Here are my Ten Favorite movies of 2021! Joining me on the podcast Is Issa Diao, he is a filmmaker, having written and directed a film with the same name Good Clean Fun as his long time band. As lead vocalist of Good Clean Fun Issa traveled toured internationally and he is a total movie nerd. In this episode we talk about our favorite movies of 2021.
We greatly expand on the movies in the podcast and Issa gives his favorites!
Podcast with Issa on Apple Podcasts!
Honorable mentions (more thoughts on the podcast)
Blood Red Sky - German vampire on a plane with hostage takers! Better than it has any right to be.
No time to Die - Fitting end to Craig's Bond.
Reminiscence- Pretty cool Sci-fi starring Hugh Jackman directed by Westworld's Lisa Joy.
Judas and the Black Messiah - Great biopic.
Censor - cool Meta horror movie.
Worst movie :
Senior moment- A rom-com starring William Shatner and Jean Smart with Hallmark channel production levels. Yikes.
10. Space sweepers
Totally bonkers Korean Sci-fi movie! I have seen this compared to Guardians of the Galaxy, which is fair in terms of humor, moments of breezy tone, and fun that are all over this movie. That said the setting is dystopia cli-fi with an evil mega-corporation choking the earth and the sweet little kid is actually a bomb filled with nano-bots. Some of the design is Blade Runner-ish but the action is swift and fun. I really liked it, the only ding is the English language actors are awful. ha-ha.
9. Nobody
Nobody with Bob Odenkirk was super fun. If you always wanted to see Saul go John Wick here you go. Don't overthink it RZA and Christopher Llyod are natural screen partners. The bus scene was my favorite. Great to see Michael Ironside on screen again. Pure dumb fun.
8. Candy man
Best score of the year. Smart sequel that tied in social issues to the existing franchise. It grew on me over time. I am confused that there was no story credit for Clive Barker, the closest thing was a character reading Weaveworld in one scene. Seems against WGA rules, but whatever It is hard to talk about without spoilers but if you are fans of the OG movie then I think it is worth updating. Very well directed. I was a bit hurt in the moment that I watched Take Shelter the night before I saw it, and that might be a better horror movie.
7. Pig
I have mixed feelings on the movie. Nic Cage is great, while Mandy is still his best movie of this century he has not been this good on screen since Leaving Las Vegas. The trailers will mislead people to think this John Wick with a Pig. Nope this is a somber movie about grief and uses the Portland foodie culture as a metaphor for the game we play to be part of civilized life. As an Animal rights person, the idea that Cage's character is so motivated by the love for his Pig is great but the movie misses a chance to make that point more clearly and then undercuts the message near the end. Liked it overall but not as much as I hoped to.
6 Gunpower Milkshake
I know it is not high-art, and many will hate it but I LOVED Gunpowder Milkshake. It takes place in a world where men only exist to be mowed down. Karen Gillian (I think of her from Doctor Who, even though she is more famous from the MCU) leads this movie that will get John Wick comparisons but it is more stylized and surreal. Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Lena Headey, and Carla Gugino are all awesome, but Basset gets my most serious Laugh out loud moment. I had a few nitpicks but the fun stuff outweighed the bad.
5 Swan Song
Swan Song (AppleTV) is a great movie. A slow burn creepy tear jerker about a father/husband played masterfully by Mahersala Ali who hides the fact that he is dying from his family so he can replace himself with a clone. There certainly is a PKD what is human question posed by this concept. However, there is little surreal or off-beat. This is a drama at its heart. I am sure many will be bored by the pace but I found the creepy build effective. No horror tale works if you can't put yourself in the shoes of the character. The question of what makes me who I am? Can I be replaced? Powerful themes of grief.
4 Boss Level
A time loop movie with a surprising serious cast for a movie that feels like a B-action movie. I say that with affection, not judgment. This movie stars underrated action star Frank Grillo. This movie had a movie theater opening and was a few weeks from national release. Joe Carnahan the director has made a few above-average movies Narc & The Grey for example. With a cast of Grillo, Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson, and a cameo by Michelle Yeoh. This movie has an 80s action movie tongue-in-cheek feel, it has lots of laughs, a few solid moments of emotion pulled off by the actors, and lots of great action. I am kind of overtime loop movies but I had lots of fun with this one.
3 Last Night in Soho
Last Night in Soho was not perfect but a really cool horror movie. Edgar Wright clearly was overdue doing a non-comedy. Visually it was amazing, super influenced by Giallo and Argento. Anyone who has seen those movies knows they are super awful towards women. Wright uses this story to deconstruct the genre and flip it. A not-so-subtle story about the haunting nature of misogyny for victims of harassment and rape culture. Thomas Mackensie is great, Matt Smith is perfectly awful. General Zod was great. Big thumbs up. Only thing I didn't like. It was a little long, the police station scene could've gone. The music was overbearing and didn't always work for me.
2 Dune
I know I can't divorce the four times I have read the novel from my viewing experience but it is interesting watching the difference in how people are new to the universe. Lots of nitpicks that the characters are two-dimensional and flat. I have to disagree. First off I think people new to to Dune are probably overwhelmed by the visuals and the world. I love the novel but this movie has way more depth. I heard this knock going in so I was looking for smart ways DV and the movie gave characters more depth than ever before. Take the Box test scene. Lady Jessica's visible fear, Paul and Duncan Idaho's joy at seeing each other. Paul has always been hesitant to take the throne. The Baron is always Capitalism embodied. Leto's fear when facing the Baron, also i understood his desire to save his people from Shai'halud on a deeper level.
You don't need the Dune trailer really...Come on...
1 Stillwater
Matt Damon is great in the movie sure, but it is not the movie in the trailer. It is not the movie you think it is. A very surprising movie that made me feel tons. Absolute best movie of the year. It is hard to talk about without ruining the things that make it surprising.
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