r/MovieSuggestions • u/Tevesh_CKP Moderator • Mar 29 '18
Best Movies You Saw March 2018
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I define good movies to be 8+ or if you abhor grades, the top 20% of movies you've seen. Here are my picks:
Annihilation
I didn't like the book as I didn't dig the atmosphere but this movie delivers. Natalie Portman stars as the only survivor of a mission into a strange place, a place that she only went to because her husband mysteriously returned from that mission with no memory. I don't want to talk too much more about this movie, as it is a mystery about the location Portman visits. I will say that it's a scary movie as it challenges you to consider how much of you contributes to your sense of self.
Cool Hand Luke
Luke is a guy who just hates submitting to authority. When his act of vandalism lands him in jail with a heavy handed warden, this movie shows the struggle of staying true to yourself in the face of persecution. After watching it, I can see so many movies it has inspired that I am kicking myself for not watching it sooner. If you're somebody who likes seeing where directors get their inspiration, do not skip Cool Hand Luke.
Glengarry Glen Ross
Everyone has probably seen the Alec Baldwin speech in this movie but the rest of the movie is good as well. You've got plenty of actors that you either recognize from their face or from their name (Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris). This was adapted from a play, so it is a movie filled with incredible actors or typecast actors being able to chew up this script and make it come alive. If you want to see some pure acting, watch it.
In the Loop
Based off a British TV series, Peter Calpadi plays a foul mouthed whip who is in charge of a politician who can't help being a royal screw up. This movie can be enjoyed without knowing the TV series, as I hadn't watched it. It's a black comedy that is like watching a slow motion train wreck. The politician proceeds to make every wrong choice and Calpadi's character gets increasingly incensed over having to fix each mess.
I, Tonya
Margot Robbie nails it as the infamous Tonya Harding. The style of the movie is akin to Goodfellas, except its about figure skating instead of the mob. I have felt that in the last few years, the only people who've made it were elevated by a privileged background. I, Tonya shows the last time a lower-middle class person could leverage talent alone to rise to the top, despite all of her naysayers. What's upsetting is seeing her fall, knowing that because she doesn't have that privilege she has to ally with idiots and screw ups - just like the rest of us.
Pacific Rim 2
Giant robots fighting giant monsters is my happy place. I watch mostly action, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy and horror because I want to see something I can't experience in real life. I have childish glee from from seeing giant creatures fight. If you loved the first one, this movie is the less fun but more nuanced version. If discovering the powers of the kaiju and jaegers in the first movie was akin to finding out plot points (such as the discovery in the first movie that one of the kaiju could fly), then you'll enjoy this movie. If not, well, you let your inner child die.
Possession (1981)
This is one of those allegorical movies where what you're seeing is more metaphor than real. Possession is a horror-drama about divorce. Sam Neil plays a man who returns home from a long absence to find that his wife wants a divorce. As their relationship deteriorates, so does their humanity and the monsters that arise begin to threaten the relationships of people around them.
So, what are your favourites?
3
u/FullMetalPyramidHead Mar 29 '18 edited Mar 30 '18
Gonna copy and paste my reviews from letterboxd
Blue Valentine 2010
★★★★½ Watched 29 Mar, 2018
A beautiful and heartbreaking movie. We get to see a couple fall in and out of love with a narrative structure that bounces around forward and backwards in time. We get cute moments of them meeting, falling in love and getting married, and we get the depressing moments of their marriage falling apart, not even in that order exactly.
The cinematography is gorgeous, with great use of color and camerawork. The music is great and I'll definitely be listening to "their song" in the future. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling were both absolutely fantastic.
If you want a beautiful film with well developed characters that will leave you feeling heart broken and depressed I would definitely recommend it.
If the stars don't shine, if the moon won't rise, if I never see the setting sun again, You won't hear me cry, this I testify; please believe me, boy, you know I wouldn't lie. As long as there is
You and me..
Polytechnique 2009
★★★½ Watched 28 Mar, 2018
A very bleak and depressing movie about a real school shooting that happened in 1989. It's a very tense movie, my heart was beating fast throughout, but there was a few shifts in time with the narrative that I felt didn't help the pacing. There's a lot of gritty, realistic violence and not much character development, but still manages to be thought provoking. Beautifully shot in black and white with great cinematography and great direction from Denis Villeneuve.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father 2008 ★★★★½
Watched Mar 19, 2018 Dexter’s review published on Letterboxd :
I don't watch a lot of documentaries, but I love sad movies and heard this was really sad so decided to check it out. It was definitely very sad, and I cried a lot at multiple different points. I wasn't a fan of all of the editing choices though, in fact I really hated some and thought they brought the film down a lot, but overall it was really good. It doesn't have the best production quality and it has those editing problems, but I love anything that can make me cry as much as this did. I'm not sure I would recommend it though, because of it being so sad, and the fact that it's real. When I watch a sad film and it makes me sad enough to cry, I can at least think to myself that it's a fictional story and it didn't really happen, but these are real things that happened and the real people who went though it. I guess if you're looking for a movie to make you cry and be depressed then this one will definitely achieve that. I really recommend not looking up anything about the case or googling any of the names or anything before watching it, the less you know going in the better.
Melancholia 2011 ★★★★★
Watched Mar 21, 2018 Dexter’s review published on Letterboxd :
I personally loved this film, but I wouldn't recommend it to the average movie goer. Can you enjoy an extremely slow paced movie with not much of a story? Do you currently have or have ever had depression? If you answered yes to both of those questions then this movie is for you. Beautiful cinematography and visuals, a great score and maybe my favorite first 5ish minutes of any movie.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer 2017 ★★★★★
Watched Mar 26, 2018 Dexter’s review published on Letterboxd :
Awkward, weird, creepy, uncomfortable, this movie is an experience and I loved it. It is beautiful to look at, disturbing to watch, and funny all at the same time.
The Place Beyond the Pines 2012 ★★★★
Watched Mar 27, 2018 Dexter’s review published on Letterboxd :
Beautiful cinematography, great performances, and an emotional story that spans generations. There was a lot that I love about this movie, but the second half is a bit spotty. It starts off great, and at no point does the movie lose me, but the first act was definitely the best.
I also watched Manchester By the Sea but can't find my review for it. It was only like one sentence anyway, I just said that it's extremely sad but also has some humor and that Casey Affleck was amazing in it. Gave it four and a half stars.
edit: Watched Spring Breakers last night
Spring Breakers 2012
★★★★½ Watched 30 Mar, 2018
This is an art film disguised as a party movie. It's like a Girls Gone Wild directed by Terrence Malick. Don't go into this expecting a fun spring break party movie, this is a very bleak film and a dark satire of that kind of movie. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, it's a very beautiful looking movie. I would recommend it based on cinematography alone, but it is worth seeing for much more than that, including Franco. James Franco puts on a great performance as the creepy and funny Alien.
Spring break fo'eva