New Year Fantasy Movie Marathon

We had a movie marathon last night. Well, I started watching by myself, then by the second movie everyone gathered around the laptop (except my mom), because we still don't have a new television after the old one broke. My mother thought it was funny, us huddled around a small screen.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

The first one I watched was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which my parents saw at the cinema. They had a lot of trips to the cinema last 2016 because of free passes for senior citizens, which is great because they have always been fond of watching movies. Obviously, I got it from them. My best friend once called me a walking IMDB, though I am nowhere near that. It must be because I kept a notebook of movies I have watched. I still continue with that habit, but it's gone digital, thanks to IMDB.

Allow me to digress still...When my mother was in college, she loved going to the cinema, and I think most of the time she watched by herself. Then there was this one time when she bumped into two of her siblings inside the movie house. All three of them came separately.

So back to the marathon, my favorite thing about Miss Peregrine's was Miss Peregrine herself. Eva Green was excellent. Though I like Asa Butterfield, he was not as good in this. Is it because of his age? That awkward stage? Another thing about the movie, I haven't read the book so the time loop thing was a bit confusing. I had to rewind some parts because of this and still ended up not understanding how the last five minutes happened.

Pete's Dragon

When I started the second movie, my sister came back from buying a cake for my father (birthday boy!). Then both my parents also came back from attending mass. We watched the new Pete's Dragon. My parents also saw this at the cinema, but my father has not seen the first few minutes so he sat with us first. After he ate, he ended up finishing the whole movie, too.

My father and my younger self have a history with the original Pete's Dragon. We watched it together when it was shown on TV. Then when he became a seaman, it was one of the VHS films he brought home.

It was 10 PM when we started the third movie. This time, my brother and I continued with our Star Wars rewatch with Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It was more than two hours long, that's why we had to pause by midnight because of the noise. We don't have firecrackers in Davao, but the noise is still amazingly on full volume. You have the torotot that my mother kept on blowing, cars honking, gates and other metals/pots/pans banging, blaring sound systems, people shouting, just chaos in the middle of the night.

When the noise died down, we continued watching. It reminded me just how much I loved Episode III when I first saw it. The fight scene between Obi-Wan and Anakin was still one of the best. I still liked how Hayden Christensen brought Vader to life. But this time, since rewatching the series, I can finally understand why the prequels sucked. The script was horrible, cringe-worthy, you name it. Yikes!

* * * * * *

A bit of Nov-Dec review, but still about films:

Sherlock

I tried Netflix last November so I could watch the Gilmore Girls revival. I liked it. Didn't like Rory much. Felt bad for Jess. Happy for Lorelai and Emily.

Then, I found Sherlock on Netflix. Though late, I'm glad to have finally seen it so I can watch the new season this January.

Had another Sean Harris fix last December. Watched Southcliffe, the mini-series that won him a leading actor BAFTA, then See No Evil: The Moors Murders, Red Riding 1974, and some of his short films: Battles, Native Son, and True Love: Once Removed, which I highly recommend. I found the shorts on Youtube, you can search for them there. Though please note that Native Son and True Love both have nudity in it.

Oh yeah, before I forget: I love Rogue One!

Happy New Year!