My Thoughts On 50 Movies This Summer

As you might already know, over the summer months I decided to up my "film major" game, and actually watch some of those movies I kept purposing to watch but never did.  "Some" being fifty.  Which was a ridiculous but also awesome idea.

So, today, the last day of September, I'd like to finally give you guys the recap of those fifty films and what I (personally) thought of them.

(in order of release)

1. Inception (2010) - Lives up to the hype. 5/5
2. I Was a Male War Bride (1949) - Pretty bland; funny at parts. 2.5/5
3. Hercules (1997) - I understand why I hadn't watched it until now. 3.5/5
4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) - Man destroys family for aliens. 1.5/5
5. The Emporer's New Groove (2000) - Amusing but not quite my sense of humor. 2.5/5
6. The Tree of Life (2011) - Absolutely brilliant journey through life. 5/5
7. Beyond the Mask (2015) - Pretty solid and really fun. 4/5
8. Gone with the Wind (1939) - I loathe this well-made film with a burning passion. 1.5/5
9. The Love Bug (1968) - One of the genuinely funniest movies ever; also Dean Jones. 4.5/5
10. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Ehm, it was rough. 2/5
11. Psycho (1960) - Not sure what made me think I should watch this. 1.5/5
12. Now You See Me (2013) - Not great, not terrible. 3/5
13. Rear Window (1954) - Murder seen through the window really is a murder okay then. 3/5
14. Belle (2013) - Surprisingly great; a different kind of period drama. 4/5
15. The Ten Commandments (1956) - Moses' hair just keeps getting better. 3.5/5
16. Alice in Wonderland (2010) - Could've been way better. 2.5/5
17. Hail, Caesar! (2016) - Seriously amusing commentary on classic Hollywood. 4/5
18. Days of Heaven (1978) - Boring movie, bad subject. 1/5
19. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) - The first one is the only good one. 2.5/5 
20. Citizen Kane (1941) - I can go along with the opinion that it's the greatest film ever made. 4.5/5
21. Saving Mr. Banks (2013) - Absolutely beautiful story of the power of filmmaking. 4.5/5
22. Zootopia (2016) - Could barely get past the political correctness. 2.5/5
23. The Martian (2015) - Fantastically made, seriously fun. 4/5
24. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) - Well made but kinda boring. 3.5/5
25. Bella (2006) - Great subject, but not super interesting as a whole. 3.5/5
26. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - Not bad, but not really my cup of tea. 3/5
27. Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) - Just watch Prince of Egypt instead. 2/5
28. Faith Like Potatoes (2006) - A surprisingly good movie about a Christian in Africa. 3.5/5
29. An American in Paris (1951) - Gene Kelly isn't my fav. 3.5/5
30. And Then There Were None (1945) - Not as good as the book, but still good. 4.5/5
31. Spider-Man 2 (2004) - I didn't hate it... maybe even enjoyed it. 4/5
32. The Maltese Falcon (1941) - Depressing, but not bad. 3.5/5
33. August Rush (2007) - Except for the not-so-great backstory, wow so pretty. 4/5
34. End of the Spear (2005) - Uhmmm my parents wanted to watch this. 3.5/5
35. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) - Seriously so nice. 3.5/5
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - Nothing short of magnificent. 5/5
37. Mr. Holmes (2015) - Most boring well made film ever. 2.5/5
38. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) - It's not bad, it's not great -- it's just fun. 3.5/5
39. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) - Somehow it ended up being a good story. 4/5
40. Love & Friendship (2016) - Slightly problematic period drama. 3/5
41. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - Barely got through it. 2.5/5
42. Fahrenheit 451 (1966) - Actually upheld the spirit of the book, I felt. 4.5/5
43. The Swan (1956) - The ending ruined everything they were going for. 2.5/5
44. Les Miserables (1998) - An important story. 3.5/5
45. The Finest Hours (2016) - Chris Pine was reason enough for me to dislike it. 3/5
46. In the Heart of the Sea (2015) - Wow, yes, a solid "I liked it." 4/5
47. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - Brilliance (that probably informed Winter Soldier). 5/5
48. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - That dear Mr. Smith though. 4.5/5
49. The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) - Hm, not bad, not great, and too long. 3.5/5
50. Stagecoach (1939) - Surprisingly good for a western that I thought I wouldn't like? 3.5/5

And there you have it.  That's kind of alot, right?  Not sure if I'm going to do this 50 films thing again next summer... ;)

Before I get back to working on feeling better from my annual Fall cold, here's a few of my favorite movies from the list that I can whole-heartedly recommend:

• Inception
• The Tree of Life
• Beyond the Mask
• The Love Bug
• Saving Mr. Banks
• The Secret World of Arrietty
• The Bridge on the River Kwai
• The Manchurian Candidate (a bit mature, but really good)

And there you have it, friends!  Which movies from my list have you seen??  And would you agree with my assessments of them? :)