Happy March everyone! I still have two more reviews of films I saw in February (actually saw both on Monday) those will be posted soon! As whole February was definitely not as good when it came to movie releases, while there definitely were some standouts a lot of the releases really ended up being bad or passable. March looks a hell of a lot better, there’s a ton of notable releases that look quite great. Before we get to the list there’s a few movies I saw at film festivals finally getting released this month, let’s take a look at those first!
Palm Trees And Power Lines – March 3rd (VOD) – This film first premiered at Sundance 2022 and was one of my absolute favorites, I’m going to say this right now make sure you know what you are getting into before you watch it. It’s a very disturbing film about child grooming and the film itself does not sugarcoat anything, Lily Mclnerny gives an unbelievable performance that I can’t even begin to imagine how you could even do this type of role. Especially with one scene in particular towards the end that goes on for about 5-10 minutes and is quite literally one of the most uncomfortable moments from a film I’ve seen in a very long time. If you like disturbing cinema or are curious I do recommend checking this one out.
I gave Palm Trees And Power Lines a 10/10 A+
Kubrick by Kubrick – March 21st (VOD) – I saw this back at the Tribeca film festival in 2021 and I’m unsure why it took this documentary to release but it looks like it’s finally going to. It’s a very solid documentary about Stanley Kubrick one of the most celebrated film directors, although a lot of what’s in the documentary is common knowledge it’s still quite interesting and makes for a nice and easy watch. It’s not anything ground breaking but I do think it’s a solid documentary and a good starting point if you want to know more about Kubrick.
I gave Kubrick by Kubrick a 7/10 B
And now on to the list!
10. Tetris – March 31st (Apple TV+)
9. Spoonful Of Sugar – March 2nd (Shudder)
8. Unwelcome – March 10th (Theaters) and March 14th (VOD)
Peter, a slave, flees a plantation in Louisiana after he was whipped within an inch of his life. He has to outwit cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on a torturous journey north.
I watched Emancipation a few days ago and to be quite honest I still have no idea how exactly I feel about it. This is definitely one of those cases where you can easily tell there is something here and the movie wants to say something, it’s just not doing it all that well. Will Smith and Ben Foster do a really great job and give some quite effective moments, Ben Foster is even downright horrifying at times and Will Smith gives this strong performance of wanting to see his family again. While the movie is well intentioned there are some serious flaws here that are a bit baffling, the movie is about slavery yet sort of plays out as a survival thriller movie. It attempts to try and combine the two but given the brutal violence that comes off more as shock value rather than trying to educate on how horrible slavery is, the problem is this movie is the very bare basics about slavery. Yes there are some very powerful moments from Will Smith about wanting to reunite with his family and really puts up a fight against his captors, however those moments are surrounded by stuff that has been done far better in other films.
This documentary honours the musician’s legacy as a founding father of jazz. The film shows how Armstrong’s life spans the shift from the Civil War to the civil rights movement, and how he became a lightning rod figure in that turbulent era.
When you go into a documentary about Louis Armstrong one of the founding fathers of Jazz you exactly know what you are going to get and that definitely applies here, the documentary tells the story of Armstrong and his impact on many people and some of deep insight into him as a person. The diary entries which are narrated end up being some of the most powerful parts of the documentary, such as him using his influence and support for the civil rights movement, sharing political views he didn’t share to the public and about his music. There’s a deep discussion about race and how Armstrong’s career was a huge achievement in several different ways, such as being the first black musician to write an autobiography. The documentary itself might not be anything mind blowing filmmaking wise but it really doesn’t have to be, it’s laying out the facts about Louis Armstrong and how influential he was, this is the perfect documentary to start with if you really want to get a start with knowing about Armstrong’s career.
Louie Armstrong’s Black & Blues is available on Apple TV+
Historians and film experts honours the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the centre of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement.
At the beginning of 2022 (January 6th to be exact) Sidney Poitier a huge star from the Golden Age of Hollywood, the first black man to win an academy award and major activist for representation for black people in film sadly passed away. For the most part Sidney does a fantastic job of telling the legacy of Sidney Poitier and his impact on the film industry, there’s tons of insightful interviews, really strong narration from Sidney Poitier himself and his thoughts of his career, his life and his actions during his career. It’s such a beautifully put together tribute to a iconic actor that really left an inspirational mark on the industry and audiences, the main criticism mostly stems from being a bit too generic at times, there’s some interviews that aren’t as good as others. Having that said it’s very easy to look past when you have such a nicely done tribute. Sidney is a very strong way to start if you want to get a nice introduction to Sidney Poitier!
Lynsey, a U.S. soldier, experiences a traumatic brain injury during her tour in Afghanistan which forces her to return home. She struggles to return to her daily life with her mother as she waits for her eventual redeployment.
Causeway is a film I’ve been waiting for awhile now and the wait was truly worth it, I’ve always been a huge fan of Jennifer Lawrence so it’s truly fantastic to see her back doing the type of roles she loves doing and does really well at. Her performance as Lynsey a U.S. soldier who experiences a traumatic brain injury and is forced to return home is truly an honest one. The film really creates a portrait of her character interacting with the rest of the cast who do a fantastic job here, the other standout being Brian Tyree Henry who plays James a car repairer who quickly befriends Lynsey and from there they start to have honest conversations with each other that lead to a lot of character study type of scenes. From the very first scene Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry are in together they instantly connect, mostly due to how creative and unbelievably good they are as performers combined with the writing which has a lot of meaning and depth to it. The main theme of the film is trying to rebuild your life after a traumatic event which is never an easy thing to do and the film shows plus explains that quite well, it mainly shows this from close up shows of Lawrence and Henry, a ton of quiet moments that let the viewer sink in the information and the honest nature of the characters with their emotions. Lastly there’s the direction from Lila Neugebauer who does a fantastic job here especially with it being her directional debut, she creates a breezy atmosphere that’s both relaxing and honest at the same time.
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness.
Selena Gomez is someone I’ve always been a fan of, whether that be due to her overall personality or her determination to talk about mental health and keep the conversation going, plus her role in Wizards Of Waverley Place is a favorite of mine growing up. In this documentary Selena Gomez talks about her struggles with fame, her physical and mental health when being diagnosed with lupus and bipolar disorder. The major thing that brings this documentary together is honesty of it all, there isn’t anything that feels manufactured for a quick buck like some other celebrity documentaries tend to have. The documentary is Selena Gomez and the people who know her telling you about Selena’s mental health, which in a lot of ways could be relatable to some people. The film does that by having up close and personal shot of Selena Gomez as she talks to the camera like she’s inviting you to a conversation, it’s some pretty clever camera movements that really make it go the long way. I definitely think one of the major highlights of the film heck Selena herself says it’s a highlight of her life is the Kenya Trip. Not only does Selena Gomez share her experiences with Kenyan women but they themselves share their experiences with Selena, it’s a really touching and quite inspiring moment of seeing two perspectives both of which are very compelling in their own ways. The documentary really does a fantastic job with the topic of mental health it’s done very respectfully which isn’t a surprise since Selena regularly uses her platform when talking about mental health, as I said before the film is honest and focuses on having a conversation which it accomplishes quite well! This is something I truly recommend checking out!
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me is available on Apple TV+
In 1967, John “Chickie” Donohue leaves New York to track down his army buddies in Vietnam and share a few beers with them, but instead is confronted with the horrors of the war.
I went to the “Regal Mystery Screening” which basically the premise is that it’s a movie that hasn’t been released yet, when I saw the Apple TV+ logo pop up on the screen I knew immediately what it was going to be. The Greatest Beer Run Ever tells the crazy true story of John “Chickie” Donohue during the Vietnam war the guy decided to go deliver his friends who are fighting in the war beer in Vietnam to show that his town supports them. It’s a truly interesting story that that I found quite fascinating, the movie does a decent job of telling the story. Zac Efron is truly great here, while it did take about 20 minutes to get use to his performance (it comes off as annoying during the first 10 minutes) after that he delivers so much charm to his performance, Russell Crowe plays Arthur Coates a photographer/journalist during the war, while he doesn’t get a huge part up until the third act he still quite incredible. He really puts in a lot of power and emotion that really sells his part, speaking of the third act that’s by far the strongest part about it. During the third act Donohue learns a lot about the great horrors of war, such as politicians/the government lying and witnessing civilians being killed. There’s some very powerful moments here that are truly fantastic and actually made me shed a tear, what is a bit baffling however is how the majority of the movie plays out as a comedy. Sure there’s some war stuff in between the comedy, but those particular scenes are played for laughs unlike the ones in the third act. I completely understand what the movie was trying to go for here, but I don’t think it balances out all that well. For what the comedy is there are some pretty decent jokes here that did get a few laughs out of me, to be completely fair though I would imagine it would be sort of a challenge to make a movie about a guy going to Vietnam to deliver beer to his friends without using comedy. So it’s not necessarily the comedy that’s the problem it’s mostly some of the jokes not being very funny and the third act being far more interesting in comparison. Overall The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a decent movie about a pretty insane true story, I definitely think the movie could have elaborated more on Donohue’s change from being pro war to questioning what is going on during wars, as it does feel like the movie ends right when we are about to get some more information on that.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever releases tomorrow on Apple TV+
The story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world. Suddenly finding herself in the never-before-seen Land of Luck, she must unite with the magical creatures there to turn her luck around.
Luck is one of those unfortunate cases where the movie has a really interesting premise going on it’s just the presentation and writing that completely holds it back. The movie has a lot of Pixar inspirations (mainly due to John Lasseter being one of the producers) what the movie does get right is the voice cast and some of the animation is charming as well. It might not be anything extra special but there are some charming bits about it, keyword being some because the animation at times felt like it needed a bit of extra time to complete which is a bit baffling to see. The writing starts to fall apart quite quickly a lot of the movie is spent on a very uninteresting fetch quest that every once and awhile has a few nice moments between the main characters Sam (Eva Noblezada) and Bob (Simon Pegg) the rest of the movie attempts to try some world building completely forgets to make it compelling or interesting. The Land Of Luck comes off as just another world with a few beautiful and charming shots of animation to it, the writing unfortunately doesn’t go much deeper than “this is the land of luck where bad luck can’t enter otherwise it will be ruined” it’s a shame because there’s potential for really great idea’s here but it’s very clear this movie needed a rewrite as it felt very incomplete.
Tucked among the redwood trees of Northern California and surrounded by her grandmother’s roses, 17-year-old Lennie Walker, a radiant musical prodigy, struggles with overwhelming grief following the sudden loss of her older sister, Bailey.
The Sky Is Everywhere I was excited for especially after Josephine Decker’s previous film Shirley which was one of the best films of 2020. Although this movie isn’t as good it still has a lot to like about it, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous combined with Grace Kaufman who gives such a great performance that will definitely go on to star in several other films. When the film tackles the topic of grief and and loss it hits very very hard and feels sort of relatable, in that department Josephine Decker does an incredible job. What’s holding The Sky Is Everywhere back however is the young adult type drama thrown into it, those parts aren’t very well written sadly and just aren’t engaging enough, there’s enough character moments in there that help minimize the young adult drama. But it really holds back the film from being so much more, Josephine Decker is a talented director who does engage the audience with her direction so it’s a shame to see some of the writing feel extremely weak. Despite the issues The Sky Is Everywhere is still a good movie, it’s themes of loss and grief are very strong with a very likable lead!
Hello again and welcome to part 2 of the best films of 2021 list! We are going to continue working our way up the list with even more fantastic films. This part I did switch around quite a few movies where is with last part I didn’t switch that much! But I hope you enjoy let’s get started!
74. Prisoners Of The Ghostland directed by Sion Sono
Obviously Prisoners Of The Ghostland is the weaker of the two Nicolas Cage movies that made the list (Willy’s Wonderland didn’t make the cut although I really liked it). However this film was absolutely bizarre that I couldn’t help but love it. Nicolas Cage gives tons of “Nicolas Cage moments” while also being genuinely really great as well. Sofia Boutella is also really fantastic as well, the film is such a nice blend of sci-fi, western, fantasy and action. The cinematography tells the story which is quite interesting and the costumes really standout, Prisoners Of The Ghostland is not for everyone but I couldn’t help but love this one!
73. Halloween Kills directed by David Gordon Green
Originally I had Halloween Kills in the Top 50, I still do think Halloween Kills is by far one of the best films of the franchise, but when compared to a lot of other films that came out in 2021 you see a difference. However I still absolutely loved it, Halloween Kills goes for something completely different with the franchise and focuses on the people of Haddonfield and how they are reacting to Michael Myers’s killing spree. It’s a much darker film with very brutal kills that end up being some of the best of the series, a lot of the choices the characters make while not smart make sense it’s a community in panic because of a unstoppable killer. It’s an overall really fun slasher film that gets a lot right! 
72. Plan B directed by Natalie Morales
While Plan B does feel a bit similar to Unpregnant it does things differently. As I said In my review Plan B is more on the comedic side but also balances that with some drama as well, it also does use some elements from Booksmart but manages to make it own’s thing. Kuhoo Verma and Victoria Moroles are what make this film, between their surprisingly raw performances and their chemistry you can’t help but get invested in. There’s a lot of touching moments as well that really do make this film. Natalie Morales does have another movie that’s on the list (that we will get to soon) that I do think was the better film. But Plan B is a fantastic showcase of Morales’s directing talent.
71. Nobody directed by Ilya Naishuller
Nobody was one of the biggest surprises of 2021, Naishuller who previously directed Hardcore Henry once again takes the action genre and does something completely different with it. Nobody is a hybrid of dark comedy with some very heavy action combined with brutal kills. Bob Odenkirk does such a fantastic job here combine that with some very well shot action scenes that you get so much detail and you have yourself such a badass film. It’s a type of film that knows how to entertain it’s audience and knows how to balance dark comedy with action, Nobody is truly a unique action film that is truly so much fun!
70. The Matrix Resurrections directed by Lana Wachowski
Although I’m not the biggest Matrix fanatic out there I can’t help but appreciate Resurrections. Seeing Keanu Reeves as Neo again is a beautiful sight, the visuals are some of the best of 2021, the writing is energetic and very well paced. The film itself reads as a film where Lana Wachowski just doesn’t care what anyone thinks and makes a film, which I actually found to be very inspiring. It’s a very bold blockbuster that truly hits with a lot of meta humor, excellent action and just an overall fantastic film.
69. Spiral: From The Book Of Saw directed by Darren Lynn Bousman
Look I completely understand why some people wouldn’t like Spiral, however it completely worked at least for me. The film trades a lot of the gore that was in some of the previous films of the series for more of a structure. Which works in this case, it’s a interesting mystery that does keep you invested. Spiral manages to do it’s own thing without heavily relying on the other films, while it does use some of the classic Saw elements it never goes beyond on that. Spiral is a genuinely fun and investing film that does a great job of bringing more to the series!
68. The Strings directed by Ryan Glover
The Strings is a prime example of a film that uses music as a hauntingly beautiful element. Tegan Johnston gives a haunting but at the same time gorgeous performance. There isn’t a whole lot of dialogue however it’s replaced for cold cinematography and Johnston’s acting which does a fantastic job of telling the viewer how she feels and what they she is thinking. The music is beautifully done it captures the atmosphere that the film is going for, which is something I haven’t seen in too many movies as of late and that is the sense of loneliness. The film takes place in a remote cottage during the winter while it’s snowing, which is the perfect opportunity to use such a haunting atmosphere that really brings you into the film. Tegan Johnston also has a beautiful singing voice, her voice also captures the sense of loneliness type feel to it as well. The Strings is a film that combines many different type of elements to create a haunting but beautiful experience!
67. All Too Well: The Short Film directed by Taylor Swift
This is another exception I made for the list, it’s a short film that could be pretty much called a music video. However that doesn’t take away from the incredibly raw dialogue which although it doesn’t have a lot of it when it does it’s quite incredible, it captures a huge sense of realism and power that is captured within the song and what’s being shown. Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brian (who gives his best performance in a very long time) are both fantastic and do a really great job of showing tons of emotions. I’ve said this before but I truly hope Taylor Swift considers a directing career!
66. The French Dispatch directed by Wes Anderson
The French Dispatch is a clever film that tackles the anthology film genre very very well. There’s a great variety that isn’t present in a lot of anthology films. The acting from the cast is quite fantastic, the direction from Wes Anderson is once again phenomenal and the writing is filled clever humor that’s genuinely hilarious. Some segments are definitely better than others however that doesn’t stop each of the segments from being very interesting and having a lot to say, the final wrap up of all the segments is very touching and I’m sure a lot of journalists could relate to!
65. The Harder They Fall directed by Jeymes Samuel
I’ve said before that westerns do not much for me, but films like The Harder They Fall take the genre and do a lot more with it. The cast are absolutely incredible they all work together really well, have great chemistry and play as a lot of badass characters. The editing is energetic and beautifully done which gives some very strong action scenes that truly deliver on every single level. I could also go on how absolutely insane the opening scene is, from the music, to the acting it’s truly incredible. Guns Go Bang is also a fantastic song!
64. The Guilty directed by Antione Fuqua
The Guilty is a rare instance where I actually don’t mind that it’s a shot for shot remake. Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance is absolutely incredible, the guy is a seriously talented actor and he displays that here quite well. His performance feels incredibly raw and his reactions to the situation at hand feels incredibly powerful and quite human, he is basically what sells this film and rightfully so. Second reason is the lighting, while in some films I feel like I don’t need to point that out because it doesn’t really impact the story in most cases, but here it definitely impacts the story and really gives the movie this haunting and thrilling look to it. It adds to the anxiety this film gives the viewer as well as making you wonder what’s about to happen next. Then there’s the thrilling atmosphere…which is just flat out incredible, it adds a lot of anxiety to the viewer and perfectly captures what it would be like to be in the situation that Joe Baylor (Gyllenhaal) is in. The film also does a wonderful of build up throughout its running time, it slowly but surely builds up until it releases a huge amount of thunderous scenes that leave an impact on the viewer.
63. Finch directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Finch is honestly something I did not expect to make this far on the list let alone be on the list in general. It was by far one of the most surprising films of 2021, it’s a story of three life forms a human, a dog and a robot, their interaction with each other, how they feel and so on. It’s a very heartwarming film that looks and is quite beautiful. One thing I did not expect going into Finch was to cry but it happened, which is mainly due to how raw the storytelling really is. A fantastic sci-fi film full of heart and soul!
62. The Amusement Park directed by George A. Romero
Here’s another example of a lost film that was recovered and released, The Amusement Park was produced back in 1972 but was lost for years. I’ve decided that this film qualifies for the list because it never got a release and plus I’ve been wanting to find an excuse to talk about lost films so there’s that! Anyway the film itself is quite disturbing, it feels like as if it’s one of those disturbing PSAs from the 90s and early 2000s except turned into a 53 minute feature. It deals with very heavy subject matter (elder abuse), the film is very experimental and just leaves you wondering “what on earth did I just witness?” It’s also one of those disturbing films that gets more and more disturbing as it goes on.
61. Luca directed by Enrico Casarosa
Luca is another film I originally had much higher up on the list, but I will admit I do think I overhyped it a little too much. However I still absolutely love it and it’s this high up for a reason. It uses the theme of “being who you are” or “hiding your true self” in such a beautiful and clever way that really makes the film. The animation is stunning, the characters are lovable and the story is just beautifully told in every single way possible.
60. Language Lessons directed by Natalie Morales
Language Lessons is how you do a film about the pandemic, Natalie Morales does such a beautiful job both acting in and directing this film, Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales have beautiful chemistry between one another, everything about this film feels natural. There’s no “#relatable!” garbage humor like there was in a few other pandemic movies, there’s no forced plotlines. It’s a simple straight forward film about two people, their emotions, how they feel about the pandemic and so on. Truly a fantastic film and I’m absolutely looking forward to seeing what Natalie Morales does next!
59. Zack Snyder’s Justice League directed by Zack Snyder
I’m going to keep this rather short because at this point you already know the drill about this one. Talk about a difference, Snyder’s Justice League vastly superior to the movie that was released in 2017 in every single way possible. From far more character moments and development, far better writing (as well as acting) and just an overall far more enjoyable film that’s much more in depth. The film gives a ton of more context that make a lot more sense than what was released in 2017, I said in my review that the 2017 movie feels like a bunch of scenes out of context. While this film makes much more sense and actually tells a story, It’s great seeing Cyborg and The Flash get the character moments they deserved since the beginning. Snyder did a fantastic job with this one!
58. Oxygen directed by Alexandre Aja
Oxygen is another huge surprise from 2021, what could have ended up being another terrible Netflix sci-fi film that would be quickly thrown away ended up being a claustrophobic nightmare that despite being a sci-fi film it is very raw. There’s a ton of great character bits for Mélanie Laurent’s character to grow and we learn quite a bit about her. The writing is overall really strong and ends up giving a very thrilling atmosphere that wraps the film quite nicely!
57. Loki directed by Kate Herron
The final MCU and Disney+ series on the list! To keep this short like the other MCU series on the list the performances here were phenomenal. Tom Hiddleston is at his best as Loki here, Owen Wilson gives a surprisingly charming and hilarious performance and then there’s Sophia Di Martino who steals the show whenever she’s on screen. The writing is overall very strong it balances the drama, action and humor very well. One doesn’t out match the others which is exactly what more MCU films need to do and I hope they do in the future.
56. Gaia directed by Jaco Bouwer
Gaia is a huge mix of The Last Of Us (the video game), The Blair Witch Project, In The Earth and parts of The Green Inferno all mixed into a very interesting movie! It’s use of body horror was really great and slowly gets under your skin as the film progresses. The acting from Monique Rockman was really great and the writing gives this creepy feel as well. Combine that with the atmosphere and you have yourself a genuinely haunting movie that is very effective, especially when the writing is cleverly written! The location and the filming is also another one of this film’s strong points, combing them both gives beautifully haunting results that end up being intimidating and creepy as well!
55. Coming Home In The Dark directed by James Ashcroft
Another pretty disturbing film that has some very brutal kills that definitely catch you by surprise, it doesn’t hold back at all really. The atmosphere is what makes this film, Ashcroft absolutely nails it with the haunting and suspenseful atmosphere that really gets under your skin!
54. The Sparks Brothers directed by Edgar Wright
The Sparks Brothers is truly something special, I went into this documentary back at Sundance 2021 knowing next to nothing about the rock band Sparks and I walk out knowing so much about them. That in my opinion is when a documentary is very successful, with that said that’s not all. Edgar Wright puts in his style in the documentary such as using a ton of beautifully creative animation, black and white interviews that really add a lot to the documentary and he brings so much energy and humor into it as well. Edgar Wright really makes this his own.
53. I Care A Lot directed by J Blakeson
I Care A Lot is a very wild film that’s seriously fantastic, Rosamund Pike gives such a fantastic performance and absolute nails everything the film is going for. The film isn’t afraid to show unfortunate situations that do happen to senior citizens, the film shows those moments and calls them out very well. A common discourse about this film was that the film “supports this because Pike is the protagonist” I said this in my review and I’ll say it again here. Being the protagonist does not mean the person is “good” or the audience has to like them. All protagonist means is said character is the main character nothing more and nothing less. The film itself makes it quite clear that these situations are gross and calls them out very well. I Care A Lot is a very wild experience that truly delivers!
52. Profile directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Profile is one of those screen life movies you know like Searching, the Unfriended movies, The Den and a few others. This one is definitely one of the more realistic movies of the genre, the performances here incredible especially Valene Kane and Shazad Latif both of which give raw performances that sound like actual people interacting over the internet, the film does a good job of showing how certain social media platforms such as Facebook can be used as a dangerous weapon when wanting to commit horrible horrible crimes. It actually gets quite disturbing as the film goes on which is the type of disturbing that is definitely effective! Timur Bekmambetov does an incredible job with Profile, he gives the film a haunting atmosphere that gives the viewer the feeling of anything could happen and makes them wonder what’s going to happen next. Profile is also based on a true story which is an incredible read that I do recommend reading!
51. Beans directed by Tracey Deer
Beans was most definitely a hard hitting film, it takes the coming of age genre and does something different with it…being set in the Oka crisis of 1990. Which builds the characters quite well and really establishes each of the characters thoughts. The film itself is semi-autobiographical meaning it’s showing historical events that the director Tracy Deer herself lived through as a child. Deer does a fantastic job of showing the viewer what she experienced, how her friends and family felt and acted through it and so much more. The film really hits you like a truck as it goes on, it starts out pretty normally but quickly evolves into a very sad but personal experience that I’m seriously glad Tracy Deer told, the writing feels incredibly raw and only adds to the film and how personal it really feels.
50. The Night House directed by David Bruckner
The Night House takes a simple concept and turns into a nightmare in the best way possible, Rebecca Hall is brilliant in the leading role, she gives one of the best performances from 2021 and truly shows how talented she is as an actress. The dialogue from Rebecca Hall is chilling there are scenes where dialogue actually makes the viewer quite uncomfortable, due to how strong her performance really is. The writing is quite fantastic, it’s effective of telling a interesting story and takes you into the film’s world with some very powerful and interesting dialogue! Combine that with what is one of the best things about this film…the atmosphere! The film relies on the atmosphere to scare the viewer which it works quite well, the atmosphere also leads to some jumpscares that are surprisingly effective! The Night House is one of those movies that gets jumpscares right, a lot of the time in other movies jumpscares are very predictable, lazy and aren’t effective at all. The Night House has the atmosphere, the build up and it’s strong camerawork to make the jumpscares work, all of those elements combined together create several genuinely terrifying scenes that scare the viewer. The Night House is also surprisingly sad and can be depressing at times, it’s mainly due to the plot and it really works here. The film balances the horror and the sadness it’s really interesting to see the two together
And that is for part 2 of my best list! Stay tuned for part 3!!
Jerome Reviews... 