16 Great Movies from 2021-2022

Six f**king bonkers movies

I grew up on Twilight Zone, embraced the avant-garde (Lynch, Buñuell, Cocteau) as a teenager so weird always works for me. The last few years yielded quite the crop of odd fruit and veg, all of which should be consumed with vigor.

At root Bigbug taps into the same kind of future skepticism that is usually the province of moody stories set in rain-soaked urban hellscapes. Not Bigbug, which literally bursts with color and brightness. The setting and comedic tone mask the very dark nature of the film. Bigbug doesn’t just scrutinize a tech world gone out of control, it shines a harsh light on the idiot humans on whom the technology springs from. And François Levantal, who plays the central android character, is just amazing.

Don’t Worry Darling may be better known for on-set controversies but director Olivia Wilde made an amazing film with an all-star cast. Florence Pugh navigates a complicated role in a world that is both party-central and foreboding nightmare all at the same time. Chris Pine makes an excellent villain – or is he? The story resolves in a very satisfying and wholly unpredictable end that makes the journey all the more worthwhile.

I don’t really know how to explain Everything Everywhere All At Once. I mean, it’s kinda in the title. Michelle Yeoh just owns this but is ably supported by an incredibly strong cast that makes this more of an ensemble piece than the trailer might suggest. All I can say is, no matter what you think this movie is about, I’m pretty sure you’ll find it to be something entirely different, and entirely excellent.

Jordan Peele is emerging as the horror-suspense master of his generation. Like Hitchcock or De Palma – without the baggage. Nope is full of surprises and, for the most part, more suspense than horror. Any like movie I can think to compare this with might give away too much, so I’ll leave it at simply “see this”.

Nicolas Cage has had quite the career – a fact the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent builds its entire story around. While there have been no lack of movies riffing off actual celebrities, Unbearable Weight does something none of the others do: a virtual turducken of self-referential stories that fold in on themselves like Inception had a bastard child with The Saragossa Manuscript. For this reason I’m putting this in this year’s Weird pile as it’s no simple comedy or action movie.

The fact that this movie even got made makes it a WTF moment. Funny Or Die did a trailer for a fake movie nearly a decade ago and now it’s real. With Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al. Who dates Madonna. And … more bonkers s**t. Weird isn’t a biopic but it is sorta based on some real things that happened, probably. The end result is as unpredictable as it is funny.

Just four good stories

I love the weird, but good stories still count.

Wes Anderson is more quirky than weird in my book. He crafts lovely little vignettes from nuanced performances and static camera shots. The French Dispatch won’t disappoint anyone who is a fan of Anderson (or any of the marvelous cast) although newcomers might be better starting off with The Royal Tenenbaums. The Dispatch has a touch more melancholy than Anderson’s other films, although it’s been his trajectory of late. Even so, Dispatch has a warm structure and just the slightest touch of mystery. It’s a fine addition to his oeuvre.

First off, wow, Daniel Craig is awesome. Having completely shed the trappings of James Bond, Craig’s Benoit is just a wonderful character deeply rooted in the murder-mystery tropes of years passed. But Glass Onion is no monument to nostalgia. The central characters represent the worst the modern world has to offer, with Edward Noton’s obnoxious crunchy tech billionaire stealing every scene he’s in. While I liked the first Knives Out the second installment is a much better, much more thrilling ride.

Licorice Pizza throws back to the days of small cinema, when auteurs scraped together a few bucks, a barely working camera, and a great story. Of course, with Paul Thomas Anderson at the helm, it’s no obscure indie production. Even so it still has that feel, in part due to some Oscar-worthy performances, and in part due to how it was shot. Having lived in LA as a kid I was swept up in the minutiae of life at the time this story was set. Anderson’s meticulous attention to detail is what really sets this apart, and makes it feel so authentic.

See How They Run is just a fun, familiar romp in the world of whodunnits. And who doesn’t like a whodunnit?

Two great documentaries

Movies are great vehicles for documentaries; not all real life stories benefit from a 12-episode run in HBO.

Even though Tina and I were all grown up by the time this documentary was set, and despite following a number of these bands at the time, the close connection between the Strokes, Rapture, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, and many others. NYC in the nineties produced some amazing bands and this documentary (based on the book of the same name) collects a stupefying amount of footage of those early days. We see Karen O at an open mic night, the Strokes playing at what looks to be a slightly large shoebox, and street scenes from a world now paved over in the lower east side’s slide into utter gentrification. As a time capsule Meet Me In The Bathroom can be forgiven for lacking a distinct story. It’s worth a watch just to see the world so many favorite bands came from.

My Old School might qualify for the bonkers list but, despite a very strange production trick, the story is comprehensible (if not entirely straightforward). The subject of the documentary did cooperate, to a point, but wouldn’t appear on camera so Alan Cumming lip syncs to the subjects actual recorded interviews. The result, alongside some very charming supporting subjects, is unpredictable and wild and mind blowing.

How about a couple of family friendly films?

Sometimes it’s fun to retreat to the comfort of childhood – and, perhaps, bring your own kids along for the ride.

Who would have thunk that we’d need a Bob’s Burgers movie? I mean, the popular Fox cartoon has been on for thirteen seasons. Well, it turns out we did need this movie. Sure, the story might have worked over an episode or two, but the feature length show allowed the writers to take a little more time to tease out the jokes. Plus the show’s talent just can’t be bound by a mere half-hour episode. The 102-minute run time feels almost too short by the end.

Minions are never not funny. I will fight you.

Capes and Fists

Superheroes have dominated cinema for over a decade, and Marvel dominates the genre. While it’d be easy to ignore them at this point, you’d be missing some really fun rides.

Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Doctor Strange who is (maybe) the new center of the MCU. While Multiverse of Madness has its flaws, it has some equally spectacular bits. Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez is a delight in every scene. Elizabeth Olsen’s return as Wanda Maximoff follows on her tremendous arc from Wandavision. And the whole picture delivers on the bonkers-adjacent nature of Doctor Strange, in ways both wondrous and macabre.

Taika Waititi comes back to helm the follow-up to the single greatest superhero movie of all-time. Did Love & Thunder live up to Ragnarok? How could it? But we get Fat Thor. We get the return of Jane Foster and the accompanying old-girlfriend awkwardness. We get some pretty funny work with the Guardians, and other MCU characters. Hemsworth’s Thor is always fun to watch and Love & Thunder almost lives up to it’s predecessor. In this case, close is good enough.