Summer Movie Review: Mid Summer Overview

No new movie this week. It’s been tough finding a film coming out each week that hasn’t been getting as much attention as it should be, so this week I’ve decided to take a break and look back at the work from the first half of this summer. In my first post introducing this blog, I mentioned how I hoped that I would get some people to go watch a good film that they might otherwise not have seen. Now, while I’m not sure if I’ve managed to do that for anyone yet, I know I’ve done it for myself. I’ve gone out and seen great movies (with one exception) that I’m certain I would never have seen had I not been writing this blog.

I would like to quickly go over some of my favorite movies of this summer so far. I think I would have to say that Hereditary is at the top of my list. Though this is partly due to personal preference (I really enjoy surrealism and horror), I would say that its details, well crafted atmosphere, and use visuals made it an objectively great movie. Even though I was mildly disappointed by its predictable ending, this is still a must see film. A close second would be Won’t You Be My Neighbor?. Once again, this is partly due to personal preference. I loved Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood as a kid, and while the narration didn’t do much to make it stick out as a documentary, there was plenty of incredible information on Fred Rogers’ life and work to make this a great movie for anyone with an interest in him. I would also like to give a shout out to The Rider for two big reasons. First of all, it did an excellent job on using a lot visuals and very little dialogue to get its message and story across, which is something I always appreciate in a movie. Secondly, it pulled off using the actual people the movie was about as the actors, which is something that anyone who’s seen The 15:17 To Paris can tell you is not an easy thing to do. The one movie that really stuck out to me on the flip side was Hearts Be Loud. I had seen the trailers and I’ll admit that, going into it, I was expecting it to be a bit sappy, but I also expected it to come out with a good message. I was surprised by just how lazy the whole thing felt. It went for just trying to be a heartwarming emotional film without putting in any of the effort needed to make it a good engaging story. Other than Nick Offerman, I can’t think of anything I really liked about this movie.

 

I would also like to mention a couple upcoming movies that I plan to write blogs on, and that you should look out for. Sorry To Bother You is a surrealist dark comedy about a black man who makes it big in a telemarketing company by using his “white voice” on the phone. It looks like a very interesting, and pretty funny film that I am really looking forward to seeing. Like Hereditary, it has been getting more publicity than most of the films I’ve been watching, but I still say that it makes the cut for my blog. I also plan to see Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, a true story about an alcoholic who is paralyzed in a drunk driving accident, and Three Identical Strangers, a documentary about three strangers who discover that they are triplets who were separated at birth.

 

Finally, for anyone who’s been wondering how I find these films, I’ve seen most of them at the Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville Maine. It’s a small theater, with only three screens, that’s dedicated to playing independent films. It’s a great place, I love it, and it is very rare for me to see a movie there I don’t like. It’s nearly an hour away from where I live, but is well worth the drive.

 

I’ll be back next week with a new film and I look forward to the second half of this summer.   

Silas –