Films Watched During the Month of January

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015) directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez 9- Intense, scary, and thought-provoking, this film does great justice to one of the most fascinating psychological experiments modern science has seen.

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) directed by J.J. Abrams *revisited * This was my second time going to see the seventh installment of the Star Wars saga. I was very pleased with it’s ability to stick to the roots; it felt like a Star Wars movie. Star Wars gets a star as a grade because it’s just too weird to compare it traditionally to other films. Star Wars is an entirely different entity, at least to avid fans like myself.

Creed (2015) directed by Ryan Coogler 7+Michael B. Jordan turned in a fantastic performance as Creed’s son and resurrected the Rocky franchise after some pretty abysmal installments. It’s a good story that’s brought home well thanks to stellar acting.

Irrational Man (2015) directed by Woody Allen 8 Woody Allen’s latest movie tells the story of a tormented philosophy professor looking for meaning in life, and is willing to go through drastic measures to find it. Allen’s films usually are as fantastic as they are because of the brilliance of his writing, but I found the cinematography and directorial work in this to be beautiful at times, especially considering Allen’s tendency to become somewhat anonymous behind the camera. Joaquin Pheonix proves again that he’s one of the most premiere talents in terms of acting as well.

To Rome With Love (2012) directed by Woody Allen 8+ This Woody Allen film weaves through four separate narratives, all of which have little in common other than taking place in the city of Rome, with Allen reincarnating his New York City admiration through romanticizing the beauty of Italy. Many people consider this one of his worst movies, but I think it’s one of his best. Each narrative follows hilarious stories brought full circle by the decisions the interesting characters make pertaining to the relatable dilemmas they find themselves in.

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) directed by Woody Allen 7- Not my favorite Woody Allen film, but it wasn’t that bad.

Trainspotting (1996) directed by Danny Boyle 7+This film tells the brutally uncensored tale of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s young adulthood before Qui-Gon took him under his wing. Mark Renton (I guess the Jedi Counsel figured he needed to sound more Jedi-like and changed his name) copes with the allure of drug addiction and influence of his friends. It’s a pretty disgusting, crude look into the life of addiction, and Boyle really knows how to stir up emotions the audience won’t necessarily want to feel.

Taxi Driver (1975) directed by Martin Scorsese 8+Legendary director Martin Scorsese’s debut “masterpiece” was dark, enthralling, and unique, but where it faults that makes it difficult for me to consider it as a masterpiece is the lack of investment I felt in the psychology of Travis Bickle. DeNiro’s performance was brilliant, but we’re only given clues to his psychological torment and never really delve into his mind. He always seems distant, which makes his decisions later on in the film less gripping than they would otherwise be in my opinion. Nonetheless, it was a pretty darn good film.

Manhattan (1979) directed by Woody Allen 8 Stylized in black and white, Woody Allen’s New York romanticism is on full blast here, but the plot feels sort of like a JV conglomeration of Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters. It’s a good story, but it has strong similarities with those other two films, both of which I prefer over this.

Infinitely Polar Bear (2015) directed by Maya Forbes 6+Mark Ruffalo’s depiction of a bipolar father is stellar, as we watch him struggle to take care of his two kids while their mother is out trying to earn a graduate degree. The chemistry between all the actors are working on all cylinders, and while it’s a cute movie with good acting and a decent script, the buck stops there.

Good Will Hunting (1997) directed by Gus Van Sant 8+Robin Williams and Matt Damon turned in performances that really elevated this film immensely. Williams plays a humble, big-hearted psychologist that tries his best to enter into the mind of the brilliant, stubborn, but always likable Will Hunting, portrayed by Damon. The influence the two characters have on one another is fantastically developed and make for a great heartwarming story.