I didn’t get quite back in the hang of my more usual viewing habits for April, though I watched slightly more movies this past month than I did in March, including several re-watches. A good portion of the month was dedicated to William Holden, who was TCM’s Star of the Month in honor of his centennial, which included revisiting a couple of old favorites: The Bridge on the River Kwai and Stalag 17. This will be another brief wrap-up post, so for my favorite discoveries of the month, I’m just highlighting my favorite theater experiences for a couple of new releases.
New-to-Me: 19
Re-Watched: 7
New-to-Me Films by Decade:
- 1920s – 0
- 1930s – 1
- 1940s – 4
- 1950s – 6
- 1960s – 1
- 1970s – 1
- 1980s – 2
- 1990s – 0
- 2000s – 0
- 2010s – 4
List of New-to-Me Films:
- Quo Vadis (1951)
- Atlantic City (1980)
- The Great Sinner (1949)
- A Quiet Place (2018)
- Invisible Stripes (1939)
- Local Hero (1983)
- The Conformist (1970)
- Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum (2017)
- Force of Arms (1951)
- Boots Malone (1952)
- Toward the Unknown (1956)
- The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
- Father Is a Bachelor (1950)
- Isle of Dogs (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- The Horse Soldiers (1959)
- Arizona (1940)
- The Man from Colorado (1948)
- Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
A Few Favorite Discoveries:
This is most likely the most stressed I’ve ever been watching a movie in the theater. With the characters in A Quiet Place needing to stay as silent as possible for their survival, every sudden sound that’s heard makes the audience more and more anxious. I didn’t realize just how tense I was watching the movie until I came out of the theater and could breathe normally! Director John Krasinski, who’s much more known for his comedic work as an actor, does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. He also helps bring out great performances from his wife Emily Blunt, and Millicent Simmonds, who I really liked in Wonderstruck last year, so I’m glad to see her turning out more good work. And the sound design in this is excellent, especially for a movie that’s predominantly quiet.
I’m a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Avengers: Infinity War is a movie I’ve been long anticipating. While the previous team-up installment, Avengers: Age of Ultron, is one of my least-favorites from the MCU, I was hopeful for the latest film, as I thought the Russo brothers did a really solid job with the last two Captain America movies. They do a good job here too taking on a seemingly impossible task, having to balance between so many different characters across multiple plotlines. Though I really enjoyed this movie (seeing it opening night with a ton of fans made it all especially fun), I will say it’s not Marvel’s best, even in this year alone with Black Panther. Still, I’m super excited to see what will happen to the heroes in next year’s movie!
I see Atlantic City on that list. A wonderful performance from screen icon Burt Lancaster as the aging fringe member of the gangster fraternity living in the past. Fine film.