Since I shared a What To Watch Between Christmas & New Year blog post at the end of last year, instead of my usual What I've Been Watching post, I'm back with a bumper blog post this month. You'll also find some great ideas for what to watch in 2020. If you haven't seen them already.
It includes everything that I watched in the run up to Christmas, as well as throughout January. And because it was the Christmas break and I was spending 99% of my time on the sofa with my pjs on. I got through a lot shows and movies, as you will see from today's post.
So here's what I watched in December and January. And what to watch in 2020, more generally;
Don't F**k With Cats
Now I was actually a bit unsure whether or not to watch this three part true crime documentary. I'd seen a lot of people saying how crazy it was on Twitter. But also that it focused on and contained animal abuse.
Now you don't actually see the abuse happen (you do however, see the lead up to and sometimes the aftermath). However, it is inferred heavily in the first episode and beyond. And even though I didn't see the cats being killed, I did have to turn my head away because I knew what was going to happen.
I watch pretty gruesome true crime documentaries rather frequently and it never makes me want to turn way. So it must say something about me that I had less of an issue hearing about what happened in the murder than what happened to the kittens in this. I wouldn't let that put you off though. as this really is a rollercoaster ride of a documentary. And the way in which they track down the killer/animal abuser is like something that would only happen in a movie.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Selling Sunset
Now back to a much easier watch. I'd seen Selling Sunset appear on my Netflix feed for a few months but finally pressed play one night before bed between Christmas and New Year.
It focuses on real estate agents in Hollywood who are selling multi-million dollar homes and mansions, plus what's going on in their personal lives. When I saw that the realtors (American estate agents) were raking in over $100,000 in commission on one home sale. I was seriously questioning my career choices. One of the homes that they're attempting to sell throughout the first season is listed at $40 million. Meaning whoever sells it will get over $1.4 million in commission!
It's made by the same team behind The Hills, which I love as you get all the drama, whilst also being able to imagine yourself in one of the incredible LA homes. I've got my fingers crossed that they make a season 2, as I binge watched the first eight episodes in two nights.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Annabelle Comes Home
I received two DVDs for Christmas and the third in the Annabelle series of films was one of them. As I've mentioned previously in my What I've Been Watching posts, me and my Mum love a good scary movie. So if she's not the one wanting to watch one, I'm recommending we get the pillows out ready to hide behind.
We really enjoyed the first two Annabelle movies and this third installment is definitely on par with them and well worth a watch. It's the first horror movie in a long time that I've watched where I've been on edge basically the whole way through. Once the scary goings on get started, they don't let up at all. And that really made Annabelle Comes Home stand out from the crowd for us. Plus, it's not just Annabelle who they have to worry about, there are new characters based on folklore such as the Ferryman, the Black Shuck and the Bride. Will we see Annabelle come back for a fourth outing? What do you think?
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Marriage Story
The first major award contender made for Netflix in today's blog post, Marriage Story piqued my interest as soon as I heard about it. I'm a big Adam Driver fan and have enjoyed a lot of Noah Baumbach and Scarlett Johansson's work previously. So I was looking forward to sitting down and watching this. But sadly it was just an okay movie for me rather than a spectacular one.
The characters weren't particularly likeable and for that reason I wasn't fully invested in their lives or the divorce. They're also fighting over a child, who is a bit of a douche. Like, nothing he does is redeemable. And when the whole focus of the movie is on their battle for custody of him, it makes it even harder to root for either parent. It also ultimately ends as you would expect it to. And it doesn't quite have the same emotion or gravity as other movies dealing with the dissolution of marriage or a relationship have had. If you haven't already seen Blue Valentine (which seriously never got the recognition that it deserved), watch that before this. Laura Dern is still pretty kick ass in this though.
⭐⭐⭐.5
Bumblebee
The first Transformers movie, before they started releasing one practically every year or so, was actually an enjoyable movie. But I haven't had any interest in seeing another one, pretty much since then. Having said that, the only character that could possibly make me tune back in was Bumblebee. And that's exactly what happened when I saw that this had been added to Sky Cinema.
Bumblebee's origin story has a great lead in Hailee Steinfeld, a brilliant soundtrack and you actually care about what happens to the characters, unlike Marriage Story above. The relationship between Bumblebee and his very first owner is feel good and the action sequences aren't too much either, which is a big departure from Michael Bay's tired take on them. If you're looking to be surprised, in a good way, I would certainly give Bumblebee a watch.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Happy Death Day 2U
The first Happy Death Day movie was such a fresh take on the slasher movie and one that I enjoyed very much. And as it was successful, of course they decided to make a sequel. But sadly it didn't quite live up to the first one for me.
What I loved about Happy Death Day was the wink-wink Scream-esque take on the slasher film. But that isn't really much of a feature in 2U. It's more of a sci-fi, time travelling movie with different dimensions and the main charcter, Tree, having to remember mathematical equations to return home. It was too light on the masked baby face killer that drew me to the original and even includes weird slapstick comedy at places, which just feels out of place. I'm not even sure what genre I would call Happy Death Day 2U and that's not a good thing. It was still watchable but nowhere near as unique as the original.
⭐⭐⭐
Toy Story 4
The other DVD that I received for Christmas was Toy Story 4 and I don't know how I went this long without seeing it.
I honestly thought that you couldn't top Toy Story 3 and the way in which it wrapped up the whole franchise. But Toy Story 4 was incredible! From the new characters (Bunny and Ducky were standouts, as was Forky obviously), to the epic nature of the road trip. I couldn't have asked for more from Toy Story 4. And even though I was someone who initially thought it should have stopped after number 3, it left me wanting more. I wonder if they will one day come back and make a fifth installment...
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Murder In The Bayou
It wouldn't be a What I've Been Watching blog post without a true crime documentary, this time focusing on the case of the Jeff Davis 8. I hadn't heard of this particular case before watching this but it's crazy to think that eight murders took place in current day America (not before CCTV or 24 hour news) and absolutely nothing has happened. No arrests have been made, several credible suspects have never been brought in and there are more questions than answers.
What initially looks like it might be a traditional serial killer soon turns into something more sinister as more and more individuals are possibly linked. And these vulnerable eight women, who all struggled with addiction, were easy pickings for whoever did kill them in this small town where everyone knows everyone. You'll find this five part documentary on Sky Crime here in the UK or Showtime in the US.
⭐⭐⭐.5
The Irishman
And the biggest disappointment of 2019 for me movie-wise; The Irishman. First of all, the length (all 3 hours and 30 minutes of it!) was enough to put me off initially, even though I'd been looking forward to it. Eventually, to make it somewhat bearable, I had to tackle it in two halves. But it was just a rather meh movie.
It in no way lives up to Goodfellas (one of my favourite movies of all time) and the plot kind of went nowhere. The de-aging technology wasn't even the problem but I just didn't genuinely care about any of the characters. Even De Niro couldn't save it for me.
⭐⭐.5
So there's what I've been watching over the past two months. And some ideas for what to watch in 2020.
What have you been watching recently? Have you seen any of the movies or TV shows that I discussed in today's blog post? If so, what did you think of them?
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