My 2021 Letterboxd Roundup

I saw a lot of movies last year — some were fantastic, and some were just okay.

Last year was full of dramatic lows and hopeful highs, and through it all, movies were the one constant I could count on. My friend convinced me to join the movie reviewing site Letterboxd in late 2020, and since then, I've been logging just about all of the movies I've seen. What can I say, it's fun. You're fully welcome to [follow me there], if you wish, but just know that I don't watch movies very often and when I do, my reviews are usually quite simple. But hey, you might be able to catch another in-depth roundup next year!

Before I begin, there will be some caveats to this list. I logged a whopping 44 films last year (is that a lot? It feels like a lot), and I will not be including all of them in this roundup. To keep this somewhat succinct, I will be excluding most movies that didn't come out in the year 2021 and all rewatches. With that said, let's begin!

I Care a Lot (2020) | ★★★★★ + ♥

In my opinion, Netflix has fallen off over the years. When I first joined in 2013, it was the go-to place for just about any movie and, most importantly, the place to watch Breaking Bad. Some of it isn't their fault, though. Every movie conglomerate and their mama has wisened up to Netflix's gig and created a streaming service (and thus, a flow of cash) for themselves, stripping away most of Netflix's once-vast third party library.

However, some of it is self-inflicted. It seems these days, it seems Netflix has more money than they know what to do with, and is funneling it into any and every project pitched to them, prioritizing quantity over quality. Gone are the days of the high-quality programming selections of Orange is the New Black, BoJack Horseman, and House of Cards. I mean, it makes sense. They had to replace all the titles stripped away from them in the mad scramble that was the emergence of Disney+, HBOMax, Peacock, and others, after all.

All of that is to say, although Netflix misses with a lot of their original theatrical movies (their documentaries and docu-series are usually very good — I'll give them that), sometimes they hit real hard. And 2020’s I Care a Lot starring my favorite sociopath portrayer Rosamund Pike was a hit. As my Letterboxd review stated, it really did feel like a Safdie brothers movie set in a suburban backdrop. This film has also convinced me that I have a visceral need to see everything Ms. Pike is in.

Operation Varsity Blues (2021) | ★★★★★ + ♥

After being exposed to true crime Lifetime movies that are whipped up and filmed in record time, sometimes even before the criminal trial can reach its conclusion, in the case of the Jodi Arias film, I'm not quite surprised that a documentary about the saga that was the Operation Varsity Blues investigation and subsequent arrests and trials came out so soon. But, I will say, I was surprised at the quality of the documentary. I was expecting a rather routine re-telling of events with some interviews and news footage spliced in, but what I got was a cinematic saga of lies, corruption, fraud, and wealth. The documentary mixes the usual interview footage with archival footage and re-enactments using wiretapped phone calls from William Rick Singer, organizer of the scheme, and others as dialogue. Overall, this Netflix documentary was a pleasurable viewing experience and I even learned some things I didn't know from the constant news coverage of the investigation.

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) | ★★★★★ + ♥

After staying indoors for far too long, I convinced my mom to see this one with me in the theater since we were both recently fully vaccinated. I'd say it was worth it. Growing up where I did, I had come to know a lot about the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s, but not that much about the subsequent Black Power movement. The story of Fred Hampton's assassination is an interesting one, and although I don't know much about it outside of the film, I think the film did it justice.

Nocturnal Animals (2016) | ★★☆☆☆

Not every movie I saw this year was a winner, and the 2016 Tom Ford (yes, the fashion designer) film Nocturnal Animals was quite a big miss. I'll give it this: Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon did their all to make this mediocre script at least somewhat watchable. But, that's all I'll give this movie.

Listen, I think Tom Ford is a great fashion designer. Zendaya at the 2020 Critic's Choice Award? Amazing. Breathtaking. Iconic. However, if Tom Ford never made another movie, I think we'd be okay. He has another film called A Single Man, but I don't think I want to risk another disappointment to find out whether or not it's worth watching.

The Green Knight (2021) | ★★★★1/2 + ♥

After learning that the classic epic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight would be adapted into a movie by A24, I thought it would just be something mildly interesting to watch since I had read the poem in high school and might be able to remember some things. I was absolutely not expecting this large-scale spectacle of pure visuals. Every frame was truly a painting. Some movies are meant to be seen in theaters, and this was one. And, as I expected, it was nice to watch the movie and remember some things. This likely would have been my Movie of the Year were it not for another entry in this list.

The Suicide Squad (2021) | ★★★★1/2 + ♥

While I'm not a fan of most comic book movies — the sheer overwhelming prevalence of them these days is enough to be a turn-off — I did allow myself to be convinced to watch the remade Suicide Squad movie with some friends, and I will say, it was adequately enjoyable. And that's all I have to say. Did a spinoff need to be made featuring a not-that-interesting character? Probably not, but the comic adaptation machine must keep churning, I suppose. I am now curious to see just how bad the original was that it warranted an entirely new movie to be made.

Sweet Girl (2021) | ★★☆☆☆

Although this and Nocturnal Animals both have the same rating, Sweet Girl is remarkably worse. The only reason I watched it was because Jason Momoa was in it, and that was the only upside to this movie. Aside from the villain essentially being Martin Shkreli, which I did get some kind of chuckle out of, this whole movie is just wack, and the ridiculous twist elicited actual incredulous laughter from me. It's not even bad in a fun way, just boring. Nocturnal Animals at the very least had a modicum of entertainment value. Do not watch.

Candyman (2021) | ★★★★☆+ ♥

I gave this movie a pretty decent rating, but in retrospect, it's just okay. The movie felt just a little bit too short, but the story was nice, the message was nice, and the body-horror visuals were also nice. I haven't seen the original, so maybe I'm missing out on a whole lot here (like the cameo at the end, which I didn't catch until a friend pointed it out), but I felt that the movie was just fine.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) | ★★★★☆+ ♥

I learned of this movie's existence combing through the Upcoming Releases section of IMDb, and was very excited when I found out about it. I'd seen the documentary some years prior and despite the fact that she is technically among those in the lowest rung of society (Televangelists), I came to adore Tammy Faye Bakker. Her husband Jim, who is sadly still with us, is a goon and a ghoul who sells doomsday buckets with his new, young wife. Tammy, however, truly represents God's love — which is a wacky statement to make, considering I am agnostic myself.

The movie correlates pretty well with the documentary (and thus real life), though it does have its inaccuracies. The only thing I didn't like about this movie was that Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield's makeup and prosthetics were just…well, crusty. I get the makeup department tried to transform them into Tammy Faye and Jim, but they didn't do a very good job. It was odd to look at. Aside from that, this movie was wonderful.

The Last Duel (2021) | ★★★★☆+ ♥

Listen. I get being upset that your movie didn't do as well as you may have liked. I even get telling the press that. What I don't get is blaming "jaded millennials" for your film not doing well, despite a myriad of other factors existing that likely actually contributed to your movie not doing well. Perhaps, a pandemic? Or, the fact that other, larger movies (DUNE, for one!) were in theaters at the same time? Maybe the fact that this got very little marketing? Or, I dunno, maybe folks don't want to see a fairly detailed rape scene? Any of those?

All that said, I did like The Last Duel. I'm a sucker for period pieces and a little historical fiction (and Adam Driver). I liked that the story was told from three unique perspectives. It proves that there really are three sides to every story: one side, the other side, and the truth. The only minor disappointment I got was that both of the men at the center in the story, portrayed by Matt Damon and Adam Driver, didn't die in the climactic God joust. That would've been cool. But, I suppose since this was based on something that actually happened, it wouldn't make sense to twist history to that degree. Still though, both of those d-bags deserved to croak.

Dune (2021) | ★★★★★ + ♥

This is it. My Movie of the Year. I am going to say this, and it's going to sound ironic and very cliché, but this is a cinematic masterpiece. Thankfully, I was able to see this movie in IMAX (and absolutely would've seen it again in IMAX were it not for my newfound busyness) and it was worth every dollar. Much like The Green Knight, Dune is pure visuals, and being able to drink them all in on a ginormous IMAX screen certainly enhanced the experience. Not only are the visuals stellar, but the sound design! I love good sound design in a film, be it a put-together soundtrack or simple ambient score (Amadeus is my favorite film partially for this reason) and Dune's sound design is not only marvelous, but memorable. It's been some time since I've seen the movie, but every so often, I'll remember the chants of soldiers (Atreides! Atreides!) or the film's leitmotif. It sucks that we'll have to wait another year (or possibly more) for the second half of the story, but it will be nice to revisit Dune in the theater when the time comes in 2023.

Last Night in Soho (2021) | ★★★★☆

This movie was…okay. If I could use a word to describe it, it would just be mid. It started off pretty decently, but got progressively more ridiculous as the movie went on. The concept is sound, the execution, to me, was lacking. I gave this 4/5 stars, but it honestly deserves 3.

House of Gucci (2021) | ★★★★1/2 + ♥

Despite being a diehard Little Monster in my youth, I've actually not seen anything Lady Gaga's acted in — not A Star Is Born or that one season of American Horror Story. Well, that's a half-truth. I did watch the episode of Saturday Night Live she was on in the Born This Way era. So, actually seeing her act for the first time was interesting — she's actually better than I expected, and really carries this movie as the gold-digging and (maybe) psychopathic Patritzia Reggiani.

Like with American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (in which, coincidentally, Gaga was originally going to portray Donatella Versace), I had no idea about this case beforehand, and purposefully avoided looking it up so I wouldn't be spoiled. After the movie ended, I wanted to know everything. My local bookstore didn't carry the 2000 book by Sara Gay Forden this movie was based on, but once they restock, I'm snatching a copy up.

Belfast (2021) | ★★★★☆+ ♥

As we've already established, I'm a sucker for visuals, and this movie has some great cinematography. It's also a rather pleasant coming-of-age story, despite being set in the violent beginning of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Almost like with Derry Girls, which is set at The Troubles' tail end, it's always interesting to me to see major historical events through a child's eyes. Unfortunately, it seems this movie didn't get the recognition it deserved here in the US since it was only around for a couple of weeks in theaters.

The Matrix (1999) | ★★★★★ + ♥

The original Matrix was re-released in theaters in preparation for the next installment, and I decided to go because I'd never seen the movie before. Let me tell you: this film is THEE blueprint. Everything about it from the bullet time (which I'd originally associated with the Max Payne series, of all things), to the fight choreography, the copious amounts of cyber goth leather, latex, and trench coats, and so many iconic scenes had a major impact on popular culture. The Matrix has been in the cultural zeitgeist for essentially my entire life, and I've seen elements of it in so many places without even knowing it. For that, I'll compare this movie to Citizen Kane, since both of these films have had such impacts on culture and film as a whole. I'll even go so far as to say that this film is of significant cultural importance.

Culture aside, this movie was also just genuinely fun to watch. I'm not an action movie person, but the action scenes kept me engaged. Agent Smith is SUCH a good villain that I legitimately got chills when clips of him from the original movies showed up in Resurrections. This is an all-around great movie, and I'm glad I decided to watch it in theaters instead of on my computer via HBOMax.

The Matrix Reloaded (2003) | ★★★★1/2

Since we'd all just seen the original Matrix and were planning on seeing Resurrections at release, my friends and I decided to have a 2-night marathon of the sequels, starting with Reloaded. Compared to the first in the series, this movie is pure camp with long, drawn-out CGI fight scenes that actually still hold up. It's definitely weaker than the original, and surprised me with being the first half of a two-parter at the end, but still mostly enjoyable.

The Matrix Revolutions (2003) | ★★★★☆

Of the two original sequels, Revolutions is definitely the weaker of the two. The original Matrix was this groundbreaking sci-fi action movie, Reloaded was a campy, fun action movie, and Revolutions was…a war movie. The battle between Zion and the Machines was cool, I suppose, and I do like how it wrapped up the story of The Matrix, but the Neo vs Smith fight at the end was shounen anime levels of drawn out, and failed to maintain my interest.

The Matrix Resurrections (2021) | ★★★☆☆

After our Matrix marathon, my pals and I hopped into the theater bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on the 22nd of December, ready for the next installment of this series and, for the most part, we were disappointed. The trailer promised a new entry into this series full of intrigue, but what we got was a rehash with some exposition dump mixed in that ended as quickly as it began.

So, here's the thing: initially, I didn't like the movie. Truthfully, I still don't really like it. However, my opinion on Resurrections is, for some reason, really malleable. I'll read an opinion that says that this movie was some big brain meta-analysis on sequels and reboots by Lana Watchowski and agree with them, but I'll also read an opinion that says it was a lazy, studio-forced sequel (hence the remark by nuSmith in the beginning) and also agree with them. So, I'm not 100% sure how to think about this movie. But, I will say it gave me a new appreciation for Reloaded and Revolutions.

And hey, we got to see Trinity do the scorpion kick again, which is all I really wanted.

The King's Man (2021) | ★★★★☆+ ♥

The final movie I watched in 2021 was the latest entry in the Kingsman series. I'd previously seen maybe a few minutes of the first movie and none of the others, so I went in mostly blind. Thankfully, this was a prequel, so I didn't need any prior knowledge. Like I said before, I do like a little historical fiction, and this has some alternate history sprinkled on top! I really liked this movie because to me, it felt like a Metal Gear Solid game set in WWI. Metal Gear games are pretty action-packed, SUPER camp, and typically don't take themselves very seriously, and that was certainly the case here, especially with the thigh wound-lingus and wonderfully choreographed Rasputin fight. I could imagine Hideo Kojima writing something like that.

2021 was a pretty good year of movie-watching for me, and the amount of high reviews on this list reflects that. The next couple of months are looking pretty dry for exciting releases in 2022, but the rest of the year has some titles I'm really looking forward to, like the new Batman, The Northman, and, although it's not a movie, the next season of main-series RuPaul's Drag Race!