Films That I Saw: August 2024

 

Summer is nearing its end, and it has been a chaotic one although not as crazy as it had been in recent years. Still, it has been problematic as this month began with me contracting COVID for the first time. What happened was that my sister went to Tennessee for work and stayed at a friend’s house only to come with COVID as her kids would get it. My mother and I spent time watching them as they could not go to their therapy sessions near Powder Springs where we would all eat at Chik-Fil-A every Tuesday. Then over that weekend, we got COVID and ended up not doing much that week. We did not go out except to get fast food or something. This is nothing new for my mother as she has had it a few times though nothing serious, but it lasted more than a week for me, and it sucked. I was coughing a lot to the point where I could not breathe at times. I had to sleep with extra pillows on my bed for support as that was a bit uncomfortable. Still, I managed to rest and such as I hope to never get that again.

Aside from all the shit that is happening around the world while the Olympics was a good escape with the non-sports stuff involving Snoop Dogg was entertaining. Even in the moments he was sharing with Martha Stewart as it made things a joy to watch while there some were events that were fun to watch. Still, not much had happened as I just spent a lot of time watching stuff on YouTube and played some old video games on my laptop including Quake which I had not played in more than 20 years as I loved that game.

In the month of August 2024, I saw a total of 19 films in 9 first-timers and 10 re-watches with one first-timer being a film directed/co-directed by a woman as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. Not one of my better months and that is my fault for getting sick though it is better than not seeing anything at all. A big highlight for this month has been my Blind Spot choice in Leave Her to Heaven. Here is my top 5 first-timers that I saw for August 2024:

1. Rebel Moon

2. Dammi

3. Piper

4. L.A. Takedown

5. Wisdom Teeth

Monthly Mini-Reviews/What Else I’m Watching

White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch

This documentary from Netflix by Alison Klayman about the rise and fall of Abercrombie & Fitch is a fascinating yet lacks some substance regarding the life of its CEO Mike Jeffries who left the company in 2014 due to many controversies as well as the fact that he’s a racist, homophobic piece of shit who is gay. The film does talk to former models and employees about their experiences, yet the film also tries to get its viewers to buy their stupid clothes. I never liked Abercrombie & Fitch in the late 90s when I was in high school as it worn by the popular white kids who thought they were the shit. They looked like assholes while the group I spent time together with were wearing metal t-shirts at the time. It is an all-right film, but it could have done more into the horrible business practices as well as be more of a takedown of the brand instead of trying to sell its shitty-ass clothes.

Piper

This short from Pixar that my niece and nephew had seen a few times on Disney+ is something I had not seen before. What I saw was something beautiful as it is about a small sandpiper trying to get food from waves while meeting a young baby crab. It was not just the simplicity of the story that drew me but also in how almost realistic it looked. The animation is top notch in terms of the way it looks yet still has this richness in the animation as filmmaker Alan Barillaro creates something that is touching and wondrous.

Dammi

An 18-minute short that I saw on MUBI by Yann Demange starring Riz Ahmed, Souhelia Yacoub, and a special appearance by Isabelle Adjani that revolves around a British-Arab man travelling to Paris to see his father. It is a film filled with dazzling imagery as it is about a man trying to find himself and who he is while also coming to terms with the chaos of his own family life including his estranged relationship with his father. Even as he meets a French-Algerian woman that he falls for as it a personal film by Demange who needs a comeback following the disappointing reaction of his last feature film in White Boy Rick.

Wisdom Teeth



This five-minute short film that Don Hertzfeldt made in 2010 that is this really fucked up short revolving around a man asking his friend to pull out a stitch from his wisdom tooth following a dentist appointment. Well, he does what his friend asks him to do and some really fucked up shit happens along the way including lots of blood. It is short but fucking incredible.

Creating a Universe: The Making of Rebel Moon

From Netflix is this 28-minute making-of documentary about the making of Zack Snyder’s two-part space epic. It is a documentary short that shows Snyder not only putting a lot of thought into what he wanted to make but the story he wanted to tell as well. It is also in making the film a collaborative project with the help of his crew including his production designer, editor, visual effects team, costume designer, makeup designers, prosthetics, and stunt team. Even as some of the actors reveal the depth of what he wanted to do as well as set it in some physical areas and find a balance of using practical and CGI visual effects to create something realistic and imaginative. It is something fans of Snyder’s work should see.

Top 10 Re-Watches

1. Arrival

2. Beauty and the Beast

3. Nine Inch Nails: Woodstock ‘94

4. The Little Mermaid

5. Priscilla

6. Anomalisa

7. The Meaning of Life

8. Lady Chatterley’s Lover

9. Jolene

10. Blown Away

Well, that is all for August. Coming next month will be a review of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as well as the two films of Michael Mann that I need to watch for my Auteurs series for him as I hope it will be finished this coming month. Then, I will do work on David Lean as I have Summertime prepared. Other than films that I have access to as well as my next Blind Spot film in The Roaring Twenties. That is all that is coming for September. Before I bid adieu, I want to express my condolences to those who have passed this month. Among them is Sid Eudy aka Sid Vicious aka Sycho Sid aka the Ruler of the World, Afa Anoa’i, Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, Gena Rowlands, Alain Delon, Villano V, Catherine Ribiero, Atsuko Tanaka, Phil Donahue, Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez, Charles Blackwell, writer Scott Thorson, Wally Amos of Famous Amos, writer Sergio Donati, Greg Kihn, actor Angel Salazar aka Chi Chi (get the yeyo), Rachael Lillis, writer Charles R. Cross, wrestler Kevin Sullivan (I respect you booker man), Mitzi McCall, Jack Russell of Great White, Fatman Scoop, Charles Cyphers, and film/TV producer Daniel Selznick. We will miss you all. This is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2024