The Films That I Saw: November 2014

The year is coming to an end as I’m now dealing with a flu that I just acquired over the weekend as it forced me to not watch films. Largely because I’ve been a bit burned out as I’m now just trying to focus on finishing up some obligations relating to my Blind Spot Series and Auteurs series as well as watch whatever films come in my way. After that, I will work on things for the next year as there’s been a lot of things in the past few days that has been exciting. Among them is the teaser trailer for the new Star Wars as I got very emotional in seeing the Millennium Falcon. If the reviews for the film are good, I’ll be there opening night in costume.

Another thing that happened over the Thanksgiving holiday (aside from really good food) happens to involve one of my favorites in CM Punk who finally broke his silence after leaving the WWE just after the Royal Rumble this past January. Talking to longtime friend Colt Cobana on his podcast, Punk finally revealed what happened and not only the things he said confirmed a lot about why he left but there were also some very startling moments that shocked me. Especially in regards to his health where he was constantly getting injured by that steroid goof Crybotch while he had a staph infection that wasn’t being treated by WWE doctors. I have to thank AJ Lee for making Punk go see an actual doctor about that infection because if she hadn’t suggested it to him. The man might’ve died due to the negligence and the incompetence of the WWE. That wasn’t just the many things that upset but also the fact that it confirmed how out of touch Vince McMahon is as well as the fact that Triple H just downright hates Punk.

Other things involving unpaid royalties as well as giving Punk his termination papers on the day of his wedding to AJ Lee finally had me say enough. I spent two months not watching WWE RAW only to come back after seeing the video of Sting finally showing up on WWE’s Survivor Series. I was hoping Sting would show up on RAW but once again, I got bamboozled into watching another lame episode of RAW. With everything that Punk had said on Cobana’s podcast, I’ve now finally decided to officially cut my ties with the WWE. I’ve had it with their bullshit product, their emphasis to insult the intelligence of longtime fans, putting on stupid matches with people in lame costumes, reality shows, Kathie Lee Gifford taking up too much of people’s time, John Cena being on TV all the time, and everything else. Anyone who says that I should hear the WWE’s side of the story can fuck off. I’ve listened to their bullshit for too many years and now, I don’t want to. I hope that company burns to the ground and that wrestlers should form a union to protect themselves and their interests.

In the month of November, I saw a total of 34 films in 20 first-timers and 14 re-watches which is, not surprisingly, down from last month as the definite highlight of the month has been my Blind Spot film in Spirited Away. Here are the top 10 first-timers that I saw for November 2013:

1. Memories of Murder

2. Birdman

3. Mud

4. Nightcrawler

5. Vengeance

6. All is Lost

7. Maps to the Stars

8. Interstellar

9. The Woman Next Door

10. Haywire

Monthly Mini-Reviews

Winter’s Tale

I’ve heard about how bad this film is and I wanted to see it for myself. Everything that has been said about this film is wrong. In fact, it’s much worse than that. This film is absolute confirmation that Akiva Goldsman is a fucking hack who can’t write for shit as well as creating what is undoubtedly one of the worst films ever. It has every ingredient for a bad movie times 11 where it is also unintentionally hilarious from the fact that Jessica Brown Findlay’s character dies after having sex with Colin Farrell. Add Will Smith as Satan and this is fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000 with a bad Irish accent from Russell Crowe while Jennifer Connelly and Colin Farrell do their worst attempts to cry on cue. If Sam Peckinpah had saw this during a daily, he would probably piss on the fucking screen. So would I.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

The first film was OK but this one was just bland, bland, bland. Logan Lerman I think is a pretty good actor but he definitely feels overwhelmed by all of the bad things that happens in the film. Add a couple of wasted appearances from Nathan Fillion and Stanley Tucci and it’s a very forgettable sequel. Even as some of the actors from the previous film don’t get much to do as Alexandra Daddario is also wasted as she is better than this. For those who have seen True Detective will know exactly what I’m talking about.

Memory 2.0


I only saw this film because of Jena Malone as even though it does have a few interesting things. It’s really nothing more than a lame rip-off of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with elements of Strange Days. It had some interesting visuals but not a strong story to be engaged by. All I can say about is… meh…

Top 10 Re-Watches:

1. Dick

2. My Summer of Love

3. Manny & Lo

4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

5. Nicholas Nickelby

6. Basquiat

7. That Thing You Do!

8. Three Men and a Baby

9. Robots

10. The Legend of Zorro

That’s it for November. Next month, I will watch my final Francois Truffaut film in Confidentially Yours as well as my final Blind Spot film in Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom as I hope the Auteurs piece on Truffaut will come out sometime late in the month or early next year. Along with various theatrical releases such as Foxcatcher and Whiplash, there will be reviews of other films considered for the Oscars along with some films that came out in 2013/2014 that I missed out on. Finally, I will work on a three-part list of the Most Anticipated Films of 2015 and unveil my plans for the year including the next subjects of Auteurs for 2015. Until then, this if thevoid99 throwing up on a driveway due to the flu.

© thevoid99 2014