Only 8 months of movie going in a post-apocalyptic world, and I’ve still got very respectable numbers. Didn’t break 100, but came pretty dang close. Also lots of opportunities for special screenings as theaters were trying to fill up their slate amidst a slow release schedule. I took my time getting started, and did allow myself to not feel like I had to see everything. I do value my couch time after all, so I’m still trying to not force myself to see things because of some false sense of obligation. Also, it’s obvi much easier to do quick recap posts every few weeks instead of full posts after each movie. I’m finding that’s a better balance between me not wanting to let this blog go and not really wanting to invest tons of time. I hope you don’t object, my one reader, whoever you are.
The Numbers!
88 – Number of movies seen in theaters
17 – Special screenings
4 – Repeat movies
67 – Individual new release movies seen
1 – 4DX screening (F9)
1 – round trip for the hobbits to Mordor
10 – May
8 – June
11 – July
12 – August
9 – September
12 – October
11 – November
15 – December (7 during Xmas week in TX)
20 – AMC Marina Dine in
12 – AMC Century City
12 – AMC Marina Classic
5 – AMC The Grove
15 – Alamo Drafthouse DLTA
5 – Alamo Drafthouse Laredo
1 – Alamo Lower Manhattan
5 – Cinemark MDN Laredo
2 – Cinemark Playa Vista
1 – Cinemark Howard Hughes
1 – Cinemark Baldwin Hills
2 – New Beverly
1 – Aero
1 – The Landmark
1 – Landmark Westwood
1 – NYC Paris Theatre
1 – Regal Laredo
2 – NYC
11 – Laredo
75 – Los Angeles
\m/ \m/ \m/ \m/ – 16
\m/ \m/ \m/ \n – 17
\m/ \m/ \m/ – 21
\m/ \m/ \n – 8
\m/ \m/ – 2
\m/ \n – 2
\m/ – 1
The full list!
Nobody
Wrath of Man
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Army of the Dead
Raya and the Last Dragon
Those Who Wish Me Dead
A Quiet Place Part II
Cruella
LOTR: FOTR
They Live
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
LOTR: TTT
In the Heights
LOTR: ROTK
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
The Sparks Brothers
F9
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
The Forever Purge
Zola
F9 4DX
Black Widow
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
Old
Pig
Snake Eyes
Stillwater
The Green Knight
Eastern Promises
Austin Powers
The Suicide Squad
Jungle Cruise
Donnie Darko
Free Guy
Don’t Breathe 2
Reminiscence
The Night House
CODA
The Protégé
Candyman
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Malignant
The Card Counter
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Copshop
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Dear Evan Hansen
The Room
School of Rock
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
The Many Saints of Newark
Titane
A Clockwork Orange
No Time to Die
The Addams Family
Halloween Kills
The Last Duel
Dune
The French Dispatch
Last Night in Soho
Scream
Eternals
Spencer
Belfast
Tick Tick Boom
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
King Richard
Cabaret
House of Gucci
Encanto
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Elf
Wolf
Don’t Look Up
West Side Story
Red Rocket
Black Christmas
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Spider-man: No Way Home
Nightmare Alley
The Matrix: Resurrections
The King’s Man
West Side Story
Spider-man: No Way Home
Sing 2
American Underdog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
The ranks – The Best!
1 – Nobody – I’m still describing this movie the same way. If I were to make a film, this is what I’d want it to be. The mix of gritty action and dark humor is perfectly balanced. It was a very close call between this and #2, but this edges out bc it was my return movie when I was vaxxed and theaters opened, which made it all the sweeter.
2 – CODA – My heart feels full every time I think of this movie. So sweet and unique everything I want when I want wholesome. I’m living for the awards love this is getting bc it is absolutely very much deserved.
3 – Spider-man: No Way Home – The best super movies are the patient ones that build something over time (and multiple movies) and then bring it all together perfectly. It’s only surpassed by Endgame as the greatest example of that journey. Easily best theater experience of the year, and that’s saying something since I did get to see The Room again.
4 – Last Night in Soho – It’s all about the vibe for me. I love the way this looks and feels, forming the rare meld between auteur and mainstream.
5 – Free Guy – Another one that I can’t help but smile at the thought of. So imaginative and clearly made with love. Possibly the most fun movie on the list with no extra baggage. Bonus points for the Boston nostalgia.
6 – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – If Spidey is how you do a team up, this is how you do an origin movie. It felt just tied into the MCU enough while still having room to create its own story. More importantly (and more impressive) it found ways to stand out from its numerous predecessors. AND it delivered some of the best fight sequences in the whole MCU. I will never be over the bus scene.
7 – Tick Tick Boom – It seems like every other entry is about the feels, and this one really did hit. So thankful I got to see it in a theater, in NYC of all places, with the bestie. I woulda still loved it on Netflix, but it hit harder this way. And I still can’t get the music outta my head.
8 – Candyman – Now this is how you do horror. Scary and relevant on multiple levels. While I enjoyed Soho more, I’d say this is the better one at the genre. I think the short run time also helped bc it didn’t give you time to recover and be done with him. Instead Candyman stayed with you.
9 – In the Heights – One of the most perfect musical adaptations ever. I say that without having seen it on stage, but not seeing any of the usual pitfalls adaptations tend to have. It poured out into its space and was all about the spectacle plus a banging Latin soundtrack FTW
10 – Red Rocket – Simon Rex owned this movie and gave me every reason to love it. It’s one of those that I left simply saying “that was a good movie”
HM: The Many Saints of Newark
The ranks – The Worst!
5 – Peter Rabbit: The Runaway – Look, I went bc I had a newly active A-List with a desire to get outta the house and I love Domnall Gleeson. I slept thru half of the movie and for that reason do not regret my decision. But this was a lazy cash grab.
4 – Nightmare Alley – Yeah worse that Peter Rabbit, bc at least PR wasn’t pretentious. I just had no reason to care about Bradley Cooper and was bored. For the whole last 90 min.
3 – Wolf – I hate putting a unique indie like this on the list, but it felt like a wasted concept. Or a not fully thought thru concept. Either way, it went on too long with little advancing the plot
2 – Halloween Kills – This was a mess. No real tension bc you knew how every beat would play out, and kills too unsatisfying to justify the rest. Hopefully it’s just suffering from middle movie syndrome and Ends knocks it outta the park.
1 – Don’t Breathe 2 – I try to be diplomatic when I call out movies I didn’t like, and highlight that it’s my subjective opinion and try to find some merit in the filmmakers that tried hard. However, this is one movie I will shit all over. It truly was terrible. I didn’t know who I was supposta care about, so I didn’t care about anything. Poor planning (if there was any) and poor execution.
Not bad for the second season of the pandemic. Here’s to 2022.