Summer Movie Review: The End

With this being the finale of my blog, I wanted to take the time to say how much I enjoyed my work this summer. I wrote this blog in order to bring to attention some movies that might have been lost under the waive of big summer releases (though, come to think of it, there really weren’t that many blockbusters this summer. Did anyone else notice that?). In the process, I ended up discovering some incredible films (and, of course, a couple that I didn’t care for). I did a bit of a recap halfway thorough the summer, but having seen five more films since, I feel an update is appropriate.

In my first recap I talked about how my favorite film had been Hereditary, because of its intense atmosphere and excellent performances. While I still greatly enjoy the film, it has now been bumped down to, not second, but third. BlacKkKlansman and Sorry To Bother You have taken my one and two spots respectively. BlacKkKlansman, though much of it was fictionalized for the purpose of entertainment, was still and incredibly well done movie. The story was gripping and had amazing source material (the movie was based off of a memoir Ron Stallworth wrote that I really want to read now), the message was strong and important (though a little bit on the nose), and the movie had its fair amount of comedic scenes (I still crack up thinking about David Duke describing how a black man talks). Sorry To Bother You takes my number one spot though, partly because of my personal preference for really liking surrealistic films. However, it was  very well written, had great performances all around, a strong message built into the story, and a plot so insane it has to be seen.

As for my least favorite film of the summer, Hearts Beat Loud still holds that honor. I’ve torn into it plenty with my blog post on it and the mid summer recap I did. I just felt that it was a very poorly written film that hoped to get good ratings by lazily pandering to a specific audience (which, unfortunately, it seems to have done). Despite it’s rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I would still strongly advise against seeing this film.

I would also like to apologize for breaking a promise I made in my last recap. I named three films that I would be doing blogs on, and while I did write about two of them (Sorry To Bother You and Three Identical Strangers) I did not end up seeing Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. This is because I didn’t realize the release date wasn’t until August 31st. I still plan to watch it, and I suggest you see it too and decide what you think of it (or, I suppose you can just look at a review of it somewhere else).

Finally, I would just like to remind anyone reading this that most of the movies I wrote blogs on, I saw at the Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville, ME. It’s a great little place that plays many wonderful independent films and I would definitely recommend that everyone go check it out.

Thank you for reading my blogs this summer. I’ve had a great time writing them and watching the movies, and I hope introduced people to some good films. Have a wonderful Fall!

Silas –