Even though it's the shortest month of the year, February might have been the best movie-watching month I've had since last April when I started doing these monthly recaps. Other than one terrible film - we'll get to that soon enough - the rest of my viewings were pretty much "okay" or better. Bringing Up Baby - the only other film to rate lower than a 5.5/10 for me - still had a few qualities I liked and provided a decent amount of chuckles. I even had four 9/10 or better, including two new-to-me movies watched on back-to-back nights! For a nerd like me, that's a terrific experience!
Favorite First Time Viewing
Babylon (2022) - 9.5/10
Director Damien Chazelle is one of the most talented and interesting filmmakers working today. After loving Whiplash and La La Land and really, really liking First Man, I was game for whatever came next. After the initial trailer for Babylon, I was skeptical. After hearing some reactions to the film itself, I lowered my expectations. I needn't have worried! I was sucked in from the first scene and completely absorbed for nearly the entire 3-hour run-time. The characters, plot, performances, direction, editing, cinematography, and score are all top-notch. While I loved it, I can understand why some people wouldn't. It's a long, gratuitous, over-the-top, and profane period piece. If you liked movies like Boogie Nights and The Wolf of Wall Street, you probably will like Babylon. It moves at a breakneck speed and does for 1920s Hollywood what those movies did for the 1970s porn scene and 80's Wall Street. I have some issues with the final few moments, but I have a feeling those will fade with multiple viewings. As of this writing, I only watched the movie four days ago, but I've already considered rewatching it. Since fitting in a movie of this length might prove difficult, I don't know when I'll get to it, but I'm already looking forward to it. In the meantime, I'll let my favorite scenes replay in my memory since I can't seem to get the film out of my mind.
Worst First Time Viewing
The Words (2012) - 2/10
Well, you can't have a perfect movie-watching month, can you? Out of 14 features this month, this is the only one I hated. The only positive aspects of the film are the natural charisma of the stars - Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, and Jeremy Irons. They don't turn in good performances, per se, but they're all magnetic in their own, different, ways. The rest of the movie is a convoluted mess of lazy writing and poor direction. I get what the filmmakers were going for - the basic story could, theoretically, be interesting - but the execution here was just so poor. Nothing was nearly as clever, engaging, or shocking as the filmmakers assumed they'd be. Avoid this one at all costs.
Favorite Rewatch
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) - 9.5/10
T2 has long since been one of my favorite movies and it continues to impress me after all these years and dozens of viewings. My son latched onto it several years ago and it became his go-to movie, so I've seen it even more frequently lately. I never tire of revisiting it, though. It's pretty much tied with Die Hard as my favorite action flick and it's firmly in my Top 50 overall. The only problem I have with the whole movie is Edward Furlong's slightly annoying and uneven performance and the fact that the actor is several years too old to play John Conner according to the timeline. Oh, well. Those are small complaints in the grand scheme of this marvelous, thrilling, and action-packed sequel that blows away the (still very good) original film. James Cameron is the premiere director of action spectacle and T2 is one of his very best - an action movie elevated in nearly every possible way.
Worst Rewatch
Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (2017) - 7.5/10
Like a lot of people, I've been getting more and more bored with Marvel. I haven't seen three of the five most recent feature films and haven't even considered watching most of their Disney Plus series. I think the oversaturation and lack of interesting stories and characters lately ended up hurting Guardians 2 for me this time. My score dropped by a full point, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. The flaws - a bit too long, a few too many jokes that don't fully land, and some shoddy effects - were more pronounced and obvious to me this time. I still love most of the characters and the ending still made me cry. Guardians 3 comes out later this year and my expectations have been significantly lowered after seeing a couple of lackluster trailers. If it's anywhere near as good as this one, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
My month, in watch order:
* = rewatch
Last Night in Soho (2021) - 6.5/10
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) - 7.5/10
* Sideways (2004) - 9/10
* Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (2017) - 7.5/10
The Words (2012) - 2/10
* Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) - 9.5/10
The Batman (2022) - 5.5/10
Just Mercy (2019) - 8/10
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) - 6/10
* The Nice Guys (2016) - 8.5/10
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) - 9/10
Babylon (2022) - 9.5/10
Cocaine Bear (2023) - 6/10
Bringing Up Baby (1938) - 4/10
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 February?
Thanks for reading and commenting!