Halfway Mark 2021 - Movie Achievements of the Year (Thus Far)
Monday, July 5, 2021 at 11:41AM
NATHANIEL R in A Quiet Place, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, Cruella, In the Heights, Luca, Never Gonna Snow Again, Year in Review

Okay, sooooo the Oscars f***ed around with their eligibility calendar but we did not for our own annual prizes. Anything released after January 1st or on its way to release at the moment was eligible for this fluid keeping-track list (unless it had a qualifying release in 2020 -- confusing, yes but please go see I Carry You With Me, one of 2020's best that only just surfaced for the public). It's just our way of jotting things down before the film year really gets crazy so that we don't forget. Still, there's no guarantee any of these accomplishments will show up in January for the Film Bitch Awards. Generally Hollywood backloads the film year, as you know. We'll do fav performances tomorrow but for now our 'cheat sheet' for everything else...

TEN BEST MOVIES THUS FAR (alpha order)

Special Mention because I never feel comfortable comparing docs to narrative features...

DIRECTOR

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

 

COSTUME DESIGN 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

PRODUCTION DESIGN 

FILM EDITING

VISUAL EFFECTS

MAKEUP AND HAIR

ORIGINAL SCORE 


SOUND


MUSICAL SEQUENCE

ACTION SEQUENCE


KISS


SEX SCENE


OPENING SEQUENCE

 

THE END

 

P.S. Despite running a movie site, we're struggling like the general public (from all reports) to track the where and when and how much of seeing new movies. It was fairly simple our whole lives until a few years ago when streaming began to gain strength. And then, of course, maximum confusion hit once the pandemic arrived and Hollywood suddenly chose CHAOS with six different ways of releasing things (maybe seven or eight - it's possible we've forgotten something):

  1. Theater only
  2. Theater simultaneous w/ VOD rental at various prices
  3. VOD rental only at various prices
  4. Theater simultaneous w/ Streaming free
  5. Streaming only free
  6. Theater simultanous w/ Streaming at "premium" (aka theatrical+) prices.

To add to the confusion of the half-dozen systems, most distributors appears to be employing multiple strategies so it's anyone's guess when you hear about a movie which strategory it will employ. You can't even make assumptions based on bankable stars and directors anymore since even the most traditionally bankable artists and most traditionally bankable genres will do "free to stream" movies alongside their theatrical releases. We can't imagine this consumer confusion is good for the long-term health of the industry. It's obviously one reason why Netflix has such a strangehold on the public imagination: it's easier to understand/predict than any other way to see movies now. (sigh)

Personally speaking, though I rarely balk at paying $20 to see a movie in a theater, I refuse to pay even half of that to watch something at home. So if I miss something at theaters (much easier to do now even in NYC with much-shortened windows and fewer theaters) I have to wait until a free streaming option or cheap rental opportunity arrives. In other words I personally have not yet seen the following for various reasons, ranging from meager enthusiasm, through unfortunately missing a theatrical window, to 'excited for but can't justify that rental price'...: Breaking News in Yuba County, Chaos Walking, Dream Horse, False Positive, Map of Tiny Perfect Things, Moffie, Oxygen, Port Authority, Queen Bees, Stowaway, Undine, Without Remorse, and World to Come.

 If you have seen any of those, which would you most recommend? 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
See website for complete article licensing information.