event horizon
release date: august 15, 1997
genre: sci-fi horror
director: paul w. s. anderson
summary
a spaceship suddenly reappears after missing for years, a team of researchers board it to try and discover where it was.
review
i'm not a horror fan but event horizon was so good. i feel like a lot of my reviews go like "i'm not usually into this but this specific movie is great", i suppose i'm more into movies than movie genres.
something about the supernatural yet monster-less sci-fi concept where the place itself is evil has won me over. i actually like this movie better than the shining but don't tell the filmbros i said this.
some parts in the the middle got a little formulaic and not as interesting, but the movie was at its best when it did its own thing and went balls to the wall insane with all the body horror. all in all a very cool experience as a non horror fan!
award: a cruise space ship i'd love to go on
rating:
8.5 monkeys/10
fargo
release date: may 31, 1996
genre: crime drama
director: joel coen
summary
car salesman arranges a scheme to have his own wife kidnapped for ransom. everyone involved is very stupid, resulting in increasing amounts of bloodshed.
review
fargo is the movie that made me realize i actually like movies. there really isn't any part of it i don't like. the snowy landscapes, the acting, the music, everything was perfect.
this was the first in the roughly 50-movies long bender i undertook 4 years ago because for the first time in my life i went through an experience most girls have years earlier: a celebrity crush. i think steve buscemi is extremely hot. and fargo is peak buscemi, he exudes this jittery neurotic energy that progressively gets more manic throughout the movie, it makes me want to maul him. it's great.
this review was requested by my brother who doesn't really get the hype. i can see how fargo could be dismissed as meandering and purposeless by someone who isn't on the same wavelength, which is how i feel about most other coen films, but fargo made perfect sense to me in a way few things did before. it was a beautiful melancholy experience that made me want to visit brainerd during wintertime.
award: the filmbros were right
rating:
10 monkeys/10
flight of the phoenix
release date: december 15, 1965
genre: drama
director: robert aldrich
summary
guys crash a plane in the desert. things get intense, there's no radio, people die. what will they do???
review
on reflection i think this might be one of my favorite movies ever. it has enough action to keep your interest, but not too much. the tension between the characters is done well. honestly, i'm not really someone into older films, and i was worried the desert setting could easily have gotten monotonous and dismal but the film doesn't lose momentum. also it's about a plane and planes are awesome. this is a certified classic.
btw this movie has a monkey. i don't know anything about the filming or what happened to it, but the monkey was cute, i guess.
one of the best things in this movie is the engineer heinrich dorfmann, he's been something of a role model to me for a long time. i love characters who aren't typical action heroes but have to problem solve and use their brain to solve a crisis.
i will have to mention the 2004 remake now. basically it's not very good. 
the action was fine but there were some questionable creative decisions made. i appreciate how they had to admit they fucked up dorfmann's character so much they had to rename him to keep some semblance of respect. what even was this guy's problem. although i loved the scene where he straight up murders a guy, that was great, as well as his cool fucking shades.
if you enjoy aviation, survival dramas or strong willed heroes you may enjoy this one.
award: most watchable 60s movie
rating (1965 version):
7 monkeys/10
gandahar
release date: december 11, 1987
genre: science fantasy
director: rené laloux
summary
the chosen warrior must save his planet from a mysterious robotic menace.
review
i love digging up older animated movies, they don't make them like they used to anymore. for reference, the last animated fantasy movie i watched before this one was 'starchaser: the legend of orin'. my standards are really low.
i wasn't familiar with this director or with 'fantastic planet' so i expected nothing but starchaser level derpiness. it actually turned out to be amazing. the story was simple but sweet, the design work on the creatures and landscapes was wonderful and the synthy 80s music sealed the whole thing. the characters were as basic as the story, except there was one awesome (spoiler-y) character who was very unique, compelling and the best part of the movie.
i enjoyed the deeper topics the movie managed to touch on without going into preachy teritory. i'm looking forward to giving 'time masters' a watch as well.
award: highest rate of boobs on screen per minute
rating:
8 monkeys/10
everything everywhere all at once
release date: march 11, 2022
genre: comdey, drama
director: daniel Kwan, daniel scheinert
summary
mother and daughter conflict. ensuing drama threatens to destroy not just our universe but many others.
review
it had like 2 jokes that made me laugh a little. which is impressive. i've seen many movies and heard many jokes. normally i don't find many jokes funny.
pacing was fast. like, extremely fast (and this wasn't a short movie), to a point i can only describe as 'tiktok explore page' pacing, and i'm not a fan of the marvel tier multiverse trend. but i enjoyed the story a lot.
would absolutely recommend if you want a movie that has marvel style superhero action, except about family drama, and better.
rating:
6.5 monkeys/10