Second Breakfast: August 2023
By Austin Johnson
Fuck it, bringing back the monthly diary. I did a Criterion Channel Diary from March of 2020 to March of 2021 and then I did a Watching Things Diary for the entirety of 2022. I’m going to do another project to track the films I watch every month. This time it’ll be any film I watch and then I’ll have categories to highlight some of the ones I enjoyed the most. It’ll make sense as I go.
Typically, I will watch about a film per day in any given month. August was a little different because my wife and I both got Covid in the middle of the month. We shredded through some stuff for a few days so I definitely watched more than usual. 57 films to be exact. I’m gonna break them down into different categories and then the categories at the bottom will be my Favorites Categories.
Disney Channel Original Movies
Look, none of these are gonna make it into my Favorites Categories, but holy hell I still really enjoy Johnny Tsunami. Easily my favorite of all those rewatches. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa crushes it as Johnny T! Hey, Pono! The sequel, Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board isn’t as good as the first but we still get some great stuff from Tagawa. I was definitely surprised by You Wish! and Alley Cats Strike. I loved them as a kid and they held up better than most. What’s great about these DCOM’s is that all of them are on Disney+ for easy access to some nostalgia.
First Time Watches From the Past
Pretty random list here, but I’m always trying out a bunch of shit on various streaming services to find some gems. Honestly, I enjoyed all of these quite a bit, but a few of them really rocked me. About half of these were ones I watched with my wife when we had Covid. She picked Ginger Snaps, D.E.B.S., Tahara, and M3GAN and they all delivered in very different ways. The Infernal Cauldron and OPAL are both shorts that are on Max and they are well worth the time. Escape Room was recommended to me by my wife and it was a nice little ride. Love Taylor Russell! Deep Cover, Trees Lounge, The Faculty, 2046, Person to Person, and Skate Kitchen were all on my watchlist that has been growing in my brain forever. Those are all good as hell. And finally, The Croc That Ate Jaws is just right up my alley. A doc about Crocs and Gators that have had run-ins with sharks. So sick.
Miscellaneous Rewatches
These are some films that I rewatched mostly for fun. Her and Moonlight were for the Filmgazm Podcast. Blue Chips because William Friedkin passed away and that it is the first film I ever saw of his when I was a kid. The rest are just because I felt like it. Sometimes, I turn on my TV and know exactly what I want. Sometimes it’s a personal favorite like Toy Story or Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and sometimes it’s a “take my mind off things” comedy like The Longest Yard, John Tucker Must Die, or The Internship. I will always rewatch films because getting familiar with shit and reevaluating is very important for my film journey.
Franchise Rewatches
Who would’ve thought Paranormal Activity and LOTR are the franchises I decided to knock out at the end of the month. My wife and I had a great time with the Paranormal films. We’re gonna knock out the other three in the franchise in September for sure. I’ve never seen any of them, so bring on the ridiculousness! LOTR is just one of those things in my life that brings me so much happiness. I hadn’t watched them all in a couple years, so I felt like it was time as the third film, Return of the King, hits its 20 year anniversary later this year. Pretty crazy.
2023 Stuff
I was able to get to the theater three times during August for Barbie, Oppenheimer, and TMNT. Loved every minute of them. I rewatched Super Mario Bros. with my daughter. It was the first film she ever saw in theaters, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Evil Dead Rise, Infinity Pool, and Red, White & Royal Blue were all Covid watches. My wife and I love horror films and occasionally romance films. Covid gave us time to watch a wide variety of shit. It’s a shitty virus, but it gave me extra time with the person I love most, doing what we love to do.
A Night of 3 Comedies
During the last weekend of August, my wife, daughter, and I stayed over at our good friend's house. Our daughter is really close with her kids so they played around while we all drank and watched movies all night. We wanted to laugh, so we had ourselves a little 2010s comedy trifecta. We laughed our asses off the whole time, but it’s pretty clear that Game Night is my favorite of those three. It’s got such a great cast and really plays with the genre in a unique way. How about Jesse Plemmons as the creepy cop neighbor? So good!
Categories
There will always be 5 favorites in every category except for the Favorite Movie Moment of the Month category. That will be given to a singular moment. The goal is to highlight my favorite performances, music moments, and watches from the films I watch throughout each month. Here we go…
Favorite Lead Performances
James Caan as Frank - Thief (1981)
Christopher Walken as Frank White - King of New York (1990)
Laurence Fishburne as Russell Stevens Jr. / John Hull - Deep Cover (1992)
Steve Buscemi as Tommy - Trees Lounge (1996)
Cheryl Dunye as Cheryl - The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Let’s start with my favorite Lead Performances, which consists of three rewatches and two first time watches. James Caan was and is my fucking dude. The shit he’s doing in Thief is absurd. It’s as if he was born to play Frank. I know he’s most known for Sonny Corleone, but for me it’s Frank. No matter what month I watch Thief, James Caan will show up in this category.
Christopher Walken is somehow underrated at this point. Most people just see him as a supporting guy who can bring terror or laughter to any given scene. His performance in King of New York is a big time “hold my beer” performance. He’s menacing as hell.
I was scrolling through Criterion in early August while on a drive from Las Vegas back home to San Antonio when Deep Cover caught my eye. I’m so glad it did because it’s a fucking stellar film filled with great stuff, including what is now my favorite Larry Fishburne performance of all time. He was something else in the 90s as he was really coming on to the scene. I’ll always love a solid undercover cop story, especially when it’s as daunting as what’s going on in Deep Cover.
Trees Lounge is a film that my older brother recommended to me while my wife and I had Covid. My wife fell asleep one night while I couldn’t sleep, so I turned to Trees Lounge. Thank you, Jeremy. Not only did Buscemi write and direct this gem, but he plays the main character, Tommy who is an alcoholic that lives in an apartment above a bar called Trees Lounge. The final shot is something to behold. One of the best I’ve ever seen.
I am obsessed with The Watermelon Woman. A five star film no doubt. I watched it back in 2020 when I first signed up for Criterion and then I was able to revisit it and show it to my wife while we had Covid. So happy that my wife enjoyed it as much as I do. Cheryl Dunye is a genius and what she is doing as the writer/director/star of the film is a true feat. She has this easy way of giving the viewer someone to root for and also reasons for the viewer to want to hangout with her.
Favorite Supporting Performances
Ian McKellen as Gandalf - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Ziyi Zhang as Bai Ling - 2046 (2004)
Naomie Harris as Paula - Moonlight (2016)
Mahershala Ali as Juan - Moonlight (2016)
Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss - Oppenheimer (2023)
We got three rewatches and two first time watches again. My entire family are all huge fans of LOTR and my older brothers and I quote that shit whenever we are around each other. For me, Ian McKellen out does everyone in every film. Gandalf fuckin rules and every bit of dialogue is delivered exquisitely by McKellen, but his best stuff is in Fellowship. The character introduction and development through Fellowship gives you reason to believe that this is the most badass dude in all of Middle Earth.
Okay, now I get to shout out Wong Kar-Wai. About a year ago, I finally took a deep dive into his career by watching a handful of his films. No lie, he’s probably the most efficient writer/director that I know of. I watched 2046 very intentionally during the drive from Vegas to San Antonio. My mind was blown. The person who really blew me away is Ziyi Zhang, who I was familiar with but I hadn’t seen her play Bai Ling, the high class prostitute that absolutely dominates the screen whenever she’s there. I highly recommend checking out all of Wong’s films, but if you like Sci Fi/Dramas then please give 2046 a go.
I have a couple of performers from Moonlight in this category. Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali are both unstoppable as Paula and Juan. The reason I watched Moonlight in August is because we covered it on our podcast. We started a Top 10 films of the 2010s series on our Filmgazm pod a few months ago which saw Moonlight come in at number six on Adam’s list and number three on my list. That project has been super rewarding for everyone involved and doing a proper episode on Moonlight, talking about the wonderful cast, writing, direction, and everything else made me happy as hell.
The last performance in this supporting category is RDJ in Oppenheimer as the cunning Lewis Strauss. It’s so nice to see RDJ break free from his Iron Man era because the dude has fuckin' range. I think he’s the favorite right now to win the Oscar and I would have no problem with that because every time he shows up in Oppenheimer I was extra glued to the screen.
Favorite Music Moments
“Beach Theme” by Tangerine Dream - Thief (1981)
“Lovin You” by Minnie Ripperton - The Watermelon Woman (1996)
“Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (End Title)” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
“Long Ways to Go Yet / Gollum’s Song” by Howard Shore and Emiliana Torrini - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
“Dance” by ESG - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
Thief is great for many reasons, but one of the things that really stands out is the score by Tangerine Dream. What a sick band with so many great contributions to film. My favorite piece in Thief is definitely “Beach Theme” when the final heist seems to be over and we get a hairy-chested James Caan walking on the beach with Jim Belushi swimming, talking about how nice the water is in celebratory fashion. It’s wonderful.
When Kat L Robertson’s character, Yvette sings “Lovin’ You” by Minnie Riperton in The Watermelon Woman, I nearly cry from laughter. It’s a fucking hilarious scene that has always stuck with me because I love Minnie and I love Cheryl’s reaction as she hears Yvette try her hardest to sing such a lovely song.
One of my favorite animated films of all time is Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. It’s so dark and so damn focused on the story it wants to tell. I enjoy a lot of the DC animated films but this is their best shit ever. The music is fucking great throughout, but the end credits track just slaps so hard. Always manages to get me on my feet with my air guitar.
Time to go back to Middle Earth. When Two Towers ends, we get Howard Shore and Emiliana Torrini’s “Long Ways to Go Yet / Gollum’s Song” which is just so eerie and fitting for what just occurred at the end of the second film and what’s to come in the third film. So much of the music in the whole trilogy is fucking brilliant, but that’s always stood out to me because the stakes are so high and so clear.
Finally, I have to shout out the deep soundtrack in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem which I got to see with my wife and daughter on National Cinema Day. There were a few needle drops that really stood out but the one that really got me was during a scene of action with “Dance” by ESG playing. What a sweet track! Groovy as can be!
Favorite Watches
Thief (1981)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Moonlight (2016)
Skate Kitchen (2018)
Oppenheimer (2023)
I knew right away that I had to include Thief. It’s shown up a couple of times already in other categories and will likely do so anytime I watch it because it’s one of my very favorite 80s films, my favorite James Caan performance, and probably my favorite Michael Mann film. This time, I watched it super late at night by myself while we had Covid because I couldn’t sleep and I needed a comfort film to tuck me in and tell me everything's gonna be alright. I bought a Criterion copy when I went to LA a couple years ago, so I’ll always have it ready to go in times of need.
Clearly, I’m a big LOTR fan, so I wanted to include my favorite of the trilogy which has always been Fellowship. That’s when we are sort of getting a history lesson on Middle Earth and just how important this journey with Frodo and company is going to be. There’s also a specific scene that just makes me fall in love with storytelling and filmmaking every fucking time I watch it. We will get to that in a little bit.
I had Ali and Harris from Moonlight in my Supporting Performances category and I nearly chose Nicholas Brittel for the music category, so it’s safe to say I love this film. It’s probably my favorite film that I watched in August. I’ve seen it like 20 times, but this past watch was intentionally for the pod. Not only is Moonlight one of my Top 10 films of the 2010s, but it’s high up there when it comes to favorites of all time. It’s always an honor. Thank you, Barry Jenkins.
The last couple films in this category are ones I saw for the first time with my wife. Skate Kitchen was at home on Hulu while we had Covid and Oppenheimer was at the Alamo Drafthouse. Both of them rocked the shit out of me for very different reasons. Written and directed by Crystal Moselle, Skate Kitchen is small and low key with big things to say about growing up and being yourself through skateboarding while Oppenheimer, written and directed by Christopher Nolan is massive and not low key at all with major things to say about the history of America and the world through the development atomic bomb. They honestly couldn’t be any different haha.
Favorite Movie Moment of August
Gandalf vs the Balrog (Durin’s Bane) in the Mines of Moria - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The time has come to talk about my favorite singular movie moment from all my watches in August. I have to stick with my heart and choose the scene that inspired this new project. It’s gotta be when Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin travel through the Mines of Moria and come across a bridge which sees them come face to face with a Balrog known as Durin's Bane. The intensity and the filmmaking is pedal to the metal type shit that is not only my favorite bit from the whole trilogy but it reminds me of the old days, watching them all with my family. This time around, I watched all of the LOTR films alone in my bedroom in the middle of the night. Three nights in a row. It was euphoric as usual. All 12 hours, so fucking worth it.
Typically, I will watch about a film per day in any given month. August was a little different because my wife and I both got Covid in the middle of the month. We shredded through some stuff for a few days so I definitely watched more than usual. 57 films to be exact. I’m gonna break them down into different categories and then the categories at the bottom will be my Favorites Categories.
Disney Channel Original Movies
- Johnny Tsunami (1999)
- Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999)
- Alley Cats Strike (2000)
- Rip Girls (2000)
- The Luck of the Irish (2001)
- Zenon: The Zequel (2001)
- Tru Confessions (2002)
- Get a Clue (2002)
- Double Teamed (2002)
- The Cheetah Girls (2003)
- You Wish! (2003)
- Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook Off (2003)
- Stuck in the Suburbs (2004)
- Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (2007)
Look, none of these are gonna make it into my Favorites Categories, but holy hell I still really enjoy Johnny Tsunami. Easily my favorite of all those rewatches. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa crushes it as Johnny T! Hey, Pono! The sequel, Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board isn’t as good as the first but we still get some great stuff from Tagawa. I was definitely surprised by You Wish! and Alley Cats Strike. I loved them as a kid and they held up better than most. What’s great about these DCOM’s is that all of them are on Disney+ for easy access to some nostalgia.
First Time Watches From the Past
- The Infernal Cauldron (1903)
- Deep Cover (1992)
- Trees Lounge (1996)
- The Faculty (1998)
- Ginger Snaps (2000)
- 2046 (2004)
- D.E.B.S. (2004)
- Person to Person (2017)
- Skate Kitchen (2018)
- Escape Room (2019)
- Tahara (2020)
- OPAL (2020)
- The Croc That Ate Jaws (2021)
- M3GAN (2022)
Pretty random list here, but I’m always trying out a bunch of shit on various streaming services to find some gems. Honestly, I enjoyed all of these quite a bit, but a few of them really rocked me. About half of these were ones I watched with my wife when we had Covid. She picked Ginger Snaps, D.E.B.S., Tahara, and M3GAN and they all delivered in very different ways. The Infernal Cauldron and OPAL are both shorts that are on Max and they are well worth the time. Escape Room was recommended to me by my wife and it was a nice little ride. Love Taylor Russell! Deep Cover, Trees Lounge, The Faculty, 2046, Person to Person, and Skate Kitchen were all on my watchlist that has been growing in my brain forever. Those are all good as hell. And finally, The Croc That Ate Jaws is just right up my alley. A doc about Crocs and Gators that have had run-ins with sharks. So sick.
Miscellaneous Rewatches
- Thief (1981)
- King of New York (1990)
- Blue Chips (1994)
- Toy Story (1995)
- The Watermelon Woman (1996)
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
- The Longest Yard (2005)
- Sin City (2005)
- John Tucker Must Die (2006)
- Her (2013)
- The Internship (2013)
- Moonlight (2016)
These are some films that I rewatched mostly for fun. Her and Moonlight were for the Filmgazm Podcast. Blue Chips because William Friedkin passed away and that it is the first film I ever saw of his when I was a kid. The rest are just because I felt like it. Sometimes, I turn on my TV and know exactly what I want. Sometimes it’s a personal favorite like Toy Story or Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and sometimes it’s a “take my mind off things” comedy like The Longest Yard, John Tucker Must Die, or The Internship. I will always rewatch films because getting familiar with shit and reevaluating is very important for my film journey.
Franchise Rewatches
- Paranormal Activity (2007)
- Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
- Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
- Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Who would’ve thought Paranormal Activity and LOTR are the franchises I decided to knock out at the end of the month. My wife and I had a great time with the Paranormal films. We’re gonna knock out the other three in the franchise in September for sure. I’ve never seen any of them, so bring on the ridiculousness! LOTR is just one of those things in my life that brings me so much happiness. I hadn’t watched them all in a couple years, so I felt like it was time as the third film, Return of the King, hits its 20 year anniversary later this year. Pretty crazy.
2023 Stuff
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
- Barbie
- Oppenheimer
- Evil Dead Rise
- Infinity Pool
- Red, White & Royal Blue
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
I was able to get to the theater three times during August for Barbie, Oppenheimer, and TMNT. Loved every minute of them. I rewatched Super Mario Bros. with my daughter. It was the first film she ever saw in theaters, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Evil Dead Rise, Infinity Pool, and Red, White & Royal Blue were all Covid watches. My wife and I love horror films and occasionally romance films. Covid gave us time to watch a wide variety of shit. It’s a shitty virus, but it gave me extra time with the person I love most, doing what we love to do.
A Night of 3 Comedies
- 21 Jump Street (2012)
- Neighbors (2014)
- Game Night (2018)
During the last weekend of August, my wife, daughter, and I stayed over at our good friend's house. Our daughter is really close with her kids so they played around while we all drank and watched movies all night. We wanted to laugh, so we had ourselves a little 2010s comedy trifecta. We laughed our asses off the whole time, but it’s pretty clear that Game Night is my favorite of those three. It’s got such a great cast and really plays with the genre in a unique way. How about Jesse Plemmons as the creepy cop neighbor? So good!
Categories
There will always be 5 favorites in every category except for the Favorite Movie Moment of the Month category. That will be given to a singular moment. The goal is to highlight my favorite performances, music moments, and watches from the films I watch throughout each month. Here we go…
Favorite Lead Performances
James Caan as Frank - Thief (1981)
Christopher Walken as Frank White - King of New York (1990)
Laurence Fishburne as Russell Stevens Jr. / John Hull - Deep Cover (1992)
Steve Buscemi as Tommy - Trees Lounge (1996)
Cheryl Dunye as Cheryl - The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Let’s start with my favorite Lead Performances, which consists of three rewatches and two first time watches. James Caan was and is my fucking dude. The shit he’s doing in Thief is absurd. It’s as if he was born to play Frank. I know he’s most known for Sonny Corleone, but for me it’s Frank. No matter what month I watch Thief, James Caan will show up in this category.
Christopher Walken is somehow underrated at this point. Most people just see him as a supporting guy who can bring terror or laughter to any given scene. His performance in King of New York is a big time “hold my beer” performance. He’s menacing as hell.
I was scrolling through Criterion in early August while on a drive from Las Vegas back home to San Antonio when Deep Cover caught my eye. I’m so glad it did because it’s a fucking stellar film filled with great stuff, including what is now my favorite Larry Fishburne performance of all time. He was something else in the 90s as he was really coming on to the scene. I’ll always love a solid undercover cop story, especially when it’s as daunting as what’s going on in Deep Cover.
Trees Lounge is a film that my older brother recommended to me while my wife and I had Covid. My wife fell asleep one night while I couldn’t sleep, so I turned to Trees Lounge. Thank you, Jeremy. Not only did Buscemi write and direct this gem, but he plays the main character, Tommy who is an alcoholic that lives in an apartment above a bar called Trees Lounge. The final shot is something to behold. One of the best I’ve ever seen.
I am obsessed with The Watermelon Woman. A five star film no doubt. I watched it back in 2020 when I first signed up for Criterion and then I was able to revisit it and show it to my wife while we had Covid. So happy that my wife enjoyed it as much as I do. Cheryl Dunye is a genius and what she is doing as the writer/director/star of the film is a true feat. She has this easy way of giving the viewer someone to root for and also reasons for the viewer to want to hangout with her.
Favorite Supporting Performances
Ian McKellen as Gandalf - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Ziyi Zhang as Bai Ling - 2046 (2004)
Naomie Harris as Paula - Moonlight (2016)
Mahershala Ali as Juan - Moonlight (2016)
Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss - Oppenheimer (2023)
We got three rewatches and two first time watches again. My entire family are all huge fans of LOTR and my older brothers and I quote that shit whenever we are around each other. For me, Ian McKellen out does everyone in every film. Gandalf fuckin rules and every bit of dialogue is delivered exquisitely by McKellen, but his best stuff is in Fellowship. The character introduction and development through Fellowship gives you reason to believe that this is the most badass dude in all of Middle Earth.
Okay, now I get to shout out Wong Kar-Wai. About a year ago, I finally took a deep dive into his career by watching a handful of his films. No lie, he’s probably the most efficient writer/director that I know of. I watched 2046 very intentionally during the drive from Vegas to San Antonio. My mind was blown. The person who really blew me away is Ziyi Zhang, who I was familiar with but I hadn’t seen her play Bai Ling, the high class prostitute that absolutely dominates the screen whenever she’s there. I highly recommend checking out all of Wong’s films, but if you like Sci Fi/Dramas then please give 2046 a go.
I have a couple of performers from Moonlight in this category. Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali are both unstoppable as Paula and Juan. The reason I watched Moonlight in August is because we covered it on our podcast. We started a Top 10 films of the 2010s series on our Filmgazm pod a few months ago which saw Moonlight come in at number six on Adam’s list and number three on my list. That project has been super rewarding for everyone involved and doing a proper episode on Moonlight, talking about the wonderful cast, writing, direction, and everything else made me happy as hell.
The last performance in this supporting category is RDJ in Oppenheimer as the cunning Lewis Strauss. It’s so nice to see RDJ break free from his Iron Man era because the dude has fuckin' range. I think he’s the favorite right now to win the Oscar and I would have no problem with that because every time he shows up in Oppenheimer I was extra glued to the screen.
Favorite Music Moments
“Beach Theme” by Tangerine Dream - Thief (1981)
“Lovin You” by Minnie Ripperton - The Watermelon Woman (1996)
“Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (End Title)” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
“Long Ways to Go Yet / Gollum’s Song” by Howard Shore and Emiliana Torrini - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
“Dance” by ESG - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
Thief is great for many reasons, but one of the things that really stands out is the score by Tangerine Dream. What a sick band with so many great contributions to film. My favorite piece in Thief is definitely “Beach Theme” when the final heist seems to be over and we get a hairy-chested James Caan walking on the beach with Jim Belushi swimming, talking about how nice the water is in celebratory fashion. It’s wonderful.
When Kat L Robertson’s character, Yvette sings “Lovin’ You” by Minnie Riperton in The Watermelon Woman, I nearly cry from laughter. It’s a fucking hilarious scene that has always stuck with me because I love Minnie and I love Cheryl’s reaction as she hears Yvette try her hardest to sing such a lovely song.
One of my favorite animated films of all time is Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. It’s so dark and so damn focused on the story it wants to tell. I enjoy a lot of the DC animated films but this is their best shit ever. The music is fucking great throughout, but the end credits track just slaps so hard. Always manages to get me on my feet with my air guitar.
Time to go back to Middle Earth. When Two Towers ends, we get Howard Shore and Emiliana Torrini’s “Long Ways to Go Yet / Gollum’s Song” which is just so eerie and fitting for what just occurred at the end of the second film and what’s to come in the third film. So much of the music in the whole trilogy is fucking brilliant, but that’s always stood out to me because the stakes are so high and so clear.
Finally, I have to shout out the deep soundtrack in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem which I got to see with my wife and daughter on National Cinema Day. There were a few needle drops that really stood out but the one that really got me was during a scene of action with “Dance” by ESG playing. What a sweet track! Groovy as can be!
Favorite Watches
Thief (1981)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Moonlight (2016)
Skate Kitchen (2018)
Oppenheimer (2023)
I knew right away that I had to include Thief. It’s shown up a couple of times already in other categories and will likely do so anytime I watch it because it’s one of my very favorite 80s films, my favorite James Caan performance, and probably my favorite Michael Mann film. This time, I watched it super late at night by myself while we had Covid because I couldn’t sleep and I needed a comfort film to tuck me in and tell me everything's gonna be alright. I bought a Criterion copy when I went to LA a couple years ago, so I’ll always have it ready to go in times of need.
Clearly, I’m a big LOTR fan, so I wanted to include my favorite of the trilogy which has always been Fellowship. That’s when we are sort of getting a history lesson on Middle Earth and just how important this journey with Frodo and company is going to be. There’s also a specific scene that just makes me fall in love with storytelling and filmmaking every fucking time I watch it. We will get to that in a little bit.
I had Ali and Harris from Moonlight in my Supporting Performances category and I nearly chose Nicholas Brittel for the music category, so it’s safe to say I love this film. It’s probably my favorite film that I watched in August. I’ve seen it like 20 times, but this past watch was intentionally for the pod. Not only is Moonlight one of my Top 10 films of the 2010s, but it’s high up there when it comes to favorites of all time. It’s always an honor. Thank you, Barry Jenkins.
The last couple films in this category are ones I saw for the first time with my wife. Skate Kitchen was at home on Hulu while we had Covid and Oppenheimer was at the Alamo Drafthouse. Both of them rocked the shit out of me for very different reasons. Written and directed by Crystal Moselle, Skate Kitchen is small and low key with big things to say about growing up and being yourself through skateboarding while Oppenheimer, written and directed by Christopher Nolan is massive and not low key at all with major things to say about the history of America and the world through the development atomic bomb. They honestly couldn’t be any different haha.
Favorite Movie Moment of August
Gandalf vs the Balrog (Durin’s Bane) in the Mines of Moria - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The time has come to talk about my favorite singular movie moment from all my watches in August. I have to stick with my heart and choose the scene that inspired this new project. It’s gotta be when Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin travel through the Mines of Moria and come across a bridge which sees them come face to face with a Balrog known as Durin's Bane. The intensity and the filmmaking is pedal to the metal type shit that is not only my favorite bit from the whole trilogy but it reminds me of the old days, watching them all with my family. This time around, I watched all of the LOTR films alone in my bedroom in the middle of the night. Three nights in a row. It was euphoric as usual. All 12 hours, so fucking worth it.