what i watched in december 

if we’re talking december 2021, i gotta know, what’d you watch?

As a kid who grew up playing, living, and breathing tennis, I can confirm King Richard’s attention to detail and portrayal of the tennis world was super satisfying and made it a fun watch. My wife who has never played would agree that it was nice but a lil boring

Karsten, i have watched you for last two years,and finally i have ranked you 1/5

I honestly thought Get Back is near to revolutionary, not only in the Beatles history and in the music documentary space, but also in the way we perceive bands, the creative process, and musicians' lives and rumors created by news and fans. It was so raw and intimate, it almost felt like it was transporting me there. Besides its a monumental achievement the image and sound processing done by Peter Jackson and his team! I loved it! Also loved this video Karsten, may this year in cinema be great!!

Glad there’s a “Don’t Look Up” video coming!! I was trying to explain to a friend why I didn’t really connect with the film, even though I agree wholeheartedly with the message, and she told me I was missing the film’s nuance. I didn’t even know how to respond

You should watch the kid detective! One of the most looked over movies of last year, a very very fun murder mystery

Princess Mononoke is the best! There are so many great things id love a whole video on it

You are a great content creator. What films do you think are essential and what directors are the most influential? Love your content.

When Harry Met Sally is just adorable. Reiner knocked it out of the park.

Tbh I really liked dont look up, I thought it did everything it set out to do and it’s commentary was pretty salient. However, I will say some of it was pretty heavy handed and the star studded cast was pretty jarring and honestly took me out of it a bit.

Very glad you enjoyed Princess Mononoke! It's one of my favorite movies of all time and I recommend you try to get your hands on the artbook they made for the movie

Its never a what i watched this month video without "Then I rewatched another round!"

I’m still split on Matrix 4…not because of all the negative reactions cause I actually had fun with it. And I do appreciate some of the messages. But I can’t get over certain things - in particular something to do with flying😅 - however, if this is the last Matrix movie we get I’m not mad about it.

I’m so happy to see Princess Mononoke get the appreciation it deserves, it was the first ghibli movie I watched and remains to be my favorite

Couldn't disagree more about "Network" 🙁 It's an amazing film!

It would be nice if there was a list of the movies in the description. I always come back to these videos when I am looking for something to watch and I don't quite remember the name of one of the movies Karsten mentioned.

Finally, someone who also gets Princess Mononoke is a 5/5

if you think keanu is good in the matrix, you absolutely HAVE to see him star alongside river phoenix in my own private idaho. i’d argue that performance, and movie, is better, which is saying a lot.

take a shot every time karsten says “lads”

You convinced me to go see Matrix: Resurrections in theaters with this video.

I feel like I watched nothing last year until December. Along with some first viewings, I also rewatched every Spiderman movie. I hadn't seen the originals since I was 8, and the rest since they first came out. First, the new stuff. First was the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which was not good. It was far too short to do anything as good as the original. Next was Free Guy. It was a very dumb movie, in a good way. I enjoyed it. Last was Encanto. It was a solid Disney movie, which is a lot better than the past several years of animated Disney movies. Now for Spiderman. I have some thoughts on these. First, Spiderman 1. I did not really care for it. I'm not sure what it was, but I really did not like Tobey in this movie. Willem Dafoe was great, but the rest wasn't for me I guess. Next Spiderman 2. It was a lot better, but I just don't get the hype for it. I liked it, but people act like it's the best comic book movie ever, and I just don't get it. The middle drags way too hard for me. Spiderman 3 is a mess, I love it. They absolutely ruin Eddie Brock/Venom, but beyond that, it's my personal favorite of the 3. Amazing Spiderman was fine. I didn't really like the characterization of Peter, and the plot isn't great, but the movie was better than I remember it being. Amazing Spiderman 2 has my favorite characterization of Spiderman. Andrew Garfield nails it. Too bad the rest is not great. Homecoming was my favorite live action Spiderman. It probably does stuff a bit too different for Spiderman, but it's still really good. Venom is much better when you watch it knowing what to expect. I hated it on first viewing but I had fun on rewatch. Into the Spider Verse is one of my favorite movies of all time. I don't see any comic book movie topping it. I don't get the hate Far From Home gets. It's definately the worst of the MCU trilogy, but I still think it's really good. I probably should've listed it earlier, but Venom 2 (and obviously No Way Home) were first viewings. Venom 2 was... interesting. Early on, it's trying way too hard to be the first one. I think it figures it out by the end though. I'll need to rewatch it, but I think No Way Home is my new favorite live action. I loved everything about this movie. Lastly here is my personal ranking of them: 1. Spider Verse 2. No Way Home 3. Homecoming 4. Far From Home 5. Spiderman 3 6. Spiderman 2 7. Amazing Spiderman 2 8. Amazing Spiderman 9. Venom 10. Venom 2 11. Spiderman

what i watched in december (though it’s not a lot because i was busy with school): pig (dir. michael sarnoski): 4/5 the power of the dog (dir. jane campion): 4.5/5 another round (dir. thomas vinterberg): 3/5 spencer (dir. pablo larrain): 4.5/5

I thought “Licorice Pizza” was fantastic, and I think a lot of people are missing the point when discussing a lot of the problematic aspects of it. For the age gap, I interpreted it as Gary being an unreliable narrator. The film is supposed to be through the lens of an immature 15 year old boy and I think Gary is often mistaking Alana’s friendship and need for companionship as a romantic relationship. All of the romantic/sexual gestures Alana makes towards him felt more out of desperation than anything. This is also semi-confirmed as the movie is based on “true” stories that Gary Goetzman told PTA. As for the anti-Asian bits, while a bit egregious, I think they were made to poke fun at the absurdity of white Americans trying to interact with minorities as well as the problematic nature of Asian women’s fetishization in the west. Honestly one of my favorites from PTA! I see it as his “once upon a time in Hollywood”. Not his best, theres no real plot, and it kinda meanders the entire time, but the atmosphere, characters, and especially the performances are all so damn good that it could have been an hour longer and I wouldn’t have minded. I have a feeling I’m gonna go back to this one a lot. Also Alana Haim deserves all the awards. She was incredible, and Cooper Hoffman reminds me so much of his dad that I got choked up seeing him on screen. Sorry for the long-winded response but I haven’t had many people to talk about this movie with, and it’s been stuck on my mind since I walked out of the theater. Keep doing you Karsten, you’ve put me on to so many great films over the years.

The Lighthouse(4/5) Psycho 1960(RW 4/5) Call Me by Your Name(4.5) Shoplifters(4.5) Roma(5/5) Sicario(5/5) Irishman(5/5) Spiderman No Way Home(4.5) Moneyball(5/5) Back to the Future(4.5)

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Don’t Look Up. I can already tell we’ll disagree… heavily… but that is actually what makes me so excited to hear what you took home from that film.

watched: the power of the dog 4/5 west side story (1961) 2.5/5 belfast 3.5/5 diary of a wimpy kid (2021) 2/5 diary of a wimpy kid (2010) 4/5 diary of a wimpy kid: rodrick rules 5/5 west side story (2021) 4/5 the french dispatch 4/5 squid game 4/5 the amazing spider man 3.5/5 spider-man 3 4/5 spider man far from home 3.5/5 spider man no way home 4.5/5 the hand of god 4/5 the worst person in the world 4.5/5 dont look up 2.5/5 encanto 3/5 cmon cmon 5/5 zola 4/5 the lost daughter 4/5

Love the way you talk about all the movies in a short time. You're amazing! Agree with you about Matrix Resurrections.

I watched When Harry met Sally and the lost daughter too! When Harry met Sally is a new years movie imo so I like to watch it round that time of the year and it is sweet and Sally does deserve better. The Lost Daughter, I was blinded by how much I love Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson

I'm not really into like Romance movies. but I decided to watch Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight and those were all very very good. Really surprised by how much I enjoyed them. But if you liked Princess Mononoke, you should watch The Tale of Princess Kaguya

for me: 1 - House of Gucci - 3/5 3 - The Green Knight - 4.5/5 5 - Pig - 4/5 8 - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - 5/5 8 - The Power of the Dog - 5/5 9 - Spencer - 4.5/5 10 - Tick, tick...Boom! - 4/5 10 - West Side Story (2021) - 4.5/5 11 - West Side Story (1961) - 3.5/5 11 - King Richard - 3.5/5 11 - The Matrix - 5/5 13 - West Side Story (2021) - Rewatch 14 - Annette - 3/5 14 - Spider-Man: Homecoming - 4/5 15 - Spider-Man Far From Home - 4/5 15 - Spider-Man: No Way Home - 4.5/5 17 - Spider-Man: No Way Home - Rewatch 21 - The French Dispatch - 4.5/5 22 - The Matrix - Rewatch 24 - The Matrix Reloaded - 3.5/5 24 - The Matrix Resurrections - 3/5 24 - The Matrix Revolutions - 2.5/5 25 - Long Toast - n/a 25 - Don't Look Up - 4/5 25 - C'mon C'mon - 4/5 27 - Belfast - 3/5 28 - Red Rocket - 4.5/5 28 - Mass - 4.5/5 29 - The Worst Person in the World - 4.5/5 30 - Mass - Rewatch

It’s sucks that people are going to ignore “Drive My Car” because of its runtime, but I was moved to tears from it and I’m dying to see it again

What I watched this month: Uncut Gems-5/5 Django (Original)-4.3/5 Clockwork Orange(rewatch)-5/5 Star Wars: ESB (rewatch)-4/5 The Incredibles(rewatch)-4.7/5 Shang-Chi: LOFTR-3.2/5 Spider-Man: No Way Home-5/5 Parasite-5/5 Judas & the black messiah-4.6/5 House of Gucci-4.1/5 Licorice Pizza-3/5 Boogie Nights-4.4/5 Hotel Rwanda (Rewatch)-4.2/5 Babel-3/5

Too bad you didn't like Don't Look Up, I adore everything McKay does so I know I'm biased but it's really my favorite film of the year. Also I watched Licorice Pizza yesterday and what a stunning film man. The world just felt so warm and omg Bradley Cooper just nailed it

One movie that I've been thinking about a lot for the past 3 weeks was 'Gummo'. I can't describe the feelings i got when watching it but i feel like it's going have an influence in my filmmaking career.

I watched The Matrix for the first time this month and it was absolutely badass

In december I saw: Eighth Grade Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Heat Spiderman No Way Home Ray Ratatouille The Parent Trap

Yeah bro sorry but the matrix resurrection action scenes are terrible, the dialogue is absolute cringe the entire time and the new characters existing or not kinda changes nothing,

I'm sorry but Don't look up was an incredible disapointing movie for me. Mabye because I had high expectations due to the director Adam (I don't know how to text his 2 name) but I ended up hating this film because the tone was over the place and the characters were straight up un-likeable even the characters were supposed to feel sorry for did not click for me. If you liked this film then that's good because there are elements that like but the other problems I can't look over. So don't look up is a 1/5

on a whim I watched Asakusa Kid after seeing it pop up on my netflix notifications. I didn't expect anything going in, all I knew was its about this famous comedian in Japan but I was surprised. I'd recommend checking it out.

I completely disagree with your take on Matrix 4. I don’t think it handled the meta commentary well at all. The movie was calling out sequels and reboots but it was being the exact same thing it called out. The nostalgia is so forced that when someone quotes a line from OG Matrix trilogy it shows footage from that movie. Most of the action was pretty lackluster and the 3rd act was just disappointing. Keanu’s attempts at acting is hilarious in the movie. The only positives I had was with the first act. It moved at a pretty good pace and I was somewhat invested. I liked how Neo just appeared as an old man in the Matrix to confuse people who were looking for him. The CG was actually pretty good. The Dojo fight scene is probably the best part. Overall, I’d give it a 4.5/10

I feel like these ‘what I watched’ videos are popping up in my subscription feed way too often, can time just slow down a little please. Thank you for once again adding to my ‘have to watch’ list 🙃

I got to watch Spider-Man No Way Home in December, and it was the best movie I could’ve watch to end off my year. And happy late new year Karsten!

Hey, you should watch Howl's moving castle. it's not intense as Princess Mononoke, but it's a beautiful story and i really think you would like it

Karsten I’m totally with on the matrix resurrections. It’s nowhere near the first two movies but I liked it for what it was. Definitely liked it more than revolutions(even tho I also liked that movie too) but yea don’t listen to the haters man!

I watched: Coco before Chanel 8 House of Gucci 8 It’s a wonderful life 10 500 days of summer 10

Dont Look up is a 5/5 Another round 4/5 Power of the dog 5/5 The lost daughter 4/5

I just watched Don't Look Up last night and yeah not the best movie, very meh, but at the end I burst out in panicked tears and turned to my friend and said "oh my god we are all going to die" as I realized even tho we don't have a giant rock ready to crash into us, if we did, that's how it would turn out. Im stuck now in a depressive panic as I realize the world is beyond repair, everyone wants to kill each other and I'm most likely not going to live a very long life....

hey Karsten, love ya, but I'm gonna pick a small trivial comment and have a pointless argument with you about it! Hard Eight is better than Punch Drunk Love, which is the actual worse PTA movie... At least Hard Eight is well acted and relatively coherent. maybe its something else that colored my two viewings of PDL but all the waiting barely builds tension because you get the feeling Adam Sandler doesn't give a shit about this woman, they literally just add some music with a rising tempo but that doesn't make me invested automatically. there was so much visual flare and random bullshit in PDL that either doesn't add to the film or completely throws off the rhythm and flow of the film. There's so many fucking Lens flairs and random stuff meant to distract people who think like dogs and see shiny objects and love them. its his least substantial film IMO that is the least his personal style and borrows from Hollywood the most out of all of his films. Even all the visual gimmicks in Boogie Nights and Magnolia and some of his other early films almost entirely add to the characters, the story, or the films world, but PDR just doesn't. It's a bare minimum "entertaining" movie but to me its simply a massive stain on one of the greatest directors filmography, much like Lynch thinks of his 1984 Dune.

Princess Mononoke is my favorite animated movie ever (and also probably my favorite movie overall), what a perfect piece of cinema. Gonna probably watch Matrix Resurrections next week, some reviewers I trust said it's a great movie, albeit not what you would expect from a Matrix movie.

Glad at least someone else saw The Rescue. If you think Free Solo was crazy you ain't seen nothing yet. My favorite movie this year and hopefully another Oscar for Elisabeth Chai and Jimmy Chin.

I loved House of Gucci, the fact that I had fun watching it despite its run time is a win to me, despite the parts where it kind of flops. I understand why some people wouldn't like it though.

I agree with pretty much everything on here... except for Matrix Revolutions. People can like bad movies, but telling yourself that the movie you loved, that has been critically analyzed and deemed sub-par is a good movie is... also okay. honestly, can't really be critical about anyone liking it. Anyone can enjoy any movie, including the worst ones out there. That being said. No amount of re-watching that movie, especially for someone who loves this genre of movies, will convince me it was good. That movie is so easily de-constructed that a full analysis of that movie has to gloss over so much to make it seem like a good watch. it's a 3/10 that didn't stick the jump or the landing, especially if you watch the first two movies before/after. They literally had the previous movies playing in the background... A lot! that's not clever meta-commentary, it's lazy writing, no matter the circumstances. That short rant being done with, enjoyed the vid. Nice work!

my december favorites: 1. c'mon c'mon 2. phantom thread ( rewatch. this movie is the greatest ) 3. the shape of water 4. the lost daughter 5. marriage story ( rewatch. cuss yeah )

Hey Karsty can you please make you 2021 list on Letterboxd public? I really want to see the full ranking.

I can’t believe you’d never seen princess mononoke. Still not my fav Miyazaki but up there for sure

My silly little list : - Scooby-Doo : The Movie (9/10) - Freud, secret passion (I loved the main actor's performance) - West Side Story (2021) (silly acting, shallow character building, nice dancing) - Knives out (very fun) - Été 85 - Les Tuches 4 (a bit corny, I was kinda disapointed) - No country for old men (perfection) - God's own country (actual tears, it was so sweet) - Dolor y gloria (I was expecting a lot more, it wasn't as life-changing as I thought it would be, mostly because of the aesthetic aspect that sometimes feels a bit rushed and cheap, still very moving, I cried) - I'm thinking of ending things (who let this movie happen, it was so bad) - Don't look up. (I loved it, everything about it was great, especially the actors)

The first Matrix might be one of the best films ever made. I personally enjoy Reloaded and Revolutions equally, but for different reasons, probably give them both a 4/5, or a 3.5/5 if i was feeling really critical.

I loved licorice pizza definitely worth a rewatch in the future for me some funny parts but Punk Drunk Love is definitely my fave PTA film. Don’t look up was fun/funny to watch it was good but not great but not bad. There’s serval things to be said about that movie so I’m very interested to see your Don’t Look Up video. Ps i need to watch TITANE

AYO? LMAO he put my playlist on there! thanks

THANK YOU FOR DONT LOOK UP, I THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY FOR NOT LIKING IT.. LOVE U FOR THIS

You look like a young Quint from Jaws with that moustache

“Timmy is funny and should do more of that” I’ve never agreed with something more

Honestly devastated to find out that my one great film idea- reverse clue -was already done by Alfred Hitchcock. Even one of his weaker one is so daunting

Would really love to see some stand-alone reviews of Scary of Sixty-First and The Lost Daughter. Really interested to hear your thoughts.

Looks like your eyebrows had twins and they nested under your nose

I think the last hour of network not going anywhere is a big point of the film. Despite everything that Howard does in the story, none of his actions save world, they actually just get him killed on television. I do think Max has an interesting arc though.

What irks me about house of Gucci is just how salvageable it is. I think about it and a list of studio notes appears in my head that would’ve made it so much better and it drives me crazy how they were just…. Not taken. The acting was hit or miss which is sad because of the (mostly) stellar cast Gaga carried, driver seemed bored which is a shame cause he can usually get me through a bad movie, pachino nailed it but he didn’t have nearly enough screen time, idk what the hell the other guys name is but he was bad, Hayek was unfortunately forgettable, Leto was so minor and bland that I found him a refreshing presence which should tell you how badshit it is. I love bad camp for the first hour, but god I shouldn’t have had to sit through three hours of this.

You should try indian Film Love from India

You shoild checkout grave of the fireflies. Its by miyazaki's best friend isao takahata. Also tale of princess kaguya by him.

I couldn't make it through Don't Look Up. It's condescending, unfunny, unsubtle, obvious, and so fucking self important and smug. The worst part is that it's impossible to critique. Any valid criticism someone has can just be met with "well you didn't get it," or "well it's like that because that's how society really is," or "well clearly you're a climate change denier / anti-vaxxer / Trump supporter". No. Bullshit. I agree with literally everything the film has to say, it just says nothing I didn't already know in the most obnoxious way possible.

“paul mescal looks amazing” EXACTLY

Princess Mononoke is my favorite Miyazaki as well! So glad you enjoyed it!

Karsten be like: this was fucking shit absolutely dreadful, completely disappointing...6/10

Karsten is too cool for Network

Just saw Antz this month and it was worth it.

My watched ones in December: I'm Thinking Of Ending Things [rewatch] 10/10 Bo Burnham's Inside 10/10 The Sparks Brothers 8/10 Bo Burnham's What 8/10 Bo Burnham's Make Happy 9/10 Inside [again] Mank 8/10 The Master [rewatch] 10/10 I Lost My Body 5/10 Anima 8/10 Possession [1981] 9/10 Come and See 10/10 Punch-Drunk Love 10/10 Munich 7/10 Titus 8/10 Annette [rewatch] 9/10 Black Christmas [1974] 8/10 There Will Be Blood [rewatch] 10/10 Licorice Pizza 9/10 (might be 10 on rewatch) Persepolis [rewatch] 9/10 Spider-Man: No Way Home 9/10

The sheer disrespect for Hard Eight 😭

King Richard The Power of the Dog The Shop Around the Corner Benedetta C'mon C'mon The Professor and the Madman Wolf Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind The Matrix - rewatch Belfast The Great Beauty Don't Look Up The Hand of God The Social Network - Rewatch Black Christmas (1974) - Rewatch Spider-Man: No Way Home The Matrix Reloaded - Rewatch The Matrix Revolutions - Rewatch The Amazing Spider-Man - Rewatch Black Christmas (1974) - Rewatch The King's Man The Matrix Resurrections Krampus - Rewatch Greenland Christmas Vacation - Rewatch Riders of Justice

Thank god someone else enjoyed the Matrix Resurrections like I did. Completely encapsulated my thoughts on the movie

The Power of the Dog is a sick movie

can't wait to see the don't look up video! thought it was a great movie and absolutely loved Timmy's role. Love your opinions on the matrix movies. My order would go Original, then resurrections, then 2&3. Action got to be gratuitous and made the movies too long imo.

Another round Power of dog The rescue House of Gucci Pierrot Le Fou Licorice Pizza Drive my car Network The lost daughter Hard Right The trouble with Harry The scary of sixty first When Harry met Sally Summer of soul

For ‘22, can you do another letterboxd review

Just watched Licorice Pizza. Annddd... what was that plot? Acting was good, so was the cinematography and the costume design. But what weird story structure. Found myself looking down at my phone. And as an actor myself, not crazy about the fact that the kid was still a minor while the haim girl was in her late 20s.. But im honestly putting that aside. It just wasnt very enjoyable to me. Ima rewatch coda.

I have watched the Power of the Dog four times and I‘m reading the book at the moment. Yeah, I guess I really liked it.

Ive become obsessed with watching your 'this month' videos...and i hate it...because i find myself adding far more movies to my watchlists than i have time for. Keep em coming!

smart of u to not say the ratings out loud so i cant just watch this in the background and have to pay full attention to the video

No spiderman no way home??

I can understand why you liked the Matrix 4. You didn't watch them when they were first released so have no real attachment to them / they didn't have a lasting impact on you growing up (having seen them just a few years ago). That allows you to look past all of 4's issues as its just fun. Unfortunately, I care way too much about the first 3 to enjoy 4 but I do think it's interesting that long time fans tend to hate 4 and more recent ones are fine with it. Great video as always!

House of Gucci is terrible. That’s it. The 3rd act is probably one of the worst ever. To go from the shooting to ending it on a quick few seconds on the trial? Just trash.

Love karsten videos but he's background music is kinda annoying

Licorice Pizza is a movie that romanticizes a pedophilic relationship. Please reply with why I’m wrong.

Coen brothers ranked please

You watched all of the air buds and you have nothing to say about them... Ok karsten... Mkk...

4/5 for Matrix Resurrections... I feel food for blocking you on Letterboxd

Highlight of my montthhhh

YES i loved rewatching power of the dog so much omg!

oh no, you gave matrix 4 4/5 and Don't look up 2/5? That is just not right

House of Gucci is way worse than a 3/5, that movie is horrible

Keanu Reeves' best performance is still My Own Private Idaho