Belfast is directed by Kenneth Branagh and depicts the violence in 1960s Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants through the eyes of a young boy named Buddy, played by Jude Hill.  The film does a great job of showing what it's like for a young child to grow up in such strife.  On one hand, he's keenly aware of the violence around him and the impact it's having on his parents, all while being more concerned with things children are supposed to worry about like getting good grades in school or figuring out a way to sit next to the girl he has a crush on in class.  The film is filled with strong performances including Caitriona Balfe, who gives one of the best performances of the year, and Jamie Dornan, whose work here does wonders to distance himself from his work in Fifty Shades of Grey.

If you asked me to describe what kind of film Last Night in Soho is, I'd have trouble and just give up and say it's an Edgar Wright film. It's not surprising the film came and went in theaters. Sometimes it's a horror film, sometimes it's a coming of age film, sometimes it's a psychological thriller. For me, it's one of the most unique film-going experiences I've had in a long time.  Like Edgar Wright's previous film Baby Driver, the soundtrack is almost another character as we bounce back and forth between 60s London and the present day. Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy are fantastic here and solidify themselves as two powerhouse actresses to keep an eye on. While the end might be a bit too formulaic for some, my hope is that Last Night in Soho becomes a cult classic. 

There's no better example of how much mainstream audiences have changed than The Last Duel crashing and burning at the box office.  You have a dependable director in Ridley Scott, two big-name actors in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and one of the hottest actors working today in Adam Driver and still, nobody went to see the film.  It's a shame because The Last Duel is really good and features one of the finest performances of the year by Jodie Comer, a woman who accuses a squire of raping her. For a woman of that time to even come forward with such allegations was rare and highly dangerous.  The Last Duel is based on a true story and while it's a story that is hundreds of years old, the scenario of a woman having to plead for people to believe her about a vicious assault at the hands of a man is very timely.

Stillwater is the kind of film we used to get a lot of in the 90s and early 2000s. An adult drama that takes its time with the plot.  Stillwater tells the story of Bill, played by Matt Damon, a father who will stop at nothing to prove his daughter's innocence of a crime she didn't commit. Bill essentially halts his entire life and moves from Oklahoma all the way to France.  Matt Damon gives one of his best performances in recent years. It's very subtle and reserved. The best part of the film for me is when Bill befriends the young daughter of his French neighbor. It's clear that Bill is making up for some shortcomings as a father from when his daughter was younger. Stillwater weaves an interesting mystery with a solid payoff.  Its detractors will point to the clear similarities to a real-life crime.

The Green Knight is directed by David Lowery, who directed the hauntingly beautiful A Ghost Story. I'm not familiar with the story of Sir Gawain, but I'm told that The Green Knight makes a unique attempt at retelling the story.  For me, it really worked.  It's the kind of film that stuck with me for weeks after viewing.  I almost went back to the theater to see it a second time. The imagery alone is worth a watch, but I would also like to mention Dev Patel's performance.  The film came out too long ago, but it's a performance that deserves recognition come Oscar season. The story is somewhat tricky to follow, but the final scene is one of the best of the year. 

Nomadland tells the story of Fern, played by Frances McDormand, a widow in her sixties who loses everything in the Great Recession. After the town she lives in is abandoned once the factory she and her late husband worked at shuts down, she sets off on a journey through the Western United States in her van. Nomadland is very much a film of our current times as it depicts a woman who has worked her entire life and still has nothing to show for it.

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Nomadland is directed by Chloé Zhao, who directed the underrated 2017 film The Rider. In Nomadland, there’s really no narrative and the film is structured as a series of scenes that, like a nomad, flow from one to the other.

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Much like The Rider, Zhao has chosen to infuse her film with non-actors. The result of that is a film that almost feels like a documentary, with many scenes being improvised.

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The always dependable Frances McDormand gives another fine performance, although it’s not as flashy as her Oscar-winning work in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. While the character of Fern is more reserved and quiet, McDormand's performance is equally nuanced as we see her grieving for her husband, dealing with a former life that offered stability and coming to terms with a new way of life alone and on the road.

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Nomadland is very much a film about community as we see groups of other people like her who wander the country from one place to the next. It’s also about new beginnings and how it’s possible to start over and find happiness even if what you have in material things is very little.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and One Night in Miami are perfect companion pieces to one another. Both films deal with themes of race in America and both films feel like stage plays.

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A majority of One Night in Miami takes place in a motel room. The film is the directorial debut of Oscar-winning actress Regina King. One Night in Miami is a fictionalized, yet inspired by an actual gathering between Malcolm X, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Cassius Clay.

The film is an examination of fame and race and the kinds of responsibilities an African American might be burdened with as a public figure.

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Like Ma Rainey, if you're looking for a plot, then you are going to be disappointed. The film is about the interactions between characters and not so much about the plot. Thankfully, the four lead performances are outstanding, highlighted by Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke. Odom Jr. gives the most nuanced performance of the film. Cooke finds himself in the crosshairs of Malcolm X, who feels Cooke isn't using his platform to further the cause for black people.

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Ultimately, One Night in Miami is a very timely film with a great ensemble cast.

The Dig popped up on Netflix and I figured I'd give it a shot since I love Carey Mulligan. Unfortunately, there's not enough of her.

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She's relegated to looking sad and peering out windows. Thankfully, Ralph Fiennes is also in the film and he's fantastic.

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The film tells the true story of an archaeologist who makes a once-in-a-lifetime discovery of Sutton Hoo in 1938. I've always found archaeology interesting, so there was enough here to hold my interest.

A really beautiful film about friendship and loss. The film might be a tad overstuffed and the narrative changes halfway through, but it's a really well-made film in the same mold as a Wong Kar-wai film, who is one of the producers.

Night of Kings is a really tricky film to describe and rate. The film takes place in a prison in Abidjan where the inmates essentially run the entire prison and they subscribe to a set of rules and age-old traditions. When the leader of the prison falls ill and nears his death, one inmate is chosen to tell a story to the other prisoners the entire night. A new inmate is chosen and little does he know that when he finishes his story he will be sacrificed. The film feels a little like City of God at times, in fact, the film is referenced. As the night unfolds, the story being told becomes more and more embellished as the young prisoner tries to buy time. Night of Kings emphasizes the power of story and how it can transport and captivate even the most hardened individuals.

A light and fun romp through the Hollywood hills. The film has almost no plot, but it holds your interest by constantly introducing a series of quirky characters. The main character, played by Zoe Lister-Jones, who also co-directed the film, is being followed around by her metaphysical younger self. The film was shot on location during the pandemic.

What a complete waste of time. The film makes no sense and is all over the place, but the biggest sin is that it's just plain boring. There's little to no action until the very end. I love the idea of a samurai western set in a Mad Max world, but this was a complete miss for me.

What happens when you take two Millenials, put them in the middle of nowhere with no phones while the world is being invaded by aliens? Nothing good, that's for sure!

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I had a lot of fun with this one and I think if you happen to go into it not knowing anything about it, you are bound to be pleasantly surprised.

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The film dives into themes of technology and how dependent upon our phones we have become as a species. The end gets away from them a bit, but overall a fairly enjoyable film.

Nightmare Alley is a remake of a 1947 film by the same name and is directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film marks del Toro's first feature since 2017's The Shape of Water, a film that earned him an Oscar for Best Director and also won Best Picture. Nightmare Alley tells the story of Stanton Carlisle, played brilliantly by Bradley Cooper, a grifting carnival worker who learns the craft of mentalism.  Stanton soon realizes he can use this skill to con those who are grieving. This newfound talent has dangerous consequences as Carlisle's desire for power and money grows. Del Toro crafts a beautiful-looking film jam-packed with atmosphere.  I'm not sure there's a better director working today who can create such a vibrant look and feel through set and costume design.  Sorry, Wes Anderson. Nightmare Alley features one of the best final scenes of the year. A scene that truly ties the entire film together.  Well done.

I consider A Quiet Place a near-perfect film and one of the very best films from last decade.  A Quiet Place Part II is almost just as good.  Both films are enhanced by watching them back to back in a fantastic double feature.  Outside of a thrilling opening prologue to the second film where we get to see the moment the creatures touched down on Earth, the film picks up right where the first one ended. Where the first film was about what a parent would do to protect their children, the second film is about the children growing up and protecting their family.

Did we need a remake of West Side Story?  Probably not, but when it's in the hands of Steven Spielberg, one of the greatest directors of all time, you're willing to give him a shot.  It's no surprise that Spielberg knocks it out of the park.  He has created a film that not only feels like an old Hollywood musical but it has a fresh and new feel to it. The choreography is superb, the set designs are beautiful and the costumes are full of color. There's not a genre of film that Spielberg can't direct.  While the entire cast is strong, it's newcomer Rachel Zegler that steals the show in her big-screen debut.

For those going into Spencer expecting a standard biopic, you might come away a bit disappointed. Spencer at times almost comes off as a psychological thriller as we get inside Princess Diana's head while her life starts to spiral out of control. Kristen Stewart truly channels the late Princess in a performance that is sure to garner her multiple acting nominations.  The film does a great job of showing what a free spirit Diana was and how much she struggled with the public scrutiny and the watchful gaze of the queen and other nobles.

Finch is another Apple TV film that nobody saw.  It's going to be interesting to see how this whole streaming thing works out.  It's a discussion for another time, but so many films just go completely unnoticed, and this one stars Tom Hanks for crying out loud!  Finch is easily one of the more heartwarming films of the year and sure to have you reaching for your tissues.  Tom Hanks plays Finch, a man living on a post-apocalyptic Earth.  Finch has little contact with the outside world and any other humans who may have survived.

Unfortunately, Finch is dying. He isn't exactly alone though, he's accompanied by his beloved dog.  Finch decides to create a robot to care for his furry friend after he passes away.  I know a few people who are probably in tears after just reading that synopsis.

Minari takes place in the 1980s and tells the story of a Korean-American family that moves from the West Coast to Arkansas in hopes of starting a farming business. Minari is very much about the American Dream and the cost of striving to achieve it.

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Minari is directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who crafts a fine tale about family and the strife that comes with providing for them. The film is beautifully shot and acted, led by Steven Yeun, who plays Jacob the family patriarch. Most will know Yeun as Glenn from The Walking Dead, but he’s starting to really make a name for himself in Hollywood. He was fantastic in the 2018 masterpiece Burning. In Minari, he gives a beautifully understated performance as a father who starts to crack under the pressures of providing for his family.

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While Jacob is a large part of the film, it’s actually his 7-year-old son David whose eyes we see most of the events of the film through. David is played by the adorably precocious Alan S. Kim, who is making his screen debut. Kim really steals the film as a young man who is not only trying to fit into an environment that doesn’t see a lot of Asian people, but he's also dealing with the growing tensions between his parents. David is like most 7-year-old boys and likes to explore and often finds himself getting into trouble. Unfortunately, he’s unable to take part in some activities due to a heart condition, another stress that begins to weigh heavily on the family.

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The film really takes off when David’s quirky grandmother arrives from Korea to live with them. The blossoming of their relationship is the best part of the film and provides quite a few laughs and heartfelt moments. Yuh-Jung Youn plays the grandmother and she gives one of the finest performances of the year.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is based on a stage play by legendary playwright August Wilson and the film really does feel like a play. The entire film takes place in only a handful of sets and is more of a character-driven piece than anything else.

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The highlight of the film is the performance by the late Chadwick Boseman, who gives the best performance of his decorated, yet ultimately tragically short career. Viola Davis gives her typically strong performance as the titular character, but it's clearly Boseman's film.

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Black Bottom deals with a few themes of race in America, the most evident being how black performers were simultaneously coveted for their musical skills, but at the same time discriminated against. A theme that was also explored in 2018's Green Book.

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My main issue with the film is there's not much plot and the ending feels somewhat out of place.

Maybe the most exciting filmmaking happening right now is the Korean New Wave cinema. Long before Parasite took the world by storm, Korean cinema has been on fire. Directors like Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook have been pumping out amazing work for over a decade, but they better make room because I'm not sure I've seen a stronger debut film by a director than Kim Yong-hoon's Beasts Clawing at Straws. The film feels like early Coen brothers mixed with early Guy Ritchie and a dash of Tarantino.

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Yes, the subject matter isn't original, we've seen pieces of it before in countless other films - a bag of cash and a string of lowlife eclectic characters looking to track it down. But it's the style and care in which Yong-hoon weaves the story that really elevates it. There are tons of twists and turns and you're never quite sure where it's going, but Yong-hoon somehow sticks the landing in the end. The steady hand he shows in his direction is impressive for a first-time director. I can't wait to see what he does next.

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My main issue with the film is that it has a bit of a protagonist problem. There's really nobody you really want to root for. The character with the most redeeming qualities doesn't get a lot of screentime, but that's a nitpick. If you're into Korean cinema and you like Neo-Noir black comedies, then track this one down.

This is a really beautiful film. I'm not sure I've seen anything like it. The film revolves around a single straight man played by Ed Helms who wants to be a father through a surrogate. Unlike most Hollywood films where the two main characters fall in love, that never happens, which was a breath of fresh air. What we get is a great depiction of a platonic relationship. The film also deals with how our society looks at men differently when it comes to becoming a single father.

I've had a really hard time sorting through my feelings about this one since the credits rolled. I feel like I should have loved it, but I didn't. I recognize the fantastic performances by the two lead Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, but there's something missing here that I still can't quite put my finger on. Passing is directed by actress Rebecca Hall who makes her directorial debut. The choice was made to shoot the film in black and white, as well as display it in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The black and white is an obvious choice as the film is literally about being black and white. The square aspect ratio also was a wise choice as it forces the viewer to focus on the faces of the two leads. Considering the faces of the two actresses are being scrutinized so much, it's a bold choice.

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That being said, there's a coldness to the film. There's not much music throughout, nor is there much ambient sound, which gives the film a sterile feel. The film is based on a 1929 book and I'm interested to check it out.

I really love the premise of this one. In the future, our dreams are taxed. If you don't pay your dream tax, you are visited by an auditor. In this case, the main character visits an elderly woman who hasn't switched over to the new technology. Her dreams are still being recorded on VHS tapes. The auditor is tasked with watching all her tapes. In doing so, he falls in love with her younger self that he sees in her dreams.

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Most people are going to either love or hate his one, for me, I'm kind of in the middle. The first two-thirds of the film are really good. The atmosphere and aesthetic that is created are really unique. Unfortunately, the last third of the film takes place almost exclusively in the dream state. That section is a little too cheesy and abstract for my liking. Regardless, I applaud the filmmakers for doing something different.

Pieces of a Woman tells the story of Martha, played wonderfully by Vanessa Kirby (The Crown, Mission Impossible: Fallout) and her partner, played by Shia LaBeouf, as a young couple who have chosen to have a home birth. When the home birth turns to tragedy, the couple must deal with the impact it has on their relationship.

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The film features one of the more excruciating opening sequences I've ever seen in a film. The labor is such a realistic depiction of childbirth that I actually felt like I was intruding. What enhances the scene even more is the fact that it's shot in one take.

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As you can tell from the subject matter, Pieces of a Woman is not an easy watch, but it's one of the best films of the year. The film is a powerful look at how tragedy can cause a relationship to spiral out of control.

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Vanessa Kirby is the real star here and gives one of the best performances of the year. Her portrayal of a woman coming to terms with the death of her child is truly heart-breaking.

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Pieces of a Woman is one of the best films of 2020, but be warned, it's a very difficult watch.

I wanted to love this one. The cast is amazing, although I was disappointed that Russell Crowe and Charlie Hunnam appeared only briefly. The rest of the cast is rounded out with Nicholas Hoult (interrogating an infant at gunpoint) Essie Davis and Thomasin McKenzie, but it's George MacKay who carries the entire film.

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MacKay was fantastic in the 2019 film 1917, but his performance here is on another level, he gives a wired, kinetic performance. It's MacKay who truly elevates an uneven film.

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The film hints at a homosexual relationship between Ned and one of the members of his gang, but it's never truly explored. The film is worth a watch for MacKay's performance alone, but there's a lot of wasted potential here.

CODA, which stands for Children of Deaf Adults, won Best Film at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and then sold to Apple TV for a record $25 million. It's a shame the film got scooped up by a streaming service because CODA had all the ingredients to be a crowd-pleasing film that would have the ability to bring audiences to the box office. Instead, it was lost in the vast ocean of streaming. Emilia Jones is stellar as Ruby, the lone person in her family who can hear.  Ruby has aspirations to be a singer, but she's torn between her dream to be a singer and handling the family business. On top of that, her passion for singing is something she can't even share with her family. Ruby struggles to balance the pressures of being a teenager, but also the burden of often times being a translator for her family and their business. CODA is one of the more heartwarming films of the year and a nice companion piece to one of my favorite films of 2020, Sound of Metal.

Dune is directed by my favorite director Denis Villeneuve.  Villeneuve succeeds in building a rich, foreign world that feels like it's not only real but has been around for thousands of years. I've heard of the book Dune, but I've never read it, yet I thought the film was surprisingly easy to follow despite all the lore and political intrigue.  I watched Dune twice in the theater, which is something I rarely do. The film is left wide open for subsequent installments and because of the somewhat abrupt ending, I can't put it any higher than this.  Hopefully, Villeneuve gets to see the franchise to its completion.  If he does, it might take its place among the very greats like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

2021 featured some pretty big animated films from Disney and Pixar, the two giants of animation. Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca and Encanto all received a lot of attention, but it's The Mitchells vs The Machines that tops them all for me. The film is just a ton of fun as we watch this normal family save the world from robots. Mitchells deals with a few themes, the main one being letting your children find who they are and eventually letting them blossom into their own person.  You can find this one on Netflix and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Licorice Pizza is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and is a film that has been getting Oscar buzz for over 3 years when it was originally titled "Untitled Paul Thomas Anderson Film". A normal director would be forced to populate his two leads with name-brand actors, but when you're as well respected as Anderson, you can do what you want. The male lead is played by Cooper Hoffman, son of the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman, making his screen debut. The female lead is Alana Haim, a singer also making her screen debut. Both young actors are fantastic. Hoffman plays Gary, a charismatic 15-year-old entrepreneur. Haim plays Alana, a 25-year-old slacker just floating along. It's clear there's a mutual attraction there and how much you enjoy the film will probably depend on how much you can look the other way on the age difference. Licorice Pizza also features a fantastic soundtrack.

Was there a better performance in 2020 than Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah? If there was, it might just be his counterpart played by LaKeith Stanfield.

Judas tells the true story of Bill O'Neal, who infiltrates the Black Panther Party for the FBI and gains the trust of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton.

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The film feels very much like a reverse Donnie Brasco as O'Neal continues to betray his people, as well as the cause, all for FBI bribes. The film explores themes of greed and betrayal.

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I didn't know much about the Black Panther movement and I was happy to learn how much good they were doing in their communities.

Pixar is obsessed with death. Between Coco, Onward and now Soul, they are constantly exploring themes of life and death. That's not even mentioning the opening scene of Up, which pretty much levels everyone who watches it five minutes into the film. It's subject matter that is sure to go way over the heads of the kids in the audience, but it's totally going to hit hard for the adults.

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In Soul, a New York jazz pianist finds himself trapped between Earth and the afterlife. Beyond the heavy themes of death, the film is about finding your passion in life.

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The other important aspect of Soul is the fact that the main character is an African American. I can honestly say I don't remember another animated film that centered around an African American. Kudos to Pixar for not only making the lead character a black man but infusing the film with black culture.

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We need more films like Soul.

The Little Things features an excellent cast, highlighted by the always dependable Denzel Washington. That being said, it's Jared Leto who gives the best performance of the film. Rami Malek is good here as well, but I couldn't help but think he was miscast.

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Unfortunately, the film doesn't live up to the cast. The mystery is half-baked and fell flat for me.

My favorite of Sundance. The World to Come is an achingly beautiful film. Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston have a chemistry that threatens to leap off the screen. These forbidden love films have almost become a sub-genre of their own. The World to Come is destined to be compared to a recent masterpiece that dealt with similar subject matter, Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Where the films differ is in their settings. The World to Come depicts the harsh lifestyle of living in the 1800s, but what it also shows is the utter isolation of frontier life. The film also does an excellent job of portraying the role of a woman during that time period. A wife was essentially an indentured servant as opposed to an equal partner. Casey Affleck and Christopher Abbott round out the cast.

This one is a black comedy that feels sort of like a Safdie Brothers film. It's directed by comedian Jerrod Carmichael, who makes his directorial debut and also stars in the film. For me, Christopher Abbott is the real standout here. I'm not sure why he hasn't become a household name yet.

I could see this one amassing a nice following. Eight For Silver is a gothic horror film with a different twist on a werewolf film. The first half of the film did a magnificent job of world-building and fleshing out the lore, but the second half lingers a little too much. I would have liked to see a bit more innovation when it came to the creatures and their attack on the humans. It was a little too basic: run, hide, shoot. Rinse and repeat.

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For fans of genre mashups, this one might be a real treat.

A fly-on-the-wall documentary that follows a trio of teenage girls as they navigate through their everyday life of boos and boys. When it comes to docs, I need to feel like I learned something after watching it. That doesn't happen in Cusp. Boys only want one thing - sex. That's not a news flash. What is really apparent to me is how the lack of a positive male role model in the family has such a negative impact on the lives of these young women. They end up finding that love in the arms of horny teen boys who only want one thing.

With Train to Busan and now #Alive, South Korea really seems to be cornering the market on zombie flicks. #Alive is the perfect film for a world being ravaged by a pandemic. The film revolves around a young man who is trapped in his apartment as a zombie apocalypse rages on outside.

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I thought the first half of the film did a nice job of showing the increasing boredom and monotony of being stuck in your house, something we all were able to identify with in the year 2020.

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The second half of the film becomes somewhat formulaic, but I still found it enjoyable.