RRX: Be Kind, Rewind Decade Retrospective

[Rorschach]

November

 

MBWII: The Second Monster Bug Wars

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Now, normally, I don’t disapprove of random fuckery occurring in films, provided it feels justified and/or funny, but man, that cameo in the third act took me out for a minute or two. Took a dumb fun film and just made it plain dumb for the sake of it. At least this film is not a literal scam like the two copycat spin-off films that came before it.

 

The Second Water War

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I can’t even recall the first Water War flick (I don’t even remember what year it came out, tbh). Not that it matters, either way; this is pretty much standard kids’ fodder with a fun ski resort setting and some decent messages about privilege & class division. Not substantially special, but it’s not like this was made with hefty ambitious storytelling in mind—an okay winter season timewaster at the theater.

 

Soil

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Not exactly an easy film to talk or write about, that’s for sure. I even had to go back and re-read it again just to fully wrap my head around it, given how subtle certain scenes in this play out (not a bad thing, whatsoever). It wasn’t until I read McKill’s Top 25 write-up that the story’s intentions fully clicked for me: written from the perspective of an outsider providing a certain service to those in need, it intentionally keeps you at a distance, but never enough to come off as cold and detached. It approaches its subject matter with deep empathy – heavily anchored by a heartwrenching performance from Sophie Bartlett – and overall feels like a much-needed, reassuring hug (a quality that I’ve noticed quite a few films from this year share in common). Probably the one film from this year that’s really stuck with me for some time after reading it.

 

The Unseen

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Found this one decently compelling, up until the very end when it hammers home its faith-based messaging in a way that, personally, just didn’t sit right for me. On top of that, the abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion just completely sours the experience altogether. It's a well-intentioned film, no doubt about that, but in execution, it leaves so much to be desired.

 

3 Hearts, 3 Fires

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More like Baddy G, amirite?

 

For Queen and Country

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See my Red Flag review.

 

Let's Eat Dad

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It’s fair to say that the last couple of years have made me extremely ambivalent towards Taika Waititi, who followed up his Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit with two mediocre duds that have inadvertently soured me on him as a filmmaker. With that said, I don’t hate the guy, considering he co-directed one of my favorite comedies from the 2010s, so I’m willing to give anything he does a shot. This brings us to his newest film, which in a lot of ways feels like a mini return to form more in line with his earlier works. I dug the main premise, and, as McKill said, I like how it carefully sweeps the rug out from under you of what’s truly about into something much more thoughtful. Though I will admit that the zany comedy here (a lot of which deals with Chris Pine’s villain character towards the end) works a little less than the actual dramatic core of the narrative, I think that said narrative is strong enough to overcome some of the mixed-bag humor thrown at you. Wagner Moura and Dedé Santana are clear standouts here, especially the latter as the titular dad character. For sure, one of the more memorable films to come out of this year.

 

King of Kings

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Yeah, the white-washed casting here does bring a bit of sour baggage to the experience, but I won’t lie and say that I didn’t still enjoy it for what it was – a big-budget, sword-and-sandals biblical epic that delivers on spectacle, with some good performances at its center. Not bad.

 

More Than Just a Residency

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Slay!!!

 

The Quest for Buster's Bones

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Yeah, I liked this one. The commitment to the old-school style of animation alone is enough to scratch a bit of a nostalgic itch for me, and the actual story itself, simple as it is, ain’t half bad, leading to some very fun cartoon antics that got quite a few laughs out of me. A good watch.

 

Cloud Cuckoo Land

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First and foremost, this film (and, by extension, the source material it's based on) owes a lot to Cloud Atlas. Some might take more of an issue with this than others, as there are times when this feels pretty derivative of that film’s narrative structure. Rest assured, though, this is not at all an Academy-level blunder. In fact, I’d go as far as to say this film is quite good… mostly. If there is one problem that holds over from Cloud Atlas, it's that not every storyline quite works. In this film’s case, I didn’t find either of the 1400s-era stories all that interesting, whereas I was hooked on the 20th-century, present-day, and distant future stories. Not sure which ones others will gravitate toward but that’s where I land. I found everything about Jake T. Austin’s character – a closeted Korean War veteran librarian who becomes obsessed with translating the fictional titular story – especially compelling and the clear stand-out storyline of the bunch. What I do think the film as a whole pulls off quite well is how it bridges a few of these storylines together in an extremely satisfying fashion, building up to a very riveting second half that pulls everything together into a fitting bow. 

 

No doubt, an ambitious feature that overcomes its slight familiarity with another (better) film to deliver something that’s at least quite fascinating and thought-provoking.

 

 

Meme Run 

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*Me contemplating everything I did wrong in my life that led me to the theater showing me this "film".*

 

 

[Rorschach]

December

 

My Winter Retreat

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Disappointingly straight and serious for a Rob Zombie picture. You’d think a winter-themed slasher he directed would be at least memorably funny, but neither is the case here. An unfortunate director-for-hire gig for the guy.

 

SSX Tricky

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A decently entertaining action film that amps up the goofiness of its predecessor even more with a “world-ending” threat this go-around. Like the first film, your enjoyment of this hinges on your enjoyment of seeing people rip some powder, which I do, so I got some enjoyment out of it.

 

Happy Together

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Not a lot to say about this one, other than it's trash… my kind of trash. Really hope to see more films like this one in the future.

 

Gateways II: The Empire of Zenith

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Hmmmmmmmm. Admittedly, I’m not as enamored with this as I thought I was hoping to be. It’s a shame because there are a lot of good elements at play here. If there is one thing I’ll give it, it's a clear love letter to several different animation styles, which this showcases and seamlessly blends to form possibly one of the most ambitiously creative big-budget films seen in this game. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, this is near-perfect. But unfortunately, I don’t think the story quite comes together to deliver a fully complete experience. From a slightly repetitive structure in the middle section to an overstuffed cast of characters constantly vying for attention (aside from the titular villain, none of the new characters make much of an impression, tbh), I felt this desperately needed to reign its ambitions in a bit and slim itself down to something just a little more streamlined to feel like a cohesive whole. Certainly, though, you can’t fault it for trying to reach those heights, but I think it needed a stronger foundation to get there. Still, a solid enough picture that’s got a lot on its mind and delivers spectacularly on an audiovisual front.

 

Hidden Blood

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The Library of Babel

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An intriguing idea for a premise, but also far too abstract and limited to work as a feature narrative. There’s only so much interest one can have in a film centered around a guy reading books for 2 hours. Probably a good showcase of why some stories just don’t quite translate into feasible adaptations across other mediums as others. Some good production design, though!

 

Floodbath: The Play

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An admirable experiment, though at times feels like you’re watching a taped stage version of a theme park stunt show. I’ll just stick with the movie version.

 

Edited March 15 by Rorschach

[Rorschach]

 

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The countdown will begin shortly.

 

[Rorschach]

Top 10 DisHonorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):

 

 

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51 (dir. Jonathan Liebesman)

 

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Adam and Cindy ft. Cersei, in Guinea Piggestt (dir. Barry Sonnenfeld)

 

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Doraemon (dir. Karyn Kusama) 

 

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For Queen and Country (dir. Louis Theroux)

 

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Lions and Dragons (dir. Troy Quane and Nick Bruno)

 

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MBWII: The Second Monster Bug Wars (dir. Beth McCarthy-Miller)

 

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Meme Run (dir. Andy Fickman)

 

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Paranormal Paranormal (dir. Daniel Stamm)

 

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Red Flag (dir. Jason Hehir)

 

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Toppings: A Pizza Romance (dir. Sam Levinson)

[Hiccup23]

Two dishonorable mentions! Thank you!! ❤️❤️ 

[Rorschach]

The Honorable Mentions

 

 

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Fishergirls (dir. Chris Wayan)

 

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Freedom Day (dir. Levan Gabriadze)

 

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Life Picture (dir. Lila Neugebauer)

 

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Old Men Walking (dir. Chris Columbus)

 

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Operation Finality (dir. Leigh Whannell)

 

[Rorschach]

25-21

 

25.

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The Valkyries vs. The Galaxy (dir. Ian Jones-Quartey)

 

24.

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Room 131 (dir. Tate Taylor)

 

23.

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The Lottery (dir. Sarah Polley)

 

22.

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DC's The Siege of Savage (dir. Jeff Fowler)

 

21.

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Smile (dir. Kirsten Lester)

 

[Rorschach]

20-16

 

20.

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Time After Time (dir. Tom Harper)

 

19.

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Tatiana's Journey (dir. Mike Owens and Shadi Petosky)

 

18.

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Sony v Nintendo (dir. Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky)

 

17.

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The Boy with the Green Eyes (dir. Zach Cregger)

 

16.

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The Quest for Buster's Bones (dir. Steve Moore)

 

[Hiccup23]

Thanks for #17 and #24! 

 

 

[Rorschach]

15-11

 

15.

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The Enormous Radio (dir. Christina Choe)

 

14.

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Happy Together (dir. Adrian Lyne)

 

13.

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Providence (dir. James Wan)

 

12.

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Green Lantern Corps: Evolution (dir. Christopher McQuarrie)

 

11.

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Gateways II: The Empire of Zenith (dir. Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Adam Muto)

 

Edited March 23 by Rorschach

[Rorschach]

10-6

 

10.

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Let's Eat Dad (dir. Taika Waititi)

 

9.

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Tailypo (dir. Alexandre Aja)

 

8.

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Cloud Cuckoo Land (dir. Ridley Scott)

 

7.

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Maniac Magee (dir. Robert Zemeckis)

 

6.

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The Legend of Hollis Brown (dir. Clint Eastwood)

 

[Rorschach]

5-1

 

5.

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The Set-Up (dir. Claire Scanlon)

 

4.

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Berserk: The Golden Age (dir. Zack Snyder)

 

3.

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A Walk in the London Rain (dir. Emma Seligman)

 

2.

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Penpal (dir. David Robert Mitchell)

 

1.

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Soil (dir. Charlotte Wells)

 

[Rorschach]

Top 25:

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1. Soil
2. Penpal
3. A Walk in the London Rain
4. Berserk: The Golden Age
5. The Set-Up
6. The Legend of Hollis Brown
7. Maniac Magee
8. Cloud Cuckoo Land
9. Tailypo
10. Let’s Eat Dad
11. Gateways II: The Empire of Zenith
12. Green Lantern Corps: Evolution
13. Providence
14. Happy Together
15. The Enormous Radio
16. The Quest for Buster’s Bones
17. The Boy with the Green Eyes
18. Sony v Nintendo
19. Tatiana’s Journey
20. Time After Time
21. Smile
22. DC’s The Siege of Savage
23. The Lottery
24. Room 131
25. The Valkyries vs. The Galaxy

Honorable Mentions:

Fishergirls

Freedom Day

Life Picture

Old Men Walking

Operation Finality

 

Grades:

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January

Sony v Nintendo - B

Puckshot - C

Money Heist - C+

Toppings: A Pizza Romance - D

Operation Finality - B-

 

February

Viva Las Vengeance - C

Room 131 - B-

The Valkyries vs. The Galaxy - B-

The Legend of Hollis Brown - B+/B

A Ghost Tail - C-

 

March

Speed Demon - C

Klonoa: Door to the Phantomile - C+

Gran Turismo 2 - C

Lions and Dragons - D+

 

April

Father vs. Son - B-/C+

Cruis’n World - C

The Enormous Radio - B

Stallions - C

 

May

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - C+

Doraemon - D+

DC’s The Siege of Savage - B/B-

The Set-Up - B

12 Angry Veggies: A VeggieTales Movie - C

 

June

Old Men Walking - B-

Flesh - C+

LittleBigPlanet - C-

The Secret That Love Brings - C-

 

July

Ping - C

51 - D-

Freedom Day - B-

Second Dimension: Battle for North Kingdom - B-/C+

The Furby Movie - C

Lifeguards - C-

The Lottery - B-

Green Lantern Corps: Evolution - B

Wii Sports: Vacation on Wuhu Island - C-

 

August

Tornado - C

Tatiana’s Journey - B/B-

A Walk in the London Rain - B+

Six Souls - C-

Burnout: Revenge - C+

Coyotes Wild - C

 

September

Providence - B

Smile - B/B-

9/11: Never Forget - B-

Adam and Cindy ft. Cersei, in Guinea Piggest - D

Fishergirls - B-

Kris’ Plan - B-/C+

Sweet Tooth - C+

 

October

Pac-Man - C+

Paranormal Paranormal - D+

The Boy with the Green Eyes - B

Monster Farm - C+

The Elevator - C

Mouse Hunt - B-

Red Flag - C-/D+

Life Picture - B-

 

November

MBWII: The Second Monster Bug Wars - C-/D+

The Second Water War - C

Soil - B+

The Unseen - C-

3 Hearts 3 Fires - C-

For Queen and Country - C-/D+

Let’s Eat Dad - B

King of Kings - B-

More Than Just a Residency - C

The Quest for Buster’s Bones - B

Cloud Cuckoo Land - B

Meme Run - D

 

December

My Winter Retreat - C-

SSX Tricky - C+/C

Happy Together - B

Gateways II: The Empire of Zenith - B

Hidden Blood - C-

The Library of Babel - C+

Floodbath: The Play - B-/C+

 

Edited March 15 by Rorschach

[MCKillswitch123]

Thank you so much for three HM's, #23, #19, #18, #16, #15, #8, #6, #3 and especially #1! ❤️

[YM!]

Thank you for 10-12. 14, 22 and 25

[Rorschach]

Gonna give it another week or so until sometime after Easter before I dive into the requested films for the retrospective series. For everyone who hasn't already requested three films from before Y10 (1 by you and 1 from 2 other users) for me to review, you'll have until... let's say the Monday after Easter Sunday to get them in. As a reminder, please consult the ongoing list on the main post before submitting your requests.

 

@4815162342 @Ezen Baklattan @Ethan Hunt @Blankments @Alpha @Xillix @SLAM! @El Squibbonator @lamamama @tyson67roberts @Bastien

 

(I know not everyone I tagged here will probably respond, but I figured I might as well on the slim off-chance any of you do see this as I do want to get as wide a variety of selections as possible.)