Cyrano

On one side, the passion of a teacher seeking to pass on the beauty of the texts to his pupils, on the other the commitment of a director to his troupe. An in-depth look at the recreation of "Cyrano de Bergerac", Edmond Rostand's masterpiece, by the Théâtre de Carouge, Geneva. 

I really enjoyed this movie and that speaks volumes because these types of movies are usually my kryptonite.  They basically always put me to sleep so when I enjoy one so throroughly that is very impressive.  I loved the somewhat musical part of the movie at times and Peter Dinklage really was perfect for the role.

I would definitely recommend people checking out this version of the age old story.  It was a very enjoyable watch and I never thought I would be saying that about this.  

Scream

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past.

This was pretty disappointing because it really was just subpar casting that ruined it.  Enough time had gone by for it to be brought back.  The horror genre has changed so much that they were able to do new sarcastic commentary on how the movies are and this one was just like the original.  The problem is that there was no Matthew Lillard or Jamie Kennedy to deliver great scenes.  Words do no justice to how much that held this movie back.   

I wouldn't really recommend anyone bothering with this.  It ended up being a pretty poooooooooooooooooooop watch.

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

Van Helsing's mysterious new invention transforms Drac and his pals into humans, and Johnny into a monster. With their new mismatched bodies, Drac and the pack must find a way to switch themselves back before their transformations become permanent.

This movie is pretty much exactly what you would expect.  Continuation of a decent kids/family friendly franchise.  It's simple, short, has good characters that you are familiar with and comes together in a cute way.  Outside of that - you will most likely forget watching it 5 minutes after its done.

I would recommend families checking this out.  It came out on Amazon Prime instead of theaters so it doesn't cost anything.  It's short enough to not be considered a waste of time.

The 355

CIA agent Mason "Mace" Brown joins forces with a rival German agent, a cutting-edge computer specialist and a Colombian psychologist when a top-secret weapon falls into the hands of a group of mercenaries. Together, the four women embark on a breakneck mission to save the world while staying one step ahead of a mysterious figure who's tracking their every move.

There was a lot to like about this movie.  Great cast.  Great character development.   Great story build.  And great action when there was action.  The main problem with this movie is that I really wish that there was more action.  The pacing was kind of off overall and there was not enough action - especially not based on what all the ads for the movie showed.  That held the movie back.

I would somewhat recommend this movie to everyone.  Not a must watch.  It's a decent movie that could have been awesome if they stepped on the gas with more action.  

The Ten Best Movies of 2021

 Honorable Mention - Dear Evan Hansen

I understand that the movie version wasn't as good as the musical and the knocks against casting and what not but I don't care.  This musical was one of the most important and influential things I have ever seen and it was an absolute joy to finally see a movie version of it.  

10 - Black Widow

Marvel kills it again.  Even an after the fact, flashback and overdue solo movie for one of the characters from the start is beyond enjoyable.  Most importantly - it brought us the character of Yelena who will undoubtedly be one of the greatest additions to the MCU.

9 - American Skin

This movie was so incredible in that there was no way to watch this and not get triggered emotionally in some way.  It's social commentary is pretty spot on and it sticks with you for a very long time.  

8 - Luca

A very different kind of movie for Pixar but just like Marvel they don't disappoint.  Like ever.  This one was a tough sell on a couple of levels but completely roped you in and got you invested in the main characters voyage.  

7 - Don't Look Up

Incredible cast.  Incredible sarcasm.  Incredible social commentary.  It's insane how much this movie could be related to how so many things in the world today are addressed.   Very funny watch.

6 - Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

Again - Marvel doesn't fail.  This was honestly one of their better intro/first movies for one of their characters.  They managed to turn a pretty much unknown character into an instant favorite after one movie.  Very impressive.

5 - Jungle Cruise

Let's be honest - how the hell can you go wrong with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in a movie together?   This movie was just plain fun.  This is the type of throwback summer popcorn movie ride that made me love going to the movies in the first place.  Very very enjoyable.  

4 - Everybody's Talking About Jamie

This is one of the best movies about representation I have ever seen.  Felt so genuine and was really enjoyable with great acting throughout.  

3 - Monster

This movie massively messed me up.  It was the type of movies that keeps you so glued to the screen and hooks so many different emotions that it leaves an incredibly lasting impression.  This was very much one of those movies.

2 - Tick Tick Boom

I absolutely loved this movie.  Andrew Garfield easily put in his best acting performance to date in this.  The music was awesome.  The story progression was too.  I have always been a huge fan of Rent so this movie connected with me even more seeing how it came to be.  

1 - Spider-Man: No Way Home

This movie was not only beyond enjoyable with great action and story telling but it really is a once in a lifetime experience.   Still too soon to spoil anything but they really put a bunch of things on screen together that at no point did my imagination think would be possible . . . . . . . . . and hit a home run with it too. 

The Ten Worst Movies of 2021

 10.  Dune

I'm sorry.  Like I get how great this was visually and what not but this was one of the biggest snoozefests of an "epic" movie I have ever seen.  I purposely saved this to watch on a long flight so that I could watch it with no distractions and I still had trouble following and/or caring.  

9.  Cry Macho

Yet another example of how every other movie that Clint Eastwood directs is a giant turd.  I will never understand how this guy can go from directing best movie of the year contenders to absolute garbage.  Weirdest thing ever.

8.  Separation

The first of several lame ass horror entries on this list.  I can't even say too much about this one simply because there was nothing memorable about this outside of horrible side effects.  

7.  The World To Come

Like I get the need for more representation like this in film but the way that that they did it and the time period they chose was just so supremely silly to me.  

6.  Annette

I have no idea how this movie has been so well reviewed.  This is the type of movie that is so absurd that I almost want people to watch it just to see the confused dog look on their face's as they do.  

5.  Don't Breathe 2

Any time a movie is hyped as "Stephen Lang in .  . .  . " then it simply shouldn't be made.  The fact that a sequel nobody wanted was done using a side character from the original just adds more to that.   Sorry, buddy.

4.  Escape Room 2: Tournament Of Champions

Another sequel that absolutely nobody wanted.  This was just plain over the top and silly throughout.  

3.  Wrong Turn

The original is one of the most joked about movies of all time for me so I was stunned at the idea of them redoing it.  Yet somehow - they managed to make a movie even worse by taking away the stuff you could at least make fun of.  This was like a boring horror movie.  How the hell do you do that?

2 - The Unholy

Catching the vibe here of how bad horror movies were this year.  How do you put Jeffrey Dean Morgan into one of those Conjuring type of movies and basically hold back and make it boring?

1 - Antlers

Words do no justice to how hard I laughed when they finally showed the monster in this movie.  The buildup to it was not the worst and kept you kind of interested but then the big reveal was something that a toddler would make in a pottery class.   All credibility was instantly gone and it earned the glorious title of worst movie of 2021.