This has been a relatively simple week for film viewing. I only watched two films outside of reviewing Weiner and Café Society. I was busy helping family and friends move around, as it’s that time of the year again. However, both films were entertaining and, given the right circumstances, could be worth the watch.
The first, which surprised me quite a bit, was 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. I really was expecting to dislike this film. Both sides have made me reach a breaking point where I involuntarily cringe every time I hear the word “Benghazi,” and if there is one “director” I think should be run out of town on a rail while tarred and feathered, it’s Michael Bay. However, something clicked, and while the movie had no business being two and a half hours, and the script was nightmarishly bad, the action was sharp, and the decision to not politicize it was incredibly smart on someone’s part. If you need a sad action movie, you could do worse. Meanwhile, for the ladies out there, I finally got around to watching the late Garry Marshall’s Pretty Woman. Before I get into specifics, can we talk about how weird it is that a movie about a prostitute trying to care for her drug-addled friends who almost gets raped by George Costanza is the pinnacle of the romantic comedy? I have a lot of issues with all of that. However, it’s smartly crafted, Richard Gere is great, the montage scene is the montage to end all montages, and the film actually made me love Julia Roberts, who I am not a fan of. Watch for her, not the plot.
I also spent the week starting to prepare for the upcoming television season. You can read my review of the first episode of You’re the Worst here, and I managed to binge two of my favorite TV shows of all time: Home Improvement, arguably the most underrated sitcom from the 90s (nostalgia remembers NBC’s Must See TV lineup and ABC’s TGIF lineup, and rightly so, but people forget Tim Allen’s excellent show) and Gilmore Girls. I will beat that drum up to and including the new series. I also managed to watch a couple of college football games, and watched the Wolverines kick the living hell out of Hawaii. This week expect two TV recaps, with Donald Glover’s Atlanta also dropping. It should be fun.
What about you? What did you see or read the past week? Answer in the comment section below.
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