Movies Watched in 2018

2018/01/01
@Celebration Cinema, theater 2, seat D10
via MoviePass

A surprise musical, as I don't recall any of the previews indicating as such. Music was OK, but not memorable. Story was predictable and likely glossed over many details. Entertaining, but I found myself bored at parts.

2018/01/01
@home on DVD
with Kendra and Katy

The third movie included in the Vacation collection that Katy received for Christmas. More of the same, but maybe a little funnier.

2018/01/02
@home on DVD
with Kendra and Katy

Not as enjoyable as the previous couple Wimpy Kid movies. Irritating at parts without enough comedy to counteract the annoyance. Still, clever and funny in parts with a decent enough story.

2018/01/03
@Goodrich Kalamazoo 10, theater 10, row 5
via MoviePass

Surprising hilarious sequel to the original Jumanji. This time, Jumanji takes the form of a video game and is explained (well enough) in the movie. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, more than the original. The characters in the game being out of sync with the players controlling them may be cliche, but it was done well by all the actors and was just plain out funny.

2018/01/03
@home on DVD
with Kendra

The conclusion of the new ape trilogy. Entertaining enough, but not as good as the previous two.

2018/01/05
@home on DVD from library
with Kendra and Katy
Still really funny. Family enjoyed as well.

2018/01/06
@home on DVD from library
with Kendra

Clever story about the arrival of aliens and the first steps taken to actually communicating with them.

2018/01/09
@Celebration, theater 2, seat F5
via MoviePass
An interesting tale of Churchill becoming Prime Minister and his securing of his position within the first month. It was difficult to understand Churchill at a number of points, which I get that he talked like that, but it makes it difficult to understand what is going on. Also, the movie wanders at points, focusing on characters that don't really have a role in the movie, like his assistant. Also, too much focus is put on times when nothing is happening, and not enough on significant things, like when people are changing their mind about things for unknown reasons.

Still, it was worth a watch for the history. The tone was great, and the speeches powerful and well done.

2018/01/15
@home on DVD from library

Funny mockumentary about old vampires coping with unlife today. Amusing throughout, with several very funny parts.

2018/01/21
@Goodrich, Theater 4, row 4
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

Retro future is always a fun thing to see in movies and books. This movie was made in 1979 and the future it portrays has computers that are the same terminal based ones of the time, but more powerful. It was also interesting to see how prevalent smoking was. And, everything is run with physical switches and buttons. Aside from that, the rest of the movie holds up pretty well. Special effects of outer space were great, and the alien creatures were believable. Though, the explosions were kinda ridiculous.

The movie has a slow buildup of terror, done in a way that I appreciate, mostly off-screen. Knowing what the alien looks like stole some of that terror, but it was still well done. Most likely, it was hard to make the alien suit move in a believable way, limiting what they could film, but I feel that makes it scarier. The unknown is terror.

2018/01/27
@Celebration Cinema Crossroads - theater 2, seat G8
/w Kendra
via MoviePass
Still a fun one.

2018/01/29
@home on DVD from library
/w Kendra

Clever concept and an interesting story. Questions about how things are setup on the ship detract from the story.

2018/02/03
@Celebration, theater 4, seat E8
via MoviePass

A mediocre end to a mediocre series. There was such a long pause between this movie and the second that I didn't recall all of the characters, but it seemed that most were extra, anyways. Nonsensical decisions by the characters and a confusing disease I didn't remember much about, other than it kinda made zombies. Everyone got burnt out on apocalypse movies when this series put out the second, so I understand the delay, but it hurt the story as the previous movie wasn't really good enough to bother watching a second time.

On another note, this series missed out on an opportunity to make the two sides of this both be good guys, but with different views of what that means. Instead, the antagonists are clearly bad, but the movie only tries to pretend otherwise at a couple of points. So, Teresa being lured to them wasn't convincing.

That said, it had a strong start and the action was decent. However, I ended up being bored at different points. If you've seen the first two, you might as well, but if you've not, I wouldn't bother getting caught up on them to see this.

2018/02/04
@Celebration, theater 12, seat E9
via MoviePass

A fun fairy tale. Only big issue I had with it was her quickness to embrace the monster for apparently no reason when first learning of it after it attacked someone. Also, this could have been a PG or PG-13 film with some editing and it might have fit better with younger kids who might not care that she'd have no motivation to become friends with the monster. Anyhow, worth it.

2018/02/15
@Goodrich Kalamazoo 10, theater 5, row 4
/w Dave Stein
via MoviePass

Very slow start. Combat was weak and poorly cut. CGI was great in parts, but bad in others (rhinos and them in battle, for instance, were terrible.) Story was paced both too slowly in some parts, and too quickly in others. Introducing big characters only to dispose of them in the same movie seemed a waste. Found myself bored at points, waiting for the end. Parts of the story didn't make a bunch of sense.

That said, it was funny in parts, and the tech was interesting, as was the backstory. Just wished it had a better feel to it.

2018/02/17
@Celebration, theater 13, seat F5
via MoviePass

A problem I have with a lot of horror movies is inconsistency of their idea, or explanations that don't really make sense with the rest of the story. Winchester, however, did a great job at remaining consistent with their story.

It relied on a number of jump scares, which were well done. The story was interesting and bizarre and was at least partially based on real people. Not terribly scary, but a good deal of suspenseful horror.

2018/02/22
@Goodrich Kalamazoo 10, Theater 3
via MoviePass

A great sci-fi story that doesn't spell everything out. It has a gentle horror feeling throughout, where the antagonist isn't a villain, or even thinking being, perhaps. In fact, no malicious intent, just matter-of-fact is fresh. Weird and enjoyable, I will probably want to go see this one again.

2018/03/18
@Celebration, Theater 8, Seat B6
Since I started with some extra knowledge from already seeing it, I was thinking I could piece together more of what was going on. I was wrong. Still liked it, but still very strange.

2018/03/02
@Celebration, theatre 12, Seat F7
via MoviePass
If you are in the mood for a bloody, vigilante-justice styled revenge movie, there is none better. The pacing is just right, spending time building up to the death wish part so that it doesn't seem to be happening suddenly. I appreciated that they included a scene of what would likely happen if someone were to copy-cat this in real life. Bloody, violent, but thoughtful. Dr. Kersey takes on his mission due to loss, but without beating us over the head with it, stops when he again finds something to live for. Great for what it is, but avoid if you cannot stand gore - it doesn't play a huge part, but it is there and hard to miss.

2018/03/03
@Celebration, theater 10 seat F13 - side note theater 10 was too quiet.
via MoviePass

Plot was a little sloppy and the pacing was too slow. However, it was an interesting story with a mystery I wasn't expecting, but was very clever. Enjoyed it enough, but wouldn't need to see it again.

2018/03/08
@Goodrich, theater 5, row 4
via MoviePass

This was probably the best translation from the book that can be expected. The book was trippy, with a little bit of science and a whole lot of magic, and this movie followed suit. Impressive visuals helped counter the rushed pace and confusing story. If you haven't read the book, I would not recommend seeing this movie, since it felt like it was a companion to the book, relying on the audience to understand things that were unexplained. Parts were a bit cringey, but it was an overall enjoyable experience.

2018/03/15
@Goodrich, theater 5, Row 4, seat 4
via MoviePass

OK origin story type movie. I wanted Lara to be a stronger character, though, as it felt that she was relying on others way more than I'd expect. Exciting start, but a lot of pointless buildup before we finally get to the real meat of the movie. I found myself checking my watch several times, which is a sign that the movie could have been shorter. Not terrible, but I don't think I need to see this one again.

2018/03/22
@Goodrich, theater 6, 4th row center
w/ Dave
via MoviePass

The previews for the original Pacific Rim made it look dull to me, and when I ended up finally watching it, I did find it to be dull. However, the previews for Pacific Rim: Uprising made it look like it could be a fun, exciting movie, so I figured it might be decent. But, no, it was dull, like the first one.

The most frustrating part of this to me is that these robots, the Jaegers, have been determined to be the best defense against the monsters, yet they are absolutely terrible in every battle with them. They excel at taking a beating and knocking down all the buildings in a city, but the fighting part is so one sided it is laughable. At least give us some battles where the Jaeger are actually as effective as they are claimed to be, so we can see them kicking butt and be able to root for them.

2018/03/31
@Celebration, Theater 1, E5
via MoviePass

Fun story with great special effects. I thought the nostalgia would be done poorly or be distracting, but instead was fun and interesting.

2018/04/05
@Goodrich Kalamazoo 10, Theater 8
via MoviePass

A smart, intense horror film that follows a family that has adjusted to living in a terrifying new world where sound can be dangerous.

2018/04/12
@Goodrich Theater 5
via Moviepass

Way more entertaining than a movie based on an arcade game from the 80's should have been. It knew what type of movie it was and did a great job focusing on it instead of trying to expand into areas no one cared about.

2018/04/18
@Kalamazoo 10, Theater 8
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

This movie is still brilliant. Lines that don't seem important reveal details later without them seeming unnecessary or beating you over the head with them. Fun to see in the theater.

2018/04/22
@Kalamazoo 10, Theater 7
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema
Funny, but definitely from another era. Back when I first saw it, I loved it, but I was also familiar with the characters, as they were frequently on SNL. Now, with so much time since then, without the familiarity being as fresh, it was just OK. I guess sometimes you just can't go back.

2018/04/26
@Kalamazoo 10, Theater 1
with Matt
via MoviePass

Opening night was packed, with six theaters showing this movie, every half hour, so at one point all six had it running at some point in the movie at the same time.

It was great. There were a ton of characters, but I didn't feel cheated on any of them. The interactions between the different groups and heroes was entertaining and fun. The villain had clear motivations that clearly made sense to him. I'm very excited to see Avengers 4 now.

2018/05/04
@Kalamazoo 10, Theater 5
via MoviePass
Still great. Neat to notice some things that I didn't the first time. There were no pointless or boring scenes. Each one lead to something or was exciting.

2018/05/09
@Kalamazoo 10, Theater 1
via MoviePass
Love it.

2018/04/29
@Celebration, Theater 5, seat D8
via MoviePass
Quirky and fun. A strange animation style for a strange story. Enjoyable and weird fairy-tale type story.

2018/05/06
@Kalamazoo 10, Theater 2
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema
Technical difficulties took awhile to get the movie going, and it was a little out of focus even when it was playing. Still, a great comedy that I still love. Completely ridiculous.

2018/05/17
@Kalamazoo 10, Theater 1
/w Dave S
via MoviePass

Funny, entertaining, and action packed. Not as good as the first, but still worth the watch.

2018/05/24
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 5
/w Dave S and Kevin B
via MoviePass
Eh, just OK. Didn't hate it, glad to have seen it, but don't need to see it again.

2018/05/31
@Goodrich Kzoo 10,Theater 6
/w Dave S
via MoviePass

2018/06/03
@Goodrich Kzoo 10,Theater 10
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

2018/06/16
@Goodrich Kzoo 10,Theater 3
via MoviePass

2018/06/17
@Goodrich Kzoo 10,Theater 2
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

2018/06/19
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 2
via MoviePass

2018/07/01
@Goodrich Kzoo 10,Theater 3
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

2018/07/04
@Goodrich Kzoo 10,Theater 9
/w Kevin B
via MoviePass

2018/07/05
@Goodrich Kzoo 10,Theater 1
via MoviePass

2018/07/06
@Celebration, Theater 12, seat C5
/w Katy and Kendra
via MoviePass

2018/07/11
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 2
/w Dave S
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

2018/07/15
@Celebration, Theater 15, seat D5
via MoviePass

2018/07/16
@Celebration, Theater 14, seat C3
via MoviePass

2018/07/18
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 1
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

2018/07/21
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 10
via MoviePass

2018/07/22
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 2
/w Kevin B
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

2018/07/28
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 3
/w Katy and Kendra
via MoviePass

2018/07/29
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 2
via MoviePass and Flashback Cinema

2018/07/30
@Goodrich Kzoo 10, Theater 1
via MoviePass