#🎩 nothing lives inside but story

[leibholz-moved]

— lobster quadrille 🦞

+ the lineart cause it turned out smooth as butter :)

[wellntruly]

I rank all the movies I've watched from 2021 (40)

It’s that time again!! i.e. sneaking in just before Hollywood’s Biggest Night 🎩 (lol)

Title links go to my original spoiler-free Letterboxd reviews, followed by another link if I also wrote a longer piece (I always note if there will be spoilers in those, if there is no note you’re good!)

No building up this time we’re just starting at the top:

1. The Souvenir: Part II

When I walked out of the theater after seeing this I felt so fucking alive. [Full review]

2. The Power of the Dog

What I want to holler here I can’t holler for spoilers. Love that in a movie!!! Anyway the phrase that has gotten others to watch it: queer western gothic. [Full review]

3. The Green Knight

Sexiest movie of the year a meditation on death, feels good feels right. Revisionist medievalism re-edited over a pandemic to be longer and mistier. Daniel Hart’s score my most-listened-to album of 2021. The cloak is gold. Catch me on a certain day and this might be my #1. [Full review]

4. Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー)

Tender! [Full review]

5. Bo Burnham: Inside

Film of the year actually though [Full review]

6. Bergman Island

Interestingly given my love for it, I haven’t really recommended this yet to anyone. Watching Mia Wasikowska dance by herself is something that can actually be so personal..?

7. Pig

We’ll get to it if I post my nominations but Alex Wolff best supporting actor. [Full review]

8. Spencer

Sad girl Christmas! We love a daymare. Crafts exquisite, Kristen also exquisite. Weirder even than I hoped. [Full review]

9. The Matrix Resurrections

Haha go Lana, GO Lana! Wild this movie exists. Matrix Winter was such a time. [Full review]

10. Annette

The thing is this is boldest cinematic imagining I saw all year. I saw nothing else like this. Does all of it work? No! Is anyone else doing half of this? Noooooooo. And for good reason! But thank god Leos Carax will! Simon Helberg also best supporting actor. Why was Marion Cotillard eating so many apples… Fuck! Annette! Remember when Baby Annette!!?!

11. Azor

The Martin Eden prize for stylish, little-seen international feature that I keep bugging people about. “Did you guys see Azor though?” “What?”

12. Dune

If you go to my Letterboxd post you’ll see I only gave this movie 3.5 stars, but I already know it’s raising to 4 when I rewatch it, just on the power of vibes. Now that’s desert power. (God it’s so silly though!) (We can admit that a little bit right?) (Denis??) (Denis can’t hear me over his Rice Krispies sand)

13. Passing

First Harold of a very Harold year, babyyyy! Truly though I read the novella after and this was such an assured adaptation.

14. The French Dispatch

Bananas to say this but people are really undervaluing Wes Anderson, one of our greatest directors. Do you know that only one of his films has ever even been nominated for any crafts categories at the Oscars? Meanwhile no one is doing the work quite like him. And the first and third acts and especially interstitial of this are remarkable.

15. Flee (Flugt)

Sometimes the year's wrenching Afghan refugee story also includes a dance sequence to a-ha's 'Take On Me' five minutes in. Something something humanity, basically.

16. The Tragedy of Macbeth

The stars are lights on a velvet sky!! Honestly the fact that I hold this so high (such as higher than the next one!) is really a testament to how far design elements will get you with me.

17. The Worst Person In the World (Verdens verste menneske)

I did like it but! is it weird she doesn’t have a single female friend? Or…any friend? Renate and Anders very good though. Oslo looks like, restful.

18. A Hero (قهرمان)

I saw a picture of this actor later and I didn’t believe it. Performance!

19. Shiva Baby

I have never wanted to watch someone eat a bagel more. I lived vicariously through every bite of that bagel. Why am I so bagel deprived, shit. Is it because I left New York. Anyway Uncut Gems found in the back of the van under all of Joel’s boxes.

20. Parallel Mothers (Madres paralelas)

I just need to impress on you that in this film Penélope Cruz makes a tortilla española. Wow my top twenty is ending very hungry. (And wlw) (Harold look alive!)

And now the also-rans!

Musicals Corner

West Side Story Cyrano Tick, Tick…BOOM!

I gave all three of these 3.5 stars and they all landed back-to-back and that was not intentional but is: kinda funny. Interestingly I don’t think any of these three directors would begrudge me this. They wouldn’t, would they? They’d all be like aw thanks for the good company, I liked what those guys were doing too.

More 3.5's

The Lost Daughter Zola No Time To Die

This is a weird combo and yet, something about it kind of flows. I enjoy a 3.5! 3.5 is on the whole positive.

Some kinda complicated 3's that I nonetheless do keep thinking about at odd moments

The Hand of God (È stata la mano di Dio) Benedetta House of Gucci The Last Duel

Sometimes 3 means: ambivalent. Wow I don’t know! I think all of these are interesting though, I know that. Also those two Ridley Scotts could really go in either order, have swapped several times just while I typed this up.

3's that were perfectly fine and that’s it

CODA I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch) In the Heights

Sometimes that’s it!

The Belfast Award for Belfast (2.5)

Belfast

Weirdly, I’m very glad I watched it.

And lastly: I’m sorry ❤️

Nightmare Alley F9

There would certainly be others in this category with them, but I simply chose not to, because I'm not sure that sorry would get the heart.

There were also plenty others I just haven’t got around to yet, nothing personal! I will catch you later probably, C’mon C’mon and The Humans and Wheel of Fortune & Fantasy and idk, Old?? Actually I do still kinda wanna watch Old…why do I wanna watch Old..! Stop me from watching Old.

Also, the rest of the docs I watched:

Summer of Soul Procession Listening to Kenny G The Truffle Hunters

All five documentaries I saw were doing such different things and I like that about the medium very much. Animated memoir, historical concert film, experimental/drama therapy, the only way to do a talking-heads style doc, and a sort of natural-world mosaic with kinda no center but beauuutiful cinematography. A very good year for non-fiction! Actually technically The Truffle Hunters might have been a 2020, but I couldn’t figure it out? I mean is Cyrano even a 2021 and not actually a 2022? Emotionally?? WHAT YEAR EVEN IS IT.

It is 2022, definitely, (checks), and I am finally calling it on the films of 2021. Happy Oscars week.

[leibholz-moved]

— 🎩+🐇 but in style of disneys alice vs. mcgees one :3

[leibholz-moved]

— ૮₍_ ̫ _ ₎ა ♡

[leibholz-moved]

— a pleasant walk a pleasant talk along the briny beach

[leibholz-moved]

— ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ~♡︎

[leibholz-moved]

— i’m so happy you’re home!

tag list: @funshineharlequinz @gideongrovel @glamballesta @go2jail1 @hatsunebeejpeg @strawberrygirlishere @sequids @bobmckenzie @goldenshrine (lmk if you wish to be added or removed)

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— steampunk ass couple smh!!!!!

[leibholz-moved]

— normal science 🫖

tag list: @funshineharlequinz @gideongrovel @glamballesta @go2jail1 @hatsunebeejpeg @strawberrygirlishere @sequids (lmk if you wish to be added or removed)

[leibholz-moved]