This is me - Bio, Thoughts and Other Ramblings

Films I watched in February ¦ Warning: Potential Spoilers!

Date: 02.03.2019

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

I'm not a huge Star Wars fan. I have seen most of the movies, I think, or at least I know the plot. The movies are good, enjoyable, but that's about it. Since I knew that Rogue One was set between Episode III and Episode IV, I already expected the ending. Other than that, I knew next to nothing about the movie. I don't think that I even saw a trailer...

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It wasn't super amazing, but it wasn't bad either. Just an entertaining movie that you can watch when you want to relax a little. The story in itself wasn't extremely complex and there were hardly any moments where I found myself gasping at a unexpected plot twist, but that's okay. The CGI that was used to recreate Princess Leia and Moff Tarkin was off-putting to me, but I understand why they did it.

The characters, however, were great. I loved K2SO's bland, snarky comments, I sympathised with Jyn's wish to just stay out of the whole mess and I felt Cassian's dedication and passion. I admired Bodhi's courage, was inspired by Chirrut's faith and smiled at Baze's loyalty. Even though it was pretty clear that they were going to die, I still hoped until the very end that maybe, maybe they might just make it out of there.

So, all in all, a nice movie that I'll probably watch again at some point.

The Hunt for Red October

Not the most recent movie, I admit, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Of course, the whole USA vs Russia thing is nothing new. The whole Cold War propaganda - Russians are evil backstabbers and Americans are good, upstanding heroes - often just makes me roll my eyes. I get it, history and all, but seriously, the US wasn't and isn't perfect either.

Anyways, moving on. I haven't read any of the Jack Ryan books, so I can't make any comparisons. But again, I liked the characters. Sean Connery's Russian wasn't always that great as far as I can tell, but it wasn't dreadful either.

The movie really knows how to create tension and suspense. And I particularly like that the characters, especially the Soviet ones, aren't reduced to being caricatures or walking stereotypes. The movie shows the different mindsets of the two opposing forces, but doesn't really present them in a black-or-white fashion.

The main characters - Ryan, Ramius and Mancuso - are all smart, experienced men just trying to do what they think is right. Each has their own methods and ideas, but ultimately, they work together to achieve their goal, each respecting and relying on the others' experience and expertise.

Despite its age (I think it's over 25 years old?), the movie is entertaining and I will certainly watch it again.

Scary Movie

Okay, so, I gotta say it right upfront: This is a silly movie. It's not one that I would deliberately pick, but it's not unwatchable. For me, the humour is sometimes too over the top and too focused on sex and sexuality, but there are funny scenes. It's a parody, so of course, it's chock-full with clichés, but mostly, it works quite well.

The character I actually ended up liking most is Ghostface. Poor guy was just trying to do his job and yet he failed so many times, embarrassed himself or just got ignored. And the dopey grin his mask becomes when he's high just always had me in stitches.

I really can't say much more about this film. It was funny and I might watch it again if I'm extremely bored or in the mood for it - or if it's the only semi-watchable thing on tv.

IT (2018)

Now, I don't like horror movies. I just really don't. Brutal, gory, slasher-style usually makes me sick (or annoyed, depending on how much obviously fake blood is used.) Scary stuff that goes in the direction of psychological thriller/torture or that is designed to mess with your mind? Nope, count me out. I literally can't handle that. I can't watch it.

But, my friend loves horror movies and because a couple of us were over at his house, we watched IT. And it's probably the stupidest, most pointless and most confusing movie I have ever seen. It just made no sense at all. So yeah, I spent most of the time either rolling my eyes, wondering what was going on or resisting the urge to facepalm.

If any of you are horror fans or really loved IT, feel free to tell me why. I'll never like it - no pun intended - but I'm actually curious to see what you like about this particular genre.

The Terminal

Last movie of the month. Also not exactly a recent one - it's already 15 years old, can you believe that? - but I really liked this one. Tom Hanks is a talented actor and all the characters I've seen him play are so genuine and authentic, they feel so real. I immediately felt for this guy, especially when the people from Customs tell him that civil war broke out in his country and he just doesn't understand.

Apart from the story, which is apparently partially inspired by real events, I once again liked the characters. They are all individuals with their own hopes, dreams and aspirations and it's great to see how they befriend Viktor and how they help him in one way or another.

Another point that made me like this movie even more is its depiction of second language acquisition. Sorry, but I study applied linguistics, so I get really excited about this stuff. Basically, the movie shows quite well, how somebody learns a new language simply by being constantly surrounded by it.

Just a really beautiful movie with so many emotions. Happy, sad, lonely, angry, confused, scared, hopeful, desperate - it's a real rollercoaster.