The Matrix in the theater was just amazing not knowing anything going into it. I thought it was gonna be some generic sci-fi action popcorn flick and was so wrong. Honorable mention to Knives Out and Everything Everywhere All At Once, both incredible movies in ways I didn’t expect.
So grateful that I saw the Matrix blind and that the film came out before previews turned into spoiler machines.
Also saw EEAAO blind and really enjoyed it.
Moon. Sam Rockwell was so great in that
I saw Parasite blind. My date picked the movie, think I saw part of a trailer once, but I’m not even sure. What an amazing movie to go in blind. I had no idea what was going to happen or when, it felt like a roller coaster with all the twists and turns.
The Fifth Element. I had NO idea what the movie was about when my cousin brought me to the theater. My nerd brain was like, “Is this a quest to find boron or something?” Became one of my all-time favorite movies.
Edge of Tomorrow. I’m a sucker for time-shenanigan movies and it was a fantastic surprise.
I was expecting standard action nonsense. I was pleasantly surprised.
Donnie Darko - Just such a great, strange movie
Dark City
Hunt for the Wilderpeople. I knew nothing before but it was super cozy. Still watch it once per year or so.
I didn’t choose the Skux life
…The skux life chose me
Pulp Fiction
Society.
Don’t look it up. Just watch it.
Love and Death on Long Island. This was a completely random, blind watch in a theatre. I’d read nothing about it, or even seen a trailer. I was fascinated from start to finish. Completely surprised me in a good way.
I went to a double feature because I wanted to see The Tin Drum. First I had to sit through another movie I had never heard of that sounded really corny: Runaway Train.
Starring John Voight and Eric Roberts, and with a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa, it was extraordinary. Certainly not just a cheap action flick.
Saw. I don’t watch much horror but that movie kept me thinking about it til years later wanting to get the same feeling the first time I watched it.
Sunshine is the most memorable, certainly. Never heard of it. Showed up at the campus theater. I was utterly enthralled - wondering how the hell I’d never heard of it. It’s a scientific suicide mission, with no meathead archetypes. Any other movie would stick a marine on there to be stupid and aggressive for shallow drama. Nope! This one just uses the cold equations and basic human decency to create conflict. And it has a deep-rooted dedication to its obsession with the sun. Characters sit in a barely-shielded room, staring at their target and their adversary, obsessed with the heavenly body that will kill them. They go on spacewalks in these gorgeous golden suits, reflecting as much light as possible, and even that’s not enough sometimes.
And then the third act is a stupid fucking horror movie shot by complete amateurs. I just. I have no idea how this movie happened, as a product. I’ve read articles where the director talks about the intent, and you can almost sorta kinda see it… but it’s still a turd.
I had written off The Secret Life of Walter Mitty based on… Essentially nothing. I think I assumed it was just another Ben Stiller comedy flick.
I did finally watch the film and I was blown away. It is astonishingly beautiful and warm and just a joy to watch. The cinematography is stunning and its a film that made me start to take notice of the world around me even more.
