Monthly Movie Recap: July 2020 🎥

Welcome to my Monthly Movie Recap! 4 shows, 3 movies, and, as always, no spoilers!

Futurama (1999-2003). Finished rewatching the series this month and enjoyed it a lot. It’s hard to believe that the series is 20 years old already, and yet it still packs a punch. The situations and jokes are inventive and the characters are incredibly vivid. I have to say that episodes with Zapp Brannigan, the pantless egotistical military officer, are among my absolute favorites 😄 (e.g. ‘Love’s Labours Lost in Space’). Voice acting is excellent (especially Frank Welker’s voicing of Nibbler stands out for me). Anyway, I can recommend Futurama to anyone!

Black Mirror (2011-ongoing). As a sci-fi lover, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to check out one of the most popular shows of the past decade in this genre. I didn’t have too high expectations, but was disappointed nonetheless. The first episode relies on shock factor a lot and I didn’t enjoy it. The narrative and ideas about the unexpected consequences of using new technologies feel negative and simplified. I understand the appeal of this show, but it didn’t leave me wanting more. I expected a more in-depth philosophical discourse and the actual sci-fi element, so this show just isn’t my cup of tea, but I think it’s good anyway – the pacing is good, dialogues are smart, and actors show real effort in terms of acting (unlike the next show I’ll discuss!).

The Good Place (2016-2020). Ahhh now this one was a real letdown for me because the idea seemed fresh and engaging. The show itself felt unimaginative, soulless, and boring to me. Kristen Bell is an actress who I know can act, but here it doesn’t seem like she cares enough – she’s overacting, and her Eleanor is unlikeable overall. One actor that stands out among all the rest is William Jackson Harper – his acting is sincere, his character is interesting, and I could understand his character motivations. I wish the show would somehow revolve around him instead of Eleanor. The show itself is not funny at all, boring, and for the lack of a better word, corny. Hard pass.

Upload (2020). This show has great potential if it decides what it wants to be. It’s got sci-fi setting, but then it tries very hard to be a comedy. The premise is interesting, but the execution is subpar, and I don’t see it improving in Season 2. The jokes are painfully unfunny and the really tragic and dreadful story is even more visible behind this forced and unfunny humor. CGI is especially bad and if I didn’t know when it was released I’d say it’s early 2000s. The writing is shallow and acting is dull. If this show would have the guts to be dark and serious (like Black Mirror), it would be much better than this useless attempts at being a comedy.

12 Angry Men (1957). I craved something for the soul after trying to watch the previous 3 shows and decided to rewatch this masterpiece. One room, 12 members of the jury, 1h36min of discussion that resolves the fate of a 18 year old defendant. The weather changes, the members of the jury question the evidence and their own morals, and the whole 96 minutes my eyes are once again glued to the screen, even though it’s the third time I watch it.

Sphere (1998). The whole time I watched this film I had a distinct feeling of déjà vu. I haven’t watched Sphere before – it simply is a movie built on a lot of ideas and scenes that have been there before. It’s uncanny how much this film reminds me of Event Horizon (1997), which is a brilliant horror I wrote about in my March Movie Recap, except it’s set not in space but under water. My point is that whatever Sphere wanted to do, it has already been done before, and done better, so to me it was just a 6 out of 10 and quite boring.

Courage Under Fire (1996). This could have been a great film – good idea, great actors. However, the writing honestly sucks – the pacing is slow and the whole film is just dull. The ending and the key plot twist are obvious miles away (my husband guessed the ending after 40min of watching). It’s a solid 6.5 out of 10, but it could have been done so much better if it would be more dynamic.

Have you watched any of these movies and series? I would love love love to hear your opinions and feedbacks!! As always, looking forward to reading and responding to your comments 💖

See you in my next post,

Alex

Thank you for taking the time to read! I post every Tuesday and Saturday/Sunday. If you’d like to get notified every time I post, follow my blog by filling in the form below 😊

Previous monthly movie recaps:

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

February 2020