I love watching movies and shows. Nicole and I have seen so many that it’s become somewhat impossible to recall everything that we have or haven’t seen and if we really enjoyed it or not.
Remembering our all time favorite shows and movies is easy enough to do. We enjoy having the opportunity to rewatch those titles again and again.
I thought I might begin keeping a log of what we’ve watched and enjoyed. So, yes this is yet another one of those “my favorite list of…” posts.
So, what have we been watching?
- Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (2001, R, Documentary)
- John Wick (2014, R, Crime/Thriller) – we watched this as a follow up to Speed because it feature Keanu Reeves. I had seen this one before, but Nicole had not yet. I still enjoyed it and feel it is an iconic action, get even with the bad guys movie. But it didn’t hit me quite as hard as the first time I saw it.
- Speed (1994, R, Action/Adventure/Thriller) – this held up pretty well. The opening titles feel a little dated and the bad guy calling Keanu via a pay phone felt nostalgic. But, still fun characters and cheesy one liners. I still feel like one of the stunts seems so impossible that it takes away from the experience. We paused part way through to search for Mythbusters episodes that tested the possibility of said stunts.
- The Last Blockbuster (2020, TV-14, Documentary) – this was a very interesting story about the origins, rise, and fall of one of the largest American video rental chains in history. There are interviews with former executives, who shed light on some of the good and bad business decisions made. In addition, lots of celebrities jump on to share their memories of video store love and nostalgia. Definitely a fun watch.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, G, Sci-Fi) – it had been so long since I last saw this one by Kubrick. Still so good in many ways. On a large home screen, there are some of the early scenes where suspension of disbelief gets broken. It’s pretty clear how some of the shots were comped and some of the space vessels look like cheap plastic models. It’s still a blast to see how they thought brands would evolve and what design of the future might look like. Plus HAL. He still steals the show.
- The Graduate (1967, PG, Romance/Comedy) – I was inspired to watch this one again after reading a cinematography post on Reddit that praised the work done on this film. The camera work really is breathtaking and the score is unforgettable. It was kind of an interesting experience this time around. The last time I saw this, I had a lot in common with Benjamin. This time I am much closer to the age of Mrs. Robinson and Ben’s parents. Still a top movie in terms of storytelling and camera work.
- 8 1/2 (1963, Fantasy) – I haven’t had the opportunity to see many of Fellini’s films and this one was available to stream on HBO Max. I thought the first parts of the film were beautiful. But began to feel disoriented and confused as the story progressed. I read through some synopsis online, which helped some. I have a feeling it’s one of those films “you gotta watch it lots of times to really get it.”
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999, TV-PG, Sci-Fi) – I have been slowly working my way through this series solo when I exercise. The characters are as lovable as they were when this first came out. It feels like a commitment to rewatch these Star Trek series. In preparation for watching Picard, I had done a full viewing of Star Trek the original series and Next Generation and all of the Next Gen series movies. It was a lot of trek to digest again (but fun). DS9 weighs in at 176 episodes. They don’t do television or sci-if series in that quantity or length anymore.
