Anniversary Week 2 Conclusion: My Fave Five New Movies I Watched During Year 2

I meant to post this on Thursday, my actual blogiversary, but because of the Christmas in July Blogathon and poor time management on my part (what else is new?), it wasn’t ready.  Every year, I like to look back at the new movies I watched, whether they were in the theater or simply new movies to me that I watched for the first time.  Last year was my freshman year as a blogger, so I made my fave five list of reviews I wrote, not the movies themselves.  Now that I have found my writing groove, this year, and probably in future Anniversary Weeks, I’m creating my list based on the movies.

When looking at the movies I reviewed, I discovered most (maybe even all) of the movies I reviewed from home video were ones I have seen before. Oops. 😛 As a result, all the movies on this list have been released between July 30, 2014 and July 30, 2015.  Now here are my five favorite movies I watched in the past 365 days.

5) Furious 7

Ever since Fast Five, the Fast and Furious series has gone in a fantastic direction. I really like the heist element that has been infused into every entry since. Furious 7 ups the ante and ridiculousness even further and is simply a fun ride. With the unfortunate passing of Paul Walker, this film had its share of problems. Luckily, Walker’s brothers took over and with some impressive CGI work, you couldn’t tell it wasn’t Paul. The tribute at the end was emotional and the perfect way honor to Walker.

4) Interstellar

So far, I haven’t seen a single movie from Christopher Nolan that I haven’t enjoyed and Interstellar is no exception. The science can be hard to wrap your head around at times but the film did its best to explain it. It is also one of the best looking films of the year with its breathtaking special effects. Hans Zimmer’s score is spot on as always and adds some powerful emotion the what’s on screen. The final act may be a little out there but what would you expect from a Nolan film?

3) John Wick

When was the last time that you watched an action movie that simply enjoyed being an action movie? John Wick is, pure and simple, fun. It never takes itself too seriously and is a breath of fresh air for the action genre. Keanu Reeves gives a great performance as the titular character, a retired hitman, with a reputation that isn’t shown to the audience. Instead, the characters around him tell us what he is capable of before we even see it for ourselves. Plus the world of assassins it creates is ripe with story possibilities. I hope the next foray into the world is just as exciting.

2) Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is considered Marvel’s largest risk. Sure, people could believe a billionaire playboy philanthropist can build a suit of armor or a World War II soldier can be frozen for 70 years, but what about a talking raccoon or a tree that only says one sentence? Well it turns out audiences can. Leading with the ‘seems to be everywhere’ Chris Pratt, and sporting a wide variety of characters, every character brings something to the table. The main villain suffered like many Marvel villains seem to but not every villain needs to be a Loki or Magneto. Guardians of the Galaxy isn’t continuity heavy. In fact, the only continuity element is Thanos, who is getting set up for Avengers: Infinity War.  Given how it did with both critics and audiences, it is hard to believe people doubted this would work.

1) Inside Out

Pixar is a pioneer in animated storytelling. In my opinion, Inside Out is up there with greats like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. The animation may be the best they’ve done so far with its vivid colors and fun character design. And the story is heartwarming and understood by all audiences. Older viewers can understand what Reilly has gone through and relate to the parents. Younger viewers can use the movie to understand what they are currently going through and are feeling in their lives. The world created for inside Reilly’s head is absolutely ingenious. Your train of thought is an actual train, memories are stored in shelves like a library, and the list goes on. I think it’s safe to say that Inside Out is one of the most unique movies of the last few years, which is one reason why it has claimed the top spot on my list.

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And that does it for Anniversary Week 2! I hope you had fun joining me all week, looking at the Ocean’s Trilogy (Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen) and the Toy Story Trilogy (Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3), as well as my Original Six reviews that kicked off this blog.

Entering my second year of blogging, I had two goals in mind: 1) build relationships with fellow bloggers, mostly by becoming more active across other blogs (liking, commenting, participating in bloagthons, etc.), and 2) I’ve been trying to figure out how to word this goal but it simply boils down to increase my number of “regulars,” which builds off goal 1.  I like to think that I have successfully accomplished both objectives.

I would like to end with a BIG thanks to every one of you! These last two years have been a blast and it’s honestly due to all the contributions from all of you.  Every time my phone pings with a notification of a like or comment always brings a smile to my face.  So thank you everyone! 😀 I look forward to seeing what Year 3 brings. I have notes for Jurassic World, Inside Out, and Ant-Man that I will eventually turn into reviews and a few awards to accept.  Now time for a break, I have some gaming to catch up on. 😛

Cheers!