When I went into the theater to see the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel, I’m sure my expectations weren’t charitable or generous but the movie did something that won me over in the first few minutes.
Author: Chris Burlingame
Michael Bay’s Ambulance is an intense thrill ride that will leave you on the edge of your seat (and all of other action movie clichés)
There’s no rest until the credits appear on screen. Michael Bay’s greatest skill as a filmmaker is the ability to make it look really cool when shit blows up and he very much delivers here. The movie is full of non-stop action and propelled by adrenaline (there’s your pull-quote).
Even MCU completists will want to avoid Morbius
Did anyone really ask for this?
Gotham City is in Bad Decline in The Batman
With his take on Batman, Robert Pattinson is much darker in the role than we’ve previously seen. If you thought Christian Bale’s performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman was too silly in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, I have just the movie for you. With the possible exception of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker movie, this is the darkest Batman or Batman-adjacent movie I’ve seen.
Blacklight is really dumb, but Liam Neeson doesn’t need, or want, your pity
Liam Neeson is Travis Block, a special fixer for the FBI that serves at the pleasure of its director, Aidan Quinn. Block’s specialty is getting undercover agents out of tricky situations when their cover is blown. It involves kicking lots of villain ass without breaking much of a sweat. He’s like the Wolf from Pulp Fiction in the body of a middle manager. Most of the time, Neeson looks lost or confused or not really sure why he’s here. Same, my dude, same.
At middle age, the masochist reflects on a lifetime of challenges, triumphs, and completely unnecessary groin injuries
The genius (for lack of a better term) of the Jackass extended universe is not that they brought in Francis Ngannou to test whether an athletic supporter can provide adequate protection against his fierce punches, but that it is likely only the fourth-worst way to sustain a groin injury that’s depicted in Jackass Forever.
Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers is a smart and affecting melodrama
Spain’s greatest cultural export, Pedro Almodovar (no offense, Picasso), returns with another deeply moving and powerful melodrama. It was an emotional experience for me, and I broke down crying in my car when I left the screening.
Chris’s Favorite Films of 2021
Every year there are great films, yes, but it felt like 2021 was a particularly good year for movies. Certainly better than 2020, but what wasn’t better than 2020? These movies below are my favorites, but they were also the ones that provoked responses from me, whether it be enjoyment, anger, befuddlement or some combination of those (and others). There are a few movies I couldn’t make it to before the end of the year, a snowstorm in Seattle right after Christmas did my filmgoing plans no good, but I am confident this is a good representation of the strength of filmmaking in 2021.
Being the Ricardos is a fun, but flawed, trip down memory lane
Being the Ricardos purports to tell the story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz during a particularly eventful week in their lives. The tabloids reported (accurately) that Lucy was a Communist at one time and that Desi (also accurately despite his denials) is a philanderer. They also try to convince CBS to allow a storyline about Lucy’s pregnancy on the show despite the pearl-clutchers in senior management and at primary sponsor Phillip Morris.
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is spectacular
With his last two films being the perfectly adequate Ready Player One and the wholly unnecessary The Post, I had forgotten how remarkable of a filmmaker Steven Spielberg can be when he’s working on the right project. Remaking a movie musical from fifty years ago that is as close to perfect as a non-Bob Fosse musical can be might seem daunting in a lesser filmmaker’s hands, but nearly everything in West Side Story felt like it hit exactly as it should. Spielberg’s version of this legendary film doesn’t so much surpass the original, a near impossibility, but runs parallel and that pays tribute to and complements its source marvelously.