Happy August everybody! I missed June’s recap because it was such a whirlwind month for me, but it’s back now!
Whoah, it’s the last month of the year before we get to the ‘–ber’ month (or brrrrrr month if you’re in Minnesota!)… and that also means the end of Blockbuster Movies is near. I think there are only a couple of Summer movies left, Smurfs 2 this weekend, and We’re The Millers & Elysium next weekend.
Now, here are some of the posts you might’ve missed from this past month:
- Question of the Week: What movie(s) surprises you most this year?
- Random Thoughts: What happened to these directors’ (once-promising) career?
- Upcoming Flix Spotlight: R.I.P.D and interview w/ extra Tim Jacobs
- New Releases Double Reviews: World War Z & White House Down
- The Flix List: Top 10 Movies from the first half of 2013
- Musings on Batman casting and the actor who gets my vote for the role: Richard Armitage
New-to-me Films Watched:
A Cat in Paris (2010)
We’re The Millers (review next week)
The Act of Killing (2012)
Rewatches:
Mansfield Park
X-Men (2000)
Batman: Year One
Batman Begins
The Vicars of Dibley (Christmas Special)
July seems to have gone by pretty quickly. I didn’t see any film the first weekend of July, but I guess I was able to see quite a bit of movies in about three weeks. The surprise film of the month for me has been Pacific Rim, which I saw twice in a month, with The Wolverine being the most disappointing.
Movie of the Month:
I was going to put down Pac Rim as movie of the month but that was before I saw this film.
The Act of Killing is a chilling documentary that recounts the mass-killings in 1965, which is the darkest moments in my homeland Indonesia’s history. I saw this a couple of nights ago and well, all the adjectives you’ve probably heard about this film: harrowing, disturbing, shocking, brutal, mind-blowing, etc. are no hyperbole. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before and one that I won’t soon forget.
This is what Werner Herzog, who was one of the producers of the film, said about it:
“I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal, & frightening in at least a decade.”
I’ll be interviewing director Joshua Oppenheimer tomorrow afternoon, so stay tuned for my review and the interview post next week!
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
Wow, can’t believe the summer is almost over! Since our last winter lasted so long, I hope the cold and snow won’t come till late this year, hopefully in January but that’s just wishful thinking. I should know better since this is MN.
I think I only saw three new movies in theater in July, Man of Steel, The Lone Ranger and The Wolverine, I liked The Wolverine and Man of Steel equally even though I have some big issues with them. You know how I feel about The Lone Ranger. I don’t think I have a favorite movie from last month. That seems to be the theme this year so far, most of the films I saw were entertaining but none stood out for me. Hopefully Elysium will change that.
Hi Ted, I know isn’t it? Time flies! It’s a bummer that Summer feels especially short here this year 😦
Yeah, I hope Elysium is good, looking forward to that next week. I highly recommend The Act of Killing, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. No wonder even Herzog was impressed w/ it.
The film I’m most interested in seeing from that list is The Act of Killing, from what I can tell a must-see doc, even though the contents could be disturbing.
Sorry The Wolverine didn’t meet your expectations. I was let down by the X-men origins film from 2009, I prefer First Class (2011). I think I’m more excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), despite Bryan Singer’s recent track record being a mixed bag.
Hi Chris! Yes, The Act of Killing is a must-see, though it’s definitely unsettling and will linger w/ you for days, maybe weeks.
I LOVE the X-Men films and First Class. Even the subpar X-3 is still better than Wolverine for me.
I had a pretty slow July in terms of film watching to be honest, but I think my favourite was Pacific Rim. Sure it was big and dumb but it was a lot of fun. I’ve not had the opportunity to see The Act of Killing but I’ve only heard incredibly positive things about it. Looking forward to your interview and great work on actually getting it!
Hi Chris! My feature film fave is still Pac Rim, too. But The Act of Killing just completely floored me, hope you get a chance in catching that soon. Yeah, very excited to meet Joshua Oppenheimer today. Stay tuned for the post.
I look forward to your interview Ruth. Congrats on being able to do it.
I also am looking forward to your Five for the Fifth! 🙂 Happy August!
Hi T! I was fortunate that the director happens to be in town. Sounds like he can speak Indonesian too which is awesome 😀
Yeah, I’m excited to work on Five for the Fifth this weekend, esp since I missed last month. Thrilled that you remember that T 😀
Wow, congrats Ruth! You must just be sooo excited for your interview tomorrow. 🙂 The Act of Killing doesn’t seem to be the kind of documentary you would watch with, but if you loved it that much, that says a lot! Do you think I could rent it from Redbox?
Thanks Julie. The interview was this afternoon, and yeah it was awesome! I’m actually going to a class he’s teaching at Walker Art Ctr tomorrow. The doc is something I’d recommend even if it’s very unsettling. The director can speak Indonesian, and you can hear him speaking Indo in the film. It’s available on iTunes if you’re interested Julie.
Whoa, that poster for The Act Of Killing sure seems interesting!! You saw two Batman films and pushed Richard Armitage to don the cape next… great choice but reminds me of a joke I heard recently. Vin Diesel should be the next Batman because he growls and mumbles so much so would actually sound like the Dark Knight!!
Wait ’til you see the film, Asrap! My jaw was on the floor pretty much the entire time. Ha..ha.. yeah, it’s Bat-month in July, fingers crossed RA would actually be cast!!
Mwahahaha… Vin Diesel?!? Bane maybe, but I can’t imagine him as Bruce Wayne, he doesn’t seem intellectual at all, ahah.
I can’t wait to see the post about the interview. I’m also looking forward to Pacific Rim and The Act of Killing. Yours in just the third opinion I get to read on the Act of Killing and I really can’t wait to watch it (I had read Herzog’s thoughts and the AVClub review prior). If Werner Herzog says it’s the most harrowing and frightening film of the last decade, then sign me up. Besides, I feel it’ll be pretty educational as well.
Nice work. I’m heading over to your other reviews now…
Hi Niels! Well everything you’ve read about The Act of Killing is no hyperbole. It really is mind-blowing but VERY disturbing. I haven’t read the Herzog’s article, mind if you send that to me if you have the link? Yeah, I think it’ll make you want to read more about the history around that event.
Hope you enjoy Pac Rim, LOVE that movie! Definitely be buying the blu-ray 😀
Sigh! I just new “The Wolverine” had the big prize this month! 😀
Sorry Keith i wish it werent the case but alas 😞
On a big superhero kick, hey?
Ahah yeah apparently so
The act of Killing sounds very interesting! Looking forward to your interview.
My favorite July movie was Incendies.
Cant wait to review it too. The imterview went well, Joshua was such a nice fellow.
I’m glad:)
Where did you find The Act of Killing? I really want to see it.
It should be on iTunes Nick. It’s really fascinating!
I’ve seen several movies this past month, most of them quite good but The Conjuring was far and away the best one. I also rewatched Forgetting Sarah Marshal and Knocked Up, I just love these two movies 🙂
Oh I haven’t seen Forgetting Sarah Marshal yet but I should do that soon, I quite like Jason Siegel! Not interested in Knocked up though, I don’t care for the leads, esp Katherine Heigl.
Guess what Sati, i ended up watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall because of you. It was hilarious!! 😁
Oh, awesome, so glad you liked it! It’s such a cheerful film – a guy gets dumped by a major bitch, goes to Hawaii makes tons of friends and gets Mila Kunis 🙂
Yeah, normally I’m not into R-rated comedies but Jason Segel is so likable. I love Mila Kunis too, sooo gorgeous, I was like who cares about the blond, he’s getting a goddess! 😀
The Act of Killing sounds fascinating. And my family and I really enjoyed both X-Men and Despicable Me.
Hi Steph, if you like documentaries, esp. the thought-provoking and unforgettable kind, then you should definitely check out The Act of Killing. I’ve never had so much conflicting emotions watching a film, and it’s certainly something that’ll stay with me for a long time.
Nice round-up. The best film I saw this month would have to be between The Searchers or The Bicycle Thief, two great movies that blew me away.
I haven’t heard of those two you mentioned, better look ’em up! 😀
How did you get The Act of Killing????
I really want to see it and still can’t find it 😦
I’ll send you an email about that Nov 😀
I’ll be waiting 🙂
I just sent you an email. Btw stay tuned for Five for the Fifth, I think you’ll like this one as Benny’s got a mention 😀
Solid month of films. I really want to see The Act of Killing, and I might break down and see The Wolverine this week. 🙂
Stay tuned for my interview w/ the director, I think that’ll make you want to see The Act of Killing even more. Hope you’ll enjoy Wolverine more than I did 😀
I saw the trailer for The Art of Killing last week and it looked like a really powerful film. I’ll have to check it out soon, even though it seems like it could be very hard to watch.
Hi Eric! Yeah it’s tough to watch at times but totally worth seeing. Watch for my review + interview with the director in my next post 🙂
I realize that when studios do release movies during those slower periods, the assumption is always that they have no faith in the movie so it’s being dumped in a weak month. But last year The Hunger Games proved that if a movie is good enough, it doesn’t matter when it hits theaters. That film was released in the typically slow month of March and went on to gross $692 million.