Movies: 100 Movie Challenge - February Movie Rundown

February was a shorter month giving at least 2 days less to watch movies. Luckily the shortened month didn’t throw off viewing too much as I was able to watch 5 movies just the same as January. February saw a bunch of family-friendly films as they’re a bit shorter and helped me stay on track to squeeze them in. In no particular order:

Vacation:

Wanting to be nostalgic, I threw on the studio’s “better late than never” approach to National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise. What a disappointment it was. At best it was a movie that brought us back to our youth. Realistically, it was a movie that tried to reboot a franchise without actually saying it was rebooting. Starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate, it had its funny moments but they were heh than HAHA. It wasn’t a side-splitting comedy and maybe they were settling for a good borderline family-friendly movie.

Judas and the Black Messiah:

Easily the best movie of February. This one is only on HBO Max for a couple more days so if you haven’t watched yet, bump it up the list. The movie is based on Fred Hamilton of the Black Panthers, and his rise in the community. The movie itself, even if it wasn’t based on a real person, does wonders to draw you in without overstepping your comfort level. It’s a story of real struggle without forcing a moral compass. It’s well worth multiple viewing.

More Entertainment: 100 Movie Challenge – January

Tom & Jerry 2021:

Easily the most disappointing movie on this list is Tom & Jerry. Something about the movie and I was asleep halfway through. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a kids’ movie and was never going to be up for any awards, but it was one of those movies that never stuck to one thing or another. Once I went back in a watched what I fell asleep to, it wasn’t worth going back for. If you need a good family-friendly film to keep the kids quiet than this might be your go-to. If not, finding something better won’t be too hard.

Playing with Fire:

The surprise of the watched movies Playing with Fire. A movie about Smoke Jumpers, yes that is an actual thing, starring John Cena as the lead. With John Leguizamo, Judy Greer, and Keegan-Michael Key it’s nothing more than what would be a “straight to DVD” to older movie-goers. However, the heart in the film combined with the light family fun of it didn’t make it unenjoyable. The hardest part of this film is John Cena’s acting at times.

He’s come a long way in terms of acting but has a little way to go. His lone hang-up in his scenes is you can tell he’s acting. At the very least, its a mild distraction to a goofy, lighthearted, family film with the usual tropes.

Safety:

This one was hard to watch, and I say that with a disclaimer. As a Disney+ movie, it seemed like it was something more of what you’d see on the Disney Channel rather than a full-on feature film you’d see in theaters. To the actors’ credit, every role in this film gave it their all, there were just moments that didn’t quite hit their mark. It had the right story but not the right heart. I love a good football movie that has both humor and heart, but it could’ve invested a bit more into both. This one felt like Disney wanted to go back and capture the mojo of Remember the Titans but didn’t want to invest the time into it fully.

There it is. Another month into the 100 movie challenge and I’m still behind the pace. In 10 months I’ll have to watch an extra six movies to catch back up. 2021 has a ton of good movies coming up. Check back for the rundown as the count goes on.