Films That I Saw: January 2019

35 days of a government shutdown that began late last year all because Dumb-fuck wanted money for his stupid-ass wall and what happened in the end? Well, he got no money for his stupid wall and cost this country more money that was supposed to go for regular people who work for the government. Wow, we’re in some serious dark times as the New Year has already begun in an interesting way. So far, it hasn’t been boring but it’s still worrying considering the chaos that is happening in Britain over Brexit as well as the chaos that is already happening Venezuela now that the U.S. has chosen to support the opposition which is already making things worse. I know people that my parents are life-long friends with who are from the country but I doubt they’ve returned as they’ve been living here and we’ve been good to them as they have been to us. Plus, I don’t think the U.S. should get involved in this matter unless they want to repeat the sins of September 11, 1973 like they did in Chile all of those years ago.

It’s been a strange year so far as there’s been some notable deaths in Bob Einstein aka Super Dave Osborne, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, James Ingram and just yesterday, Dick Miller as it just feels like it’s going be one of those years again. Then of course, there’s a lot of things happening as I’m just trying to make sense of everything but also find things to distract me. Pro wrestling has been a constant distraction though I no longer watch Ring of Honor TV because it never comes on as schedule as I focus largely on New Japan Pro Wrestling and listen to podcasts and read websites about what is going on in WWE as this so-called “new era” that the Meekmahans have been touting in early December of last year is really just the same old bullshit that has been happening for years. The few bright spots in the company are Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch, Andrade Cien Almas, and NXT but that’s not enough. The fact that news emerged about some wrestlers wanting out of the WWE and the announcement that Jon Moxley/Dean Ambrose and KENTA/Hideo Itami are both leaving the WWE is proof that WWE isn’t the place where everyone needs to be a success.

Thank goodness for the indies and a new company that is about to emerge and hopefully put WWE on its ass. That is All Elite Wrestling (AEW) that is funded by the Khan family who own the Jacksonville Jaguars and co-founded by Cody Rhodes and Matt and Nick Jackson/the Young Bucks as they already have a promising roster that includes Joey Janela, Jungle Boy, MJF, Hangman Page, So-Cal Uncensored (SCU!!!!), Pac, Dr. Britt Baker, Brandi Rhodes, Penelope Ford, Bea Priestley, and Chris Jericho as they want to bring change to professional wrestling. They want to make it interesting again and I really hope they succeed because I’m sick of WWE and their so-called sports entertainment bullshit as they’re concerned with making money and being a brand than putting on a good product.

In the month of January, I saw a total of 42 films so far in 18 first-timers and 24 re-watches with one first-timer being a film directed by a woman as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge as I’ve decided to take part in it again. One of the highlights this month is one of Blind Spot assignments in Gilda. Here are the top 10 first-timers that I saw in January 2019:

1. Roma

2. First Reformed

3. If Beale Street Could Talk

4. War for the Planet of the Apes

5. Thoroughbreds

6. Sin Nombre

7. Brigsby Bear

8. Mostly Martha

9. Passion

10. Baal

Monthly Mini-Reviews

Table 19

I thought this was a decent comedy-drama about a group of people who are put at the loser’s table at a wedding they were invited to including Anna Kendrick who was supposed to be a bridesmaid until her boyfriend left her for a closer friend of the bride. Also starring Stephen Merchant, Tony Revolori, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson, and June Squibb as the people of table 19, it’s a film that is actually quite endearing as well as the fact that it play into people dealing with the shortcomings of life as well as wondering if they mean to anyone.

Compulsion

This was an OK film although it’s really a film that anyone should see if they’re interested in seeing Analeigh Tipton engage in some hot lesbian sex scenes. It’s a film about an erotic novelist going to Italy to promote her new book as she gets involved with another woman and a former lover as it play into cults and all sorts of things. It doesn’t have much of a plot which isn’t a bad thing but it never does enough to make things engaging except for the sex scenes.

Classic Albums-Stars

One of the best-selling albums in Britain in the early 1990s in the form of Simply Red’s fourth studio release as it one of the finer entries in the Classic Albums series. Featuring interviews with vocalist Mick Hucknall and various others who played and contributed the album as well as famed Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier. It showcases what Hucknall and his collaborators were willing to go into as they had been famous for being a soul-covers band of sorts as this was their first album of all-original material as it proved to be very popular to audiences who weren’t into the indie music scene in Britain at that time.

Overboard

I like Eugenio Derbez, I think he’s pretty funny. I know there’s people that gets sniffy on remakes as do I but I thought this was pretty good. It actually did reference characters from the original film that starred Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn back in 1987. Yet, it has the genders switch places this time where Derbez plays a Mexican playboy who is the heir to a big-time company who insults Anna Faris who was trying to clean his yacht. Once he falls out of his yacht and loses his memory, she gets revenge and makes him think they’re married and hilarity ensues. It’s a film that has its heart in the right place while it also features John Hannah in a hilarious performance in the role that was played by Roddy McDowall in the original film. It never takes itself seriously while it also does what it needed to do as Derbez is someone my parents really enjoyed as they saw it in the theaters last year.

The Ritchie Blackmore Story

There’s no question that Ritchie Blackmore is one of the great guitar players in rock from his groundbreaking work in Deep Purple to his own band in Rainbow and later being part of a medieval folk duo with wife Candice Night in Blackmore’s Night. The documentary that was shown on AXS TV is about the man’s career as well as his difficult persona as someone that craves control but also is sort of resistant to fame. Featuring interviews with Blackmore, Night, and others including Brian May of Queen, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and former Purple bandmates in David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, and the late Jon Lord plus former Rainbow vocalists Graham Bonnet and Joe Lynn Turner. It’s a documentary that fans of Blackmore must watch as it play into the man and his journey through the kinds of music he made as well as someone who admits to not being an easy person to get along with at times.

Top 10 Re-watches

1. The Last of the Mohicans

2. Avengers: Infinity War

3 Thor: Ragnarok

4. Isle of Dogs

5. Iron Man

6. Toy Story 2

7. Femme Fatale

8. Spotlight

9. The Last Jedi

10. Identification of a Woman

Well, that is for January. Next month, I will watch several recent films although I’m not sure what new film I’ll see other than a few Oscar nominees such as The Favourite. Along with films in the never-ending DVR list as I hope to do some Eric Rohmer films that had been in the DVR for a long time. I’m also going to release my Auteurs piece on David O. Russell whom I had just started writing on. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2019