Current Events > joe40001's non-spoiler reviews/ranking of every movie I saw in 2021!!!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hello all! I'm going to share my entire list of movies I saw in 2021 ranked!

First I will share a list of them (ranked) with their non-spoiler reviews attached, then a list (ranked) with just their names in order.

Movies with Asterisks are movies I saw in 2022. I did not include movies I saw this year that I had seen before. I also included a few mini-series that really just felt more like long movies. I break them down in tiers as I always do. When I review movies, my possible ranking tiers are:

1. Definitely Strongly Liked It
2. Definitely Liked It
3. Probably Liked It
4. Maybe Liked It
5. Probably Did Not Like It
6. Definitely Did Not Like It
7. Definitely Strongly Did Not Like It

The tiers themselves are going to be separated by sections with '---'. Everything between dashed sections are kinda equivalent. The order could maybe get moved around within each section, but everything in a section is IMO worse than everything in a section above it, and better than everything in a section below it. So you can think of those sections as "sub-tiers".

The only movie where I changed it's rating in this list from it's original review when I saw it was "Black Widow". Originally I had that movie as "Maybe Liked It", but there are several "Probably Did Not Like It" that I think are better, so I had to move it down to "Probably Did Not Like It".

THE LIST:

DEFINITELY STRONGLY LIKED IT:
"Bo Burnham (Inside)" - Incredibly well made and very relatable for me (and likely many people with depression.) It's nihilism is undercut with humor and vanity with self-awareness. One of the best artistic expressions relative to production cost I've ever seen.

"F9: The Fast Saga" - Loved the movie, A delight from beginning to end, quite possibly the best movie in the franchise, so much fun, such a good spoof. Yay cars, family lol.

DEFINITELY LIKED IT:
The Father - A well done movie that interestingly explores a compelling premise.

Midnight Mass - While I dont like horror it was undeniably engaging with incredibly well written dialogue and intense feeling throughout.

---

Squid Game - An intense show with an engaging story and impressive cinematography. Squid game manages to be quite compelling, unpredictable, and satisfying.

"Pig" - Weird emotional, introspective, for some reason I was invested the whole way through.

Spiderman: No Way Home - Fun, inventive, and in many ways remarkable, its a movie that any Spiderman fan would be hard pressed to not enjoy.

"Tenet" - Extremely compelling plot with great set pieces and innovative ideas

---

"Zack Synders Justice League" - I probably strongly liked it, but I definitely liked it, to my own shock. Its a big story thats compelling and serious without being sacrificing things to cynicism or to bathos.

Outside the Wire - Interesting and unpredictable explores new ideas well and has good action

The Death of Stalin While the subject matter is quite dark, the movie manages to be an effective comedy and exploration of the intersection between evil and bumbling bureaucracy

Last Night in Soho - Intense. While sometimes frustrating, it remained consistently engaging and very strongly emotionally effective.

"Matrix: Resurrections" - Doesn't feel the same as original matrix films at all, but unlike most reboots it has a strange and unpredictable narrative

The Harder They Fall* - A solid western with a modern feel and engaging acting and directing.

Searching for Bobby Fischer - Well made and uplifting if a bit clich

PROBABLY LIKED IT:
Nobody - A bit derivative but well filmed and charming enough

Dune - Interesting story, engaged me but left me wanting

Worth - A interesting story if sometimes somewhat conventional, I would have enjoyed an even deeper dive into the subject matter

The Kid Detective - Interesting story, compelling and interesting enough, with some unexpected parts.

Dont Look Up* - Adam McKays best movie since The Big Short a funny movie swamped in cynicism but otherwise very engaging and quite well made.

---

A Straight Story Straightforward and meditative, moderately effective for what it was.

"Encanto"* - Probably liked it: While not as impressive as something like Moana it is undeniably sweet and with compelling music.

Free Guy - A fresh story I hadnt heard before, some traditional beats but also a really fun performance by Taika Whatiti

8 Mile - Interesting throughout even if it never reaches extreme heights

---

Wonder Woman 1984 - Had some messy moments or undo silliness, but ultimately had compelling well written characters/motivations and an unpredictable narrative.

The Guilty* - Aside from a couple of plot frustrations it was very compelling and one of the best bottle movies Ive seen. (Locke might be better)

MAYBE LIKED IT:
The Suicide Squad - Consistently interesting and compelling, if not entirely satisfying. For better or worse it is an extremely James Gunn film.

Old* - A bit silly, but still a compelling enough watch throughout

Nightmare Alley* - Very well made/directed and well acted, still much of it was hard for me personally to get invested with.

---

The Hitmans Bodyguards Wife - Cheeky and dumb, but kinda what you want when you select a movie like this

The Professor and the Madman - A moderately interesting story told sufficiently well. A pleasant and palletable movie, if not particularly amazing in any regard.

---

Fishermans Friends - Sweet but clich

"I Care a Lot"* - While it was well made and good at evoking an emotional response, that response was often tonally confused or frustrating. Despite it's confusing feel it remained emotionally and narratively engaging throughout.

Critical Thinking Fine for what it is, has ok authentic feeling moments

PROBABLY DID NOT LIKE IT:
The Sound of Metal - Compelling and well told but not enough of a hook to engage me as a viewer.

"Project Power" - Not the worst, kinda interesting ideas but weird tone and nothing enough to care about.

Eternals* - Bloated and meandering Eternals contains some compelling ideas and visuals, but takes too long to share them.

---

Kong vs Godzilla - Clich and big and dumb, fun-ish if if you looking for shlock.

Being the Ricardos* - Sorkinly somewhat indulgent, the movie is moderately compelling but makes too much of its melodrama and doesnt have much else to offer.

Sorry to Bother You - Inventive and weirdly compelling, but ultimately too surreal and off-putting for my tastes.

---

"Black Widow" - Better than Captain Marvel, kinda interesting, about as good as the meh episodes of the falcon show.

"Venom Let There Be Carnage" Bad but in a weird way, like it was deliberately made to be weirdly bad. As a a result it was somewhat oddly compelling

The Devil Wears Prada - More compelling than its premise should be but not enough to be worth it ultimately.

Demonic - I dont like horror movies and this was no exception. Still Niel Blomkamp is a director I find compelling and this movie was engaging if frustrating and annoying in the way horror movies are

"Cruella" - Well directed and ok for what it was, but still not anything compelling enough narratively.

---

Luca* - Perfectly serviceable kids movie but otherwise unremarkable and nothing of particular interest. Better than Soul

Coach Carter - Very clich tries to be ok, not awful.

Stillwater - A well acted drama that was ultimately uncompelling and kinda bland. Not much worth caring about in this movie.

---

Soul - Tried to be sweet but ultimately kinda weird, cool visuals though.

Shang-Chi And The Legend of the Ten Rings - Average subpar marvel movie, largely going through the motions, still did a couple inventive things and had one interesting performance.

Hillbilly Elegy - A fine and sentimental movie that never really made me care about anyone enough, well enough made

Tick Tick Boom* - A well made musical, just far far too self indulgent and otherwise boring for my tastes.

DEFINITELY DID NOT LIKE IT:
The Midnight Sky - Boring and doesnt really go anywhere interesting.

Army of the Dead - Promising a lot of fun and a great premise by delivering nothing.

The Dig - Nothing there in the end. I wanted to like it, it wasnt awful just empty.

---

Malignant - I don't like horror movies, and this was no exception. I had heard it was "so bad it was good" but this isn't true. Despite this, the plot does go in somewhat compelling unexpected directions.

Concrete Cowboy - Despite some promise, ultimately was trite/dumb.

Ghostbusters Afterlife - Vapid, empty, and pointless, milking the lore of a franchise that was never about its lore.

---

Red Notice - The most obvious dumb pointless vapid Normie Comedy out there.

DEFINITELY STRONGLY DID NOT LIKE IT:
"The Power of the Dog"* - Artsy-fartsy and self-indulgent, I'm not sure who or what I was supposed to care about, but whatever it was I very very much did not care. A good example of a movie made for Oscar voters and absolutely nobody else.

Salt and Fire" - Bad boring and weird, Werner Herzog is a self-indulgent weirdo who apparently has no idea how normal people act or how to plot a movie. You can a write a better movie in your sleep.

MOVIE LIST (TITLES ONLY)
DEFINITELY STRONGLY LIKED IT:
"Bo Burnham (Inside)"
"F9: The Fast Saga"

DEFINITELY LIKED IT:
The Father
Midnight Mass
---
Squid Game
"Pig"
Spiderman: No Way Home
"Tenet"
---
"Zack Synders Justice League"
Outside the Wire
The Death of Stalin
Last Night in Soho
"Matrix: Resurrections"
The Harder They Fall*
Searching for Bobby Fischer

PROBABLY LIKED IT:
Nobody
Dune
Worth
The Kid Detective
Dont Look Up*
---
A Straight Story
"Encanto"*
Free Guy
8 Mile
---
Wonder Woman 1984
The Guilty*

MAYBE LIKED IT:
The Suicide Squad
Old*
Nightmare Alley*
---
The Hitmans Bodyguards Wife
The Professor and the Madman
---
Fishermans Friends
"I Care a Lot"*
Critical Thinking

PROBABLY DID NOT LIKE IT:
The Sound of Metal
"Project Power"
Eternals*
---
Kong vs Godzilla
Being the Ricardos*
Sorry to Bother You
---
"Black Widow"
"Venom Let There Be Carnage"
The Devil Wears Prada
Demonic
"Cruella"
---
Luca*
Coach Carter
Stillwater
---
Soul
Shang-Chi And The Legend of the Ten Rings
Hillbilly Elegy
Tick Tick Boom*

DEFINITELY DID NOT LIKE IT:
The Midnight Sky
Army of the Dead
The Dig
---
Malignant
Concrete Cowboy
Ghostbusters Afterlife
---
Red Notice

DEFINITELY STRONGLY DID NOT LIKE IT:
"The Power of the Dog"*
Salt and Fire"

So that is my ranking, when it comes to movies I'd recommend to the general public it would likely be:

Top Drama Movie Recommendation: "The Father
Top Action/Entertainment Recommendation: "Squid Game"

Updated because I missed "No Time to Die"

I think I watched about a handful of movies last year.

the older I get, the less I enjoy focusing on watching something for more than an hour.

with that said, I really enjoyed Midnight Mass.

g0ldie posted...

I think I watched about a handful of movies last year.

the older I get, the less I enjoy focusing on watching something for more than an hour.

with that said, I really enjoyed Midnight Mass.

Midnight Mass and The Father easily could be moved up to my highest ranking. The more I think about them the more I'm like "damn I kinda loved/appreciated the fuck outta both those things."

But I was tying to avoid changing my rankings from what I wrote at the time.

There are many parts of Midnight Mass that are just perfect and amazing. My only issue with it is (spoilers): The logic and contrivances needed in the final episode to wrap up the whole plot cleanly felt a bit forced. It was a show that was pitch perfect like A+ for everything but then the actual plot wrap up was just like B+

It was a very ambitious show so I don't fault it for that. I don't necessarily recommend it to everybody, because the kinds of people who would enjoy a movie like "Red Notice" could not stomach the pacing/dialog of midnight mass.

But yeah, I did kinda love it.

bump

Any thoughts?