21 Best Films of 2021

21 Best Films of 2021

By 2021 the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic was behind us (or so we think?). The majority of us got double vaccinated by the Summer and, if we were lucky, were able to get the booster shot by late fall.  Movie theatres opened again to full capacity and long delayed releases, like No Time To Die, finally got their chance to shine.

At the beginning of 2021 I hardly saw any new films, but by September I had trouble making time to see the vast amount that were available in theatres. I tried going once a week, which is an expensive habit, but that still wasn't enough! I still missed highly anticipated films like House of Gucci and Nightmare Alley.    

This is my incomplete list of favourite films from 2021. As time goes by I will update the list and improve upon it.  

1. West Side Story

2. Benediction 

3. Titane

4. Spencer

5. Power of the Dog

6. Licorice Pizza

7. The French Dispatch

8. Annette

9. Belfast

10. No Time to Die

11. Last Night in Soho

12. Drive My Car

13. Bergman Island

14. Judas and the Black Messiah

15. Flee

16. Where is Anne Frank

17. C'mon C'mon

18. Scenes From a Marriage 

19. Becoming Cousteau

20. Tick Tick...Boom!

21. Dune

The Matrix Resurrections (2021) Review

Title: Matrix Resurrections 
Year: 2021
Director: Lana Wachowski
Country: US
Language: English

Raise your hand if you've heard this; "The Matrix is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made!" Ask yourself, "who is telling me this?" A boomer (55+)  would say Star Wars, a millennial (25-40) might say Inception and a Zoomer (0-24) might say The Force Awakens. Gen-X (40-55) is the biggest supporter of this series and, well, for better and for worse The Matrix Resurrections is made for that audience in mind. 

To find out if his reality is a construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson (Keanu Reeves) will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.

My Gen-X friends are going to be mad at this review, but The Matrix Ressurections is essentially a not-so-sublte allegory about the Gen X experience of the 2020's. Lots of musings about growing old, being unsure if they've made an impact or if their actions matter. The answer is obviously "Yes! You are still important!" The Matrix was a time capsule for that generation, storing all their moods and insecurities. The Matrix Resurrections is a desperate pat on the back. 

The film is so META...as if that is anything to be proud about when every Hollywood Blockbuster does the same thing (including Space Jam 2!). They play songs from Rage Against the Machine...get it? The Matrix was a video game in The Matrix...get it? He has to make a sequel because Warner Brothers demands it...get it?  Follow the white rabbit?...get it? In 1999 this self-indulgent wink at the audience was cool. Nowadays it's played for laughs. It's a cliche. In 2021 if your entire film is reliant on being meta, you are a hack film-maker. 

Doing the same thing Force Awakens did, but somehow more tediously, Matrix Resurrections is a bit of a speed-run of The Matrix Trilogy re-enacting original scenes in a lazier "meta" way. Like, instead of fighting Mr.Smith in the rain, Neo fights Mr.Smith in an office with the sprinkler system on. 

It's pretty jarring to see Keanu Reeves, star of John Wick,  in a movie with terrible fight choreography, but this is it. The Matrix Resurrections would have been dated in 2001, let alone 2021. It's not only bad, but terribly boring. I pride myself on not getting easily bored by movies, but even during the "action" scenes I felt it crawled to a snail's pace. 

Spencer (2021) Review

Title: Spencer
Year: 2021
Director: Pablo Larrain
Country: UK
Language: English

While Spencer (2021) isn't a true Dickensian tale, its story shares many similar elements of class, privilege and ghosts of the past. The film also shares many themes of George Orwell, such as paranoia and surveillance. The metaphor heavy dialogue can get quite eerie at some points in the film. There is much to admire about this unconventional biopic. 

During her Christmas holidays with the royal family at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, Diana Spencer (Kristen Stewart), struggling with mental health problems, decides to end her decade-long marriage to Prince Charles.

Written by Stephen Knight, Spencer highlights the inner turmoil Diana is feeling as she is smothered by long held traditions in a royal "family" that treats her as an outsider. It's an artful anti-biopic that takes place entirely within a few days (the writer trusting its audience to already understand the situation) which is filled with saturated cinematography filled with pastel colours that give each scene a dream-like quality and a versatike score that perfectly captures the heartbreaking headspace of Diana. 

Spencer feels like a sharper takedown of the upper class than other visual media like The Crown (sorry Olivia Colman!) which tends to glorify the monarchy. Many actresses have played royalty, most recently Noami Watts took a crack at being Princess Diana, but Kristen Stewart makes the role feel far more authentic. Perhaps the authenticity comes from Stewart having very similar struggles, albeit in the Hollywood system. 

I was incredibly impressed by the slow burn, arthouse feel of Spencer. It is a gloomy, moody film that will ruin any good day you're having, but it is an important, poetic watch.  

Belfast (2021) Review

Title: Belfast
Year: 2021
Director: Kenneth Branagh 
Country: UK 
Language: English

Of all the films at Toronto International Film Festival, Kenneth Branagh's Belfast was my most anticipated, but unfortunately it sold out hours before I could redeem my ticket packages. This film was beloved at the festival, winning the coveted People's Choice Award. This award usually spells a Best Picture win at the Oscars. I personally think Steven Spielberg's West Side Story has it clinched, but I wouldn't be surprised if this won over it. 

In this film, a young boy (Jude Hill) and his working-class Belfast family experience the tumultuous late 1960s. Specifically, the beginning of Ireland's "Troubles". 

Considered Branagh's Roma, Belfast is an autobiographical film about one tumultuous period in his childhood; making it a poignant coming of age story and considerable lament for what Ireland had lost during its decades of strife. The film nostalgically conveys the setting in rich, expressive black-and-white photography. It not only deals with problems in a macro context (the problems within the country) but also micro (the problems within the family) 

Belfast is full with sweetness and warmth, while also giving us a fair amount of tension and turmoil. It's heartbreaking at times, but also has humorous moments. Branagh balances all these emotions fairly well, albeit it can come off as too sentimental considering Irish history gets worse much in the coming decades. The conflict depicted in this picture was thirty years long, lasting until 1998. I am a couple generations younger than Branagh, and I had friends who needed to leave Ireland. 

The worst year of "The Troubles" in Ireland was 1972 and this film is set in 1969. The German equivalent would be setting the film in 1933 and then ending it on a high note. A great film no doubt, but the ending is a bit insensitive. I feel this keeps Belfast from being as great as Roma. Alfonso Cauron's picture doesn't try to tack on escapism for the sake of pleasing an audience. Roma is a more authentic feeling picture.  

Spiderman: No Way Home (2021) Review

Title: Spiderman No Way Home
Year: 2021
Director: Jon Watts
Country: US
Language: English

For some reason, unknown to myself, I have made it my mission to see every movie Marvel puts out. I update my Marvel Movie Ranking on a fairly frequent basis wherein The Eternals, which oddly was met with hate by fans, is at the top of the list. I hoped Spiderman: No Way Home would be near the top, but it seems like the film did not meet the expectations of its hype. 

With Spider-Man's (Tom Holland) identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

In No Way Home, Spiderman unlearns the Scooby Doo-esque  lesson about Stranger Danger from Far From Home and well, trusts people who are obviously evil (unlike Jake Gyllenhalal's Myseterio who was secretly evil) instead of trusting the magic wizard who he saved the world with in Endgame. This not only makes the last film & his character arc therein moot, but makes our hero unbelievably stupid to a point that is difficult to identify with.

The only thing No Way Home has going in its favour is the gimmick of "remember this guy??". They hammer the point home with tedious dialogue providing exposition about who they are, just in case you forgot! It's overarching lesson is very shallow, surface level ethics that can't really be applied in real life because people's problems are complicated & they can't be solved by jabbing them with a "make this person better" serum. 

No Way Home is better than Spiderman 3 (2007) but only due the brief appearances of Doctor Strange and the lack of emo Peter Parker "Now dig on this". The film was entertaining and wasn't boring, but it's not a movie I'd spend any more time thinking about. 

The French Dispatch (2021) Review

Title: The French Dispatch
Year: 2021
Director: Wes Anderson
Country: US
Language: English

Whenever a new Wes Anderson film comes out I take great joy in being able to view it. I have enjoyed them all, from his debut Bottle Rocket (1996) to his previous picture Isle of Dogs (2018), and have a decisive favourite with Darjeeling Limited (2007). Covid delayed The French Dispatch for over a year, but I have finally been able to see it!

French Dispatch is set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional twentieth century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch Magazine".

A love letter to journalists made during a period in American history where journalists have been made enemies of the people (if this came out during the Trump administration the point would have really been poignant) The French Dispatch is a poetic, lyrical picture that has a structure like a newspaper. The three stories within are fascinating; they really had me thinking up creative ways to tell strange stories.

I particularly fell in love with The Concrete Prison; a story wherin a self loathing art painter (Benicio Del Toro) is exploited by a greedy capitalist (Adrien Brody). It was quirky, offbeat and had enough inspiration to be its own feature film. 

The French Dispatch is not a film you watch for its narrative or character development. It's a film that defies a label & can't be easily explained because it leaves so much space for free association. This is a worthwhile watch, albeit I do understand the mixed reviews. 

West Side Story (2021) Review

Title: West Side Story
Year: 2021
Director: Steven Spielberg
Country: US
Language: English

Robert Wise's Oscar winning  theatrical version of the 1957 Broadway hit West Side Story has always been a favorite of mine, but fell short of being considered "great". Even 20 years ago. many elements of the film, such as white actors using brownface to play Puerto Ricans, felt very dated. When I first heard Steven Spielberg was remaking an updated version of the film I instantly desired to see it= and I did, in Imax. 

A musical twist on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story is about two people from rival gangs, The white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks, who fall into a forbidden love affair. 

Steven Spielberg's adaptation/remake does everything a great update should do; it removes many of the original's dated elements, it builds on fan favorite scenes (The song America is given a much more vibrant showcase) and it adds just enough new elements to give this "new" picture a unique flair. Spielberg captures the joy of the Classic Hollywood musical, while fleshing out the primary conflict and adding more social elements. 

West Side Story is the most dazzling film you'll see all year. It will sweep you off your feet with its gorgeous cinematography, brilliant cinematography (all the actors are professional dancers), breathtaking lighting and inspired production design. It's honestly hard to imagine the film not winning Best Picture, along with a ton of other Oscars. 

Perhaps, if I'm being nitpicky, West Side Story could have improved upon the romance, making it more than just a "love at first sight" deal. It could have also made a more bold statement against white supremacy (The Jets are antagonizing The Sharks). Despite this, the film is easily the best of 2021. This version is better than the original and I am shocked that I could think this way. 

 

The Eternals (2021) Review

Title: The Eternals
Year: 2021

Director: Chloe Zhao
Country: US
Language: English

When I saw the North American premiere of Chloe Zhao's Nomadland at Toronto International Film Festival 2020 I knew we had a new masterful filmmaker in the world of cinema. I told everybody I came across that Nomadland would win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and many months later my prediction came true.  She was so impressive that Disney decided to hire her for their epic film The Eternals. This was an outstanding feature as well. 

An unexpected tragedy forces the Eternals, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years, out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants.

In terns of representation, The Eternals delivers. Chloe Zhao made a film that represents women, poc & disabled people in a way that isn't demeaning or preachy. MCU has had trouble in the past with this;  the recent Shang Chi had an oddly racist joke about how bad Asian women drivers are perceived to be. I specifically loved the deaf character, Makkari (Lauden Ridloff), as her disability isn't made a plot point or "weakness" or "strength" (like Forrest Gump) or tie into her character at all, it's just part of her. I also love that the other characters adjust to her & she isn't made to compensate for them. This is refreshing to see in a big budget movie. 

The story is epic in scope, complimented by a remarkable score by Ramin Djawadi. The cinematography is often breathtaking; Chloe Zhao's masterful eye for cinematography means we get to see beautiful on-location landscapes that are often full of lush forests & foreboding mountains. This is a welcome change compared to Marvel's typical CGI soundstages. The Eternals' pacing is far slower than the typical MCU flick & this not only allows for such a rich story to unfold, but also for the characters to breathe & develop, 

The Eternals is not well liked among critics and MCU fans at this moment, likely because its style, tone and pacing is very different from the typical superhero flick. I see things differently & consider this to be the best Marvel picture I've seen so far. I absolutely love the director and I hope to see more of her films in the future. 

Noirvember #1: Night and the City (1950)

Title: Night and the City
Year: 1950
Director: Jules Dassin
Country: UK
Language: English

Director Jules Dassin knew he was about to be blacklisted in Hollywood due to the House of Un-American Activities Committee anti-communist witch hunts at the time, so he fled to London, where he made Night and the City (1950) for Twentieth Century Fox. I first saw this film 11 years ago for Michael Boyce's International Cinema class and I'm revisiting it now due to the commencement of Noirvember. Is the film as good as I remember it? 

A small-time grifter  and nightclub tout named Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark)  takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.

Fabian, played as a slime ball by Widmark, is the classic film noir character; a tragic antihero that is doomed from the outset, driven by an ever increasing desire to get ahead in life. Dassin’s cinematographer Max Greene emphasizes the character's increasingly hopeless situation by shooting in claustrophobic dive bars & inescapable alleyways. 

Night and the City transforms a familiar London setting into an unseemly environment that perpetuates an atmosphere of dread. It's a sordid, alternate backdrop that easily reminds one of another great noir in The Third Man. Dassin's use of shadow and documentary-like realism made admirers of even his harshest critics. Love the story or not, one cannot deny its technical merit. 

Dassin's masterpiece is a film that improves with every viewing. Night and the City is a substantial creative achievement that deserves to be studied in every University that has a film studies major. 

Last Night in Soho (2021) Review

Title: Last Night in Soho
Year: 2021
Director: Edgar Wright 
Country: UK
Language: English

Edgar Wright is one of the most enjoyable directors to watch in regards to filmography. 2/3rds of the Cornetto Trilogy (Hot Fuzz & Shaun of the Dead)  are hilarious genre films. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is an awesome gamer flick & Baby Driver is a fun crime picture.  Last Night in Soho is his 6th venture and it is quite impressive. 

In this feature, an aspiring fashion designer (Thomasin Mackenzie) , is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

Last Night in Soho (2021) is a great psychological horror that reminds me of other great films; Vertigo (1958), Midnight in Paris (2011), Black Swan (2010) and even Psycho (1960) The aesthetics feel as if Alfred Hitchocock and Dario Argentino made a baby. The use of color and cinematography make every frame pop with euphoria; the dreamlike editing of the film gives the picture an atmosphere of dread. 

Last Night in Soho has many twists and turns; you think it's going the route of Black Swan, but then it becomes an Agathe Christie novel, and then transforms into something else entirely. The film serves as a good reminder to not idolize the past, as the past can be haunting, but it also aims full tilt towards #metoo feminism ("that a really nice name") . Wright has made me feel like a really creepy dude & has me rethinking how I approach women. 

Many reviewers complain about Last Night in Soho being too "over the top", and while I agree with that sentiment, I think its chaotic nature makes it incredibly enjoyable. If I wanted a lame by the numbers, play it safe horror movie I'd see Halloween Kills. Soho really left an impression on me. 

Movies I Despise: Inception (2010)

Title: Movies I Despise
Film: Inception
Year: 2010
Director: Christopher Nolan 

Back a decade ago, in 2010, Inception was touted as a "masterpiece" by nearly every filmgoer, including your grandmother. It was a critically acclaimed, commercially successful venture by the rare auteur Hollywood director Christopher Nolan. Many aspects of the film, especially the booming score by Hans Zimmer, have etched their way into a wide variety of Blockbusters throughout the decade. I know film professors who teach this very film to their students. To say that this picture is not good is film snob blasphemy; but I will try. 

 Inception is about a thief  (Leonardo DiCaprio) who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.

The plot of Inception couldn't work in real-life & therefore the characters need to give exposition in order to sell the audiences' on the plot devices' believability. For Inception to work you can't be spending too much time thinking "this doesn't make sense!".  There are many movies, like Ghostbusters & Back to the Future, that have to explain their technology. They do so in very compact & digestible ways ("The Libyans!").  Inception spends too much time rambling on about what is happening & why it is happening. "This is happening because of this!" Ok, I get it, it's a dream you don't have to tell me aga- "This will happen because of this!".  Entire characters exist just to serve as plot narration. Can anybody tell me what purpose Elliot Page's character serves aside from exposition? Imagine Ghostbusters, but every 5 minutes the characters explained what a ghost was. 

This constant need for exposition is bad because 90% of the movie is in a dream (or in a dream within a dream). There is no such thing as "dream logic". Dreams can't and shouldn't be be explained. I do not need to be told why the characters are experiencing x,y,z because you can easily get away with "it's a dream". See Richard Linklater's Waking Life for a beautiful film about dreaming. See Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo for a brief creative dream sequence. Inception could have thrown anything at us and instead gave us the most creatively bankrupt ideas for what a dream could be visually represented onscreen. I get why it didn't go all out, you don't want your audiences confused, but Inception's visual style was nearly identical to a James Bond movie. Didn't Goldeneye also have a ski fight scene? 

As Inception concluded with a cliffhanger ending that film snobs will analyze to death on Youtube, I wasn't left with a sense of awe, but rather a sense of frustration and boredom. How could a film with such a creative and intriguing premise be reduced to a B-level action movie? 

Dune (1984) Review

Title: Dune
Year: 1984
Director: David Lynch
Country: US
Language: English

In 2021 Dennis Villeneuve directed Frank Herbert's Dune to critical and (hopefully) commercial success. I recently watched it in the theatre and was impressed by the epic feel of its immense cinematography and booming score by Hans Zimmer. The first onscreen adaptation, not including Alejandro Jodorowsky's attempt, was David Lynch's Dune. Considered "unfilmable" due to the complexity of its plot, Lynch's adaptation missed the mark with audiences and did not perform well with critics either. 

In this, a Duke's son (Kyle MacLachlan) leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.

Fresh from the success of The Elephant Man, Lynch had free reign to work on any project he wished, including Return of the Jedi, which he turned down. . Producer Dino de Laurentiis convinced him to work on Dune, which ended up causing a class between studios and Lynch's strange style of film-making.  Lynch, with only two films to his name at the time, couldn't resist signing with a major studio and ended up spending a regrettable 3 years on this picture. 

Unlike the 2021 adaptation, it isn't clear if Lynch had any real passion for the source material as the story bounces all over the place, plot points are left hanging, and characters have no real development. I felt very disoriented by a picture that felt far from epic. Paul, who Lynch attempts to give a messianic aura to, feels bland and uninteresting. The special effects, like many sci-fi from the 80's, are extremely dated. If the CGI was not bad then, it sure is now!

It is quite refreshing that we have a true adaptation of Frank Herbert's material in Villeneuve's Dune. David Lynch is a remarkable director- when he is given free reign on his own material. It is unlikely this book could have been adapted by ANY director prior to the 2010's. Even Steven Spielberg was smart enough not to touch this "unfilmable" piece of literature. 

0 Stars

Dune (2021) Review

Title: Dune
Year: 2021
Director: Dennis Villenueve 
Country: US
Language: English

In 1965 Author Frank Herbert published Dune as two separate series in Analog magazine. It was tied for the Hugo Award & won the Nebula Award for best novel in 1966. Nearly half a century later it would be cited as the best selling science fiction novel of all time. In 1984, after his commercial and critical success The Elephant Man, David Lynch would adapt it into a fairly memorable yet displeasing to critics film adaptation of Dune. In 2021 Dennis Villeneuve would be the second person to dip his hand into adapting the material for screen. That is the version we will be reviewing today. 

Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides (Timothee Chamalet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people.

In the past decade (2011-2021) due to the advancement of CGI, there are many movies that are touted as epic, but don't feel epic (Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars)  In my subjective opinion, Dune is the first film that actually feels epic in quite a while. It is immense! Filled to the brim with gorgeous cinematography, remarkable set design, rich story, intriguing character development.  and a powerful Oscar worthy soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. Villeneuve's Dune is this generation's Lord of the Rings. 

Ambitious and fairly complex, Dune celebrates Herbert's book by being more faithful to the story than Lynch's take. It is quite clear that Villeneuve understood the subject matter at hand & went out of his way to make the picture a satisfying experience. Well, perhaps I should replace that word "satisfying", the film starts the titles "part one" so going in you know this film will not conclude its story. This can be frustrating as it is a 2hr 35 min movie (with trailers it was more like 3hrs in the theatre). I did feel similar to another epic Lawrence of Arabia that the film was too long. By the 2hr mark I felt like Dune had told its story well enough, it didn't need "extra". 

Lawrence of Arabia is a cinema classic, as are other epics I feel are too long like Ben Hur & Gone With the Wind, so perhaps it's just my patience for films end at the 2hr mark. I was quite flabbergasted when my cousin suggested that the film was too short. While Dune is quite a feat, it is incomplete, and thus expectations are quite high for the sequel. I sure hope Villeneuve gives this story a conclusion that this first half deserves. 

Vengeance is Mine: All Other Pay Cash (2021) Review

Title: Vengeance is Mine
Year: 2020
Director: Edwin
Country: Thailand
Language: Thai

Masculinity is really frail when you analyze it under a microscope. Much of what "being a man" means is held up by norms and traditions that don't really make much sense and/or are incredibly dated. Those who think they are "alpha males" are usually just those who stick to these strict, ridiculous standards and put down those who are different from an perceived "norm". Alas, Vengeance is Mine is a good window into toxic masculinity. 

In a society ruled by machismo, a hibernating "bird" (boner)  becomes a serious matter. In a life of brutality, the sleeping bird is an allegory for a peaceful and serene life, even when the whole world tries desperately to rouse it.

Erectile disfunction is the theme of Vengeance is Mine. Our main character is struggling to accept his difficulty and often reacts about the news in violent ways in order to prove that he is a "man". When most movies talk about boners they tend to be coy, this film doesn't beat around the bush and is both hilarious and heartfelt because of it. The film frames societies obsession with getting/maintaining an erection as part of toxic masculinity. 

Faith Akin provides impressive choreography to the fight sequences that mimic 80's action movies, similar to the style of John Woo. Genre elements and stylized action work very well to entertain the viewer, but some side plots prove to be extremely boring and distract from the main theme. It feels like the writers were a little too ambitious and wanted to be about more things, but Edwin should have known better, cut the side stories and made the film 30-40 minutes shorter. 

Vengeance is Mine is a fun film that will have audiences talking about how brash and over-the-top the language and action scenes were. It's quite a weird picture that I doubt would ever get funding in the West. Southeast Asian films are hidden gems of World Cinema. 

What If? (2021) Review

Title: What if?
Year: 2021
Country: US
Language: English 

What if? was originally a comic book anthology that originally ran from 1977-1984. The purpose was to show readers an alternate Universe where key moments in Marvel & World history had not occurred as they normally did. Such comics included What if Iron Man was a Traitor? and What if Spiderman joined the Fantastic Four? Disney adapted the series into a television show that streamed on Disney+ in 2021. 

What If? tells the story of the Marvel Multiverse wherein are a seemingly infinite amount of alternate timelines that often have small and/or large key differences compared to the  official MCU films.

The most striking feature of What If? is the cel-shaded animation style that gives the onscreen images a unique pop. As a result, the 3D CGI looks very much like 2D animation. The technique is usually reserved for video games, but for this show it gives a comic book aesthetic. As a result MCU's character's transitions from live action to animation doesn't feel too jarring. The characters still feel like living breathing people. 

The episodes in this series, of which there are 8 of, are very hit and miss for me. I loved What If Dr. Strange Lost his Heart? as it was filled with emotion and depth. I disliked What if Thor was an Only Child? because it was pretty boring and felt like meaningless filler.  While some of the show is popcorn entertainment, I do love that they are not afraid to get extremely depressing. The What if Ultron Won? episode is especially brutal. 

While What If? is (subjectively) hit and miss with its stories, I can't deny that it is extremely well made and will appeal to a wide variety of audiences. I would enjoy more seasons of this bizarre, campy, funny romp  that has the ability to show a tremendous amount of heart. 

Falcon & The Winter Solder (2021) Review

Title: Falcon & The Winter Soldier
Year: 2021
Country: US
Language: English

The First Avenger, The Winter Soldier and Civil War were not only great Captain America ventures, they are my favorite films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. I love that they are filled to the brim with spies, espionage and legitimately thrilling moments. I feel like Captain America has become a far more compelling character than any other Avenger. That saying his finale at Endgame was bittersweet; I wish we got more Captain America, but I am excited to see what Falcon will do with his shield. 

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)  team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities -- and their patience. 

Even if you're a Universe saving Avenger you'll still face discrimination if you're black. Sam Wilson gets stopped by police, denied a home loan, and passed up as the next Captain America for a blonde haired blue eyed white guy. Falcon & The Winter Soldier is very critical of the institutions in America that hold POC down & examines how deep rooted these problems are.

Although at the same time, the protagonists are also disenfranchised people who are misplaced because of a post-snap inept government. Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) is a teenager who leads the rebellious "Flag Smashers" group. Her methods can be cruel, but the writers fail to make her an intriguing villain, or even somebody in a morally grey area. I find myself sympathizing with her and wondering what Sam Wilson's problem is. The show wants me to see Wilson as an appropriate replacement for Steve Rogers, but Rogers wasn't such a government stooge (see: Civil War) . 

Also, per my Loki complaint, every episode needs a big fight whether its warranted or not. Marvel seems to think its' audiences attention span is non existent. I would have liked this show to slow down a little. Overall the show is a decent watch, a little too on the nose with political commentary (His shield is stained!), but worth a viewing.