This Swedish language riveting Netflix thriller caught my attention after
hearing it has a jolting twist ending. And boy does it succeed. Nothing out of
ordinary story wise on the outside looking in about a newly engaged couple
fighting to keep their relationship afloat and taking a trip to see the northern
lights to rekindle that love only to be tormented and harassed by some douchey
locals in the middle of their trip. To say literally anything more would give
too much away that leads to one of the most jaw dropping WTF final 25 minutes
that I must admit was as successful a twist as I have seen in quite some time.
Disturbing and unsettling yes but a punch to the gut that will leave you shook.
And at just 85 minutes there are literally zero filler moments.
#9 LOVE AND MONSTERS
A surprisingly very entertaining monster movie in a post apocalyptic world, Love
and Monsters reminds me of a cross between the loner vibes of I am Legend mixed
with the comedic edge of Zombieland. Survivor films sometimes can fall into a
one trick pony show but Love and Monsters doesn’t take itself too seriously and
that's half the fun. The other half is a visual treat of great visual effects
(Oscar nominated) and a boy on a mission to be reunited with his girlfriend
whose miles of monsters away. These mutated giant bugs and insects have been
affected by radiation and gas chemicals when governments launched their nuclear
missiles at an asteroid to save earth only to leave it in ruin by the result it
had on nature. Climate Change baby. (not on any streaming platform yet, but can
Rent it on Amazon or Apple)
#8 THE SOUND OF METAL
Riz Ahmed!!! That’s it!!! Just hand him the Oscar now and if he doesn’t get it
it’s for outside of acting purposes. He single handedly drives this movie with a
towering performance of a heavy metal drummer who's slowly losing his hearing.
It’s an awful display to watch what must only be torturous to experience but the
film does one major exceptional job with its sound design to give you the effect
of what it literally “sounds like” losing your hearing. I can’t imagine going
through what his character does and his performance is simply phenomenal.
(Amazon Prime)
#7 DA 5 BLOODS
Under appreciated at almost all award shows and also underrated by many I feel
but this movie was pretty damn good and legit one of Spike Lee’s best works in a
while. Delroy Lindo got criminally hosed by all the acting categories when
clearly there weren't 5 better acting performances of the year than his. He
deserved at the very least a nomination for his portrayal of one of the vets
from Vietnam who go back to retrieve their squad leader's body (Chadwick Bowsman
who also did terrific in this) and their riches they left behind decades ago.
Lindo’s character particularly suffers a lot of PTSD and it bleeds out into his
relationship with his son who also tags along for the trip. It’s a powerful war
drama that isn’t without some flaws but they are mostly dismissed by all the
wonderful performances from just about everyone. Spike Lee also shoots some of
his best “action sequences” i've seen out of him since the Inside Job. (Netflix)
#6 POSSESSOR
Following in his famous father’s directing footsteps, Brandon Cronenberg (son of
David Cronenberg) enters the same weird dark disturbing psychological thriller
realm his father does so often...and out the gate he knocks his first feature
out the park. Possessor tells one of the craziest creative original stories I’ve
seen in quite some time, a very black mirror-esque sci fi bender where a company
carries out assassinations for wealthy clientele/agencies by using an advanced
technology that allows them to put a hitman inside the mind of anybody it wants
and the host is powerless to stop them from carrying out the act. Once the
assassination is complete the host kills themselves or die by suciide in some
fashion. It’s disturbing and dark, not for the faint of heart, but it's a
riveting ride. As one of the hosts the company's best assassin tries to embody
fights back, things begin to head toward a harrowing dark finale that is as
relentless as the characters involved in this mind trip of a movie. Grab a
popcorn if you enjoy dancing on the dark side this movie is a mind fuck. And a
really well done one. With really impressive performances by its main two leads
who fight for the mind control of one body. (Hulu)
#5 JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
A gripping powerful moving biopic into the last days of Black Panther chairman
Fred Hampton (a knockout stellar performance from Daniel Kaluuya) and the man
who infiltrated his party and betrayed him as an fbi informant WIlliam O neal
(also stellar and breathtaking performance from Lakeith Stanfield). A wonderful
supporting cast of character actors who all play their roles to a T. This film
evokes a lot of troubling spirits that still linger into today's world of
injustice and racial tensions but it's one that shows just how little and small
we've grown from the 1960s in all of this. A timely piece of filmmaking that
hopefully helps push a stronger conversation past a few discussions and blinks
of an eye. (available to rent on Amazon and Apple)
#4 THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Another film that takes place almost in the same timeline as Judas and the Black
Messiah (Fred Hampton actually shows up in several scenes in this film) and
similarly evokes a lot more of the same troubling spirits that Judas evoked and
still is of troubling concern in 2021. In the 1968 Democratic Convention in
Chicago, thousands of protestors planned to protest the convention due to the
ongoing problem that was the Vietnam War and those who felt we should have never
got involved. The focus on the particular 7 that the government blamed on
inciting the riots that ensued when in fact it seemingly comes across that the
police incited as much if not more so. Another timely piece of filmmaking
resonating with a lot of what has been transpiring around the world over the
past year between racial violence, police brutality and government silencing,
Chicago 7 is a courtroom drama that is fascinating, disturbing in its own way,
immensely powerful and exceptionally acted by all parties involved, none better
here than Borat himself Sasha Baron Cohen. A must watch drama that I highly
recommend to be seen by as many people as possible. (Netflix)
#3 ANOTHER ROUND (DRUK - danish)
Last year the whole world got introduced to one of THE BEST foriegn films ever
made and rightfully took home the Oscar for best picture (The rare #1 and Oscar
winning choice: Parasite). This year’s lone choice for foreign film to make the
list is a wonderful and beautiful film that is rich in happiness, sadness and
discovering one’s purpose when you allow life to become stale. A group of
40-something year old friends celebrating one of their birthdays realize all
their lives at a school has become boring and routine, both with their work and
their families. One of which mentions a study that reads where if you drink
enough alcohol daily to keep your BAL (blood alcohol level) at .05 you will sort
of “jumpstart” your life back into purpose. The group of friends decide then and
there to give this study a try and immediately their social life blossoms, they
find new inspiration for their work that excels, and their family life is vastly
improved too. Everything is going well until one by one they decide to kick
things up a notch by increasing their BAL steadily and then things go south
badly. The always a sight to watch on screen Mads Milkenseen leads these group
of friends down the rabbit hole of midlife crises and is as good as he’s been on
screen since his diabolical amazing performance as Dr Hannibal Lecter on tv. The
film’s director is nominated for best director and he did a phenomenal job
behind the lens. One such tactic I found creative and innovative was how he
would use the camera during some of the drunk moments almost in a hazy type
erratic method to give the audience the feeling of being tipsy with these
characters. He also wrote the screenplay as well which sadly has a dark story
behind it as 4 days into the movie his daughter was killed in a car accident who
was going to play Mads daughter in the film. He took a week off of filming
before returning and deciding to make the film more directed on the “awakening
of life” rather than just a mere comedy of drunk friends like he had originally
planned. It's tragic but you feel that inspiration behind why the moral of this
wild tale is centralized primarily on finding one’s happiness in life and being
free. It's a wonderful story that I hope some of you will give a chance despite
its subtitles.
#2 PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
This very well might be the film all feminists METOO groups will adore and
flaunt over but it actually succeeds. Succeeds exceptionally well. Starting with
the directorial debut for Emerald Fennell (also nominated for best director and
best picture) who exhibits a clear eye for the lens. And an absolute stunning
tour de force performance from Carey Mulligan who deserves every acting award
given to actors. She plays Cassie, whose entire life upends after her best
friend is raped and eventually kills herself with no ramifications given to any of the men
involved in it. She drops out of med school and single handedly gives up her
life’s dream and happiness to exact revenge by going to bars and clubs acting
drunk and going home with strangers that prey on drunk women and attempt to rape
her until she breaks out of her act to reveal just how “nice guys” they truly
are. The film dances between hardcore serious rape drama and darkly comedic
exploits to show the audience its okay to laugh but you’re going to immediately
regret finding any of this funny at all. Fennell also does one incredibly smart
job of purposely casting a slew of “where have i seen that guys face before”
actors that all come from past films and shows where they are the clean cut
bachelor-esque “nice guys” to show how any man can be a predator on women. It’s
very effective. The film is shot brilliantly, Fennell uses a lot of bright color
schemes in several shots of the film as well as selective poppy female songs to
illuminate the feeling of a young woman’s barbie like spirit. It’s an absolutely
excellent film crafted as smart and clever as I’ve seen a movie that is pretty
much about rape and the “good ol boys” that can’t possibly be that bad.
#1 S O U L
Pixar has finally outdone themselves (again). After a slew of sequels (dory,
incredibles, toy story) and what feels like ages since they’ve done an original
piece of work (the amazing coco is the only stand out), Soul comes along and
after a recent second watching it truly might be (and i know I’m going to
probably get flack for this) Pixar’s best film yet!!!! Soul tells the story of a
jazz musician (voiced perfectly by Jamie Foxx) who after years of being an over
qualified band teacher at a middle school finally gets the calling of his dreams
to play for a jazz band. Only moments after reveling in the announcement, he
falls to his death into a manhole not watching where he was going. Thrusted into
a world in between of sorts, his soul is wandering trying to avoid falling into
THe Great Beyond and fighting to get back to his body to fulfill his dream. This
is where Pixar begins flexing its creative muscles like we haven’t seen in quite
some time (I would say since Walle) and forces us to reflect between how we see
life and death and the meaning of what we seek out of it. If you’re a parent out
there, finding it difficult to approach the subject of life and death with a
child, Soul is the perfect bridge to begin that conversation. It’s beautifully
constructed with amazing “soulful” jazz tunes that will bring about a spark in
any fan of music, whether it’s jazz or not. This might be the least funniest
Pixar movie ever made and although I often laughed at both watches, this feels
more like a Pixar deep drama with moments of laughter sprinkled around. I
actually very much enjoyed this aspect and would welcome to see more “serious
toned Pixar '' films because it's clear the creative team behind the company has
some of the brightest story tellers we’ve ever seen. This movie will make you
laugh, make you cry even, make you wonder in awe and maybe...just maybe….move
your mind to thought, and ponder on the bigger picture of life and however that
pertains to you. We love Pixar to simply give us nice cute little kid movies
that help parents get a couple hours of peace perhaps but I welcome the Pixar of
movies like this, Walle and Inside Out that dares to dive into deep discussions
that we try to hide from our children but really is a conversation that is
better put forward than waiting because of whatever pre conditioned notions we
have in our minds. Some will say I don't need more reminders of life’s trials
and tribulations. I want more escape in my two hours. God knows we have plenty
of those already...
