In order of viewing:
1) Boyz n the Hood [1991] – 8/10

2) Stand By Me [1986] – 8/10

3) 30 for 30: Bad Boys [2014] – 8/10

4) The Karate Kid [1984] – 8/10

5) Maniac [2012] – 5/10

6) The Innkeepers [2011] – 6/10

7) Enemy [2013] – 9/10

8) Philomena [2013] – 7/10

9) A Skin, A Night [2008] – 5/10

10) Mystic River [2003] – 8/10

11) Snowpiercer [2013] – 9/10

12) Under the Skin [2013] – 8/10

13) The Incredibles [2004] – 8/10

Video Games Finished:
1) The Wolf Among Us [Xbox 360] – 9/10

2) MouseCraft [PS Vita] – 8/10

3) Injustice: Gods Among Us [PS Vita] – 9/10

TV Shows Completed:
1) Orange Is the New Black [Season 2] – 8/10

2) Archer [Season 1] – 8/10

Best of the Month: Not only is Enemy my favorite movie I watched in July, it’s my early front-runner for this year’s best film. Snowpiercer is a close second right now in my book, with Under the Skin just behind that. Those three films were revitalizing after what I thought had been a fairly disappointing year to that point. I’m even more excited to see what August brings, as I hope to finally catch Boyhood and Life Itself (among others). For video games, I played the last four episodes of The Wolf Among Us back-to-back, and loved every second of it. The final episode, in particular, was riveting and was the perfect way to finish the season. Injustice for the Vita was also a pleasant surprise, and it’s definitely up there as far as my favorite fighting games go.

Worst of the Month: As much as it pains me to say it, A Skin, A Night was a bit of a bore. The National, the subjects of the documentary, are probably my favorite band working today, but this little-seen documentary tried way too hard to be artsy, and it offered little in the way of insight on the band itself. On the other hand, I’m really looking forward to finally seeing Mistaken for Strangers, a more recent documentary about the band that has been getting rave reviews. I suppose Maniac could be considered for the worst of the month as well. Despite having a startlingly effective first-person view, Maniac didn’t work so well for me because I had a hard time buying Elijah Wood as an overpowering serial killer. He was definitely creepy, but there is just no way he could have held a woman of similar size down in the water with just one hand.

Onward to August!