16 Films I am Watching this December
As the year closes, I’m going to be hard at work bringing my takes on the following films. I’m looking at more than 16 but I will be selective about my reviews. Find out which ones you can hope to read about.
By Segun Ade-Martins
My plate is full. Yet I’m frantically searching for my next ‘meal’. In this context, the ‘food’ I’m referring to is my media diet. Usually, I’ve been watching TV series, limited series, or animated shows. Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Bodies, The Wheel of Time, etc.
I quickly found out that writing about series can be daunting, particularly the way I would like to do it. So, I’ve set my sights on reviewing movies. There are movies I have seen in the last few months (that I forgot about), movies that I would like to experience, and depending on how I feel about them, write about them.
What I’ve seen
- They Cloned Tyrone.
- Luther: The Fallen Sun
- Leave the World Behind
- Oppenheimer
- Extraction 2
- Pain Hustlers
- Spiderhead
- Marriage Story
- Synchronic
- The Killer
I saw these films recently, and I’ve only been able to capture one in a review, Pain Hustlers. However, They Cloned Tyrone is an interesting film. I feel it was going for a Get Out vibe but fell a few steps short. Now, this is not to say it’s a bad film. I would definitely say it’s worth a watch. Somewhere in its message lie the true “fears” of African Americans living in America.
Marriage Story and Synchronic are older movies, both 2019 releases. Why am I just watching them now? Not everything has to be super fresh. They are both enjoyable and provocative movies. Marriage Story has more humour than I was anticipating. Its core, however, feels more serious and poignant. I might analyse this film more closely for filmmaking learning (after all, I have the screenplay, too).
Synchronic has an outrageous but cool concept; imagine a time travel pill. I agree with many amateur reviews; the concept may have been squandered on a buddy “cop” movie. Although the protagonists were paramedics. From what I know, sci-fi is a genre of film made to run social critique and commentary on humanity’s topical state. This film missed that opportunity completely, and that could have been great.
I went into The Killer intending to review it, but after watching, I decided against it. As someone who read the two volumes of the graphic novel years ago, I didn’t think they chose the best point to pick up the story. Was it a decent film? Yes, absolutely. I just lost interest in reviewing it. It felt a bit nihilistic, and for me, I think what’s the point.
Extraction 2, Spiderhead, and Luther: The Fallen Sun all present a bittersweet aftertaste. I’m still forming my opinions on them, and I don’t think they are worth fussing over the details in them. Of course, Spiderhead is much in the vein of the classic sci-fi movies I mentioned earlier. Although I’m a major Luther fan, it was nice to see life after Alice. Also, seeing Idris Elba take on the cerebral role again was quite sweet.
Leave the World Behind has interesting themes, and I have numerous questions to uncover what is going on in the film. It’s worth a watch; again, this is sci-fi social critique and commentary. What would happen if the world you knew stopped working? A lot is left to the imagination in this one.
Look out for my Oppenheimer review; the scale and scope of the movie are so large yet small and simple simultaneously. Classic Christopher Nolan.
What I’m going to see
- May December
- Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire
- Naga
- The Black Book
- Blood Vessel
- Maestro
In a few days, I will be able to watch Zach Snyder’s latest project, Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire. Early reviews are not favourable, at least from the headlines of those articles (I’m not reading them to have untainted thoughts). I really want to give Zach a chance here. I’ve heard good things about The Black Book, and it’s been on my watchlist for a few months now. Blood Vessel looks good from previews; Nollywood is improving, and I’m here for it.
Naga is a Saudi film with an interesting premise. “Stranded in the desert after a secret party, a young woman must get past a vindictive camel — and worse-to make it home before curfew.” I’m consciously mixing up my media diet. I wish I could get a Mubi subscription and watch more weird and foreign films.
May December and Maestro are being hailed in critical circles as awards season approaches. I will not be left out of the snobbery of high society this season.
What I will review
- Oppenheimer
- May December
- Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire
- Blood Vessel
- Maestro
I’m committing myself to reviewing these five films. With the Oscar-bait movies Oppenheimer, May December, and Maestro, I will be determining if they are any good. I want to check in on Nollywood with Blood Vessel and see what slow-motion trickery Zach Snyder is up to in the first part of his series.
What I may review
- Naga
- Leave the World Behind
- The Black Book
- Any recent, old, or classic film I decide to watch
Recap
I will be watching other films aside from these ones here. I’m planning a Martin Scorsese marathon with The and Killers of the Flower Moon (six hours of glory!). However, I’m not sure there may be enough digital space to write about these films, or I might not be able to formulate good enough thoughts in a decent amount of time. So, I might just relegate these to analysis essays, where delivery time is not a factor. I suspect that I might feel the same way about Naga, Leave the World Behind, and The Black Book. So, I will leave it to chance, mood, and enough free time.
This holiday season, consume as much as you can to refresh and recharge your batteries. The arts, wrapped in entertaining forms such as books (fiction & non-fiction), films (narrative & docs), music, theatre, visual arts (gallery & public art), etc., are little snippets of life made for us to spark our creativity and empathy. Essentially, life makes us human. If you do anything in your life, be a human being.
Leave a comment about what movie you are excited to see, even especially if it’s not on the list.
Originally published at http://thestrangejournal.wordpress.com on December 21, 2023.
