I watched "The Rhythm Section". Do not. It is a terrible terrible film. Good performances, some good direction, appalling story, appalling script.

We watched Sonic the Hedgehog yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jim Carrey as Robotnik was basically a perfect storm of early 1990s nostalgia for me.

We watched 'Don't look up' last night on Netflix which was something of a Christmas mistake since it is (in my view) really very depressing. Also very entertaining, and funny. And DeCaprio has a genuinely great TV meltdown in the 'Network' style. 7.9/10.

I really liked "Pig" with Nicolas Cage, which is on Hulu. The trailer makes it look like an action/revenge movie, which it ain't. It's a really thoughtful allegory on grief and loss, that I think would hold up on a second viewing.

I'm also about 3 hours into the 7-hour "Satantango" by Hungarian director Bela Tarr, which is on Criterion Channel. I'm treating it like a miniseries and watching in nightly installments. Just finished the part with the girl and the cat which is maybe the bleakest thing ever.

If just thinking about "Satantango" made you depressed, then cheer up with "Summer of Soul" on Hulu which is just glorious. Sly & the Family Stone might have been the best live band ever. MC5-level energy.

Finally got around to The Power of the Dog. Good stuff.

Since I never "keep up" in that manner, I cannot give any "Best Movies of 2021". Here's simply the best movies I have watched in 2021 (some might be from 2021).

Shoplifters
Harmony (2015)
The Quiet Earth
Ninotchka
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl
Lilo & Stitch
Ex Machina
Minari
Loves of a Blonde
Ronin
El Mariachi
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Zootopia
Ready Player One
Moana
The Sound of Metal
Falling Down
La Haine
The Crying Game
John Wick
Birds of Prey
Candyman (1992)
Star Wars: Rogue One (seen it before, but it was a totally new experience)

The Matrix Resurrections: holy shit was this movie terrible. We rewatched the original beforehand because 4 mins into the new one we were thinking we were lost. Hitting the OG one was good and bad. There are MANY direct references to the original. But the original basically held up for the most part. So that might have made this new one more awful. Maybe not. Anyway, I do not recommend. 2.75/10

Don't Look Up: we enjoyed it well enough, but greatly preferred Melancholia. 6.5/10

The French Connection remains great, per last night's rewatch.

Lamb.



Lovely Icelandic folklore drama that isn't the horror/supernatural bloodfest the trailer might suggest, co-written by Sjón who also co-wrote Robert Egger's forthcoming The Northman.

So great. Loved every weird, creepy, fucked-up, beautiful moment.