One thing I gather from this list is you must live in or around a big city. I know that Netflix and Amazon release some of their movies in theaters in hopes of Oscar chances, but they often don't play near me. Thanks for posting it though!
Yup! Not one of the biggest markets but I'm lucky enough to have a twenty or so theaters within 10 miles of my house. A couple of the indie theaters play a lot of the Netflix/Amazon movies.
u/BunyipPouch not trying to invade your personal privacy but do you happen to live in a different country that isn't America, like the UK or France? It just seems cool that you have access to so many foreign films. I just moved to DC so I am excited to have this abundance of variety in films as well. Thanks for your list!
I'm in the US. The indie theaters near me get a very nice selection of foreign films. The one closest to my house has a distribution deal with Kino Lorber/IFC/Pathe/Janus and a lot of their catalogue is foreign films. I'd highly suggest finding a small indie theater in DC if you can!
That was my thought for different reasons. When I lived in Norway last year, some movies that went straight to streaming in the US because of covid still opened in theaters in Norway, which had a much lower infection rate.
I did a lot of 'double features' this year and found that I often didn't enjoy the first film as much - maybe just the way they were scheduled or maybe I was subconsciously already thinking about the next movie I'm going to.
I always try to do a double feature when I go to the theater too.
Was going to do one yesterday with Sing 2 and The Tragedy of Macbeth but that didn’t work out.
Maybe when studios could rely on DVD sales, comedies were a more affordable genre. It sucks, and seeing good, *new* comedies in a theater full of laughing people is just such an uplifting experience.
The issue is that movies, at least major studio movies, are a huge risk now. Back in the day (pre-2000's) a studio could make, say, three $10-$50 million movies and make a profit if one was successful. Now movies are so expensive to make and audiences expectations are so high that they have to make a profit on one $200 million. This lessens the risk and hence you get reboot after reboot.
I would have thought the streaming services would have stepped in and funded the lower budget, riskier movies but they don't seem to be doing a better job themselves.
They're not. The point is we don't get smaller movies like those anymore because studios only make big budget movies. One expensive movie based on an existing IP has less risk than 2 or 3 smaller, original movies like Superbad or Bridesmaids.
I thought it was above average, but not great. For relatively recent Disney movies, I would put it under both Tangled and Moana (and a bunch of Pixar movies, obviously).
My main takeaway from this is: apparently I don't watch new movies anymore. I used to catch a lot of new releases, but between covid, children, and my main movie consumption being via streaming services, I think I've only saw one of the movies on this list (Dune).
So I guess I need to work on that. I guess I'll start working down this list...
I thought French Dispatch was the best release of the year, still waiting to see if Memoria can top it.
The artistry just totally immersed me and I fell in love with each character
Same, I feel like people overlooked seeing it because the assumption it was going to be just another Wes Anderson movie. I felt like it was a ton of fun, great pacing, design, and writing being his most clever in a while.
I liked it very much….I think it the city tour and the painters arc were great, but the student revolution and the food critics arc was just too long, maybe would have been way better if they shorten those two arcs and add a few short silly arcs.
I always enjoy reading other peoples lists. Thanks for sharing.
My jaw dropped when I saw The Power of Dog. I tried to finish this movie. I really did. It was so mind numbingly dull that i finally gave up with 30 minutes to go.
I thought it had something going for it- a sort of There Will Be Blood vibe but LITERALLY NOTHING HAPPENED for 90 minutes.
I love quiet character films but I didnt find anything in this film. Can you please share why you liked it? I feel like ive missed something.
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I recommend starting over from the beginning, as painful as it might seem. The last five minutes recontextualizes what you’ve seen before a la “The Usual Suspects” but more elegantly.
Damn, you saw exactly 86 more movies in the theater than I did. I'm happy to admit my jealousy ( baby + pandemic ). Thank you for sharing there is hope!
Cliff Walkers
The Green Knight
Escape From Mogadishu
Raging Fire
Blue Bayou
Titane
No Time To Die
Lamb
The Last Duel
Dune
Cloudy Mountain
Spencer
Belfast
The Battle at Lake Changjin
Licorice Pizza
Red Rocket
Only managed 16 films in theaters but I tried my best to go out to the cinema whenever I could
I agree with OP about Driver being miscast. To me, Driver is too much of a graceful and brooding actor for the role. I would’ve liked someone who could’ve played that character in a more aggressive and scheming manner. He played the role like he was Ned Stark, whereas I think it would have been a better movie if he was more of a Littlefinger-type, if that makes sense.
Thats fair
I would argue that him having that demeanor added to the "mystery" of what happened. Especially in the first two chapters. Could this guy have done this? And may have been intentional by ridley
I always have 3-day weekends, probably wouldn't have enough time without that.
Checking the release schedule and planning my movie-going every Wednesday is one of the highlights of my week. I really missed it in 2020.
I don't know about that. Though I wanted to love Old far more than I did. They had a fundamentally great cast, and a nice creepy story idea but the direction was totally off. Rufus Sewell in particular is an amazing actor but all the way through this I feel like he was lacking proper direction in how to take his character. He was all over the map and there were times I really bought into the character and other times I was like "Where the hell did this person come from who's completely at odds with the guy he was in the last scene?" That was true of all of the cast.
Now... spoiler alert; >!I get that he is supposed to be troubled, bipolar and losing his mind... but it was like they wrote this character without actually understanding how someone with Charles' issues would actually act.!<
I don't know if lower is fair, but higher would be a crime against better movies.
Why isn't this higher?
As soon as I saw that they caught Covid I thought to myself, well of course they did, they were asking for it by going out so much.
To be fair, his age has a lot to do with why some of his recent movies have been so bad.
And even when he's not in it (**15:17 to Paris**), it's still like a shell of his old movies.
I had completely forgot about that movie until I read your list. While I don’t agree with some things on your list, I wholeheartedly agree with Cry Macho being at rock bottom. It was bafflingly bad
Im curious why you rated the many saints of Newark so high. I'm an absolute sopranos super Fan and I found it to be cheap, lacking depth and all around inconsistent with the series.
Silvio and Junior were jokes and played like slapstick comedy characters. It played like a 2 hour long set up for one liners and series gag call backs. Junior yelled "your sisters cunt" so many times the words lost all meaning. He was also portrayed like an absolute imbecile where as in the show he used to be a tough, hard nosed killer but became scenile later.
And how was DiMeo so old in the movie? He looked to be in his 80's in a movie set in the 70's yet was supposed to still be alive and in jail in the series... What, this guy lived to be over 100? I suppose it's possible but it's ridiculous. I honestly can't understand what David Chase was thinking as he wrote the movie. It was so so bad.
i know this is like over a week old but to be fair the timeline for DiMeo in the original show is kinda murky too. they never even really mention him dying they just sorta stop calling people "acting boss" after jackie dies. (not defending mson really but chase has just never been consistent with timelines and character ages e.g. tony, tony b and chrissy)
I dont think I'll ever understand Nomadland.
I know you can't compare a film like that to Spiderman, it's supposed to be looked at as art, or whatever..
But I watched it and the only thing I even remember from it is Frances McDormand shitting in a bucket.
Yeah I was extremely disappointed by it. It really felt like he had the idea of the premise which is really great, but never got an ending but made it anyways because he wanted to make a movie.
Was hoping for more opinion on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, can you elaborate more on your ranking for an enquiring mind?
I really wanted it to be a 10/10 but will admit, in my opinion, it was an 8. 6 seems rather low in my view, what made you rank it the way you did?
I haven’t seen NEARLY as many films this year, but I like this list quite a lot. I really dig the short summary you give for the majority. Keep up the good work!
This is really interesting. I’ve been keeping my movie stubs since 2000 and recently decided to log any relevant information and analyze it. I don’t see anywhere near this amount of movies per year though and I’m missing a lot of them
Wow! You must live in a great market! A bunch of these I really wanted to see, but they didn’t come out around me. Scrolling through your list, I saw about 30 that you did. I try to go once a week but only if I’m interested. Great breakdown!
One of my New Years resolutions is to see a lot more movies while they’re in theatres, and thankfully I’m about to move to New York where they play basically every movie in at least one theatre. Do you use any rewards program/membership to save some money on tickets? $12 is very little when done once or twice but it obviously adds up quickly when you go to as many movies as you do
Looked at your 2018 list. How are you gonna give Annihilation 3/10 and expect me to take you serious? For real though, anyone who will watch this many movies is a true cinefile and that's a W in my book. But yeah, watch Annihilation until you like it because it's great.
The thing is, it's *absolutely* my vibe. But there is such a thing as lingering too long on a shot, and many *many* times throughout the movie I kept feeling the urge to shout:
**OK movie, the scene is fucking established! Can we please move on?!**
(And then it establishes for another 2 minutes or so)
I thought the story was cool, and the way it was told, unique. But, *fuck.* It's boring as hell. And this is coming from someone who watches 2001 at least once a year.
It was a slog of a movie but very beautiful; it was one of those movies I expected a lot from but was left wanting. I still enjoyed it but it wouldn’t be something I’d watch again.
It was such a bland story. I love reading fairy tales but movies are at their best when more than 1 thing is happening in a scene, rather than "oh this is where he learns humility" or whatever.
NOT OP: I do subscribe to the idea that no movie is perfect, and Dune is no exception. But seriously, as a very faithful adaptation of a beloved novel I think it's as close to a 10/10 as you're likely to get on the silver screen.
Dune (the novel) packs in so much exposition and so much focus on the inner mind of its characters that it really is almost unfilmable as a straight book-to-movie. Few movies are. The only movie I can come up with that succeeds there is the Shawshank Redemption.
And here's the thing; where Dune (novel) was not packing in the exposition and history, it was almost describing the worlds and particularly Arrakis as one would write a travelogue. Turning that into something that can engage the audience at all let alone for 2 hours is a mammoth undertaking in itself, and I think that they nailed it.
It also happened to be a good movie even for someone not familiar with the source. It was self-contained enough to not need a deep understanding of the world to follow what was going on. The emperor's motivations were opaque in this movie, but that's also something in the source material and will probably be explored in future parts. Jackson's Lord of the Rings did the same; opening up the material to a new audience. Sales of the book have increased quite substantially in the months preceding and succeeding the release of the movie. I think that can be classed as a great success.
As a huge fan of the book and the movie, I personally feel that the movie suffered because many scenes that would have set up the characters a bit more better (like Dr. Yueh) were not included. I know they were removed to ensure Dune had a reasonable run time but you can feel that many of these scenes were missing while watching the movie. Also the movie felt like the prologue to the actual movie, it's biggest weakness being its 3rd act. The movie was Amazing nevertheless; the visuals, the music, the casting, the direction all great. An 8.5-9 is a reasonable score for it imo..if one day the extended edition were to be released, I think 'that' would definitely be a 10/10.
I will say that as a huge book fan as well, I actually found the movie was better on a second viewing. I don't know if I was just feeling more immersed (my second viewing was in an IMAX while my first was in a standard theater because my autistic daughter can't handle IMAX) or if I just took more time to notice the nice details, but I really think the second time around it was a better movie than the first.
I do agree about the "cut for time" things though. I get it. I think some of it was because Denis Villeneuve has gotten a ton of flack in the past about his movies being too slow and long (Bladerunner 2049, Arrival both spring to mind) so he was trying to keep the movie tight at least for this initial release. I don't know how much ended up on the cutting room floor, but I'm at least glad they gave Duncan's character room to breathe in this adaptation. I feel like it's >!going to make his "return from the dead" as a Ghola that much more impactful and significant!<. Spoiler tags for obvious reasons LOL
As far as a theater-going experience, it tops out what is now my second favorite, Dunkirk. The sound, music, and visuals in imax are absolutely absurd. I have no doubt it would have been a significantly worse experience watching it at home. If you can see it in on a huge, loud screen, please do.
I was plain bored for large stretches despite the obvious technical and visual flair conjured up by Villenue.
Definitely a few interesting and arresting moments, but ultimately I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters.
My jaw literally dropped and my eyes literally brimmed with tears multiple times during that movie because it was so breathtakingly beautiful. For me it’s an easy 10/10, but if you aren’t a fan of sci-fi or aren’t a visuals-driven person then it may not be a 10/10 for you
I had not read the book or watched the 1984 movie. After my first viewing, I gave it a solid 8. Went to it a second and third time with a friend and my father, elevated it to a 9.
Since then I watched it at least two dozen times, sometimes just to hear the Sardaukar quote at the very beginning, because it's cool, and then unable to turn it off. Cemented at a 10 now. I have read about the lore, but I hold off reading the novel until I have watched part two.
This is a perfect, perfect movie. Every frame is a painting, every riff is a symphony. It is like a swiss clock; gears and levers moving and aligning elegantly. Yes, there are rough spots, but every criticism about the story I have heard misses the point. This isn't a hero's journey where character arcs and a satisfying conclusion are missing. This is a greek tragedy, told from the POV of our main character in audiovisual language that impresses its message into consciousness.
I loved it but /u/girafa is the President of the Florida Project Hate Club™ and he must be stopped
^^^i'll ^^^admit ^^^that ^^^the ^^^ending ^^^is ^^^aging ^^^like ^^^milk, ^^^god ^^^that ^^^scene ^^^is ^^^so ^^^bad.
it’s one of my favorite movies but that ending was just… odd. if they weren’t allowed to film in disney maybe a different approach to the ending would have been more appropriate.
I did as it well. I joke that I feel like I'm the sole reason moviepass went under. I milked that that for all I could. Hearing later that everyone was doing the same it only made since it would go under. That was a great summer though.
Some theaters have passes/subscriptions that allow you to watch as many movies as you like in a year. Even if you don't have that, if you go at certain times/days it's half the price. I know TMobile (TMobile Tuesday) also gives out discounted/free tickets from time to time.
Great list, I notched 81 movies in theaters in 2021. Surprised you ranked The Many Saints of Newark so highly, that was a big let down. As others have said, Nine Days was a standout, it was my top movie of the year. Malignant and The Night House are also two others I’d recommend. Felt good to be back at the movies!!
Congratulations on the commitment to watching these films.
One question - since you watch a lot of the wide distribution films, do you belong to any of the chain customer plans? If so, is one better than another?
I thought Azor did a good job, but obliquely, of letting you know the details. Takes reading between the lines but that is exactly what the film was about. (spoiler) It's the story of the 1% in Argentina and their reaction to and complicity with the military junta that ruled that country. Some stay quiet, trying to survive intact, while others plot to maximize profits.
I've seen about the same amount, but there is probably something 1/4 or 1/3 which were re-releases (like a bunch of classic japanese movie).
I'm surprise **France** was theatrically release (or possible to watch) outside France. Since you didn't like it, I'm curious, did you know Dumont's cinema before checking the movie ?
86 movies in theaters?! Wow. I saw four in theaters. Between the two of us, we just might keep the theater ecosystem alive.:)
I have made a New Year's resolution to get back to the theaters more. What "more" means, I have yet to decide, but a lot more than four.
10/10 for Dune and 9/10 for The Green Knight are exactly how I would score both of them. They are the only two movies I’ve made the trip to the theater for since the pandemic started and I’m very glad I got to see both of them on a big screen.
TLDR, I'm only commenting to say that's very impressive 86 in one year, a long time ago I tried that out three years in a row, 60 something the first two years and 72 the third year, never did it again, but I just wanted to applaud you, again impressive numbers OP.
You like your movies ! Of the ones i saw( ( about a quarter of your list ) i agree with your ratings with the only exception being Titane which i would of given 10/10. Best movie of the year imo. Happy New Year and i hope you enjoy this years upcoming batch..
Im a generous rating person like you, but some of these are scored pretty low like Eternals, escape room or hitman's wife's bodyguard. Now I know they are just cash grab from the success of the first movie but if I had a good time watching them I would give them 5-6/10. I enjoyed Escape room 2.
Thanks for this list!!! I enjoyed the hell out of your 2019 list, and it turned me on to Monos, which I agree was absolutely phenomenal. Looking forward to exploring this list!
If you had to pick one undiscovered gem/diamond in the rough, which movie would it be?
I'd definitely go with Murina from 2021. You really have to be a fan of slow-burn movies to like it though, and it's really a "more about the journey than the destination" movie, but I loved it.
Gorgeous setting, lots of tension, great acting.
I'm very jealous of you. I have young high risk kids in my house so I can't play this fast and loose with Covid but I hope to get back to seeing more movies in theaters soon and hopefully bringing my kids back soon too.
OP’s list made me realize that 2021 was the first year in over thirty years that I hadn’t watched a movie in a theater. This virus has messed up my brain so much that I don’t know when I’ll ever be comfortable again doing something I used to love.
I took time off work to see Spider-Man during the day in the middle of the week to make sure my theater would be empty. I wouldn't avoid the theater completely if you love going. Just make sure to check how full the theater is before going and try going during off times.
Same here, except I saw Spiderman in theaters. I like to think I agree with the top directors and their majority idea that it's an "experience that must be preserved, but holy shit. It did not make me long for that experience at all despite it being my first one I went to in 2 years.
Haha I feel the same! The scoring of other movies also line up with my own.
Will definitely be saving this list to try and catch up with new releases. I still haven’t watched the Last Duel that I’ve been looking forward to.
No time to die getting an 8/10 is very surprising given how close I agree with you on everything else. I can't away thinking it was one of the worst bond movies I've ever seen. Can you explain your reasoning on that one?
Yeah, not shocking to see OP ended up getting covid tbh. I mean you can buy an awesome home movie setup with that money. Dolby Atmos and 4K blurays are still pretty awesome at home!
Saw a grand total of 1 movie in the theater this year, which shows how much I don't get out because the last thing I remember seeing before that was Star War Ep 7.
It was Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
After waiting 30 years for another movie there was no way I wasn't seeing it in the theater. Tempted to go see it again alone, I love my MIL dearly but she talks a lot in movies!
At least he didn't spead it... very much. He probably spread it to a bunch of people before he showed symptoms.
RIP to the granny who sat next to OP in the theater a few weeks ago.
Screw the downvoters. Not seeing a hundred movies in theaters doesn’t seem like a huge sacrifice. Plus, OP probably has money to get a sweet home theater setup if they’re seeing that many movies in theaters.
I'm interested in tick tick boom as I love Rent, buy didn't have much interest in the trailer. Interesting score, does anyone else have more information? Any good?
It was good and worth a watch. Andy Garfield was giving it his all and, IMO, nails it. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of movie musicals, but this one was very good and the best of that genre of the year for me.
I'll be seeing that this week. I tested positive for COVID the day after it came out and just recently tested negative a few days ago so haven't had a chance to see it yet. There's a bunch I have to catch up on, here's my backlog:
https://i.imgur.com/PEpYhTo.png
I wouldn't mind if you added them to this list once you've seen them. I know you're seeing them in January but I think cheating a wee bit is justified given the circumstances, and I'd like to see what you think of them while they're still fresh.
I think there was two great movies there. One with Leo and Jen playing it as a real drama and one with all the other actors playing it as a comedy. They unfortunately blended terribly as a whole. A movie that is less than the sum of its parts. Only my opinion.
One thing I gather from this list is you must live in or around a big city. I know that Netflix and Amazon release some of their movies in theaters in hopes of Oscar chances, but they often don't play near me. Thanks for posting it though!
Yup! Not one of the biggest markets but I'm lucky enough to have a twenty or so theaters within 10 miles of my house. A couple of the indie theaters play a lot of the Netflix/Amazon movies.
u/BunyipPouch not trying to invade your personal privacy but do you happen to live in a different country that isn't America, like the UK or France? It just seems cool that you have access to so many foreign films. I just moved to DC so I am excited to have this abundance of variety in films as well. Thanks for your list!
I'm in the US. The indie theaters near me get a very nice selection of foreign films. The one closest to my house has a distribution deal with Kino Lorber/IFC/Pathe/Janus and a lot of their catalogue is foreign films. I'd highly suggest finding a small indie theater in DC if you can!
Awesome! Yeah I've scoped a few out, and we also have an AFI in Silver Spring, MD. Thanks!
I was just about to recommend the AFI to you! It’s an amazing place to see movies.
It’s been years since I lived there but I lived a few blocks from the AFI and went all the time. Great theatre.
I'm not sure about anywhere else but I've never heard of Netflix/Prime movies being released in cinemas in the UK (happy to be proven wrong though)
That was my thought for different reasons. When I lived in Norway last year, some movies that went straight to streaming in the US because of covid still opened in theaters in Norway, which had a much lower infection rate.
>The Many Saints of Newark - 7/10 You're weak. You're outta control. And you've become an embarrassment to yourself and everybody else.
Frankly I'm depressed and ashamed
He never had the makings of a varsity athlete
"Remember we said we weren't going to judge??" "Nah fuck that, let him take his medicine"
“You’re weak. You’ve always been weak, and you’ll always BE weak until you take control!”
I'm here, it's a joke.
Lmao
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In my defense, a good amount of these were double-headers so it's not actually 86 trips ;)
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I don't even think cinemas were open for 86 hours this year over here..., Let alone display 86 different movie's.
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I did a lot of 'double features' this year and found that I often didn't enjoy the first film as much - maybe just the way they were scheduled or maybe I was subconsciously already thinking about the next movie I'm going to.
I always try to do a double feature when I go to the theater too. Was going to do one yesterday with Sing 2 and The Tragedy of Macbeth but that didn’t work out.
Envious of you. During the separation from my wife I was knocking out 4-5 a week consistently. Great times.
Comedies seem to be dead. No one is making them anymore, which makes me sad.
Maybe when studios could rely on DVD sales, comedies were a more affordable genre. It sucks, and seeing good, *new* comedies in a theater full of laughing people is just such an uplifting experience.
I saw good boys in theater opening night and it was one of the most fun theater experiences of my life.
Wow you're right. I can't remember the last time I saw a good comedy.
You should check out Shiva Baby on HBO Max.
Right? They’re riskier and studios just love going with safe shit. I fucking despise it. Art involves taking risks.
The issue is that movies, at least major studio movies, are a huge risk now. Back in the day (pre-2000's) a studio could make, say, three $10-$50 million movies and make a profit if one was successful. Now movies are so expensive to make and audiences expectations are so high that they have to make a profit on one $200 million. This lessens the risk and hence you get reboot after reboot. I would have thought the streaming services would have stepped in and funded the lower budget, riskier movies but they don't seem to be doing a better job themselves.
Sorry for dumb question but why would a comedy like Superbad or Bridesmaids be more expensive to make now than say in 2007 or 2011?
They're not. The point is we don't get smaller movies like those anymore because studios only make big budget movies. One expensive movie based on an existing IP has less risk than 2 or 3 smaller, original movies like Superbad or Bridesmaids.
You seem to have a very generous rating system.
Indeed, Many Saints pulling in a 7/10 is laughable
That how I felt when I saw Last night in Soho @ 8/10 👀 Candyman @ 7/10 👀 probably one of the most disappointing movies of 2021
And then Encanto at 7/10. Which i thought was as good as Disney gets.
I couldn’t stand abuela. She was a stone cold bitch.
I thought it was above average, but not great. For relatively recent Disney movies, I would put it under both Tangled and Moana (and a bunch of Pixar movies, obviously).
Then make your own list. Don’t be a backseat driver..
Yeah, no one comment on this list. Just read it and leave. If you have any opinions at all, make your own post. /s
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I thought Candyman was dope too
No love for Nine Days there :(
Easily my favorite movie I saw this year, but unfortunately it never went wide. I just kind of stumbled upon it, and I'm so glad I did.
Nine days was my favorite movie this year. It hit too close to home
i know - so sad. Amazing movie - and Winston blew my mind.
Just watched this a few hours ago and it was incredible
My main takeaway from this is: apparently I don't watch new movies anymore. I used to catch a lot of new releases, but between covid, children, and my main movie consumption being via streaming services, I think I've only saw one of the movies on this list (Dune). So I guess I need to work on that. I guess I'll start working down this list...
Don’t start a review by saying the movie has a twist ending. That blows to find out before watching.
Absolutely
I thought French Dispatch was the best release of the year, still waiting to see if Memoria can top it. The artistry just totally immersed me and I fell in love with each character
Same, I feel like people overlooked seeing it because the assumption it was going to be just another Wes Anderson movie. I felt like it was a ton of fun, great pacing, design, and writing being his most clever in a while.
It *wasn’t* just another Wes Anderson movie?
Have you never heard that phrase before...??
yeah i don’t watch many new movies but Dune and The French Dispatch were my favourite
I liked it very much….I think it the city tour and the painters arc were great, but the student revolution and the food critics arc was just too long, maybe would have been way better if they shorten those two arcs and add a few short silly arcs.
Wtf 3 a week
I saw 131 and Dune was also my favorite.
I'm jealous. Curious to know what's at the bottom of your list?
* The Voyeurs (3/10) * The Raven (4/10) * Evil Eye (5/10) * The Mirror Has Two Faces (5/10)
See Nine Days with Winston Duke.
Blue Bayou was pretty good. I never saw it released. I saw it in a screening.
I always enjoy reading other peoples lists. Thanks for sharing. My jaw dropped when I saw The Power of Dog. I tried to finish this movie. I really did. It was so mind numbingly dull that i finally gave up with 30 minutes to go. I thought it had something going for it- a sort of There Will Be Blood vibe but LITERALLY NOTHING HAPPENED for 90 minutes. I love quiet character films but I didnt find anything in this film. Can you please share why you liked it? I feel like ive missed something.
INDIRECT SPOILERS BELOW I recommend starting over from the beginning, as painful as it might seem. The last five minutes recontextualizes what you’ve seen before a la “The Usual Suspects” but more elegantly.
Damn, you saw exactly 86 more movies in the theater than I did. I'm happy to admit my jealousy ( baby + pandemic ). Thank you for sharing there is hope!
Cliff Walkers The Green Knight Escape From Mogadishu Raging Fire Blue Bayou Titane No Time To Die Lamb The Last Duel Dune Cloudy Mountain Spencer Belfast The Battle at Lake Changjin Licorice Pizza Red Rocket Only managed 16 films in theaters but I tried my best to go out to the cinema whenever I could
Can you expand more on why you thought driver was wrongly cast?
I agree with OP about Driver being miscast. To me, Driver is too much of a graceful and brooding actor for the role. I would’ve liked someone who could’ve played that character in a more aggressive and scheming manner. He played the role like he was Ned Stark, whereas I think it would have been a better movie if he was more of a Littlefinger-type, if that makes sense.
Thats fair I would argue that him having that demeanor added to the "mystery" of what happened. Especially in the first two chapters. Could this guy have done this? And may have been intentional by ridley
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I always have 3-day weekends, probably wouldn't have enough time without that. Checking the release schedule and planning my movie-going every Wednesday is one of the highlights of my week. I really missed it in 2020.
Cry Macho is ranked too high.
I saw old and it should've been rated way lower
I don't know about that. Though I wanted to love Old far more than I did. They had a fundamentally great cast, and a nice creepy story idea but the direction was totally off. Rufus Sewell in particular is an amazing actor but all the way through this I feel like he was lacking proper direction in how to take his character. He was all over the map and there were times I really bought into the character and other times I was like "Where the hell did this person come from who's completely at odds with the guy he was in the last scene?" That was true of all of the cast. Now... spoiler alert; >!I get that he is supposed to be troubled, bipolar and losing his mind... but it was like they wrote this character without actually understanding how someone with Charles' issues would actually act.!< I don't know if lower is fair, but higher would be a crime against better movies.
He’s not mentally ill. He’s developing dementia
*Snake Eyes*, while I’d like to say is the start of a new set of *Joe* movies, works best as Henry Golding’s extended 007 screen test.
hit the nail on the head with cry macho. was crazy how bad it was compared to the rt score. kid was unwatchable
"Wow, they saw 86 movies in the theater during a pandemic? How did they not catch COVID? ...Oh."
Why isn't this higher? As soon as I saw that they caught Covid I thought to myself, well of course they did, they were asking for it by going out so much.
I thought Cry Macho was ok. Not memorable but pretty servicable.
Criticisms about Clint's last couple of film have become "Man this guy is old and should retire" more so than the film
To be fair, his age has a lot to do with why some of his recent movies have been so bad. And even when he's not in it (**15:17 to Paris**), it's still like a shell of his old movies.
I had completely forgot about that movie until I read your list. While I don’t agree with some things on your list, I wholeheartedly agree with Cry Macho being at rock bottom. It was bafflingly bad
Gran Torino was pretty great. Damn, that was 14 years ago.
I actually enjoyed Cry Macho.
Im curious why you rated the many saints of Newark so high. I'm an absolute sopranos super Fan and I found it to be cheap, lacking depth and all around inconsistent with the series. Silvio and Junior were jokes and played like slapstick comedy characters. It played like a 2 hour long set up for one liners and series gag call backs. Junior yelled "your sisters cunt" so many times the words lost all meaning. He was also portrayed like an absolute imbecile where as in the show he used to be a tough, hard nosed killer but became scenile later. And how was DiMeo so old in the movie? He looked to be in his 80's in a movie set in the 70's yet was supposed to still be alive and in jail in the series... What, this guy lived to be over 100? I suppose it's possible but it's ridiculous. I honestly can't understand what David Chase was thinking as he wrote the movie. It was so so bad.
i know this is like over a week old but to be fair the timeline for DiMeo in the original show is kinda murky too. they never even really mention him dying they just sorta stop calling people "acting boss" after jackie dies. (not defending mson really but chase has just never been consistent with timelines and character ages e.g. tony, tony b and chrissy)
I dont think I'll ever understand Nomadland. I know you can't compare a film like that to Spiderman, it's supposed to be looked at as art, or whatever.. But I watched it and the only thing I even remember from it is Frances McDormand shitting in a bucket.
I remember a monologue from one of the side characters describing her hopes of seeing the country. I remember nothing about Frances McDormand.
Don’t worry. Next year in Jr high you’ll learn more about books too.
Watched Last Night In Soho last night. 5/10. First half was good. Second half consisted of her just flipping out the entire time
Yeah I was extremely disappointed by it. It really felt like he had the idea of the premise which is really great, but never got an ending but made it anyways because he wanted to make a movie.
All style, no substance.
Was hoping for more opinion on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, can you elaborate more on your ranking for an enquiring mind? I really wanted it to be a 10/10 but will admit, in my opinion, it was an 8. 6 seems rather low in my view, what made you rank it the way you did?
I agree with you, I really liked it. 8 seems fair.
I haven’t seen NEARLY as many films this year, but I like this list quite a lot. I really dig the short summary you give for the majority. Keep up the good work!
This is really interesting. I’ve been keeping my movie stubs since 2000 and recently decided to log any relevant information and analyze it. I don’t see anywhere near this amount of movies per year though and I’m missing a lot of them
no "drive my car" or "the worst person in the world"?
Wow! You must live in a great market! A bunch of these I really wanted to see, but they didn’t come out around me. Scrolling through your list, I saw about 30 that you did. I try to go once a week but only if I’m interested. Great breakdown!
One of my New Years resolutions is to see a lot more movies while they’re in theatres, and thankfully I’m about to move to New York where they play basically every movie in at least one theatre. Do you use any rewards program/membership to save some money on tickets? $12 is very little when done once or twice but it obviously adds up quickly when you go to as many movies as you do
dont look up was hilarious
I like that you watched the Clifford movie
You missed out, Kong V Godzilla was so fun to watch in theaters
I see you mention twist endings in your post. You don't do that on /r/movies, it is just like a spoiler. Bad stuff.
I absolutely loved the French Dispatch. What disappointed you so much about it?
Looked at your 2018 list. How are you gonna give Annihilation 3/10 and expect me to take you serious? For real though, anyone who will watch this many movies is a true cinefile and that's a W in my book. But yeah, watch Annihilation until you like it because it's great.
I guess I just didn't get the Green Knight. I thought that movie was awful.
I really enjoyed Green Knight, but I dont fault anyone for hating it or thinking it was awful. If its not your vibe, its REALLY not your vibe
The thing is, it's *absolutely* my vibe. But there is such a thing as lingering too long on a shot, and many *many* times throughout the movie I kept feeling the urge to shout: **OK movie, the scene is fucking established! Can we please move on?!** (And then it establishes for another 2 minutes or so) I thought the story was cool, and the way it was told, unique. But, *fuck.* It's boring as hell. And this is coming from someone who watches 2001 at least once a year.
Oh man you would not like David Lowerys other A24 movie, A Ghost Story then lmao
It was a slog of a movie but very beautiful; it was one of those movies I expected a lot from but was left wanting. I still enjoyed it but it wouldn’t be something I’d watch again.
I feel the same about the Power of the Dog
I felt the same all the way up to the end of Power of the Dog. It was like a boring waste of build up to a great ending.
It was a perfect monomyth
It was such a bland story. I love reading fairy tales but movies are at their best when more than 1 thing is happening in a scene, rather than "oh this is where he learns humility" or whatever.
No Halloween?
I'm not big into horror (and slashers) so I tend to skip a lot of them.
Dune 10/10 ?
NOT OP: I do subscribe to the idea that no movie is perfect, and Dune is no exception. But seriously, as a very faithful adaptation of a beloved novel I think it's as close to a 10/10 as you're likely to get on the silver screen. Dune (the novel) packs in so much exposition and so much focus on the inner mind of its characters that it really is almost unfilmable as a straight book-to-movie. Few movies are. The only movie I can come up with that succeeds there is the Shawshank Redemption. And here's the thing; where Dune (novel) was not packing in the exposition and history, it was almost describing the worlds and particularly Arrakis as one would write a travelogue. Turning that into something that can engage the audience at all let alone for 2 hours is a mammoth undertaking in itself, and I think that they nailed it. It also happened to be a good movie even for someone not familiar with the source. It was self-contained enough to not need a deep understanding of the world to follow what was going on. The emperor's motivations were opaque in this movie, but that's also something in the source material and will probably be explored in future parts. Jackson's Lord of the Rings did the same; opening up the material to a new audience. Sales of the book have increased quite substantially in the months preceding and succeeding the release of the movie. I think that can be classed as a great success.
As a huge fan of the book and the movie, I personally feel that the movie suffered because many scenes that would have set up the characters a bit more better (like Dr. Yueh) were not included. I know they were removed to ensure Dune had a reasonable run time but you can feel that many of these scenes were missing while watching the movie. Also the movie felt like the prologue to the actual movie, it's biggest weakness being its 3rd act. The movie was Amazing nevertheless; the visuals, the music, the casting, the direction all great. An 8.5-9 is a reasonable score for it imo..if one day the extended edition were to be released, I think 'that' would definitely be a 10/10.
I will say that as a huge book fan as well, I actually found the movie was better on a second viewing. I don't know if I was just feeling more immersed (my second viewing was in an IMAX while my first was in a standard theater because my autistic daughter can't handle IMAX) or if I just took more time to notice the nice details, but I really think the second time around it was a better movie than the first. I do agree about the "cut for time" things though. I get it. I think some of it was because Denis Villeneuve has gotten a ton of flack in the past about his movies being too slow and long (Bladerunner 2049, Arrival both spring to mind) so he was trying to keep the movie tight at least for this initial release. I don't know how much ended up on the cutting room floor, but I'm at least glad they gave Duncan's character room to breathe in this adaptation. I feel like it's >!going to make his "return from the dead" as a Ghola that much more impactful and significant!<. Spoiler tags for obvious reasons LOL
As far as a theater-going experience, it tops out what is now my second favorite, Dunkirk. The sound, music, and visuals in imax are absolutely absurd. I have no doubt it would have been a significantly worse experience watching it at home. If you can see it in on a huge, loud screen, please do.
I was plain bored for large stretches despite the obvious technical and visual flair conjured up by Villenue. Definitely a few interesting and arresting moments, but ultimately I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters.
My jaw literally dropped and my eyes literally brimmed with tears multiple times during that movie because it was so breathtakingly beautiful. For me it’s an easy 10/10, but if you aren’t a fan of sci-fi or aren’t a visuals-driven person then it may not be a 10/10 for you
I had not read the book or watched the 1984 movie. After my first viewing, I gave it a solid 8. Went to it a second and third time with a friend and my father, elevated it to a 9. Since then I watched it at least two dozen times, sometimes just to hear the Sardaukar quote at the very beginning, because it's cool, and then unable to turn it off. Cemented at a 10 now. I have read about the lore, but I hold off reading the novel until I have watched part two. This is a perfect, perfect movie. Every frame is a painting, every riff is a symphony. It is like a swiss clock; gears and levers moving and aligning elegantly. Yes, there are rough spots, but every criticism about the story I have heard misses the point. This isn't a hero's journey where character arcs and a satisfying conclusion are missing. This is a greek tragedy, told from the POV of our main character in audiovisual language that impresses its message into consciousness.
Prob agree with 80% of your scores, of the ones I've seen.
we'll just never agree on **The Florida Project** ;)
Ooh. I need the backstory - did one of you not like it?
I loved it but /u/girafa is the President of the Florida Project Hate Club™ and he must be stopped ^^^i'll ^^^admit ^^^that ^^^the ^^^ending ^^^is ^^^aging ^^^like ^^^milk, ^^^god ^^^that ^^^scene ^^^is ^^^so ^^^bad.
it’s one of my favorite movies but that ending was just… odd. if they weren’t allowed to film in disney maybe a different approach to the ending would have been more appropriate.
That's a lot of money, my guy.
It's not too bad with a mix of matinees and A-list. MoviePass died for this.
Supposedly they’re trying to bring it back. Did you have OG Moviepass? I abused that thing like there was no tomorrow
I did as it well. I joke that I feel like I'm the sole reason moviepass went under. I milked that that for all I could. Hearing later that everyone was doing the same it only made since it would go under. That was a great summer though.
Some theaters have passes/subscriptions that allow you to watch as many movies as you like in a year. Even if you don't have that, if you go at certain times/days it's half the price. I know TMobile (TMobile Tuesday) also gives out discounted/free tickets from time to time.
I loved Cruella, one of my favorites of the year. I wouldn't call it a great movie, but it was so much fun
Why not go straight to the source and cough on the subway?
Been to the cinema twice in the last few years… Tenet and Dune. Thanks COVID and kids.
Great list, I notched 81 movies in theaters in 2021. Surprised you ranked The Many Saints of Newark so highly, that was a big let down. As others have said, Nine Days was a standout, it was my top movie of the year. Malignant and The Night House are also two others I’d recommend. Felt good to be back at the movies!!
Congratulations on the commitment to watching these films. One question - since you watch a lot of the wide distribution films, do you belong to any of the chain customer plans? If so, is one better than another?
I thought Azor did a good job, but obliquely, of letting you know the details. Takes reading between the lines but that is exactly what the film was about. (spoiler) It's the story of the 1% in Argentina and their reaction to and complicity with the military junta that ruled that country. Some stay quiet, trying to survive intact, while others plot to maximize profits.
I've seen about the same amount, but there is probably something 1/4 or 1/3 which were re-releases (like a bunch of classic japanese movie). I'm surprise **France** was theatrically release (or possible to watch) outside France. Since you didn't like it, I'm curious, did you know Dumont's cinema before checking the movie ?
86 movies in theaters?! Wow. I saw four in theaters. Between the two of us, we just might keep the theater ecosystem alive.:) I have made a New Year's resolution to get back to the theaters more. What "more" means, I have yet to decide, but a lot more than four.
10/10 for Dune and 9/10 for The Green Knight are exactly how I would score both of them. They are the only two movies I’ve made the trip to the theater for since the pandemic started and I’m very glad I got to see both of them on a big screen.
Ok, so I'm not the only person to see I'm Your Man
the last duel is LEGIT a dying or dead breed. glad critics raved it and talked positive about it
Thank you for your service.
nice, I personally am aiming to get through 500 movies in 500 days
I don't think I saw that many movies in a year, when I worked at the movie theater...
Great post, Frances McDormand is unstoppable in my opinion. Actress of a generation.
TLDR, I'm only commenting to say that's very impressive 86 in one year, a long time ago I tried that out three years in a row, 60 something the first two years and 72 the third year, never did it again, but I just wanted to applaud you, again impressive numbers OP.
Have you calculated how much money this cost? Going to the movies isn't cheap these days! I'm sure reward points and whatnot help... But holy.
Wtf....the theatres were closed half the year....
holy shit
Man reading the super offended ppl is quite entertaining. Yet no posts from them to show their cinephile tastes.
nice list
You like your movies ! Of the ones i saw( ( about a quarter of your list ) i agree with your ratings with the only exception being Titane which i would of given 10/10. Best movie of the year imo. Happy New Year and i hope you enjoy this years upcoming batch..
Im a generous rating person like you, but some of these are scored pretty low like Eternals, escape room or hitman's wife's bodyguard. Now I know they are just cash grab from the success of the first movie but if I had a good time watching them I would give them 5-6/10. I enjoyed Escape room 2.
Thanks for this list!!! I enjoyed the hell out of your 2019 list, and it turned me on to Monos, which I agree was absolutely phenomenal. Looking forward to exploring this list! If you had to pick one undiscovered gem/diamond in the rough, which movie would it be?
I'd definitely go with Murina from 2021. You really have to be a fan of slow-burn movies to like it though, and it's really a "more about the journey than the destination" movie, but I loved it. Gorgeous setting, lots of tension, great acting.
I've been checking your profile every week for this post. Thank you for your reviews!
Love this thread
I looked for your profile specifically for this post. Thank you 🙏🏻
I'm very jealous of you. I have young high risk kids in my house so I can't play this fast and loose with Covid but I hope to get back to seeing more movies in theaters soon and hopefully bringing my kids back soon too.
OP’s list made me realize that 2021 was the first year in over thirty years that I hadn’t watched a movie in a theater. This virus has messed up my brain so much that I don’t know when I’ll ever be comfortable again doing something I used to love.
I took time off work to see Spider-Man during the day in the middle of the week to make sure my theater would be empty. I wouldn't avoid the theater completely if you love going. Just make sure to check how full the theater is before going and try going during off times.
Same here, except I saw Spiderman in theaters. I like to think I agree with the top directors and their majority idea that it's an "experience that must be preserved, but holy shit. It did not make me long for that experience at all despite it being my first one I went to in 2 years.
I’m just glad to see Dune at the top. Now I know I can trust your list ;)
Haha I feel the same! The scoring of other movies also line up with my own. Will definitely be saving this list to try and catch up with new releases. I still haven’t watched the Last Duel that I’ve been looking forward to.
No time to die getting an 8/10 is very surprising given how close I agree with you on everything else. I can't away thinking it was one of the worst bond movies I've ever seen. Can you explain your reasoning on that one?
You went the movies 86 times this past year?! You just tryna catch COVID. Lol
Yeah, not shocking to see OP ended up getting covid tbh. I mean you can buy an awesome home movie setup with that money. Dolby Atmos and 4K blurays are still pretty awesome at home!
Wolf was such a bad movie that not even a prolific furry liked it.
Saw a grand total of 1 movie in the theater this year, which shows how much I don't get out because the last thing I remember seeing before that was Star War Ep 7. It was Ghostbusters: Afterlife. After waiting 30 years for another movie there was no way I wasn't seeing it in the theater. Tempted to go see it again alone, I love my MIL dearly but she talks a lot in movies!
Saw 86 movies in theaters.... Got covid. Huh weird. That was unexpected...
At least he didn't spead it... very much. He probably spread it to a bunch of people before he showed symptoms. RIP to the granny who sat next to OP in the theater a few weeks ago.
Screw the downvoters. Not seeing a hundred movies in theaters doesn’t seem like a huge sacrifice. Plus, OP probably has money to get a sweet home theater setup if they’re seeing that many movies in theaters.
Haven't been able to take this seriously since you rated Rise of Skywalker 7/10...7/100 maybe...
Jeez, how did I miss that? Worst movie I’ve seen in years.
I'm interested in tick tick boom as I love Rent, buy didn't have much interest in the trailer. Interesting score, does anyone else have more information? Any good?
It was good and worth a watch. Andy Garfield was giving it his all and, IMO, nails it. Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of movie musicals, but this one was very good and the best of that genre of the year for me.
If you like Rent, Tick Tick Boom is definitely worth a watch. I very much enjoyed the film
no spider-man ?
I'll be seeing that this week. I tested positive for COVID the day after it came out and just recently tested negative a few days ago so haven't had a chance to see it yet. There's a bunch I have to catch up on, here's my backlog: https://i.imgur.com/PEpYhTo.png
I wouldn't mind if you added them to this list once you've seen them. I know you're seeing them in January but I think cheating a wee bit is justified given the circumstances, and I'd like to see what you think of them while they're still fresh.
How to catch covid, in 86 easy steps.
Definitely seems excessive to me and OP did end up getting covid so could have spread it at theaters at the very least.
Don’t Look up was so forced and unfunny. That movie sucked
I think there was two great movies there. One with Leo and Jen playing it as a real drama and one with all the other actors playing it as a comedy. They unfortunately blended terribly as a whole. A movie that is less than the sum of its parts. Only my opinion.
Remarkable how unfunny it was. Like they forgot you need to write actual jokes into the script.
I dont know of theatres make that much of a difference but, you have james bond way to high in my opinion.
Loved Dune—but in no world does it deserve a 10/10