Monthly Recap: February 2021

So... I really don't know how to start the post this month firstly because I did nothing productive, and secondly because I don't even feel like writing. 

Damn, there are days I don't even feel like waking up because what awaits me is just a copy of the day I just left behind. I'm not depressed, it's just that I don't have anything in my life right now that motivates me, and the fact that it's been a year and we still are "living" with all these restrictions is annoying to say the least. I know I'm not the only one in this situation, but I'm young, I'm supposed to live, but this whole pandemic is really getting in the way, isn't it? 

Even my inspiration is gone — I've been trying to write (non)fiction for the past months but all I can come up with are some disconnected sentences. I'm not even doodling anymore. The only good thing that came out of February is that I was able to wake up at six to do yoga every day. 

I read 3 books and a half in February. The half is the German version of The Great Gatsby as I started reading that one in January. The others are Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac which is such a humorous and yet sad play; Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment as it wasn't nearly as engaging nor compelling as Coppola's adaptation; and Harlan Coben's Six Years which is as compelling as it is simplistically written, but I was not a fan of the happy ending. And recently, I started reading my second book in German, Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. 

Previously on Monthly Recap... the dumbass who writes on this blog forgot she watched Netflix's Lupin last month so she's talking about it now. It's very clichéd and stereotypical but I really enjoyed it, I am really looking forward to Part II, and I just don't understand how it slipped off my mind like that. I guess I should write things down instead of waiting until the end of the month to write everything. 

As for this month, I am a hundred per cent positive I only watched one show, Prison Break. I finished it on Saturday and loved it doesn't even begin to cover it. It is far-fetched, cheesy at times, and the acting isn't always good, but it is so suspenseful and tense, and I loved the characters. Some of them are far from being likeable as they are very despicable men, but I liked how even the bad ones had their chance to make it right. Oh, I forgot to mention how much I cried watching this. I was definitely not expecting a series about a group of convicts to be this emotional. 

I don't know how I managed, but I also watched 17 films. Here they are:

On the Rocks (2020)

Plot: After finding a woman's toiletry bag in her husband's (Marlon Wayans) luggage, Laura (Rashida Jones) becomes suspicious that he's having an affair with a coworker (Jessica Henwick). Her larger-than-life playboy father (Bill Murray) does nothing but encourage her suspicion and, reluctantly, she starts following her husband with her father.

It has a Woody Allen-ish vibe that feels kind of weird in a film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Anyway, despite the slow pacing and the clichés and predictability, it is a very nice and heartwarming film, and both Jones and Murray give captivating performances. And it was nice to see Wayans playing a non-comedic role for once. Rating: 3,5/5

The Little Things (2021)

Plot: Kern Country Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon (Denzel Washington) goes to Los Angeles for a quick evidence-gathering assignment, but he teams up with LAPD detective Jimmy Baxter (Rami Malek) to catch a serial killer who is terrorizing the city.

I was expecting this one to be bad and it somewhat managed to turn out even worse than imagined. I don't think I've ever seen such a dull, tedious crime thriller before. There is no tension whatsoever, it's very predictable, and it doesn't make a lot of sense. Also, was I the only one worried about Denzel's dog? He was supposed to be back by night but he stayed aways weeks, if not more, and when he did go back there was no dog. The performances are good though, and for some unknown reason, I cared about Malek's character. Rating: 2/5

Palmer (2021) - Review

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Plot: Once a successful travel writer, Eva (Tilda Swinton) tries to put her life back together after her son Kevin (Ezra Miller, and Jasper Newell) does something terrible, something we learn through flashback following Kevin's childhood and his behaviour. 

I honestly don't know why I have been putting off this film for all these years, considering I love Tilda Swinton. And it is also a very good film. It is a very, very disturbing and unsettling tale of guilt, grief and shame. It also asks one important question, whether Eva was a bad mother — maybe Kevin grew up the way he did because she didn't form a bond with him early on, or at least should have sought professional help — or perhaps Kevin was just a bad seed, someone born evil. The cast is also terrific, and I was amazed by Miller's performance. Rating: 4/5

Easy Rider (1969)

Plot: Two bikers (Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way, they meet a man (Jack Nicholson) who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.

Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover how I felt after watching this film. Because of the reviews I've read over the years I was expecting it to be great, but instead, it was a rather tedious film. Most of the acting is terrible, I found Hopper's laugh to be utterly irritating, and I didn't care about the characters and their sad ending. The soundtrack is great though and as it is Nicholson's talk about freedom. Rating: 2/5

The Dig (2021)

Plot: An archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.

I don't know why I was expecting this to be good, maybe it was the cast. But like the majority of Netflix originals, it turned out to be just a waste of time. The film is so boring, I struggled to stay awake, and I watched it in the afternoon. The performances from Fiennes and Carey Mulligan are good but they still don't make it worth watching. Rating: 2/5

Malcolm & Marie (2021)

Plot: A director (John David Washington) and his girlfriend's (Zendaya) relationship is tested after they return home from his movie premiere and await critics' responses.

The hate this film got when Film Twitter learnt it was written and directed by a white man is astonishing and made me want to watch the film even more. But I knew I wouldn't like it beforehand because Sam Levinson also directed Assassination Nation which I did not like. And I was not wrong. I don't know how long it has been since I last saw such a dull and pretentious film. Both Zendaya and Washington are great, but they can't save the film. Rating: 2/5

After the Wedding [Efter brylluppet] (2006)

Plot: A Danish man who has left his country to teach and nurse children in an orphanage in India, Jacob (Mads Mikkelsen) is forced to travel to Copenhagen to meet a wealthy businessman, Jørgen (Rolf Lassgård), who wants to donate a large amount to the orphanage. Once there, Jørgen offers him a donation but in return, Jacob must move to Denmark and must attend the wedding of Jørgen's daughter (Stine Fischer Christensen). The wedding surfaces a secret that Jacob didn't even know existed.

This ended on my watchlist long before I decided to do the 52 Films by Women challenge, and the reason is Mads Mikkelsen. Other than being good-looking, he is terrific in it, like he always is, and along with the rest of the cast makes this film worth watching. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad film. But while the plot is interesting to follow, sometimes it's rushed and sometimes it's dragged. Rating: 3/5

Falling Down (1993)

Plot: An ordinary man (Michael Douglas) frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.

I don't remember who, but someone spoke well of it on Twitter, and then I appeared on my Netflix homepage as they were removing it from their catalogue the week after so I watched it. And it's a very well-made film that provides a look at the decay of society that it's sadly still relevant nowadays. Michael Douglas as the desperate men is amazing, as is Robert Duvall in the role of a retiring police detective. Rating: 3,5/5

Maurice (1987)

Plot: It follows Maurice (James Wilby), a young man in Edwardian society who struggles to come to terms and accept his sexuality when his lover, Clive (Hugh Grant), rejects him and marries a woman.

Despite hearing good things about it, I was sceptical as I'm not the biggest fan of James Ivory, but now I feel like suggesting it to everyone. It is such a beautiful, tender, and romantic film, a bit too slow-paced for my tastes, but it's compelling and engaging from start to finish. Clive is a bit of a cunt, but Maurice is just lovable, and his relationship with Alec (Rupert Graves) is just beautiful. And the cast is great. 

Rating: 3,5/5

Citizenfour (2014)

Plot: A documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.

I avoided it literally for years because it was a documentary. I even watched the Oliver Stone movie but kept avoiding this one. And I guess I was right because I was utterly bored by it. I don't hate documentaries, it's just that this one didn't present its subject in a compelling way for me. It's not bad, but it's not good either. Rating: 3/5

Disturbia (2007)

Plot: A teen (Shia LaBeouf) living under house arrest becomes convinced his neighbour (David Morse) is a serial killer.

I can't believe I actually put this on the list of films I wanted to see this year, but at least I'll watch the others knowing that they can't be worse than this one. I honestly don't see the point in making this film when there's already a perfect film with essentially the same plot, Hitchcock's Rear Window. This is just a dreadful copy. There's a random hot chick next door whose only purpose was to have teenage guys pay to see this crap, I guess. And the "tense" sequence at the end was so poorly lit that it hurt my eyes. Rating: 2/5

I Care a Lot (2020)

Plot: A crooked legal guardian (Rosamund Pike) who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman (Dianne Wiest) she tries to swindle turns out to be more than she first appears.

I was planning on writing a full review for this one because I absolutely loved it — but just in case you forgot, I'm lazy and didn't. Anyway, while Pike's character is not likeable, she is such an interesting and strong one. And no wonder "men" hated the film and the character because she is a gorgeous, independent, fierce, and ruthless woman, and their masculinity feels threatened by her. I'm planning on rewatching it soon and hopefully, then I'll write the review it deserves. Rating: 4,5/5

Easy A (2010) - Review | Rewatch

Beau Travail (1999)

Plot: This film focuses on an ex-Foreign Legion officer as he recalls his once glorious life, leading troops in Djibouti.

Another of those films I've been wanting to see for years, this turned out to be yet another disappointment. I didn't care about any of the characters, I didn't care about the story, I just wanted it to end. It's only 90 minutes but it felt like it lasted forever. Not even the fact that I had to read subtitles stopped my mind from wandering. Rating: 2/5

Prison Break: The Final Break (2009)

Plot: Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) finally get married but their happiness doesn't last long as the Feds arrest Sara for the murder of Michael's mother. Since she is not safe in the prison, Michael teams up with the others to break her out of prison. 

I thought I was done crying for these people when they showed Michael died in the Season 4 finale but boy was I wrong! Other than that, while it's a pointless follow up to a perfect ending, it's compelling and exciting from start to finish, the break is well planned, and it was really nice seeing Jodi Lyn O'Keefe again. Rating: 4/5

Horrible Bosses (2011) - Review | Rewatch