The opening sequence of Jerrod Carmichael’s feature-length debut, On the Count of Three, shows a revolver being pointed inches from the face of Kevin (Christopher Abbott – It Comes At Night, First Man), a thirty-something man with swollen eyes and a twitching mouth that suggests that something terrible is about to happen to him. Then, the camera shifts to Val (Carmichael – Neighbors, The Disaster Artist), who has a similar firearm in his hand, pointing it at Kevin. Are these two men adversaries, attempting to make the other lower their gun with the threat to shoot?
Category Archives: 2021
True Things (2021)
If you have the opportunity to watch or if you get the chance to watch the Ruth Wilson-led (Oslo, Showtime’s The Affair) True Things, pay particular attention to the film’s opening and closing scenes. There is considerable symbolism at the two ends, almost leveling us back even after going up and down several peaks and valleys in Harry Wootliff’s (Only You) heavy romantic drama.
A Journal for Jordan (2021)
A Rotten Tomatoes 39% critics score and a 95% audience score. That seems about right for the optimistic yet somber, audience-pleasing A Journal for Jordan, Denzel Washington’s (Antwone Fisher, Fences) fourth directed movie and first collaboration with fan-favorite Michael B. Jordan (Creed, Black Panther). This movie felt flat and disjointed, yet I could easily understand why some might enjoy watching an evolving love story. Unfortunately, this film would have been better suited to a made-for-television movie than to anything more.
Cyrano (2021)
La La Land 2021? With 2021? With half a dozen different ways to start this review swirling through my head, I decided to best refer to La La Land, my favorite movie musical of all time. Because there is a new runner-up. While Joe Wright’s (Anna Karenina, Atonement) Cyrano doesn’t entirely leave that pit in your heart when it concludes, it comes pretty darn close. Both breathtakingly beautiful and painstakingly heartwrenching, Peter Dinklage (Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, I Care A Lot) is astounding as Cyrano de Bergerac, a role he was destined to play.
Don’t Look Up (2021)
Best Picture nominee? Don’t Look Up? Really? This movie had a wide release in December. It earned less than $1 million at the box office and was out of theaters in under 2 weeks. Its 56% “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes further suggests that this is different from a film the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences would deem one of its ten best films of 2021. Yet (sigh), here we are. The biggest tragedy might be that this isn’t a bad film but is being unfairly bashed for its association with the other nine movies up for Best Picture, arguably the worst collection of films for any year.