Entry tags:
2021 in film (excuse the no caps)
My friend Liv over on Tumblr asked me for my Top 5 film releases of 2021. Here's what I said:
this is a love letter to mid-century scifi, especially the twilight zone. featuring some absolutely gorgeous single-shot sequences and lovely performances, this movie became an instant favorite. i watched it for the first time and then immediately watched it again. and wrote fic for it.
2. athlete a - far and away the most harrowing film i watched this year. as wikipedia describe it, "the documentary follows a team of investigative journalists from the indianapolis star as they broke the story of doctor larry nassar sexually assaulting young female gymnastics."
from a technical perspective, this is a pretty standard documentary, but the story it tells is so important. i am in awe of the young women who endured this abuse and fought back. i respect and appreciate the journalists, too, but it's the women and girls who fought for justice who are important here.
3. west side story - I WAS SO WORRIED. but just like with emma (2020), i turned out to be totally wrong in what i assumed about this remake. i don't know that it will ever overtake the original in my heart just because i've seen that movie so many times in my life that it's written in my bones and also rita moreno dancing. i have some complaints about this version, but on the whole i thought it was great, respecting and loving the original but having its own vision and fixing the main things that were wrong with the original film.
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chestnut_pod says: the bar is so low with american musicals but: everyone can actually sing! you can see all of the dancing! the bernstein score remains one of the greatest ever written (LENNY MY LOVE) and while i remain devoted the jerome robbins choreography of the original, the choreography in this film is very strong. detailed thoughts here.
4. the trial of the chicago 7 - as much as i bitch about sorkin--and he deserves every bit of that bitching--i am also weak for a sorkin script and also for his brand of idealistic storytelling about heroic leftists. the script was crackling, of course, and the performances were great. this is exactly the kind of film i just enjoy. it speaks to my id.
honestly, i haven't watched enough new releases this year to have a top 5, but i can do a top 5 of movies that i saw for the first time this year! i didn't watch all that many (unless you count my rewatch of all the original cast star trek movies), but these were the standouts:
1. the vast of night - a tiny and perfect retro scifi delight. set in a small town in 1950s new mexico, the focus is on two teenagers: a guy who dreams of being a radio dj and a girl who works as a telephone operator. strange lights appear in the sky. what happens next isn't the most original storyline ever, but the execution is so good that you just don't care.
this is a love letter to mid-century scifi, especially the twilight zone. featuring some absolutely gorgeous single-shot sequences and lovely performances, this movie became an instant favorite. i watched it for the first time and then immediately watched it again. and wrote fic for it.
2. athlete a - far and away the most harrowing film i watched this year. as wikipedia describe it, "the documentary follows a team of investigative journalists from the indianapolis star as they broke the story of doctor larry nassar sexually assaulting young female gymnastics."
from a technical perspective, this is a pretty standard documentary, but the story it tells is so important. i am in awe of the young women who endured this abuse and fought back. i respect and appreciate the journalists, too, but it's the women and girls who fought for justice who are important here.
3. west side story - I WAS SO WORRIED. but just like with emma (2020), i turned out to be totally wrong in what i assumed about this remake. i don't know that it will ever overtake the original in my heart just because i've seen that movie so many times in my life that it's written in my bones and also rita moreno dancing. i have some complaints about this version, but on the whole i thought it was great, respecting and loving the original but having its own vision and fixing the main things that were wrong with the original film.
as
chestnut_pod says: the bar is so low with american musicals but: everyone can actually sing! you can see all of the dancing! the bernstein score remains one of the greatest ever written (LENNY MY LOVE) and while i remain devoted the jerome robbins choreography of the original, the choreography in this film is very strong. detailed thoughts here.4. the trial of the chicago 7 - as much as i bitch about sorkin--and he deserves every bit of that bitching--i am also weak for a sorkin script and also for his brand of idealistic storytelling about heroic leftists. the script was crackling, of course, and the performances were great. this is exactly the kind of film i just enjoy. it speaks to my id.
5. the green knight - i mean, if you were interested in this film you've already seen it, so i won't go into detail here except to say that it's gorgeous to look at, wonderfully atmospheric, i am obsessed with how dev patel has grown up, and i salute the filmmakers' commitment to embracing the weirdness. they didn't care if their film was accessible to the average viewer, and i have missed that in filmmaking.
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The Vast of Night sounds interesting, thanks for that *plops on list*
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Also, let's pour a metaphorical one out for The Green Knight. You go, little movie that made some bonkers fantastic incredible choices. You go, Dev!
they didn't care if their film was accessible to the average viewer, and i have missed that in filmmaking.
Ah, a very true statement.
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