Amid award season in Hollywood, my Instagram feed and TikTok for you page have been filled with movie content. I am not a movie watcher, but it has influenced me to start dabbling in it instead of doing what I typically do, which is to scroll through Netflix and Peacock for 45 minutes only to end up watching an episode of New Girl that I’ve already seen numerous times. Full disclosure, only one of these movies is even in the conversation for awards, but watching any movie for me is pretty good. With that being said, here are the movies that I have been watching and my thoughts about them (Spoiler free of course).
Crazy Rich Asians
My friends and I got snowed in together recently, and we watched Crazy Rich Asians. I was the only one who hadn’t seen it before, but they all insisted we watch it. After watching, I could not believe I had been missing out on this masterpiece. For it to be a recently released romantic comedy that is not super cheesy and surface level, it already gets the stamp of approval from me. But it goes above and beyond with amazing sets and costumes as well as being refreshingly diverse and diverting to Hollywood’s habit of making Asian characters fleeting and supporting. After it ended, I immediately Googled if a sequel was being made (If you are dying to know as well here are some updates Crazy Rich Asians 2: Is It Happening? Everything We Know (screenrant.com) ).
Anyone but You
In contrast to Crazy Rich Asians, Anyone but You is a shallow but entertaining rom-com. I went and saw it in the theater with my friends and our most notable takeaway was being reminded how much we love Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. Don’t get me wrong it is a fine movie, I was not looking at my phone hoping that it would end, but I also was not waiting more for it when it did eventually end. For a rom-com, it did a lot better with the comedy than the romance element. I was genuinely laughing frequently throughout the movie but had a harder time believing that Glenn Powell and Sydney Sweeney’s characters were in love. Maybe it is because I am not a huge Sydney Sweeney fan or because both of their characters were just not super likable.
If you like Glenn Powell and want a great romantic comedy that didn’t get enough love, I would recommend Set It Up with him and Zoey Deutch. It is much more genuine, and original, and their chemistry is believable.
Toy Story
For Christmas, I got my boyfriend a scratch-off movie poster with the 100 top-rated films on IMDB, and Toy Story was one of the only ones I was interested in watching. I hadn’t seen this first one since my childhood, and I can confidently say it hits harder as a 20-year-old who loved it growing up. The jokes are still funny, and it is the perfect length. The other Toy Story movies are on my watch list after revisiting the first and remembering how much I love the franchise.
Theather Camp
I watched Theater Camp when I was home for winter break and stuck in my house because of a storm. It is a mockumentary-style movie about a camp that is suddenly taken over by the owner’s son who is a finance bro, and YouTube vlogger with no experience with children or theater. The other staff struggles with running the camp successfully without their boss, and you see their relationships with the campers and each other struggle and evolve. I loved this movie and wish more people were talking about it. The cast is hilarious and has so much young talent including Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, and everyone’s new favorite girl Ayo Edebiri. Although the film doesn’t focus too heavily on the children, they all give fantastic performances. It is definitely not for everyone, but I was never involved in theater and thought it was entertaining, original, and quirky.
The Holdovers
And finally, the one movie that actually inspired this article because it is in the awards conversation for this season. It was nominated for five Oscars including best picture, best actor, and best supporting actor. Paul Giamatti and Da’vine Joy Randolph both won their respective nominations at the Golden Globes earlier this month. I absolutely adored this film and am glad it is getting the love it deserves. It is heartwarming, heartbreakingly sad, realistic, and funny. We follow Paul Giamatti’s character as he is assigned as a teacher at a boarding school to watch the students who were left over Christmas break. The other main character is played by Dominic Sessa who is a somewhat troubled child who wants to spend his Christmas break anywhere but school. It gives Dead Poet Society vibes but it’s less sad and unique in its plot.
Final Thoughts
I would recommend any of these movies based on individual interests. My least favorite and only one I will probably never rewatch is Anyone but You, with that being said if you have been dying to watch it don’t let me stop you. The film I would recommend everyone watch is The Holdovers because it has something for everyone.