American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story

Full confession, I'm an atheist and I know very little about sports - any knowledge I do possess was likely garnered by watching sports movies. I had no idea who Kurt Warner was until I watched American Underdog. In fact I don't think I could name more than five football players -hey, I watch movies, not sports. Anyway, besides from being a sucker for a good zombie film or a heist picture, I do love me a good underdog sports film. This one follows the playbook and even has Dennis Quaid (the litany of underdog sports movies Dennis has been in, "Soul Suffer," "The Rookie," "Born a Champion," - Kevin Costner took all the other ones). If you don't know the playbook, it's sports hero has dream (to play in the NFL), hero meets girl (Anna Paquin as a single mom of two kids, one blind). The hero must prove himself to his girl and himself to the world. He is faced with adversity at every turn and when you think he has finally made it, bam, back to the bottom you go. But this time, this time is going to be different. Our hero wins, then end. Yes, American Underdog is cliched and god loving, but I still enjoyed it. Kurt Warner's story is a remarkable one and if his belief in Jesus helped him achieve his dream, who am I to piss on that - enjoy your Jesus. If you are looking for an underdog sports movie, and you enjoyed films like "Invincible" then "American Underdog" will get you across the finish line. 

Licorice Pizza

 

Licorice and Pizza, two things that don't go together; or shouldn't, just like Alana (Alana Haim) and Gary (Cooper Hoffman -  the late and great Philip Seymour Hoffman's son in his acting debut). Alana is a twenty something year old woman working, taking high school photographs for the yearbook, when she meets fifteen year old Gary, hustler. The age gap is the problem, but the high school chemistry is pure rom-com magic. If you don't know the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, well he is the gentleman who gave us "There Will Be Blood" and "Boogie Nights." So if you know those films, then imagine a romantic comedy written and directed by such an individual and you get "Licorice Pizza." It's funny, bizarre at times, and heartfelt. It's also a massive nostalgia trip for those old enough to remember the 70s - there are some catchy tunes in there also. Hoffman and Haim are great, as are the rest of the cast and all the funny cameos (Bradley Cooper was a standout for me). If you want to stretch the creative limits of the rom-com (stretch it like a piece of licorice or a gooey piece of cheesy pizza) then check out this Oscar nominated film at a theatre near you.

Archive 81

OMG I loved it. I binged it in two days. What's it all about? Mamoudou Athie plays Dan Turner, a video/audio tape restorer/archivist. Dan has been hired by a peculiar man who works for a mysterious company to restore some video tapes damaged in a fire. Dan has to work in a remote location in a big house in the forest with no cell or internet reception (because the tapes are too fragile to move - whatever, just go with it). The subject of these tapes is the PhD thesis work of Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) who was recording an oral history of The Visser - an apartment building with strange occult things happening with the residents. Why did I love it? It's a mix of The X-files, The Ring, Stranger Things, The Exorcist, The Manitou, and maybe LOST. It's a horror mystery and it's chock full of horror references and Easter eggs to other such works in the genre. Dan's geeky friend Mark (Matt McGorry) walks around wearing film festival T-shirts. This is my kind of geek! If your DNA ancestry results have come back as horror-fan, then you must check out this great new show now streaming on Netflix.  

Love, Death & Robots

 Profane, profound, pornographic. "Love, Death & Robots" is an animated science fiction series of unrelated shorts, each ranging from about six to twelve minutes, sometimes edging upwards to the twenty minute mark. They are an assortment of Heavy Metal style candies, each with it's own style, flavour, and weight. The ones played for laughs, "Automated Customer Service" and "Three Robots," are truly hysterical - like laugh out loud funny; and brilliant. "The Drowned Giant" is profound and will leave you reflecting, as many of these short pieces do, on humanity's insignificance in the universe. Other play out like Twilight Zone mind-benders. There is some twisted stuff here and lots of this shit is not for kids. This is R rated adult fare and it's really a mixed bag. Some of the candies are tastier than others but they will all leave you wanting to put your hand back in the sweet jar to watch just one more. Catch these brilliant pieces of animation on Netflix. 

Till Death

So, if you have worked your way through my list of the best films of 2021 and are still looking for something to watch OR you just want to turn off your brain and have some fun, "Till Death" is the thrilling ride you need to jump on and strap in for. It's not quite as good as "Don't Breathe" or "Run" but it's pretty darn good. What's it about? I'm not telling you! It's ridiculous and a highly implausible story but if you are willing to buy the premise, then this elaborate revenge story of an extremely jealous husband will have you glued to your seat. I measure thrillers by my Hitchcock yard stick and Till Death stands pretty tall on that scale. It stars ugly old Megan Fox, as described by nobody, never. She is willing to get dirty and bloody for this role and she does a great job of it. If you are thinking of renewing your wedding vows, catch Till Death streaming on Amazon.    

Swan Song

 

I will have to update my list of best films of 2021 with this one. Swan Song stars Mahershala Ali as Cameron in a not so distant future where friendly robots offer you candy bars and oat milk coffees on light rail transit It's a future where there is lots of automation and things look great (looks like the pandemic is over too! Hooray!) but sadly they don't seem to have been able to cure cancer or whatever malady Cameron has (seems like an inoperable brain cancer if I were a guessing movie doctor). Anyway, in this future they can make an exact clone of you and transfer all your memories to it so you can have a perfect doppelganger to replace you in your life when you die and your family won't be any the wiser - if you want to. Yes it sounds ridiculous but if you are willing to buy the premise, then what we have here is more than just a philosophic thought experiment (and it's a good one) thanks to smart script and a knock out emotional performance by Ali. He elevates the material to something that is believable and truly affecting. I must say I teared up at this one. He is nominated for a Golden Globe and he deserves it for sure. And the movie doesn't go dumb at the end where it could have easily gone. Catch this smart Sci-fi drama streaming on Apple+.

Best Films of 2021

 I didn't bother make a list last year. There wasn't much to write about. These are my favourite films of 2021. I haven't seen everything so it's more than likely I've missed some great films. Everything here, I've written about on my blog. That's the whole point of the blog, stuff I recommend. This would be a tidy summary (in no real order):

1. The Last Duel 

2. Pig

3. Titane

4. No Time to Die

5. The Rescue

6. The Power of the Dog

7. The Card Counter

8. King Richard

9. C'mon C'mon

10. Summer of Soul

11. A Quiet Place II

12. Army of the Dead

13. Boiling Point

14. Spencer

15. Don't Look Up

16. Nowhere Special

17. Mandibules

18. Raging Fire

19. The Green Knight

20. Malignant

21. The Alpinist

22. Old Henry

23. VAL

24. The Feast

25. The Novice

26. I Care a Lot

27. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

28. Red Rocket

29. Coming Home in the Dark

30. Swan Song

Honourable mentions:  Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time, CODA, The Lost Daughter, The French Dispatch, Stillwater, Bestsellers, I'm Your Man

Guilty Pleasures:  Prisoners of the Ghostland, Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City, Zola, Benedetta, Antlers, Old, Night Teeth, Last Night in Soho 

The Year's biggest disappointments/stinkers: The Matrix Resurrections, Dune, The Beatles Get Back, Jungle Cruise, Candyman, The Electric Life of Louis Wain, The Guilty, Finch, Tick, Tick . . . Boom!, Reminiscence, Cry Macho