2021 SEPTEMBER MOVIE RANKINGS

You all would not believe the month I have been through… Needless to say, I have been developing yet another short film, which has taken away all of my free time. Hence the lack of reviews. Hence the lack of a movie ranking for last month.

Yikes. Fear not, however. The work load is starting to ease up, which will give me some pockets of time to rectify my mistakes and give you all some quality review content. Starting with the movie rankings that I should’ve posted in September…

#5- “The Wolf of Snow Hollow”
73%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Jim Cummings directing a horror/crime flick, nice villain twist at the end, has some good character moments, as well as humor (in a pure Cummings fashion).
Cons: A bit too familiar when compared to Cummings’ last feature “Thunder Road” (same kind of character and personal situation), and certain sequences/plot developments didn’t hit has hard as I would’ve wanted them to.

#4- “The Suicide Squad”
81%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Funny, brilliantly shot/choreographed, witty writing (James Gunn knows how to balance an ensemble), great climax sequence (the realization moment), and entertaining.
Cons: The glorification of violence was a bit too unsettling at times, as was the pure villainy of everything (thank goodness there was some grace/goodness to be found in a few of these characters though).

#3- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (800th review)
85%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Different for a Marvel film, solid action choreography, cool aesthetic/world, interesting backstory, good performances (for the most part), and surpassed expectations (which were low to the ground).
Cons: The second half fell into the same ole Marvel hero formula, an old/not respected character was brought back, and it wasn’t as humorous as I think the filmmakers thought it was.

#3- “The Purple Rose of Cairo”
85%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Unique idea, has funny moments, fun cast of characters, great setting, and an all-around short/sweet picture.
Cons: The ending is something to mull on, as to whether I really like it or not.

#2- “Superbad”
87%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Hilarious, McLovin’ is one of the best characters in cinema history, great comedic performances, fun adventure, and a nice, memorable (somewhat heartwarming) friendship story overall.
Cons: They went a bit too heavy with the penis drawing scene, and it’s really raunchy (but what do you expect?).

#1- “Frances Ha”
93%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Beautiful looking movie (setting, cinematography, black-and-white), natural performances (Gerwig shines), strong writing (as Baumbach knows best), quite a few memorable sequences (like the one pictured above), and an interesting story to see unfold.
Cons: There were a few places where the film dragged (though not many).

There you have it folks: “Frances Ha” has taken September, and will go on to face “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Coherence” (2013), “The Elephant Man” (1980), “Dead Poets Society,” “Drive,” “A Quiet Place Part II,” “Unforgiven,” “You’ve Got Mail” (1998), and the rest of the monthly winners to decide who will take the Movie of the Year crown.