In order of viewing:
1) Captain Phillips [2013] – 8/10
2) Catch Me If You Can [2002] – 7/10
3) From Up On Poppy Hill [2012] – 7/10
5) About Schmidt [2002] – 8/10
7) The Wind Rises [2013] – 7/10
8) The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] – 8/10
11) American Hustle [2013] – 8/10
12) The Counselor [2013] – 5/10
13) Major League [1989] – 7/10
14) Inside Llewyn Davis [2013] – 8/10
16) White Reindeer [2013] – 7/10
Video Games Completed:
1) SteamWorld Dig [PS Vita] – 9/10
2) Persona 4 Golden [PS Vita] – 9/10
TV Shows Finished:
1) Eastbound and Down [Season 3] – 7/10
3) Eastbound and Down [Season 4] – 7/10
5) True Detective [Season 1] – 9/10
6) House of Cards [Season 2] – 7.5/10
Books Read:
1) Fables Vol. 1-3 – 9/10
Best of the Month: For movies, I was most surprised with Falling Down, which is one of the better films I have seen all year. I’m usually not much of a Michael Douglas fan, but he *killed it* in that movie. Highly recommended. For video games, I finally finished Persona 4 Golden after starting it over a year ago. It was a blast all the way until the end, and it’s one of the better games on the Vita. SteamWorld Dig was also a nice surprise (see my review). In the TV world, True Detective more than lived up to the hype. Can’t wait for season 2.
Worst of the Month: The Counselor was incredibly disappointing. It had a few memorable scenes, but it could have been so much more considering the talent involved. For TV, I watched a lot of mediocre shows, but the final season of Dexter was easily the worst. It pretty much soured me on the entire series thanks to its laughably awful ending. That series should have ended after 4-5 seasons, not eight.
What was the best piece of media you indulged in last month? How about the worst?
Quite a set of film watched, Eric. Great.
Only one dud last month, too. Not a bad ratio at all. 🙂
That is a good month. I’ve seen most of them.
Yeah, it turned out to be a pretty solid month (aside from The Counselor).
Falling Down I agree is great, especially considering the director made Batman and Robin lol 🙂 Michael Douglas’ performance is amazing, and yet he got zero nominations for that? Weird.
Blue Jasmine I liked for Cate Blanchett, but the more I saw from 2013, the further it dropped down my list. I doubt I’ll be watching it a lot in future.
The best I saw: Stop Making Sense (1984) and The Hill (1965). The worst was The Black Dahlia.
I was surprised that Falling Down wasn’t included on a single list at icheckmovies.com either. Guess it has somehow fallen through the cracks over the years.
Agreed on Blue Jasmine. It’s a great example of a mediocre film elevated by amazing performances (Blanchett and Hawkins).
Funny that you mention The Black Dahlia. I’m actually reading that book right now. I plan on watching the movie afterward but the awful reviews have me wondering if I should even bother.
True Detective’s first year was so great, I’m really looking forward to season two.
Same here. Can’t wait to hear more about the new season.
Loved Grand Budapest, Blue Jasmine, Captain Philips and Inside Llewyn Davis! Great to see you giving them good scores too.
All four of those were so good. Captain Phillips and Inside Llewyn Davis would likely be in my top 15-20 films from last year.
I like Falling Down, too, though perhaps a bit less than you. I’d probably go 7.5 or 8 out of 10. Clearly not a huge discrepancy. Otherwise, we pretty much agree on most of them.
My best of the month? Budapest Hotel. Or The King of Comedy. My worst? Love and Air Sex. Or Origins: Wolverine.
Ha, I had to Google “Love and Air Sex”. Such a weird title. Bummer to hear there wasn’t a good film wrapped around it.
Yeah. I figured Air Sex competition would be comedy gold. But it’s not.
I always wait for a whole season to be done before watching a show, so I can watch at my leisure. I’ve been waiting for True Detective to end impatiently so I could start it. Thanks for the reminder that it’s done. I can watch now! hehe
That’s exactly what I did with True Detective, too, haha. Our HBO Go account was reactivated right after the season ended, and I binge watched it all in 2-3 days. Hope you enjoy!
Got Falling Down on my to-watch list.
Think you’re being awfully kind about the last season of Dexter. What an utterly disappointing end to what was usually a pretty good show!
Haha, I suppose you’re right about Dexter. That ending left a really sour taste in my mouth. I can’t imagine ever wanting to watch the show ever again, especially after that debacle.
Ha, same! Even though the first season is a pretty epic bit of TV.
Thanks for reminding me about Falling Down… been meaning to watch it for ages.
No problem! It’s a great film.