November Recap + Top Movie of the Month

On By ruthIn Monthly Recap

November2014Recap

WOW, would you believe it, we’re already in the last month of 2014! I’ve been sort of blissfully disconnected from the blogosphere the past few days, so I was quite flabbergasted that tomorrow is December already. Seems that the year have flown by much quicker than I could keep up with.

Anyway, it ends up being a rather slow month for movie-watching for me, but I think December will be another busy one with a bunch of press screenings already scheduled in the next few weeks, starting with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Into The Woods and Night at the Museum 2.

Posts you might’ve missed:

New-to-me Movies:

RebelWithoutACauseGraphic

Rewatches:

  • Sense & Sensibility (1995)
  • Superman Returns (2006)
  • Licence To Kill (1989)

Favorite Movie of November 2014:

BirdmanBanner

I had been anticipating Birdman for some time because I’m a fan of Michael Keaton and it’s great seeing him in a lead role again. Well he certainly did NOT disappoint! It’s truly as bizarre & surreal as I expected it to be, but it’s also poignant, emotional and unlike anything I’ve seen all year. Review coming sometime next week.

So, what movies did you get to see in November and which one is your favorite?

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45 thoughts on “November Recap + Top Movie of the Month”

    1. Hi Michael! I think you’d enjoy Birdman. It’s bizarre but in a good way. Oh I’ve been hearing great things about Whiplash, I’ll be up for renting that for sure.

      Reply
  3. Ted S.

    I can’t believe it’s almost 2015! Where are the flying cars that Back To Future Part 2 promised us? LOL!

    Well since I just went and saw Interstellar for a third time so it’s definitely my favorite film of the month, maybe of the year so far. The other new films to me that I saw were You’re Next and Out of The Furnace, watched them on Netflix; really enjoyed You’re Next, Out of the Furnace not so much. Also, now that I have my mini home theater set up, I’ll be watching more movies at home. Bought a bunch of Blurays over Black Friday sales so I think I’ll be a couch potato this month.

    Reply

    1. It’s nuts isn’t it? Ahahaha yeah apparently we’re not quite so *advanced* as some futurists back then predicted.

      Yeah I figure your fave would be Interstellar. I wish I could say the same, but I don’t even have interest in seeing it again anytime soon.

      Hey that’s cool you’ve got your home theater set up now. Did you get the Dolby Atmos set up too?

      Reply
      1. Ted S.

        No Dolby Atmos yet, I still need to firmware update my receiver and buy Atmos speakers. I’m waiting for a sale price on those speakers, I’ll wait till there’s another holiday discount prices before Christmas.

        Reply

  4. Nice, looking forward to your full Birdman review, Ruth. It was certainly one of the better movies I’ve seen this year, but nothing was gonna top Interstellar for best movie of the month (and the whole year so far) for me. I can already see it becoming my Titanic, I’ve already seen it three times, and have plans to see it again. Just can’t get enough of it, heh. 😛

    Reply

    1. Hi Chris! I hope to get that written by end of the week, though most likely it’ll be next week. That’s cool that you love Interstellar so much. I wish I could say the same but I’m still keen on seeing that again when it’s out on Bluray. I didn’t know you’re such a big Titanic fan. I have to admit I loved it when it came out too, but haven’t seen it in a long time.

      Reply

      1. Oh no, hehe, that wasn’t to imply I’m a fan of Titanic (though I did enjoy that one), just that my fanaticism for Interstellar is similar to how crazy people were going for Titanic when that just came out. 😛

        Reply

        1. Ah I see! Well, I don’t think the madness (borrowing your blog name here) of Interstellar is in the same vein as Titanic as those teeny boppers (including me at the time I guess) went mad for Leo, LOL!

          Reply

  5. Good stuff there Ruth. I’ve caught up with several movies this month that I’ve absolutely loved, but none of them top Interstellar. We’ve spoken about it but I’m still meditated on that film and the emotional impact it had on me.

    Reply

    1. Hi Keith! That’s cool Keith, I think a lot more people are in your camp. I might rewatch it when it’s out on Bluray and perhaps I might have a different opinion than I do now.

      Reply

  7. I saw quite a lot of things this past month. My favorite show I saw this month was True Detective…such an amazing show, the performances/story and visually it is stunning. As for movies my favorites are Interstellar and Nightcrawler.

    Reply

    1. I still need to catch up on True Detective and Nightcrawler. Most likely I’ll see the latter first as I’m so bad w/ catching up on TV shows.

      Reply

  8. The best recent release I saw this month would probably have to be between Foxcatcher and Whiplash. The strongest new-to-me picture though was The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.

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  10. Stu

    I can’t believe it’s December either! Looking forward to Birdman, so will check your review later this week. I think the film I enjoyed most that I saw was Nightcrawler. That’s one of my favourites of the year.

    Reply

    1. Hi Stu! Time flies doesn’t it? I’m so behind on reviews, most likely it’ll be next week that I get the review for Birdman up. I do have Foxcatcher done for tonight though. I hope to see Nightcrawler at some point, but it was already yanked from the theater near me 😦

      Reply

  11. Did not catch many movies in November due to travels and lots of work. Only six to be exact, but three of them being pretty great: Interstellar, Boyhood and Edge of Tomorrow. Really looking forward to reading your review on Birdman which is in my must-see list.

    Reply

    1. Hello Niels! Hey you managed to see some new releases so not too shabby, man. I actually haven’t seen Boyhood yet. Birdman is definitely a must-see!

      Reply

  13. Man, I really want to see Birdman! So looking forward to that despite my aversion to Keaton. I think I’d have to say Boyhood is favourite from last month but now I’m not sure if I seen that in Oct or not. Nov went that fast!

    Reply

    1. Hello Mark! You have an aversion to Keaton? Bummer, why is that if you don’t mind me asking? Is it like me w/ Brad Pitt/Ryan Gosling, ahah.

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  14. I feels like everyone in blogosphere has watched Begin Again except me, I hope to see it soon 🙂
    Sure was a memorable performance by James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause, that could be among my favorite movie titles ever.

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris! Knowing your penchant for good music, you should absolutely check out Begin Again, I think you’d love it. Yeah, I could see why Dean was such an icon after seeing Rebel Without A Cause, I like that he can be both tough and tender.

      Reply
  15. jackdeth72

    Hi, Ruth:

    Interesting critique!

    Mr. Keaton has a laid back charm I quite enjoy.

    Though growing up with the UK import, ‘The Avengers’ with Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. The title ‘Birdman’ makes me flash back to a episode titled ‘The Winged Avenger’ and its spoof of 1960s US super hero shows. And its bird costumed hero’s attack cry of “EEEEEEE~URP!!!”

    Either way, it looks good that Mr.Keaton is back I he saddle again!

    Reply

    1. Hi Kevin! He does have a laid back charm, very true! I’ve liked him in both comedies and dramas, even in his roles as villains. In Birdman he truly gets to use his immense-but-underrated talent as an actor. Yes, hope this will get him more prominent roles in the future!

      Reply

  17. So glad you liked Birdman, I’m very much looking forward to it. My fav of the month was my rewatch of “My Life without Me” but out of the new films Nightcrawler was so good, it even beat Brokeback Mountain as my favorite Gyllenhaal performance

    Reply

    1. Hi Sati! I hope you see it soon. I’m a big fan of Keaton so it’s cool to see him in a leading role again. I’ve only seen 3 Iñárritu films but this one might be my favorite so far. Man I really need to see Nightcrawler! I was actually hoping to see it that night but it was already yanked from the theater so I went for Birdman instead.

      Reply

  19. I’m impressed with all of the movies you’ve seen just this month, Ruth! Wow, Birdman? I wasn’t expecting that. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would, despite how bizarre it was. Looking forward to your review! I’m hoping to get mine up within the next week or so. Very excited for all the movies December will be offering!

    Reply

    1. Hey Kris! I actually didn’t see as many as I would like. But yeah, glad I saw Birdman, and thankfully Mockingjay was sold out that night so we saw this instead. I expected it to be bizarre and surreal but still it’s emotionally heart-wrenching and beautifully-acted.

      Reply

      1. Haha, I feel like that’s my life theme for every month: never making it to the movies enough, never seeing quite enough movies. Haha. There are definitely some memorable and interesting performances that I think will probably make Birdman come up in conversation for awards season.

        Have you seen Mockingjay yet? I read the review that you had a guest writer write, but I was curious to hear what you thought of it!

        Reply

  20. Cool! So glad you liked Birdman because I don’t think it’s your cup of tea at all, That was my favorite November film as well (hell, it’s my favorite of the year so far). Can’t wait for Into the Woods in December!

    Reply

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