Watching Things: March 2022
By Austin Johnson
I went to town in March. It was Oscar month and The Batman month. I caught up on films that were nominated at the 94th Academy Awards and shredded through some DC animated films on HBO Max with a whole lot of other random shit in between. Let’s get to it…
Finding Dory, 2016 (Disney+) - 7
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2018 (Vudu) - 9
*Eternals, 2021 (Disney+) - 7
*Johnny Guitar, 1954 (Criterion Channel) - 9
Batman Begins, 2005 (HBO Max/Netflix) - 8
*The Batman, 2022 (Regal Huebner Oaks) - 9
*Light Sleeper, 1992 (Criterion Channel) - 9
*Batman: Hush, 2019 (HBO Max) - 8
*Raw, 2016 (Netflix) - 8
*Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, 2013 (HBO Max) - 9
*Justice League: Doom, 2012 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Queen of Basketball, 2021 (YouTube) - 8
*Justice League: War, 2014 (HBO Max) - 8
Coco, 2017 (Disney+) - 9
*Son of Batman, 2014 (HBO Max) - 7
*Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (HBO Max) - 7
*Turning Red, 2022 (Disney+) - 8
*West Side Story, 2021 (Disney+/HBO Max) - 7
*All That Heaven Allows, 1955 (Criterion Channel) - 9
*Batman vs. Robin, 2015 (HBO Max) - 8
*Drive My Car, 2021 (HBO Max) - 9
*Belfast, 2021 (Vudu) - 7
*jeen-yuhs: act iii: AWAKENING, 2022 (Netflix) - 8
The Wizard of Oz, 1939 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Story of a Three-Day Pass, 1968 (Criterion Channel) - 8
*Batman: Bad Blood, 2016 (HBO Max) - 7
*Titane, 2021 (Hulu) - 9
*King Richard, 2021 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Tragedy of Macbeth, 2021 (Apple TV+) - 8
*All About Eve, 1950 (Criterion Channel) - 9
*Justice League vs. Teen Titans, 2016 (HBO Max) - 8
The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993 (DVD/Disney+) - 9
CODA, 2021 (Apple TV+) - 7
*The Worst Person in the World, 2021 (Rental) - 10
Jaws, 1975 (DVD) - 10
First Time Watches - 27
Rewatches - 8
35 total films watched for an average rating of 8.2
Streaming Service Counter:
Apple TV+ - 2
Criterion Channel - 5
Disney+ - 4
DVD - 2
HBO Max - 14
Hulu - 1
Netflix - 2
Theaters - 1
Rental - 1
Vudu - 2
YouTube - 1
Top 5 March Watches
5. Turning Red
While Turning Red isn’t my favorite Pixar film, it has quickly become a go to for my daughter. She asked to put it in nearly every single day after it came out. I have sat through it at least 8 times since March 11th when it dropped on Disney+ and I’m not complaining because it reminds me of when I was a young child and became obsessed with rewatching things over and over. The film itself surprised the hell out of me and is probably somewhere in the middle of my Pixar rankings. It’s safe to say that it’s near the tippy top for my daughter though.
4. All About Eve
I always watch Best Picture winners around Oscar time and I finally checked out All About Eve on the Criterion Channel, which won Best Picture at the 23rd Academy Awards. It dominated that ceremony with 6 wins on 14 nominations and good lord, what an awesome piece of filmmaking. I think about half of the Best Picture winners are must see kind of films and All About Eve definitely belongs in that group. The cast is damn near perfect, especially Bette Davis as Margo and Anne Baxter as Eve. I’m a Joseph L. Mankiewicz believer now and so very excited to cover All About Eve and the 23rd Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday some day.
3. Jaws
Fuckin hell, Jaws just blows me away every time I throw my Blu-ray on. It was the last film I watched in March and so clearly the most entertaining first time watch or rewatch. This was probably close to my 50th time watching Jaws, but it was different this time around because I was getting ready for episode 96 of Oscar Sunday. When you rewatch a film and have to give it awards, you either find it solidifying in your mind or you end up questioning how good it even is. Solidifying Jaws felt fucking great! Spielberg rules!
2. The Batman
The only film I went to see in theaters during March was Matt Reeves' The Batman. My fiancée, my brother, my sister-in-law, and I went to Regal Huebner Oaks in San Antonio on opening night and enjoyed a nice three hour comic book epic that has already become one of my favorite comic book films of all time. The cast kicked ass and the tone that Reeves brings to the table is exactly what I’ve been waiting for as a fan. It got me so excited that I decided to watch the DC Animated Movie Universe on HBO Max chronologically. There’s 16 films altogether and I watched half of them in March. I will probably finish them off in April as I’m just on a fucking DC kick that doesn’t seem to be slowing down and that’s all thanks to The Batman.
1. The Worst Person in the World
I watch countless films and occasionally, I’ll trip on one that reminds me why I do it. Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World is something special. I rented it on Amazon late one night and fell into a daze as things unfolded. When it ended around 2 am, I just sat there as the credits rolled with my heart and mind aligning, both knowing that I had just witnessed something that will be with me forever. Fuck, I love that feeling. It’s truly why I go back to the art of filmmaking over and over. The Worst Person in the World received two nominations at the most recent Oscars, so I’m definitely going to throw it on the Oscar Sunday schedule because I need to revisit it and talk about it at great length.
Finding Dory, 2016 (Disney+) - 7
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2018 (Vudu) - 9
*Eternals, 2021 (Disney+) - 7
*Johnny Guitar, 1954 (Criterion Channel) - 9
Batman Begins, 2005 (HBO Max/Netflix) - 8
*The Batman, 2022 (Regal Huebner Oaks) - 9
*Light Sleeper, 1992 (Criterion Channel) - 9
*Batman: Hush, 2019 (HBO Max) - 8
*Raw, 2016 (Netflix) - 8
*Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, 2013 (HBO Max) - 9
*Justice League: Doom, 2012 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Queen of Basketball, 2021 (YouTube) - 8
*Justice League: War, 2014 (HBO Max) - 8
Coco, 2017 (Disney+) - 9
*Son of Batman, 2014 (HBO Max) - 7
*Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (HBO Max) - 7
*Turning Red, 2022 (Disney+) - 8
*West Side Story, 2021 (Disney+/HBO Max) - 7
*All That Heaven Allows, 1955 (Criterion Channel) - 9
*Batman vs. Robin, 2015 (HBO Max) - 8
*Drive My Car, 2021 (HBO Max) - 9
*Belfast, 2021 (Vudu) - 7
*jeen-yuhs: act iii: AWAKENING, 2022 (Netflix) - 8
The Wizard of Oz, 1939 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Story of a Three-Day Pass, 1968 (Criterion Channel) - 8
*Batman: Bad Blood, 2016 (HBO Max) - 7
*Titane, 2021 (Hulu) - 9
*King Richard, 2021 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Tragedy of Macbeth, 2021 (Apple TV+) - 8
*All About Eve, 1950 (Criterion Channel) - 9
*Justice League vs. Teen Titans, 2016 (HBO Max) - 8
The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993 (DVD/Disney+) - 9
CODA, 2021 (Apple TV+) - 7
*The Worst Person in the World, 2021 (Rental) - 10
Jaws, 1975 (DVD) - 10
First Time Watches - 27
Rewatches - 8
35 total films watched for an average rating of 8.2
Streaming Service Counter:
Apple TV+ - 2
Criterion Channel - 5
Disney+ - 4
DVD - 2
HBO Max - 14
Hulu - 1
Netflix - 2
Theaters - 1
Rental - 1
Vudu - 2
YouTube - 1
Top 5 March Watches
5. Turning Red
While Turning Red isn’t my favorite Pixar film, it has quickly become a go to for my daughter. She asked to put it in nearly every single day after it came out. I have sat through it at least 8 times since March 11th when it dropped on Disney+ and I’m not complaining because it reminds me of when I was a young child and became obsessed with rewatching things over and over. The film itself surprised the hell out of me and is probably somewhere in the middle of my Pixar rankings. It’s safe to say that it’s near the tippy top for my daughter though.
4. All About Eve
I always watch Best Picture winners around Oscar time and I finally checked out All About Eve on the Criterion Channel, which won Best Picture at the 23rd Academy Awards. It dominated that ceremony with 6 wins on 14 nominations and good lord, what an awesome piece of filmmaking. I think about half of the Best Picture winners are must see kind of films and All About Eve definitely belongs in that group. The cast is damn near perfect, especially Bette Davis as Margo and Anne Baxter as Eve. I’m a Joseph L. Mankiewicz believer now and so very excited to cover All About Eve and the 23rd Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday some day.
3. Jaws
Fuckin hell, Jaws just blows me away every time I throw my Blu-ray on. It was the last film I watched in March and so clearly the most entertaining first time watch or rewatch. This was probably close to my 50th time watching Jaws, but it was different this time around because I was getting ready for episode 96 of Oscar Sunday. When you rewatch a film and have to give it awards, you either find it solidifying in your mind or you end up questioning how good it even is. Solidifying Jaws felt fucking great! Spielberg rules!
2. The Batman
The only film I went to see in theaters during March was Matt Reeves' The Batman. My fiancée, my brother, my sister-in-law, and I went to Regal Huebner Oaks in San Antonio on opening night and enjoyed a nice three hour comic book epic that has already become one of my favorite comic book films of all time. The cast kicked ass and the tone that Reeves brings to the table is exactly what I’ve been waiting for as a fan. It got me so excited that I decided to watch the DC Animated Movie Universe on HBO Max chronologically. There’s 16 films altogether and I watched half of them in March. I will probably finish them off in April as I’m just on a fucking DC kick that doesn’t seem to be slowing down and that’s all thanks to The Batman.
1. The Worst Person in the World
I watch countless films and occasionally, I’ll trip on one that reminds me why I do it. Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World is something special. I rented it on Amazon late one night and fell into a daze as things unfolded. When it ended around 2 am, I just sat there as the credits rolled with my heart and mind aligning, both knowing that I had just witnessed something that will be with me forever. Fuck, I love that feeling. It’s truly why I go back to the art of filmmaking over and over. The Worst Person in the World received two nominations at the most recent Oscars, so I’m definitely going to throw it on the Oscar Sunday schedule because I need to revisit it and talk about it at great length.