2021 Movie Round-Up!!

Hi team,

It's that glorious time of the year (which sometimes occurs in February) where we look back on the previous year of films!  I'm looking forward to reflecting on the movies I watched last year.

Without further ado, I present:

The PsychoCinematic Year in Movies
2021 Edition

1. Safety Not Guaranteed (4)

2. Drinking Buddies (1)

3. The Gentlemen (4)

4. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (4.5)

5. Booksmart (5)***

6. The Big Short (5)***

7. Emma. (2)

8. Stranger than Fiction (4)***

9. Framing Britney Spears (4)

10. The Two Killings of Sam Cooke (4)

11. Black Art: In the Absence of Light (4)

12. Roman Holiday (4)

13. I Care A Lot (1)

14. Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art (4)

15. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (5)

16. The Vast of Night (3.5)

17. Class Action Park (2)

18. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (4)

19. The Last Blockbuster (4)

20. Wework or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn (2)

21. She’s Gotta Have It (5)

22. Betting On Zero (3)

23. The Lovebirds (3)

24. Being Canadian (2)

25. 21 Jump Street (4)***

26. 22 Jump Street (4.5)***

27. Meet the Parents (3)***

28. Four Weddings and a Funeral (3.5)

29. Hamlet 2 (2)

30. Knocked Up (2.5)***

31. The Forty-Year-Old Version (4)

32. Meet the Fockers (3)***

33. Wolf of Wall Street (3)***

34. Rounders (2)

35. The People vs Larry Flynt (3)

36. The Hangover (4)***

37. Breathless (4)***

38. Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed (3)**

39. Black Narcissus (3.5)

40. Cars (2)

41. The Nun (1)

42. Badlands (2)

43. Annabelle: Creation (2)

44. Winchester (4)

45. Annabelle (1)

46. The Addams Family (3)

47. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (5)***

48. The Eyes of Tammy Faye (4)

49. Dune (4.5)

50. Love Hard (3)

51. Office Christmas Party (3.5)

52. Deck the Halls (2)

53. Klaus (5)

54. Matrix Resurrections (2)

A quick reminder of the meaning behind the various annotations used throughout the list:

* = got nauseated

** = fell asleep

*** = rewatch

Thankfully, I didn't watch any movies last year that required the notation resulting from making me queasy.  I definitely took ample advantage of my accommodation from recent years that allows me to count movies I've seen before.

As you can see, as a stark contrast to last year's list that came within a hair's breadth of being 100 movies long, I only ever so slightly exceeded my annual 52 movies goal in 2021.  While I don't love that I cut it so close last year, on the other hand I was overall pretty consistent in watching about a movie a week throughout the year, which seems like evidence of a fairly bankable, consistent approach to doing something I enjoy.

Another thing that strikes me is the relatively slim pickings for favorite movie of the year, which bums me out and confuses me, especially when the list of highly rated movies last year was exceptionally long.  I'm not sure what led to so many middling ratings on last year's list.  It could be that my overall dulled emotional state suppressed my otherwise at times generous ratings.  It's possible, for similar reasons, that I simply wasn't up for the kinds of movies I tend to rate highly because those movies often earn their 5/5 at least in part by being emotionally evocative, and I tended instead to watch movies that would be fine but not terribly emotionally stimulating--a thing I have a history of doing.  It's possible that last year was just a weird year for movies, and that the bait I took from various streaming service algorithms wasn't that great.  

The fact that several of the highest rated movies are films I'd watched before only adds to my concern.  Was I letting myself lapse into a movie "safe zone" in which most of the good movies I watched were known quantities because I didn't feel like I could tolerate anything new and potentially emotionally challenging?  I don't like that possibility at all.

Thankfully, watching "The French Dispatch" (2021) at the beginning of this year may have been a corrective example to this possible trend, hopefully setting the precedent that my viewing selections this year are braver and more illustrative of my resilience (and that resilience actually exists, largely because I consistently work to maintain it).

With all that in mind, let's transition into the first major consideration of this retrospective: my least favorite film of last year.

For being included in a list of great comedies but being in actuality not even remotely funny, being packed with pretty irredeemable AND boring people, and for woefully underutilizing Olivia Wilde:

Drinking Buddies (2013)

For portraying workers in elder care as evil early/mid-pandemic and then getting incomprehensibly confused about whether its main character was a villain or a hero:

I Care A Lot (2020)

For having no business being as boring and silly as it was given the rich opportunities 

afforded by its premise:

The Nun (2018)

For being deeply unpleasant and tedious, and also for by its very existence insisting that there need to be multiple movies about a creepy doll in one scary movie franchise when, in fact, no there do not:

Annabelle (2014)

It's interesting to note that, like the highly rated movies of 2021, last year's field of truly awful movies is also somewhat smaller than usual.  I guess there was an overall narrowing of my ratings at the extremes, and that's not all bad.

Honestly, I have just about equivalent feelings of hatred for each of these movies despite the fact that the reasons for my displeasure differ.  However, one does rise to the top (or rather, sink to the bottom) because it is not only bad--with a messy and illogical plot and an incredibly unsatisfying ending--it is also harmful in its messaging.

My least favorite movie from 2021 was therefore:

I Care A Lot (2020)

Yeah that movie was just terrible.

And now, moving on to the good stuff!

The highest rated movies I watched last year were:

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Booksmart (2019)***

The Big Short (2015)***

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

She’s Gotta Have It (1986)

22 Jump Street (2014)***

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)***

Dune (2021)

Klaus (2019)

While I really appreciate the films I rewatched and re-liked this year, it doesn't seem fair to put them in a positive double jeopardy situation when they've already been up for Favorite Movie of the Year contention in previous years.  Therefore, while I continue to love "Booksmart" (2015), "The Big Short" (2015), "22 Jump Street" (2014), and "The Inventor" (2019), I am ruling them out of contention for this year.

That leaves us with another surprisingly narrow field of only five contenders.

While I think "The Trial of the Chicago 7" (2020) was a generally compelling retelling of an important chapter in American activist history, its 4.5 rating highlights that it had its imperfections, including unconscionably  downgrading the abuses to which Bobby Seale was subjected by Judge Julius Hoffman and making some weirdly emotionally discordant soundtrack choices at its opening.

I thought "Dune" (2021) was excellent in most ways, including its gorgeous imagery, brooding soundtrack, and strong performances, but again its 4.5 rating means that it just barely misses the mark for consideration.

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (2020) is a wonderful performance of August Wilson's play, featuring most memorably Chadwick Boseman in his final performance before his death but also a formidably transformed Viola Davis as the titular Ma Rainey.  Boseman's final monologue as Levee Green overflows with the aching anguish of Boseman's impending death, imbuing Green's anticipation of a different kind of inevitable, crushing doom with ever more fragility and gutwrenching heartbreak.  Despite the eternal risks inherent in translating a play to the screen, "Ma Rainey's" pulls off the transition gracefully.  Frankly, during an era in which it's harder to access live theater, the fleeting moments that do feel stagey actually feel like a balm--what a gift to imagine being in the audience while these actors say Wilson's words.

2019's "Klaus" took me very pleasantly by surprise this past holiday season, to the point that it has prompted me to hopefully start writing a medley of holiday movies similar to my annual Halloween showcase.  It is a beautiful, whimsical, poignant, and sincerely funny secular (though still appropriately magical as becoming the season) telling of the origins of Santa Claus.

And then we have "She's Gotta Have It" (1986).  We already know I'm a sucker for Spike Lee movies, and this one readily falls into that trend.  I am grateful to have watched this film this year.  Its clear standing in the history of film excited the film studies part of my brain on top of being absolutely beautifully shot and packed with wonderful performances.  To this day, the film strikes a pretty astonishing number of chords emotionally and intellectually: it was funny and sweet, but also challenging and troubling, all while exploring evergreen themes of women's sexuality, sexual empowerment, and hopes for lasting, empowering love.  I spent a lot of time thinking about this film and appreciate the opportunity it gave me for in-the-moment enjoyment as well as after-the-fact reflection.

I hate to be somewhat predictable, but I think I've got to hand it to Mr. Lee again: My favorite film of 2021 was:

She's Gotta Have It (1986)

{Heart}

43 "Jump Street": A Silly Movie Rewatching Extravaganza

Hello encore!

In order to maintain adherence to my writing goals, I am attempting two posts in one day before the month is over!

In order to further adhere to my writing goals, I will attempt to actually keep this post short!

I have really been appreciating the fact that I have loosened my parameters for which movies "count" in my 52 movies/year goal to include movies that I have watched before.  It's meant that I can revisit movies without feeling, completely arbitrarily and perfectionistically, like they're a "waste of time", which is good because what does that even mean for someone who loves movies??

Not all of the movies I've rewatched are excellent, but that's fine--as dedicated readers may be aware, Husband and I are at times prone to watching movies that are concertedly and intentionally fine--just fine--because sometimes I just don't need a challenge or an emotionally transformative experience.

HOWEVER.  Two recent rewatches are most certainly excellent:

"21 Jump Street" (2012)

and

"22 Jump Street" (2014)

Readers with a very good memory may recall that I have a personal love story with these movies.  In 2012, Husband (then-Boyfriend) and I went to see a terrible Disney movie (unheard of!), hated it immediately, and for then-Boyfriend's very first time ever, we theater hopped into "21 Jump Street", where it saved the evening because it was thoroughly delightful.

In retrospect, it comes as absolutely no surprise that I loved both "Jump Streets", as they are directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller--the directors of a little movie I may have mentioned before called "The LEGO Movie" (2014).

True to form, both of these movies are silly, inventive, self-aware, sweet, and charming, thereby casting off the constraints that would normally accompany remakes of pre-existing media and render them a bit tired, boring, and stiff.  The casts are great.  The writing is great.  I giggled a lot.  Who could possibly complain?

Interestingly, my reliability as a rater for these films is remarkably high, likely aided by the fact that the movies' quality is commensurately high and they have, to my pleasure and relief, held up well with the passage of time.  When I originally saw each of them, I rated both "Jump Streets" (I am oddly tempted and actually barely fighting the impulse to instead refer to them as "Jumps Street", like attorneys general) as a 4.  Upon rewatching them, I gave "21 Jump Street" a 4, and upgraded "22 Jump Street" slightly to a 4.5.

So, if you're in the mood for something easy and fun, please enjoy the national treasure that is Channing Tatum and these two delights of cinema.

{Heart}

2014 Movie Round-Up!!

Woooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Yes!!  It is that magical time of year during which I get to review the glorious array of films I watched during the previous year, in triumphant vanquishment of my 52-movies-a-year resolution.  I am just a tiny bit extra eager to celebrate this accomplishment because, as you may remember, is basically the only resolution I fully adhered to in the previous year.

Another reason to celebrate the writing of this particular post:

This is my fifth annual movie-round up!  FIFTH!!  There have been four other ones before this one!!

Guys I have written so many of these!!

Enthusiasm is certainly running high on this side of the blog.

Without further ado of any kind!

The PsychoCinematic Year in Movies

(2014 Edition)

1. Apollo 18 (2)

2. Room 237 (1)

3. The Wolf of Wall Street (5)

4. Cropsey (2)

5. American Hustle (3)

6. 30 for 30: The Price of Gold (3)

7. Ender's Game (4)

8. The Grand Budapest Hotel (4.5)

9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (4)

10. The Imposter (4)

11. Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony (3)

12. The Awakening (3.5)

13. The People vs. Larry Flynt (3)

14. The Queen of Versailles (3)

15. The Seven Year Itch (4)

16. Unhung Hero (3)

17. X-Men: Days of Future Past (3)

18. Zero Dark Thirty (4)

19. Behind the Candelabra (4.5)

20. 22 Jump Street (4)

21. The Conversation (4)

22. Badlands (4)

23. The Woodmans (4)

24. Snowpiercer (4)

25. Guardians of the Galaxy (4)

26. Spartacus (5)

27. Europa Report (4)

28. A Most Wanted Man (4)

29. Calvary (5)

30. Detropia (4)

31. 12 O'Clock Boys (5)

32. The Grey (3)

33. Boyhood (4.5)

34. One Nation Under God (4)

35. Blood Into Wine (2)

36. A Late Quartet (5)

38. Gosford Park (4)

39. Salinger (3)

40. Sons of Perdition (4)

41. The Drop (5)

42. Stuck (3)

43. (A)Sexual (2)

44. Best Worst Movie (3)

45. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (1)

46. Muppets Most Wanted (3)

47. Bad Words (4)

48. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (3)

49. The Fugitive (4)

50. Divergent (2)

51. The Edge of Tomorrow (4)

52. The Lego Movie (5)

53. House on Haunted Hill (2)

54. Interstellar (4.5)

55. Shivers (1981) (3)

56. The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay, Part 1 (4)

57. Carrie (2013) (2)

58. The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (2)

59. Foxcatcher (4)

60. The One I Love (4)

61. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2)

I would personally like to thank the month of September for being generally exceedingly incredible this year, both because some pretty great stuff happened during that month but also because, as a month during which I basically had nothing to do (other than finalize wedding plans and like get actually get married), I was able to watch SEVENTEEN movies.  As you can see, without September, I would not have been able to exceed this year's 52 movies goal.

September: officially a good month.

Okay!  Down to business.  First thing's first: this year's most terrible movies!

For seriously? Alien rock-spiders?:

Apollo 18 (2011)

For being the first in this year's multi-entry series of meh documentaries, or

for serving as a reminder that being *about* a great movie doesn't make a movie great:

Room 237 (2012)

For acting as if you're making "The Thin Blue Line" (1988) when you're totally not:

Cropsey (2009)

For being proof that just because the guy from a band I like is in it, that doesn't mean

he knows how to make a competent documentary:

Blood Into Wine (2010)

For having a perfectly interesting topic with very bleh execution:

(A)Sexual (2011)

For having a pretty crappy and flat script and having literally zero to do with the Beatles:

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2014)

For basically being "Hunger Games" without anywhere near as compelling a heroine:

Divergent (2014)

For abundant sexism and and annoying portrayal of a mental health practitioner:

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

For seriously fuck everyone responsible for every unnecessary movie remake:

Carrie (2013)

For passably interesting + way too long still = meh:

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (2013)

Finally, and based on last year predictably:

For being yet another piece of overwhelming evidence that Peter Jackson should not be allowed to make movies:

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

So now I get to choose my overall least favorite film from the past year.  Like last year, this choice is a bit challenging due to the crowded field and many of the entries annoying me in slightly different but comparable ways.

Okay, I'm decided.  I'm going to take a stand:

It was boring.  Making this series into a trilogy was a blatant money grab at the immense expense of the plot, which was stretched way too thin and therefore had crap added to it unnecessarily.  The characters were flat, their motives were stupid, and the stakes were not compelling.  There were like TEN MINUTES OF DRAGON and that's it.  IT WAS TOO GODDAMNED LONG.  

Basically, I'm just so over Peter Jackson.  I'm over his inability to hold a serious emotion for more than 90 seconds.  I'm over his failure to recognize that a dramatic score and a bunch of bloated action sequences does not equal an intelligible or enjoyable story arc.  I'm over what he's done to a series of books I loved deeply as a child.

UGH.  MAKE HIM STOP.

And now on to the even more fun stuff!

The best movies I saw in 2014 were:

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Behind the Candelabra (2013)

Spartacus (1960)

Calvary (2014)

12 O'Clock Boys (2013)

Boyhood (2014)

A Late Quartet (2012)

The Drop (2014)

The Lego Movie (2014)

Interstellar (2014)

Oh God.  This is a tough one.

Well, we all know I thought "Wolf of Wall Street" was fucking spectacular.  It was brash and bold and funny but substantial and dark, excellently shot, and well-paced and making you want to see more even though it's over three hours long.  That's pretty amazing.

"Behind the Candelabra" might seem like a bizarre choice, but the HBO movie featured incredible, touching, compelling performances by both Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.  It beautifully honored and elevated its subject when it would have been very easy to make a trashy, cheap movie out of this story.

"Calvary" was directed by John Michael McDonagh, the older brother of possibly my favorite playwright, Martin McDonagh.  Creating stories with inky black dark humor mixed with gut-churning, seething human anguish and imperfect, heartbreaking, and beautiful human decency clearly runs in this genius family.  This film feels close and confining like a tense, tightly-written play but without the stiff staginess that cripples other stage-to-screen translations.  I could watch Brendan Gleeson butter bread and be transfixed.

Finally, "The Lego Movie" is one of the most delightful, fresh, packed-with-smart-humor-and-genuine-sweetness films I've seen in years, easily rivaling the best of Pixar.  Husband and I watched in twice within 24 hours and loved every minute of it.  Also it features Charlie Day, my favorite!!

But finally, I have to go with a quieter movie that might have flown under most people's radars.  It's a film that features a city I deeply, desperately love.  Its footage is so gorgeously, unexpectedly moving it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.  It's a powerful reminder that human beings have the capacity to create and thrive and self-empower in ways that we may not readily recognize or understand, but which are nevertheless vibrant examples of the gorgeous human spirit.

My favorite movie in 2014 is "12 O'Clock Boys."

It's on Netflix view instant--go see it!!**

{Heart}

** = ETA: I'm wrong about "12 O'Clock Boys" being available via Netflix view instant.  You can rent the movie through the DVD service on Netflix,  but it's unfortunately not streamable through that carrier.  Instead, you can go to the movie's website to rent and stream the movie or buy it outright.

You can also watch the trailer!

2012 Movie Round-Up!!

Guys!!

I'm so excited to write my third(!!) annual movie round-up!  Movie round-up time is my favorite blog time!  This is awesome.

No, not just awesome.

Emphasis on the expletive.

Woo!

Without further delay or ado...

WRONG pelican.  WRONG.

May I present to you...

The PsychoCinematic Year in Movies

(2012 Edition)

1. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (4)

2. Meek's Cutoff (4)

3. Marwencol (3)

4. The Great Muppet Caper (4)

5. Albert Nobbs (2)

6. My Week with Marilyn (3)

7. Chronicle (2)

8. Trollhunter (3)

9. Exit Through the Gift Shop (??)

10. Kings of Pastry (3)

11. Footnote (5)

12. 21 Jump Street (4)

13. Waiting for "Superman" (5)

14. Winter's Bone (3)

15. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (4.5)

16. Sun Don't Shine (3)

17. The Patron Saints (2)

18. Porfirio (4)

19. God Bless America (2)

20. The Avengers (2)

21. Into the Abyss (3)

22. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (3.5)

23. Moonrise Kingdom (5)

24. The Dictator (2)

25. Prometheus (3)

26. Alien vs. Predator (3)

27. My Neighbor Totoro (4)

28. Age of Innocence (4)

29. Between the Folds (2)

30. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2)

31. Deliver Us From Evil (4)

32. King of Devil's Island (4.5)

33. The Amazing Spider-Man (3)

34. Submarine (4)

35. Inglourious Basterds (5)

36. The Dark Knight Rises (5)

37. Following Sean (3)

38. I Am (4)

39. Easy A (4)

40. Brick (3??)

41. Sleepwalk With Me (3.5)

42. In the Loop (3)

43. My Left Foot (4)

44. Grizzly Man (4)

45. Heavenly Creatures (2)

46. Glengarry Glen Ross (3.5)

47. The September Issue (3)

48. Freakonomics (4)

49. Mansome (3.5)

50. Kimjongilia (5)

51. 7 Psychopaths (4)

52. Noise (Australian) (3)

53. Serpico (3)

54. Death at a Funeral (3.5)

55. Adventureland (2)

56. Argo (4.5)

57. Paper Moon (5!)

58. Fatal Attraction (2)

59. Skyfall (4)

60. Flight (2)

61. Indie Game: The Movie (4)

62. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (4)

63. Paris 36 (4)

64. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (3)

65. Bonjour Tristesse (3)

In case you were wondering: You are correct--I did in fact rock the shit out of this year's movies resolution, with 13 movies in excess of my 52 movies goal--a PsychoCinematic record!

Consistent with last year, I am either getting softer in my ratings or have just learned to steer clear of movies I know I will utterly and unequivocally hate.  As such, no movies were punished with a dreaded "1" rating this year.  Nevertheless, I still find it somewhat enjoyable, in a vengeful and spiteful way, to kick a little dirt on the movie I'm most annoyed I saw.  

...I will take this opportunity to state the fact that I'm still pissed about "Remember Me" (2010).  Good God that movie was terrible.  Add to my list of posts that need to get written: a post on way I hate that stupid movie so much.

I know this is him in a different movie
but the sentiment still stands: grrrrrr
Editor's/Author's Note: Please forgive the typo, as I did not make this sparkle vamp gif. 

ANYWAY.  Among my least favorites from this year were: 

For generally unsatisfying storyline and poor development of a main character:

Albert Nobbs (2011)

For failure to make a compelling documentary in spite of immensely compelling primary material:

The Patron Saints (2011)

For being OH MY GOD SO BORING:

The Avengers (2012)

For butchering an goddamn amazing book:

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

For feeling low-rent and overall wonky in spite of being based on a creepy true story:

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

For perpetuating any number of horrific gender stereotypes:

Fatal Attraction (1987)

This year, the dubious honor of least favorite film of 2012 goes perhaps unsurprisingly to "We Need to Talk About Kevin" for earning my unending ire by failing so miserably to live up to what is a truly spectacular book.

Please, please just read this.

Moving right along! 

The contenders for best movie watched in 2012 year are: 

Footnote (2011)

Waiting for "Superman" (2010)

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

King of Devil's Island (2010)

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Kimjongilia (2009)

Argo (2012)

Paper Moon (1973)

As you can see, 2012 offered a smaller pool of candidates compared to previous years.  Don't let the shortness of the above list fool you, however.  This is by no means an easy decision.

...........................

..................................

Gah.

Okay, so top three:

For overall spectacular cinematic craftsmanship:

Footnote (2011)

For being a visually and emotionally beautiful testament to auteurship:

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

For being an utter (and unexpected) delight of storytelling and performance:

Paper Moon (1973)

Okay.

My favorite movie of 2012 stayed with me for days.  It thrilled me for many reasons, including the thoughtfulness apparent in its every detail, the formidability of its cast, the beauty of its images, and the film's signal that a cherished director of mine has not lost his Midas touch.  I loved the courage and novelty of its story and how still, months after seeing it, the closing music comes to my mind and brings tears to my eyes.  Most of all, however, this movie served as a reminder that the power of wonderful cinema stems from its shining of gorgeous light on our own lives and memories.

My favorite movie of the year was Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom."

Oh my heart!

As always, I am so looking forward to sharing the next year of movies with you, dearest friends and readers.

{Heart}