Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched For My Challenge (August 2017)

I watched some pretty good ones this month. Here are my five favorite films that I watched for my challenge, for the month of August.

5. To the Bone
A Netflix movie that got a lot of criticism. I don’t think that critique is right, they found that this movie glamourized eating disorders. It really doesn’t. It’s a heartbreaking story and very well acted by Lily Collins.

4. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A film that is best when you watch it without any information. Shot in black and white, great music, really stylish.

3. Sausage Party
Silly yet brilliant humor. It’s an animation, but for adults. And adults only, because it’s pretty raunchy.

2. Don’t Breathe
What a surprising and original horror thrill we got here. The film kept me on the edge of my seat at all times, it really is a film that takes your breath away.

1. War for the Planet of the Apes
The third movie in a trilogy is often the worst. In this case, the complete trilogy is solid and I simply can’t pick a favorite. “War for the Planet of the Apes” is a war movie, without all the epic explosions and clichés. And boy did I cry at the end!

They Almost Made the Top 5: -

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 92: War for the Planet of the Apes

Director: Matt Reeves
Genre: Drama/ Action/ Adventure/ Thriller
Runtime: 140 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Toby Kebbell, Judy Greer

Description: After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar (Andy Serkis) wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.

Review: It’s very tempting to close a trilogy with a bombastic and epic action film. More characters, more explosions, bigger everything. Director Matt Reeves managed to stay away from all that and turns “War for the Planet of the Apes” into an intimate war film.
Even the opening of the film, a spectacular confrontation between one of the last human armies and Caesar’s colony, is pretty timid. Minimal dialogue, the camera focusses on lyrics on the soldier’s helmets. It sets the tone for the film.
Some people accuse “War for the Planet of the Apes” of false marketing. They expected the battle of all battles and claim it’t not a real war film. But it is most definite a war film, one that zooms in on the ethics of a war.
And this fits Caesar perfectly, one of the most sympathetic characters created over the past 10 years, thanks to Andy Serkis and his magnificent performance. Where Caesar was idealistic before and wanted to keep peace, but now he is acting out of revenge and realizes he is no better than Koba. “War for the Planet of the Apes” shows us that war is a product of escalation, revenge and emotion.
The only human opponent Caesar gets here is from the Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson. He is Caesar’s complete opposite when it comes to morals. But there isn’t that many conflict between humans and apes. And strangely enough, that’s the charm of the film. It doesn’t try to top “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” or “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. It gives us something new and it’s a great end to a strong trilogy.
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (286)

Here are this week's trailers.

Paris Can Wait
Director: Eleanor Coppola
Description: Anne (Diane Lane) is at a crossroads in her life. Long married to a successful, driven but inattentive movie producer (Alec Baldwin), she unexpectedly finds herself taking a car trip from Cannes to Paris with a business associate (Arnaud Viard) of her husband. What should be a seven-hour drive turns into a carefree two-day adventure replete with diversions involving picturesque sights, fine food and wine, humor, wisdom and romance, reawakening Anne's senses and giving her a new lust for life.
Starring: Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin, Arnaud Viand,
Trailer: Trailer "Paris Can Wait"
Comment: I love Diane Lane!!!

It
Director: Andrés Muschietti
Description: In a small town of Derry, Maine, seven children come face to face with life problems, bullies and a monster that takes the shape of a clown called Pennywise.
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Finn Wolfhard, Javier Bodet, Nicholas Hamilton, Megan Charpentier, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Steven Williams, Owen Teague, Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Jack Dylan Grazer
Trailer: Trailer "It"
Comment: I f***ing hate clowns!!!

The Lost city of Z
Director: James Gray
Description: A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who disappeared while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.
Starring: CHarlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland
Trailer: Trailer "The Lost City of Z"
Comment: Oeh, an adventure story!

War Machine
Director: David Michôd
Description: An absurdist war story for our times, writer-director David Michôd (Animal Kingdom) recreates a U.S. General's roller-coaster rise and fall as part reality, part savage parody - raising the specter of just where the line between them lies today. His is an exploration of a born leader's ultra-confident march right into the dark heart of folly. At the story's core is Brad Pitt's sly take on a successful, charismatic four-star general who leapt in like a rock star to command NATO forces in Afghanistan, only to be taken down by a journalist's no-holds-barred exposé.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Anthony Hayes, Topher Grace, Alan Ruck, Ben Kingsley, John Magaro
Trailer: Trailer "War Machine"
Comment: Intereseting story.

War for the Planet of the Apes
Director: Matt Reeves
Description: After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar (Andy Serkis) wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.
Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer, Steve Zahn
Trailer: Trailer "War for the Planet of the Apes"
Comment: I'm not as exciting as I was for the previous two films, but I still want to see it.

Movie Trailer Sunday (271)

Here are this week's trailers.

The Mummy
Director: Elx Kurtzman
Description: An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance
Trailer: Trailer "The Mummy"
Comment: Last week I shared the teaser, this is the first official trailer.

The Circle
Director: James Ponsoldt
Description: A woman (Emma Watson) lands a job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, where she becomes involved with a mysterious man (Tom Hanks).
Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks
Trailer: Trailer "The Circle"
Comment: Looks like an intriguing cyber thriller.

Baywatch
Director: Seth Gordon
Description: Two unlikely prospective lifeguards (Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron) vie for jobs alongside the buff bodies who patrol a beach in California.
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Oscar Nuñez
Trailer: Trailer "Baywatch"
Comment: I never thought I would say this, but I miss David Hasselhoff.

Spider-Man: Homcoming
Director: Jon Watts
Description: A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging superhero.
Starring: Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Donald Glover, Jon Favreau, Martin Starr
Trailer: Trailer "Spider-Man: Homecoming"
Comment: Not that excited yet.

War For the Planet of the Apes
Director: Matt Reeves
Description: A nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar become embroiled in a battle with an army of humans.
Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer, Steve Zahn
Trailer: Trailer "War For the Planet of the Apes"
Comment: Caesar is back!