I was fully expecting to only go to the theaters four times this month, but two dramas came out that I completely forgot about. If you do the math, that’s six trips to the theaters in total. Pretty damn good month all told.
I had a blast with this movie. And, by nature of what came before it, it is the third best superhero movie of the year so far. Suicide Squad is fun. Does it suffer from the same third act problems every “group versus one antagonist” film always seems to have for the last decade or so? Yeah. Does it really detract from it all that much? No. For its shortcomings, the movie makes up for it with some really fun action and great dialogue. The concept of starting the DCEU ten or twenty years into Batman’s career means we get a bunch of supervillains that don’t each need a movie to set them up. And, extra bonus, we know the DCEU has a whole cornucopia of villains for future use that aren’t already dead. Marvel seems to have not gotten the message on this one yet. Villains continue to be the one thing Marvel cannot seem to figure out. If there isn’t a cadre of bad guys, we cannot really ever have a super throwdown outside of the good guys fighting each other (which, admittedly, turned out really well, but they cannot do that more than a few times.) Back to the movie at hand, the special effects were really cool. Deadshot and Harley Quinn were easily the highlight of the film, although Amanda Waller was nailed perfectly. The remaining supporting characters all did their part. I even liked Jared Leto’s version of The Joker. He’s clearly pissed off Batman one time too many. His performance had to be different. It’s not as good as Heath Ledger’s portrayal, but I don’t think it ever had a chance at being that.
SEE IT A MILLION TIMES!
Sausage Party is funny but really messed up. It does take an interesting concept: What would happen if food became aware it was food? There is one scene in particular near the end that, on any future viewings, I may skip. It was that messed up. And it just kept going and going and going. The ending also takes a weird turn. But as I said, the movie is funny. Funny enough that I will probably see it again. At times, it is even clever. Not as good as This Is The End or The Interview, but a good time nonetheless. Just really messed up. I cannot stress that enough.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
Movie of the month goes to Kubo and the Two Strings. Brilliant story, well-written characters, rich world building, and pitch perfect animation add up to one of the best animated films I’ve ever seen. As some of you may know, I love me some Asian mythology. And this movie has it in spades. Uniquely its own, though. For all I know, the writers took inspiration from somewhere, but the movie seems to craft its own mythology. The set pieces, which are mostly fights, are so well executed. Everything about this movie is amazing. Although I doubt it’ll be in many theaters by the time you’re reading this, find a way to see this movie. You will not regret it.
SEE IT A MILLION TIMES!
A movie that manages to blend comedy and drama well and be based on a true story. War Dogs surprised me in that I didn’t think Todd Phillips had the capacity to do drama. He totally can. Miles Teller and Jonah Hill have great chemistry together. And the movie manages to skirt the edges of political satire as it relates to the Iraq War but decides not to get out the soapbox. That’s always nice. This movie was close to a C rating, but the great performance Jonah Hill gave puts it just barely into a B rating. Remember: That man has two Oscar nominations.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
I had honestly never heard of Roberto Durán until I saw the trailer for Hands of Stone. But I am very glad I went to see this movie. I only saw Raging Bull for the first time less than a year ago, so I’m glad Robert De Niro has now played a boxing coach as well. And while Roberto Durán isn’t a perfect person (such people don’t tend to make good biopic subjects,) he’s miles ahead of Jake LaMotta. A guy who came from nothing in Panama rose to be a world champ. There’s something about that that just makes you feel good about life.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
Drama of the year so far, Hell or High Water is a crime drama that feels very close to real life. What I’m saying is that it doesn’t feel as if the people are acting. They come off like completely normal people. Moments of levity break the tension in very natural ways. The acting is superb throughout the film from everybody, even the bit players. The story of two Texas brothers trying to save their family’s land by robbing small amounts from several banks and the man trying to stop them is one of the best dramas that I’ve seen in a long time. As I write this, the movie has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I wouldn’t personally put it that high, but it certainly deserves my highest rating.
SEE IT A MILLION TIMES!
This ended up being the best reviewed month of the year so far. Three movies getting my highest rating will do that. There are currently four films angling for movie of the year in my book. And I don’t think many films on the horizon have the potential to be added to that. But we’ll see. Now, next month has a few films I’m interested in, but they seem to be backloaded. The last day of September is a Friday, so there is a more than good chance some of the movies that come out that day will end up in my October review.