Movies Watched in 2021
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- DirectorMartin BrestStarsEddie MurphyJudge ReinholdJohn AshtonA freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.Watched 2nd January with E. <3 A fun, low pressure way to start the new year when both of us were feeling pretty ill.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsNick NolteEddie MurphyAnnette O'TooleA hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.Watched in January with E. <3 Lots of fun. My favourite part was the incredibly dark scene in the redneck bar, subverted to amusing catharsis. How sad it's still that fucking timely.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.Watched in January. Been feeling really awful, so a Ghibli movie seemed the ticket.
- DirectorChih-Yen HsuMag HsuStarsRoy ChiuYing-Hsuan HsiehSpark ChenA teenage boy and his mother are further driven apart when they find out that his father's life insurance policy is to be received by his lover.Watched in January. An overdone and frequently melodramatically stilted script (at least in English), but with a pleasingly theatrical core and engaging cast.
- DirectorJoe MantelloStarsJim ParsonsZachary QuintoMatt BomerAt a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.Watched in January. Lovely cast, and it's always nice to see a well done adaptation of a stage play.
- DirectorWillard HuyckGloria KatzStarsMichael GreerMarianna HillJoy BangA young woman goes searching for her missing artist father. Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious undead cult.Watched in January with E <3. Super fun and odd little movie, like the uncomfortable stepchild in a giallo family. Really enjoyed it, though.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsVincent PriceFrank LovejoyPhyllis KirkAn associate burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous.Watched in January. Extremely silly and fun.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsGary OldmanAmanda SeyfriedLily Collins1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941).Watched in January. Pretty sure I could have just closed my eyes and imagined the whole movie from the strapline "Gary Oldman plays the alcoholic that wrote Citizen Kane" because this felt oddly tedious and by the numbers. Maybe I just have a limited capacity to care about the problems of rich white people. Good cast, good performances, and I appreciate the lengths the DP went to in order to get the look... but even that felt stilted and shallow. I got very, very bored.
- DirectorJacob VaughanStarsKen MarinoGillian JacobsPatrick WarburtonA man learns that his unusual stomach pains are being caused by a demon living in his intestines.Watched in January. Peter Stromgarde was awesome. Otherwise, I mildly chortled a couple of times, but I appreciate the sentiment of 'comedy horror with heart' and it was undeniably very cute for a movie about a shit demon that represents personal trauma.
- StarsSam WaterstonMary Tyler MooreRichard MulliganAfter arriving in Washington in 1861 after his election, Abraham Lincoln struggles with personal and political problems during his Presidency.Watched with E in February. <3 Holy shit, the role Sam Waterstone was born to play. Mary Tyler Moore was horribly miscast but tried, and this was generally the best exploration of Lincoln I've ever seen on screen. Really, really good.
- DirectorJoe DanteChuck JonesStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHowie MandelThe Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken control of a New York City media mogul's high-tech skyscraper.Watched with E in February. <3 I love this movie so much, and so did they. It was awesome. This is how you do a sequel.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsEddie MurphyJudge ReinholdJürgen ProchnowAxel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.Watched with E in February. <3 This was a wholly unnecessary sequel, and Eddie Murphy gave zero fucks at all, but it was still pretty fun.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBette DavisJoan CrawfordVictor BuonoA former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.Watched in February. Pretty much everything I expected it to be. A gloriously camp melodrama with very fine moments and two awful people who are nonetheless so compelling to watch.
- DirectorJohn HsuStarsGingle WangMeng-Po FuJing-Hua TsengIn 1962 Taiwan, student Fang and teacher Mr. Chang fall in love amidst the restrictive White Terror period banning sensitive books. Despite this, Mr. Chang secretly organizes a banned book study group with fellow teacher and student.Watched in February. Honestly a bit disappointing after I'd been so hoping to see an adaptation with the same aesthetic feeling as the game, which was so atmospheric, beautiful, and subtle. This felt much more like a generic horror movie and did not flesh out the characters as well as it could have, while also missing a lot of opportunities.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanFredric MarchRichard BooneJohn Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Native Americans, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.Watched with E in February. <3 Stunningly good in every way, from the fresh, stark photography and design, to the powerhouse performances, and a script and message that was searingly modern for its time, and still feels so today (sadly).
- DirectorSimon StoneStarsCarey MulliganRalph FiennesLily JamesAn archaeologist embarks on the historically important excavation of Sutton Hoo in 1938.Watched in February. Eh. It was fine - the Norfolk accents were pretty good, which isn't easy to do - and the working class hero / anti-intellectualist (anti-snobbery?) messaging was okay, but the script was crap and full of schmaltzy, OTT moments and flaccid bullshit no one cares about (I literally could not give any fewer fucks about Peggy's magical vagina tour, and the way the script painted her husband as A Bad and Silly Child for being A Gay). You're better off just watching the British Museum curator's corner videos.
- DirectorGeorge MihalkaStarsPaul KelmanLori HallierNeil AffleckA decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
- DirectorLarry PeerceStarsTony MusanteMartin SheenBeau BridgesLate one night, two young toughs hold hostage the passengers in one car of a New York subway train.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsMelanie GriffithStephen DorffAlicia WittAn insane independent film director and his renegade group of teenage filmmakers kidnap an A-list Hollywood actress and force her to star in their underground film.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsSigourney WeaverBen KingsleyStuart WilsonA political activist is convinced that her guest is a man who once tortured her for the government.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsJunko IwaoRica MatsumotoShinpachi TsujiA pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.
- StarsKang In SooSang LeePark Soo-binA free-spirited singer whose love of music has him performing on the streets, Kang In Soo's life revolves completely around music. Supported by his friends, In Soo hopes to someday turn his love of music into a full-time career, but doing so isn't easy. Refusing to give up on his dreams, In Soo continues busking, day in and day out, while his best friend, Choi Min Sung, records his performances and uploads them on YouTube. Little does either of them know that In Soo's performances have caught the attention of someone who could change the young musician's life forever. A keyboardist working at a major record company, Yoon Sang Yi is always on the lookout for new talent. After stumbling upon In Soo's videos, Sang Yi has become one of the singer's biggest fans. Convinced In Soo could make it big, he recommends the young artist join his company's rookie discovery project. Seeing this opportunity in this invitation, In Soo accepts the offer and soon moves into the company residence with Sang Yi. As the two live and work together, their relationship grows, and slowly, new feelings begin to blossom. Unfortunately, as their feelings grow, so do the obstacles that stand in their way. Will In Soo and Sang Yi be able to find a way to overcome the trials before them or will their love fade before ever having a chance to fully bloom?
- DirectorKuang-Hui LiuStarsEdward ChenJing-Hua TsengLeon DaiIn 1987, as martial law ends in Taiwan, Jia-han and Birdy fall in love amid family pressure, homophobia and social stigma.