The following things happened in 2021:
- It was a COVID party and everyone was invited. Condolences to family members of those who didn't make it home from that particular party.
- Supporters of Donald Trump invaded the U.S. Capitol.
- Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States.
- In its buildup to the invasion of that country, Russia warned NATO against sending any troops to Ukraine.
- The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan.
Excellent
1. Pig
Like Uncut Gems this movie comes straight out of left field. It's wonderful, really wonderful. Nic Cage turns in a masterful performance as a hermit/ex-chef/ex-something hunting for his lost pig.
Like any great movie this one ALWAYS turns right when you think it's going to turn left, and ALWAYS turns left when you think it's going to turn right. A hearty round of applause to Alex Wolff as well, who co-stars as a businessman living in his father's shadow.
I often apply the term "excellent" relative to the year in which a given film appeared, but this movie really is excellent. The first-time director, Michael Sarnoski, is probably going to stumble with his "Quiet Place spinoff," but keep your eyes peeled. He'll probably rise to the occasion in the future.
Fun Fact: Wolff's father is played by Adam Arkin, brother of the much better known Alan Arkin, whose career in film stretches back to the 50s.
2. CODA
A high school student tries to balance the demands of deaf parents and dreams of being a singer. This film won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay last year, and I wouldn't argue against it. When you think about how brilliantly it contrasts the perspectives of those who can hear and those who can't it's impossible to find fault with it. That scene at the concert is especially well done.
3. Belfast
OK, I'm not going to badmouth Kenneth Branagh ever again. Belfast is a legitimately masterful effort, and unlike other movies Branagh's directed it never feels like a play. He impressed me with Cinderella, but this one's even better.
It's 1969, it's Ireland during a period of mounting unrest, and a family find themselves caught between their Protestant upbringing and their friendships with Catholics. The way the director applies Van Morrison to this film rejuvenates the songs and brings an extra layer of meaning to the story.
Belfast might not have won that many awards, but it was nominated for many and it's well worth seeing. Like the two movies listed above it's definitely one of the best movies of 2021.
4. The Worst Person in the World
An impulsive (indecisive?) woman passes through a series of relationships. This movie was well received by critics, and I'd have to agree that the director, cast and crew produced an impressively nuanced film.
5. King Richard
Many years ago there was The Snap, with which Thanos extinguished half the universe's population. A few years later came The Slap, with which Will Smith extinguished half of his career prospects. The irony being that Smith's character spends a lot of King Richard talking about being humble, about escaping the ghetto, and about not bringing the ghetto with you wherever you go.
Oh well. King Richard is still a great movie and Smith is its centerpiece, playing a driven father who drives his daughters on to success in the world of tennis. Smith, as everyone now knows, won the Oscar for this performance. It's just too bad that what people are going to remember is him slapping presenter Chris Rock at the Oscars.
6. The House of Gucci
It boggles the mind that Ridley Scott directed both this and The Last Duel at about the same time, and that Adam Driver starred (or at least co-starred) in both movies. The House of Gucci, like The Last Duel, is also LONG, but it's worth the effort. Lady Gaga and Jared Leto's performances stand out in particular, and Tony Scott displays a steady hand throughout. That transition between Jeremy Irons last conversation and his death? Masterful.
Critics were on the fence over this one, but I thought it was great. At the very least Lady Gaga deserved another Academy Award nomination.
Some Good Ones
1. Luca
A Disney/Pixar offering in which two amphibious boys travel to a small town in Italy in the hope of winning a Vespa. It's very forgettable but it's not bad.
2. South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID
I can't say the jokes always land, but for the most part it's funny.
3. Sing 2
Various singing animals overcome their neuroses and - you guessed it - sing. Definitely not as good as the first one, but it ends with the emotional outpouring of song that everyone came for.
Fun Fact: Wikipedia categorizes Sing 2 as a "jukebox musical comedy film." If you didn't know that was a genre now you do.
4. Licorice Pizza
Paul Thomas Anderson's love letter to the/early 70s. I suppose it's a movie about people trying out various roles, trying to convince themselves that they fit the part, and then finding out that the role they once wanted to fill so desperately wasn't what they really wanted at all. The two leads are great actors, but despite a strong beginning and a couple amusing cameos I felt that this movie ran a little too long.
Another complaint about this movie is that some of Alana Haim's dialogue seems anachronistic. I can't see someone living in that time period using "little bitch" that way, and her generous use of the word "fuck" seems a bit too contemporary at times.
Fun Fact 1: Cooper Hoffman, who stars in this movie as Gary Valentine, is Philip Seymour Hoffman's son.
Fun Fact 2: George DiCaprio, who appears briefly in the waterbed store, is Leonardo DiCaprio's father.
5. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
A surprisingly solid movie. It strays too close to the original, but overall it hits all the right notes and the ending leaves you wanting more. WAY better than the 2016 reboot.
WTF Did I Just Watch Part 2: The Return of WTF Did I Just Watch
1. Titane
Spiritual sequel to J.G. Ballard's/David Cronenberg's Crash? Maybe. Beyond that I won't attempt to describe the plot. It'll ruin it for you, and even if it doesn't my description will subtract from you enjoyment of this movie. I will say this: bring a strong stomach. Director Julia Ducoumau's first film, 20186's Raw, was on the gross side, but parts of this are even worse.
Definitely not Bad, Just Not into It
1. The Green Knight
I have to be honest and say I fell asleep. It's a great looking movie, but it's super slow. I get why it scored so high with critics, I probably just wasn't in the right frame of mind for it.
I read T.H. White's The Once and Future King series not long ago. I can remember reading that, seeing the preview for this film, and looking forward to seeing it. I'll wait until I'm sufficiently awake and try it again someday.
2. The French Dispatch
If any movie ever tested my patience it was this one. It's either everything or nothing, and nothing in-between. I attempted it twice before finally soldiering through it, and I still can't say I enjoyed it.
Bill Murray and several others appear and then disappear in this movie about the last issue of a magazine. It's more of an anthology than a single story, and while some of the parts are interesting I can't say the whole is easy to get through. My takeaway? Leo Seydoux is very beautiful nude, and Jeffrey Wright's bit is the best part of the movie. Critics liked it - as you would expect - and with Wes Anderson's following it grossed double its budget.
3. Nightmare Alley
Like The Green Knight and The French Dispatch this movie was a struggle. It's long, it's dark, and despite both tons of atmosphere and a well written screenplay I had trouble caring after a certain point. Director Guillermo del Toro is on firm footing here: carnival types, desperate men and severe weather, but I never felt like the conclusion - which I'd guessed long beforehand - was worth the 2+ hours it took to get there. This might be the best thing that Bradley Cooper has yet done, but I'd take "lighter" fare such as A Star is Born and The Mule over this movie.
Physics Need Not Apply
1. F9
In a higher dimensional space a 7 year old boy is in his backyard, playing with some toy cars and some G.I. Joes, and whatever he's imagining is this movie.
In F9 Vin Diesel gets the band (or should I say the family?) back together for an extended car chase that goes from the implausible, to the impossible, to the nonsensical in however long it takes a Pontiac Fiero to achieve orbit.
I enjoyed seeing the guy from Tokyo Drift (Lucas Black) again. That's still my favorite movie in the franchise.
You know what this movie really reminded me of? 1979's Moonraker. It approaches that level of ridiculousness, and I enjoyed both movies immensely. Will I be seeing Fast X? Probably - why not?
Fun Fact: Filming of Fast X is already underway. Jason Momoa will be the villain.
Some Bad Ones
1. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
The reboot nobody really wanted, brought to you by people you're not familiar with, and starring various attractive people who've put their gym memberships to good use.
This movie was a wasted opportunity. It was 2021 after all. They could have brought a lot of pertinent issues into the script, and they could have made the virus more threatening. Instead we get more zombies and callbacks to the late 90s.
2. Jungle Cruise
Got halfway through and had to turn it off. The Rock does his usual "comedy" routine, cracking unfunny one liners, WWE-ing people into submission, and occasionally brandishing a ukelele. Emily Blunt suffers stoically in his presence, probably using her next paycheck as a source of motivation.
The director, Jaume Collet-Serra, will also be directing Dwayne Johnson in the upcoming Black Adam. Hopefully he's better with darker material.
Doublethink: One one hand Disney's going to produce a sequel, but on the other hand Werner Herzog already did, way back in 1972. The "Aguirre" seen in this movie could be conflated with the Aguirre of Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God. There's very little historical basis for either movie, and I like to think that Klaus Kinski floated on an existential raft full of monkeys before the events of Jungle Cruise.
3. Nobody
John Wick? The Equalizer? Nobody is somewhere between the two. It piles up a lot of action movie cliches, and that would be fine if I'd had any kind of feeling for the characters. But no, they're pretty much cutouts and the movie as a whole is forgettable. The director, ironically enough, is Russian.
Fun Fact: Michael Ironside plays Bob Odenkirk's boss. It took me a while to register this fact.
4. The King's Man
Matthew Vaughn returns with the prequel nobody asked for. The whole charm of the first two movies was how they toyed with premises set forth in the Bond films. Setting this during World War I means that this movie has to rely more on its characters, and in this case its characters just aren't that interesting. Ralph Fiennes is game enough, but the script could have used some work.
There's a sequel on the way, Kingsman: The Blue Blood, due out next year.
Bad, but Entertainingly So
1. Mortal Kombat
Yeah it's not as good as the original. But the fight choreography is better, and the fight between Cole, Scorpion and Sub-Zero is pretty good. The dialogue is most definitely bad, and the plot makes little sense, but if you're willing to turn your brain off for a couple hours it's actually not bad.
Fun Fact: Lewis Tan, the star of this movie, also appeared as Shatterstar in Deadpool 2.
Related Entries:
NOTE: After this entry I'll be watching a few more movies from 2022, and after that I'll be going back, way back to the late 1960s.
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