2021 in Review

  1. West Side Story, A, a new and improved version of a classic musical
  2. Raya and the Last Dragon, A, good adventure story with strong themes
  3. The French Dispatch, A, a nice trip to Wes Anderson's version of Europe
  4. Cruella, A, fun caper movie with a more complex Cruella
  5. Summer of Soul, A, great time capsule of history, music, and culture
  6. Dune, A-, very impressive beginning with a strong cast
  7. CODA, A-, nice coming of age movie with solid performances
  8. The Sparks Brothers, A-, interesting look at a very creative cult band
  9. Belfast, B+, heartfelt portrait of a rough period, needs plot
  10. Free Guy, B+, fun, funny action movie about a video game
  11. The Rescue, B+, well made documentary about an amazing rescue
  12. Encanto, B+, nice looking movie overstuffed with characters
  13. King Richard, B+, sometimes muddled look at the making of champions
  14. Tick, Tick … Boom!, B+, neat movie about the difficulty of success
  15. Don't Look Up, B+, a late night monologue turned into a movie
  16. Luca, B+, by the numbers despite a nice story and concept
  17. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, B+, fun, but more about the villain than the hero
  18. Flora & Ulysses, B+, low budget and simple with occasional genius
  19. In the Heights, B, underwhelming musical portrait of New York
  20. Nightmare Alley, B, great looking with strong performances, but hollow
  21. Ghostbusters: Afterlife, B, fun, nostalgic movie with a new, younger cast
  22. Nobody, B, violent action movie in sheep's clothing is fun
  23. Spider-Man: No Way Home, B, another so-so installment in this series
  24. Black Widow, B, backstory of a good character, but a little thin
  25. The Mitchells vs. The Machines, B, a lot of familiar ingredients give average results
  26. The Matrix Resurrections, B, nice to vist this world, but not as rewarding
  27. No Time to Die, B, sentimental Bond movie with weak story and villain
  28. Licorice Pizza, B, portrait of a seedy Seventies LA needs more plot
  29. The Worst Person in the World, B, unexciting movie about a very normal person
  30. Eternals, B-, too many characters with a questionable mission
  31. Jungle Cruise, B-, good leads with increasingly tiresome story
  32. Last Night in Soho, C+, weak mystery provides excuse to show 60's London
  33. The Suicide Squad, C+, overly violent, with a warped sense of humor
  34. The Green Knight, C, nice looking movie with a flawed hero and no story
  35. Ron's Gone Wrong, D, technology driven movie forgets need for humanity
  36. The Power of the Dog, D, agonizingly slow movie with people you don't like

Years in Review