Movies
Quick reactions to films we’ve watched as a family—ranging from the bonkers fun of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning to indie darlings, animated favorites and rewatching Into the Wild with my daughter. I note what resonated (or didn’t) and who joined us.
We had a fun time watching Red One tonight. We like Dwayne Johnson movies and Christmas to boot. Was fun! 🎅💪🏆
The Matrix
I have wanted to watch The Matrix with Tyler for a while. I remember seeing it in the theater and being blown away by the film. I was also taken aback that it was released 25 years ago. Yikes.
I was tentative about the R-rating. I visited the Common Sense Media reviews for The Matrix and the average parent review suggested it was fine for 12 and up. A 25 year old R-rating isn’t what it used to be it seems. With further inspection I decided it was fine so we rented a fresh 4K version from iTunes, versus the DVD rip I have on Plex, and fired it up.
I had forgotten that it was AI that they were fighting against. It was interesting to see that storyline in the context of AI that we have today. The cell phones were comical in design dating before the glass slab era. Bullet time was amazing back then but not very notable given todays effects. The story was still very interesting and well done. We both liked it.
Tammy and I went to A Real Pain tonight. I thought it was fine and a bit boring. The reviews say it is “powerfully funny” which I didn’t get at all. It also seemed odd that [Kieran Culkin](Kieran Culkin)’s character behavior seemed so similar to Roman Roy. 🤷♂️
Our evening plans were a bit in flux and we decided at the last minute, very last minute, to go to the Wayfarer theatre and see White Bird. Very good movie with a gripping story.
We watched The Fall Guy tonight! Tons of action and a fun movie overall.
Tammy and I saw Thelma tonight at the Edina 4 Theater. It was a really good story. Funnier than I expected at parts and sad as well. An insightful look at aging. 🍿
We saw Inside Out 2 today and thought it was just incredible. We all liked the first one and it was one of those rare movies that gets better in your memories, and I feel the same for the new one. I loved the addition of Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui. Great movie! 🍿
We watched Arthur the King tonight. Our family is a sucker for dog movies and this one was no exception.
We watched Howl’s Moving Castle tonight. I think it is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies. I think we’ve seen about half of the Miyazaki movies.
We watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves tonight. Good story and fun D&D vibes.
We watched Jumanji: The Next Level tonight — almost a year after we watched Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. It was a fun family movie night. Tyler likes Dwayne Johnson movies. 🍿
Dune: Part Two
After multiple delays Dune: Part Two arrived in theaters! Tammy got us all tickets for last night’s sold-out showing at Edina 4. I’m the Dune fan in the family, but since we saw the first one as a family we decided to all go again.
I thought it was breathtaking. It would be difficult for me to pull out one specific area to highlight. The movie was 2h 46m but I never once took note of the time. I was completely there, engaged in this epic story. I read all six books of the Dune series in college and just like that last movie this makes me want to read them all again. The complex world of Dune and all of the interconnections is incredible.
Now, the rest of the family? This will be their last Dune movie. Tammy just doesn’t vibe with this kind of epic sci-fi story. Tyler found it just too long and slow. The violence was much more than Mazie wanted. Overall the Harkonnen’s were super-creepy, dark, and violent for all of us really. I keep thinking that having read the book maybe I experience the movies different than the rest of the family. I also do think feel that Villeneuve’s interpretations of Dune have a lot more violence than the original story, but I would need to re-read the books to see if that is really the case.
Dune: Part Three is in development now. I can’t wait to see it!
Tammy and I finally watched Oppenheimer tonight. Incredible movie. Everything about it pulled me in.🍿
Tyler and I watched TRON: Legacy again tonight. It is a great movie and made me think it would be fun to watch in the Vision Pro in 3D. 🍿
We all went to the new Mean Girls movie tonight. I had seen the 2004 Mean Girls a long time ago but didn’t remember that much of it. The musical interpretation was fun and had good moments.
We watched Here Comes the Boom tonight. Kevin James is a great lead for this and the story has some laughs along the way.
