Deployment Movie List

By my count, since I began this deployment process with my training in Louisiana near the beginning of last May, I have watched 76 movies. Naturally, due to my affinity for rating things, I’ve kept a list of all 76 of these movies, because why not. And now that I’ve already done that, why not post them? For science!

Date	Movie	Stars	Comments
Ft Polk	Oblivion	«««1/2	Greatly exceeded my average expectations
Ft Polk	The Great Gatsby	«««	Visually stunning, great music. The story itself though, is filled with an unlikeable lot.
Ft Polk	Iron Man 3	«««	Another solid one. Pretty much what you’d expect. Witty humor, good action.
Ft Polk	Star Trek: Into Darkness	«««1/2	Another great addition to the catalog. Well done.
Ft Polk	The Intouchables	«««1/2	French indie movie’s acting/script overcome cliché plot idea
Ft Polk	In Bruges	««««	Incredibly compelling movie. Great scripts, actors, humor, and setting.
Ft Polk	Star Trek: The Motion Picture	««1/2	Liked it better than I remembered from when I was a kid
Ft Polk	Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan	««««	Far and away the best of the original movies
Ft Polk	Star Trek III: The Search for Spock	«««	Very solid. Probably the 4th best of the originals.
Ft Polk	Stark Trek V: The Final Frontier	«1/2	Clearly the worst of all the originals. Hard to watch at times.
Ft Polk	Star Trek VI: Undiscovered Country	«««	A good redemption after V. The third best of the originals.
Ft Polk	The Purge	Zero	No exaggerating: one of the worst movies I’ve ever suffered through. Just stupid.
Ft Polk	Man of Steel	««	Disappointing. There was a good movie somewhere in there, but it dragged and dragged.
Ft Polk	Django Unchained	«««1/2	Another great Tarantino movie with memorable scenes, though not perfect.
Ft Polk	The Master	«1/2	Uncomfortable and full of unlikeable characters. Surprisingly unwatchable for all the hype.
Ft Polk	World War Z	«««	Solid, but nothing more. Well put together, good Brad Pitt, good visuals.
Pre-Deploy	Despicable Me 2	««	Pretty disappointing. Laughs were much more occasional than the first.
Pre-Deploy	Pitch Perfect	«««	Talk about surprising. Simultaneously makes fun of movie musicals while being one.
24 July 2013	Skyfall	«««1/2	Much better than Quantum of Solace, but still no Casino Royale
25 July 2013	The Big Year	«««	Perfectly innocent PG fun, with enough heart/laughs to overcome cheesiness
26 July 2013	Layer Cake	««1/2	Well done crime movie, but lacked any characters worth caring about
27 July 2013	Seeking a Friend for the End of the World	«««1/2	Surprisingly touching. Good if you want a slower, indie drama/dark comedy
27 July 2013	Cold Weather	««1/2	Strange. Starts insufferably slow, but mystery picks up in the middle.
28 July 2013	The Damned United	«««	Very interesting biopic despite not knowing who Brian Clough was
2 Aug 2013	Total Recall	«1/2	Fell asleep twice. Has all the makings of a good movie, but not much there.
2 Aug 2013	Beasts of the Southern Wild	«««	Well-executed, well-made, but only for if you are looking for something artsy.
16 Aug 2013	Sightseers	«	Confess I didn’t, or couldn’t, finish. Almost likeable at moments, but beyond bizarre.
25 Aug 2013	Life of Pi	«««1/2	Really enjoyed this movie. Colorful, transfixing, and captivating storytelling.
1 Sep 2013	Gangster Squad	««1/2	It isn’t earth-shattering, but it’s exactly what it’s trying to be, which is fun.
2 Sep 2013	Mud	««««	A perfect drama, paced well and filled with Arkansas character.
5 Sep 2013	Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou	««1/2	Despite my love for Wes Anderson, still don’t really love this one years later.
6 Sep 2013	Drinking Buddies	«««	Missing something most the movie, but redeemed by the end by doing it right.
8 Sep 2013	Monster’s University	«««	Good fun. No Pixar classic, but definitely plenty of smiles and a few laughs.
9 Sep 2013	Amour	«««	As painfully slow as it is heart wrenching. Hard to watch, but undeniably good.
12 Sep 2013	The Place Beyond the Pines	«««1/2	Better first half with Gosling, but movie keeps the drama rolling so you can’t stop.
13 Sep 2013	Miller’s Crossing	«««1/2	Very good. After watching Gangster Squad, this is how you do this kind of movie.
15 Sep 2013	The Paperboy	««1/2	Kept my attention, but front half better than second and missing something special
16 Sep 2013	Cowboys & Aliens	«1/2	A relatively pointless film that could have been good, or at least fun, if done different
17 Sep 2013	The World’s End	««««	Just fantastic. Hilarious and surprising. A comedy with heart and completely original.
19 Sep 2013	Lee Daniels’ The Butler	««1/2	Good performance from Whitaker, but the movie on the whole is underwhelming
25 Sep 2013	This Is The End	««	Certainly entertaining, but not worth recommending if you can see The World’s End
27 Sep 2013	Anna Karenina	«««	Exceeded expectations. Well made and interesting despite wholly unlikeable lead.
4 Oct 2013	Schindler’s List	««««	Why did this take me 28 years? What an amazing, impactful film.
11 Oct 2013	Vertigo	««««	Excellent and suspenseful. The conclusion is impossible to look away from.
11 Oct 2013	The Way, Way Back	«««1/2	Duncan/Owen relationship makes this character movie with flawed people work well
12 Oct 2013	The Internship	««	Formulaic and generally forgettable, but it’s still a little bit fun.
17 Oct 2013	Elysium	««1/2	Held back by lack of development of the characters’ motivations and their world
20 Oct 2013	Pacific Rim	«««	The story itself isn’t amazing, but I’ve never seen a movie presented quite like it.
23 Oct 2013	Kick-Ass 2	«««	Cartoonish and mega-violent, but still undeniably fun
28 Oct 2013	Dead Poet’s Society	«««1/2	A rare movie where I disagree with Ebert. It feels more sincere than schmaltzy.
1 Nov 2013	Kings of Summer	«««1/2	Coming of age story with real heartache. Really enjoyed Moriarty and Arias’ roles.
2 Nov 2013	The Bling Ring	««	interesting take on celeb worship, but that doesn’t make it a captivating or enjoyable watch
3 Nov 2013	The To Do List	««	Some pretty funny moments, but overall doesn’t rise above any other mediocre comedies
6 Nov 2013	Oz the Great Powerful	«««	A fun adventure with classic Disney whimsy, but suffered from being far too long.
8 Nov 2013	Disconnect	««1/2	Triple intersecting storylines, but only one is compelling and developed well enough.
12 Nov 2013	The Bourne Legacy	««	Disappointed by the good start that devolves into a senseless chase scene for the 2nd half
1 Dec 2013	Clear History	««	Certainly watchable/nice backdrop, but I didn’t find this brand of humor particularly funny
5 Dec 2013	Snitch	«««	Unoriginal story, but nice visuals/location and pace. Surprised that I actually enjoyed it.
4 Jan 2014	Don Jon	««1/2	Crisply paced and edited, but the whole second half lacked of humor and felt contrived.
7 Jan 2014	Lone Survivor	«««	Mostly action, but foreknowledge of the story helps fill in the gaps. Without it though?
15 Jan 2014	Wolf of Wall Street	«««	Highly entertaining, but protagonist is so awful you spend movie hoping for his demise.
17 Jan 2014	Captain Phillips	«««	Just kept picking up steam until the riveting final third. Great Hanks performance.
17 Jan 2014	August: Osage County	««1/2	Well-acted dysfunction. Very real setting/characters, but a pretty bleak display.
18 Jan 2014	Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2	««	Its charm is overwhelmed by how disappointing it is compared to the amazing first one
19 Jan 2014	Inside Llewyn Davis	««1/2	Kept my attention & I loved the music, but it was basically Crazy Heart without the uplift
20 Jan 2014	Saving Mr. Banks	«««1/2	After some dark movies, this was the perfect bit of charm and heart that I needed
22 Jan 2014	The Spectacular Now	«««1/2	More and more convinced Shailene Woodley is a star. Very convincingly real movie.
24 Jan 2014	American Hustle	«««1/2	Highly entertaining con story with great performances by Bale/Adams, comedy by Lawrence
25 Jan 2014	Rush	««««	Brilliant. The acting, cinematography, drama…everything. How is this not nominated?
26 Jan 2014	12 Years a Slave	«««1/2	Profoundly impactful and disturbing. About as raw as it gets. Shoo in for Best Actor.
26 Jan 2014	Ender’s Game	«««	I found it enjoyable, though the great buildup led to a rushed and confusing finale
27 Jan 2014	Charlie Wilson’s War	«««1/2	Really interesting watch on my way out of Afghanistan. Compelling story.
28 Jan 2014	Out of the Furnace	«««	Great individual performances. Very tough, great setting/music. Took a while to get going.
29 Jan 2014	About Time	«««	A touch sappy, but witty and heartfelt enough to overcome. Hit a little close to home too.
30 Jan 2014	Gravity	««««	The definition of riveting and suspenseful. Visually, one of the best I’ve seen.

My Best of 2013 (In progress)

1. Mud
2. Rush
3. The Way, Way Back
4. Gravity
5. American Hustle
6. Place Beyond the Pines
7. 12 Years a Slave
8. Kings of Summer
9. The Spectacular Now
10. Saving Mr. Banks

Ranking the Oscar Best Picture Nominees I’ve Seen So Far (Still need to see Dallas Buyers Club, Philomena, Nebraska, and Her)

1. Gravity
2. American Hustle
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. Captain Phillips
5. Wolf of Wall Street

Best Comedy – The World’s End

Underrated Films/Surprises

1. Oblivion
2. Anna Karenina
3. About Time
4. The World’s End
5. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Disappointments (movies I thought I would like but fell short, so not necessarily “bad movies”)

1. The Master
2. Lee Daniels’ The Butler
3. Elysium
4. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
5. The Bourne Legacy

My Favorite Individual Performances of 2013 (Again, Still need to see Dallas Buyers Club, Philomena, Nebraska, and Her…and from the trailers it wouldn’t surprise me if I add a few after seeing those)

1. Matthew McConaughey in “Mud”
2. Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
3. Ryan Gosling in “Place Beyond the Pines”
4. Shailene Woodley in “The Spectacular Now”
5. Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
6. Sam Rockwell in “The Way, Way Back”
7. Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
8. Chris Hemsworth in “Rush”
9. Moises Arias in “Kings of Summer”
10. Paul Giammati in “Saving Mr. Banks”

Worst Movies

1. The Purge
2. Total Recall
3. Cowboys & Aliens