The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an epic fantasy movie drama series directed by Peter Jackson, based on the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novels viz. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and Return of the King. The trilogy was released from 2001 – 2003 and was critically acclaimed and a smash hit at the box office (almost $3 billion), with the final movie sweeping the Academy Awards in 2004.
With the prequel series, The Rings of Power being – like most modern-day adaptations – highly divisive, it is probably instructional to analyse the reasons why The Lord of the Rings trilogy works in a way that seems to have eluded the folks behind The Rings of Power series. Thus, although almost everybody in the civilised world has probably seen these films, a spoiler warning is still necessary.
Nope is an American scifi horror film drama, written and directed by Jordan Peele. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, and Brandon Perea. The film has been generally well-received and has grossed over $148 million worldwide with a production cost of about $68 million.
Top Gun: Maverick will no doubt be the highest grossing movie of 2022, with $1.38 billion worldwide box office earnings (without a China release, no less) thus far. Now, this phenomenal success caught everybody in the movie industry by surprise. After all, while Top Gun: Maverick is a sequel to a popular movie, that was 36 years ago! Would the sequel be able to resonate with modern day audiences? We all know the answer to that now but the questions remains – why did Top Gun: Marverick work?
The Black Phone is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson and written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, who both produced with Jason Blum. It is an adaptation of the 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill.
Thor: Love and Thunder is the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Its recent opening box office gross of US$132 million is the best so far for the Thor MCU film series and third biggest in 2022. Check out our non-spoiler review here. What follows is our critical analysis of the movie, with spoilers.
Crimes of the Future is a 2022 science-fiction horror drama written and directed by legendary Canadian film maker David Cronenberg. Though it shares a title with Cronenberg’s second movie of the same name (released in 1970), this film is totally unrelated to the earlier movie.
The Northman is a 2022 American epic historical film directed by Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón. The movie is based on the legend of Amleth, written by 12th century Danish author Saxo cognomine Longus. The movie stars Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe.
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.
