Movies I watched in May 2009

Movies that passed the Bechdel Test

1. Beyond the Mat (WWF wrestler Chyna goes shopping with her friend. That barely counts but I’m partial to weird shopping scenes.)
2. The Celebration (Lots of little chats.)
3. Pan’s Labyrinth (Again, lots of conversations.)
4. Terminator (A few small chats.)
5. Terminator 3 (Feminine Terminator steals a woman’s stuff… Can I put only the car chase in bold?)
6. Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters (The Doctor’s sidekick tries to enlighten a woman who is stuck in a timeloop.)
7. The Pee Wee Herman Show (Miss Yvonne and Hermit Hattie talk about make up.)
8. Big Top Pee Wee (This one is probably for fans only.)

Movies that failed.

1. A Scanner Darkly (My rational mind rates this movie as only medium-good, but some other part of me has a lot of affection for it. The sad ending. The perfect Philip K. Dick moment when Keanu is told to put himself under extra surveillance. It has a purity.)
2. Jean Claude Van Damme
3. Bloodsport (Probably would not have been fun without watching JCVD.)
4. The Godfather
5. The Godfather Part 2
6. Terminator 2
7. Terminator 4
8. The Dark Knight (I’m fascinated that I find this movie so satisfying and so fascist at the same time.)

Bold means I’m glad I watched it.

This month’s lists are evidence that my neighbours Casey and Jessica are fond of renting entire series of Hollywood movies. I have also watched with them: all the Die Hard movies, all the Rambo movies, Alien and Predator in preparation for Alien vs. Predator, and probably more.

The fact that I go along for these action movie marathons could probably go in the same category as the facts that I only like to watch sports when international championships are broadcast at 4 in the morning, and that if I don’t see the midnight premier of questionable superhero movies I probably will never watch them. Bland content is a good foil for intense viewing contexts.