Movies Watched in November 2021

Men in Black – Men in Black has been on my mind the past few months and one evening I decided to take the plunge and rewatch it. It was a movie I owned on VHS as mentioned in this article about the Columbia Video Club and one that I watched frequently after it came into possession. But after that first year, I don’t recall revisiting it much and it’s been at least twenty years since I’ve seen it. Luckily for me, it holds up really well and was an absolute blast to watch. I look forward to checking out the sequels, which I’ve only seen the second one.

Blade – Another movie I owned, and one of my early DVD purchases. I loved Blade and it’s opening scene is still one of my all-time favorites. I was surprised at how well it held up, outside of a few CGI spots with vampires turning to dust.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Amazing… best film of the year that I’ve seen. I loved every moment of it.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles – My Thanksgiving movie of choice, I gave Planes, Trains, and Automobiles it’s annual watch on Thanksgiving Eve. It was as good as ever and John Candy and Steve Martin had me laughing like they always do. I’ve also come to appreciate the soundtrack, which I listen to often.

8 Bit Christmas – I was super pumped for this film and watched it on Thanksgiving. Sadly, it was mediocre at best. There were some decent performances, but the script was terrible. Also, it didn’t help that one of the main scenes that propel the film utilized a fake video game that didn’t resemble anything 8 bit. It was sloppy and a disappointment.

Black Friday – My second most anticipated movie for the holiday season was also a bit of a let down. Black Friday couldn’t make up its mind if it was wanted to embrace the camp or not, and that created a very uneven film. There are some tremendous practical effects and I enjoyed all of the performances, but like 8 Bit Christmas, this film just didn’t have much to offer in regards to story.

Stripes – After watching Ghostbusters: Afterlife, I felt compelled to watch Stripes. I guess I just wanted to see Harold Ramis and Bill Murray again and I’m still waiting on my 4k copy of Ghostbusters to arrive. Stripes is fun and has some great moments, but I would be lying if I said I enjoyed it so much I thought I’d revisit again in the future. I think this was my final viewing as Stripes is beginning to age and not so gracefully.