The Summer of Netflix Wrap Party

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Get it? Wrap party? Is this thing on? Anyway, With Summer of Netflix finishing up yesterday, frequent reviewers Alexa, Joel and Chris took this chance to reflect on some of the hits and misses of the series. Here's what they had to say as well as some superlative awards:


Alexa: I really enjoyed participating in Summer of Netflix because it was a great way to finally see some movies that I’ve been meaning to watch for a while, and an excuse to revisit some old favorites. A few highlights as we wrap up:

Favorite movie: Almost Famous. I had seen this one before, and fell in love with it all over again. Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe at his best, presenting an infectious portrait of ‘70s-era rock ‘n’ roll that overflows with love for the genre and time period without feeling overly sentimental, all grounded by an extraordinary cast.
Runner up: Short Term 12
Second runner up: In Bruges

Least favorite/biggest disappointment: They Came Together. My reaction after watching this movie was “I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.” A cast and creative team as talented as this group should not have produced such a dud. I appreciate what it tried to achieve, but it fell hopelessly flat in its execution.
Runner up: Horns

Biggest surprise: Much Ado About Nothing. I was intrigued by the concept behind Joss Whedon’s understated, modern retelling of this Shakespeare classic from the beginning, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so unabashedly charming or the cast so skillful in their delivery.
Runner up: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil



Joel: It’s strange. I almost don’t know what to watch on Netflix anymore now that the schedule isn’t mapped out for me. (Not really but you know what I mean.) It’s hard in some way to compare movies that I watched for the first time this past summer and ones I had already seen. It made a difference on my attitude going into the movie based on how much I liked it (or disliked it) the last time I saw it. But, with that in mind here are my rundowns. (I don’t have a whole lot to say about them. I wrote reviews about every single one of them at some point this summer if you want to know more.)

Best New Movie I saw: Fruitvale Station (Second Place is Nightcrawler)
Worst New Movie I saw: Don’t Be A Menace…. (The Cobler takes second place)
Movie that’s held up the best on repeat viewing: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (very closely followed by Batman and Terminator)
Movie I’m most mad at Chris for making me watch again: Inglorious Basterds
Most unexpectedly enjoyable: Chef
Biggest disappointment: They Came Together
Movie that overstayed it’s welcome the most: Transformers: Age of Extinction
Movie I still haven’t decided If I like it or not: Frank (followed by Super)



Chris: Oh man, imagine if Joel and I went through with our idea to do this for an entire calendar year? I never thought I could feel burnt out about watching movies on Netflix and writing short bits about them. Overall, I did enjoy the experience and was a good way for all of the readers to become accustomed to both some new voices on IBA as well as some voices you haven’t heard from in a while. This was definitely a learn-as-I-go project as far as organizing all of this and wrangling people to watch movies but, in the end, this was definitely a series that Joel and I can be proud of. We do have a similar project centered around Batman movies in the works, not exactly sure on when that’ll happen but keep an eye out. Also, IBA’s resident horror movie enthusiast, Jason, will be picking a few horror movies on Netflix and we will be posting thoughts on them on the week leading up to Halloween. Though most people have gone back to school and summer draws to a close, be sure to check back on IBA everyday for everything that is awesome! Also, you can keep up with us by following @IBAStudios on twitter! And now for the superlatives:

Best New Movie I saw: Hector and the Search for Happiness
Worst New Movie: Dark Crystal
Movie that held up on repeat viewing: Chef
Movie I’m most mad at myself for putting on the schedule: The Cobbler (Rubber being a close 2nd)
Most unexpectedly enjoyable: The One I Love
Movie that overstayed it’s welcome the most: The Interview
Movie I still haven’t decided If I like or not: Life of Crime
Movie that I’m glad I put on the schedule just because it made John angry: Inglourious Basterds.
So what do you all think? Who wins for you in these categories? Let us know in the comments below or on our Irrelevant But Awesome Facebook page.


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