Jackass: The Movie (2002)
I remember laughing myself silly the first time I saw this movie. I just recently listened to Johnny Knoxville's interview with Marc Maron on WTF in anticipation for Bad Grandpa, so I had to revisit this...
Still funny, but doesn't pack as much punch when you've already seen the gags. That first watch, though, was great. Looking forward to Bad Grandpa.
...
Short Term 12 (2013)
Solid little character piece about a girl (artfully played by Brie Larson - whom I LOVE) who works at a foster care facility and also faces her own demons.
Sounds cheesy maybe but I thought that the writing and acting were really solid and honest; I have a friend who is a social worker and she deals with troubled youths and their families daily; seemed to be a relatively honest look into that slice-of-life. Some critics have said that the story is "a little too neat," but I thought that ending on a hopeful note really worked with the story.
There were two distinct scenes in the movie where two separate kids in the foster home are expressing themselves through art; one through a rap and one through a children's story. It was heart-felt and made me weepy. Definitely memorable.
Liked this a lot.
4.25/5.
...
Devil's Pass (2013)
Really great little found footage flick. Took a while to get where it's going (I suppose we'd call it a "slow burn," but to be honest, some of the writing was really poor that it just felt formulaic), but when we got there I found it surprisingly unique and creepy. The last 1/4 will stick in my mind for a bit. I liked where the mystery led us and the end as well. Pleasantly surprised.
3/5.