The Official Review Thread of 2021

[dws1982]

Genuinely depressing that a movie as pedestrian (and with no ambition to be anything other than pedestrian) as CODA would sweep the prizes at Sundance, have a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and be seen as one of the must-see films of even a weak year. It's not that it's even all that bad, necessarily, it's just that other than a setting that's not shown much in films, there's nothing at all interesting in the way it tells the story.

[anonymous1980]

BLACK WIDOW
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt.
Dir: Cate Shortland.

This is the way overdue solo film of Black Widow a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff where we see what happens to her somewhere in between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. It explores a bit more of her background as well. There are a lot of good things here and not so good things. First off, Florence Pugh is really awesome as Natasha's "little sister", who's pretty much going to be the next Black Widow. Both David Harbour and Rachel Weisz make for great additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are also some really cool action scenes here too. The negatives is that I've seen better versions of this story and this genre elsewhere, even within the MCU franchise. The fact that this is a prequel kind of, sort of made a little less exciting. Overall, it's just lower mid-tier Marvel at best. But it's still pretty enjoyable overall. Worth it for Florence Pugh!

Oscar Prospects: Sound and Visual Effects.

Grade: B.

[anonymous1980]

THE GREEN KNIGHT
Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudry, Sean Harris, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, Erin Kellyman.
Dir: David Lowery.

Based on the epic poem, a nephew of King Arthur accepts a challenge from the mysterious Green Knight to strike him down and he would return the favor a year later. This film is all about his journey. This is from writer-director David Lowery who is amassing quite the interesting filmography. The slow, deliberate pace and the ambiguous ending may frustrate some but personally I thought those elements heightened this strange, odd medieval fantasy epic where nothing is what it seems to be. It does also give you a lot to chew on as it also seems to deconstruct certain tropes and elements of this types of stories. I can understand people not liking this but the fact that I'm still thinking about what the ending means as I'm writing this is a plus in its favor. Extra for the outstanding cinematography, exquisite score and beautiful design elements. Both Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander give some of their career-best performances in this as well. One of the more excellent films of the year so far.

Oscar Prospects: I would nominate this for Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Production Design, Costume Design and Cinematography. But it will be lucky to get one or two of these.

Grade: A-

[anonymous1980]

C.O.D.A.
Cast: Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Amy Forsyth.
Dir: Sian Heder.

A hearing child from a deaf family discovers she really wants to go to college and pursue music but her dreams are in conflict with her obligations to her family and the family business. This coming of age film is pure formula and one can pretty much tell where this is going. But the film's script, based on a French film which I didn't see, has enough character and bite that it mostly overcomes that. It helps that the characters are portrayed by an excellent ensemble cast with Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur as the standouts. It also has a surprising amount of humor. It hits the right amount of emotional heft at the right places. I doubt this would be in my Top 10 best of the year but it's a well-made, beautifully-acted solid comedy-drama that's worth watching.

Oscar Prospects: I think Picture, Screenplay, Original Song ("Beyond the Shore") and Supporting Actress for Matlin are real possibilities. I think Troy Kotsur should also be in the conversation for Supporting Actor.

Grade: B+

[Sabin]

I saw two fairly opposite movies yesterday, Pig and Free Guy. One of them is a singular vision that seeks out to subvert audience expectation, while the other is desperate to give the audience more more MORE of what they want. And to be honest, I had a good time at both.

Pig is Michael Sarnoski's writing/directing debut. It's about Nicolas Cage as Rob, a truffle hunter recluse out in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, whose prized truffle hunting pig gets kidnapped, and he has only his one connection to the modern world, a snotty Millennial (Alex Wolff) with whom he has a business relationship to help him get it back, which leads them on a trek through a modern world of ruin that he once left behind. If it sounds like John Wick, I think that's the point (almost to a fault), but Sarnosky's film has other things on its mind. The best thing about Pig is that I just had no idea where it was going and truly, that's the best way to see the film. Everything comes together in an unexpected fashion and Sarnoski is an incredible find. Every craft detail of this film is exceptional. It's a $4m film that deserves every down-ballot nomination. What holds me back is I do wonder if this is a bit of an art prank, if everyone involved is just having a little too much fun milking the premise while hiding behind a veneer of pretentiousness. I'm not sold one way or the other right now and I think that's fine because I found the journey mostly cathartic mostly because it sold me on its commitment to portraying this world as one of decay and lost value.

Free Guy is also a movie I’m a bit in the middle on. It’s the story of Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a background character in a Fortnite-like video game who breaks his code and starts acting of his own free will when he falls in love on sight with Jodie Comer’s Molotov, a badass character who is exactly like Elizabeth Banks in The Lego Movie who is exactly like Carrie Ann Moss in The Matrix. This film has more influences that are copies of copies than any movie I’ve seen in a moment. It’s also quite overstuffed. The story expands beyond the game as Guy will do anything to win her affection but also becomes a viral sensation as everyone thinks Guy is just a random player doing nice, heroic things in this awful, violent videogame and don’t realize that he’s a Non-Playing Character (NPC) come to life until the end. It also builds out a storyline in the real world involving the original game-designers. What I will say about Free Guy is that in the clear light of day, I see it as the blender of influences that it is. It has no unique identity or cohesive message about individualism to speak of. But I think what I enjoyed the most about Free Guy is how not-boring I found it. Shawn Levy still isn’t a great director, but his touch is a bit lighter than I remember (although he blows not one but two sweet rom com premises) and the film is just always doing stuff and going off in unexpected directions. I wasn’t expecting the film to background Reynolds for the Zoomer game designers, and I wasn’t upset when it did.

It gets indefensibly pandering near the end but I generally had a good time. I think it benefits from the fact that I don’t see 300 movies a year anymore as well as the fact that despite essentially being Fortnite, The Movie (none of you know what I’m talking about) it’s not a comic book, remake, or sequel.

[anonymous1980]

THE SUICIDE SQUAD
Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Viola Davis, Sylvester Stallone, Joel Kinnaman, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, Jai Courtney, Michael Rooker, Pete Davidson, Flula Borg, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, Steve Agee, Storm Reid, Taika Waititi.
Dir: James Gunn.

This soft reboot/sequel to the original Suicide Squad film has a group of super-villains trying to save the world from a top-secret government project in a fictional South American island nation. Writer-director James Gunn takes over the franchise and gives it his signature sense of humor and sensibility. The good news is that is greatly improves on the first film. There are quite a few good laughs here and the film's ensemble are more than capable of the task of providing it. I think David Dasmaltchian and Daniela Melchior stand out among the new cast members as well as King Shark. The climax is refreshing and entertainingly bonkers. It's still not quite a great movie though. There are tonal and pacing issues. But I still had a good time nevertheless.

Oscar Prospects: Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound and Visual Effects.

Grade: B.

[Sabin]

I don't have time for a longer post but Shiva Baby is a very good film. It's 78 minutes, expanded from a NYU thesis short by Emma Seligman, and it focuses on Danielle (excellent Rachel Sennott), a college student with a disastrously unfocused major who has sex with sugar daddies on the side. The film begins as she finishes up with a scruffy thirtysomething client and rushes off to a shiva (Jewish funeral) for someone she barely remembers. She's joined by her parents (Fred Melamed and an excellent Polly Draper) and experiences a nervous breakdown as she reencounters her ex-girlfriend, Maya (Molly Gordon), and a lot else that isn't worth revealing. It's a one location shoot that cost $200K. It's full of wonderful familiar faces like Jackie Hoffman and Deborah Offner. It is an exceptionally directed film of ratcheting nervousness and claustrophobia that isn't afraid to linger on moments and sounds (a baby's wail should be a supporting character). It's so easy to imagine Danielle as a wisearce or a remarkable person but as played by Rachel Sennott, she's totally clueless, a terrible liar, and in over her head. She's a screwup but still totally worthy of empathy.

It's nice to see a movie where it's clear the filmmaker knows exactly who everybody is. I got more about Shiva Baby than all the seasons of Transparent that I endured.

[anonymous1980]

A QUIET PLACE PART II
Cast: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, John Krasinski.
Dir: John Krasinski.

The sequel to the hit post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film picks up almost where the previous film leaves off (despite the fact that the two kids look significantly older) as the surviving Abbott family members once again faces off with the monsters. While the film is overall enjoyable and very well-made, I don't think this is as good as the original. The premise is no longer fresh and the film doesn't build on it that much. Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe are still strong (especially the latter two) but Cillian Murphy isn't quite as good a replacement for John Krasinki. What I did love about the film is the ending which I won't spoil. I wished the film was as strong as the ending. So all in all, it's a FINE sequel, a solid sequel but not a great sequel.

Oscar Prospects: Sound.

Grade: B.

[Sabin]

I have no idea if James Gunn's The Suicide Squad underperformed at the box office because it is the worst-titled sequel ever but I love that idea. It's the first sequel I can think of that just added a THE at the front as if adding importance through the appropriate definite article. It's hard to imagine a title that adds less new flavor than The Suicide Squad, especially considering the fascinating tradeoffs in this feature: no Joker or Batman, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is clearly a side character, and Idris Elba is replacing Will Smith as a different identical assassin with issues with his daughter! To be honest, I was unclear watching the movie if they were the same character or a different character until a little ways into the movie. It's Bloodsport instead of Deadshot.

I think DC basically assumed that the addition of James Gunn would be enough to bring people in and I absolutely believe that in a non-COVID world without day-and-date on demand this movie would've grossed easily twice as much. So, rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Anyway, so, how is it? I think you can make the argument that it's the greatest improvement from a first film to a second in history. Suicide Squad is an F. The Suicide Squad is a solid B. James Gunn clearly understands what makes this franchise work. I had a lot of fun. The biggest downside is that it's completely disposable... like the Suicide Squads themselves. But it would have been nice if they formed a little more of a surrogate family. On the other hand, I have a friend whose biggest complaint about Guardians of the Galaxy 1 is that they become a surrogate family instantly so he prefers the comrade-in-arms approach to this film. The flip-side is that there's very little to care about beyond what we're seeing in the moment. But what James Gunn does in this film is he captures a feeling of reading back issue comics like almost no other comic book movie I've ever seen. I love how it's not really connected to any franchise-wide event really. It's just a fun little adventure that showcases James Gunn's strengths such as the right balance of gore that you never feel off-putting. He puts together a far more balanced team than the first film. And there are some very funny character takes, like Rat Catcher being a lazy Millennial who is always asleep or Polka Dot Man seeing his mother everywhere he looks.

It's a very good example of what works in these DC Films. They're auteur-driven. Unlike MCU, there's no House Style. Anyone can come in and do what they want. That said, it's the first DC Film that I can honestly say was fun. Not a full meal, nor empty calories... more like a Domino's Pizza. A personal, nostalgia-driven tasty treat.

[anonymous1980]

VIVO
Cast: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ynairaly Simo, Zoe Saldana, Juan de Marcos, Gloria Estefan, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, Michael Rooker (voices).
Dir: Kirk DeMicco.

After his Cuban musician owner dies, his pet kinkajou Vivo takes it upon himself to get the song he wrote for his unrequited love, a famous Latina recording artist, into her hands during her farewell concert. He teams up with the late musician's wacky American great-niece. The film begins very promisingly with a lovely through-line of the song. But when the film becomes a wacky buddy comedy between the kinkajou and a misfit kid, it loses its way quite a bit. It becomes your standard run-of-the-mill animated kids' adventure. Lin-Manuel Miranda voices the title character and wrote the songs, which are generally pretty good. The animation is also lovely. It's overall fine but far from great.

Oscar Prospects: Best Animated Feature will be tough to crack but still possible. It has a better shot at Original Song.

Grade: C+

[anonymous1980]

THE TOMORROW WAR
Cast: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Hart,
Dir: Chris Mckay.

Soldiers from the future time-travel to the present day to warn of an extinction-level alien invasion event and to recruit soldiers from the present to fight them. The concept is pretty much a mishmash from a lot of different movies: Terminator, Aliens, etc. and the plot actually doesn't make any sense if you think about it for more than thirty seconds and it's kind of dull in parts. But goshdarnit, there are moments here and there that manage to be pretty damn entertaining, especially the latter half or so. The creature design is pretty cool, some of the action is pretty neat, Chris Pratt is still an engaging leading man. But it doesn't change the fact that it's derivative nonsense which actually could have been better derivative nonsense.

Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects and Sound are possible-ish.

Grade: C+

[anonymous1980]

CRUELLA
Cast: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Mark Strong, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptise.
Dir: Craig Gillespie.

This is yet another Disney live-action remake/reboot of sorts and this time it traces the origins of the infamous dog-napper Cruella de Vil. Well, first the good news: Unlike the other villain origin story, they did not make her into a completeLY good person. They really went for the anti-hero angle. Both Emma Stone and Emma Thompson seem to be having a DEVIL of a time (hehehe) sinking their teeth into their respective roles (with some biting lines, no doubt, courtesy of Tony McNamara). The costumes by Jenny Beavan are truly eye-popping. Extra points for Paul Walter Hauser who almost steals it from the Emma's. The bad news: The script is pretty much a slightly more broad version of The Devil Wears Prada that's also way too long. The fact that they had to keep it somewhat kid-friendly sort of hampers its tone and the over length drags on. It's far from the worst but also not the best.

Oscar Prospects: A strong contender for Costume Design but also has a shot at Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling and Original Song ("Call Me Cruella").

Grade: B-

[anonymous1980]

PIG
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin.
Dir: Michael Sarnoski

An off-grid truffle hunter's pig is stolen from him. He wants it back. Now, at first glance this looks like John Wick but with a pig (that's what everyone deduced when watching the trailer). Well, I will say without spoiling, that it is and it isn't. How the story unfolds will surprise you. You honestly think it's going one way and it completely blind-sides you when it goes another way. It's all the more brilliant for it. Nicolas Cage gives one of his career-best performances in this. I read a review from someone who noted that Anthony Bourdain would have loved this film and I definitely agree. I'm not joking when I say this is my favorite film of 2021 so far. I will be surprised if this didn't end up in my Top 10 of the year. I loved it.

Oscar Prospects: It's deserving of Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay.

Grade: A

[anonymous1980]

NO SUDDEN MOVE
Cast: Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Ray Liotta, Brendan Fraser, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Julia Fox, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Craig muMs Grant, Frankie Shaw, Bill Duke, Matt Damon.
Dir: Steven Soderbergh.

A group of criminals is brought together on what was supposed to be simple blackmail/heist scheme but of course everything goes sideways and double-crosses abound. This is the latest from director Steven Soderbergh. It is no Out of Sight. It is not quite even Ocean's 11. But it is a fairly solid and very entertaining neo-noir crime thriller (which also manages to have a good enough sprinkling of black comedy for good measure) that manages to surprise you and get you guessing what could happen next. The clever script is brought to life by a fine ensemble of actors who seem to be having a ball. It may be mid-tier Soderbergh at best but it's still a pretty solid piece of work. It's worth your time if you already access to HBO Max (it was released on HBO Go here). Extra points for that really cool score.

Oscar Prospects: The score is worthy, I think.

Grade: B+

[anonymous1980]

GODZILLA VS. KONG
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Demian Bechir, Kyle Chandler, Eiza Gonzalez, Julian Dennison, Shun Oguri, Lance Reddick, Kaylee Hottle.
Dir: Adam Wingard.

The two most famous cinematic movie monsters, King Kong and Godzilla, go mano-a-mano in a big spectacular kaiju fight to end all kaiju fights. That's all you need to know about the plot because the narrative they fashioned around this is kind of lame. Now, I had wanted and hoped to see this film on the big screen but unfortunately, just as this film is about to open, there was a big COVID spike so movie theaters were unable to open and they still remain closed as of this writing. This showed up on my HBO GO (our HBO streaming app) so why the hell not? I think I would've enjoyed this film A LOT more on the big screen. It's a spectacle, that's for sure and when it's a spectacle, it shines. Like I said earlier, the human story surrounding it is kind of lame and that is more apparent watching it at home. But hey, giant monkey fighting giant lizard. Sometimes, you need something like that.

Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects and Sound.

Grade: B-