“A writer is simply a photographer of his thoughts”. This is the first time I channeled my thoughts down into words for writing a movie review, that too in a top 10 format. It certainly was a challenging and time consuming exercise. The article is over 7,000 words and I spent around 40 hours in writing and perfecting it. The year 2021 was certainly a year for me to remember due to the number of movies that I watched both in theatres and at home.
What a year for Cinema Hollywood had this year. Even during the pandemic, we as Cinephiles got everything that we rightly deserved. We got movies ranging across genres and on different platforms made possible due to the audiance. As I’m just one person, I couldn’t watch every movie. But, I added the movies that I missed, on my “Watchlist”. I hope that, I get the opportunity and find time to watch more content this year.
Here are my top 10 Hollywood movies for the year 2021.
1. Zack Snyder’s Justice League:
I seriously don’t even know where to start writing about the movie. To stage things clear and early into the article, the reason I placed the movie as my number one pick of 2021 is due to the sheer cinematic experience which Zack Snyder has given us and the entire fandom movement which pushed Warner Bros into releasing the movie and making the “Snyder Cut” possible. The movie is “4h 2m” long (242 minutes) longer than any of the trendsetters like “Godfather”, “Avatar” and “Avengers: Endgame”. If it had a theatrical release, it would tie with the 1996 Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the "Hamlet" as the longest movie released by a major studio in the history of Cinema. The movie is divided into “Seven parts” long for the best viewing experience with perfect endings for each chapter. I prepared myself watching the first chapter of the movie and I started Weeping and got Goosebumps all over. If it ever gets released to the theatres, I will go see it again as long as it’s in IMAX and the original has the intended run time with an intermission. The four-hour long movie is the “Auteurist Vision” that Martin Scorsese was calling about in superhero movies. Zack Snyder’s vision for the movie is pure Auteurism film theory by taking full primary creative control of the director and as some call it, “Zack Snyder is the Blueprint”.
I got to know about the Snyder Cut from an anguished friend who just watched the 2017 “Justice League” and was relentlessly talking about the “Ifs and Buts” of WB and critically bashing the movie. To be honest I have never watched any movies in the DCEU before apart from the Standalone and independent “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman”. I wanted to follow the franchise multiple times but it never happened as I felt it was pointless watching them having no plan for the future. It was that time when the hashtag “#restorethesnyderverse” was trending and I was pumped by the responses, fan movement and the actor’s responses in pressuring WB to release the cut. I signed numerous petitions and supported the trend online. And finally, it’s the time in January of 2020, as rumours poured in for a possibility of a Snyder Cut release. By May the official announcement came and I was ready to follow the follow the “Snyder Verse”. It is for some other time that I will post about my thoughts on the road that lead to the events of “ZSJL” about the fandom and studio relationships. But all I want to say that, the movie is superior in every way in the Superhero movie genre than any of the production house made theatrical cuts and movies, whatever they are called.
I stand with what Zack Snyder intends to cinematically present his vision. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is meant to be the third installment for the series. The DCEU started with Zack Snyder and him alone from the 2013, “Man of steel” where I felt he owned the portrayal of Superman. His take on the character sets up the tone and Superman’s character for the Snyder Verse. The next movie being “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”, Is a piece of misunderstood superhero movie which I would fight for. I certainly watched the “Ultimate Edition” of the movie and I have no plans to commit myself to watch the theatrical cut. Just like most of the people who watched the Ultimate Edition, I defend the movie and can have debates over it. The movie is a misunderstood piece of cinema which has enough depth to show the drive and character’s arcs of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman which connect to ZSJL. The movie continues where BvS left off with Superman’s sacrifice and Batman’s motive to form a “Justice League” of superheroes as Earth’s Defenders. I would say Zack Snyder made a “Superman Trilogy” parallel to the movies made by his friend “Christopher Nolan” through CBM benchmark “The dark Knight Trilogy”
Zack Snyder and his wife and executive producer, Deborah Snyder stepped down from the project’s post production due to their daughter committing suicide due. Adding to the grief, Warner Bros. was already pressuring Snyder to add humour and tone down violence and run time for making more money at the box office. Later the WB roped in “Joss Whedon” who worked on Marvel projects like the first two "Avengers" films who reworked on the project. To meet the demands of WB, Joss Whedon, watched the Snyder's footage and started “Re shooting” and “Re writing” and made a new script. Fans mocking named the movie as “Josstice League” after the “Whedon-izing” of Zack snyder's vision. 30% of Snyder's vision and Visuals ended up in that version. He was rude to the cast, “Jason Mamoa” who plays “Aquaman” and “Ezra Miller” who plays “Flash” were open to call it out. “Gal Gadot” who plays “Wonder Woman” never wanted him as the director. The pressure reached to an extent that “Ben Affleck” said he wanted to quit playing batman. Through the claims of an Email leak and Conference meet recording, the executives at WB were showing “Racism” and never wanted a “Black person” to be the heart of the movie. “Ray Fisher” who plays “Cyborg” demanded a public apology from the executives and declared he would never play Cyborg again unless they apologize. The movie changed the life of Ray Fisher. The movie redeems Steppenwolf. The movie sets up the Mother boxes and Anti life equation for Darksied.
The “Restoration” of the movie in the original 4:3 aspect ratio was a brilliant idea where we get to see the entirety of the Superheroes rather than what we get in the usual 16:9. The quality of the movie is very well contained and shows the brilliance of the “Editors” and “VFX artists” who had to restore and redo the work from the stored files. The Score composed by “Junkie XL” is blasting both at the action highs and the emotional lows of the movie. Visually the movie is an “Arthouse” in the genre of superhero flicks. The movie from its opening is full of Zack Snyder’s trademark “300-esque” camera work that made it captivating to watch. The combination of Music, Visuals, and Taking make a few sequences “hypnotic”. The movie’s Opening sequence of Superman's Scream and the Sound Waves, the scene revealing Wonder Woman and “Themyscira Sequence” with the use of “Ancient lamentation music” make us spellbound. The sequences towards the middle and climax where Flash charges and runs through Superman's ship and resurrects him from the dead, and the sequences that follow make the part, one of the best in Comic Book Movie history. The best sequence with sheer cinematic brilliance in the movie was the sequence where Flash runs back in time to reverse the actions of Steppenwolf. There is no point in writing about each part of the movie and the individual themes as it's clearly presented for us to connect and root for.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a “Once in a lifetime” phenomenon. The movie is the success of the fans, and ultimately the vision of Zack Snyder. Although we didn’t get to see “Green lantern”, again Due to WB. The movie has an additional reshoot of “The Joker”, and Zack Snyder redeems “Jared leto” portrayal of the character. The movie went through the act of “Shoot, Edit, VFX” – “Reshoot, Edit, VFX” – “Shoot, Edit, VFX”. If not for the money and the Ego of the executives, it’s the loss of WB if they won’t continue Snyder verse as fans boycott them. As Flash says in the end, “Make your own future. Make your own past. It’s all right now.” We wait to need wait and “Ready the armada” for the arrival of Darkseid. As the “ZSJL 2 and 3 StoryBoards” already hanging at the “AT&T Discovery District” museum we need to wait for WB to make it happen. As Batman says “Faith Alfred, Faith!” we need to have the faith and hope in us to witness the “Justice League Trilogy” and for the arc of Knightmare sequences, Flash’s Future Visions, Evil Superman, Robin arc, Deathstroke, Cybord, Joker, Green Lantern, and the eventual Fate of Wonder Woman and Atlantis.
2. Tick, Tick... Boom!
This is one movie which has made me absolutely emotional and almost made me cry. I had no idea about the “Broadway musicals” and about the “Broadway legends”. Theatre, Music and Cinema are a part of my childhood growing up and have influenced me throughout. I was able to connect to the genre of “Musical Theatre” even though I haven’t been to one. The movie is a Musical and a Biographical drama of “Jonathan Larson” and is adapted from his Musical “Tick, Tick... Boom!”. As Larson describes, the movie is a tribute to the vanishing species, the creators of Musical Theatre. The movie also expresses its gratitude to Larson’s mentor “Stephen Sondheim” who is the Lyricist for the renowned “West Side Story”. The movie is very theatrical in its approach, with one of a kind screenplay. The narration goes back and forth between Larson’s “Personal Story” and his “Musical show”.
Larson's art, passion and struggle with his private life in creating a musical around his thoughts, for the end result of presenting it to the audience was the soul of the movie. “Andrew Garfield” clearly understands the environment of Musical Theatre brilliantly with the help of his “Theatre” background and the special training that he took in singing for the role. He goes through the ticking time bomb in his head in fear of turning 30, struggling with his dystopian sci-fi musical “Superbia” which he has been working on for eight years, writing the lyrics for the backstory of “Elizabeth”, a crucial character in the second act, finding the necessary funds and audience, Managing a workshop with performers and instruments, struggling for money, fear of losing his close friends suffering with “AIDS”, which already killed three of his friends in their 20’s, juggling his options in joining an advertising agency, and moving to Berkshires. I was teary eyed for the entire second and third act of the movie.
Andrew Garfield carries the single headedly through his “performance”. He conveys an artist’s frustration, ambition, self-doubt, urgency and mingled confidence, and hits the everyday reality in letting down himself and the people who support him. He struggles to put down his thoughts into words, turns off himself and neglects to care about others even though he wants to. The “desperation” to finish his song without electricity while taking his frustration on the electricity board call operator and abruptly lighting a candle was impactful to watch. Overall, I found the movie to be “gripping and emotionally engaging.” The runtime of the movie is tight and I felt the movie presented itself brilliantly. As a person who wants to study creative media and work in the creative space, the movie gave me unique perspectives of an artist’s life. I truly thank Andrew Garfield and the director “Lin-Manuel Miranda” for giving us the wonderful piece of storytelling on the life of Jonathan Larson and inspiring many budding artists.
3. Dune: ᕲ ᑘ ᑎ ᕮ
I have to say that I haven’t read the 1965 “Frank Herbert” Classic Sci-fi novel “Dune”. But I was drawn to the movie due to a friend who introduced and hyped me up for the movie. I was electrified when I first saw the cast and the trailers. But was totally annoyed due to the fact that there isn’t a single “IMAX” screen in Hyderabad which would project what the cinematographer “Greig Fraser” intended to show. "It has been dreamed, designed and shot thinking IMAX. When you watch this movie on the big screen, it’s a physical experience" - Denis Villeneuve. The movie was a cinematic masterpiece and in no exaggeration I say that, Dune will set the bars for many ambitious Sci-fi movies in the future. As the prequel series “Dune: The Sisterhood” focuses on the “Bene Gesserit” and sequel “Dune: Part two” already announced, I would watch “The Spice Flow” into a franchise with multiple projects.
The vision of “Denis Villeneuve” is clearly shown in his immersing visuals right from the opening sequence. He avoids the baffling narrative choices that “David Lynch” had done in his adaptation and wisely chooses the manageable part, by adapting just “One third” of the Novel. The movie clearly opens with “Part one” and closes with the hook “this is just the beginning”. I can still picture the audience at my screening including me, languishing at what we have just witnessed by the end. The haunting score composed by “Hans Zimmer” has the meat to it, justifying himself to turn down “Tenet”. I still listen to “Ripples in the sand” and “Dream of Arrakis” from the OST. The “Gom Jabbar” scene with the Reverend Mother, “Charlotte Rampling” gave me literal chills. The VFX work especially the sequences including “Ornithopter” and “Sandworm” Shai-Hulud were brilliantly picturised. This technical brilliance is shown throughout the movie and, I hope it sweeps the awards season.
The marketing from the trailers tricked me to believe “Zendaya” had significant screen time. But, I’m waiting to watch her perform as the Fremen girl “Chani”, as her story just begins. I loved to watch “Timothée Chalamet” rising to become a mainstream star after Dune, as WB casts him as the next “Willy Wonka”. I would also love to see him as “Harry Osborn” in the MCU. The dynamics of a Teacher, Friend and Mentor in Gurney played by “Josh Brolin” and Duncan played by “Jason Momoa” set the tone for his relationship with Paul. Right after the tragic demise of his Father, “Leto Atreides” played by “Oscar Issac” Paul takes the responsibility of the “Duke” at the age of 15. The Journey of Jessica and Paul to find the “Fremen sietch” showed us the emotional Mother and Son dynamics. In my opinion, the casting of “Dave Bautista” as “Rabban” felt as a misfired casting choice, as I felt he doesn’t fit in the world of Dune and looks odd with an over the top performance unlike the others. I wish the second part would give him enough screen time for him to perform well.
The personal struggles of Paul were shown brilliantly in the movie. His primary struggle was to manage the “Dreams and Visions” that he envisions. Through his Journey, and by the end of the movie he reaches “Self-actualization” and understands himself better. He uses his Dreams and Visions and uses them to alter his present day battles. Paul also feels weak dealing with the “feminine powers” which are descendant from his mother “Lady Jessica” in his masculine body. The powers like “The Voice” and “Truth Sensing” which are perfected by the Bene Gesserit make him freak out, and blame his mother.
I plan to read the novel soon, for it to be the “Best Sci-fi novel” as one would say and also to explore the themes and real life influences that it has. I appreciate the themes explored in the movie like the need of having a “Messiah” and the similarities with “Lawrence of Arabia”. I was intrigued when “Paul Atreides” started to accept himself into becoming the “Lisan al-Gaib” himself after initially rejecting the need of a “Messiah Figure”. He thinks the Bene Gesserit were planting mere superstitions, but in-turn using it for his own advantage to join the Fremen. The underlying theme of “Climate Change” and the need to protect our planet from the greed of “Wealth Creation” by exhausting resources through “Exploitation” was clearly inferred. The “Gender Dynamics” themes such as the Bene Gesserit’s ability to choose a baby gender and having the authority to maintain political power impressed me to wait for the spin off.
I fear that the movie lacks representation and wouldn’t resonate with the audience who support diversity. But I must say “Fear is the Mind killer”. I don’t want to delve into the debate of Adaptation vs Originality. I understand the impact of the “Time Period” in which the characters were written and the “minimal diversity” when it was published. In my opinion, I would say the sequel should add diversity for the changing dynamics of the world and for the 21st century audience.
4. Spiderman: No way home:
The move is the best piece of nostalgia and fan service which is ever made. No way home is a treat to “Spiderman fans” which was made possible due to the ambitious collaboration of Marvel and Sony. The movie delivers and reaches the expectations of every “Comic Book Movie” fan. “With great power comes great responsibility” and the Director “Jon Watts” finally delivers an MCU Spiderman film that hits all the right notes responsibly. The “Writers Duo” of “Ant Man And The Wasp” presents us with emotional fan service and takes us on a ride of dreams. I really wish him good luck for his “Fantastic Four” reboot. The movie is a heroic achievement in its own way. After all the leaks, and trailers, I was anticipating watching the movie at any cost. Thankfully, I got to watch the movie on an IMAX screen, with a packed hooting and clapping crowd, on the morning of its opening day without any major spoilers. The movie is crowded with “Sinister Five” and “Spider-Men”. Sadly, I wasn’t able to revisit previous Spiderman movies, but I was hyped enough to get myself going.
The movie picks right after the events of “Far from home” with the dialogues playing over the marvel logo. When “Mysterio” reveals the identity of “Peter Parker” and claim him for destruction and murder, his life becomes a nightmare. It affects him and the people around like “MJ and Ned”, who get denied for college admission at M.I.T. The events that unfold are how Peter meets Doctor Strange and asks him to “cast a spell” to make people forget about Spiderman. Peter tampers with the spell realizing that the closest group around him should remember about him being Spiderman. The spell goes out of hand and Strange barely gets it under control. This is when the rush of excitement begins. The classic “Spidey Villains” show up. The proceedings become exciting and make us keep guessing on how the plot unfolds. Spidey with the help of Doctor Strange spells capture the villains from other universes. It’s the movie's second act where the pace drops, until the “Spidey Sense” kick, saving it from becoming a comedy sketch. “Tom Holland” truly unleashes his acting potential. The way “Alfred Molina” acts as “Doc Ock” was as if he continued from where he left 18 years ago. The most villain’s performance was from “Willem Dafoe” in his Green Goblin. The best that was done to the character was to remove the mask off and let him perform. Even though the rest of the villains didn’t make an impact on the story, they did decently in their assigned roles.
The movie shows the underlying themes of celebrity privacy and how a masked superhero gets a bad rep for his actions. We get the iconic line "With great power comes great responsibility" and it sets the main theme of the movie. Every superhero confronts the situation of what it means to have powers and how to deal with the responsibilities. The “Tom Holland '' version of Spiderman has an entire arc of being responsible, in supporting a cause from “Civil War” to trusting people in “Far from home”. No way home marks Peter to take responsible designs. It shows us the side of taking empathetic decisions. He takes the decision and frames a plan to try and cure the characters who tried to kill his other iterations in the multi-universe. It becomes a tale of correcting his mistakes from the past and a path of seeking redemption. As Mysterio frames Peter for murder, He feels sympathetic to save the characters from their eventual fate of death for his own redemption. This innocence will lead him to fight Doctor Strange, and trap him in his mirror dimension. The plan would work in an ideal universe but “Greed” (Electro) and “Green Goblin” make it hard for peter. He fights for what he believes and eventually the closest person to him dies. The movie multiplies Peter's emotional drive. He can't meet his guide “Happy Hogan” or his friends as he gets completely detached from trying to be a good person.
The movie sells us on some hard emotional punches. Ned “Casts in Spideys” brothers across the universes. Keeping aside the logic, this is where my theatre erupts. The sense of nostalgia kicks in and we feel pure joy. They come to console and eventually help a brother who is going through what they went before. One can easily figure out the secrecy behind shooting those sequences. The sequences at the laboratory, uses a single live set and mostly use tight still frames. They work on to alter the chemical composition and go with the original plan of curing. The next fight sequence that follows was a treat to watch. They recreate the name calling sequence from the animation, Pure fan stuff. The multiverse unleashes. The score given by of “Michael Giacchino” during the mirror dimension and climactic fight sequence is one of the best in the MCU. But just like everyone, even I couldn’t figure why electro appeared even though he never knew who Spiderman was. And, Turning Ned into a “Wizard” makes “Doctor Stanger” look silly, as he had to go through an entire training at Kamar Taj. But it babbles me that, Peter never approached his close friends for an advice to wipe out the memory of peter parker. He was still struggling to “Informed Decisions” at such crunch times. But it’s time for the audience to evolve from associating Comic Book Movies to the general perception of “Good Triumph Over Evil”. The makers need to present their concepts more cohesively, as they go forward with the multiverse, to better communicate and connect audience to their ambitious projects. I really hope they make the multiverse concept clear in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” I wish Tom Hollands Spiderman Slings the “spider verse” in the streets of New York City with his classic suit
5. No Time To Die:
This is not going to be a typical movie review mentioning the technical aspects of the movie. Instead, It’s going to be a critical examination of the movie along with my experiences with Bond movies in general.
I’m just another crazy 007 fan boy, and the only actor I grew up watching who played James Bond was “Daniel Craig”. From the moment I saw him in the 2006 movie, “Casino Royal” I really adored his stylish and grounded performance. But his version of bond was more vulnerable and less experienced which is why I connected to the character more than any other spy agent. Even though the succeeding “Quantum of Solace” was a bad movie due to the writers’ strike, I enjoyed the opening fight sequence and the emotional message that it delivers about environment which is needed right now and was way ahead for its time. But the 2012, “Skyfall” is my absolute favourite bond film, and easily my ranks at number one, due to the sheer cinematic scope that “Sam Mendes” brought to the movie. But it’s “Spectre” which drives us to No time to die and connects the story as a sequel even though it has an underwhelming story. After getting overly delayed, I was nervously waiting my guts off for the “fitting farewell” for Daniel Craig and it didn’t disappoint completely.
As this is the “twenty-fifth” installment for the franchise and final one for Daniel Craig, I was really skeptical about how they will end his arc. But, oh boy! I missed watching it on the opening night, and got spoiled with story leaks, confirming the rumours of his tragic fate in the end. This leak really disturbed me, as I prepared myself to revisit Craig’s four bond films “twice in a week”. But, I was fine getting spoiled due to the climax. As I would have hated the movie if I watched it without any knowledge about the ending. I watched the movie twice and had two different experiences watching it. The first time, I hated the movie as I was expecting a sleek bond flick. But the second viewing changed my perspective about it. The movie had a lot of depth to its story, by slowly unfolding and presenting itself almost like a theatre play. This in my opinion is Daniel Craig’s best performance till date. I hope to see him continue to be a detective in announced future sequels of “Knives Out” playing “Detective Blanc”
The movie never felt like a typical bond movie showing its similar tropes and referenced over and over in every movie. Bond movies typically have an action sequence for its opening, different villains, a new Bond girl (Bond Women) for every movie, an early title sequence, and Bond successfully making it out. But the movie broke the typical “007 Movie'' format and presented itself by breaking all the stereotypes. The opening sequence was pure dark, and cutting in that crucial moment for bonds reveal. The most painful scene came right after the racy and heart skipping “Square Escape” sequence, at the train station, where Bond doesn’t trust Madeleine played by the amazing “Lea Seydoux” and gives her a heart broken good bye. The entire sequence at the halfway mark, where Bond meets Madeline to Investigate “Blofeld '' was edge of the seat and breath-taking. The entire sequence in Cuba where Bond meets “Paloma '' played by “Ana de Armas” was elegantly shot. The movie also painfully ends “Felix Leiter” who is played by “Jeffrey Wright'' just to give Bond the motivation to know the dark secrets of “MI6.” The movie also hints for a possible female bond lead played by “Lashana Lynch '' in her rookie “Nomi”. Bond, at one point, doesn’t even have his “007 Status”. But redeems his status for his “One final mission”
At first I thought the Theme song by “Billie Eilish” was a marketing gimmick, but the animation and the lyrics moved me emotionally when I watched it for the second time. I also thought “Hans Zimmer” was an overkill and not the right match for the franchise even though I thought he did a decent job. He didn’t use the classic “Gun Barrel” music and also tried to make a difference from his usual style. But when I watched the movie for the second time I understood why he was drafted in the first place. He scored the emotional and dramatic punches that the movie rightly deserved so. The use of the transmitting “Nanobots”, as an indirect reference to the super-spreader “corona virus” was clearly evident. The movie casted “Rami Malek” as the Main Antagonist “Safin” and I personally felt he did a fair job carrying him. But, the movie quickly fits into an out-dated trope of the stereotypical disfigured villain, with a tragic past, carrying a physical disorder. Not only that, I felt the movie wasted the potential of his acting by not giving him a proper backstory at all. But, the movie is already the longest Bond film ever and becomes slow in its second act. I feel the director “Cary Joji Fukunaga” background in directing the series, “True Detective” , influenced the heavy Drama and performances in the movie. I hope that he reboots the franchise and establishes the “New 007” due to the commendable changes that he brought in the direction of the franchise with one more project.
6. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings:
As I have not read about “Shang Chi” from the Marvel Comics, I was unaware about him. But, I was intrigued when it’s first trailer released and was hyped to watch it on the opening night. The movie showed us that audiences internationally would watch and appreciate a Hollywood movie which has diversity, and in their native language, irrespective of star power. Also, I’m no stranger to China and Its mythology representation in movies, as I watched a handful of Telugu dubbed “Chinese Movies” on Television when I was a kid. Shang Chi presented itself brilliantly in narrating an origin story of a lesser known superhero who has a deep history in China. It also showed the production companies of “Hollywood” that audiences can connect with characters with varied ethnic backgrounds if done right. I feel that audiences in general like to watch movies that represent diversity and encourage unknown faces, as they feel that they take part in inclusion.
The attempt to represent Asian culture, specifically Ancient Chinese culture and the Life of Immigrants in the USA was Marvel’lous. Shang Chi is one Comic book movie based on a Superhero where Chinese and Asian people in general, around the world can look up to and relate to. The wide acceptance of such characters is primarily caused due to the lack of representation in comic book movies over the decades. I believe that Shang Chi would open doors for more such diverse characters for mainstream Superhero fans. Even as an Indian, I was able to relate to the character’s and the world of “Ta Lo”' due to the close proximity of the Ancient Mythology, Martial Arts and Folklore Connect that we have in common. As I travelled to Singapore with my family on vacation back in 2016, I was exposed to the Chinese culture, and their Mythology through different performances, presentations and interactions.
Coming back to the movie itself, the Action scenes and the Music sold me to watch it for a second time. Right from the get go, the usage of Martial Arts and the “Mandarin’s Rings” glued me to the seat. The entire bus fight sequence was the highlight of the movie. It was jaw dropping to watch the “VFX artists” and “Stuntmen react” to breakdown videos of “Corridor Crew” when it came out on Disney+ Hotstar. In my opinion, the “Ten Rings” are by far the Coolest and Most Powerful gadgets used by any superhero, which I would love to try and have.
The heartfelt story with the family and friendship dynamics presented by “Dustin Daniel Cretton” was moving to watch. Tony Leung as Wenwu, Simu Liu as Shang, Awkwafina as Katy and were exceptional in their roles. The movie is a perfect package of story, action, music and performances making it my top 5 movies in 2021. The only complaint for me is the dark VFX battle sequence in the climax which was a similar experience for everyone. I also have a pedantic option about the sad and sacrificial death of Wenwu, which I feel should have been presented with more impact. The death put me off for a while but not completely as I liked the direction that they wanted to go for Shang’s future and I feel it didn’t move me completely due to the similar trope of a sacrificial death for the pay-off at the end. But, I'm really excited for the sequel. I hope Shang shows up in doctor strange in the multiverse of madness
7. Last Night In Soho:
The movie is a brilliant piece of filmmaking. The creative and intriguingly fast-paced screenplay presented by Edgar Wright was the pure crazy filmmaking that we expect from him through his work. The hybrid genre kicks in after the first 20 minutes and the sequences that follow left me absolutely speechless. I love these hybrid fusion of genres in film making where I personally find it hard to place the movie in a particular folder. The elements of horror, crime, psychological, mystery, action, periodic, thriller, genre shifts made me absolutely love the film for the unique experience it provided me with. The story was blended perfectly with the parallel narration of the two characters from two timelines together. As I predicted the final twist of the movie way into its second act, I still really enjoyed how Edgar presented and conveyed it quite effectively. This is also the reason why I rated the movie in the lower half of my list.
The story has an emotional weight as it shows the reality of people taking advantage by tricking young aspirants in promising jobs and making them mere tools. But coming back to what the movie has to offer, The Cinematography and the Period Setting created a realistic experience of the 60’s Soho which I had no clue about before. I’m not usually a horror fan and I personally don’t like the genre, but the intriguing Horror and the VFX “Zombie like creatures” really sold me some jump scares. Finally, talking about the best of the movie, I adored the crisp Editing, intelligent Sound Mixing, and the Stylish Direction which made the movie flattering to watch. The dream sequences shot with Thomasin McKenzie’s Eloise and Anya Taylor Joy’s Sandie together were directed, edited and blended as if there Eloise is feeling Sandie closely as If she is there.
I became a fan of Anya Taylor Joy, since I first saw her in “The Queen's Gambit”. This was my first time watching her perform in a full length feature film in the theaters, and I absolutely loved it. Her performance was natural and ground to earth and also scary in a few sequences. She is rightly casted as a singer in the movie as she is a singer in real life too. Her voice is so captivating, that I was addicted to her song “Downtown” for weeks. Thomasin McKenzie whom I first watched in “JoJo Rabbit” dropped out of “Tom Cruise’s Top Gun Maverick” to star in this movie and she continued to shine in becoming a future star. This shows the quality of the role she has in the movie. She dominates Anya by being the lead of the movie. The other supporting cast also did a really memorable performance. The film marks the final appearance of Diana Rigg, and I wish to explore her work more in the future. Overall the movie was intriguing and flattering to watch and sold me for its unique screenplay.
8. Spencer:
This is one movie which I was looking forward to in 2021, as it is based on “Diana, Princess of Wales”. I knew her tragic story after watching a popular “30 minutes” infographic broadcast program which I watched when I was a kid. Then, I was really intrigued when I watched the trailer. This was the first time I’m seeing a feature representation of her in a film or a show, as I didn’t watch any of the movies or the series like “The Crown” featuring her. I personally don’t care about the royal family and I don’t follow them on social media. But the one person whom I really wanted to know was Diana. As the movie starts off with the caption “A Fable From A From A True Tragedy”, the movie delivers the “imagination” of what she went through during the 3 day Christmas Eve holidays in 1991.
When the trailer dropped, I wondered who was portraying Princess Diana and when I got to know that it was “Kristen Stewart” I was instantly curious about her performance. Kristen Stewarts “Zathura: A Space Adventure” was one of my favourite movies from my childhood that I watched. I also know the fame behind “Twilight” and its “better love story than twilight meme trend”. But, this was the second movie that I watched of her after “Charlie's Angels”. I watched Spencer at night before going to bed and Kristen’s portrayal of Princess Diana was so impactful and moving that it disturbed my entire night’s sleep. I felt her performance was close to what “Joaquin Phoenix” did in the “Joker” but for a true, real life story of a real person. Her transformation into the character with the accent, carrying Bulimia and the progression of her mental breakdown each day is brilliantly imagined. This is easily her Oscar worthy performance and no doubt to say that she could win it.
The Music, Colour grading, Cinematography and the Cinematic camera angles gave the needed artistic tone to the movie which is needed. The imaginative portrayal of the “Royal Family” as cold hearted members of the family presented from the “point of view” of Diana connected really well with me. Diana’s bonding with their sons and her marriage with Charles really made me think how Charles, William and Harry would react after watching the movie. The sheer lack of support from the Royal Family and the lack of close friends were brilliantly conveyed without even mentioning it. The only emotional support that she got was from her imaginative “Anne Boleyn” and her imaginary dresser Maggie. This shows the director “Pablo Larraín” and his creative and realistic parallels that he brought together. The personal relationship with Maggie is brilliantly showcased which goes beyond the movie showing Kristen’s real life personality. The only complaint that I have with the movie is the excessive use of “prearranged clothes” as a reference to her life which predetermined and controlled life. This is shown repeatedly in the movie, as she wears them on different occasions over three days, which halts the story progression and pace. I hope to see what Pablo Larraín and Kristen Stewart do next.
9. Free guy:
I played GTA San Andreas, Vice City, GTA IV, and GTA V back in school and loved the mayhem. The universe of GTA made my childhood addicted to it. The banks, Clubs, NPC’s, arms and ammunition, missions, etc. make it an addiction. The plot of Free guy is heavily inspired from the world building that exists in GTA and I loved spotting those references. The First aid kits, Vehicle and ammo storage, Store robbery, Bank heists, Weapon swapping, clumsy hand gestures while Drinking coffee, Bugs/glitches, Buying shoes/clothes in store, Cash drops, Levelling up by Passing missions, Gaining respect and Unrealistic stunts. I tried being the nice guy, following traffic rules, driving in the lane, maintaining speed limit, parking and by not using cheat codes, but used to drop the idea after the first five minutes.
Talking about the movie, Ryan Reynolds himself friskily said that Hollywood is mimicking Bollywood for the movie promotions in India. And rightly so I felt the “Bollywood Rom-Com” experience in the movie's first act. The quirkiness of meeting the girl, awkward silences, trying to impress, being the nice guy, over the top action scenes, etc. make the movie seems like a Hollywood movie put in the skeleton of Commercial Indian Cinema. The comedy has some meaning and the emotional scenes are spellbound. The story becomes heartfelt and raises the stakes when Guy realizes that he is not a person, but an Artificial Intelligence created by the game's algorithm. The entire sequence when “Molotov Girl” discovers that Guy is just an algorithm and not a real person is heartening to watch. The movie is also surprisingly motivating towards the end with the whole Non-player character movement and how people realize that NPC’s have a story too.
I really enjoyed watching the humour between Ryan Reynolds, and his friend “buddy”. The cameo of “Chris Evans” watching Guy fighting the intentionally CG “Buddy” with the iconic Captain America’s Shield made me jump off my seat. Coming to the Antagonist, I liked “Taika Waititi’s Antwan” where he totally owned the character and improvised it to his full creative potential. But, I felt that the portrayal of Antwan is too “Caricaturish” and “One tone” with no intention and motive for his actions. I felt the twist at the end diluted the initial reveal of Guy being an AI. The bond between the original game creators is natural, and I couldn’t really predict the twist until the very end. The aspect of trying to impress, failing to get the attention and trying hard to emulate reciprocation make it very close to reality. I would certainly recommend watching the movie to everyone who is a gamer, or have played GTA and watched Indian Movies.
10. The Matrix (IMAX):
I haven’t watched the Classic and Pop Culture trend setter “The Matrix” earlier, as it was released even before I was born. But, I planned to watch the movie on multiple occasions at my home theater but I failed to commit myself to the idea of following a franchise with multiple movies with no future. Finally, I was hyped like everyone when WB announced that there is going to be a reboot sequel releasing in 2021 for the “Resurrection” of The Matrix franchise. While I was planning to prepare myself for Matrix 4, I saw the announcement of an IMAX Remaster version of the classic 1999’s, The Matrix. This was the perfect opportunity for me to kick-start and follow the iconic franchise. And as you know already, I didn’t waste the opportunity and watched it at the exclusively limited IMAX screening in Bangalore.
The classic, dark and intriguing sci-fi movie, is marked as the canon and references for many future films for the pioneering concept, action sequences and special effects. I cheered for “Neo” and “Keanu Reeves” for his impressive charisma and iconic line “Guns, Lots of Guns”. I was awestruck by the sheer scale of imagination and story presentation through visuals and direction, that I stopped caring about the slow paced second act. The holy “Trinity” of Neo, Trinity and “Morpheus” and the entire rescue mission made me recall many films that came later. Kudos to “The Wachowskis” for making such an iconic movie. The second watch card for me was the amazing final action sequence which is nail biting and immersing long. The Enhanced IMAX experience added more meat to the stellar visuals and made me immersive with the sound.
This is not my movie review but just my personal experience watching it. There is nothing for me to critique about the film apart from the slow paced second act, but in my opinion the best elements of the movie, for its phenomenal pop culture success was the original story, the concept of bullet time and the character’s built around the matrix universe. The story and its themes had everything related to Science Vs Philosophy, Humans Vs Machines, Creation Vs Creator which is perfectly woven around the dystopian Sci-Fi setting which is unique and can’t be remade. But, I’m really intrigued to watch “The Matrix Resurrection” for carrying the idea that we had in our minds about, “What if Neo takes the blue pill” after watching its trailer.
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