So now we come very close to my number 1 film of 2021....
Lets start now with number 4...
QUIET PLACE 2
People forget...way back in May..Quiet Place 2 was the first big film to say THEATERS ONLY coming off Covid restrictions..and once you see it you knew why. It needed to be seen on the big screen in a dark theater.
In Part 2, the Abbott family is now on the move, but now they have to face not only the creatures but also what society has become!!
I am not a horror film fan. Yet...here it is in my top 5!!!
I liked the first one so I showed up..I am so glad I did.
Now is it as good as the first Quiet Place? No. It is better!!! It is close to a perfect film!!!!
Why is it so good?
I mean you have Emily Blunt back!!
You have the wonderful young actor Noah Jupe.
Djimon Hounsou good as always in a small part.
The great Cillian Murphy is in this film...I had no idea he was going to be in this..and as always he is freaking fantastic as Emmett the loner!!!
But the real star in this film is Millicent Simmons!! Playing the hearing impaired Reagan Abbott again, please remember she is hearing impaired in real life. Yes before CODA there was a CODA earlier in the year in film!! Did we forget? She is the lead here. She is taking over and is on the road. She is the thinker and the brave one in this film. Krasinski often just shuts down all sound so we can hear (Or not hear) what Reagan is going through. Just brilliant. This leads to Millicent acting with just body movement and facial expressions. She is the film!!
The script!!
Krasinski and Beck start the story out by going back in time. We see how cute this small town was. How everyone knew each other. We see the chaos when the creatures arrived.
Then we move to present time, where the first film felt mostly claustrophobic, this film is more open. The characters are mobile. Out there trying to find either help or solutions. Yet it is just as frightening because we do not know what is hiding around the corners.
Any negatives?
Again if you follow my blog...again you should...you know I am not a fan of middle movies..going in I did not know they were planning a trilogy here. I always say...people pay money they deserve a clear beginning, middle, and end. This film did not have a clear end...too wide open for my taste....
But still.. just edge of your seat, tension. It delivers exactly what you expect.
This film can be seen on HBO MAX and pay to stream.
What an exciting film, putting A QUIET PLACE 2 at number 4 in my top ten films of 2021.
3
THE RESCUE
Yes 2 documentaries in my top ten!!!
This exciting documentary follows the attempted rescue of 12 boys and their coach stuck in flooded caves in Thailand.
I do not understand what happened here..It nominated, and often won, for best documentary 29 times. Let me type that again 29 times!! Including Critic Choice awards and BAFTA (British Academy awards). What happen OSCARS?
The secret to watching this film is to not look up any information and just turn it on Disney+ or pay to stream it.
Put together by Directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth ChaiVasarhelyi (Free Solo), they keep the tension very high. The video often is edge of your seat frightening. I often thought, this is more exciting then 90 percent of the action films I see, and this is real!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As the saying goes, real heroes don't wear capes. When the Thai Navy Seals, realize they do not have the skills in these dark caves, they have to call on some cave divers from outside the country:
Rick Stanton 60
John Volanthen 50
Dr Richard "Harry" Harris 57
Look at those ages. So when they show up in Thailand, there is this confusion by the Seals, they are going to have to rely on these old men, who are amateur divers. They usually do this for fun and excitement and here they are with the world watching.
This is a cannot miss film. I am not telling you what happens but the final idea of how to rescue these kids and the coach is batshit crazy!!!!
See it on Disney+ or pay per view.
THE RESCUE comes in as my number 3 best film of 2021!!!
2
WEST SIDE STORY
Spielberg's adaption of the 1957 musical exploring the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks.
I will not get into the plot because well you know the plot.
A couple funny things before I start:
-When I first saw this in the theater, when leaving the theater, I heard one person say to another person, "I was hoping they would have changed the ending" I felt like saying..I KNOW!
-I have been saying since I watched this the first time,"This film is just great, it is the same story but somehow Spielberg made it modern". Then the film came out on Disney+ and I got so many messages saying "You were right, this film is one of the best films I have seen all year". Well...it is what I do! LOL.
Let me start with the amazing cast...
Ariana DeBose as Anita. An Oscar worthy performance!! The back half of this movie she owns. Her acting; her dancing; her singing; she is a triple threat here. Fantastic!!
Rita Moreno returns!! This time as Valentina who owns maybe the last store in that neighborhood. She is also fantastic. Her last song...well more on that later.
Matt Faist as Riff. An Oscar worthy snub!! Another triple threat with Dance; acting; singing.
Ansel Elgort as Tony. Hey...Baby Driver can sing.
The best for last: Rachel Zegler as Maria!!! Oh my. Her first movie!! Really?! Her acting is spot on with sometimes just a look. Her singing voice outshines everyone else. While watching this in the theater, you literally can hear an audible gasp the first time she sings. She is that wonderful!!
The story. What Spielberg does right:
-Seperating Tony and Maria at the dance making their first meeting more intimate.
-The neighborhood being knocked down. Which highlight the stupidity of both the Sharks and Jets. They are fighting over turf that barely exists. That will not be there a year from this date obviously.
- America scene..is now a dance in the street. This makes it a bigger show stopper. Which brings me to the costumes in this scene and through out. While dancing the costumes are so bright and sharp, from Paul Tazewell. In fact look at the costumes throughout, just perfect.
-Having Rita Moreno sing Somewhere instead of Tony and Maria.What a great decision. Having her sing this is a reflection almost of our times. Almost a wish of adults that the youth find a way to stop killing each other in the streets. It is so true, those words, just cuts through time.
I could go on.but I must stop. Yes it is a remake, but with the Spielberg magic it is fresh; wonderful; modern; yet old school.
WEST SIDE STORY is my number 2 film of 2021. I cannot say it enough...see this film!!!
Now I am down to one more film
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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