All Films
Watched in 2021
I'm changing my main reviewing site to: http://letterboxd.com/kenru/
where all the reviews are rated on a 5-star basis.
However, on
this site all films still are rated on a scale of 4-stars:
****(A+), *** 3/4 (A), *** 1/2 (A-), *** 1/4
(B+), *** (B), ** 3/4 (B-), ** 1/2 (C+), ** 1/4 ( C), **
(C-) , * 3/4 thru * (D), 3/4* thru
0* (F)
Links are to longer reviews on site or elsewhere on the
interwebs.
A FILM is defined as 70 min.+ visual event. A non-capitalized film title is a
short film worthy of note.
The year included with the
film is the year I watched each film.
(V) =
TV, Video or DVD ( +) = repeat
viewing (W/O)= walked out
January, 2021
Black Sand (2021, Doc. short; d. Sohan Roy) * 1/2
Caregiver: a Love Story (2021, Doc. short; d. Kevin Gordon, Jessica Zitter) *** 1/4
Crossing, The (2021, Doc. short; d. Juliana Peñaranda-Loftus) *** 1/4
How America Killed My Mother (2021, Doc short; d. Travis Irvine) ** 3/4
MOLE AGENT, THE (2021, Chile, d. Maite Alberdi) *** 1/2
How to Fall in Love in a Pandemic (2021, Doc short; d. Michael-David McKernan) *** 3/4
Hunger Ward (2021, Doc short; d. Skye Fitzgerald) *** 1/2
GAZA MON AMOUR (2021, Palestine, d. Nasser Brothers)
Elderly bachelor fisherman finds Greek priapus statue & falls for
seamstress. *** 1/4
Making Waves (2021, Doc short; d. Laura Zéphirin) *** 1/2
Marie (2021, Doc short; d. Sam Abbas) * 1/4
TWO OF US (2021, France, d. Filippo Meneghetti) An older
woman has secretly been in an affair with her younger woman neighbor.
*** 1/4
Mizuko (2021, Doc short, d. Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo) ***
My Country, So Beautiful (Moj Kraj Taki Piekny) (2021, Doc short, d. Grzegorz Paprzycki) *** 1/2
Pluck (2021, Doc short, d. Kirsty Griffin, Viv Kernick) ** 1/4
Racially Charged: America's Misdemeanor Problem (2021, Doc short, d. Robert Greenwald) ****
Rifleman, The (2021, Doc short, d. Sierra Pettengill) ** 1/2
Small World (2021, Doc short, d. Jonathan Napolitano) ** 3/4
Blue (2021, short, d. Kyle Lawrence) ** 1/2
Fools, Gold (2021, short, d. Jim Allison) ** 3/4
Little Star, The (2021, short, d. Haley Pine) *** 1/4
MY LITTLE SISTER (2021, Switzerland, d. Véronique Reymond, Stéphanie Chuat) Twins, bro dying of cancer, sis coping. *** 1/2
SONG WITHOUT A NAME (2021, Peru, d. Melina León) Native Peruvian woman's baby stolen in '88 & gay journalist tries to help. *** 1/2
Justice of the Pies (2021, Doc short, d. Michelle Marrion) **
War & Grace (2021, Doc Short, d. Sonia Lowman) *** 1/2
STATE OF MADNESS, A (2021, Dominican Republic, d.
Leticia Tonos) A good doctor sent to fix a loony bin during 60s
dictatorship. *** 3/4
NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN (2021, Poland, d. Malgorzata Szumowska) Ukrainian masseur has powers over rich Poles. ** 1/2
STORIES FROM THE CHESTNUT WOODS (2021, Slovenia, d. Gregor Bozic) Carpenter loses his wife & helps woman to leave woods. ** 1/4
Draw With Me (2021, Doc short, d. Constantine Venetopoulos) *** 1/2
Concerto is a Conversation, A (2021, Doc short, d. Kris Bowers, Ben Proudfoot) ***
KILLING THE DEAD (2021, Paraguay, d. Hugo Giménez) In '78 during upheavals, the dead buried in the jungle. But one lived. ** 3/4
MAN STANDING NEXT, THE (2021, S. Korea, d. Woo Min-ho) Political thriller of KCIA's assassination of President Park. *** 1/4
WET SEASON (2021, Singapore, d. Anthony Chen) Teacher, unable to get pregnant, gets involved with student. *** 1/2
Speed Cubers (2021, Doc short, d. Sue Kim) *** 3/4
I'M NO LONGER HERE (2021, Mexico, d. Fernando Frias) 17 yr. old dancer from Monterrey forced to go to NYC where he is miserable. *** 1/4
February, 2021
Church and the Fourth Estate (2021, Doc short, d. Brian Knappenberger) Years of child abuse in the Mormon led Idaho Boy Scouts. *** 1/2
LA LLORONA (2021, Guatemala, d. Jayro Bustamante) A general & family is haunted by ghosts of his genocide victims. *** 1/2
BLIZZARD OF SOULS (2021, Latvia, d. Dzintars Dreibergs) War epic about 16 yr-old Latvian boy witness to brutal battles in WWI. *** 3/4
ANOTHER ROUND (2021, Denmark, d. Thomas Vinterberg) 4 teachers bond over an experiment in alcoholism. ** 3/4
CHARLATAN (2021, Czech Republic, d. Agnieszka Holland)
Famed herbalist faith healer, in love with assistant & framed by the
govt. *** 3/4
Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa (2021, Doc short, d. Barbara Attie, Mike Attie) Troubled women call concerned "Lisas" at an abortion hotline.*** 1/2
Call Center Blues (2021, Doc Short, d. Geeta Gandbhir)
Banished to Tijuana, displaced Americans serve to help others in the
same boat. ** 3/4
SUN CHILDREN (2021, Iran, d. Majid Majidi) Exploited 12 year old boys combine school & illicit digging for treasure. *** 3/4
Colette (2021, Doc short, d. Anthony Giacchino) *** 1/2
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY (2021, d. Liz Garbus, Lisa Cortés) The legacy of Stacey Abrams fighting for right to vote. *** 1/4
NIGHT OF THE KINGS (2021, Ivory Coast, d. Philippe Lacôte)
Young man sent to prison run by inmates forced to tell a story for his
life. ** 3/4
BOYS STATE (2021, d. Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine) *** 1/2
Hysterical Girl (2021, Doc short, d. Kate Novack) ****
CRIP CAMP: A DISABILITY REVOLUTION (2021, d. Nichole Newnham, James Lebrecht) ****
Do Not Split ( 2021, Doc short, d. Anders Hammer) *** 1/2
HOPE (2021, Norway, d. Maria Sodahl) ****
GUNDA (2021, d. Victor Kossakovsky) *** 1/2
MLK/FBI (2021, d. Sam Pollard) *** 1/4
QUO VADIS, AIDA (2021, Bosnia, d. Jasmila Zbanic) *** 3/4
Love Song for Latasha, A (2021, Doc short, d. Sophia Nahli Allison) ** 3/4
SUPERNOVA (2021, d. Harry Mcqueen) *** 3/4
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER (2021, d. Philippa Ehrlich, James Reed) ****
What Would Sophia Loren Do? (2021, d. Ross Kaufffman) *** 1/2
TIME (2021, d. Garrett Bradley) *** 1/4
COLLECTIVE ( 2021, Romania, d. Alexander Nanau) *** 1/2
TRUFFLE HUNTERS, THE (2021, d. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw) ** 3/4
76 DAYS (2021, d. Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous) ****
DEAR COMRADES! (2021, Russia, d. Andrei Konchalovsky) ***
NOTTURNO (2021, d. Gianfranco Rosi) *** 1/4
March, 2021
BETTER DAYS (2021, d. Derek Tsang) *** 1/2
PAINTER AND THE THIEF, THE (2021, d. Benjamin Ree) *** 1/4
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA (2021, d. David France) *** 3/4
MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN, THE (2021, Tunesia, d. Kaouther Ben Hania) Syrian refugee allows his back to be an artwork. ** 3/4
A SUN (2021, Taiwan, d. Chung Mong-Hong) *** 1/2
FATHER, THE (2021, d. Florian Zeller) *** 1/4
MINARI (2021, d. Lee Isaac Chung) *** 1/2
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (2021, d. Shaka King) *** 1/2
MANK (2021, d. David Fincher) ***3/4
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2021, d. Emerald Fennell) *** 1/4
NOMADLAND (2021, d. Chloé Zhao) *** 3/4
SOUND OF METAL (2021, d. Darius Marder) *** 1/2
TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, THE (2021, d. Aaron Sorkin) *** 1/4
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI... (2021, d. Regina King) *** 1/2
ARETHA: RESPECT (2021 TV series Genius, d. Anthony Hemingway) Entertaining 8-part biopic. Fabu perfs by Cynthia Erivo & Courtney Vance. ***
BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM (2021, d. Jason Woliner) ***
NEWS OF THE WORLD ( 2021, d. Paul Greengrass) *** 1/2
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM (2021, d. George C. Wolfe) ** 3/4
PIECES OF A WOMAN (2021, d. Kornél Mundruczó) *** 1/4
April, 2021
UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY, THE (2021, d. Lee Daniels) * 1/2
HILLBILLY ELEGY (2021, d. Ron Howard) *** 1/4
WHITE TIGER, THE (2021, d. Ramin Bahrani) *** 1/4
EMMA (2021, d. Autumn de Wilde) ** 1/4
GREYHOUND (2021, d. Aaron Schneider) *** 1/2
SOUL (2021, d. Pete Doctor) ***
PINOCCHIO (2021, d. Matteo Garrone) ** 1/4
MULAN (2021, d. Niki Caro) * 3/4
LOVE AND MONSTERS (2021, d. Michael Matthews) ** 3/4
MIDNIGHT SKY, THE (2021, d. George Clooney) *** 1/4
ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE (2021, d. Thea Sharrock) *** 1/4
TENET (2021, d. Christopher Nolan) *** 1/4
Feeling Through (2021, d. Doug Roland) Homeless teenager helps blind/deaf man on NYC streets. *** 1/4
Letter Room, The (2021, d. Elvira Lind) Concerned prison guard censors inmates letters & becomes involved. *** 1/4
Present, The (2021, d. Farah Nabulsi) Palestinian man &
daughter go shopping for a refrigerator present & get tangled in red
tape. *** 1/2
Two Distant Strangers (2021, d. Martin Desmond Roe, Travon Free) "Groundhog Day" for black victim of police brutality. *** 1/4
White Eye (2021, d. Tomer Shushan) Israeli man finds stolen bike and struggles with the system. Impressive single take. ** 3/4
ONWARD (2021, d. Dan Scanlon) *** 1/4
OVER THE MOON (2021, d. Glen Keane) Old fashioned musical, 2D animation of quest for moon goddess with garish watercolor art. * 3/4
Burrow (2021, d. Madeline Sharafian) A rabbit tries to build an
underground home & encounters myriad neighbor problems. Frenetic
fun. ***
Genius Loci (2021, d. Adrien Merigeau) Woman takes a bad trip thru
urban Paris (?). Inventive watercolor animation; but puzzling story. **
1/4
If Anything Happens I Love You (2021, d. Will McCormack, Michael Govier) Couple grieve for child lost in school shooting. Simple, moving! *** 3/4
Opera (2021, d. Erick Oh) A spectacle zooming in and out of a performance ziggurat. Complexly animated, but meaningless to me. ** 3/4
Yes-People (2021, d. Gisli Darri Halldorsson) An apartment house
with ordinary people saying yes frequently. Good animation, meh story.
** 3/4
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON (2021, d. Will Beecher, Richard Phelan) Fun Aardman 3D animation of visit by E.T. child *** 1/4
WOLFWALKERS (2021, d. Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart) Average 2D animation of old legend of wolves vs. men in Ireland. ***
DA 5 BLOODS (2021, d. Spike Lee) Too stressed out over Nam revisit plot to finish. N/A
FIRST COW (2021, d. Kelly Reichardt) *** 1/4
May, 2021
MARE OF EASTTOWN (2021, mini-series, d. Craig Zobel) ****
June, 2021
FOUR (2021, d. Joshua Sanchez) ** 3/4
BO BURNHAM: INSIDE (2021, d. Bo Burnham) *** 1/4
July, 2021
US (2021, d. Geoffrey Sax) *** 1/4
August, 2021
7 KINDS OF WRATH (7 thymoi) (2021, d. Christos Voupouras) Drama of gay Greek man encountering 7 immigrants mainly his Arab lover. **
GONE FOR GOOD (Disparu à jamais) (2021, d. Juan Carlos Medina) Mystery about buried secrets. ** 1/4
October, 2021
VAL (2021, d. Ting Poo & Leo Scott) *** 1/4
MISHA AND THE WOLVES (2021, d. Sam Hobkinson) *** 1/4
BILLION DOLLAR CODE, THE (2021, d. Robert Thalheim) *** 1/4
DUNE (2021, d. Denis Villeneuve) *** 3/4
LAST DUEL, THE (2021, d. Ridley Scott) ***
LAST SHELTER, THE (2021, d. Ousmane Samassekou) ** 1/2
November, 2021
BECOMING COUSTEAU (2021, d. Liz Garbus) *** 1/2
CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS (2021, d. Tom Hurwitz, Rosalynde LeBlanc) *** 1/2
KILL THE INDIAN SAVE THE CHILD (2021, d. Louis Lawless) ** 3/4
WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA (2021, d. Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler) *** 1/2
ALL TOO WELL: THE SHORT FILM (2021, d. Taylor Swift) *** 3/4
SUMMER NIGHTS (2021, d. Ohad Milstein) ****
COURAGE (2021, d. Aliaksei Paluyan) ** 1/4
INTRODUCING SELMA BLAIR (2021, d. Rachel Fleit) *** 1/2
DOPESICK (2021, miniseries, d. various) *** 1/2
TIGRE GENTE (2021, d. Elizabeth Unger) ***
DEADLIEST DISEASE IN AMERICA, THE (2021, d. Crystal Emery) ** 3/4
ENNIO: THE MAESTRO (2021, d. Giuseppe Tornatore) ****
PRESIDENT (2021, d. Camilla Nielsson) *** 3/4
REVOLUTION OF OUR TIMES (2021, d. Kiwi Chow) *** 1/4
WHEN POMEGRANATES HOWL (Vaght-e Chigh-e Anar) (2021, Australia/Afghanistan, d. Granaz Moussavi) *** 1/4
TWO LIONS TO VENICE (Dy luane drejt Venecias) (2021, Albania, d. Jonid Jorgii) ** 3/4
WHITE FORTRESS, THE (Tabija) (2021, Bosnia, d, Igor Drljaca) ** 1/2
WHITE BUILDING (2021, Cambodia, d. Kavich Neang) * 3/4
TICK, TICK...BOOM! (2021, d. Lin-Manuel Miranda) *** 1/2
December, 2021
COMPARTMENT NO. 6 (2021, Finland, d. Juho Kuosmanen) *** 1/4
TITANE (2021, France, d. Julia Ducournau) **
EUROPA (2021, Iraq, d. Haider Rashid) *** 1/4
SHAMBALA (2021, Kyrgyzstan, d. Artykpai Suyundukov) ***
PIT, THE (Bedre) (2021, Latvia, d. Dace Puce) *** 1/2
PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN (Noche de fuego) (2021, Mexico, d. Tatiana Huezo) ** 1/2
LUZZU (2021, Malta, d. Alex Camilleri) *** 1/4
GOOD BOSS, THE (El buen patrón) (2021, Spain, d. Fernando León de Aranoa) *** 1/2
Eagles (Aguilas) (2021, doc short, d. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, Maite Zubiaurre) ***
Doll, The (2021, doc short, d. Elahe Esmaili) ** 1/2
Leaf, The (2021, doc short, d. William J. Zang) *** 1/4
Love and Death of Yosef and Zilli, The (2021, doc short, d. Dean Gold) *** 1/4
GREAT FREEDOM (Große Freiheit) (2021, Austria, d. Sebastian Meise) *** 1/2
My Uncle Tudor (Nanu Tudor) (2021, doc short, d. Olga Lucovnicova) ** 3/4
Say His Name: Five Days For George Floyd (2021, doc short, d. Cy Dodson) *** 1/2
Why Didn't You Stay For Me? (Waarom bleef je niet voor mij?) ( 2021, doc short, d. Milou Gevers) *** 3/4
Day of Rage (2021, doc short, d. Nancy Gauss) ****
IRON TEMPLE (2021, d. Aaron M. Abelto) ** 3/4
FLEE (Flugt) (2021, Denmark, d. Jonas Poher Rasmussen) ****
I'M YOUR MAN (Ich bin dein Mensch) (2021, Germany, d. Maria Schrader) *** 1/2
WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, THE (Verdens verste menneske) (2021, Norway, d. Joachim Trier) *** 3/4
ASCENSION (2021, d. Jessica Kingdon) ***
Audible (2021, doc short, d. Matthew Ogens) *** 1/2
Broken House, A (2021, doc short, d. Jimmy Goldblum) *** 1/4
ATTICA (2021, d. Stanley Nelson) *** 1/2
Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis (2021, doc short, d. Mor Loushy, Daniel Sivan) ***
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker (2021, doc short, d. Ryan White) *** 1/2
BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD'S A LITTLE BLURRY (2021, d. R. J. Cutler) ***
FAYA DAYI (2021, d. Jessica Beshir) **
Facility, The (Detención) (2021, doc short, d. Seth Freed Wessler) ****
FIRST WAVE, THE (2021, d. Matthew Heineman) *** 1/2
Lead Me Home (2021, doc short, d. Pedro Kos, Jon Shenk) *** 1/2
Lynching Postcards: "Token of a Great Day" (2021, doc short, d. Christine Turner) *** 1/2
Queen of Basketball, The (2021, doc. short, d. Ben Proudfoot) *** 1/4
SUPERNOVA