January Movie Wrap-up

Hey guys! I decided I wanted to start a new series on my blog! I recently got moviepass for Christmas. So now I want to go to the movies a lot more. I decided it would be fun to post about the movies I watched each month. Not all of these movies I saw in theater but I still thought it would be fun to share. So let’s dive in!

Tickled Directed By David Farrier and Dylan Reeve

Genre: Documentary, Mystery
Runtime: 92 mins
Published: June 17th 2016
Rating: R

Plot: David Farrier, a New Zealand pop cultural reporter whose story subjects often verge into the bizarre, believes he’s found his next story when he stumbles across an online video on the world of competitive endurance tickling, a sport where the participants, with hands and feet tied down, are tickled for as long as they can endure. Participants are flown to Los Angeles first class, paid $1,500, and put up for four nights in a luxury hotel. Suitable participants are deemed to be younger, muscular males. The event is held on a monthly basis. In contacting the organizers, US-based Jane O’Brien Media, via their popular Facebook page to arrange for an interview, David receives a return message from one of their representatives, Debbie J. Kuhn, declining the offer, the message a homophobic rant largely against David. In that message, Debbie asserts that the competition is wholly a heterosexual athletic activity, she who does not appreciate what will be David’s assumed gay bent on the story as…

My Thoughts: I have to say I found this super interesting. It was also extremely entertaining. I’m not huge into documentaries but I was never bored watching this. There ended up being a real interesting story behind this mysterious tickling competition website. I highly recommend you guys check this one out. Plus if you have HBO they have extra footage on there.

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The Polka King Directed By Maya Forbes

Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 95 mins
Published: January 12th 2018
Rating: TV-14

Plot: Local Pennsylvania polka legend Jan Lewan develops a plan to get rich that shocks his fans and lands him in jail.

My Thoughts: This was another movie based off a true story. I have to say it was very enjoyable. I thought the story was very interesting. It’s such a shame to see how he ended up taking advantage of his fans. It’s a story worth checking out.

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The Shape of Water Directed By Guillermo del Toro

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Thriller
Runtime: 123 mins
Published: December 22nd 2017
Rating: R

Plot: From master storyteller Guillermo del Toro comes THE SHAPE OF WATER, an otherworldly fable set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.

My Thoughts: Wow this movie was absolutely stunning. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen the entire time. Everything about it was so well done. I highly recommend this movie. Plus they decided to turn this into a book so I’m super excited!

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Out Cold Directed By Brendan Malloy and Emmett Malloy

Genre: Comedy, Sport
Runtime: 89 mins
Published: November 21st 2001
Rating: PG-13

Plot: Bull Mountain, Alaska, is a no frills ski resort, and the staff is a bunch of partying snowboard bums. The late founder, Papa Muntz, was famed for skiing with his backside exposed, and in fact is so memorialized by a statue. But his son, Ted, plans to sell the resort to hotshot ski mogul John Majors, who starts turning it into a slick resort, which of course has no room for most of the staff. The exception is Rick, the most serious of the bunch. But there’s a complication: Rick met Majors’ stepdaughter Anna on vacation in Mexico, and he’s never gotten over a crush he had on her, even though she’s about to marry a great guy. And Rick is also fiercely loyal to his friends.

My Thoughts: Even though I felt this was a very predictable movie it was still enjoyable. It was a lot of a fun. Even though it was made early 2000s I felt the comedy still held up. It had a lot of funny/cheesy moments that I found myself laughing at.

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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Directed By Wes Anderson

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 119 mins
Published: December 24th 2005
Rating: R

Plot: When his partner is killed by the mysterious and possibly nonexistent Jaguar Shark, Steve Zissou and his Team Zissou crew set off for an expedition to hunt down the creature. Along with his estranged wife, a beautiful journalist and a co-pilot who could possibly be Zissou’s son, the crew set off for one wild expedition.

My Thoughts: I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. I have to say it was a very interesting story. There were so many things I wasn’t expecting. It ended up being a thrilling ride. The shots were gorgeous. I also liked a lot of the made up animals shown in this movie. I ended up really enjoying this.

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Pitch Perfect 3 Directed By Trish Sie

Genre: Comedy, Music
Runtime: 93 mins
Published: December 22th 2017
Rating: PG-13

Plot: After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren’t job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.

My Thoughts: I’m sad to say this was my least favorite movie of the month. I did enjoy all the songs they did but I didn’t really enjoy the story. It seemed like they had run out of ideas so instead of making another singing movie they did a singing action movie. I also disliked how one minute their lives were really shitty and then without any explanation everything was good again.

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So far in February I haven’t watched any movies. I hope to go see some in the next couple weeks.

What movies have you guys seen so far this year? Any movies you recommend I watch? Have you seen any of the movies I listed. I would love to hear your thoughts!

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