Movies: 100 New Movie Challenge August 2021 Edition
Between house hunting and giving up and moving into an apartment, I’m lagging far behind the pace of the 100 Movie Challenge. Basically, I have 4 months and I’m only at the halfway point. Luckily for me, winters in New York are rough so there will be plenty of cold nights to catch up on viewing. What new to me movies did I check out in August?
The Suicide Squad – HBO Max
The director of Guardians of the Galaxy made his way to DC for his version of a team-up movie. This one can’t be compared to the David Ayer version despite some repeat characters and in the title alone. James Gunn’s iteration of The Suicide Squad was granted an R rating thus making it more open to shenanigans. While fitting into the MCU, Gunn took a more family-friendly approach with GotG. This time around he let it all hang loose without ever crossing the line. What resulted was a rag-tag team-up film that had heart and humor balanced to a science. With each character brilliantly cast, it was nice to see a comic book movie drift away from your typical expectations.
The Resort – Hulu
This is easily one of the worst movies of the movie challenge. With a run time of 1hr 20mins, this “horror” film only had about 15 minutes of straight-to-DVD level horror. It was bad, real bad. But that’s the sad part too because they kept the pace of the movie well and the plot unfolded nicely, but you can’t have a scary movie that fails to scare.
More Entertainment: MCU – Who Is the Best Spider-Man?
Too Funny To Fail: The Life & Death of The Dana Carvey Show – Hulu
August was full of documentaries. With the run time of feature films, we added a few more to the list. Too Funny To Fail dives into what was once the Dana Carvey Show. Looking back on the series and the cast involved today would leave you scratching your head as to why the show didn’t last longer than it did.
Coda – Apple TV+
Apple continues to have a niche market that is propped up by its original and all-inclusive content. Coda is no different. The film unfolds with a deaf family struggles to make it in a hearing world. Their youngest daughter struggles to find her place and wishes to pursue a career in singing. The only problem is, she’s the only one in the family who can interpret speech to ASL. What makes Coda stand out so well is just how well the story is told in a non-traditional manner. When the majority of the story is told through sign language it not only challenges the actors to make sure they convey their emotions, it challenges the audience to follow along. Great storytelling in this one.
Neat: The Story of Bourbon – Hulu
Call me old-fashioned but I love a good historic telling on how something was made. Not only does Neat, give you the history of Bourbon, it tells of the culture that surrounds it. Gone are the days where bourbons and scotches were the drinks of choice. People switched over to lighter liquors. The reason being is bourbon, scotch, and whisky are meant to be enjoyed as a sipping drink that loosens you up over time to enjoy the company you’re keeping. Vodkas and Tequilas are meant to be taken as shots and the quicker you drink them, the quicker they set in. The quicker they set in, the less likely you are to spend more since you feel the effects between drinks faster.
Neat tells you how bourbons and such are more of a gentleman’s drink, designed to slow you down and be in the moment with good company, something we could all use a little bit more of these days.
Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story – Hulu
Here’s an eye-opening documentary for you. Typically docs are meant to be one-sided and attack your way of thinking. In doing so, they try and change your mind about your lifestyle. Although, Just Eat It has these moments, more often than not they’re handing out useful information that doesn’t make the viewer feel attacked.
It doesn’t go on to try to convince you to switch from everyday diets to make extreme changes like going full vegan. I’ve watched those types of documentaries and most seem heavy-handed. Just Eat It lays out facts and presents them in a way where you question your daily consumption and waste.
Attack documentaries rarely make a difference as most people see them as just that with so much bias. Any good documentary presents in a way that you feel the need to make small changes over time as you embrace a new lifestyle.
More Entertainment: Schmigadoon – Are the Townspeople Stuck Too?
Scotch: A Golden Dream – Hulu
(See Neat.)
Cruella – Disney+
Disney’s Cruella sort of got an unfair shake from critics. While it did have its eye-roll moments and started off a little bit wonky, it gradually got better as the story unfolded. An origin story for the villain in 101 Dalmations, Cruella was one of those movies where you don’t know what to expect but by the end are pleasantly surprised. It’s another family-friendly movie you may enjoy with the kids. However, if you’re looking for a new favorites Disney movie, it’s unlikely this will be it.
Vacation Friends – Hulu
John Cena is taking his chances with the movies he’s appearing in. This Hulu movie ought to be thankful it made it to streaming and not the box office. While it was an enjoyable film, it had the stink of a late night on TBS rerun kind of feel to it. To an older generation, it would be in the 4 for $20 movie bin at your local rental store. It has all the classic vacation/buddy comedy tropes similar to The Hangover, but it was dialed back a bit. Cena has leaned more into a comedic role with his acting and it seems to work. So much so, rumor has it this one is getting a sequel.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
