From Page and Screen, part 2

Let’s wrap this up with the movies I watched in 2020.

Movies:
Indiana Jones and the [Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull] – Temple of Doom was creepy, but good. The Last Crusade wasn’t earthshattering, but was good. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull could have been good if like, 15 of the last 20 minutes of the movie just didn’t exist. There’s weird, and then there’s why was that even necessary?

The Matrix – Not my favorite, though I do appreciate it as an important science-fiction work, and it was worth watching.

The Crimes of Grindelwald – This is objectively not a good movie (and this is coming from someone who likes Fantastic Beasts). Besides contradicting previous Harry Potter canon, much of the plot feels unnecessarily a) complicated, b) coincidental, c) contrived, or d) all of the above? (It’s d.) The movie is still somewhat entertaining to watch, and the score is a highlight.

First Man – A movie about Neil Armstrong and the moon landing. They did a pretty good job looking at his life and family outside of NASA, though like basically any movie based on real life or adapted from a book, both real life and books are more detailed.

Captain Marvel – This wasn’t bad. It followed a standard superhero origin story-style plot. I don’t think they went overboard with the “Look, here is a woman. But even though she is a woman, she can do things. All by herself. And did we mention that she is a woman?”, but I do think she has some of the same problems as Superman does in that she’s too powerful. They end up having to send her off to deal with galactic matters so she doesn’t just obliterate Thanos by looking at him in Infinity War.

Spider-Man: Far From Home – Another movie that adheres to the Marvel superhero movie formula, which is enjoyable, if not particularly innovative at this point. In this installment of the MCU, Peter Parker and friends are on a school trip to Europe when they run into trouble.

Chappaquiddick – I heard about this movie on a Reddit thread, and borrowed it because it takes place in New England (it’s about the 1969 Ted Kennedy/Mary Jo Kopechne car accident on Chappaquiddick). Came for the setting, stayed for the political corruption, of which there was quite a lot, at least in the movie.

Space Jam – Kind of silly, not super deep, but I found it amusing. I mean, if the Looney Tunes need help to win a basketball game, why not recruit Michael Jordan?

West Side Story – Decent adaptation of the musical, though I do think it works better on the stage than on the screen. There’s a remake scheduled for later this year, which should be interesting.

The Addams Family – Best movie I saw in 2020. It was (darkly) funny, ridiculous without being farfetched, and surprisingly wholesome. The characters are great, and there’s a disembodied hand.

Fiddler on the Roof – Rewatch from a long time ago. Solid movie, classic songs.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – It was on Netflix and the first movie turned out better than people were expecting, I think, so the sequel(s) were on my “watch eventually” list. Great animation and score, but light on character and plot development.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial – Another rewatch. Did not remember the frog dissection scene.

Jersey Boys – Critics complain it’s too long and meandering, but I didn’t mind. It’s a bit of a niche movie, where if you don’t really care about musicals, Frankie Valli, and/or The Four Seasons, you probably won’t really care about this movie.

The Producers (2005) – Faced with yet another musical flop, a Broadway producer comes up with the brilliant idea to make money by producing the worst musical ever. The original was a 1967 Mel Brooks comedy, which was later (2001) turned into a Broadway musical, and the musical adapted back to film (this movie). The idea is perfect musical fodder, but I’m not sold on this adaptation.

That’s what I saw in 2020; so far this year I’m still working through Star Trek: The Next Generation, started the latest Great British Bake Off season, already saw a movie that may be a contender for a 2021 favorite, and am rereading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.