It's been a long, long time...
Hi everyone! In case you have forgotten (or don't already know), my name is Derek, and I'm currently an undergraduate student (soon to be graduate in September) and a film enthusiast, and the proud creator of blog... you guessed it... No Films Left Behind (NFLB)! Can't believe it has been more than a YEAR since I post regularly. No, I'm not closing the blog down or declaring bankruptcy, I just had a lot of things to take care of while suffering from a major writer's block!
When I first created NFLB, as the title suggests, I wanted to make a review of EVERY new releases that I have ever watched in theatres. However, as you can imagine, as time goes on, especially during the summer blockbuster season last year, this has become harder and harder to achieve! I was also taking two summer courses in school last year, so before I knew it, I have 20+ drafts of reviews I have created here and a large pile of written notes that I've taken while watching movies in the theatre (I started doing that last March with Captain Marvel) waiting for me to process. There is also an issue on the resources, a good piece of review takes time and effort, and sometimes I just don't have enough things to fit one full length review! As the drafts of reviews start to pile up, I have decided to open a Letterboxd account to keep track of all the movies I've seen (whether in theatres or at home) since I officially went into Film Studies major in May 2018, and of course, provided honest reviews on some of the new releases I have seen.
Let's face it, nothing that we have ever done in the past can completely prepare us for what's to come in the future: the world didn't expect to be in a middle of pandemic that is larger than SARS; Christopher Nolan didn't expect to postpone his next major motion picture Tenet for three times now (and possibly a fourth time incoming); and I never expect myself to be in slump of watching and writing about movies. When the pandemic hits and threatens to cancel the Summer blockbuster season this year possibly altogether, it has also affected my active movie watching interests during a physical lockdown. Nevertheless, I'm still trying to get something done one step at a time, like finishing off some of the movies/TV shows I have at home that I haven't watched, or returning to some of my old time favourites! Whatever it is, things at home are going slowly but surely.
This brings us to the current state of this blog, we're all human being, we can always expect more things than we achieve, which is why even though the name "No Films Left Behind" does not hold its real meaning anymore (at least for me), I'm not going to change it! I'll continue to track my progress on Letterboxd and occasionally write some reviews for new releases there. But if I come across something REALLY interesting, like a film that is impactful on economical or personal level, a film series or a TV show, or something that simply isn't on Letterboxd that I want to write more than two or three paragraphs about, I'll post them here for everyone's enjoyment!
During (or even before) the pandemic, I have taken interest in watching some of the shows offered by Disney Channel (on Disney+) and Netflix, and I have to admit that even though some of these series may not fit into everyone's taste, particularly those who are attached to their childhood nostalgia, these shows probably deserve more recognition than the public has given them credit for! So the concept of "No Films Left Behind" is now revised to include television, which is a more complete picture that makes up the word "entertainment" in the world we are living in today.
Here are some projects that I have in mind right now:
Season 1 of The Baby-Sitters Club (Now streaming on Netflix!) - Based on the book series created by Ann M. Martin (who is also one of the producers of this show), the show follows several seventh grade girls in Stoneybrook, Connecticut as they come together and form The Baby-Sitters Club, the most trustworthy group of babysitters in the neighbourhood. This newest adaptation, while sticking to its source material, deals with several societal issues in the present day that can never be simply ignored, which is also one of the reason why I fell in love with this show instantly and binged it over the past week (several times)! I have also bought the novels that the first eight episodes are based on online earlier this week (the first season has ten episodes, the first eight are based on original book series, the last two episodes are based on a book in the super series called Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation, which is MUCH HARDER to find), so if I find something particular interesting in the books, I might also make some comparisons between them and their new adaptations.
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 1 - probably a year in the making that is partially based on the request from the fans, Sony has released a comprehensive package with six of their classic and contemporary movies debuting in the 4K UHD format, proving once and for all physical media still has its firm stand in the world of entertainment. The six movies include: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Lawrence of Arabia (1961), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Gandhi (1982), A League of Their Own (1992), and Jerry Maguire (1996), I just recently finished watching all six for the first time, and I would love to share with you some of my impressions on each of the movies, as well as my take on what should or might be included in Volume 2!
I'll also be evaluating the drafts that I kept and see which I want to keep or discard, but that will always be a work in progress! So far, I have decided to keep: Alita: Battle Angel, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Avengers: Endgame, Wonder Park/Five Feet Apart (double feature), Brightburn/Booksmart (double feature), Toy Story 4 (MIGHT also make one for Onward later on), Aladdin (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home and Joker. (This list will definitely change from time to time!)
A few other things that I MIGHT write something about:
Coop & Cami Ask the World - the first Disney Channel series that I watched on Disney+ (and follow the livestream on Disney Channel for new episodes) during the Pandemic, and the first Disney Channel series I have watched after the end of Girl Meets World. It is about two middle school siblings who started a web show where they can do one of the two crazy dares that the audience chooses, and eventually, as each episode progresses, the web show also help them to make some tough life decisions!
Group Chat With Annie & Jayden - a Nickelodeon show starring YouTube Channel "Bratayley" star Annie Leblanc (who also won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Music Web Star last year and a Kids' Choice Award for Favourite Female Social Star this year!) and Jayden Bartels (recurring star in Coop & Cami Ask the World), this pair of BFFs proved to everyone that you can stay creative during pandemic! Every week, Annie and Jayden are joined by celebrity guest stars (as well as Annie's younger sister Hayley) as they chat about what is trending and play some crazy games that can make everyone watching laugh out loud. The series already finished its first season run of six episodes, and only four of the six episodes are available on YouTube.
Criterion Collection Box Set releases:
For those of you who don't know, The Criterion Collection is the most important and profitable private home video distribution company in North America since 1984 with the release of laserdiscs. Their mission is to gather movies (and occasionally TV shows) from around the world and give them the best home media treatment possible, from new transfers, to supplements, to the packaging on some of the titles, Criterion has become something that the physical media enthusiasts (including me) dream of collecting!
Every year on the New Year, Criterion would release an illustration that hints on some of the releases that will be announced during the year. This year, they have provided the hints for four upcoming boxsets (see below): Hong Kong-American martial arts actor Bruce Lee (Bruised Robert E. Lee), French director Agnès ("On Yes") Varda, Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai ("One Car Why"), and Italian director Federico Fellini ("Fallen E").
I have only heard of these four masters in the film industry, but I had rarely sat down and enjoy their works, I think this is a chance for me to do so! Bruce Lee Boxset was just released this Tuesday (July 14), so I will watch his films first, and then write some thoughts here if I have something particularly interesting to say about these films. Varda boxset is coming out next month on August 11, but it will take me much longer to get through that!
That's it for now! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer regardless of where you are and what situation you might be in!
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