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MY PERSONAL FILM FESTIVAL DURING THIS TIME - WEEK 12: THE CONCLUSION 










 Red Tails (2012)
Let me just say: Week 11 was rough. Rough on our nation and rough on my family. "Stressors" is my new vocabulary word - and I hate it. Film has been a nice distraction. I'm also happy that my home state reopened this past Friday within YELLOW PHASE and life will have a little more normalcy. And with that, this movie-a-day experiment is coming to a close after this Week 12. During these past 12 weeks, I've seen some great and not-so-great flicks. This has been fun. This week was different - still fun but also filled with movie titles of purpose. And so, here is what I watched this past week and their ratings via my 5-star system (0 = "Forget it" * 1 ="It's a movie." * 2 = "Well, no promises." * 3 = "Worth Watching" * 4 = "So Good" * 5 = "Must See"). 

Sunday, May 31, 2020 - Ambition (1991)
Ambition (1991) is the second of two shorts on Hal Hartley's Surviving Desire (1992) DVD. I watched the other DVD's short Theory of Achievement (1991) during Week 02. It's been difficult to determine which of these two Hartley shorts is my favorite - but I think I've decided on Ambition. Both are great and have all the raw elements of Hartley's unique style: out-of-context dialogue, Buster Keaton-like choreography and acting, David Mamet-like severity of normal life, colorful-yet-simple style and art direction. Ambition is even purer Hartley in that he barely tries to tell a story or two. Even a number of his followers posted on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes post that they "don't get it" or "care for it." Talk about a magnet for me to like it even more! What can I say, I like the arty-farty underdog. It's a great little film that is funny and thought-provoking. Plus, it's running time in minutes equals its score on Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score = 9 (out of a possible 100).
Rating: 3.5 STARS


Monday, June 1, 2020 - The A-Team (2010) 
A few weeks ago, an old college buddy Lorinda ("Lori") Halili Donovan wrote an awesome Geek Girl Authority blog entry about her 10 Movie Guilty Pleasures. The best part of her article? The "cover photo" of her post was a promotion still of one of my guilty pleasure movies: The A-Team (2010). Like Lori, my love of the movie mainly stems from my love of the 80s TV show. We all know that a great TV show does NOT guarantee a great movie. When the 2010 A-Team movie was released, critics panned it and hardcore fans were upset with some details of the movie (avoiding listing spoilers here). I won't defend the film here, I already did that in a Film366.com article. But, yeah, it's on my Top 10 Guilty Pleasures list, too.
Rating: 2.5 STARS

If you have a problem,
if no one else can help...
and if you can find them,
maybe you can hire... The A-Team (2010)

Tuesday, June 2, 2020 - Red Tails (2012)
Today was #blackouttuesday - a social media event where people and organizations posted black squares on their accounts to show solidarity with those standing up again racial injustice in light of the tragic death of George Floyd. In light of the situation, I contemplated not watching ANY movie on this day but my oldest son and I wound up watching Red Tails (2012) - a film that highlights the "real-life adventures of the first African-American combat unit to serve in World War II" (quote from LucasFilm DVD cover synopsis). With epic air battles, an impressive cast and one-helluva-true-story-to-tell about the Tuskegee Airmen, this is a noteworthy film that doesn't hide the prejudices against black men and their courageous efforts fighting enemies on both sides of the battlefield. Cinematic-wise, the film falls a little short and comes off like a made-for-TV movie in spots. But don't let that stop you. Red Tails is most definitely worth-watching...especially in these trying times.
Rating: 3 STARS

Picard and Kirk on the same bridge? Yes, but not the kind of bridge you'd think.

Wednesday, June 3, 2020 - Star Trek: Generations (1994) 
What's this? A Star Trek movie listed on Digging Star Wars?! Yes, Star Trek: Generations (1994) is the FIRST Star Trek movie to be posted on this blog. Not the best Star Trek movie. Not my favorite Star Trek movie. Most definitely, my most-watched Star Trek movie. Generations has earned a space in my Christmastime movie rotation. Why screen it in Week 12 of quarantine? As one of my father's favorite Christmas song's explains, "We need a little Christmas, right this very minute....".  I'll level with you: the film has problems. Film critics, ST fans and casual moviegoers have expressed a variety of opinions on Generations. Whatever. Besides the fact that it's super cool to have Picard and Kirk in the same frame, Generations has a lot of good stuff in it including a great nod to my favorite TCM film, Test Pilot (1938). I'm not a big Trekkie - so, I'm going to play it safe for all of you and give this a "No Promise" rating. You're welcome. ;-)   
Rating: 2 STARS

Thursday, June 4, 2020 - Singles (1992) 
I like Singles (1992). The cast is amazing, the music is great and the film doesn't take itself too seriously. Unlike Empire Records (see Week 05 reviews), Singles has heart - largely due to how much writer/director Cameron Crowe worried about getting everything right. The tone, the words, the cameos, the music, the framing of each shot and how each shot tells a whole story as well. It's not perfect (my wife describes this movie: "good not great") - but it's fun, especially if you lived through the 90's.
Rating: 3 STARS

I watched Empire Records in Week 05.
This week: Singles.

Friday, June 5, 2020 - 42 (2013)
Family Movie Night was also motivated by #blackouttuesday. This past Tuesday, in regards to all the black squares that were being published on social media, my good friend CJ (who is black and puts up with the white and nerdy guy that I am) wrote on Instagram for all to see: "I’m tired but not done. I just ask if you post this today or like this, don’t just do it because it’s the social media thing to do. Actually sit down and think about what it means. Don’t forget about it when the news turns back to COVID-19 in a week or two. Remember the empathy and hurt that you feel right now and turn that into action. Don’t be afraid to have uncomfortable conversations. That’s how you learn. Now is the time." (As posted by @cjwither). I took his words to heart and sat down with my family Tuesday night to discuss "people that are different than us" with my wife and kids. Afterwards, my wife and I decided to watch 42 (2013) for family movie night on Friday. During the dinnertime screening, we often paused the movie to discuss the hurtful words, mindset and actions white people expressed towards Jackie Robinson, his family and supporters. 42 is a great movie - for the simple fact that my wife and I could have this discussion with our children. It's also a great baseball movie and one of Harrison Ford's best performances ever. It's a must-see.
Rating: 5 STARS

"The world ain't so simple anymore..." - Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) in 42 (2013).

Saturday, June 6, 2020 - Test Pilot (1938) 
76th anniversary of  D-Day. Follow-up to this past week's screenings of Red Tails and Star Trek: Generations. My guilty pleasure, time-travel-challenged screen crush on Myrna Loy. The film that landed me on TCM network (here's the proof, if you care). Let's just say: there's plenty of reasons to end My Personal Film Festival During This Time with Test Pilot (1938). I still say the film is overrated by critics but I still like it. This very well may be my favorite Spencer Tracy movie. Clark Gable is, well, Clark Gable. If you like him, you'll love him in this. My girl Mynra Loy is fun to watch in this movie. Her performance is a bit melodramatic, but who cares? She's funny when she needs to be, lovely and adorable always - even when she's mad as heck. The real star is Lionel Barrymore. Like Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Tony Stark in the MCU, Barrymore plays Drake - a determined, rich entrepreneur whose experience and wisdom is sorely needed by the players around him.You pretty much wish you had his character Drake in your life - or, at least, in your circle of friends on social media. This old movie is most definitely worth watching at least once.
Rating: 3 STARS

Once TCM asked me to be an on-air Guest Programmer, they sent me this DVD copy of Test Pilot.


That concludes Week 12. Since my area officially reopened June 5th (by moving into "yellow phase"), Week 12 is my last blog entry of My Personal Film Festival During This Time. I hope you've enjoyed reading along this cinematic journey with me during the pandemic. 

Here's a complete list of IMDB links to what I watched during MY PERSONAL FILM FESTIVAL DURING THE PANDEMIC (most recent entries listed at the top): 

And here's links to my previous week recaps of
MY PERSONAL FILM FESTIVAL DURING THIS TIME (oldest to newest):
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Comments

  1. Unwanted LifeJune 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM

    That's an incredible list of films you've watched during your own person film festival. I've probably watch around 75% of the film's you've watched since the 90s, but next to none of the ones before the 80s

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