July 2013 Movies

The films (and TV) I saw in July:

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Steven Spielberg  [1:58] (4x?) 

The opening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom continues to fascinates me nearly 30 years later and I hope it always will. I know everything that’s going to happen, but still marvel at the way Spielberg choreographs the action and makes a more-than-worthy nod to classic Hollywood song and dance numbers along the way. I also know that Spielberg borrowed much from Buster Keaton’s The General for the mining car chase, but I still love it. I’m currently working my way through the Indiana Jones Blu-ray box set and so far, the films look spectacular.   

4/5

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) Colin Trevorrow  [1:27]

There’s a point in Safety Not Guaranteed where I just stopped picking it apart and simply started enjoying it. I recommend the same advice to you. Three workers for a Seattle magazine discover a newspaper ad from a person looking for someone to accompany him on a time travel adventure. “Safety not guaranteed,” the ad states. Suspecting little more than the discovery of a kook, the trio plan to uncover what and who is behind the ad. Darius (Aubrey Plaza), the newest and most cynical member of the team, is just along for the ride until she gets asked to get a little closer to the story. 

Some of the subplots don’t work and at least one of the characters is, for all practical purposes, unrealized at best and unnecessary at worst. Yet Safety Not Guaranteed, if you’re willing to overlook a few potholes, is a charming little movie worth your time. 

4/5

Upstream Color (2013) Shane Carruth  [1:36]

Previously discussed

4.5/5

Monsters, Inc. (2001) Pete Docter, David Silverman  [1:32] (2x)

I hadn’t seen Monsters, Inc. since its initial release, and I’d never seen it with children until I watched it with a nephew and three nieces during family vacation. I admire all the Pixar films I’ve seen (even the ones I don’t particularly like), but was impressed with how well this one has held up and how it works for audiences of just about any age. While I don’t know if I’ll see Monsters University in the theaters, I’d certainly watch this one again, with or without nieces and nephews. 

4.5/5

Breaking Bad: The Fifth Season (TV 2012)

Previously discussed

5/5

Prefontaine (1997) Steve James  [1:46] (2x)

I got this from Netflix, thinking that neither Cindy nor I (both runners) had seen it, but actually we both had. Jared Leto gives a pretty good performance of 1970s Olympic runner Steve Prefontaine, but the limitations and traps of the biopic occur early and often. Director Steve James jumps abruptly from one event from the next and makes character relationships so formulaic they might as well not even exist. Other than the racing scenes (which are fairly well done), the best moments of the film happen when Prefontaine butts heads with fellow University of Oregon shot put athlete Mac Wilkins (Brian McGovern). Recommended for running enthusiasts only. 

2.5/5   

Galaxy Quest (1999) Dean Parisot (2x)

It’s hard not to have a good time watching Galaxy Quest, a fun romp that’s also a critique of sorts of the whole science fiction industry, especially fandom and the con atmosphere. If you’re not a sf fan, the premise of Galaxy Quest is actually pretty fun: the actors on a popular sf TV show are mistaken for the real thing by a group of benign aliens whose planet is under attack from a hostile alien race.  

Galaxy Quest is still fun, just not as fun as I’d hoped it would be on a second viewing. 

3.5/5