Ah, now this is more like it:
Jaws
Forrest Gump
42
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Escape From the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
21 Jump Street
22 Jump Street
Chef
Silent Night
Silver Linings Playbook
Lake Placid
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Some Guy Who Kills People
Precious, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Hitchcock
Haxan
Rosemary's Baby
Society
With all the life changes that happened- or didn't happen- the last couple of months, our favorite pastime took a backseat, so I am quite pleased with the incredible turnaround in July.
Every year, it is a tradition of me and Jennica's to watch John Carpenter's Halloween every October 31st. Another tradition that seems to be coming up to the surface is viewing Jaws every 4th of July. Jaws remains one of those pictures that never loses its magic no matter how many times you see it. Despite how insane I went for it in July of 1996, Independence Day never did- and never will- become my go-to film for the 4th. We are fast approaching the Jaws' 40th anniversary- next year, actually- and the film still manages to surpass most of the summer blockbusters that tried to ape its success in its wake.
Speaking of ape, this month we had our own version of Fox's old "Go Ape" marathon, watching every single Planet of the Apes film in celebration of the newest installment. This was a film series I had grown up loving as a kid, having viewed all of the original movies on TBS whenever they came on (as well as episodes of the the short-lived TV series). I was really excited to go back to this franchise before the new movie hit. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was an extraordinary accomplishment in every department. Quite possibly my second favorite Apes, after the original 1968 picture. The 2001 remake, I still want to fling feces at it.
July also saw us re-examining our cinema-going habits, in regards to first-run movies. With ticket prices the way they are now, we had become really selective about what we went out to see. And all we've went out of our way to see lately were the surefires: the blockbusters, the built-in franchises. It wasn't like the coming-of-age days, where taking a chance on a film only cost you a couple of bucks (My brother recently told me the theater in our hometown finally made the change to digital, bringing those $3 matinee days to an end.). Recently, taking a risk on a Cheap Thrills or a Perks of Being a Wallflower has become a once-in-a-blue-moon gamble. We decided it was time to switch up our movie-going, and instead of running with the rest of the herd to see Dawn on opening weekend, we went to see Jon Favreau's Chef. I'm glad we did, because it was a remarkable piece of work. That afternoon made us realize how starved we were for different experiences at the movies, and that all we have to do is make more of an effort to balance our diet.
