Hey there, dear readers!
Welcome to my blog’s third birthday! That’s right, 36 months ago to the day I posted my first posts. And in that time it has blossomed into the cute little place you see today. In what has become customary here, I reviewed two trilogies throughout the week. This year, I looked at two series that I haven’t seen before: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. If you missed any of my reviews for them, here are the links:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
One of the biggest changes I made this blogging year was changing my scoring system. From the start up through December 2015, I used a number rating from 0.5 to 5. Beginning with my review of Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, I transitioned into a more loose rating of BAD, OK, GOOD, GREAT. This wasn’t exactly a huge change but it allowed me to feel less confined in my scorings. A more vague approach allowed me to make my reviews more in line with how I would speak about the film to you as if we were face-to-face, which is more the goal of this blog. You guys seemed to handle the change pretty well and were very supportive of it.
Many great bloggers nominated me for awards this year but I dropped the ball on them. I like doing write-ups for award nominations, it is a great way to interact with my fellow bloggers, but I never got around to many this year. Much of my time and focus went into my reviews, features, playing Splatoon (seriously, I’m addicted to that game), or many of the other things I do outside of blogging. So I would just like to take this time and thank those of you who gave me an award that I never responded to. I didn’t forget about you (well I did but I also didn’t) and I appreciate the nominations. Thank you.
Every blogiversary, I like to look back at all the movies I have watched in the last twelve months and give the top ones I have watched that were new to me, whether I watched them on home video or in the theater. Last year, my list was comprised of entirely movies seen in theaters but this year it is mixed, which is exciting. So here are my fave five films I watched during my third year of blogging.
5) Rocky Balboa
Late in 2015, I went through the Rocky series for the first time. Out of all six, Rocky Balboa was my favorite. Rocky V was a very disappointing end to the series, so I’m really glad that a sixth Rocky was released because it gave the character an ending he deserved. The entire series is composed of feel-good moments but Rocky Balboa was the most emotional of them all. Most of the time is spent outside the boxing ring, and with a Rocky coming to terms with his old age, it offers one of the best character studies of the series. I know many people consider Rocky the best of the series but I think that honor belongs to Rocky Balboa.
4) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
After the slow start in The Fellowship of the Ring and large set-up in The Two Towers, The Return of the King brings all of the plot threads together. The run time is absurdly long but it packs a lot in. The action is top-notch and all the characters get satisfying endings to their stories. The use of practical effects most of the time and using CGI only when necessary adds so much to the film that got lost in the Hobbit series, something that plagues many films today. I know I got around to watch this series late, but it was definitely worth the wait.
3) Zootopia
Every Disney movie tries to have some sort of lesson. Zootopia has the standard “don’t give up on your dreams” that is common in many Disney movies. But on top of that, it tries to handle the sensitive topic of racism and stereotypes. Although the topic is brought up often, it doesn’t feel heavy handed. It comes across strongly but never overwhelming. What really solidified this as a favorite for me was the buddy cop aspect. Nick Wilde (Jasaon Bateman) and Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) try to solve a mystery of savage residents in Zootopia. Like the best buddy cop movies, they are very different and become reluctant partners. Disney has had a resurgence lately and Zootopia is keeping that train going strong.
2) Some Like It Hot
I’ve seen Some Like It Hot on several “best of” comedy movie lists. Comedy is one of my favorite genres so the “Try it, you’ll like it” blogathon hosted by Movies Silently and Sister celluloid gave me the perfect chance to check it out. Whenever I look at “definitive” or “best of” lists like that, I always read them with some hesitation because I have been let down before. However, Some Like It Hot every bit deserves to be on those lists. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are absolutely hilarious together. Every scene is side splitting. If you have never seen this, you owe it to yourself to check it out. You won’t be disappointed. As they say, they don’t make them like this anymore.
1) Deadpool
It was tough to decide which movie got the top spot on this list but Deadpool inched out over Some Like It Hot. Deadpool had been in development hell for years and audiences were not sure if it was even going to happen. After a disappointing appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox had to nail the character of Deadpool this time or completely lose the support of fans. Luckily, they completely nailed him. Ryan Reynolds was perfect in his first outing as Wade Wilson and is even better the second time. It is easy to tell he and the entire cast was having a great time. As a huge fan of the character myself, I could not ask for a better movie version of the character.
And with that, I close out year three and move into year four! From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of you for reading this blog. I know people say this all the time but it does not make it any less true: I wouldn’t be here without any of you (heh, I rhymed). Your constant likes and comments tell me all the time spent writing reviews, finding quotes, gathering trailers and collaborating with many of you is all worth while. Thank you everyone for all your support!
I’m excited to see what the next twelve months have in store and hope you will stick around to help me see it, too. 🙂
Until next time. Cheers!
Drew's Movie Reviews 