One more review dump to close out 2021. A mostly good crop here, including a couple to be on the watch for in the coming weeks.
Cyrano
This is one to file away for later, as Cyrano won’t see a wide release until late January or early February. This musical adaptation of the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac stars Peter Dinklage in the title role, who’s secretly in love with longtime friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Fearing that the world would never accept them, he keeps his feelings to himself. When Roxanne professes her love to Cyrano for new military recruit Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr), Cyrano helps Christian woo her, as Christian doesn’t know how to “speak romantically” as he tells Cyrano.
It’s mostly a dynamite movie, but my biggest hang-up is the same here as West Side Story. Christian and Roxanne barely know each other, and yet they both claim to be madly in love with the other. That’s a story that I almost always have a hard time buying into. At least when it’s done at such an extreme. But Cyrano’s years-long friendship with Roxanne helps soften that some here. And it’s a musical. It’s more of a fantastical world, even more so than West Side Story. That helps as well.
It doesn’t have the same high-energy as In The Heights, my favorite musical from this year, but there’s so much heart here. It looks gorgeous, the acting and musical numbers are great. But it’s just missing a couple things that prevent it from being truly great.
Score: 90/100
Don’t Look Up
I think IndieWire’s David Ehrlich said it best in his review:
“Is “Don’t Look Up” further proof that self-importance has dulled one of Hollywood’s funniest minds? I’m afraid so. Prestige is one hell of a drug, and McKay’s descent from the galaxy brain genius of “Step Brothers” to the winky-winky self-importance of his recent work has been like watching the world’s greatest jazz musician discover auto-tune and fall in love with the sound of their own voice.”
I could not have said it any better myself. I don’t need to be talked down to for nearly 2.5 hours. I’d like to think I’m smart enough to get the point director Adam McKay is trying to make without it being beaten over the audience’s head every 5 seconds. Not only that, but it’s not even that successful as a comedy. Most of the jokes don’t land. But it’s not all bad, though.
It’s very well acted, as you would expect with a loaded cast like this. Timothée Chalamet and Jonah Hill in particular are two highlights. The introduction to Hill’s character is a bit rough, but once he gets going, he’s a consistent bright spot. And Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry are fantastic together as two clueless news anchors. Gave me serious vibes of the Onion Today Now hosts.
Score: 57/100
The King’s Man
Kingsman: The Secret Service is awesome, loads of fun. The sequel, The Golden Circle, was the JV version of Secret Service, but still fun enough. So I was hoping this prequel would , if nothing else, at least be a blast to watch . And? It kind of was?
While it had its funny moments, it was certainly less so than either of the first two in the series. And it lacked the raunchy humor that helped set those apart. But even that would have been forgivable if the action scenes hadn’t been so neutered. Secret Service and Golden Circle each had one or two signature action scenes, with stylized fighting and camera work. The King’s Man had none of that. It’s almost like it didn’t want to be in the same universe. And there’s obviously nothing wrong with that in a vacuum. But if you’re going to make a Kingsman movie, you should, you know, make a Kingsman movie.
On the plus side, it avoids the typical pitfalls of so many prequels. It was set so far before the first two, and had none of the same characters, that it was able to stand on its own. In most prequels, take Solo for example, the stakes are decidedly less intense. It’s Han Solo prior to the events of the main Star Wars events. His fate and safety are never in question. But here, everyone and everything is fair game.
Score: 67/100
Licorice Pizza
I don’t worship at the altar of Paul Thomas Anderson like so many seem to. Granted, I’ve only seen four of his movies (and started a 5th; Phantom Thread is one of two movies I’ve DNF’d in the last 5 years or so, at least). His style just typically doesn’t do it for me. But Licorice Pizza is completely my bag. A coming-of-age dramedy in 1970s California? Sign me up right away.
There’s not much to the plot. Teenager Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman; the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son, in his first role) meets and immediately falls for Alana Kane (Alana Haim, of Haim fame, also in her first role). But she’s 10 years older, so she insists on keeping their relationship platonic; friends and nothing more.
The movie then follows these two and their families and friends. I could describe more, but it would pretty much just be a list of things they do. It might not sound all that engaging, but it is. It’s so well-acted, and it looks and sounds phenomenal. If 70s LA is something you vibe with, this will be right up your alley. The simple plot isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is just enough to prevent Licorice Pizza from jumping into that elite tier.
Score: 91/100
The Novice
Whiplash, but with crew and no psychotic teacher/coach. It’s not a perfect comparison, but it’s probably the closest comp to Novice. Isabelle Fuhrman stars as Alex, the titular novice freshman who works herself to the bone trying to make the varsity crew team.
The story is a little too straightforward and none of the supporting characters really get all that much to do. But Fuhrman shines here and is utterly convincing as the obsessed-with-perfection Alex.
Score: 79/100
Sing 2
I had fun here. It’s not going to offer up any twists or surprises; it simply is what it is. But with some solid voice acting, fun songs and musical numbers (though I would have preferred some original songs mixed in, rather than only covers), and some decent laughs, Sing 2 is perfectly fine. If nothing else, it makes for a great family outing if you’re looking for something to do with your time off of school and work.
Score: 80/100
Swan Song
Mahershala Ali: Confirmed great actor, just in case his two Oscars in three years was enough evidence.
Here he plays dual roles, as terminally ill Cameron Turner and his potential clone. Cameron has hidden his illness from his wife Poppy (Naomie Harris), and when presented with the option to replace himself with the clone, he grapples with that decision and whether or not to discuss it with Poppy.
Swan Song presents some interesting moral and ethical questions, which are always welcome (though, as evidenced by the terrible Passengers, that alone does not make a good movie). But here it works. It’s an engaging story, and Ali is in top form. It might be a bit melodramatic for melodramatic sake, but you should be so invested in Cameron’s journey that it shouldn’t fully you out of the movie – though it does come close at times.
Score: 82/100
The Worst Person in the World
Like Cyrano, one to keep in mind for later. I’m not sure when it will release wide here in the U.S., though, so keep an eye out. But it should be nominated at the Oscars for Best International Feature (and is maybe a dark horse for a Best Picture nod), so you’d think Neon would like to get it in front of as many people as possible (though most, maybe all, voters will have received a screener, but still). Anyway.
It follows Julie (the *amazing* Renate Reinsve) as she navigates love, life, career, and discovering who she truly is. Julie’s life is often a mess, and you might find yourself frustrated with some of her decisions, but with Reinsve’s magnetic performance, you can’t help but fall in love with her. She’s the highlight of a movie full of highlights.
I don’t want to say too much, as any time you can go into a movie knowing so little, I think that’s the way to do it. And with The Worst Person in the World not getting a ton of promotion (yet, at least) here, take the opportunity to go in blind to one of the year’s best movies.
Score: 98/100
And there we have it! That closes out 2021. I’ll have my usual year-end rankings still to come, though I think I’m going to switch up exactly how I do it. I’m planning to do a quick write-up for each set, and publish on separate days, rather than post the entire rankings at once. But we’ll see.
