Go ahead and now give the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor to Will Smith (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). It might not be a far-off assumption as we are on the cusp of Oscar season. I would wait to hedge my bets in Vegas entirely, but it might be worth taking a flyer without knowing much about the other players who might be up for the award. Smith gives the best performance in his storied career as Richard, the father of (then) future tennis greats Venus Williams and Serena Williams in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s (Joe Bell, Monsters and Men) King Richard.
Category Archives: Year of Release
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
A Quiet Place Part II signified the return to the movie theaters following the COVID-19 pandemic. Ironically, the John Krasinski (Promised Land, Away We Go) directed sequel to 2018’s surprisingly successful A Quiet Place was tabled for its March 2020 release just before the global pandemic ravaged the world. I give movies like Tenet, News of the World, and Wonder Woman 1984 much credit for releasing their films during the year, knowing they would earn far less revenue than if they had waited. I don’t fault movies for delaying their release, but I applaud the big-budget ones that did not. While 2020 allowed more independent films to take center stage at the theaters that continued operating during the shutdown, those movies didn’t necessarily succeed. It was an abysmal year overall for movies. I did go to the theaters 10-15 times between mid-March 2020 and mid-May 2021. Except for once or twice, only a dozen or so people were at my shows.
The Last Duel (2021)
Ridley Scott’s (Aliens, All the Money in the World) The Last Duel has been my most anticipated theater-going experience since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last 19 months, I’ve been to the movie theater 20-25 times, far more than anyone I know. Theater attendance is down, as would be expected. I purchased a ticket 15 minutes after the previews started (customary for me when I see movies alone). My showing was at 11:00 a.m., but it was also the day after it was released. There were 15 moviegoers in a theater that held 250. It’s been a struggle to get back to the theater, especially with many movies having a same-day Video on Demand release or a release to popular streaming services much sooner than pre-pandemic days.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game, Zero Dark Thirty) is attempting to become the second actress to win a Lead Actress Oscar and a Lead Actress Emmy in the same year. After just two episodes of the five-part HBO miniseries Scenes from a Marriage, Chastain seems like a shoo-in to win an Emmy for her role as Mira, a middle-aged wife, opposite Oscar Isaac. The latter encounters some of the most challenging struggles a married person might ever have. It’s a hard-hitting, riveting drama that could sweep awards season in the miniseries category. Chastain further showcases her acting prowess as Tammy Fay Baker, the televangelist and our protagonist in Michael Showalter’s (The Big Sick, Hello, My Name is Doris).
Blue Bayou (2021)
Blue Bayou was a film I knew nothing about three days before my viewing and one I have been incredibly excited about since. I love a well-crafted, heavy drama, and this film told me, after watching the first 45 seconds of the trailer, that this was something that I would see opening weekend. The Rotten Tomatoes scores enhanced my excitement about the movie (73%, 96%).