First Viewings of 2023 — May

7 min readJun 2, 2023

151 DAYS IN / 193 FILMS WATCHED

Captain America: Civil War is the only live-action film with Spiderman where Peter Parker doesn’t cry. Isn’t that wild?

Anyway, I think I want to read David Foster Wallace. I watched The End of the Tour mainly because James Ponsoldt directed it, and he directed The Spectacular Now, which is one of my favorite movies. I didn’t know anything about Wallace beforehand, outside of him being the guy with the bandana and hearing the title Infinite Jest through osmosis. After watching the movie and seeing Jason Segel’s (great) performance, I’m curious if his writing reflects his personality in the film.

I was initially nervous because I hate the “Philosophizing guy with all of the answers” trope, but I got over it early on. Likely because Segel is so naturally affable (I saw him a few months back in Windfall on Netflix, and he’s excellent in that too). Interestingly, the film doesn’t paint Wallace as more enlightened in how he sees the world. If anything, it makes him more closed-off and unhappy.

Sure, he’s successful because of the book, but he’s super introverted and lonely, and his success makes him even more anxious. He also admits that he hopes that writing the book will help get him laid. He’s not even sleazy about it; it’s like, “Yeah, it’d be nice to have extra help in that department.” I respect the hustle.

Do you know what’s fun? Finding movie scenes that Quentin Tarantino ripped off. I’m not judging because, as the saying goes, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” That being said, it’s still hilarious when it’s so blatant. I watched The Wild Bunch this month, and there’s a scene where Robert Ryan’s character reflects on when he was being whipped while in prison.

It’s in no way similar to when Hugo Stiglitz reflected on when he was whipped while Major Hellstrom talks in the bar scene in Inglorious Basterds. There’s even a dissolve; he’s not even hiding it. I will say, since I don’t know where else I would bring this up, that I’m excited about Tarantino’s film The Movie Critic, but if the trailers and posters credit it as “The Final Film by Quentin Tarantino,” I’m going to laugh hysterically because that absolutely seems like something he would do.

I saw both Sisu and The Machine this month and — ready for this? — I think the action in The Machine was way more fun. I loved both movies, and I’m not bashing Sisu, but I was expecting something like John Wick fighting nazis. Which it kind of is, but it’s more like a survivalist action film. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just not what I expected. Do I intend to buy it on Blu-ray? Fuck yeah. How can you even ask me that? Its release date is July 11th. Also, Barnes & Noble has their bi-annual sale on Criterion films in July. Don’t forget this time.

All I’m saying is there was a scene in The Machine where Bert Kreischer pummels two Russian guys in a surprisingly well-choreographed fight and then proceeds to light a cigar with the muzzle flash of a machine gun. Blow me, Rotten Tomatoes, that movie deserved a 99% instead of 25%. The only thing that movie was missing was a Tom Segura cameo. But whatever… let dogs lie sleeping in beds or whatever. I don’t know expressions.

In my attempt to rewatch old Disney movies that I haven’t seen in a while, I watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I don’t have much to say besides Judge Frollo’s song about being an Incel is pretty epic. I would go so far as to say that it’s on the level of Be Prepared from The Lion King. Also, the actor who plays Frollo is the same guy who played Lickboot in Tom and Jerry: The Movie, and he was the opening narrator from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Just in case you were wondering.

Fantasia 2000 came out in 1999…what’s up with that shit? Onto the list:

(NB: Bold — 2023 Films / (+) Semi-Rewatch)

151. Air (2023)