Category: 3.5 stars
Okay, it was kinda good.
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The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
I honestly considered not reviewing The Matrix sequels during Pride Month. The original film is now widely accepted as a trans allegory–no doubt helped by the creators, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, coming out as trans women in the years since. But my goal was to at least try to watch them with a queer eye, so Pride Month is as good a time as any. Did I find overt queerness in The Matrix Reloaded? Well… not really. Drat.
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Bit (2019)
How do you define an “X movie” where X is whatever trait you’re talking about? Is something a gay movie only because it features at least one gay person? Is it still “gay” if they’re not the main characters? And is it still “gay” if one of the main actors is gay, but it never comes up so we’re not sure if their character also is? I know it sounds like I’m talking around the Beauty and the Beast live-action remake, but that’s a chore for some other time. After all, it’s still Pride Month, so we’re talking about overtly…
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Boy Meets Girl (2014)
When covering queer movies during Pride Month, I don’t really have any sort of “diversity checklist.” I pick a queer movie–half of which I’ve seen before–and then I talk about it. But being a gay male, my preference skews towards movies about gay males. Well not this week! I’m kicking off this mini-theme with a film about a trans girl, and get this: she’s actually played by a trans actress! Fucking groundbreaking, I know.
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Otto; or, Up with Dead People (2008)
Once upon a time, I started a movie blog. The twist of the story is that what I created was not this Chwineka Watches, but a different, earlier blog whose name escapes me at the moment (probably also Chwineka Watches). The reviews were more longform, with posts being around 4000 words and featured several screenshots that had quirky captions because I was obviously inspired by Cracked Dot Com. One of the movies I reviewed at the time was Otto; or, Up with Dead People, a film about a gay zombie, something I’m redoing here as part of Pride Month. Looking…
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The Field Guide to Evil (2018)
I think this is the first anthology I’ve reviewed on the blog? The only other time I’ve used that tag was with The Star Wars Holiday Special, and that was mostly a “for lack of a better word” situation. The Field Guide to Evil is a horror anthology that focuses on multicultural folklore, broadening our horizons by showcasing creatures and demons from around the world. But unfortunately for this film, not every story is told as well as the others. There were some shorts I loved, and others that just left me feeling meh.
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Wildling (2018)
Sometimes you watch a movie because an actor you like is in it. I don’t remember Hellraiser: Hellworld for it’s groundbreaking script, but because the prolific Mr. Lance Henriksen was in the Hellraiser sequel that took place in an video game. And… Henry Cavill was in it? I’ll file that away for later, but the point still stands. So while looking for my next movie to review I saw the trailer for Wildling, recognized an actor in this, and instantly knew I had to watch it. And as a bonus, Brad Dourif–Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings: The Two…
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Mortal Kombat (2021)
I must’ve played a Mortal Kombat game at some point, right? I know I’ve played Street Fight and I was of course at least somewhat aware of the ongoing Mortal Kombat story/franchise, but I couldn’t really tell you much. Scorpion and Sub-Zero wear the same outfits, Kano pees too much, and Mr. James Remar was Lord Raiden in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. I don’t have anything against the franchise, but I just absolutely suck at fighting games. My husband–a professional gamer compared to me–is a fan, so he was more excited to watch the new Mortal Kombat than I was, but…
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Ghost Shark (2013)
Oh, I’m sorry, did you think I was kidding at the end of the Tsunambee post when I said I was going to watch Ghost Shark next? I own a physical copy of the damn thing! Sometime in the middle of quarantine (time has been rendered meaningless) I picked up a DVD multipack of shark movies that also included one alligator film because…? Anyway, when’s Shark Week? Sometime in July or August? Well don’t be surprised if I celebrate by watching Mississippi River Sharks, Ozark Sharks, Santa Jaws, Radioactive Sewer Sharks, Swamp Shark, and/or Zombie Shark. I also made up…
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Godspell (1973)
Did everybody have a good Easter? Or if you don’t celebrate, a decent regular Sunday? I spent the day with family members I haven’t seen in a year because of, you know, everything, and then came home to watch a movie adaptation of a musical about a hippie clown Jesus. I was born after the 70’s, so Godspell never really showed up on my radar. Yeah, the signature song song “Day by Day” did ring some bells, but I’m pretty sure I had previously heard the Shirley Bassey version. So why watch this? Beyond the spectacle, I wanted to see…
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Captain Marvel (2019)
Depending on who you ask, Captain Marvel was either a perfectly fine movie, or the work of evil social justice warriors trying to ruin everything for real comic fans. This film, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Thor: The Dark World all have have a 6.9 rating on IMDB (at time of writing)(nice), but only one of these films has 6.2% of its ratings 1 out of 10. The other two have 1/10 ratings being 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively, for those keeping track at home. But what separates Captain Marvel from the other two? What about this titular character is…
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