July Summary

July Summary

At the halfway point of the year, I do another special month summary to change stuff up a bit for these final six months of the year.

Changes Made to the Summary Pages:
1. Removal of the "Most Enjoyable Film Seen" category. This category is almost always pretty obvious based on the genre of what I watched.
2. Removal of the "The Film More People Need to See" category. This is also pretty obvious as it usually goes to a good foreign film or a good older film.
3. Addition of the "Best Character" category which follows the same rules as the lesser categories. This addition basically stems from the fact that I've realized that characters and character development is probably one of the biggest things I look for in a film.

04/10 - Preacherman
07/10 - Independence Day
05/10 - Air Force One
06/10 - Kingdom of Heaven
02/10 - Gone with the Pope
09/10 - Forrest Gump
08/10 - Memento
06/10 - Inception
07/10 - Unforgiven
06/10 - The French Connection
01/10 - Hollywood High
07/10 - City of God
08/10 - Jaws
09/10 - Rear Window
08/10 - Forgetting Sarah Marshall
03/10 - Inferno
10/10 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Quick Facts:
Movies seen in July: 17
Time spent watching movies in July: 2052 minutes (34 hours, 12 minutes)

Best Movie Seen (Overall):
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
No question here. I've written enough about it and constantly called it my favorite movie ever. Of course it'll win. My first Hitchcock film in Rear Window takes second place here. It was everything I expected and more from the supposed best director ever.
Runner-up: Rear Window
[Ferris Bueller's Day Off was a repeated viewing; Rear Window was a first time viewing.]
[Note: These two films will not be included in the next two rankings.]

Best Movie Seen (First Viewing):
Jaws
I loved Jaws for all the reasons I wasn't expecting - not a technical and special effects marvel but rather a really well done character piece. The three guys out hunting a giant shark really bond together in a cool way as we get to know them. City of God takes second here. It wasn't as great as I was hoping but it was still very impressive visually. Also some cool characters here.
Runner-up: Cidade de Deus (City of God)

Best Movie Seen (Repeated Viewing):
Forrest Gump
This film is hated by some people and is almost always on any "Most Overrated Movies" list but it really works for me. Maybe it's because I love magical realism and picaresque stories and this is an amazing blend of these two concepts. Coming in next is Forgetting Sarah Marshall which barely edges out Memento. Segel is just too hilarious as Peter and the movie is just too funny on what was my third viewing not to rate it as one of the best comedies of recent times.
Runner-up: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Worst Film Seen:
Hollywood High
This was trash. I only saw it a bit ago and I've already attempted to block out most of it from my mind. Pretty much no redeeming qualities here. Gone with the Pope comes in second. Though heavily praised by a lot of people now since it just came out after being lost for so long, I think they're just letting nostalgia guide them as opposed to seeing how bad this film really as.
Runner-up: Gone with the Pope

Most Surprising Film Seen:
Jaws
Like I mentioned above and in my comments for this film, Jaws was great for its expertly developed characters. The shark added suspense, sure, but it really isn't what I'll remember this movie for and this wasn't remotely close to what I was expecting when I began the viewing.

First runner-up: Independence Day
Second runner-up: Preacherman
Honestly not that great a month for this category. Both of these films pretty much get this distinction for exceeding my expectations. I mean, I'd seen Independence Day a lot but I was surprised how well it's held up these years later. It's not perfect, sure, but it takes itself just seriously enough so that its cheesiness and seriousness can both be enjoyed. Preacherman wasn't a great film garnering just a 4/10 from me, but the main acting talents of Viola in the titular role were both hilarious and actually good which usually doesn't happen in this movie series so it really only gets this placement for this one acting "talent."

Most Disappointing Film Seen:
Inception
No question here. Currently sitting at a 9.1/10 and #3 Overall on IMDb, this film deserves neither ranking. I wrote a ton on why this movie is heavily flawed and my opinion hasn't changed since I checked it out. Will I see it again when it comes out on Blu-ray? Probably, but only to see if any of the reading I've done on the film since my viewing will give me a fresh (and better look) on the movie.

First runner-up: Kingdom of Heaven
Second runner-up: Inferno
While the previous category was lacking, this category is bubbling over with a few more films up there in my consideration. Kingdom of Heaven (the Director's Cut) was billed as just phenomenal from every little thing that I read. It turned out to be bloated and just overall pretty boring. No blame fell solely on one individual or performance or anything, but just about everything could have been a bit better I guess. Inferno was so good for the first bit and then just tanked like nothing I've seen before. Plus, coming off the really good Suspiria, I had high hopes for it. Oh well.

Best Scene Seen:
Ferris Bueller's Day Off - the museum and parade sequence
This won last time and will win every month I see this film. In my first comments posted on the film I noted why it was the best ten-ish minutes in cinema in my opinion. It stands the test of time on whatever number viewing this is for me.

First runner-up: Independence Day - President Whitmore's speech
Second runner-up: Rear Window - when Lisa is in Thorwald's room
Each of these three is completely different from the other two. The speech I put at first runner-up is about as corny and cheesy as you can get with a speech but it works so amazingly well for the film that I have to give it some more praise. It's up there with my favorite cinema speeches. Coming in next is the most tense moment in a tense-filled film. Complete lack of sound and complete helplessness work so well together here as Hitchcock masterfully put me at the edge of my seat.

Best Character:
Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) from Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Naturally this movie gets this as well. Ferris is a timeless character that is hard not to love. Everything works for him and he has more fun than anyone.

First runner-up: Russell Casse (Randy Quaid) from Independence Day
Second runner-up: Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) from Forrest Gump
Casse is incredibly moving in Independence Day as he adds a layer of seriousness to the movie along with a personal hero that is more an "every man" than the other heroes in the film. Forrest Gump is also a similar "every man" as he follows the most basic rules of life as he attempts to conquer his limitations and do the right thing. Both characters are somewhat related and both are handled really well in their respective films.

Voting Update:
07/10 --> 06/10 - Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is hilarious, yes, but I've come to realize that 7/10 is a bit too high. Every voting update I consider knocking this down a peg and it appears that the time has finally come.
07/10 --> 08/10 - Snatch.
Snatch. is really good and I've wanted to rewatch it for a while now. Usually that's not the sign of a 7/10 movie and I've come to realize how well everything works together here: excellent characters, cool story, and a fun way to tell it.
08/10 --> 07/10 - Watchmen
I think Watchmen is great. But I think I've come to realize that it's great only in a few places and mediocre or just above average everywhere else. This isn't befitting of an 8/10 and thus the change.
06/10 --> 07/10 - The Usual Suspects
I criticized The Usual Suspects a lot when I first wrote about it but I've been itching to rewatch it. Like, Snatch. that's usually deserving of a bump up the notch since I don't really favor giving standard 6/10 films a rewatch for no reason.
06/10 --> 05/10 - The Boondock Saints
I drop another film down a notch with The Boondock Saints. As I think back to this film I realize that there's some funny parts and that Willem Dafoe is hilarious but not much else. It's just an average film at the end of the day.
07/10 --> 08/10 - Mulholland Dr.
Another film that has me wanting to give it a rewatch. I figured this would happen sooner or later as I even commented on it in my original comments. I wouldn't be surprised to see this watched in August.
08/10 --> 07/10 - Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass is just as good as Watchmen (well, maybe a tad bit worse but not much) and if I'm knocking Watchmen down to 7/10 then Kick-Ass has to follow. Not much more than that. Well, and the fact that Kick-Ass was in the same tier with Casablanca which is just silly.
06/10 --> 05/10 - Edge of Darkness
I watched this last month and I'm already changing my mind. It has nothing to do with all of Gibson's drama lately but rather the realization that this film was just okay and not all that special. It had some good moments but not enough to warrant a "good" score.

A massive voting update this month as I change a full eight films. I wouldn't expect so many changes for quite a long time.

July Comments:
Overall, this was just an okay month. I finally saw my first Hitchcock and saw the heavily anticipated Inception. One was amazing and one was just good and it's not really all that surprising which was which. Still, I expected more from Inception. It was good that I finally got around to seeing quite a bit of films that I'd been wanting to see for a long time: Kingdom of Heaven, Unforgiven, The French Connection, City of God, and Jaws. Quality on the month though as a whole I don't think was all that great with only a few really bright spots and a big number of disappointments.

August Outlook:
I don't really know what to expect here. I'm moving apartments and don't know how much I'll have internet to keep this updated. I think for the first week of the month or so I'll be watching The Wire so I don't think August will have many views. Still, that 200 films for the month is within my grasp so I can't let that slip away.