancing party; Act II consists of sexual dance party banter; Act III consists of every nightmare and fear you;ve ever imagined but it’s not scary, just super uncomfortable. It’s worthy noting that there are heavy Suspiria (1977) influences sprinkled everywhere and soundtrack reminiscent of Good Time (2017). This song is a heavily experimental visual experience that I recommend and also forewarn that it might not be your type; it’ll probably be pulled from theatres soon anyway because Us (2019) is coming out.

Thank you for reading along for this week; I hope these comments offer insight into your choice of what to watch and what to avoid.

Make sure to check in next week to see what I watch.

Written by: Eduardo Orozco

Weekly Watchlist: Week 2

Eduardo Orozco
weekly watchlist

Weekly Watchlist. Week 2.

For this week’s “Weekly Watchlist”, I have to give a shoutout to AMC A-List. I worked for AMC for almost 3 years until I moved on to better things; but in my time there, I saw almost every movie that came out. After moving onto a different job, I no longer had access to countless free movies whenever I wanted. Just recently, I purchased AMC A-List and it’s the closest thing to seeing as many movies as I want. (3 movies a week, $24/month). I definitely am getting my money’s worth as I have been attending various showings of movies that never even appealed to me.

Time to list what I watched now.

 

Monday (2.18.19)

Greenbook (2018) – 3.5/5

  • Mixed feelings; hesitant to watch at first but it was pretty nice actually; character development was great and it was interesting to see how 2 complex characters from different backgrounds bonded together. Was originally 4/5 stars, but they won Best Picture at the Oscars over “Roma” and it didn’t really deserve it.

 

(Please mind the week long gap of no movies as my parents were in town visiting me for the first time ever. Note: The next movie has nothing to do with how their vacation went.)

 

Sunday (2.24.19)

Fighting with My Family (2019) – 3/5

  • Looks silly in trailers and advertising, but it’s not as bad as it seems. It’s also not as good as it seems though. The cinematography was bland; the pacing/editing are mediocre; the acting was pretty decent for the most part. The story itself though was very unique and based off a true story; a female wrestler breaking into the WWE; I’m not really a wrestling type guy but it wasn’t terrible.

Monday (2.25.19)

Isn’t It Romantic (2019) – 3/5

  • Thought this was gonna be a dumb musical-esque Rebel Wilson comedy; turned out to have pretty damn nice/funny writing; editing is great and hilarious. It’s incredibly cliche but on purpose. The cinematography is ass though.

Tuesday (2.26.19)

The Usual Suspects (1995) – 4/5

  • I was fortunate enough to watch this in my film classics class but I sadly fell asleep for some part due to slow beginning; pretty cool though and great film I hope to rewatch soon.

Wednesday (2.27.19)

Glass (2019) – 1.5/5

  • The writing was honestly one of the worst I’ve seen in a long while. The cinematography was questionable and the lighting/coloring was probably the only thing this had going for it. It is to my understanding that the guy who played Bruce Willis’ son was the same kid from the 2000 “Unbreakable” movie, but the dude can’t act at all and has got to end his career soon hopefully. It’s cool that M. Night Shyamalan made an attempt to create a superhero-like world, but it just doesn’t work.

Friday (3.1.19)

Greta (2019) – 2.5/5

  • I have some extremely mixed feelings about this movie. Saw it opening weekend, so the audience was pretty full, but the script was so extremely bad that the entire theatre was laughing at some parts; mind you this was supposed to be “Drama/Thriller”. Also saw this with a film friend of mine and it was just funny exchanging banter about the movie afterwards. This is not the worst movie in existence, but it’s not good in any aspect really. I disliked the cinematography, but the lighting was pretty nice though. I only recommend seeing this movie in a crowded theatre so you can know for sure that you are not the only one who finds some scenes hilariously bad.

Monday (3.4.19)

Minding the Gap (2018) – 5/5

  • Kinda pissed they didn’t include a warning in the beginning for emotional viewers that connect too heavily with the story. Thought this was a fun/cool documentary about skateboarding, but it turned out to be a heartfelt look into how skateboarding is an escape for people’s shitty lives. Doesn’t help when the director interviews his foreign mother who has trouble with English about how he was raised; hits the feels. The best documentary I’ve seen in a long time.

Tuesday (3.5.19)

Zombieland (2009) – 3/5

  • This movie is creative and fun for 2009, but it is 10 years later now and it’s just a little too cheesy and fake deep for me to enjoy; cool cast but I didn’t really like it all that much; very hyped up (and there’s another coming out this year oh boy)

Wednesday (3.6.19)

Apollo 11 (2019) – 4/5

  • Grateful to have seen this in IMAX; the visuals are extremely amazing; the score is chilling and so good. The editing is extremely well done but I can only imagine how long it took to sort through the hours and hours of footage they had to work with. As for the space mission itself, the amount of physics that goes into something like this blows my mind and scares the s**t out of me (I was not good at physics in high school).

 

Thank you for reading along for this week; I hope these comments offer insight into your choice of what to watch and what to avoid.

Make sure to check in next week to see what I watch.