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July 2016 Movies

  1. Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse - Very funny, but lacks horror feel. Good acting.
  2. Francofonia - On paper, a brilliant docudrama about art preservation during war. On paper!
  3. A Brighter Summer Day - A very simple story, enhanced by it's beauty. Four quick hours.
  4. The Girl In The Photographs - As bad as a horror movie can get. An all-time dud.
  5. I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK - Surreal look at mental illness, is scattered, but works.
  6. Bill Cunningham New York - Funny, touching and possibly even deep. He was NYC fashion!
  7. Hail, Caesar! - Coen Bros. offer an homage to post-war Hollywood and nail it. Casting is A+
  8. Event Horizon - Cult Classic did nothing for me. No twists or turns and silly script. Boo!
  9. Green Room - Run-of-the-mill claustrophobic thriller. Silly script, but solid cast makes it work.
  10. Rams - Icelandic drama about two brothers, their farm and the loss of their rams. That's it. 
  11. Wrestling - Short by director of Rams. Odd homosexual tale that just feels weird.
  12. 3-Iron - A Korean film that says so much without a single word uttered by its lead.
  13. The Chaser - Haunting, depressing Korean crime thriller. Pulls zero punches. 
  14. The Last Picture Show - Either the best bad movie or the worst good movie ever made. Sam!
  15. Midnight Special - Sound and sights add to this epic effort by Nichols. Almost too much!
  16. Elvis and Nixon - Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey do what they do, strong support.
  17. The Enforcer - Re-watched. Eastwood isn't as great as I remember. Almost funny it's so bad.
  18. Sauna - Finnish horror alleged to be deep. Atmospheric, but pretty standard symbolism.
  19. Vivre Sa Vie - The segments vary in their appeal, but the ending came off campy, ruining it.
  20. Kes - Critically acclaimed, but my personal feelings about animals and kids made me hate it.
  21. A Serious Man - Coen Brothers flop! Absolutely horrible, stereotypical crap.
  22. Darling - Repulsion meets The Haunting, without the direction. Lead is excellent though.
  23. True Grit - Coen Bros almost miss with ridiculous finale, but solid acting makes it worthwhile.
  24. Fright Night - Remake doesn't work, but Poots and Collette are sure nice to look at.
  25. Good Bye Lenin! - Painfully slowly and poorly acted, but then magical fine fifteen minutes.
Top Three: Midnight Special, A Brighter Summer Day, 3-Iron
Bottom Three: Francofonia, Event Horizon, The Girl in the Photographs
Biggest Surprise: Bill Cunningham New York
Biggest Letdown: A Serious Man

Pretty weak month of movies. Some "classics" didn't live up to their billing and I might just have to accept that I am not much of a Godard fan. The real trend this month seems to be movies that either fall apart or somehow work at the end. I also wan't to add that Midnight Special is a movie I will return to and will either find it lacked something important or is one of the better films ever made. It left me speechless, but was it a case of overthinking every single scene? 

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