My 10 Favorite Films of 2021

2021 was another strange and challenging year for the big screen. We saw a slow rollout of film's delayed from 2020 with mixed results.  

Comic book film still rule the box office roost for the most part and helped soften the hit from some big name projects that just couldn't gain any traction.  

Ultimately, I reviewed 76 films this year with some surprises and letdowns along the way.  This top ten reflects my favorite films which may or may not be reflective of my original grade.  

Some of these films stuck in my mind long after I'd seen them while others left an immediate impression.  

So without further adieu, here are my ten favorite films of 2021 in no particular order.  

Saint Maud 

Rose Glass' debut film is an efficient and affecting slow burn of a psychological horror film.  It all hinges on a haunting performance from Morfydd Clark which culminates with a final act that will leave you shaken.

The Night House 

Rebecca Hall is the type of performer that's capable of delivering stellar turns when she's given the right material (See 2016's Christine).  The Night House is a meditation on grief and loss in the guise of a horror film.  Hall elevates the film with her singular turn as the widowed wife.

Nightmare Alley 

Guillermo del Toro's remake of Nightmare Alley is lavish but dense film which is no rush to get anywhere quickly.  Anyone with a short attention span is likely to hate it but those that stick with it will find a beautifully macabre morality tale.  Del Toro's style radiates through each meticulously constructed scene.  Bradley Cooper plays against type with great effect but Cate Blanchett own the back half of the film.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

This film is a prime example of performances being better than the actual film.  Jessica Chastain has gotten a lot of buzz for her turn and it's justified but Andrew Garfield is just as good. They make this paint by the numbers biopic far more watchable than it deserves to be.

Belfast

Kenneth Branagh puts down Poirot's mustache to deliver a personal, moving and heartwarming film.  Regardless of where you grew up there are universal themes that come through the film's narrative making it an uplifting experience.

Last Night in Soho

Edgar Wright's latest film is a dazzling technical marvel especially in its stellar first half.   Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin Mckenzie both deliver engaging performances in this kaleidoscope of a film which takes you on a journey and features the late Diana Rigg's cinematic swan song.

The Tragedy of Macbeth 

Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth is a striking minimalist adaptation of Shakespeare's legendary play.  The visuals leave a lasting impression with their stark staging which linger in your memory long afterward.  Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand provide one of the best Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in recent memory.  

The Last Duel

Ridley Scott's The Last Duel is a period piece with some heavy subject matter.  Scott delivers a well constructed adult drama utilizing a Rashômon approach to the events in question.  Its a difficult watch in parts but the film is populated with excellent actors (excuse Affleck's boyband hair) delivering engaging performances about a timely subject matter.  

The Suicide Squad

Apologizes to Spider-Man: Far from Home but James Gunn's gonzo The Suicide Squad was far and away the most fun I had with a comic book movie this year.  It's vulgar, over the top but also has enough heart  (and daddy issues) to make you care about the characters.  The set pieces are great fun but nothing tops Harley's compound escape with poetic mayhem.

Cruella

I'd be lying if I said I went into Disney's latest live action redo with any sort of expectation.  Most have been so-so money grabs but at least Cruella had Emma Stone who typically make most things better.  The biggest surprise here wasn't that she was great but that the film itself was worlds better than it deserved to be.  Its an edgy mash up of Tim Burton's sensibility with Lady Gaga's fashion sense, kudos to Disney for letting them make this film.  

Honorable Mentions

Dune 

My main take away from David Lynch's 1984 Dune was a floating fat man.  Needless to say I didn't have any deep affinity or affection for Dune onscreen or as a book.  Denis Villeneuve's new take was visually arresting and engaging even though it hit on plenty of origin story beats.  There's a geeky joy watching a sci-fi story treated with such reverence and care.

Titane

Some films work to subtly unleash hints of insanity before unleashing it full bore onto the audience.  Julia Ducournau's Titane doesn't bother with any pretense and lets its freak flag fly in the first ten minutes of its runtime.  You're either all in or out of business with it midway through the first act.  The story goes is unexpected, bizarre directions occasionally recalling some of Cronenberg's early work.  Regardless of what you think of the film as a whole, you aren't going to forget it for a longtime.  

Lamb 

A24 continue it's string of delivering some of most interesting "horror" films in recent memory.  Lamb doesn't play like a straight up horror film instead it feels more like a long forgotten folktale anchored by a fantastic turn from a fully committed Noomi Rapace.

West Side Story

This remake from Steven Spielberg has no reason being as good as it is.  Spielberg pulls off an impressive bit of cinematic alchemy by making a classic musical fresh with minor tweaks, amazing dance numbers and memorable performances.  Hopefully more audiences will take the time to see this film and truly appreciate what Spielberg pulled off.

Werewolves Within

Who would have thought a good videogame adaptation would have popped up without any fuzz or fanfare.  Loosely based on the game of the same name, Werewolves Within takes 1985's Clue premise and adds in a tad bit more gore and fangs.  Excellent performances from the ensemble is sure to make this a cult classic in the years to come.   

Special Mention 

Zack's Snyder's Justice League 

It's the film that should have come out in 2017 and it only saw the light of day because of dedicated fans.  Snyder's DC opus does everything right that the theatrical cut got wrong.  Snyder's cut is beefy and surprisingly character centric which gives the film heart that was sorely from the theatrical cut which was cobbled together like a cinematic Frankenstein.

Cindy Prascik's Review of The Suicide Squad

My dear reader(s): The weekend just passed brought us the latest installment in DC Comics' extended cinematic universe, the Suicide Squad.

A collection of the criminal and the criminally insane embark on another secret mission.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or a general familiarity with the product.

Technically, I believe the Suicide Squad is considered a sequel to 2016's Suicide Squad. In reality, minus Jared Leto's Joker and with an almost completely new cast, it feels more like a do-over. The original was universally reviled (though I didn't hate it), so putting maximum artistic distance between the two probably was in the best interest of the new movie.

It comes as no surprise, then, that Suicide Squad and *the* Suicide Squad are two very different films. As mentioned, gone is Leto's deeply divisive Joker. While that's a significant character to remove from the mix, I don't think the movie misses him. Gone, also, is Will Smith as Deadshot. The team's new leader is Bloodsport, portrayed by Idris Elba. Will Smith is cool, but I can't say there are many actors I wouldn't happily swap for Elba, and Mr. Smith is no exception. (Sorry, Will. Love ya.) Margot Robbie makes her third big-screen appearance as Harley Quinn, and — given the character's psychoses — it feels inappropriate to say she's delightful, but delightful she is. She's come to own the character, and certainly she owns the screen whenever she's on it. Joel Kinnaman returns as Rick Flag, and Viola Davis as Amanda Walker, but most of the other faces are new to the property, if mostly familiar to movie-goers. Notable are the brilliant Peter Capaldi, John Cena, and David Dastmalchian, a favorite of mine since he named Rachel Dawes as next on the Joker's hit list in the Dark Knight. (Dastmalchian and co-star Michael Rooker have also done time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.) Sylvester Stallone is a scene-stealer as the voice of King Shark. Most of the performances can fairly be called terrific without a "for the genre" qualifier. The Suicide Squad uses a solid score by John Murphy and an interesting selection of tunes to underscore its dark mood, another important distinction from the original, which often felt more like a series of music videos than it did one cohesive film. The movie has its fair share of juvenile humor, but an equal helping of legitimately funny bits. CGI is decent throughout, and action scenes are exciting and don't wear out their welcome. Harley Quinn features in a fight sequence that is right up there with the Freebird/church scene in Kingsman: the Secret Service as a new classic and maybe an all-time great.

While the 2016 and 2021 Suicide Squads are very different, they're also quite similar. Both are very, very violent, though in a stylized way that doesn't seem as much about the gross-out as it does about interesting visuals. Both have a bright comic-book look to them, with colorful graphics and bold text. Both feature an abundance of bad language and disturbing content. (Why does James Gunn hate birds??) Both play Harley Quinn's insanity for laughs when, really, hers is a grotesque and unsettling story. If the houses ended up looking quite different, it's clear their foundations were the same.

The Suicide Squad is now playing in cinemas worldwide, and streaming on HBO Max through the first week of September. It runs 132 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use, and brief graphic nudity."

The Suicide Squad is good fun for those who aren't squeamish about extreme content, a definite improvement over the original. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Suicide Squad gets seven and a half.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: THE SUICIDE SQUAD

 

The government sends the most dangerous supervillains in the world -- Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Harley Quinn and others -- to the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Armed with high-tech weapons, they trek through the dangerous jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Col. Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave.

Director: James Gunn

Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi

Release Date: Rated R for strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and brief graphic nudity

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and brief graphic nudity

Runtime: 2 h 12 min

Review:

James Gunn's The Suicide Squad is a visually aggressive Dirty Dozen grindhouse film in the guise of a superhero film.  Gunn's Guardian of the Galaxy was one of first Marvel films that had a decidedly unique feel to it but those expecting something similar in DC universe will be surprised.  In this film Gunn has gone back to his gory roots by mirroring his first film's, Slither, story and using his refined directorial talents to great effect.  He delivers some truly beautiful sequences which will leave a lasting impact, Harley's escape is colorful collage of carnage.  His story is goofy, bloody but heartfelt at the same time even if all those elements don't hit the mark perfectly.  The character arches are filled with lingering mommy and daddy issues which doesn't give the ensemble much depth outside of being an outcast.  Robbie's Harley fares the best since her character has had three films to evolve into herself.  Idris Elba instantly feels like a more natural fit for this film than Will Smith did in the original film. Elba has a natural toughness that oozes through the screen which works perfectly for his character.  John Cena's Peacemaker should be the stand out of the piece but the script doesn't give him much to work with so he's not as impactful as the script wants him to be.  Daniela Melchior's Ratcatcher 2 ends up being the beating heart of film with her and Bloodsport's relationship providing the emotional string to the film.  Joel Kinnaman's Col. Rick Flag gets an expanded role here which makes him feel more like a complete character even amongst the insanity of Sylvester Stallone's, R rated Groot, King Shark or David Dastmalchian's Polka Dot Man.  Gunn's film embraces the insanity full bore by the final act by delivering the kind of big budget midnight movie madness which you have to appreciate for its sheer audacity.  

B