29 January 2022

The Best of 2021: Any Number of Things

 

In place of an essay this year, let's crunch some numbers.

It didn't seem like a particularly good year for movies, but I've never given out so many high grades in the 9 years we've been reviewing movies here full-time. I don't know if I can explain that. Grade inflation? Laziness or resignation on my part? A soft spot for small movies that try hard? A tiny rip in the fabric of space and time?

Over the past 5 years, I have given out, on average, about 4 perfect A-grades each year (only 3 in 2020). In 2021, by contrast, I gave out 9 top grades. And in the past 5 years, I have given out, on average, about 8 A-minuses per year. This year it was 12.

In other words, I can fill out a top 20 this year without resorting to one B-plus. (Those B-plus movies will land in the honorable-mention section.) Let's just make it a Top 21 for 2021. That includes 9 documentaries, another record.

I'll skip the ranking this time, mainly because my mind changes on any given day as to which one was the best or which ones belong in, say, the top 5. The top 9 are so varied, and their releases were spread out over the year, that it doesn't feel right to impose a firm ranking system on them.

You might have a tough time finding some of these on streaming sites. I still get DVDs through Netflix and the library for that very reason. Vudu is a handy service, sort of a modern Blockbuster, where you can rent films, often for $3 or $4. Luckily, I saw one-third of the top 21 on the big screen, back where they belong.

This site has always been intended, in part, to help out all of you who feel inundated by algorithms and waves of new releases, seemingly hundreds of new ones each week. Just stop by here and cut through the clutter. Trust us, we're trained. Just this past month we reviewed 25 films, ranging from Pee-wee Herman (twinned with Wes Anderson) to Tsai Ming-Liang (paired with a debut Native-American filmmaker). There are films on Netflix ("Passing") and in theaters ("Licorice Pizza"), offerings from Romania and Argentina. Or just google any title and "streaming" to see if it's available online. We cover just about everything we need among HBO, Netflix, Vudu, Mubi and DVD. And the most reliable guide to critics' reviews is the aggregation/averaging site Metacritic.

There's no excuse not to watch exactly what you want and intend to watch, and be pleasantly rewarded for it. Just my 2 cents.


THE TOP 21 of '21

The straight A's, in alphabetical order:

  • Acasa, My Home: A fascinating sociological study of a family living off the grid.
  • The Macaluso Sisters: From Italy, a haunting but gorgeous elegy about sisters across the decades. 
  • Monday: A roller-coaster romp of a tumultuous relationship between two ex-pats hanging out in Greece.
  • Nine Days: The Best Screenplay of the year examines souls in limbo, thirsting for the human experience.
  • Procession: The best experimental documentarian out there, Robert Greene, brings fresh insight to the plight of six middle-aged men coping with their abuse as boys at the hands of Catholic priests.
  • Quo Vadis, Aida?: A devastating drama, told through the eyes of a tough woman, about the horrific massacre at Srebrenica in the 1990s. This one had 2021's highest aggregated critic score, 97 out of 100, at Metacritic, and it might end up being my favorite, too.
  • Red Rocket: Sean Baker is back to claim another Best Director trophy with his latest race around town with the underclass.
  • Summer of Soul: A joyous burst of life, found footage from 1969 brought back to relevance and context. A true curatorial labor of love that was so vibrant on the big screen.
  • The Velvet Underground: Another music doc to be seen in a theater, Todd Haynes presents a heady, dazzling biography worthy of the niche art-rockers of the '60s era.

 

And the A-minus crowd:

  • All Light, Everywhere: An intelligent, high-concept examination of human perception and how it plays out in surveillance and policing.
  • Bergman Island: Another fine tale of female yearning from Mia Hansen-Love.
  • Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts: A poignant look at an outsider folk artist from a bygone era.
  • Bring Your Own Brigade: A cagey, harrowing revisiting of the California wildfires from a few years ago, and a polemic about why it's happening.
  • Carmine Street Guitars: A loving tribute to those who make and play guitars.
  • Gunda: A remarkably human rendering, bereft of dialogue, of a big sow and her piglets. 
  • Lamb: Bizarre and captivating, the touching tale of a couple and their half-human/half-ovine bundle of joy.
  • Passing: Rebecca Hall writes and directs a poetic interpretation of two women straddling opposite sides of the racial divide in the 1920s.
  • El Planeta: From Spain, a quirky, touching mother-daughter story.
  • Shiva Baby: A young woman riddled with anxiety. Full of tension and cutting humor. On second viewing, it probably deserved an A.
  • Wojnarowicz: A daring and fascinating warts-and-all biography of a memorable artist.
  • Zola: A razzle-dazzle blast of a road/buddy picture, full of exhilarating sights and sounds.

 

JUST MISSED THE LIST

  • The Beatles: Get Back -- A special shout-out to Peter Jackson's meticulous curation of the "Let It Be" footage for his nearly eight-hour fly-on-the-wall celebration of a great band in the studio creating magical music.
  • The uplifting and inspirational origin story of tennis' Williams sisters, King Richard.
  • A romp through the infamous heyday of televangelism, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
  • The latest moral conundrum from Asghar Farhadi, "A Hero."
  • The quietly menacing period piece Azor.
  • The sweet, affecting Language Lessons.
  • And a token mention for the guilty pleasure of the year, "Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar."

 

MORE TOP DOCS


TOP PERFORMANCES

  • Jessica Chastain, riveting and all-in as televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" (which she also produced).
  • Rachel Sennott, captivating in "Shiva Baby."
  • Denise Gough, emotionally naked in "Monday."
  • Simon Rex, racing 99 mph through "Red Rocket," along with his co-star Brittney Rodriguez.
  • Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis raising two tennis stars in "King Richard."
  • Alana Haim, a revelation in her debut, holding the center together in "Licorice Pizza," while Bradley Cooper is simply nuts in a cameo as Barbra Streisand's gonzo boyfriend.
  • Lee Kang-sheng, stone-faced and pining for a connection in "Days."
  • Chaske Spencer bursting with pent-up rage in "Wild Indian."
  • Stephanie Cleau, smoldering as the loyal business wife in "Azor."
  • Winston Duke, poignant as the docent of yearning souls, in "Nine Days."
  • Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales clicking in the two-person "Language Lessons."
  • Alba Rohrwacher as the town drunk and bad mother in "Daughter of Mine."
  • Noee Abita, fascinating to watch as a young athlete in peril in "Slalom."
  • Jim Cummings, bat-shit crazy, as usual, in "The Beta Test."

 

THE LEFTOVERS

Some 2020 films we caught up with:  It's debatable whether "Nomadland" was a 2020 or 2021 release, but we'll give in to those who placed it in the earlier category. It was another beautiful, soulful story from Chloe Zhao. ... Meantime, Rashida Jones and Bill Murray were touching and quietly funny in Sofia Coppola's "On the Rocks." ... "Martin Eden" was interesting but rather flat. ... Next month we will finally get to Steve McQueen's "Small Axe" series, including "Red, White and Blue" and "Lovers Rock."

Wayback Machine:  We ventured to 1973 to luxuriate in yet another nuanced performance by Jack Lemmon, this time in "Save the Tiger." ... We finally watched "Casablanca," and it's everything everyone has always said it was. ... We filed volumes 2 through 7 of "Best of Ever," our occasional series revisiting some of the greatest films ever made, from foreign classics to the silly romps of our relative youth. ... We paid tribute to Mike Nichols. ... We revived our annual pilgrimage to the summer film noir festival at the Guild Cinema. ... And we made progress going through deep cuts that had long lingered in our Netflix DVD queue; the two best were 2009's "California Dreamin'" and 2011's "Carancho."

 

IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME

(Well, maybe this time it is you)



COMING ATTRACTIONS

Here are a few we wanted to see but didn't get the chance:

  • Memoria
  • Petite Maman
  • Mark, Mary & Some Other People
  • The One and Only Dick Gregory
  • Julia
  • Pig
Join us in 2022 as we hunt down those titles and more of the finest movies you wouldn't otherwise think of watching.

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1 comment:

Tamara said...

So many films to add to my must-watch list. Agree that Jessica Chastain, Alana, Haim and Bradley Cooper delivered some of the best and most memorable performances of the year.
CODA and Belfast are up there for me this year. I wish the last section of French Dispatch was a short film because it’d be about the best thing I’ve seen in ages.
I guess I’ll give in and give King Richard a watch. :)

January 30, 2022 at 5:45 PM

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