I’ve done it. I’m that person now: that person who goes to the movies alone. Big whoop, some might say, but even if it does not deserve the credit of an accomplishment, I’m still glad I did and am doing it.
Now that I’ve crossed into this territory, a whole new world has opened up to me: I can go to the movies all. the damn. time now. I’m even considering getting a membership at the cinema (of course this is a step I take in my life before the gym membership. of course). Basically, the movie theater is about to become my 5th home.
Here’s a thing about me: I consider myself a film-lover and occasionally a film-maker, and I love to pick every movie I watch apart as I watch it. I wouldn’t call myself a film critic, because I don’t have the fancy know-how and whatnot, but really – in my own special amateur way I kind of am. And since I’ll be seeing a lot of movies, some potentially multiple times, I figured I could write a thing or two about the movies I see. Introducing: movies for months. With this membership, I will have to go to the movies at least 9 times in order to get my money’s worth. How long will I keep this up? That all depends on how interesting they make the trailers and synopses each month. But for now, here’s my three for January.
#1: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
A lot of people grew up on Star Wars in one way or another – I would not say I’m one of them. My Star Wars memories are 100% tied to the Lego Playstation game, and me slaying Darth Vader from the back (not a deliberate move, let me assure you). I watched A New Hope about a year ago, but it didn’t charm me the way it has so many. At the request of my babysitting kids, I gave The Force Awakens a shot as well, and surprisingly, or maybe not at all, I loved it. So, despite my lack of personal connection to the universe, I was excited to go see The Last Jedi. And it did not disappoint.
Coming into this movie more or less unbiased, but also with very little background knowledge, had it’s pro’s and con’s. I know there is a group of dedicated fans that thoroughly despised it, because of how they would have liked the plot to develop – which I was spared. At the same time, I also know there will have been a lot of little nods to “Star Wars history” that I missed out on – which would have probably improved my experience. Still, the end sum for me was a positive. For me, this film struck a good balance between some interesting and thought-provoking themes, and action, adding a “fun” element that’s a little less heavy on the brain.
All in all, I think this new generation of Star Wars has done very well in establishing new connections between its audience and its characters, and I would recommend it for fans and newbies alike – although it might be good to start off with Force Awakens.
#2: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
The name Jumanji might sound familiar to you: this is because there is a previous Jumanji, featuring Robin Williams. Unfortunately, I have not seen this one, so a comparison will not be in the cards for now. As far as I know, this movie is not a sequel or a remake: it’s the concept of the first movie, adapted slightly to the time – the first movie premiered in 1995 and was based around a board-game, whereas the film currently in theaters is centered around a video game.
My expectations for this movie were not all that high. Sure, it has a good cast and appealing trailers, but the genre and topic seemed to me to be a recipe for fine: alright, fun, a good time – but not much more. However, my expectations were exceeded. Of course, it is not the kind of artistic masterpiece that would receive awards, but it is brilliant at what it is. Myself and many others in the room were laughing out loud repeatedly, the setting was beautiful and the story was not at all as predictable as it easily could have been.
Ultimately, I came out of this movie happy and wanting to see it again – a feat not a lot of action/comedies manage to achieve for me.
#3: Pitch Perfect 3
If you want light-hearted, we give you light-hearted: Pitch Perfect 3. As a person who is very fond of singing (or yelling) out loud, all day everyday, this entire franchise is right up my alley. Unlike with Star Wars & Jumanji, I have seen Pitch Perfect 1 & 2 a number of times, and I could probably sing you the entire soundtrack of the first if I tried. This, of course, influenced the way I watched the movie ever so slightly.
Pitch Perfect 3 is presumably the last one, and as such I went into it expecting some kind of closure. While it was definitely a fun watch, and the songs were, once again, catchy as hell, for me it missed the mark in a number of ways. The most important one: the plot. While different is not necessarily a bad thing and the choice to leave some characters behind and introduce some others was understandable, I felt like none of the storylines were truly fleshed out. There was a lot of repetitive humor, without it ever getting deeper into any of it, resulting in lots of laughs but very little connection with the characters, apart from the pre-existing one.
If you want something un-serious and like tapping your feet and maybe ever waging a few notes in the cinema, it is absolutely worth a watch – if you want to save your movie-budget for something slightly more complex, I would wait until it (hopefully) hits Netflix. For me, Pitch Perfect 1 is still the winner.
All in all, it’s been a pretty good month for a night at the movies! I’m excited for what my free-access-future and the next few months of cinema will hold….
Love, Ruby
Ruby in the Sky 
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