LIGHTS, CAMERA, REVIEW - 2021 Recap!

2021 is finally reaching it's conclusion, and over the last 12 months, 31 FILMS from across multiple genres and eras have been covered on this blog. To round out this year, join me here to recap on how these films hold up against one another. This includes all films covered on this blog during 2021, not just new releases. This ranking will be judged on the overall scores each film got. If more than one film has the same score, then they will be put together as one place. Additionally, in the case of the Harry Potter films, all 8 films have been allocated an overall average score, based on the totals each installment got! Now let's get started...

15th Place - LES MISERABLES (2012) - Score: 1.6/10

Is it even a contest? This film still stands as not only the worst scoring film this year, but also one of the worst films I have ever seen! A story that is usually a spectacle to watch on stage, became an ugly and torturous 2 hours to sit through. I am still appalled at how the cast had to push their vocals to breaking point, and that such ridiculous decisions where made for capturing their performances. Live singing is great, when done in a way that doesn't hinder the performer. But here, most of the cast are victims of these monstrous decisions. This film deserves the hate it gets. Just go and watch the staged concert again!

14th Place - ALADDIN (2019) - Score: 4.6/10

I'm sure some people will disagree with this being so low down, as well as the seemingly harsh score I gave it. But the reason behind that is simply because this film had nothing special to justify it's existence. It's the exact same story beats as the animated classic, but with performances that don't even have the level of energy to keep my interest. The big positive point is Will Smith's Genie, but even then, he is hindered by always living in the shadow of Robin Williams. Had Disney made an effort to give this film a more stylistic interpretation of the story, such as having it be a Bollywood film, then this film's existence would be more justified. But as it stands, it's just another bland Disney remake.

13th Place - THE TRENCH (1999) - Score: 6/10

It's easy to see Daniel Craig and Cillian Murphy on the cover for this film, and see it being a grand war epic. This film is anything but that! However, it's actually to the film's benefit that it focuses more on delivering strong performances than flashy war action. Craig and Murphy are brilliant performers, as are the rest of the cast. But as much as I appreciate the film's focus on tension building and performing, it is still a slow and drab film to sit through, with little to really build up to. View this as a marmite film, some will like it, others will hate it. And some people like me will think it's just... ok!

12th Place - SAVING MR BANKS - Score: 6.2/10

Once again, we see the Disney agenda taking priority here. Rather than being fair and honest about the past, this film feels extremely biased in favour of Walt Disney's point of view, often antagonising P.L Travers, showing her as unwavering and cold. In real life, this conflict wasn't so black and white, which would've been far more interesting to watch. Alas, what we got felt very biased and too... well... Disney!

11th Place - FUNNY BONES (1995) - Score: 6.4/10

It's often said that the most important rule of comedy is that one way or another, comedy is based around someone else's misery. This film takes that rule WAY too literally. Funny Bones focuses so much on the drama, that the comedy aspects fall flat as a result. It's worth praising the actors for their well delivered performances, most noticeably former comedian, Lee Evans for being able to bring some humour to this rather drab and depressing film. If you're looking to build a comedy film around the misery of others, don't use this film as a starting point!

10th Place - THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO (1965)/UNHINGED (2020) - Score: 7.2/10

These two couldn't be further worlds apart when it comes to their genres and subject matter. Nevertheless, the two films are the earliest ones on this list that I would say were good films out of the ones covered this year. Thunderbirds Are Go is by far one of the best demonstrations of the talent that the production team had to offer, only suffering from a very drab narrative, which didn't actually require the usage of our main cast.

Unhinged showed a side to Russell Crowe that I didn't expect, and gave me more respect for his talents as an actor. He made each scene he was in tense, and left me terrified of what his character would do next. The film overall was easily predictable and did end rather too cleanly for my liking, but for what it is, it provided some thrilling entertainment, and would be the film I would choose to watch between it and Thunderbirds Are Go.

9th Place - SUPERMAN II (1980) - Score: 7.4/10

Christopher Reeve is universally known as the definitive Superman actor, and if you just look at his first outing in the tights, you can see exactly why. Reeve continued to portray the man of steel superbly throughout his reign, but the storytelling quality has always been criticised in the 3rd and 4th films. Yet, little is said about the story in the second film, which while still good, doesn't live up to the incredibly high standards of the 1978 first outing. Whether the change in directors mid production was the key issue or if the higher ups had too much to say is up for debate, but nevertheless, the film falters in living up to the legacy of Reeve's Superman days.

8th Place - THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955) - Score: 8.2/10

The oldest film on this year's list, it's great to see it having such a good score. Alfred Hitchcock is well known for his thrilling and suspenseful films, but it was great to find a film where he delved into the comedy genre, if only through the use of dark humour. The film is very simple when it comes to it's narrative outline, but it still provides twists and turns, beautiful camera work, and overall is good in it's level of overall quality.

7th Place - THUNDERBIRD 6 (1968)/JUSTICE LEAGUE (2021)/NO TIME TO DIE (2021) - Score: 8.6/10

A trio of films together, and the two lowest scoring new releases from this year. This isn't to say they are the worst new releases of 2021, as there are films I have seen that are worse, but no had much to say about them. All 3 of these films offer some incredible entertainment value. No Time To Die is a brilliantly crafted finale for Daniel Craig's time as James Bond, and is by far the best of the 3 films in 7th place. Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League provided it's alliegence of fans exactly what they wanted. It feels much more complete than the 2017 theatrical cut, and had far better quality effects. The only issue hindering it was the ludicrously long runtime, which I feel could've been trimmed down had there been less use of slow-motion shots. Thunderbird 6 is by far the more entertaining of the two feature films produced in Supermarionation. It also feels far more unique than 1965's Thunderbirds Are Go, even if there was some strange uses of certain characters.

6th Place - WEST SIDE STORY (1961) - Score: 8.8/10

50 years on from it's first release, this rendition of West Side Story is still fun and entertaining to watch. Performances and choreography are second to none, and the songs still have a lot of humility to them. The big issue come from the fact that it feels less like watching a film, and more like you're watching a recording of the stage show. Some may not have an issue with this, whereas others like myself would've preferred a more cinematic interpretation of this popular musical.

5th Place - HARRY POTTER - Franchise Score: 8.9/10

After revisiting the original Harry Potter film in 4K earlier this year, I went back over all 8 of the original films, and came away with a stronger appreciation for the film series as a whole, Even the weakest entry is still well put together, only suffering from focusing on areas that aren't meant to be the main focus, or skipping over plot points which were more important to the main story. Overall though, Harry Potter is still one of the best film franchises to originate in the UK. It shows how good it is when it's fanbase rivals that of American film franchises, such as Star Wars and the MARVEL Cinematic Universe.

4th Place - BIRDMAN (2014)/BLACK WIDOW (2021) - Score: 9/10

Despite both films being very entertaining and very well made, I wouldn't personally go back to either of them for a regular rewatch. If this was ranked on how much I enjoyed watching said film, I can't see either being as high as they are. So saying which is better of the two is a hard decision. Birdman has a slight edge, thanks to it's more unique story and visual style regarding it's efforts to keep the camera rolling without cutting to different angles. But on the other hand, MARVEL's Black Widow filled in a gap I didn't realise needed filling. It also gives some needed context to a character who was needing said context, but wasn't likely to get it in future instalments. Overall, both brilliantly made films, just not personal favourites of mine.

3rd Place - LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021) - Score: 9.2/10

Now THIS is a film I can really sink my teeth into. Last Night In Soho may not have the comical flare of previous Edgar Wright films, but that's what makes it so unique and enjoyable. There is signs of Edgar's signature directing skills all over this film, and while I do think he did some sequences better in previous films, this is still by far one of the most entertaining films of the year, and one of the most unique takes on the horror genre in recent memory!

2nd Place - WEST SIDE STORY (2021)/CRUELLA (2021) - Score: 9.4/10

The runners up this year are both new releases, and both are uniquely wonderful in their own right. Cruella is the superior of the two, and it's down to a very fun take on this popular Disney villain. Emma Stone MAKES this movie, and gives us one of her finest performances. The narrative is also unique which rare for Disney at the minute. It's not a copy and paste retelling of the original 101 Dalmatians story. It helps that they've already done that back in the 90s, but nevertheless it's a breathe of fresh air.

One of the latest reviews from this year, Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story was the cinematic telling that many people (myself included) really wanted to see. It takes what is brilliant about the stage show and the 60s film, and tells it to us in a more grand and cinematic level of quality. There is also aspects of the narrative and the context surrounding it that helps expand the story further. Some will call it sacrilege to place this above the 1961 film, but to me, the level of cinematic quality in this film is enough to push it above the 60s film.

1st Place - ZULU (1964)/AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018)/THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021)/

SPIDERMAN: NO WAY HOME (2021)/SPENCER (2021) - Score: 10/10

Topping the leaderboard this year is a 5 WAY TIE. Each of these films does something that was a real treat as a viewer and fan of movies to behold. Zulu may have it's controversial aspects which is due to the time in which the film is set and when it was made, but it ultimately stands proud as a example of how beautifully done war films can be when practical effects and stunt work is the key area of focus, rather than flashy CG imagery. Avengers: Infinity War is also an incredible war film, but succeeds most in how it handles the idea of subverting expectations. The audiences are so use to MARVEL films ending with the heroes being victorious, that the film makers were able to build up such an ending, only for the "real hero" to come out victorious, leaving the characters we've grown to love turning to ashes. Spiderman: No Way Home and The Suicide Squad both succeed at being highly entertaining crowd pleasers, but for completely different reasons. The Suicide Squad simply had to be funny, entertaining and ultimately better than the film we got in 2016. Whereas, Spiderman had to deliver on the countless expectations, whilst being a fitting conclusion to this trilogy of Spiderman films. And both films meet these expectations and more. These are by far, the best that the superhero genre reached not only this year, but for quite some time!

But topping everything this year, both on and off this blog has without a doubt been Spencer, which was superbly done. It gave me a film I didn't know I wanted or even needed. But nevertheless, I ended being enthralled by this unique look at the life of Princess Diana. Rather than being a dramatisation of confirmed events like The Crown, this instead gave it's audience a chance to look into the mindset of Diana, and how her mental health might have been affected during the decline of her marriage to Charles. It does set out to be an authentic retelling of events, but instead uses Diana as a gateway to discuss mental health and how toxic relationships and toxic environments can be a huge contributing factor to someone's mental health!

DO YOU AGREE WITH THESE SCORES AND RANKINGS? LET ME KNOW, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR REVIEWS IN 2022, PUT YOUR SUGGESTIONS FORWARD, AND THEY MIGHT BE CONSIDERED....

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!