Happy August!! Dayum, Summer is surely fleeting by. It has been sweltering HOT the past two months that even 80 degrees feels ‘cool’… We’ve got the most 90-degree days in 9 years in the Twin Cities… I think we’ve had like 22 days so far this year, but feels like there have been more than that. The haze is what’s bothering me the most though, the MN Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert for the entire state for days, thanks to the Canadian wildfire. We’re pretty far from the border, so my heart goes out to those living close to these fires.
Ok, now on to the movie report… which is kind of uneventful overall apart from the increasing number of in-theater screenings of late, yay!
NEW TO ME MOVIES
The Tomorrow War (2021)
(full review)
Croupier (1998)
I had been curious about this Clive Owen movie when he was still young and clean-shaven. He’s the reason to watch it for me. I think people who enjoy gambling-type movies would enjoy this more but it’s a bit too slow and I also find it a bit odd overall. I was quite taken aback seeing Alex Kingston baring it all in a scene that I thought was out of left field.
Love Sarah* (2021)
(full review)
Gunpowder Milkshake(2021)
(full review)
Jungle Cruise (2021)
(full review)
The Bank Job (2008)
When I watched this movie, it said it was based on a true story, which I thought was a regular bank heist. Well apparently it was about Princess Margaret’s sexual affairs with Jamaican men in the 1970s, and of her pictures being caught and saved in a highly secured unknown bank. It’s not exactly like an action comedy a la Oceans 11 or The Italian Job, it’s actually not as humorous and more violent than thought. Still worth a watch for the ensemble cast led by Jason Statham, though this is prior to him becoming a huge action star in the US.
The Last Letter From Your Lover* (2021)
(full review)
The Green Knight (2021)
I just had to see this on the big screen on opening night!
Review Upcoming
Unknown (2011)
For some reason I was curious to check out Liam Neeson‘s movies directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who just did Jungle Cruise, and this one happened to be on Netflix. I actually enjoyed it, though I feel like this could’ve been re-titled as Lost in Berlin as Neeson was pretty much lost the entire time, ahah. The plot twist is actually pretty creative, I did not see THAT coming.
ADAM DRIVER Marathon
I’ll be blogging about this later as part of Mettel Ray’s HIDDEN GEMS monthly series (I’m a couple of days late to the party though… oops!)
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
What If (2013)
Paterson (2016)
Tracks (2013)
Movies indicated with * (asterisk) indicates those directed by women – and sadly, I managed to only watch only TWO movies directed by women this month. Hopefully I’ll still be able to complete the 52 Films By Women challenge by end of the year.
TV SERIES
TEHRAN (2020) – Apple TV
After watching the stellar Little Drummer Girl, my hubby and I decided to binge on another female-led spy thriller. TEHRAN focuses on a Mossad agent Tamar (Niv Sultan) who embarks on her first mission as a computer hacker in her home town of Tehran. It’s pretty gripping and suspenseful with terrific performances all around. It’s also pretty emotional given the personal stakes for most of the characters involved and it doesn’t paint the ‘enemy’ as one dimensional, in fact, the series shows a pretty balanced view of both sides of the Israeli and Iranian conflict.
Ted Lasso (Season 2) – Apple TV
I’m so glad the series is back!! Just two episodes in so far but it reminds me of why I absolutely LOVE this series, can’t wait for more!
Loki – Disney+
Well LOKI proves to be quite a game-changer series! I have to admit I didn’t always enjoy every episode and at times it just went over my head. But that the finale was indelible with the introduction of a new MCU villain Kang the Conqueror (a terrific Jonathan Majors). After Thanos they’ve got to come up with another formidable antagonist for phase 5, and Loki’s expression at the end of the finale says it all! I’m also excited that unlike the previous two Marvel series, LOKI will have a season 2!!
The Movies That Made Us: Jurassic Park (2021)
I really enjoyed this documentary series created by Brian Volk-Weiss chronicling the stories behind some of the beloved movies of the 80s and 90s. Jurassic Park is one of my all time favorites and it’s always fun to see all the challenges making ANY movie, especially something as huge (literally!) as this Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster.
REWATCHES
I barely have time to watch new stuff this month, but I did rewatch one movie…
My Fair Lady
JULY MOVIE OF THE MONTH
Paterson (2016)
Adam Driver and poetry… a truly mesmerizing combination. A quiet but indelible film and it cements Driver as my current cinematic crush. This is only the second Jim Jarmusch‘s film I’ve seen so far, but I really should check out more, starting with Only Lovers Left Alive.
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
I can’t believe 2021 is almost over, yet things just aren’t as great as I thought it was going to be when it comes to the Covid situation. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the Delta variant won’t cause any shutdown again. I’m still shaking my head that the government are paying people to take the vaccine here while in other parts of the world, people will pay to get one! Stupidity will doom us all.
Anyhoo, rants over. Lol! I think my favorite movie I saw from last month was The Tomorrow War and Black Widow. Wow, The Bank Job, totally forgot about that film. I really enjoyed that one too. Is Unknown the one where Neeson played a spy but his agency betrayed him? I’ve seen so many of his films that I get them all mixed up. Lol!
We still have 4 months of 2021 Ted, but yeah the year just FLEW by!! This delta variant is so worrisome as it’s even more contagious. Yeah, people in my homeland Indonesia still struggles to get ANY vaccine, it’s just so sad.
Glad you like Black Widow, yay! I like The Bank Job, one of the better Statham films before he went all Hollywood. Yes, Unknown is that one, I thought it was a clever premise and I didn’t see the twist coming. Boy he’s got SO many movies, hard to keep ’em straight, mwahaha!
Here where I work, we have offices all over the world and when we tell people in our Singapore and India offices about our government is paying people to take the vaccine, their jaws dropped to the floors. They just couldn’t believe some people are that ignorant when it comes to the vaccine. Like you said, many parts of Asia are suffering and they don’t access to the vaccine at all!
I just saw The Green Knight yesterday as I was blown away by it as I really loved the visual scale and surreal elements of that film. I would say the best film I saw last month is… Portrait of a Lady on Fire… WHOA!!!!!!
I just commented on your review of The Green Knight. The visuals and surreal elements was really strong, I just wish I’m more well versed on the whole Arthurian legend story, I think I’d get more enjoyment out of it.
I loved Croupier when I saw it in the theatre when it first came out, I believe it’s where I discovered Clive Owen. The film played the small city theatre circuit and was considered a big hit as far as budget vs. return went. It also was the film that helped Clive move to the next level in his career. Before it he was known mostly in Britain but afterwards he started to be cast internationally. It is a bit slow paced but I found it involving.
I had my higher hopes for The Bank Job than what the film delivered. I had hoped for the zesty joy of The Italian Job, The Caper of the Golden Bulls or any number of similar heist films but while I ultimately thought the film was okay it was very average.
It’s unfortunate that Julie Andrews wasn’t able to repeat her stage triumph in My Fair Lady (honestly she was more suitable for Eliza than Audrey Hepburn. Both are and were fine ladies but where Audrey was playing at being a scruffy ruffian in the beginning of the film Julie, underneath her impeccable manners, exudes a touch of the common hardscrabble edge that she gained from her years in music halls) but Audrey particularly in the latter section of the film does well. Henry Higgins is often a pompous ass which apparently Rex Harrison was as well, it’s certainly a perfect meeting of actor and part. You can’t envision anyone else playing it. That was the pervading opinion even then. When Cary Grant was offered the role he told Jack Warner “If you don’t cast Rex Harrison I won’t even go SEE it!” Outside of the lead pair the rest of the cast is a delight and the production is sumptuousness itself. However it’s massive success along with The Sound of Music the next year helped contribute to the demise of musicals since they quickly succumbed to Roadshowitis with the studios trying to outdo each other in making the films pageants which eventually couldn’t possibly turn a profit unless they were gargantuan successes which few were.
Well hello Joel! Always happy to see you stop by.
Wow, fun trivia there about Cary Grant saying that about Rex Harrison, but he’s absolutely right he is absolutely perfect for the role of Higgins. I’d imagine the actor as pompous as the character, as it turns out it’s true! I do love Wilfrid Hyde-White as Colonel Pickering, such a gentle soul.
As for Eliza, since I saw this around the same time I saw The Sound of Music as a young teen, I always thought Hepburn is perfect for the role. I just can’t imagine Julie Andrews portraying such a crass ‘guttersnipe’ ahahaha but I’m sure she’d be amazing as Eliza.
Well I think musicals are definitely HOT again this year with so many of them this year alone… In The Heights, Annette and the upcoming West Side Story remake.