2021 in Movies

I am an unashamed movie nut.  For the last post of the year I pontificate on the best and worst from only the movies I went to see. I’ve also included what I considered to be the worst movies of the year, because that’s almost more fun. It was a fairly good year for movies although I never see as many as I would have liked. You won’t find my movies on many critics top ten for the year because we go to the movies for different reasons. I go to be entertained not to judge. I’ve also chosen a quote from each of the top ten movies. As you can see I lean heavily towards action (and science fiction) but I think these films are a lot more mainstream than the out of touch film critics whose top tens are usually incomprehensible and barely entertaining. If nothing else the films below (except for the bottom two) were hugely enjoyable. Again this is only one man’s opinion and reflects only the movies I saw this year.

Best Movies of the Year 

#1 – Nobody – My favorite movie of the year was such a huge surprise. Who knew Saul cold be a bona fide action star? I loved the plot of a nebbish underachiever whose quiet demeanor covers a deadly amount of mayhem. When a random act of violence calls forth the sleeping shark it’s a wild ride with an extremely likable cast and John Wickian levels of body counts.

 Veteran: Your ID is a badge, expired by about 20 years.

Tattoo Shop Owner: Yeah, I'm pretty sure that ain't you in the photo. So...[slams fist on the table] Who are you?

Hutch Mansell: I'm just a man who's looking for someone.

Tattoo Shop Owner: Yeah, well you probably shouldn't flash cheese like that around here, bro.

Hutch Mansell: There are three types of people who as you say, flash cheese: people who don't know any better, people who are seeking to intimidate, and people like me who wish with every fiber of their being that someone would try and take it from them.

Veteran: [Noticing a special tattoo on Hutch's wrist] Uh, thank you for your service.

 

#2 - Dune – Another surprise as another director takes on this sci fi classic and finally does it true justice, especially for the Fremen. The casting for the iconic characters was also pitch perfect with Timothy Chalamet surprising me as a perfect Paul Atriedes. The planet Arrakis was brought to startling life by amazing special effects.

Duncan Idaho: Look at you. You put on some muscles.

Paul Atreides: I did?

Duncan Idaho: No.

#3 - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – There will always be a Marvel movie on the list and this was the surprisingly best one of a very strong year from the studio. The very engaging lead actor along with the amazing Akwafina made this a truly fun ride along with the usual Marvel levels of action and special effects.

Katy: I know you don't like to talk about your life, but a guy with a freaking MACHETE FOR AN ARM just chopped our bus in half!

#4 – Pig – Here’s a movie that you might find strange to be on my list but Nicholas Cage shines in this as a reclusive former chef trying to find his missing truffle sniffing pig. I know that last sentence sounds weird but this movie works on so many levels of redemption seeking and the importance of the human connection. Cage makes so many movies, many of them disaster, but this is one of his best roles ever.

Rob: We don't get a lot of things to really care about.

#5 – Cry Macho – I was reminded of the Shootist as I watched this. Like John Wayne, this might be Clint Eastwood’s last ride as a cowboy character and it was memorable in a very understated way. Clint is traveling through Mexico with a young boy who learns about being a man during the trip. The scene of Clint dancing in a cantina should be required viewing for all future filmmakers.

Miko: This macho thing is overrated. Just people trying to show that they've got grit. That's about all they end up with. It's like anything else in life: you think you got all the answers, then you realize, as you get older, you don't have any of them.

#6 – Land – You’ll see a lot of movies on this list that surprised me and this certainly qualifies. Robin Wright shines as a damaged woman looking to cut herself off from the world and maybe life by retreating into the mountains. She’s saved by an equally damaged character in a very poignant manner.

Edee: Why are you helping me?

Miguel: You were in my path.

#7 - No Time to Die – Daniel Craig’s swan song as 007 might have been the best of all. Bond comes out of retirement for one last adventure tiing up all he loose ends from his personal and professional life during the arc of Craig’s Bond. It’s a memorable send off in so many ways.

James Bond: I don't know if you wanted me to come here, or why you tried to kill Blofled, or who gave you the poison to do it, or how long you've been working for them, but I do know that for what felt like five minutes of my life, I wanted everything with you. And it's not because I didn't trust. It was just that feeling. I know I've come here to find out who gave you the poison but I'm not going to leave here without you knowing that I have loved you, and I will love you, and I do not regret a single moment of my life that led me to you. Except when I put you on that train.

#8 - The Protégé – Maggie Q has always over achieved as a supporting character and I was so pleased to see her finally get a chance to lead and she carries this action flick with aplomb. She plays a world class assassin looking for vengeance who is drawn back to her Vietnamese roots. Great action as well as plot and Michael Keaton playing a devilish bad guy is always worth the price of admission.

Moody: Our Past is never where we left it, we all have scars. If you stare at them long enough you will remember how you got them.

#9 – Spiderman: No Way Home – A thrilling conclusion to this trilogy of Spiderman flicks that will go into record books for having the most crossover roles ever. Seamlessly weaved into a dynamite story featuring love, loss, and redemption.

Doctor Strange: So, Peter... To what do I owe the pleasure?

Peter Parker: Right. Umm... I'm really sorry to bother you, sir, but...

Doctor Strange: Please. We saved half the universe together. I think we're beyond calling me sir.

Peter Parker: Okay, uhh... Stephen.

Doctor Strange: That feels weird, but I'll allow it..

#10 – Ghostbusters: Afterlife – The guilty pleasure selection for the list as this movie brought back so many good memories from the original movie. Egon’s grandchildren are facing the granddad’s old nemesis from his mid-western farm. A great supporting cast and remarkable newcomers made this so much fun.

Dr. Raymond Stantz: Gozer the Gozerian! In the name of the county of Summerville, state of Oklahoma, The US Fish and Wildlife Service, all the members of Ducks Unlimited, The Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons. I command you under the National Invasive Species Act to depart this world immediately.

Dr. Peter Venkman: Bravo.

Honorable Mention:

The Matrix Resurrections – A welcome return changing the machines versus humans to a love story.

West Side Story – Remarkable Spielberg could inject fresh life into this time honored classic, great assist to lead female vocals

Encanto – So much heart in this animated movie about the importance of family

Copshop – gritty action flick with Gerard Butler matching wits with cops and criminals alike

In the Heights – What! Another musical but this one grabs your heart from the beginning and doesn’t let go

The Last Duel – Historically based melodrama surrounding he last dule between mounted knights, interesting story told from three viewpoints with loads of tension.

Worst Movies:

The Green Knight -  The very worst movie I saw this year and I saw some stinkers. I would usually forgive a lot for anything Arthurian but this was beyond the pale. There wasn’t anything remotely redeeming about this disaster. Poorly written and acted; I get angry just thinking I spent money to watch it.

Reminiscence – How do you screw up a sci fi movie with Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson? I mean you have to go out of your way to be bad but these filmmakers somehow achieved it with the second worst movie of the year.

2021 Superlatives:

Best Comedy:  Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Best Horror Movie:  Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Best Drama:  Pig

Best Romance:  The Matrix Resurrections

Best Action:  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Best Special Effects:   Dune

Best Scene of the Year:  The bus scene in Nobody when Hutch reveals he’s not a wimp and wipes the floor with a bunch of Russian gangsters

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn