I watched two-hundred and twenty one movies this year. Here are my top 25 and bottom 7 picks for the year. This is based simply on the movies I watched this year, not on what was released this year. My top list is robust because I decided to watch a bunch of my all time favorite movies so I could review them for the site.
Check out the previous year-end reviews.
I frequently forget to catalog the best scenes. The faux phone call scene in Before Sunrise is an amazing plot device that allows the characters freedom to express feelings they wouldn't normally reveal. Unbreakable has an amazing moment when David Dunn begins to embrace his destiny as a super hero in a train station. In Portrait of a Lady on Fire when Marianne exhibits her Orpheus and Eurydice painting, that scene captures what the movie is about effortlessly.
The Top 25 of 2021:
The Departed (2006)
Rent The Departed on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: William Monahan (screenplay), Alan Mak and Felix Chong (2002 screenplay Mou gaan dou)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin
Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, James
Badge Dale
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
Verdict
This
movie is absolutely incredible. The story twists, turns, and surprises
with two men undercover on opposite sides of the law. The dialog is
great, and that really helps the actors. While the performances are
great, DiCaprio gives his best performance in this movie. There's a lot
of depth to the characters, more than a few plot points you can read
between the lines with, and this movie gets even better when you watch
it again. Easily my favorite Scorsese film.
Full Review
The Informer (2019)
Written by: Matt Cook and Rowan Joffe and Andrea Di Stefano (screenplay by), Börge Hellström & Anders Roslund (novel)
Directed by: Andrea Di Stefano
Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common, Ana de Armas, Clive Owen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An ex-convict working undercover intentionally gets himself incarcerated again in order to infiltrate the mob at a maximum security prison.
Verdict
This movie is intense from beginning to end. That's inherent with undercover movies as any misstep could be fatal. This movie is no exception, but a sharp story that remains captivating sets this apart. This is much better than I expected. I was hoping for competent, and I got excellent. This movie does everything really well. In addition to the main story, this touches on how federal law enforcement uses and abuses their informers, content to endanger lives because the ends justify the means. This is entertaining throughout providing more than a few things to think about after the conclusion.
Full Review
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
Written by: Lev Grossman (based on the short story by, screenplay by)
Directed by: Ian Samuels
Starring: Kathryn Newton, Kyle Allen, Jermaine Harris, Jorja Fox
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Two teens live the same day repeatedly, enabling them to create the titular map of perfect things.
Verdict
This takes the time loop genre and builds on it, creating something that doesn't feel tired. It's an endearing movie that's isn't completely unpredictable, but does such a great job with the story it's telling. This is a movie that will get neglected because it's part teen romance and part time travel, genres that are easy to do often done poorly. This movie knows the genre and does something really special and smart with it.
Full Review
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
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Written by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Adam Driver, John Goodland, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.
Verdict
It's
a depressing and relentless tale about an artist chasing a dream. While
Llewyn isn't an outstanding person, you feel sorry for him anyway. It
seems at times the world is against him and sometimes that's by his own
doing. It's easy to read into the movie and what events means. It's a
heartbreaking story that stays in my mind every time I watch this movie.
Llewyn was so close to a dream that could never be. In a movie about
music, the songs excel.
Full Review
In Bruges (2008)
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Written by: Martin McDonagh
Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Zeljko Ivanek, Ciarán Hinds
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Guilt-stricken
after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from
their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray
wants to be.
Verdict
It's
a great script where everything connects and has a purpose. Scenes,
words, and characters aren't wasted. The dialog is razor sharp, and ripe
to be quoted. This movie manages to be really emotional, very funny,
and almost always very dark. It's not just that the movie manages to do
everything, it's that it does it so well.
Full Review
The Terminator (1984)
Written by: James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd (written by), William Wisher (additional dialogue)
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Two soldiers from the future are sent back to the past to find Sarah Connor, one to kill her and one to protect her.
Verdict
It's a classic. You can tell a lot of thought went into the plot, and you can't find a better villain than the Terminator portrayed by Arnold. The movie is a relentless chase where the protagonists are completely outmatched. The simple plot, mood of this movie, and attention to detail is the reason it spawned a franchise. That's something sequels have neglected. We don't just want Reese and Sarah to escape, we empathize with them. Why they face an impossible battle, the movie doesn't resort to them making stupid mistakes to fake the drama.
Full Review
The Thin Red Line (1998)
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Written by: James Jones (novel), Terrence Malick (screenplay)
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Starring:
Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Kirk Acevedo, Mark Boone Junior,
Adrien Brody, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Thomas Jane,
Elias Koteas, Jared Leto, Tim Blake Nelson, John C. Reilly, John
Savage, Nick Stahl, John Travolta
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.
Verdict
It's
a rumination on war from the viewpoint of numerous characters. This
doesn't feel like the typical war movie because it doesn't have one
protagonist. Having numerous big name actors in this serves as one way
to differentiate characters that don't claim much screen time. Like many
of Malick's movies this is a collection of images that blends a story
with nature documentary. It manages to capture a train of thought and a
feeling that few movies ever can. This goes beyond a movie, the
documentary aspects give it an artistic flair that only Malick can
execute.
Full Review
Ghostbusters (1984)
Written by: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (written by), Rick Moranis (uncredited)
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.
Verdict
Few movies can blend comedy and fantasy like Ghostbusters while suspending disbelief. The humor is subtle, but easily quotable. Murray's delivery on almost every line is comedic in of itself. While Murray ad-libs a lot of his lines, the script creates a great foundation for the movie. The concept is genius. Most of all the movie is just fun, every single time. The car and props are unparalleled, still instantly recognizable years later. The most impressive feat is that this movie feels grounded despite the foes the Ghostbusters face.
Full Review
Unbreakable (2000)
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Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright, Eamonn Walker
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
A man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.
Verdict
This
is such a great hero origin story that manages to create great moments.
This focuses on the regular man aspect of it and because of that it's
grounded. This makes the protagonists ascension as a super hero moving
and emotional. What really makes the story is the relationship between
the hero and villain which results in a great conclusion. This does a
great job with the hero and villain.
Full Review
Before Sunrise (1995)
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Written by: Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A
young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one
evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will
probably be their only night together.
Verdict
It's
such a simple concept that manages to consume your attention. Two
people have a long conversation. That's the movie, but their
conversation engages and reveals who they are. This is a character
study, and it's easy to begin to ship the two. The movie plays with that
idea, whether they should meet again or not. It's not a typical movie,
but it's more engaging than so many others. This expands the idea of
what a movie can be and do.
Full review
Before Sunset (2004)
Written by: Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke (screenplay), Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan (story), Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan (characters)
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Nine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.
Verdict
It's a continuation of the first movie, and it doesn't work nearly as well on it's own. When viewed as one movie, it's a beautiful narrative. With this movie they're looking at the present and the past. That past is the first movie, and the contrast and changes create an underlying negative.
Full review
The New World (2005)
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Written by: Terrence Malick
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Starring: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, Wes Studi, David Thewelis, Ben Mendelsohn
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
The story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
Verdict
This
movie is a lot if you've never seen a Malick movie. His movies are a
rumination on memories and feelings. The first time I saw this I didn't
like it, the second time it became one of my favorites. It's different
because the plot is secondary to creating a feeling and a mood. Shots of
the untamed natural world often complement scenes without dialog. While
this takes place during the founding of Virginia, it's not about that.
That premise only serves as a spring board for Malick to create a movie
about love, devotion, and acclimation.
Full review
Donnie Darko (2001)
Written by: Richard Kelly
Directed by: Richard Kelly
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Drew Barrymore, Seth Rogen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Verdict
It's a strange movie that captures teenage angst and fear through time travel and alternate realities. The mythology is deep but not necessary to understand the movie. With how the movie is structured, numerous interpretations result from the plot. A natural reaction is to wonder what happened and what this movie is about, but all the pieces are there to determine a conclusion. It's a fun puzzle to figure out.
Full review
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Written by: Stanley Kubrick & Terry Southern & Peter George (screenplay), Peter George (based on the book: "Red Alert" by)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones
Rated: PG [PG-13]
Watch the trailer
Plot
An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a War Room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
Verdict
I'm surprised at how timeless this movie remains. Kubrick probes the absurdities of war and the problems with fool proof plans. None of the situations in the movie seem that absurd. This manages to balance comedy and drama as a terrific satire. The dialog is sharp and the characters are distinct. This captures the friction and fear between civilians, military, and other countries. The movie manages to be very frank and funny, intertwining the two to create a movie just as relevant today.
Full review
Fight Club (1999)
Rent Fight Club on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the novel
Written by: Chuck Palahniuk (novel), Jim Uhls (screenplay)
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, Holt McCallany, Jared Leto
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
Verdict
Fight Club
is a trip, an enigmatic and engrossing trip. You're going to want to
watch it at least a second time if not more because this movie embeds a
lot of surprises you don't notice in the first watch. It's a Gen X
exploration of life, an explicit rebellion against the American dream,
status quo, culture, and consumerism. It's an anthem for the
working class that didn't achieve the American dream. Tyler Durden
provides an alternative to the corporate America dream, except Tyler
Durden is a lunatic. Many people wanted what Durden was providing, a
feeling of acceptance, reassurance that life has meaning and purpose.
What he provided was a fictional narrative. Beyond my take for this
movie, it's a creative story with twists that are so perfectly planned
they delight even when you know them. Few movies manage to be so dense
and do everything so well. All that, and this movie has one of the best
final scene and music pairings.
Full review
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Written by: Stanley Kubrick (screenplay by), Arthur C. Clarke (screenplay by)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Rated: G
Watch the trailer
Plot
After discovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, humankind sets off on a quest to find its origins with help from intelligent supercomputer H.A.L. 9000.
Verdict
It's an epic journey spanning centuries. It's masterfully crafted from production design to direction and pacing. This covers a lot in the run time, from prehistoric humans to the next evolution of humankind. The movie is rich in detail and wide open for interpretation. It can be very sparse, masterfully using silence to convey the isolation in space. Few films have such a clear direction and intention. The movie is self assured and deliberate. It's a sci-fi classic for a reason.
Full review
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
Written by: Eliza Hittman
Directed by: Eliza Hittman
Starring: Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.
Verdict
It's powerful. The movie does so much with very little dialog. The directing and acting create this story that doesn't need words. It's a divisive subject, but this movie is about two girls in need and their lack of support. It's a movie that makes you want to help these two girls, wishing the world were different. Autumn doesn't say much, but we begin to internalize how she feels as we watch her journey unfold.
Full Review
Luca (2021)
Written by: Enrico Casarosa & Simon Stephenson (story by), Jesse Andrews & Mike Jones (screenplay by)
Directed by: Enrico Casarosa
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan
Rated: PG
Plot
On the Italian Riviera, an unlikely but strong friendship grows between a human being and a sea monster disguised as a human.
Verdict
Beautifully scripted and true to Pixar form it looks great. This does such a great job with the characters, their motivations, and their fears. It's those same traits that make for such emotional moments later. It's an endearing movie, and the strength lies not in the creativity as with typical Pixar movies, but in how well the story is executed and how real these characters feel.
Full Review
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
Written by: Derek Cianfrance and Ben Coccio (story), Derek Cianfrance & Ben Coccio and Darius Marder (screenplay)
Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Mahershala Ali, Ben Mendelsohn, Rose Byrne, Bruce Greenwood, Ray Liotta, Dane DeHaan
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A motorcycle stunt rider turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover and their newborn child, a decision that puts him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.
Verdict
This tells such a sprawling story about fathers, their choices, and the sons that are affected by those choices. Choices are so much bigger than just one person. The sons bear the repercussions of their fathers' sins. You can never really leave the past behind. While the story is completely engrossing, the directing is confident and deliberate from the shots to the editing. Each scene provides exactly what the writer/director wants us to get. As I watched I look for the connections across the stories, how they compare and differ, and I also wonder what the movie wants me to glean from it. There's so much to digest. It's the kind of movie you want others to watch so you can get their opinions due to the depth.
Full Review
Drive (2011)
Written by: Hossein Amini (screenplay), James Sallis (book)
Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Brayn Cranston, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A mysterious Hollywood stuntman and mechanic moonlighting as a getaway driver finds himself in trouble when he helps out his neighbor.
Verdict
This movie has such a cool vibe. The composition and imagery is impressive, while the music and style give it a very '80s feel. This has a great soundtrack, provided you like synth. The focus on visuals supersedes dialog as there's a lot of silence even when characters are on screen. Story is conveyed by looks instead of exposition. The story is solid, not great, but the way it's told as it slowly builds this enigmatic character with so little dialog really sets this apart. It's just cool, and a big reason is how this avoids the typical style.
Full Review
12 Monkeys [Twelve Monkeys] (1995)
Written by: Chris Marker (inspired by the film 'La Jetée' written by), David Webb Peoples & Janet Peoples (screenplay by)
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, David Morse, Christopher Meloni
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
Verdict
It's a mystery utilizing time travel. This doesn't try to explain too much away, time travel merely sets up the method. This keeps you guessing. Is time travel taking a toll on Cole's mental health? Will he be able to solve the mystery? How can he succeed when the odds are against him. Brad Pitt's performance as someone mentally unstable makes this worth watching for that alone, but this story unfolds expertly. The ending is strong, a near classic, tying in multiple story items.
Full Review
Portrait of a Lady on Fire [Portrait de la jeune fille en feu] (2019)
Written by: Céline Sciamma
Directed by: Céline Sciamma
Starring: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.
Verdict
This efficiently builds strong characters that carry this story. It unfolds with confidence and poise backed by a strong script that ties everything together. While it would fall into the romance movie genre, it avoids the common tropes that make romance movies so mundane. This movie conveys so much without dialog. It's a movie about a lack of freedom, for women to choose a companion or for women to choose their future. The conclusion captures the essence of the movie so well.
Full Review
Casino Royale (2006)
Rent Casino Royale on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book
Written by: Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Paul Haggis (screenplay), Ian Fleming (novel)
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Mads Mikkelsen, Tobias Menzies
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
After
earning 00 status and a license to kill, secret agent James Bond sets
out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker
funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale,
Montenegro.
Verdict
This
plays the James Bond is cool card a lot and, Bond is definitely cool.
This doesn't rely just on action, something that befell later Craig
movies. This has a bit of everything and some of the best scenes are the
focus on small moments during the card game. This is thoroughly Bond,
but it also stands alone rebooting a new era, nodding to and subverting
various Bond tropes. It's got more than a few twists with a script that
pulls everything together. This is easily my favorite Bond movie.
Full Review
Alien (1979)
Written by: Dan O'Bannon (screenplay by), Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett (story by)
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
After a space merchant vessel receives an unknown transmission as a distress call, one of the crew is attacked by a mysterious life form and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.
Verdict
Sci-fi can often be low budget or a bit too hung up on the science and over explaining the future world which can be boring. Alien is a timeless thriller because it's focused on survival. It doesn't have a strict setting, preventing it from feeling dated. The production design does a great job of looking legitimate, and the alien design has become classic. This does a great job driving tension. As soon as the alien appears, this relentlessly torments the characters until the very end. This doesn't rely on stupid character decisions or ridiculous plot elements. This is focused as the crew scramble to survive.
Full Review
The Green Knight (2021)
Written by: David Lowery (written for the screen by)
Directed by: David Lowery
Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A fantasy retelling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Verdict
This has such a great look. You could pause this anywhere and get a great image. It also really captures the feel of a fable. While the pacing is measured, it's needed as this movie becomes a thought exercise. What do Gawain's choices and trials mean? What does it take to become an honorable knight? We see this through Gawain, who is young and eager to cement his name in legends while living in King Arthur's shadow. That causes a brash choice that starts his journey. Will he uphold the deal or will he try to cheat and deceive? While this movie has gotten mixed reviews, I'd guess the people that didn't like it were expecting an action movie. It's not that, and I absolutely loved this movie.
Full review
The Bottom 7 of 2021:
10,000 BC (2008)
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Written by: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Camilla Belle, Steven Strait, Marco Khan, Cliff Curtis, Omar Sharif
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
In
the prehistoric past, D'Leh is a mammoth hunter who bonds with the
beautiful Evolet. When warriors on horseback capture Evolet and the
tribesmen, D'Leh must embark on an odyssey to save his true love.
Verdict
I
had low expectations, and even still I was disappointed. This focuses
on action to a fault, adding derivative scenes to tie big set pieces
together. If the action was impressive that might help. The story is
flimsy, and it's a chore to get through this movie. If you're hoping the
ending will make up for some of this movie's transgressions, it won't.
It's one of those situations where I'm mad I didn't quit watching and
mad that the movie is so bad.
Full Review
Mortal Kombat (2021)
Written by: Greg Russo and Dave Callaham (screenplay by), Oren Uziel and Greg Russo (story by), Ed Boon and John Tobias (based on the videogame created by)
Directed by: Simon McQuoid
Starring: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chin Han, Ludi Lin
Rated: R
Plot
MMA fighter Cole Young seeks out Earth's greatest champions in order to stand against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe.
Verdict
It's more or less what you might expect. Lots of fighting and CGI with little plot. Adapting a video game that has little source material for a story is difficult, but even then this plot is thin. Including an actual tournament could have really helped this even if that's a predictable story line with an obvious conclusion.
Full Review
Mortal Kombat (1995)
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Written by: Ed Boon & John Tobias (video games), Kevin Droney (written by)
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bridgett Wilson-Sampras, Talisa Soto
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Three
unknowing martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to
compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.
Verdict
It's
a moderately entertaining B-movie. The plot is certainly better than
the 2021 reboot, but the CGI effects have aged poorly. This is a fight
movie and that's basically what we get. While the fighting may have been
serviceable at the time, at this point it looks sub-par.
Full Review
The Woman in the Window (2021)
Watch The Woman in the Window on Netflix
Written by: Tracy Letts (screenplay by), A.J. Finn (based upon the novel by)
Directed by: Joe Wright
Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Wyatt Russell, Brian Tyree Henry
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.
Verdict
This feels like the sad remake of Hitchcock's Rear Window.
A movie like this works best with an ending that builds upon what
preceded it, or provides a twist that makes us want to rewatch for the
clues. This provides an unpredictable ending with no weight. I was left
thinking, "I watched this whole thing for that ending?" That's after
being bored for most of the movie, hoping the ending could salvage this
somehow. It didn't.
Full Review
Fatale (2020)
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Written by: David Loughery
Directed by: Deon Taylor
Starring: Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy, Mike Colter
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
After a one-night stand, a successful married man finds himself
entangled in a cunning police detective's latest investigation.
Verdict
Some movies, even if you don't like them, you want to get to the end to see what happens. This isn't one of those movies. The dialog is stilted, the plot is contrived, and the ending is nonsense.
Full Review
Cosmic Sin (2021)
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Written by: Edward Drake & Corey Large (written by)
Directed by: Edward Drake
Starring: Frank Grillo, Bruce Willis, Brandon Thomas Lee
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Seven
rogue soldiers launch a preemptive strike against a newly discovered
alien civilization in the hopes of ending an interstellar war before it
starts.
Verdict
If
you were to watch this, it would be a colossal waste of time. I found
it difficult to follow because it's so boring you will just stop paying
attention. It's a mashup of scenes from other movies, lacking a
narrative to provide any kind of foundation.
Full Review
Cry Macho (2021)
Written by: Nick Schenk and N. Richard Nash (screenplay by), N. Richard Nash (based on the novel by)
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam, Daniel V. Graulau
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
A one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder takes a job to bring a man's young son home and away from his alcoholic mom. On their journey, the horseman finds redemption through teaching the boy what it means to be a good man.
Verdict
Surprisingly boring, and I've seen Eastwood's last few movies. The story does nothing interesting and the conclusion is lackluster. There is no point to watching this. It does exactly what you think it will do based on the description.
Full review
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