> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://birchtree.me/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# My summer movie challenge ✅
- URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/my-summer-movie-challenge/
- Published: 2025-06-03T20:16:41.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-03T20:16:41.000Z
- Author: Matt Birchler

Last week [I posed a challenge](https://birchtree.me/blog/the-summer-movie-challenge/) to Birchtree readers:

> **this summer, watch 2 movies you skipped previously**.  
>  
> Pretty simple, right? Yes, but here's the tricky part.  
>  
> \- The first movie should be one you skipped, but that was *well-received* by critics and/or audiences. You didn't resonate with it for whatever reason, so the good hype wasn't enough to get you to watch.  
>  
> \- The second movie should be one you probably would have watched, but it was *not well received*, so you skipped it.

Well, here we are, and I've completed my own challenge.

## Kajillionaire

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/31/25312b2a-2d5b-4d01-ba92-e6755efc202c/content/images/2025/06/IMG_7764.JPG)

This movie's been on my radar for a few years, and it's just one I've always skipped over in my Letterboxd watch list for some reason. It got good reviews, but I just never felt in the mood for it. I finally saw it and I'll say I get it now. It wasn't revelatory or anything (see the brevity of my review), but it was a very solid coming of age story. I'm glad I watched it, though.

## Captain America: Brave New World

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/31/25312b2a-2d5b-4d01-ba92-e6755efc202c/content/images/2025/06/IMG_7782.JPG)

This fell into the "I wanted to see it, but poor reviews shooed me away" category, and thinking back on this movie a few days later, I kinda think I went easy on this one, but the latest Captain America just didn't do it for me. I called it "very plain" in the review and I think that tells the whole story for me; it's only been a few days and I barely remember most things from this story. It's always fun to see Harrison Ford as the President and Anthony Mackie always has a great presence on screen, but that wasn't enough to hold my interest.

---

I don't think there's any chance I watched either of these movies this summer, but I'm glad I stepped ever so slightly outside my comfort zone (👀) on them. Kajillionaire was a good time, and Brave New World reminded me why I tend not to watch super hero movies unless they get significant buzz.