Films to Watch is a tumblr that offers reviews on movies, ranging from the oldest movies made to the most recent. There are four distinct members who try to post as much as possible (though we all do have lives so sometimes a day or two is skipped before a movie is posted again). We've all got long lists of movies we've watched or would like to watch that we feel the need to share with all of you. So, follow us- we can't promise you'll always agree with our ratings or even the movies we post but we can try to give you fair reviews, every time. Thanks for stopping by!
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I’m Still Here (2010)
Documenting the breakdown of renowned actor Joaquin Phoenix, I’m Still Here provides an amazing glimpse into the mind of a man conflicted. The film follows Phoenix as he tells the media that he is retiring from acting and pursuing a career in music, specifically rap music.
I found the film fascinating for it’s honesty. While I already knew that it was a mockumentary (everything was staged), there was still a truth to what was happening. I don’t believe that you can come up with a storyline without some interest in it. You have to have gone through the process yourself to be able to write about it. The acting and the screenplay for this film seem to defend that claim. There are some serious issues in Phoenix’s life, and the audience sees those come out as the film progresses.
Some parts are blatantly staged, while others are (or seem) genuine and heartfelt. This is an artist going through real pain. Pain over his image. Pain over what he’s become. Pain over his art. He seems to be at a really bad place mentally. I don’t mean that he’s emotional, and suicidal, but there’s definitely a conflict, whether you see it or not.
I found this film beautiful and heartfelt. I am also a huge fan of Casey Affleck, so I loved it. I did, however, dislike the nudity. Yes, it’s a “documentary” but wow. I did not need to see that.
Overall Rating: A
P.S. The monologue in the trailer is one of the best parts of the entire film!
The Social Network (2010)
I was floored by the intricacy of this film. I expected a stale, diluted film about the rise and fall of a particular character. I didn’t know the story of Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, but I figured out most of what was happening before I got into the theater.
I’m glad to say, however, that it wasn’t boring. The story was simple enough, but instead of getting rid of precious details, director David Fincher keeps them in, and even makes them integral to the plot. For example, the Internet is based on coding. Mark Zuckerberg was a hardcore coder, and had to actually write the code for Facebook. Instead of getting rid of this, potentially, boring aspect of the story, he kept it in, and made it part of the story. Everything seemed to revolve around coding, though, I’m sure, most of the audience doesn’t have a clue what it actually is. There are a lot of reasons, but all in all, the film was extremely smart.
It’s an engaging film too. It’s funny, it’s heart-wrenching. It’s so many things that a good film should be. You relate to different characters and start to look at everything from their point of view. I walked out of the theater and had 5 different versions of the story in my head, around the question: What actually happened? What could have happened? I’ll leave the answer to when you all get to see it.
I immediately noticed the visuals though. Wow, this movie is beautiful. My favorite scene was the rowing one. When you see it, you’ll know what I mean.
The only turn-off of this film though was Justin Timberlake. That man needs to stop acting and go back to singing. It was horrible. I’m actually taking off points from my overall rating because his acting was so bad.
Overall Rating: A
Brazil (1985)
Directed by acclaimed director Terry Gilliam, Brazil is an epic story set in a future where we are all constantly being watched, monitored, and criticized over our actions. Consumerism is the only alternative to dissent. All this sounds familiar doesn’t it? Sounds kind of like the world we live in now.
The basic story goes something like this: A government worker finds a mistake in some paperwork, which led to a wrongful arrest. In his quest to solve the issue, he ends up getting blamed for a series of domestic terrorist attacks.
Not only is the story brilliant (it’s Terry Gilliam, come on!), but also the visuals. Some of the creativity exhibited in the cinematography is genius. Somehow, in the bleekness of the future, the director manages to insert dream sequences that blend reality with fantasy. You have to see it to believe it, I guess. And you should, this movie is a modern-day classic.
Overall Rating: A
P.S. I make the film sound a lot more serious than it is, but when you look at the “meaning” behind it, it’s really serious. It’s actually quite funny…
I didn’t love this movie, but I did like it. I felt like the concept of the film was interesting, and the actors did a good job at what they were given. There was just something off about the film itself. I felt like the characters were a bit off in how they were meant to be. Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Lazarus, was less religious than I perceived him to be at the beginning of the film, and the movie poster made me perceive that Christina Ricci’s character,Rae, was going to be Lazarus’s sex slave. There were just too many mixed messages to me. I love Christina Ricci though. She did a great job at playing Rae, a nymphomaniac drugie girl from the south. I can never take Justin Timberlake seriously as an actor, but the truth is he did an adequate job with his supporting role. I also felt that the movie ended abruptly and left the viewer with a lot of things to wonder, but I don’t think the ending was supposed to do that. Just watch this film yourself. I can’t describe it without giving the whole plot away.
Overall Rating: B
2006 Craig Brewer Black Snake Moan Christina Ricci Samuel L. Jackson Justin Timberlake
Amores Perros (2000)
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (21 Grams, Babel), Amores Perros is a web-of-life film based in the gritty underbelly of Mexico City. There is really no beauty in the film. There’s violence, blood, and swearing pretty much the whole time.
The film follows the lives of six characters in the aftermath of a car crash. There is no connection between any of them except through the crash. Inarritu manages to keep you focused on what’s going on though, even though the explanation of the story makes it seem like it would be confusing and boring.
With all that said, this is probably the best movie I’ve seen in 2010, maybe even in the past couple of years. The story lines match up so well. The imagery is so vivid. The endings are everything you expect them to be. After I saw this the other day, all I said was “you would never expect a 2 hour long movie to have you on the edge of your seat the whole time”.
Overall Rating: A+
Exit Through the Gift Shop(2010)
This documentary, which many speculate is a complete hoax thought up by Banksy, is about a French man living in Los Angeles named Thierry Guetta. Thierry becomes obsessed with filming street artist at work, and the film is pretty much showing how involved Thierry becomes in following around famous street artist with his camera. It also chronicles how Thierry tries to get into street art himself. It was an entertaining watch, especially because Banksy was such an asshole with his comments throughout the whole film. It was also interesting to see that Shepard Fairey blows up all of his posters at a local Kinkos. If the whole documentary was a hoax, I still think it is a wonderful film because it definitely gave the street artist involved with the movie a lot of exposure. If it is playing at your local movie theater go watch it.
Overall Rating: A+
Banksy 2010 Exit Through The Gift Shop Thierry Guetta Shepard Fairey
American Graffiti (1973)
Directed by George Lucas (Star Wars), American Graffiti follows the actions of a group of teenagers celebrating their last night as high school students. The night begins quite early, and ends very early the next morning. Over the course of the night, much has changed.
The film is, essentially, about companionship. Throughout the night, multiple people get picked up, dropped off, start and end conversations, argue, make up, etc. Every character is desperate for someone to be there with them, for someone to share the moment with.
American Graffiti appeals to me so much because I’m able to see myself in the faces of so many of the characters. When I watched this recently, I found myself relating to Steve, while previously (the last time I watched this film) I had related to Curt. It’s the dynamism of the film that really draws me in. Different people take away different messages and lessons. Afterwards, you get to learn so much about the people you watched the film with based off their interpretation of the characters and the events.
Rating: A+
PS. The music throughout the film is amazing! Lucas pretty much made the entire soundtrack play for every minute of the film. Old school rock ‘n’ roll!
This goes on the list of the most ridiculous movies I have ever watched alongside Troll 2. I would tell you about the plot, but the fact is, there really isn’t one. The film was written, directed, produced and starred in by a guy named Tommy Wiseau, and I think his characters voice is dubbed throughout the whole movie. The plot to the film really goes in no direction. The acting is terrible, and at some points of the movie I thought I was watching a Cinemax softcore porn. I also have no idea how the title applies to the movie. As horrible as this movie is, I think everyone should watch it because it is one of the most unintentionally hilarious movies I have ever had the pleasure to watch.
Overall Rating: F-
This movie is about a world where everyone always tells the truth, and the idea of lying doesn’t even exist. Everyone is very straight forward with everything they say, even if they are rude, and there is no imagination or fiction of any sort. All media of any kind is lecture-style and completely true.
A man named Mark, played by Ricky Gervais (who also co-wrote and co-directed the film), is a failing film writer who is losing his job and is after the affection of a girl named Anna, played by Jennifer Garner, who is out of his league and tells him that he is. After losing his job he discovers that he can tell people things that aren’t the truth, and everyone believes him because they don’t even know what a lie. He starts using lying to his benefit, and I will let you see what happens from there.
The plot to this movie was kind predictable at the end, but the whole movie itself was refreshing. The world in the movie was so much more comical and straightforward, and Gervais and Matthew Robinson did a great job at envisioning a world where everyone tells the blunt truth. It made me laugh a lot, but it also made me think about how in a way lying is necessary for us to have imaginations and open-mind because if we only concentrated on hard truths we wouldn’t have the movies, music, books and diverse imaginative ideas that we have today.
Overall Rating: A-
Ricky Gervais Matthew Robinson 2009 The Invention of Lying Jennifer Garner
Despicable Me (2010)
I watched this movie recently with a few friends. It’s safe to say that we were probably the loudest people in the entire cinema. We were laughing really loudly. This movie is hilarious. The references, the jokes, the lines, the facial expressions were absolutely hilarious.
The film is about a super-villain on a mission to achieve the “crime of the century”. With that in mind, he comes up with a plan that ends up leading him to adopt three orphans. After that, it’s pretty easy to piece together what happens, but it’s still definitely a film to watch.
It was really simple, really straight-forward (especially after watching Inception) and really funny. That’s what I loved about this film. Its main aim was to make you laugh. It was just enjoyable. You need a film like that every now and then.
Overall rating: A+
