Despite the growing success of online-streaming, I still savor my experiences in the theater, and those are the movie events I want to look back on. So, here’s my personal ranking of all the 2021 movies I saw in the theater this year, which means some other really good (and bad) films from 2021 won’t make the countdown. Again, this is my own personal opinion, these films aren’t ranked by the quality of the picture, but simply by how each left their impression on me. I saw 9 movies in
total, and here's my personal ranking of each one from least to favorite.
#9 “The
Hatful Eight”
Good old Quentin Tarantino is back, and he’s brought with
him a theatrical recreation of the board game “Clue”, but set in the old
West. It’s an intriguing concept at first … but the longer it went on … the
more exhausted I got, to the point where I just couldn’t take it any longer. In
general, I’ve been around the block with Quentin Tarantino for years, seen all
his movies, and always appreciated them on some level, but if I had to rank all
of them … “The Hatful Eight” is arguably the one I’ve liked the least. For
a rock-solid Western presented by Quentin Tarantino, I think I’ll go back to
watching “Django Unchained” again.
#8 “Specter”
I love me some James Bond, and I’ve been on board with Daniel Craig’s series
sense “Casino Royal” knocked my socks off back in 2007. Now we have “Specter”,
the fourth in his series, and the first that came off feeling like … well …
just another 007. Aside from a top-tear opening, nothing about this film really
stood out as especially noteworthy or even that memorable for James Bond, but
it certainly wasn’t awful either. Just kind of a middle of the road 007 outing,
which was bound to happen with a franchise that’s been going on for this long.
#7 “Hotel
Transylvania 2”
2012’s “Hotel Transylvania” was kind of a surprise
Halloween movie I didn’t expect to like, and yet have made a tradition to
re-watch during the October season. Now we have a sequel, which I found to be
half-way decent, as it recaptured some of the charm from its predecessor, but
not all of it. In the plus column, this is a proper progression of the story,
and the characters haven’t lost an ounce of their charismatic charms.
Unfortunately, while this sequel still has funny scenes, not all of the comedy
clicked with me this time, in fact, it almost got too silly for its own good.
Also, it for some reason failed to get me in the mood for Halloween like its
predecessor did. So, I don’t think I’ll make a tradition of re-watching this
one during the October season, but it still packed enough delightful material
to make for a passable viewing experience.
#6 “Ant-Man”
One of the lesser-known Marvel comic characters brings his distinctly
creative strengths and appeals to the big screen, and the result is a
reasonable success without shattering any kind of expectations. While the
action is thrilling, it’s less about battles, and more about exiting sequences.
With its boundless creativity, imagination, charming performances, and a smart
script that can overshadow a noticeable lack of fight scenes, it makes "Ant-Man"
a refreshing small scaled superhero adventure.
#5 “The
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2”
It’s been a lengthy, emotional and
all-around exiting journey, but now it’s “Game Over” for the “The Hunger
Games” franchise, and the result … a satisfying conclusion to say the least.
I can’t say it reached the same height’s from where it started, but it’s still exciting,
with suspenseful set-pieces, emotional character beats, and even a timely
message at the center. In the end, it tied this series together in a fine boa,
and it’ll be interesting to see how future YA book adaptions will feel compared
to this series.
#4 “Jurassic World”
The first “Jurassic Park”
remains one of my favorite movies, and the sequels, while not great have still remained
consistently enjoyable. “Jurassic World” was both a nostalgic return to
this franchise, and the first sequel that felt genuinely good, as well as very exciting.
The new cast is charming, the creature effects dazzling enough, and the
overall experience reminded me why I love dinosaurs in the first place. Throw
in a top-tier monster brawling climax, and you get a highly satisfying relaunch. While not on the same high-bar as the original, it’s still a really fun
sequel. #3 “Avengers:
Age of Ultron”
The novelty of multiple Marvel superheroes in one action-packed
adventure hasn’t lost an ounce of its appeal, and once again delivers the
goods. We’ve got further developed characters, a menacing new villain, and no
shortage of super-powered spectacles. It allows this squeal to live up to the
high-quality standards of its predecessor, and in many ways surpasses it. That’s
not to say it’s quiet as fresh as the first, and it’s still a simple-note premise,
yet the focus is properly placed on the characters, their conflicts, and it makes
this sequel feel like a worthy progression of it’s predecessor.
#2 “Inside Out”
You know
that little voice in your head that always tells you what to do in any given
situation ... well, that’s an emotion, or more precisely, one of five distinct
emotions that live in your imagination, and have creative influence on how you
live each day. That’s the premise of Disney and Pixar’s 2015 motion picture “Inside
Out”. From the moment I saw this movie, I felt it really had the makings of
a classic, and has something to offer to younger audiences, older audiences,
and especially the young at heart. Pixar had been turning out some sub-par
material previously, but this was a very strong return to the high-quality
films that they’ve done in the past. It was imaginative, colorful, innovative,
touching, magical, and for lack of better words ... a truly emotional
experience that I look forward to seeing again, and again.
#1 “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
It’s not often that my most anticipated movie of the year lands as my most
favorite … but in the case of “The Force Awakens” … it absolutely hit the
landing, and is one of my new favorite movies in one of my favorite long
running franchises. Not only did the Force awaken in this
film, it was also a revival of old school "Star Wars", with a
great sense of outer-space adventure, the return of practical effects, which are now laced
with state-of-the-art CGI, and of course a reunion of our favorite original
cast. However, there's just enough new twists, energy, hummer, and a powerhouse
new cast of intriguing new characters, which allow the film to stand on its own
... as well as stand tall, and strong as one of my personal favorite
installments in the whole film series.
So,
concludes 2015 … and may the thrill of the theater continue on!
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