I’m a patient movie-goer. I’ve sat through a lot of mediocre films, some downright bad ones too. Since I started my movie-going craze last year, just once have I walked out on a movie, last year’s flaky, superficial, and abysmally bad The Bling Ring. Last night made twice.

I was excited to see Nebraska. Highly reviewed, touted everywhere. It had the very soft rollout that many indie films see, so while it has been “in theaters” since the first week of December, it just now made it to one close to me, and in a way that built excitement for me too. But from the get-go, Nebraska didn’t capture my attention nor my laughs. The jokes seemed to be written for another generation. It was in fact my dad who asked me weeks ago if I had seen the movie about the man who thought he had won a million dollars. My dad, who probably couldn’t tell you the biggest blockbuster last year, what movies were out this (or last) week, or even name one actor in Nebraska. I can see him laughing heartily at the jokes in this movie, as were the members of the upper generation I shared the theater with last night. To me they just seemed forced and dated.

People have lauded Bruce Dern. I just didn’t connect I guess. He played the sullen, depressed, obnoxious old man. While I felt sorry for him, I just couldn’t sympathize with him. Will Forte suffers from the same affliction nearly all post-SNL actors have upon trying the big screen for the first time. As a long-time SNL watcher, I just kept waiting for him to break loose from his sour demeanor into a wide grin and say something ridiculous.

I gave up 45 minutes into this film and left. When I got home I jumped online and read how it ended. From what I read, maybe it got better, but for me, maybe not. Perhaps I’ll wait 30 years and try it again.

So with starting this blog on January 14, I’m a little late in movie reviews for what I’ve seen this year. Here’s my quick recap of the movies I’ve seen so far this year :

Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Saw this one on January 1. This is one of those films that is heavily promoted in theaters (been seeing previews for it for a very long time) but when it finally gets to coming out, it doesn’t seem to blow the critics away. Currently sitting at 48% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 54 Metascore. I enjoyed it though. It is a funny, quirky movie, but not the same old Ben Stiller type of comedy. It ended up being a very heartfelt film, very much a “person finding himself” kind of film.

American Hustle
I was late to the party on this one. It was out for a full week or two before I finally got around to seeing it. I’m sorry I waited! This was a great way to start the year. This one isn’t just hype. Right now sitting at a 90 Metascore and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is a real gem. The acting is superb, the story builds to a not-so-surprising but still fulfilling ending. The 3 big stars are Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Amy Adams, all incredible actors as you know, but in a lesser role, Jennifer Lawrence steals every scene she is in. Part of this is certainly due to writing, she is sort of the “comic relief” role to a point and has some funny dialogue, but mostly it is purely her acting. In a movie full of top shelf actors, she stands above them. This shouldn’t be too surprising after seeing her in Silver Linings Playbook, but it will make me sure to see anything she’s in for awhile.

Lone Survivor
Though it is a terrible title (guess how it ends?!) this is a solid “war” film. The previews touted this one as the next Saving Private Ryan. I wouldn’t take it that far, but it is worth seeing if you are up for lots of guns and explosions. I always have a soft spot for based-on-true-story films, I’m just a sucker for them for the most part. I enjoyed it.

Her
Another great movie. Joaquin Phoenix lives up to the billing with a stellar performance. For him, there was no where to hide in this one. In another movie, when a couple is loving or fighting, the camera is far back over the two of them. Here, since Phoenix is in a relationship with his OS, it is just him on screen talking to Scarlet Johansson in her usual smoky voice. Many times the camera is close up to his face, and he adeptly conveys the gamut of emotions from love, joy, and elation to anger, despair, and hurt. The idea that a person can fall in love with his computer seems silly. Go watch the film. The emotions the two of them go through are the same of any couple and are very much real to both of them. A sad movie (no spoilers, not going to give away the ending!), it will certainly jerk with your own emotions throughout the film, but a truly great one.

So that’s it. I’ve seen 4 movies so far this year. I’ll try to get my thoughts up more quickly from here on out. Up next I hope to see August: Osage County, Nebraska (finally showing in my area!), and Inside Llewyn Davis. Maybe Hercules if I’m bored, though he is getting thrashed in reviews so maybe not.

I see a lot of movies. My wife says I should blog about them. So here I am.

I signed up for Movie Pass (https://www.moviepass.com/spd) in February last year. If you haven’t heard about it, it’s a pretty cool program allowing you to see 1 “regular” movie (no 3D, no IMAX, etc.) per 24 hour window for a reasonable, flat monthly fee. The system has its flaws, but I put it to use and saw a lot of movies last year. I’ve always loved going to the movies, but as prices rose over the last few years, I went less and less until I found myself only going a handful of times a year. With Movie Pass in hand, I saw 68 movies last year, and I hope to see far more than that this year.

I’m sure this will be boring to read, it’ll mostly just be a record of what I see and what I think about them. But it is something to do so we’ll see where it goes.