Movies Watched in 2017
This past year, I wanted to immerse myself into visual storytelling in movies, so we watched quite a few movies (88 to be precise). Hope I learned something, but at least I enjoyed this research!
While we rented some from GooglePlay and through our Amazon Prime Video, to our delight, we realized that we could check out many movies (even just released to dvd) through our local library! Nothing like watching movies for free!
As a side note & a little insight to me, I am not fond of watching movies at the movie theater as I find it inconvenient & discomforting (in fact, I can’t quite remember how many years ago it has been since watching a movie in the theater). Watching at home allows me to pause as needed (use restroom, get something to drink/eat, look something up, talk about what was shown, go do something and come back to the movie hours later, etc.), rewind (usually to clarify what was said/shown or re-listen/re-see if distracted when in natural play), and simply to relax (lay down, wear very casual clothes, talk & use smartphone more freely during the movie, sketch or do work during the movie, etc.). Oh, and it’s a whole lot cheaper!
…hmm… “Nothing like watching movies for free!”… “it’s a whole lot cheaper!”… Well, I sure sound like a cheapskate! — haha — I’m not, but if I can get something at a lesser cost (especially if I find the lesser cost version to be better), then why pay more?
FAVORITES & NOTES:
These movies get repeated in their category below; however, I wanted to call out some of my favorites. Since I’m not certain as to which order I would put them in, I listed them in alphabetical order:
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Ernest & Celestine (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
My Life As A Zucchini (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Wadjda (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
NOTES:
I also enjoyed the Planet of the Apes Trilogy, the Star Wars movies, and The Spiderwick Chronicles; though, I’m not sure if they make it to the “Favorites” list. Similarly, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the mix of 3D, 2D, etc. in The Peanuts Movie; it was something I was skeptical & critical of before watching it but actually found it to be an appropriate and endearing approach.
Maybe I’ll make some people upset here, but I did have some unexpected disappointments with some movies that had a lot of critic, industry, and public “fanfare” (Note: This doesn’t mean that I disliked the movies all together, for in fact, there were various great things about them) : Logan — While I liked the gritty, dusty & somewhat realistic style of Logan, it was far too violent/angry/aggressive for me. Wonder Woman — This had fun action sequences & exciting special effects, but while it was nice to see the Wonder Woman character being physically strong as well as compassionate, I found her to make key decisions based off of emotion rather than thoughtful strategy & such; thus, I didn’t find her to be quite the best role model as the character was praised for being, particularly for encouraging STEM, leadership, etc. La La Land — This just seemed to have unending praise heaped upon it, but I found it quite forgettable; however, I must say that I very much so liked the color usage, sets/scenes & the compositions of them. The live action versions of The Jungle Book and Beauty & The Beast — Both of these were visually wonderful with great production quality; however, they not only didn’t live up to the original cartoon versions for me but seemed to be lacking something (perhaps it is just my own nostalgia).
I probably should spend more time writing down thoughts after watching movies, especially as I would love to be more thorough here on what I liked/disliked & why for all the movies. Maybe I’ll find some time to go back to ponder on all of these more, and maybe I’ll start writing down thoughts on movies going forward shortly after watching them…
THE LIST:
Here’s the list of movies watched in alphabetical order according to category (Children’s/Family, Drama, Fantasy/Sci-Fi) along with links to their pages on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, Amazon Video and DVD/Blu-Ray:
CHILDREN’S/FAMILY:
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Bee Movie (2007)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Beauty and the Beast (2017, Live Action)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The BFG (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Big Hero 6 (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Book of Life (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Boxtrolls (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Brave (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Brother Bear (2003)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
A Cat in Paris (2010)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Cat Returns (2002)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Despicable Me (2010)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Despicable Me 3 (2017)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(Despicable Me Franchise on Wikipedia | 3-Movie Blu-Ray)
Epic (2013)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Ernest & Celestine (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Finding Dory (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Frankenweenie (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Frozen (2013)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Hotel Transylvania (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(Hotel Transylvania Franchise on Wikipedia)
How To Train Your Dragon (2010)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(How To Train Your Dragon Franchise on Wikipedia)
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Jungle Book (2016, Live Action)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Madagascar (2005)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Madagascar 2: Escape Africa (2008)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(The Madagascar Franchise on Wikipedia | 3-Movie Blu-Ray)
Minions (2015)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Moana (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Monsters University (2013)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(The Monsters Inc. Franchise on Wikipedia | 2-Movie Blu-Ray)
My Life As A Zucchini (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Nim’s Island (2008)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Nocturna (2007)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Nut Job (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror (2009)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Paddington (2014, Live Action)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
ParaNorman (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Peanuts Movie (2015)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Shrek Forever After (2010)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Sing (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Tangled (2010)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Trolls (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Zootopia (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
DRAMA:
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Chef (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Danish Girl (2015)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
La La Land (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Rushmore (1998)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
The Theory of Everything (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Wadjda (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
FANTASY/SCI-FI:
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Alien: Covenant (2017)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Doctor Strange (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Ghost In The Shell (2017, Live Action)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Godzilla (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Logan (2017)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Pacific Rim (2013)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Planet of the Apes (Rise of the, 2011)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Planet of the Apes (Dawn of the, 2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Planet of the Apes (War for the, 2017)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(The Planet of the Apes Franchise on Wikipedia | 3-Movie Blu-Ray)
Prometheus (2012)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Star Trek: Beyond (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Suicide Squad (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise on Wikipedia)
The Wolverine (2013)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
Wonder Woman (2017)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
X-Men: First Class (2011)
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia | Amazon Video | DVD/Blu-Ray
(The X-Men Brand on Wikipedia | The X-Men Film Series on Wikipedia)
I look forward to hopefully watching many more movies in 2018 & beyond (and continuing to read many more books too!) — Library time!
See more articles at QuietYell.com/Ramblings and see the work of Scott Monaco at QuietYell.com/Portfolio