A Seattle moviegoing lifestyle magazine
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Julia Child might have been one of the most unlikely TV stars. At 6’3”, she would have been tall enough to play center in the WNBA (the tallest player on the Atlanta Dream in 2021 was 6’4”), she began her TV career at 51 and she wasn’t exactly the most telegenic presence. But she was a TV star and she was the world’s first TV food personality, and she was amazing. She’s also the subject of a great new documentary called Julia.
Watching Buttigieg seek the presidency in 2020 felt like watching someone molded from a young age to achieve greatness reaching the upper limits of their ambition. I do not mean this as a compliment. He went to Harvard and Oxford, joined the military, and became a consultant for McKinsey before entering public service and serving two terms as mayor, running for president and settling on becoming Secretary of Transportation. And at the time I’m writing this, he’s still two months away from his fortieth birthday. And he’s openly gay.
It was just two months ago, almost to the day, that I was, uhh, marveling at how Marvel Films’ blockbusters were mostly entertaining in the same ways. Watch enough of the movies, and they have a formula down for delivering a satisfying film experience. All that gets turned on its head with Eternals, the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie is filled with lush, gorgeous cinematography, and a rich and diverse cast. You shouldn’t expect less when dealing with the reigning Best Director, Chloe Zhao. It’s also weirdly somehow both too long and not long enough. Altogether, though, the movie is messy, unfocused, and a massive disappointment.
Most people haven’t heard of the Storm Lake Times newspaper for the same reason they likely haven’t heard of the Nome (Alaska) Nugget or, say, the Daily World from my hometown of Aberdeen, WA. But the Storm Lakes Times fills an important role in informing the citizens of Buena Vista County, Iowa. Despite having a circulation not much over 3,000 for a bi-weekly, small-community newspaper, it won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for editorial writing and exposing corruption in the agriculture industry.
At the beginning of a-ha: The Movie, the three primary and constant members of the legendary Norwegian, synth-pop band tell their likelihood of recording another album. Pål Waaktaar-Savoy says he already has the next a-ha album written; Magne Furuholmen says he’s open to going back in the studio; and Morten Harket says that he sees no point in a-ha putting out another album. It’s a telling story that shows the disparate points of view for this band that’s told through this film. And, for the record, a-ha does have a new album scheduled for release in 2022.
