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August 2016 Movies

  1. The Lobster - Typical Lanthimos...is it good or bad? Does it matter? You can't stop thinking.
  2. The Wave - Norwegian disaster film goes the way of 70's TV movie of the week.
  3. Amer - Modern day giallo. Sensual, visually stimulating, but a bit of a snooze. Worth a look.
  4. The Hunger - 1983 Vampire flick with beautiful people, being beautiful. So wonderfully 80's.
  5. Songs My Brother Taught Me - Scenic, well-intentioned, but needed more feeling.
  6. The Terminator - Still holds up, but so many flaws, especially that synthesized score.
  7. Purple Noon - The original Mr. Ripley shines with Delon in the lead. Great fun.
  8. High-Rise - The most literal allegory ever made. Absolute rubbish, especially Evans and Irons.
  9. The Prowler - Good movie? Not really! Amazing Tom Savini SFX kills? Absolutely!
  10. A Monster With A Thousand Heads - Tense crime drama that makes it point in 70 minutes.
  11. Baskin - From Turkey, the scariest and complex horror film I've seen in quite some time.
  12. Viridiana - Bunuel's tale of a conflicted nun. The film is as subtle as a stampeding elephant.
  13. R-Point - Highly acclaimed Korean ghost story has great concept, but fails on every level.
  14. A Matter Of Life And Death - Amazing in every way. Another...how'd I never hear of this?
  15. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice - Arguably the worst superhero movie ever made.
  16. 9 - Shane Acker turned his Oscar nominated adult animation short into a great feature
  17. 9 (Short) - Packs a little less power than the feature, but the ending gives a different feel.
  18. Sightseers - British black comedy has peaks and valleys, but early Wheatley film is good fun.
  19. Nothing Personal - A nearly perfect "love" story, with stellar Rea and Verbeek. Visuals too!
  20. Chernobyl Diaries - Fun, but vastly overrated. One scare, beautiful cast, but lacked depth.
  21. The Lost Boys - Re-watched a favorite from my youth. Still holds up for what it is. Fun 80's.
  22. The Color of Pomegranates - Visual feast, that is indescribable. Does it work as a film though?
  23. Counter Investigation - Dejardin stars in French crime thriller. Predictable, but well done.
  24. Anarchy Parlor - Decent premise lost on bad acting and silliness, but one brutal scene. 
  25. Don't Look Now - Not nearly as effective second time around, but Julie Christie was gorgeous.
  26. The Finest Hours - Makes The Perfect Storm look like Citizen Kane. Truly dreadful.
  27. Ali: Fear Eats The Soul - Filmed nicely, but not my cup of tea. Bad acting and painfully boring.
  28. Sunset Song - Best movie of 2016 so far. Agyness Deyn is mesmerizing as are her co-stars.
  29. John Dies At The End - Easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Dreadful!
  30. Keanu - Key and Peele's very funny, shockingly good feature length film. 
  31. Bob Ross: Beauty Is Everywhere - The Netflix version of a sedative....ahhh
  32. Yi Yi - Not as a pleasant visually, but a better than A Brighter Summer Day. The kid is tops.
  33. The Happening - Easily Shyamalan's worst. Disjointed from the opening scene and gets worse.
Top Three:  A Matter of Life and Death, Nothing Personal, Sunset Song 
Bottom Three: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Happening, John Dies at the End
Biggest Surprise: Baskin
Biggest Letdown: High-Rise

Some really good, maybe even great films, didn't crack the top three, with Edward Yang's Yi Yi topping the list, but followed the adult animation film 9 and Purple Noon surprising me, only in that it's probably a better film than The Talented Mr. Ripley. There were tons of duds, many in the horror genre, with R-Point and The Wave (more thriller) really falling flat. The one movie that somewhat hovered towards the top, but I just can't see watching it again any time soon was Lanthimos' The Lobster. It may very well end up being a great movie, but it lacked the tension that Alps and Dogtooth had. A better movie, but so purposely quirky with well known actors, it felt forced. Next up '71

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