The Oscar Project
We made it, the final two films, my top two first time watches in 2021. If you've missed any of the previous posts, you can find them here (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). And don't forget to check back tomorrow for the beginning of my top ten countdown of films from 2021.
2. Tenet (2020)
Of all Christopher Nolan's films, Tenet ranks right up there with Inception as the one that messes with your brain the most. With all the time bending films he's made, it's hard to see how he can approach the subject in new ways every time he releases a new film, but somehow he manages to keep things new. We had Memento, the story told backward with the man who has short term memory loss. He took a slight detour to Gotham to give us the Dark Knight trilogy, but managed to drop The Prestige, and Inception amongst those three. Interstellar followed to incorporate space and time, before giving us the Oscar nominated Dunkirk.
It had been three years since Nolan's previous directorial outing and looks to be at least as long before we get another film from him, Oppenheimer in 2023 with an all-star cast that already includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and Rami Malek. But what lacks in quantity of output from Nolan is made up by the pure quality. Tenet is nothing short of an extraordinary film that keeps you guessing right up to the end. Nothing is what it seems, from the source of sounds and even physical objects, to the flow of time itself. John David Washington and Robert Pattinson are wonderful in the lead roles while Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh are standouts in the supporting roles. I know I've said it of many films on this list, but if you haven't checked out Tenet yet, get to it as soon as possible. You won't regret it. 1. Sound of Metal (2020)
There is no question this is my top first time watch from this year. There are many things working in this film's favor with me. It's about a drummer and I'm a drummer. It stars Riz Ahmed whom I have enjoyed since I first saw him in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But perhaps most importantly, it explores the idea of how a person handles the loss of their hearing, a question I have pondered personally for a long time.
As someone who grew up listening to, playing, and performing music from piano recitals and percussion ensembles to marching band and drum corps, sound is a part of my life and I honestly don't know how I would operate in a world that was silent. That said, during the few times in my life where I do get a few moments of near silence, I try to savor them and let my mind be free of external sound. Sound of Metal tells the story of Ruben (Ahmed), a heavy metal drummer who performs with his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) as they travel the country. One night he struggles to hear his own drum set and the rest of the music during their set and thus sets off on a journey to regain his hearing. He meets up with Joe (Paul Raci), a man who also lost his hearing and runs a shelter for deaf recovering addicts, and Diane (Laura Ridloff), a teacher for young deaf students. My favorite part of these roles is that Ridloff herself is deaf (and also featured as Makkari in Eternals this fall) and Raci is the son of two deaf parents and grew up fluent in American Sign Language. The care that went into telling this story with a spotlight on the deaf community was wonderful to see. If you have to pick just one film from this list to see this week, make it Sound of Metal. The story, the sound, the characters, all these elements combine to tell an incredible story that will likely stick with you for some time to come.
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With just under two weeks to go until the new year, today I'm looking at the #4 and #3 first time watches this year. Don't forget to check back to Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you missed them previously.
4. Platoon (1986)
This was the other film on my list that I watched for my 52-week film challenge at the beginning of the year. It was one that had been on my list for some time but just hadn't gotten around to. When finally sitting down to watch it, I was not surprised, and at the same time not disappointed by what I saw.
Vietnam stories have long fascinated me, I think starting with reading The Things They Carried in high school for my humanities class. In college I moved on to Coppola's Apocalypse Now, dissecting every minute of that film and how it related to the Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness. Tack onto that, things like Full Metal Jacket and Born on the Fourth of July along with countless films that featured scenes in Vietnam, everything from Forrest Gump to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and there has been plenty of film content depicting the fight in Vietnam over the years. What makes this one so great is that it is incredibly raw. It puts you right in the action in a similar way to Apocalypse Now. But while Coppola's film focuses on the lone wolf sent to hunt down a renegade general, Platoon gives more insight into the workings of the group and how the actions of one affect the lives and safety of everyone. If you are like me and have this on your list, but haven't gotten around to it yet, do yourself a favor and wait no longer. 3. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
This film probably couldn't be more different from the other film in this post, but that's one of the things I love about film in general. Two different pieces of cinema can be rated nearly equal in the eyes of a person, but fall on complete opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of subject matter, tone, technique, etc.
As the only true documentary on this list, I have to applaud the increased availability of the documentary genre in general. In the past, films like this would have been condensed down to fit into an hour time slot on Discovery or Animal Planet, sacrificing important parts of the story to meet a 42-minute run time. With the increased access of streaming services, we get these fantastic stories in their fullness and get to take time with the world around us. I actually watched this film twice this year, once in my run up to the Oscars in the spring, and again with my wife and oldest son over the summer. Both times, I loved the beauty of the world displayed on screen and at the same time learning new things about these 8-legged aliens of the deep. It's rare that a film can make me truly stop and think about the world around me, but this was one of those times. If you haven't checked out My Octopus Teacher yet, add it to your Netflix queue and check it out as soon as possible.
The countdown of films I watched for the first time this year that came out before 2021 continues today with numbers 6 and 5. If you missed the first two days, check out 10 & 9 here and 8 & 7 here.
6. Palm Springs (2020)
This is a hysterical romp of a love story and I haven't seen anything like this in quite some time. The basic premise is easy enough to explain as a re-hash of Groundhog Day, but in the desert instead of the blustery Northeast. But it's so much more than that.
The interplay between the characters in the film is so much fun, and I much preferred having multiple characters involved in the repeating day construct than just the single character from Bill Murray's film. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti are fantastic in the lead roles of Nyles and Sarah, while J.K. Simmons provides a generous dose of humor himself. I really can't recommend this film enough and you can still catch it on Hulu with a basic subscription. 5. Promising Young Woman (2020)
I'll start by saying this film is not for everyone, but I would highly encourage everyone to give it a fair shake.
The story centers on Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan), a young woman who dropped out of medical school, lives with her parents, and works at a local coffee shop. She fills her off hours at night in clubs and bars, pretending to be near pass out drunk, essentially acting as bait for men trying to take advantage of unsuspecting women. Once the encounters get to the point of the men trying to take advantage of her, she reveals that she is stone cold sober and confronts them about their actions. Over the course of the film, we learn that Cassie's friend from medical school was raped by a classmate with no investigation from the school or any other legal consequences. Along with this, Cassie begins a relationship with Ryan (Bo Burnham), another former classmate while continuing her baiting excursions at night. The concept of this film is incredible any the execution is impressive, especially as a directorial debut by Emerald Fennell, who also wrote the film. Some may find it a bit too "#MeToo" driven, but I think the point being made is, if you are uncomfortable watching this film, you might be part of the problem.
Today I'm continuing my countdown of films I watched for the first time this year that came out before 2021. If you missed the first two yesterday, check out the post, then read on to find out which films landed at my number 8 and 7 spots.
8. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
This film is one of those occasions where the sequel can't possibly come close to matching the original, yet somehow this film managed to do just that and more. Not only is Sasha Baron Cohen a much bigger name and better known face around the United States in 2020 than when he made the original Borat in 2006, but everyone has a smartphone in their pocket these days, which they didn't at that time. It's harder and harder to keep prying eyes away from movie shoots these days, which is why this film feels even more incredible.
I urge you to go back and read my original review of the film. What I will say here is that some of the scenes stuck with my and I think it's a testament to the brilliance of this type of filmmaking that it can get recognized by not only the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Writers Guild of America, but the British Academy of Film and even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. HIGH FIVE! 7. Seven Samurai (1954)
It's a little bitter sweet that I put this film on this list of top films as it's a reminder of something I had high hopes of achieving this year, yet also fell by the wayside. I started the year working on watching a new film every week in my 52 Week Film Challenge but only got a few weeks into the year before the task became a bit much for where I was in life a year ago. That said, I am hoping to give it another go this year. For anyone interested in joining me, I will be posting a bit more about it after the Christmas holiday.
But on to the film itself. Considered a classic by just about any measure, there is so much in this film to digest. Many of today's directors are obviously influenced by Kurosawa's filmmaking, not the least of which was George Lucas when he made Star Wars. The style of the film has been reflected down through the intervening decades, and I found it interesting that Star Wars even returned to a VERY Kurosawa style and story with the release of the Visions anime short films this summer on Disney+. I highly encourage anyone interested in this film style to check out "The Duel" either just before or just after watching Seven Samurai. The similarities are obvious, and it was incredible to see Star Wars bring that style full circle.
Now that I have all the separate categories out of the way, I am going to run down my top ten films of this year, but first I want to give out my top films that I watched for the first time this year. These are all films that were released prior to 2021 and didn't get around to watching until this year. Several of them are quite recent (2020 releases) but there are a few classics on the list as well. First up, numbers ten and nine.
10. Love and Monsters (2020)
What I love most about this film is that the title says it all. At its core, this film is a love story...and there are lots of monsters in it. In fact, as far back as 2012, The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a post-apocalyptic road movie in the vein of Mad Max and Zombieland with a John Hughes-esque love story at its center."
The film does very much remind me of Zombieland, but with more tenderness. For anyone who has seen that film, the films lead, Joel (Dylan O'Brien) is much more of a Columbus than a Tallahassee at the beginning of the film. But what gives the film so much heart is that Joel is absolutely terrified of going out in the wild to face the terrible monsters that live there, but he does it anyway, not for his own survival, but to find the love of his life. I visited this film as part of my prep for the Oscars ceremony this year and while it didn't win, it was nominated for Best Visual Effects. I'm so happy that this film crossed my path and it could very easily have been included in my list of biggest surprises earlier this week. 9. Bombshell (2019)
This was one that I missed in my Oscar prep a few years ago, but had been meaning to come back to as soon as possible. Bombshell is one of those very difficult movies to make because you're making a drama film with actors about real people, in very close proximity to when the events depicted in the film actually took place.
The film stars Charlize Theron as Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman as Fox News host Gretchen Carlson and Margot Robbie as Kayla Pospisil, a fictional character meant to take on the role of the many other women who ultimately came forward to accuse Fox News CEO Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) of sexual harassment. This film still feels important even a few years later as there are still plenty of women out there that endure harassment like this in the workplace. As depicted in the film, it is often seen as something they just have to "deal with" in order to move up in their career, but that's not something that can or should be tolerated anymore. Anyone with a voice, male or female, should speak up and speak out about this kind of treatment and the more male voices that shout about this issue the better.
I hope you have been enjoying my year end review this week. Today I am covering short films. This is my first category that isn't necessarily films from 2021.
As part of watching films to prepare for the Oscars each year, I have seen more short films over the last several years than I have in the past. I enjoy them quite a bit because I don't have to devote 2-3 hours to them and oftentimes, the stories are told in such a great way because they have limited time to work with. Every shot, every frame, each character movement has to have a purpose. Short films are also much more available today than ever before with platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and even the big streamers like Disney+ and Netflix. I have a variety on this list including animation, live action, and documentaries from 2020 and 2021.
Today is part three of my year in review and I wanted to look at some of the standout performances by a few actors. I was originally going to pick just my single top favorite, but couldn't decide between the three (actually four) listed below so I decided to include them all.
Favorite Performances of 2021
3. LaKeith Stanfield as Bill O'Neal in Judas and the Black Messiah
I know a lot was made last spring about Daniel Kaluuya's portrayal of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, but I think the tru standout in the film was Stanfield. So often villains in films are painted very two dimensionally, but Stanfield managers to make O'Neal a sympathetic character in some scenes, and come across like a complete jackass in others. That is a strong feat and I think what made it truly pop for me this year.
2. Zendaya as Marie and John David Washington as Malcolm in Malcolm & Marie
I know I'm cheating a little here, but this movie doesn't work without two strong performances. The film itself is a bit of a guilty pleasure and certainly not for everyone. It's a movie about people who make movies, and that ropes me in every time. At the time of release, this film released right at the end of the Oscar eligibility window earlier this year was thought to be a bit of awards bait, but didn't end up getting as much as some people expected. That said, I thought there was a wide range of emotions from both actors in this film and they have wonderful chemistry, even when they aren't supposed to be getting along. The relationship feels real which tells me that the acting worked really well.
1. Laura Ridloff as Makkari in Eternals
I'm cheating a little here as well because I first came across Ridloff in a film from last year (which appears on my top 10 not-released-this-year list) but I thought she was actually a standout star in this role as well. Eternals got a lot of attention (good and bad) for having a very diverse cast and I feel like most of the attention initially was focused on the racial diversity. However, Ridloff's deaf character Makkari is just as important to the group of Eternals in the film and I absolutely loved the strength with which she portrayed the character. I am looking forward to seeing her throughout the Marvel universe over the next several years.
If you missed the previous posts in this series, check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Yesterday I started my run down of my top films of the year with two surprises from 2021. Today I want to look at my biggest disappointments, both of which are from creators I have tremendous respect for, but that fell far short of the mark and the expectations I have for them in their creative works.
Biggest Disappointments of 2021
In the Heights
For everyone who loved Hamilton and lauded Lin-Manuel Miranda's brilliance in creating that production, I feel like many were let down by this film. While the poster says it was a new musical, it was his stage show before Hamilton and it shows. The film felt forced in many aspects and while there is a strong vibe of West Side Story, I might as well just wait for the Spielberg remake of that film (more on that below) I respect the story told in the film, but this movie musical irked me in the way that I despise most about this genre. My advice, just go watch Hamilton on Disney+ again, or check out the original West Side Story.
Those Who Wish Me Dead
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Angelina Jolie fan and I was very much looking forward to seeing her back in an action piece this summer. Unfortunately there was a lot of things that asked me to suspend my disbelief that just felt fake in the film. My original review goes into much more detail about the film, but suffice to say that this is not one of Jolie's best films and certainly not one of her best action roles
We are just a few weeks away from the end of 2021 and it's time to look back at the movies we watched this year and see what ended up as our favorites, least favorites, and maybe look at some surprises. I have put togethers several lists of my top films of the year including my top 10 of 2021, top 10 films I watched for the first time this year that were NOT released this year, and my favorite performances of the year.
I originally planned this as one long post, but decided to break it up, especially since a few of my potential top films of the year have yet to be released. Enjoy enjoy the lists and please feel free to leave a comment below with your favorites of the year! Biggest Surprises of 2021
I'm going to go a little bit in reverse and start with the "smaller" categories. First up is my biggest surprise of the year and I have two.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
This heartwarming animated family film released on Netflix in the spring immediately shot to the top of the the watchlist for my kids and I actually fell in love with it as well. At first glance, it feels a bit unconventional, but serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of technology, specifically our over dependence on phones, social media, and the internet in general. Think of it like Terminator, but made for a much younger audience. I think my favorite part about the film is that the "heroes" are just an average family. They are having trouble connecting with each other as they often end up staring at their phones over dinner. Rugged outdoorsy father Rick (Danny McBride) doesn't understand his artsy daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson) and decides to take the entire family on a cross country road trip to drop her off at college. They encounter a robot apocalypse initiated by a newly self-aware AI PAL (Olivia Colman) that had originally been developed by a company that has a friendly blue and white color scheme and technie owner named Mark who tries to be cool and hip even in the face of his technology turning on the world. The real world analogs are a bit obvious, but that's what makes it relatable. Overall, I didn't expect to enjoy the film as much as I did, but as anyone with kids knows, once they find something they like, parents get the chance to watch it over and over, and fortunately this was one I didn't mind watching a few times.
Army of the Dead
I have long claimed to not be a fan of horror movies and zombie movies. I never really get into the gruesome nature of them, but I will admit that my feelings on these genres are changing a bit in the last few years and Army of the Dead helped that this year. Zack Snyder has a long list of blockbuster hits in his directorial filmography including 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel, and Justice League so it is no surprise that he can deliver big on screen action in a zombie film like this. Granted, this isn't going to land anywhere in my top films of the year, but I was entertained nonetheless. The visuals of the zombie apocalypse that open the film are nothing less than stunning. Once the main thrust of the film gets going, there isn't much that really surprises, though the zombie tiger is pretty cool. In the end, this film alone isn't enough to completely change my thoughts on zombie films, but working in tandem with the Zombieland films, it can inch me ever more in the direction of accepting this genre and at least being open to checking these films out in the future.
Don't forget to come back tomorrow to find out a few of the biggest disappointments of 2021.
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AuthorI'm just a film buff who wants to watch great movies. Where else to find the best, than the list of those nominated by the Academy each year? Archives
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