Everything Everywhere All at Once is a 2022 American absurdist comedy-drama film written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as “Daniels”). The film has grossed over $57 million worldwide, becoming A24’s highest-grossing film domestically. The film was acclaimed by critics, who lauded its imagination, direction, the performances of the cast, and its handling of themes such as existentialism, nihilism, and Asian American identity.
The Secrets of Dumbledore is a 2022 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by J. K. Rowling and Steve Kloves. It is the sequel to The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), the third instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and the eleventh overall in the Wizarding World franchise.
The Outfit is a 2022 American crime drama film directed by Graham Moore in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Moore and Johnathan McClain. The movie stars Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn, Dylan O’Brien, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Simon Russell Beale.
Moonfall is a 2022 science fiction disaster film co-written, directed, and produced by Roland Emmerich. Starring Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, and Donald Sutherland, the movie follows two former astronauts alongside a conspiracy theorist who discover the hidden truth about Earth’s moon when it leaves its orbit and set to collide with the Earth.
Death on the Nile is a 2022 mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Michael Green, based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. The novel had been previously adapted as a film in 1978 and is a sequel to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, also starring Branagh as the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.
Deep Water is a 2022 erotic psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne, from a screenplay by Zach Helm and Sam Levinson, based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith. Lyne, of course, is best known for erotic film thrillers like Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal, 9½ Weeks and is his first film in 20 years.
After Yang is a 2021 American science fiction drama film written, directed, and edited by Kogonada. It stars Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, and Haley Lu Richardson. The plot follows a family’s mission to repair their unresponsive robotic child. The film is an elegiac rumination on mortality and what it means to be human.
Licorice Pizza is a 2021 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in their film debuts, alongside an ensemble cast including Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, and Benny Safdie. The movie has generally been well-received, having been nominated in the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
The King’s Man is a 2021 spy action comedy film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the Kingsman film series, which is based on the comic book The Secret Service (later retitled to Kingsman) by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, it is a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).
Drive My Car is a 2021 Japanese drama film co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. It is primarily based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name from his 2014 short story collection Men Without Women while taking inspiration from other stories in it. Besides Drive My Car, Hamaguchi directed the anthology Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, also released in 2021.
Nightmare Alley is a 2021 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by del Toro and Kim Morgan, based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, being the second feature film adaptation of Gresham’s novel, following the 1947 version. (Wikipedia)
House of Gucci is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott, based on the 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden. The story revolves around the shocking true story of the Gucci family feud that costs them the control of their prestigious fashion business.
Belfast is a 2021 British coming of age comedy-drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. The semi-autobiographical film, which Branagh has described as his “most personal film”, centres on a young boy’s childhood amidst the tumult of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the 1960s. The film stars Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, and newcomer Jude Hill.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan. The movie is a sequel to Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, which were both released in the 1980s. The movie is the latest in the fan-service nostalgia driven franchise soft reboot trend that Hollywood has been lazily indulging in of late.
The Best Films of 2021 is based on the films that we have reviewed on Power of Pop in 2021. Most of these films were watched online, as visits to the cinema were hampered by the damned pandemic. Truth be told, overall, TV series were stronger than films in storytelling and characterisations and we will get to that particular list in a later post.
Don’t Look Up is a 2021 American satirical science fiction black comedy film written, produced, and directed by Adam McKay. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two low-level astronomers attempting to warn mankind, via a media tour, about an approaching comet that will destroy Earth.
The Last Duel is a 2021 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager. The film is a period drama set in 14th century France.
Brian Wilson Long Promised Road is a 2021 documentary film about the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson that was directed by Brent Wilson (no relation). It follows Brian and Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine as they drive around Los Angeles and visit locations from Brian’s past.
Last Night in Soho is a 2021 British psychological horror film directed and co-written by Edgar Wright. Set in modern day London, the film moves between this contemporary setting and the 1960s in a fantastical premise, that is good fun overall but stretches the bounds of the suspension of disbelief somewhat.
Eternals is a 2021 American superhero film drama based on the Marvel Comics of the same name. Created by the legendary Jack Kirby in the 1970s, Eternals’ premise was inspired by the Chariots of the Gods? novel which involves the hypothesis that the technologies and religions of many ancient civilizations were given to them by ancient astronauts who were welcomed as gods.
The Velvet Underground is a 2021 documentary film directed and produced by Todd Haynes that follows the band The Velvet Underground. The documentary film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 7, 2021 and was released on October 15, 2021, by Apple TV+, to critical acclaim.
The Night House is an American supernatural horror drama film directed by David Bruckner, based on an original screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. The story concerns a widow who discovers a dark secret about the house her late husband built, which then leads her to a psychological battle which may cost her, her very life.
Don’t Let Go is a 2019 American science fiction horror thriller film written and directed by Jacob Aaron Estes. The film is a cross between a supernatural time travel story and a crime procedural and involves a premise that is essentially borrowed from Frequency (2000). This basic premise has been taken aboard as a staple of many South Korean movies and TV series as well (for e.g. The Phone), for some reason.
The Many Saints of Newark is an American crime drama film directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner. The film is a prequel of The Sopranos, the popular HBO series created by Chase with numerous younger versions of favourite characters appearing.
The Guilty is a 2021 American crime thriller film directed and produced by Antoine Fuqua, from a screenplay by Nic Pizzolatto. A remake of the 2018 Danish film of the same name, the film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Christina Vidal, with the voices of Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Eli Goree, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Paul Dano, and Peter Sarsgaard.
