Films That I Saw: May 2018

School shootings, stupid tweets from a dumbass dictator, celebrities whining, a TV star gets her show cancelled for being a stupid bitch, and all sorts of things. This is what happens in America and it’s starting to become the norm. It’s this element of de-evolution that is starting to run rampant and it’s not getting any better. The fact that our dictator seems to care more about football players who don’t stand during the national anthem rather than a bunch of kids being killed at a school in Texas just a few months after what happened in Florida is not really surprising. It’s become the Land of Idiots. I admit I say stupid things and do piss people off for the things I say though I don’t mean to and I’m sorry for that. Yet, I do know there’s a line of what can be said and what can’t be said. Unfortunately, there’s people that don’t seem to really care and claim they’re expressing their right to free speech. OK, then how come we’re being forced to listen to the ramblings of a moron who claims that everything that we hear about is just fake news?

This is among the type of shit that is being dealt with in America as I’m finding myself becoming more and more skeptical over the state of things. Even those whom I knew that were supporters of our dictator have finally come to their senses and realize he’s just ruining everything they believe in. At home, things are alright except for the fact that one of my cousins made some claims on her Facebook account claiming that my grandmother (from my father’s side) is in need of a new hearing aid and in need of money as my sister read it and wanted to help out. Minutes later, my father was calling one of his brothers and heard that my grandmother already got a new hearing aid as it was a scam that my cousin did. I for one was not surprised by this news as this is one of the reasons why I don’t have any contact with relatives from my father’s side of the family and don’t want to. They’re a bunch of inconsiderate scumbags who only care about themselves and whatever thing they want and flaunt it in people’s faces.

I maybe an asshole at times and I know that I’m imperfect but I don’t pull shit like this. If they ever try to con me or steal from me, I will destroy their lives in the worst possible way where I will make sure they will have nothing. Besides, I have other things to do as I’m about to embark on something big for me personally and that is going to see Nine Inch Nails for the fifth time in my lifetime in late September at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. I know people these days use their smartphones and such to purchase tickets or whatever as a way of convenience and to avoid lines. Well, I challenge any fan base of today’s popular music acts to do what myself and many other NIN fans did on May 19, 2018 on a Saturday. Now I may have arrived at the line at around 12 and waited more than three hours to get a ticket that I never got.


It wasn’t a waste of time as I got to talk to some people while the people at the Fox Theatre were cool as I was able to get my name and email on a waiting list as I got my tickets two days later. In the video below which I don’t appear in as I was in line hours later. I began at the corner at the video where on 3:23 which shows how far I was when I arrived and what was happening before I arrived. There were people who came from Alabama and South Carolina that were line and some who arrived around 8 in the morning never got their tickets either. Still, this prove how loyal the NIN fans and why we love this band.


This kind of loyalty is proof of what we fans will do as it also inspired me to go into my music blog and make this announcement for a marathon that I will do in the summer as it relates to the body of work by NIN including a few soundtracks. It’s been a long time coming as I had written so much about the band during my days at Epinions.com and I can do it again but from a more mature perspective. I know I haven’t written album reviews in a couple of years as I only went back to it to deal with my grief over David Bowie which was a long gap in writing music reviews. Yet, I feel the time is now to go back and do NIN justice from Down In It to their upcoming album Bad Witch.

In the month of May 2018, I saw a total of 37 films in 24 first-timers and 13 re-watches with five of the first-timers directed by women as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. Slightly over from last month as one of the highlights of this month has been my Blind Spot for the month in All Quiet on the Western Front. Here are the top 10 first-timers that I saw for May 2018:

1. Il Posto

2. I, Daniel Blake

3. The Salesman

4. The Tree of Wooden Clogs

5. Atomic Blonde

6. The Lobster

7. Paterson

8. Captain Fantastic

9. Personal Shopper

10. After the Storm

Monthly Mini-Reviews

Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial, & Depiction

From Joe Berlinger is a documentary film about the Armenian genocide that happened around and after World War I and Turkey’s continual denial of the event. It’s a documentary that showcases the Armenian culture that is cross-cut with filmmaker Terry George’s production of The Promise that centers on the Armenian genocide. It’s an uneven documentary that is part of a historical look into what happened in Armenia as well as the look into its 100th anniversary in 2015 as well as this making-of film documentary of a film that didn’t win a lot of people over. Still, it’s an interesting documentary for those interested in one of the most horrific atrocities of the 20th Century.

The Spy Next Door

Jackie Chan is a joy to watch no matter what kind of film he’s in though he’s best when he’s doing action and comedy. While this film isn’t original as it has Chan trying to protect his neighbor’s children and watch over them. It is still a fun little gem that has Chan being funny and full of excitement despite the fact that his partner is played by Billy Ray Cyrus who is just not cool.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

The third film in the LEGO film franchise is definitely the weakest film so far as it revolves around a group of young ninjas trying to defeat an evil warrior. Jackie Chan also appears in the film as the young ninjas’ master and one of the ninjas’ uncle as well as in a live action sequence that opens and ends the film. It has some nice animation and action along with some funny moments. It’s just that it’s not very memorable with some lame jokes.

The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin’ – The Story of L.A. Woman

The Doors is a band that I have a love-hate relationship with as there’s several songs of theirs that I do like but there’s also stuff about them that I didn’t like as I often feel the focus had been too much on vocalist Jim Morrison instead of the rest of the band. This documentary I saw on the band’s final album with Morrison before his death in July of 1971 is actually a very fascinating film that explore where the band was at a time when they were dealing with so much. Even as they endured Morrison’s own growing disdain towards stardom and the chaos around them as it would lead to the band creating some of their best music as I think this album along with Morrison Hotel and their self-titled debut album remains their finest work.

Top 10 Re-Watches:

1. Paths of Glory

2. Aliens

3. Dunkirk

4. Warrior

5. How to Train Your Dragon

6. Avatar

7. The Men Who Stare at Goats

8. Snake Eyes

9. Mission: Impossible

10. Twin Dragons

Well, that is all for May 2018. Next month, I will begin my NIN marathon in my music blog that I mentioned earlier while in the world of film. I will focus mainly on the Auteurs piece on John Cameron Mitchell with a review of his newest film How to Talk to Girls at Parties. Along with films in my never-ending DVR list and my Blind Spot choice, I hope to watch The Incredibles II and whatever theatrical release that interests me. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off...

© thevoid99 2018