2021 Half-Way Awards
Hey! We are almost done with this year, and the movie year is really starting to take flight. It is almost definitely better than last year was. Think about it. At this time last year we were at the mercy of Netflix, Amazon, and Disney +. Streaming was and is still a dominant force in the movie industry, but now that theaters are opening back up, we can start to see movies again for real. And man 2021 has delivered so far. I’m nothing but happy about it. Are there some disappointments or some bad apples? Of course. But that hasn’t stopped by state of joy at being able to go Harkins Theaters or AMC or the local art house theater.
And like every year or halfway point, there are highlights and lowlights that need to be praised or humiliated. And that’s why I’m posting today. But I do not want to be the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I’m not that old yet. So I have come up with a few more fun categories. Of course I’ll do some cliche ones, but I’m here to enjoy myself not to bore you. So without further typing and blathering on, I give you Sam’s first half of 2021 awards!
***
Best Movie: In the Heights (Honorable Mentions: Judas and the Black Messiah, A Quiet Place Part II, Nobody, Luca)
Yes, I just saw this, but it was an amazing experience! This is prime Lin Manuel-Miranda writing and song making. All of the leads are enjoyable and relatable characters. Enthralling and touching music keeps your focus and attention. And it has that classic musical feel with a distinct first and second act. Additionally, the dance sequences excite and show off the athletic abilities of our cast. There’s no question that this movie has this year’s title belt at the halfway point. But it has a murder’s row of competition coming up.
***
Best Documentary about the Matrix: A Glitch in the Matrix (No honorable mentions, running unopposed)
When I was about 15 or so, I heard that there were people who genuinely believed that we were living in the Matrix or that they had turned the Matrix into some kind of religion. Making fun of someone’s beliefs is not something I approve of, and I ashamed to admit I certainly made fun of the Matrix religion when I was younger. This does not mean I believe it. But A Glitch in the Matrix does an incredible job of giving believers a chance to explain themselves without any mockery. Seeing how much a movie can affect someone’s way of life is remarkable. It’s definitely made in 2020 and worth a watch.
***
Best Nice Guy Who Becomes a Badass Because Someone Messed With His Family: Bob Odenkirk in Nobody (Honorable mentions: Michael B. Jordan in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, Jason Statham in Wrath of Man, Dave Bautista in Army of the Dead)
If you told me at the beginning of the year that my favorite movie so far would be about the sleazy lawyer from Breaking Bad doing a John Wick impression, I would have asked why you came back from the future and didn’t give me winning lottery numbers instead. But I still would’ve been surprised by the statement. Seriously, it’s so out of leftfield for this comedian-turned-dramatic actor to decide his next movie would be about destroying a Russian mob that it’s such a breath of fresh air, especially due to the comedic elements he brings as a protagonist. Well, I guess it’s not that unpredictable when he tells you why he made the movie.
***
Most Bizarre Musical of the Year: A Week Away (No honorable mentions, running unopposed)
In a year where we’re gonna get a remake of West Side Story, Dear Evan Hansen, In the Heights, and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, somehow Netflix only got two musicals to release. One of them is a Lin-Manuel Miranda directed piece Tick, Tick…Boom! And the other one is this. With songs from Christian artists Amy Grant and Audio Adrenaline, it follows orphaned teenage Will as he attends a Christian summer camp where he gives his life to Jesus. While I don’t actually hate the plot of this movie as it deals with the trauma we go through and how Jesus and his sacrifice can make us whole again, hearing songs I used to hear on Christian radio 10 or more years ago really gives me an odd feeling. It’s an odd form of nostalgia.
***
Scariest Movie Monster: right-wing propaganda in Run, Hide, Fight (Honorable mentions: the aliens from A Quiet Place Part II, Godzilla from Godzilla Vs Kong)
When I saw the trailer for this movie, I thought, “Huh this looks like Die Hard in a school. Hey wait…that’s a terrible idea to teach kids!” School shootings are far too frequent an occurrence for them to be ignored, even by the art of movies, which frankly ignore a lot of problems. But I’m not gonna sit here typing and not make it clear that I do not appreciate the crap that republican movie producers want to feed people. Teaching a kid to try to fight back while unarmed against unstable domestic terrorism is an awful idea.
***
Best Performance by an actor or actress: Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah (Honorable mentions: Lakeith Stanfield in Judas and the Black Messiah, Millicent Simmons in A Quiet Place Part II, Tom Holland in Cherry, Adarsh Gourav in White Tiger)
If you haven’t gotten on the bandwagon that Daniel Kaluuya is the best actor working in the film business right now, There is still time, people!! He has such an adaptable ability to pull empathy from an audience without being a sad sap. He makes you care for him so well that I can imagine myself even rooting for him if he was a villain in a Superman movie (holy crap guys! What if he agrees to be Lex Luthor or Brainiac?). His abilities are akin to someone like Leonardo DiCaprio. I can’t wait to see what else he’s capable of.
***
Well, that was fun! Hopefully, the rest of the year is just as good. With backlogged amount of movies that were supposed to come out last year, I can imagine we are in for a pretty great back half of 2021.
Until I see another one