rhiannonstone | Holiday-adjacent movie binge (Reply)

In December, we watch movies.

So very many movies...

December 20

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019 - in theaters) - [indistinct yelling]

December 21

Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) - I can't believe I slept on this for two years, it is so great. Christmas zombie horror musical! With an 80s horror/scifi film flavor to the music that was subtle and delightful. This one's going into regular holiday-watching rotation. And the soundtrack is already in regular rotation--"Hollywood Ending" may be one of the best musical songs ever, and "Human Voice" won't get out of my head, either.
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) - A very sweet "I discovered the internet and hey guess what I'm gay" story. That's totally what that was, right? The princesses were great, I wanted more of them being feminist badasses. The physical manifestations of the Internet were pretty well-done and the gags there weren't as cheap/obvious as they could have been. But... what the actual fuck with the film's final shot? Was it intended to be that bleak and depressing?

December 24

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - G had never seen it and it's very up her alley, so we watched this on Christmas Eve. Every rewatch I remain surprised how much I enjoy this beautiful, stylish, and utterly content-free movie--and by the fact that the movie ends without Napoleon and Ilya kissing even once. Maybe if I watch it again they'll kiss this time...?
The Addams Family (1991) - One of my enduring favorites. Addams Family Values gets more rewatches, but this is the one that brought the creepy, kooky characters from original TV show I grew up loving into the mainstream conversation, and Anjelica Huston & Raul Julia are such a perfect Morticia & Gomez.

December 25

Gremlins (1984) - Requisite annual rewatch that keeps me from just watching it weekly. I love this stupid movie.
Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - A Christmas Carol isn't as beloved by me as it is by many of the people I love, so this was my first rewatch of any version in a few years. Still the best version.
Ocean's 8 (2018) - Fun! I wanted more, but it was fun!
Men In Black: International (2019) - It was fun, but I dozed off about an hour in and woke up for the last 20 minutes, and didn't appear to have missed anything. I also really wanted it to be the Middleman movie I thought it was when I first saw the posters, and it wasn't.
Die Hard (1988) - It's just not Christmas until I see Hans Gruber fall from Nakatomi Plaza

December 28

Detective Pikachu (2019) - Watched it despite having zero knowledge of or interest in Pokemons. It was cute, and somehow both entirely predictable (Pikachu is real and HE'S MY DAD) and utterly baffling (uh, is "waving a hand and magically making everything better" a canonical Pokemon power?).
How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017) - I can't believe I slept on this one so long, either. I love the original Gaiman story, and I love John Cameron Mitchell, so of course I should have known this would be great. I think I thought it was going to be a quirky indie romcom? It was a little bit that, but much, much better than that. Highly recommended. (Surprisingly high latex and dungeon furniture budget, though.)

December 29

Thoroughbreds (2017) - Why didn't I hear more about this movie? It's excellent. Some blurb somewhere describes it as "Heathers meets American Psycho", and there are some clear Heathers influences, but it's much more Heavenly Creatures than anything else. The pacing and cinematography are masterful, and while the score full of sparse strings and percussion and sharp breaths was challenging for whatever variation of misophonia I have that makes those sounds give me anxiety, it was perfect for setting the tone.

December 30

Crazy Rich Asians (2018) - Loved Awkwafina, the food porn, the costumes, the music, and the Kris Aquino cameo (in yellow, of course!). Didn't so much love, y'know, the whole plot thing. Soooo much forced conflict, which is painful even when I know the HEA is coming. Why do I even movies?

December 31

Heavy Metal (1981) - Taarna forever!

I'm also taking recommendations! What awesome, ridiculous, fun, or silly movies have you seen in the past few years that I should watch? Grimdark films or stories about heartbreaking real-life events are not what I'm looking for right now, but anything else will be considered.