Sunday, December 26, 2021

2021's 10 Best Films!

10. “Good on Paper”:  A surprisingly cute and clever film from the hysterical mind of Iliza Shlesinger about the biggest liar she ever dated.

9. “Free Guy”:  The charm of Ryan Reynolds shines through again, in this video game based take on “The Truman Show”.

8. “Black Widow”: Missed the mark, but was the best of Marvel’s early 2021 slate.  Would have been better last year though.

7. “Gunpowder Milkshake”:  A great action shoot ‘em up with a great lead performance from Karen Gillian.  Don’t mess with this hitwoman!

6. “8 Bit Christmas”:  Another rework, take “A Christmas Story”, set it in the late 80’s and add a Nintendo.  Great holiday fun.

5. “Black Friday”:  A gory and funny romp starring genre king Bruce Campbell (“The Evil Dead” series) concerning a group of store employees working on Black Friday when the customers turn into zombies.

4. “Lamb”:  Brilliant supernatural thriller that you really have to see to believe.  My trying to give a rundown would just be unfair.  Seek this one out and see it.

3. “Dune”:  Exciting first chapter, loyal to the source material and perfectly cast.  Gripping setup for the next film.

2. “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.  Marvel fires up the multiverse arc with this fun and emotional tale.  Peter Parker screws up a spell being cast by Dr. Strange and brings powerful villains to his world.  Help arrives and the audience applauds.  So close, a few plot holes keep it just below best of status.

1. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”:  Brilliant storyline brings new faces to the fold while being respectful of the original film. A fitting way to continue the series and update it for modern audiences. 

Saturday, December 25, 2021

2021's 10 Worst Films

10. “Breaking News in Yuba County”: Milquetoast woman’s cheating husband goes missing, she gets publicity from it, ends up in money laundering mess. Terrible.

  9. “Unnamed Horror Movie”: Actors in lockdown make non scary horror movie over zoom, audience gets needed nap. 

 8. “Profile”: New take on foreign woman seduced by radical ideas story, this time an engaged woman falls in love with ISIS leader. 

 7. “Worth”: Story of an attorney assigned to place a value on lives lost on 9/11. Feels exploitative and preachy. 

 6. “Run Hide Fight”: “Die Hard” in a high school kinda sums up this messy take on a girl thwarting a live streamed school shooting. Another difference is “Die Hard” was really good. 

 5. “13 Fanboy”: Crazed fan wants to re create murder scenes from the “Friday the 13th” franchise, killing the actresses in the scenes for real. Meant to be a love letter but comes off really mean spirited and cruel. 

 4. “Silent Night”: A gas is spreading all over the world, killing everyone it comes in contact with. In response, Kiera Knightly throws a final Christmas celebration before everyone takes their government issued peaceful death (as opposed to the painful one the gas provides) pills. You really root for the gas early on. 

 3. “Werewolves Within”: A werewolf is killing people in a remote small town, a forest ranger comes to the rescue. Um..sure. 

 2. “13 Minutes”: Another “love letter”, this time to the people of Moore, OK. Covers the lives of 4 families who are impacted by a violent tornado in their small Oklahoma town. What follows is a stereotyped offensive mess. Easily the worst movie in any other year, but 2021 brought us…… 

 1. “Space Jam: A New Legacy”: Lebron James has all the personality of a sun dried dog turd, this movie is reflective of it.