#2021movies

[ilovegilmoregirls]

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[rhcenyra]

CONCRETE COWBOY (2021)

Listen to me. The past is not the present.

[mrlemniscate]

[emohell]

MOVIES WATCHED IN 2021 → Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door directed by Shinichirō Watanabe

he called you a cowboy. what did he mean? what are you? just a humble bounty hunter, ma'am.

[pagevingt-huit]

✻ Movies watched in 2021 ✻ [09] Summerland (2020) ★★★★★

"You can't be stupid all your life."

[volatile-graphonmania]

Might just wax poetically about Moxie (2021). I guess 40 year old white (wo)men who have forgotten what it's like to be young, aren't the only people writing ( inaccurate) teen movies for Netflix. Showing intersectional feminism, LGBTQ representation, male feminists, authority not using the power they have to help and a severely unlikeable character getting their dues. Sure there's a bit the makes you cringe but overall it's a satisfactory watch.

[dylnsohbrien]

movies  watched  in  2021  →   Drive (2011) dir.  Nicolas Winding Refn.

You ever heard the story... about the Scorpion and the frog?

[adamwatchesmovies]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Though not everyone rejected the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot (I’ll pick it any day over Ghostbusters II) generally, the fans didn’t care for it. And so, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a lovingly nostalgic sequel. Even better, is has enough new elements to make it more than a carbon copy.

In 2021, the Ghostbusters have disbanded. Egon Spengler is now a loner living in the small town of Summerville, Oklahoma. After failing to capture a mysterious entity, he dies and leaves everything he owns - which isn’t much - to his estranged daughter, Callie (Carrie Coon). Her two children, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace) stumble upon the many bizarre gadgets on the farm, unaware they may be the world’s last line of defense against a growing supernatural threat.

We’ll get to the cameos and callbacks later. For now, let’s talk about the film's protagonists, which are Phoebe, Trevor, and their new friends at Summerville: a junior podcaster and ghost enthusiast named “Podcast” (Logan Kim) and Lucky Domingo (Celeste O’Connor), Trevor’s co-worker and love interest. They're delightful. McKenna Grace, in particular, is a ton of fun donning the trademark Spengler haircut and glasses. Her attempts to make friends using bad jokes comes back all the way around to become both funny and endearing. You feel the same giddy excitement as they do while investigating mysterious sculptures inside the nearby abandoned mine and testing out the strange devices inside the Spengler farm - it’s the sort of adventure you dreamed of at their age. When their attempts to contain ghosts turn out to be more destructive than anticipated, it feels like a good-natured adventure. Who didn’t get busted for borrowing a car without permission and wreaking a little bit of havoc at least once?

The young actors are excellent in their roles and the adults do well too. Paul Rudd plays Gary Grooberson, Phoebe and Podcast’s middle-school science teacher and Callie’s love interest. He plays off of Carrie Coon well, bringing a certain dad-like charm, and helping preserve the smile that’s been perpetually fixed onto your face. This film is not as funny as the original Ghostbusters but it isn’t really trying to be. It’s got a certain identity of its own thanks to the kiddie protagonists. It’s more of a summer adventure than anything else.

Well, it has its own identity at first but as we learn what the late grandpa Spengler was fighting, our new heroes are pushed aside for a reunion thirty-plus years in the making. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is obsessed with its past. There is no reason for a scene featuring an army of tiny Stay Puft Marshmallow men EXCEPT that we had a big “scary” one back in the day. Generally, the tributes are well done but so often it’s “been there, done that”. Let's give the new heroes a chance to shine! They’ve proven they can carry a film.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife has the longest post-credit scene I think I’ve ever seen and though I consider the cameos to be the film's low-point, I suspect others will have the opposite reaction. It’s certainly worth seeing but the picture I’d get really excited about is the follow-up to this one, the story that lets go of the past and stands on its own. (Theatrical version on the big screen, December 5, 2021)

[mifhortunach]

lol anyway, all that said, heres just a gen buncha stuff I really liked this year, unfortch for us all!!: its mostly podcasts lol:

toxic podcast / an aesthetic theory of alejando kolleeny: this is,, the purest distillation of the podacasting form imo - I'll say it time & time again!- comedian in a room by himself talks about a piece of media I could never personally get into basically - one of the little joys of this year was it coming back for a while (hiatus all 2020 p much): for a while every week I would listen to it on the trips to woodies I was always doing lol. definitely not for everyone, but It got me thru my thesis & all the rest of my college year lol - taught me everything I know about both the DC movie-verse, wine, as well as the saw franchise. please dont think less of me ??

bnl/stevie page - ugh, ah yk, i listened to All of their pre-2009 catalogue over the course of a month && read SO many old interviews- obvs had heard page' most recent album in 2020 but I got way more into everything. hate to say it but bnl ARE underrated && I think following the growth from rly exciting live band/kids into 'Real Musicians' is so interesting

Blank Check Pod - just got HARDCORE into this for a couple of months basically; how few pods do 2+hour end releases as the baseline lmao; taught me so much more about movies to be deeply annoying about!, when its good its one of the very best

Live @ The Death Factory!: Pretty 'Recent', Extremely Niche podcast on 'scum cinema'; EVERY ep is enjoyable, the biggest problem ive got with it is that I can't always find the music they use to end each ep! - theyre great really consistently engaging& interesting hosts, talking about niche cinema (& honestly gen 'niche media'); introduced me to noroi, as well as a couple of other films I really liked this year - if I rec ANYTHING for u to ACTUALLY get into on this list I rec this one

Gen stuff:

got WELL back into fatt this year; sangfielle is DEFINITELY one of the highlights of this year, its so unique & special-as well as being a perfect jumping on point for new listeners- ive loved every minute

got temporary into cobra kai / tkk, & I definitely need to return lol

the tick!!: ive been putting off watching it since I knew about it, just bc of how it appeals & how I KNEW it would upset me - I still need to fin the 2017 series ! - the live action ones have SO much charm, && I think use superherodom as a metaphor for queerness (in a variety of senses) in such a appreciative loving way that makes them really special - still need to get thru the comix/etc

I also really liked the Gideon the 9th series, what a joy

&& ofc, twioat is ALWAYS there for me; I may not have been the maddest on Emmanuelle season but by GOD those frosty fellas were still out there every week doing SOMETHING; I should be burning tributes every day

- theres a TONNE of other stuff Im forgetting here im sure, but yk!! at least I remember like,, 1/6th of the year thru this stuff lmao

[shellzabie10924]

Numbing zephyrs - Numbing Zephyrs (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1161615548-numbing-zephyrs?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=Shellzabie&wp_originator=Swxel3M2Hqdc4RJsZZp3UDfBstM8DYHz7cKxCdIXy83nkvPwaFscQl4uu8faWv2PjYGSeZY8r7hdYoQzuO3NG7MSxX34TPBtve3qZHFWypKwj0ZgB%2BS8sAfn6HTxzzcv Jasper notices Cruella is awake at a late hour and decides that he would see how she was going, seeing as she had just had a few tragic and ruinous experiences in her life. Turns out Cruella had a lot more to say than Jasper expected. It would turn into quite the beautiful yet life changing night for the both of them Part 2 will be up soon/search for Numbing zephyrs part 2, For now enjoy and please let me know what you think!

[fozrotten]

And they stick the landing! Solid finish. I think of the different ways they could have done this. Flesh it out a bit more and make an 8 to 10 episode season of a TV Show. Shrink it down and make one movie, focusing on the 1994 characters. But honestly I really like how they’ve presented it in three separate but connecting films. Netflix allows you to break the norms so why not break the norms. I love how this has become the must see viewing of the year. When it started I had no idea I’d like it this much. But now this series is my favorite release of 2021. Even if I like something “better”, this will still be what represents 2021 to me. 💀💀💀💀 (First Poster by @nrib_design) #fearstreet1666 #fearstreet #rlstine #horror #1666 #netflix #2021 #2021movies #newmovies #newmovie #horrormovies #horrormovie #fearstreetmovie #fearstreettrilogy #20s #1994 #fearstreet1994 #fearstreet1978 #cool #rad #new #newrelease #streaming #newonnetflix #bestof2021 #horrorart #goosebumps #goodeisevil #sarahfeir #throwback https://www.instagram.com/p/CRxwVF1M2LO/?utm_medium=tumblr

[emohell]

MOVIES WATCHED IN 2021 → Judas and the Black Messiah directed by Shaka King

anywhere there's people, there's power.

[pagevingt-huit]

✻ Movies watched in 2021 ✻ [05] Over the Moon (2020) ★★★★

"Did you see that? Almost a whole part of me went right through that wall! My molecules opened up. I could feel them separate. It’s like the universe was calling me by name."

[dylnsohbrien]

movies  watched  in  2021  →   One Cut of the Dead (2017) dir. Shinichirou Ueda.

Don’t Stop The Camera! 

[adamwatchesmovies]

Home Sweet Home Alone (2021)

The sequels to Home Alone will seem like evolutionary breakthroughs compared to Home Sweet Home Alone. It captures none of what made the film an instant favorite for kids. With embarrassing attempts at self-deprecating humor will have adults groaning and a lack of laughs, no one could call this a holiday classic… though it did lead me to a slight “eureka” moment.

In the process of selling the home they can no longer afford, Jeff and Pam McKenzie (Rob Delaney and Ellie Kemper) suddenly discover they own a grotesque doll worth hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately, it’s gone missing. Believing that Max Mercer (Archie Yates) has stolen it, the parents decide to break into his home to get it back. After all, the Mercer family have all left for a Christmas vacation in Tokyo. There’s no way they’d make the mistake of leaving a 12-year-old home alone…

Everyone remembers the slapstick comedy in 1990’s Home Alone. If you watch it again, you’ll see that the paint buckets on strings, the icy steps, and other makeshift anti-burglary devices only come at the end of the picture. What the film is about first and foremost is growing up. Kevin McCallister is a scared little eight-year-old who learns to overcome his fear of the furnace in the basement and become responsible enough to take care of a household all by himself. In the process, he learns the importance of family. Home Sweet Home Alone skips all of that.

The choice to swap the burglars for people who want what's theirs returned is an immediate misstep. While it makes this a much less scary/threatening scenario for the kiddies, it also makes the injuries suffered unfunny. A simple conversation would've resolved this whole thing. Also, the dimwitted adults seem unsuited to care for their kids…

Many modern-day adjustments make the scenario more relevant and/or plausible. All but one (which has to do with cellphones replacing landlines) are sure to make the picture feel dated immediately. The worst of it concerns every single web search being blocked. It doesn’t make any sense but if Max had the internet, this crazy setup would be over immediately. The talking home assistant gags fare better than the lame winks towards the audience, however. There’s a fun cameo by a Home Alone cast member but director Dan Mazer’s choice to tell us how annoying it is to have beloved classics remade will only prompt you to yell “follow your advice!” at the screen. It’s a shocker to see a name associated with Borat, its sequel, and the Ali G character fumble comedy this badly.

I grew up with Home Alone and was shocked when I saw its 66% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Seeing Home Sweet Home Alone as an adult with no nostalgia towards the new release, I had an epiphany. I now understand how an adult in 1990 could’ve sat down with the John Hughes-written picture and gone “What am I looking at?” Could this mean that this sequel made decades later become a family favorite years down the line? Not a chance. No one would ever recommend this film over the original or even its sequel any time of year. (December 20, 2021)

[mifhortunach]

a real Short real Vague write up ig wrt movies that really stuck w me this year - thought about doing a nice little img roundup, but that seemed like more work tbfh - under cut:

first cow - I dont rewatch much, and I NEVER see stuff in cinema more than once, but ive seen this 3 times & twice in cinema. its like,, this movie is made for me!: predetermined fates, bonds between very isolated people, a love for Process(TM), a MILK Heist!, extremely thoughtful filmmaking, the love goes on & on; Kelly R! your MIND!!! <33333

prince of darkness - I cant say that I necessarily loved this when I was watching? but boy do I think about it often. the vhs-dream imagery/sequence is still one of the most effective pieces of unnerving filmmaking ever done, its just a fact

a new leaf - Elaine may........... <3; this is a unquestionably perfect film until you hear about her original 3hr cut- and even then its STILL a perfect film tbfh

cigarette burns - like first cow, in many ways A Film Made For Me; the usual cursed art artefact stuff DOES still really do it for me! I dont think this is a perfect execution at all, but I think it DOES have enough going for it, and its clear enough what Could be #improved, that I cant help but really like it

noroi - ah yk! I just think about it all the time; the live @ the death factory ep on it is really really good also

spider-man/s (raimi) - never actually saw these before, and unfortunately Ive a terrible fear that they've already lead me into a 2022 that's going to be more comix heavy :S ! BUT! theyre charming & old, they really sell both the power fantasy of what superherodom is/could be, as well as the bit thats most important/interesting-eg: the accepting of a responsibility (or making the Deliberate Choice to become involved). im mainly talking 1&2 but yk

Old - honorary placement bc I really liked it & everyone I know DIDNT, so I get to defend it by going, 'but the beach made them OLD!' - which really amuses me :)

gen good mentions of films I really liked: near dark, halloween 3, spoorloos (<3), noes2, conjuring 3, assault on precinct 13 (76), dawn of the dead (78), & the birdcage

next year I want to branch out & do less catching up on 'classics', as well as watch more women directors ig, but who knows