My May 2022 Recap

Favorite First Time Viewing

George Carlin's American Dream (2022) - 9.5/10

After his amazing 2018 documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, Judd Apatow returns to the stand-up comedy scene with this informative, inspiring, and hilarious two-part film about quite possibly the greatest comedian of all-time, George Carlin. I've been a pretty big Carlin fan for the majority of my adult life, so I knew most of the information presented here, but everything was done in such an entertaining fashion that I didn't mind a bit. The doc covers Carlin's whole life, from his rocky young life to his start in the entertainment industry as part of a comedy duo to his counter-culture rebirth and all the way through to his death. Interviewees include his family (daughter, brother, and both wives), business partners, and other standups (Patton Oswalt, Robert Klein, Jerry Seinfeld and many more). The final act showcases just how brilliant and timeless Carlin's comedy was since, more than a decade after his death, many of his bits still resonate with our American system and culture today. Any excuse to watch Carlin's material is fine by me and this doc is highly recommended to both fans and newcomers alike.  

Worst First Time Viewing

Old (2021) - 1/10

I do not give out 1 ratings willy-nilly. They make up just about 1.5% of my nearly three thousand total rankings on IMDb, but Old definitely deserves to join that exclusive club. This M. Night Shyamalan directed travesty is easily the most disappointing movie I've seen in several years - and I didn't even have high hopes for it! I expected a dumb, fun, action/horror thriller, but what I got was pretty much just dumb. All it takes for a movie to get a 2/10 rating from me is one decent aspect: a good performance, some solid dialogue, interesting directing or cinematography, or an intriguing plot. Old had none of this. The plot - about people stranded on a beach that rapidly ages them - came closest, but everything was handled so maddeningly stupidly by horrendous characters spouting ridiculous dialogue. The only entertainment I got out of the 110 minutes was watching my wife slowly get more and more upset watching it. It's so bad that I'd almost recommend someone give it a chance, but it's not bad in a fun way, just in a way to drive you nuts. 

Favorite Rewatch

Three Kings (1999) - 9/10

Another month, another terrific George Clooney starring rewatch. Three Kings is a kinetic, insightful, funny, and emotionally powerful action/drama about a small group of U.S. Army soldiers in the final days of the Persian Gulf war in 1991. Clooney leads a surprisingly good cast including Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and amateur actor Spike Jonze. The foursome decide to "liberate" some Kuwaiti gold stolen by Sadam Hussein and set themselves up for a life of luxury after the war ends. Of course, things don't go as planned. The film is expertly written and directed by David O. Russell, a filmmaker who is kind of hit-or-miss for me. This one's definitely a hit, though. Russell uses filmmaking flourishes like slow motion, fast zooms, and quick editing in such a masterful, engaging way. The characters sound and act like real human beings (something Mr. Shyamalan should learn to write) and the story is propulsive, never slowing down or becoming dull. I loved it in the theater in 1999 (a fantastic movie year, by the way) and still love it today. 

Worst Rewatch

The Quick and the Dead (1995) - 3/10

I didn't rewatch a lot of movies this month, so there wasn't a lot of competition for this "award" but The Quick and the Dead easily takes first place. This wasn't something that I originally loved or anything - my previous rating was 6/10 - but I was looking forward to the rewatch, thinking it might have grown in my esteem in the last 20 years or so. I was wrong. Things that I either forgot about or didn't care about back then - most notably director Sam Raimi's annoyingly in your face style - really jumped out to me this time. With a more straight forward approach and a better, tighter script, the movie would have been back in the 5-6/10 range. The main cast - Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio - are all solid, but nothing more. All four have done much better on other projects over the years. The supporting cast is filled with fun character actors like Lance Henriksen, Pat Hingle, Keith David, Mark Boone Junior, Tobin Bell, Gary Sinise, and Bruce Campbell and they're really the most interesting part of the whole film. Unfortunately, like most character actor roles, they just don't have enough screen time to save the film from being utterly unremarkable. This is one of those somewhat high concept films that really should be remade, but probably won't since it didn't make much money and westerns are an even harder sell these days. 

My month, in watch order: 

    * = rewatch

The Forever Purge (2021) - 5/10

Candyman (2021) - 6/10

Respect (2021) - 4/10

* The Quick and the Dead (1995) - 3/10

* Taken (2008) - 5/10

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) - 7/10

Brad's Status (2017) - 6/10

The Favourite (2018) - 7.5/10

Old (2021) - 1/10

Late Night (2019) - 8/10

George Carlin's American Dream (2022) - 9/10

Dear Evan Hansen (2021) - 5/10

* Three Kings (1999) - 9/10

* Burn After Reading (2008) - 7/10

What about you guys? Have you seen any of these movies? If so, what did you think? Did you watch anything great or really disappointing in May?

Thanks for reading and commenting!