Films of the Year 2021 - The Alternative Awards!

 

Continuing on from my 10 Favourite Films of 2021, up next are a bunch of other random categories.

Listen, I make the rules round here, okay?

 

 

Favourite TV Series:

Midnight Mass

 

      Slow paced, yes. A bit ‘talky’. Sure. But hot damn is the writing good. If your attention span is on the shorter side then you may not be down with the idea of lengthy monologues or scenes of characters just having an extended conversation, but the quality of the writing and the performances are what make this so engaging.

      Interestingly, the actual horror elements are more in the background and act as a catalyst to fuel the changes that take place within a small isolated island community. Rather it’s all the characters and their various arcs that are most compelling. Themes of dealing with grief and loss, faith vs science, cult mentality and religious fundamentalism are all explored here. One standout scene sees two characters share their beliefs on life after death – both totally opposite views but each performed in an equally beautiful single take.

      The music is worth mentioning too – with plenty of choral, pastoral and folk vibes. Mike Flanagan continues to create great content and it seems limited series such as these is where he thrives and produces his best work.

 

 

Honourable Mentions:

 

Cobra Kai - Season 3 – More of the same but with some decent development in the story and  surprise cameos. Season 4 has just been announced but hopefully that will be the last one to give the saga the fitting ending it deserves.

 

Loki – On balance, probably the best of the several Marvel TV series that have debuted this year. Cosmically fun and inventive in a Douglas Adams kind of way.

 

Squid Game – It’s a given that this needs to be mentioned seeing how massive it has become in popular culture. The deadly game show part aside, the drama in it is also really good.

 

 

 

The 3 Most Disappointing Films of the Year

(AKA Films that I was hyped about but felt a little let down by.)

3) Candyman 

     Though not the most well known of iconic horror boogeymen, Tony Todd’s portrayal of the Candyman in the early 90s still left its mark. So a modern interpretation was an enticing prospect, with talents such as Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele being involved.

      Despite the occasional arresting visual (Candyman stepping out of a hole in the wall, the sequences that use paper puppets), the end result is ultimately unsatisfying, with the titular character lurking in the background for much of the film. It’s more of a thoughtful piece rather than overtly horrific, as it deals more with the idea of legends and stories being passed through the ages and people’s obsession with the same, rather than there being a risk of a more immediate threat. A decent enough watch but given the pedigree of the original film a bit more of a gruesome horror was expected.

 

 

2) Gunpowder Milkshake 

 

     Karen Gillen in a starring role, alongside an amazing cast of Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett and Paul Giamatti - looks so good on paper. However this story of a hitman – developing a conscience, taking a kid under their wing and being betrayed by their former organisation - is a concept that has been utterly done to death at this point. There was even another film released this year on Netflix called Kate that has a near identical plot. Unfortunately this makes the story itself feel dead on arrival with zero surprises.

      Whilst the action itself is ok in parts (kudos for Gillen for doing much of her stunt work and choreography) the style and tone of the film itself is somewhat confused. At times it tries to be gritty and brutal, but in others overly comedic and cartoonish. Extended scenes of CG slow motion may look cool at first but after a while just feels too artificial and lacks any sense of threat. The same muddled feeling can aso be said for the setting. Were they going for a contemporary, near-future or 50’s noir inspired look? The film just can’t seem to make up its mind.

 

 

1) Halloween Kills 

     The 2018 Halloween reboot was a pleasant surprise with its effective simplicity. This follow up (from the same creative team) is great in that it continues on directly from the closing moments of the previous film, but then unexpectedly slows right down as it falls into a weird obsession with bringing back and re-introducing some very minor characters from the original film. The story then gets bogged down in a mob mentality subplot that doesn’t actually even cross paths with Michael Myers until the very end of the film. Get ready to hear the mantra ‘Evil dies tonight!’ repeated ad nauseum.

      ‘The Shape’ himself is still a brooding presence and presented as an unstoppable killing machine leaving a trail of destruction wherever he goes, but in this film he seems to just be stalking and killing random people – scenes that are often portrayed in an unnecessarily cruel fashion. Whilst the oddball moments of humour largely worked in the first film and helped to add some levity, here it often seems strangely out of place and jarring. For example, whilst we love Big John and Little John it just feels like they would feel better suited to another (or literally any other) film than this. Laurie also spends almost the entirety of the runtime recovering in a hospital, which seems like a wasted opportunity given that her character was one of the best things about the 2018 film.

     All in all, Halloween Kills seems a bit scattershot and just feels like it’s biding time until the third and final part of the trilogy Halloween Ends, which is due for release next year. Hopefully that will be a bit more of a satisfying movie and serve as a fitting conclusion to this trilogy.

 

 

The 3 Films That Were Surprisingly Pretty Alright
(AKA Films that looked bog standard but turned out to be pretty decent.)

 

3) An American Pickle

      I personally like Seth Rogen but I understand there are many out there who aren’t fans of his ‘stoner ’ brand of comedy. But American Pickle feels very different to films Rogen is usually known for and surprisingly has a great deal of heart. Featuring a fantastic dual role performance from Seth Rogan playing both himself and his great grandfather at the same time! The special effects employed to have both characters on screen together and interact with each other are largely seamless too – very impressive for an indie film. 

 

2) Fear Street Part 1: 1994 / Fear Street Part 2: 1978 / Fear Street Part 3: 1966 

 

     Netflix are always known for being ambitious and this trilogy of films released weeks apart could have been a horribly expensive misstep, but the end result – three stories split across distinct timelines - actually turned out to be pretty effective.

      Each story is separate enough but they interlink in interesting ways and the fun conceit (popularised by American Horror Story) of the same actors playing different roles in different eras works well, especially as it often fits in with the larger overall tale being told. The first part is a 90’s Scream-esq slasher, the second is a Friday the 13^th style camp massacre set in the 60’s; and third is The Crucible style New England period piece. A decent mystery arcs over the entire series of films, which also allows for several different types of creepy killers to be showcased across all three stories. Fear Street certainly doesn’t skimp on the gore either with some brutal kills.

 

1) Love and Monsters 

     Unfortunately not many people were aware of this upon release as it was seemingly put out without much fanfare. It’s a standard apocalypse set up but told with a light touch – not too dour and depressing in tone although the danger of huge monsters roaming the outside world is still very present throughout.

      Said monsters feature in some great special effects and there are a good variety of beasties on show. The lead is a likeable and relatable average guy and though the plot is framed as a romantic love story, what eventually transpires turns out to be much more realistic and true to life. All in all, it’s a fun and feel good time.

 

 

3 WTF Moments in Films

(No explicit spoilers here but if you’ve seen the film then you’ll know what I’m on about.)

3) Lamb

      A couple birth some lambs on their farm in a remote Icelandic location as they do every year. However for one particular lamb that is born they unexpectedly decide to raise it as a child of their own. ‘Ada’ is carefully kept off camera until a decent way into the run time. You suspect something is up but when you finally see it…

 

2) Malignant 

 

     James Wan delivers a huge ‘gotcha’ moment to the audience when the final third turns the whole film on its head. It switches suddenly from a slow generic haunted house/slasher movie into a crazy b-movie action sequence  - and then keeps on going at full throttle until the end. Utterly bonkers, but so much fun.

      It's worth watching just to experience the sudden shift of gears that has proven to polarise audience reaction across the board.

 

1) Shadow In The Cloud 

     The set-up sees a woman boarding a WW2 bomber plane on a dark night, in a very hush-hush manner and carrying only a single large bag. Though she ends up getting confined in a gunner turret, the big mystery comes from simply trying to work out what’s in the bag and why it’s so important. Then the film takes another completely leftfield turn when an additional crazy external danger is introduced out of nowhere.

      Whilst the execution itself is competent enough, the overall concept is utterly mad when all elements are presented together, especially as the film plays it 99% straight. It feels like someone stuck three completely different scripts in a blender and hit frappe.

 

 

3 Films That Are Just Plain Ol’ Dumb

(Potential perhaps, but ultimately a massive waste of time.)

3) Old

  

     Is this M Night Shyalaman’s return to form? Hardly. He’s always been known for his high concept movies - to various degrees of success – and let it be known that I am far from a Shyalaman hater. I admire his dedication to writing and directing the stories that he wants to tell. However Old is one that has an interesting kernel of an idea but just doesn’t work in execution.

     Whilst the child actors are competant enough, the adults are surprisingly less so. No character is fleshed out beyond being an archetype and the explanation to the mystery of what is happening is a far from satisfying pay-off. Still, I support M Night Shyalaman doing what he’s doing and will always be up for watching his films, but this one is just underwhelming. And I know rappers these days have some silly-ass names, but a character called ‘Mid-Sized Sedan’? Really?

 

2) Red Notice

 

      Red Notice (lame title) is a film that literally only exists because of the three movie stars in it – who each reportedly took home a cool $20 million paycheck for their troubles. And you can tell. They are pretty much just playing a version of themselves or a similar character they have played in so many other films. Must have been so easy.

      The story itself is so nothing-ey that you can literally remove or replace any of the plot elements within and it would not make the slightest difference – it’s a bog standard jet-setting macguffin chase story that offers absolutely nothing new. With a heck of a lot of green screen.

      If the best part is Ed Sheeran screaming: “Don’t you now who I am? I’m Ed Sheeran, bitch!” as he gets arrested, you know you are in trouble.

 

1) Army of the Dead

      Oh Zack Snyder. As with the majority of his output, it’s once again a case of style over substance. Which in this case, leads to strange decisions being made such as deciding to film the whole thing with an antique camera lens with a really shallow depth of field for absolutely no reason other than he felt like it at the time. (See also his decisions to release his ‘Snyder Cut’ of Justice League in 4:3 format?). The result makes watching Army of the Dead feel like you have Vaseline smeared in your eyes.

      Anyway - Zombies are so played out and boring. You need to do something interesting and fresh with the concept to make it stand out these days. Having a zombie wear a helmet and a cape ain’t it. Considering how much money they spent on it, the CG zombie tiger also looks utterly unconvincing.

      The plot is made out to be a heist movie but there is literally nothing to it in terms of a team coming together and executing the plan, with exception of Matthias Schweighofer’s safe cracker - the only remotely likeable character - who actually went on to have a slightly better prequel spin off Army of Thieves. Watch that instead.

 

 

Most Dreadful Fashion Combo

Matt and Ben: The Last Duel 

      It’s been a while since the days of Good Will Hunting and Dogma, but Matt and Ben are reunited once again in Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel. …But with some very questionable fashion choices.

      Matt sports the wiry stick-on chin pubes and redneck uber-mullet combo, whereas Ben goes for a bleached blonde perpetually-dressed-in-luxury-pyjamas look. Distracting in an otherwise very ‘meh’ film.

 

 

      Next up: My 5 Favourite Videogames played in 2021.

 

 

27^th Dec 2021