Monthly Recap: June 2019

Life's been good to me in June. If you take away some work-related stress — that's more than normal, right? Some people are just the worst! — and the power steering in my car that didn't work one Wednesday evening, after 6+ hours of work and with an hunger-aching stomach, and had to call my dad because the wheel was so hard I couldn't even exit the spot where I parked, everything went pretty smoothly. And I even reduced the amount of coffee I drink and I'm somehow managing to sleep a bit more.

In terms of writing, however, June hasn't been a very prolific month. Other than the usual Thursday Movie Picks posts and a couple of reviews, I didn't do much last month. I did write about movie clichés about bartending that are actually true, but that was so much fun to write and it took me like 5 minutes — as opposed to creating the header, which took an hour between setting up, shooting and editing.

As for the films I watched in June, I should probably be ashamed of myself because I only watched 13. And here they are.

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Plot: Sasha (Ali Wong) and Marcus (Randall Park) are two childhood friends from San Francisco who haven't been in touch since the end of their teenaged fling. Fifteen years later, Sasha is a successful LA celebrity chef, while Marcus still leaves in San Francisco and works in his father's (James Saito) HVAC business. They have another chance when Sasha moves back to San Francisco. 

I watched this Netflix original for Keanu Reeves and his fifteen-minute cameo as himself is so fun and entertaining and hot, I can't say the film was a complete waste of time. Had I been interested in the film, it would have been a major disappointment as the writing is atrocious, especially when it comes to the comedy, the acting is wooden and the leading characters aren't particularly likeable. In a few words, it's like a big (inside) joke. 

Us (2019) - Review | Rewatch

I reviewed it already when I first saw it in April so I'm going to add only a few words. The film still holds up, but some of the writing is a mess. And by some of the writing I mean the whole Jason thing, whether he's the real boy or the shadow, whether he knows or not about fake Adelaide. It is so damn confusing and I'm sure Peele himself doesn't have a clue either. 

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Plot: Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) is a young Florida lawyer who has never lost a case. He gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he's offered a job from a large firm in New York. He takes his wife (Charlize Theron) with him to the Big Apple but, as Kevin works 24/7, his wife starts to lose her grip on reality. 

Yet another film I watched because of Reeves, this was not the fun film I was lead to believe it'd be. On the contrary, I found it rather boring, and it has one of the worst leading characters ever. Seriously, that Kevin Lomax is so dumb and clueless for the whole time, I can't help but wonder how he became a lawyer in the first place. It's truly a shame because the story had so much potential. At least now it makes sense why I always wanted my husband to be a lawyer named Kevin. I guess those bits and pieces of the film I saw when I was a kid stuck with me. 

Superbad (2007) | Rewatch

Plot: Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) have been best friends since they were kids and are now preparing to finally graduate. Their main goal is to lose their virginity before college and they have a shot at it when they are invited to a popular girl's (Emma Stone) party.

After watching the average Booksmart, Superbad was all I wanted to (re)watch as I wanted to know whether my tastes have changed over the years or this one is actually a superior film; and guess what? It is. The series of shenanigans Seth, Evan and their friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) get themselves into are entertaining and hilarious, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader make for the best and funniest cops ever, and the delivery of the jokes is always on point. Also, Hill and Cera have such wonderful friend chemistry, it's more than a pleasure to watch them. 

The Big Lebowski (1998) | Rewatch
Plot: Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) comes home only to be assaulted by two goons demanding money he knows nothing about and urinate on his carpet. Turns out the Dude was mistaken for another Jeff Lebowski (), a millionaire, and the Dude sets out to get compensation for his rug, only to find himself hired by the Big Lebowski to find his kidnapped, young trophy wife (Tara Reid).

I rewatched this Coen Brothers film with only one thing in mind, to write a great review. Unfortunately, as the ending credits were rolling in, I had no idea how I felt about the film. The Dude is arguably one of the coolest characters ever brought on screen, Jeff Bridges gives such a wonderful performance, the film's throughout very humorous, Steve Buscemi is hilarious, and Julianne Moore's character makes a hell of a point about men trying to avoid the word "vagina" and such but don't think twice about saying words referring to their dicks. Ultimately though the film left me empty. I will be rewatching this soon as I just can't deal with the fact that I might not like one of the Coen Brothers films, specifically this one. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood that day. 

Murder Mystery (2019) - Review

Two Weeks Notice (2002) | Rewatch
Plot: Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant but neurotic lawyer with an Ivy League background who fights the good people of New York. In order to preserve a Coney Island landmark, she agrees to work for George Wade (Hugh Grant), a rich playboy who is against everything she stands for, and complications arise pretty soon.

There's something about Sandra Bullock's films, especially her romantic comedies, that make them some of the most rewatchable films out there. No matter how thin the script is, how stupid the plot is, or how little sense it makes, Two Weeks Notice is an enjoyable and fun rom-com. Sandra Bullock is sweet and charming as usual, and Hugh Grant, despite me not liking him, manages to make every single word that comes out of his mouth sound sexy as fuck. 

Sideways (2004)
Plot: Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) is a struggling writer who also happens to be a wine connoisseur. To celebrate his best friend's, Jack (Thomas Haden Church), concluding days as a bachelor, the two embark on a road trip through California wine country.

I don't remember exactly how I stumbled upon Sideways — probably it was someone's pick for a Thursday Movie Picks — but the leading duo and plot intrigued me so I watched it. The story is throughout interesting and engaging, there's plenty of humour, the music during Miles's unseen sex scene is so sweet, I loved the characters, especially Miles as he is such a quirky, troubled and hilarious man, and Paul Giamatti's performance is beyond delightful. Also, it was nice seeing Sandra Oh playing a more chilled and carefree person that the serious, career-oriented type I was used to because of Grey's Anatomy, but the film just didn't click with me. It was fine, just not as fine as fine wine. 

Knock Knock (2015)

Plot: A devoted husband and father, Evan (Keanu Reeves) is left home alone for Father's Day weekend because he has to finish some work. At some point in the evening, two young women (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas) knock at his door for help. Evan invites them in, calls them an uber and, as they wait for the car, the two women start seducing him, and eventually things go bat-shit crazy.

IT WAS FREE PIZZA!, screams an almost genuinely scared Keanu Reeves as he's accused of being a pedophile for letting two women he believed to be in their teens suck his dick. First, in what world Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas look like teens? Second, a pedophile? Maybe a pervert, but surely not a pedophile. On a more serious note — as if being serious with this film was even possible —, the story is garbage, we are forced to witness a woman refuse sex from Keanu — apparently this has been going on for three weeks. What the hell is wrong with that woman?! — and the writers thinks it's okay to use gay and retarded as adjectives. Also, Keanu Reeves gives one of his worst performances in here and he didn't even get a Razzie nomination. How did that happen?!

Wine Country (2019)
Plot: A group of girlfriends, Abby (Amy Poehler), Rebecca (Rachel Dratch), Catherine (Ana Gasteyer), Naomi (Maya Rudolph), Val (Paula Pell), and Jenny (Emily Spivery), go on a wine tasting tour in Napa Valley for the weekend to celebrate Rebecca's 50th birthday.

I gave this a chance because it was an all-female cast, Poehler's feature directorial debut and a Netflix original — I'm a sucker for these movies — but it was a disappointment. The plot is engaging at first but eventually, pretty soon actually, it loses its grip. The characters are quite thin and stereotyped, and the acting is too Saturday Night Live to work — the whole film feels like a series of SNL sketches. However, the film still was quite funny.

Alles ist gut (2018) - Review

Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Plot: When 4-year-old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make no progress in the case, the girl's aunt (Amy Madigan) and uncle (Titus Welliver) hire two private investigators, Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), as they think people will be more likely to talk to them than the police. Patrick and Angie quickly learn that Amanda's mother, Helene (Amy Ryan), is no saint and, as their investigation moves forwards, police detective Denny Bressant (Ed Harris) and Nick Poole (John Ashton) join them in investigating the case.

On my watchlist since the dawn of times and avoided ever since because of Casey Affleck, Ben Affleck's directorial debut is a gripping, suspenseful mystery film. The plot is quite engaging throughout — there are some boring bits here and there —, there's a couple of interesting twists — one I predicted, the other caught me completely off guard —, and Amy Ryan is mesmerizing as the little's girl neglectful mother. Oh, and Ed Harris is amazing but isn't he always?

The Beach Bum (2019)
Plot: Moondog (Matthew McConaughey) is a washed-up pot who lives in Florida and is attempting to finish writing a book. However, all he does is one dumb thing after another as his hedonistic lifestyle is supported by his beautiful and wealthy wife, Minnie (Isla Fisher), on whom he frequently cheats on. The dude is even late to her daughter's (Stefania LaVie Owene) wedding, he smokes some special weed after the wedding with his friend Lingerie (Snoop Dogg) and gets his wife killed in a car accident. She leaves the fortune in their daughter's hands, leaving Moondog homeless, until he does another dumb thing and he's sentenced to rehab where he meets another fellow addict, Flicker (Zac Efron).

I don't even know where to start with this film. There's no story, none of the characters changes throughout the film, the number of nudes is insane — although seeing McConaughey in a thong was way more upsetting and disturbing than seeing boobs —, Moondog's eccentric mannerism and behaviour is interesting at first, but after a while it gets boring, McConaughey tries too hard to be cool, chilled, laid-back dude and he fails, and Snoop Dogg is terribly underused — it's a movie about week so I was expecting him to bring some charm and magic, but none, that didn't happen. At least, Jonah Hill was funny as Moondog's agent, and Zac Efron, well, he sure is no Ted Bundy here but at least he's hot. And visually it's quite beautiful.