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colorful \"action\" sign being held up by the hand of a director in the center of a desert
colorful \"action\" sign being held up by the hand of a director in the center of a desert
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CU Boulder | Culture > Entertainment

As Scene On Screen: Are We There Yet?

Rodayna Eissa Student Contributor, University of Colorado - Boulder
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

A not so long time ago, in a galaxy not so far, far away, we did a 365 in 365 challenge check-in, and the count was at 197/365.  

Progress has been made — though I fear it may not be enough — and the count is up to a whopping 203 (a whole 200!!!). That does mean that there are still a horrifying 162 movies to go with now under 100 days left in the year. It’s looking like the odds, in fact, may not be in my favor. 

The selection of movies this last week jumped a little all over the place, but they were all quite entertaining if I do say so myself. Let’s take a peek: 

  1. Robots directed by Chris Wedge 
  • I hadn’t watched this movie in years, but I can confirm it does, in fact, hold up to the childhood memories. Y’all, the cast in this movie is insane. From Ewan McGregor (shout out Obi-Wan) to the incomparable Robin Williams and the icon herself, Jennifer Coolidge, there are numerous stand-out performances. Watching Rodney and his buddies take on the evil corporatization of their dream jobs really strikes a chord if you know what I mean. Truly, all hail 2000s animation. 
  1. John Wick directed by Chad Stahelski 
  • I have a terrible confession. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this movie all the way through. And I did, in fact, have a blast. I mean, come on, talk about a valid crash out; I too would burn everything down if someone stole my car and had the absolute audacity to go after my pet. This movie really is a perfect example of peak action cinema in the 21st century. 
  1. 10 Things I Hate About You directed by Gil Junger 
  • I. Love. This. Movie. This one was number 200, and I couldn’t think of a better option to celebrate the milestone. The chemistry, the banter, the romance. Something about Heath Ledger (RIP to a true film legend) singing Can’t Take My Eyes Off You to Julia Stiles has me in an absolute chokehold. And the paintball scene? Yeah — they just don’t do romcoms like this anymore.
  1. The History Of Sound directed by Oliver Hermanus  
  • This movie was a highly anticipated new release for me. I honestly can’t pinpoint what exactly it was, but it felt like there was something critical missing from the story. That being said, I was totally still bawling my eyes out at the end and had my entire night ruined. This one truly is for the yearners. My drive home consisted of me in a deep, deep yearning crisis, sad music blasting (shout out the entirety of Wishbone by Conan Gray). This is the heartfelt story of two musicians bonded by their love of folk music — the soundtrack on this one is wonderful — and the journey they share over the years, leading up to their pivotal trip collecting songs across the backwaters of Maine. 
  1. Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi
  • Spider-Man has been my favorite superhero for as long as I can remember. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could not love following nerdy little Peter Parker on his crazy journey. And obviously the only acceptable existence of spiders is if they’re going to be spooky looking, colorful, radioactive ones that can give you super cool super powers. There’s been so many versions of this story made since we were first introduced to the character, because, as the late and great Stan Lee made clear, anyone can wear the mask. Sam Raimi’s trilogy is a classic, and I was long overdue for a rewatch of this iteration. Now, we could talk for days and days about which actor is a superior Spider-Man/Peter Parker — the correct answer is none of the above, Miles Morales is superior — but even as a stark (pun totally intended) Andrew Garfield fan, I can’t deny that there’s a certain nostalgia around Tobey Maguire’s trilogy that just can’t be beat. 
  1. Juno directed by Jason Reitman 
  • I fully thought this movie would be more of a cautionary tale about the horrors of teen pregnancy — and I mean, it totally still is — but it caught me off guard with just how darn sweet and cute it was. Elliot Page does a fantastic job as Juno, our main character who’s facing an unplanned pregnancy with Michael Cera’s baby?! J.K. Simmons makes another appearance in this challenge — throwback to Whiplash and, of course, Spidey’s number one enemy, the iconic J. Jonah Jameson — and the rest of the cast stuns in their respective roles. 

Although I would love to, I can’t say in full confidence that I’ll make the 365 this year, but the journey so far has been an absolute blast. As Nicole Kidman says in the AMC intro that I definitely don’t have memorized at this point: we go to the movies “to laugh, to cry, to care”. There’s so much talk about “the magic of the movies”, and I think there really is something magical to be said about the power that storytelling holds and the force behind the medium of film.

Sappy spiel aside, if you’re reading this, thanks for joining me on this absurd ride. I’ve taken it upon myself to complicate this challenge a little more — as if this wasn’t already driving me insane — and I’ll be doing an inception-style challenge-within-a-challenge for the month of October. It’s officially spooky season — even if the weather doesn’t seem to agree — which obviously calls for a 31 movies to Halloween count-down. So, if you’re not already bored of my rambling, I’ll be back on October 31st, hopefully at least another 31 movies closer to the finish line! 

Rodayna Eissa

CU Boulder '26

Rodayna Eissa joined the Her Campus CU Boulder chapter as a contributing writer in the Fall of 2024. Her areas of interest as a writer include entertainment and media–particularly in regards to the movie industry–mental health, creative writing, and politics. As a reader and writer, she is a staunch defender of the oxford comma. She has worked as a bookseller and barista for over three years now. Rodayna is in her final year at the university where she is pursuing a pre-law degree in International Relations with a focus on the region of the Middle East and Africa.

When she’s not writing, Rodayna can usually be found indulging in one too many cups of coffee while hiding with a book, building legos, spending time with her family and friends, or rewatching Star Wars for the millionth time.