Spring and Summer Movie Roundup

On March 4, I posted a list of the movies I want to see this year. I thought this might be a good time to review that list to date.

Before I start, this has been an interesting summer because it was the summer I had Moviepass. Here's Moviepass from Wikipedia:

. . . the service allows subscribers to purchase a single movie ticket per day for a flat subscription fee per month, quarter, or year. The service utilizes a mobile app, where users check-into a cinema and choose a film and showtime, which results in the cost of the ticket being loaded to a prepaid debit card, which is used to purchase the ticket from the cinema as usual.

When Moviepass lowered their price last year, I hesitated before joining, fearing it would crash and burn. But as the number of subscribers skyrocketed, I bought in earlier this year, paying $90 for a full year's subscription. For that year, I can see one movie a day, paid for by the company. But I can only see each movie one time on Moviepass.

I have gotten my value out of Moviepass, so far seeing 11 movies, which means a total cost of around $8 a movie. I hope the service will continue long enough for me to see a few more, but it looks like Moviepass won't survive much longer.

I've noted which movies I saw on Moviepass with an MP. Some of these I saw more than once, but only once with Moviepass. A few minor spoilers below, but nothing important.

A Wrinkle in Time

Decided not to see it due to lukewarm reviews. (pre-Moviepass)

Tomb Raider (MP)

Not a fantastic movie, but I really enjoyed it. (Even though the final action sequence was stolen from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). I like that it was based on a specific Tomb Raider video game title, and I'm sorry it didn't do well enough to merit any more films in the series. I'd like to see more.

Pacific Rim Uprising (MP)

A pretty big disappointment. A poor followup from the original, and the human villain (no spoilers here) was a HUGE mistake.

Ready Player One (MP)

I've never read the book and had few expectations, but I liked it. The virtual reality visuals were pretty incredible and the story, while mostly a stock "rebels against the empire" plot grafted onto a buttload of pop culture references, worked for me. I look forward to seeing it again on video.

Avengers: Infinity War (MP)

The movie of the year. Incredible. A miracle that it works and it works hugely. Saw it four times in the theater.

Deadpool 2 (MP)
I haven't decided yet if I like this better than the original Deadpool or not. Still profane, still very funny, the plot here is more convoluted than the first and dives even deeper into the X-Men mythos,  with some broader MCU digs thrown in. Also, Domino is one of the greatest superheroes in film. Saw it twice in the theater.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (MP)

I think this deserved to do better than it did. Another fun movie that worked for me, with a great cast and some incredible visuals. Any movie with Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover is a winner in my book. And Glover was GREAT as Lando.

Incredibles 2 (MP)
A direct continuation of the first movie, the Incredibles family takes a big step back before moving forward. Some of the visuals here, particularly involving the Screenslaver are just, well, incredible. And of course, more Elastigirl and more Frozone are very welcome. Loved it. Saw it twice. Hopefully we won't wait 14 years for the next one.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (MP)
The strangest Jurassic Park movie takes the franchise off the island, forever. They obviously realized they couldn't keep doing the theme park/post theme park back and forth. Some fun moments, but no humans are as stupid as the ones in this movie.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (MP)

Loved it. A great, hilarious, lighter MCU outing to help people heal from Infinity War. Still, watching the first end credits scene on opening weekend with an enthusiastic crowd was one of the best theater experiences I've EVER had. The audience reacted with puzzlement for a few seconds and then erupted into a huge gasp. Really, really great. Saw it twice.

I did see a few more movies that weren't on the list, almost certainly because they were free via Moviepass.

Ocean's 8 (MP)
You know the formula for the typical heist movie. A criminal mastermind gets his crew together and they plan a big, complex heist. Things seem to go wrong, but in the end, it was all part of the plan. Now, take that basic formula and remove the "things seem to go wrong" part and you have Oceans 8. I liked the all-female cast, but the heist plan went exactly according to plan, with nothing going wrong. What?

A Quiet Place (MP)
A great horror movie about a family living in utter silence after an invasion by alien bugs that can hear but not see. Really well done, one of the best movies I've seen this year.

Rampage (MP)
Everybody likes Dwayne Johnson, he's great fun to watch. Unfortunately, this story, based on the great Rampage video game, doesn't have enough fun making the game into a movie. The relationship between the two is pretty perfunctory, so it's mostly disaster porn with a likable lead. It also contains a horrible, unnecessarily misogynistic death.

Still to come on the list:

X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2
Aquaman