RRR (RISE, ROAR, REVOLT)

If you've already seen writer-director S. S. Rajamouli's two-part mythic masterpiece Baahubali, you probably have some idea of what to expect from the filmmaker's take on two real-life revolutionaries in 1920's India. If you haven't, both movies are on Netflix and they absolutely shred.

RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt) is very much in the same vein, and is about as much delightfully maximalist bang for your buck as you could possibly want from an historical epic drama where everything starts at "11" and goes up from there.

TURNING RED - Larger Than Life

It happens to the best of us - you're getting good grades in school, home life seems chill, you and your friends' favorite boy band is coming to town - but then, shortly after your 13th birthday, you wake up to find you've turned into a giant panda.

Mondays, am I right?

The Yearly Countdown - Fantastic Films of 2021

2020 was an. . . interesting year (for just so many reasons), but one of the knock-on effects was the delay of so many big projects that were initially slated for release. As we found last year, there were still plenty of delectable cinematic offerings to be had - especially if you did a little digging - but there's an undeniable feeling of the floodgates having been opened this year.

Not only did I not get to everything I wanted to see, but even fitting all the films I loved into my very generous version of a "Top 10*" was even more difficult than usual. But I can think of worse problems.

(*pfft, yeah right)

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS - Buckle up, Dorothy

What's astounding (bordering on miraculous, really) about 1999's The Matrix is that it's at once a distinct work of a singular genre talent and a sublimely structured action film that combines lightning-in-a-bottle synchronicity of craft, subject, and thematic resonance with trailblazing visuals and iconic. . . almost everything really.

What's admirable about the sequels is how they refuse to let such an impossibly large shadow loom over their philosophical interests, their metatextual examinations of systems of control and self actualization, or their huge beating hearts. And as someone who's gone on a bit of a journey with regards to my feelings on this series overall, this is something I was dearly hoping would stay intact for Lana Wachowski's return to the titular computer program with The Matrix Resurrections.

Fortunately, this four-quel is defiantly romantic hope-punk sci-fi adventure that's 100% My Shit.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME - The Power of Responsibility

All this movie really "needed" to do was put the bat in front of the ball. If this had just been a "good enough" crossover of fun spider stuff from previous spider dude movies with the baseline competence of Tom Holland's always fantastic Peter and some fun set pieces stringing it together, it would been popped with audiences and made a ton of money.

But instead, they actually put in the work, and it really pays off.

WEST SIDE STORY - Life, Death and Love in America

Steven Spielberg has been saying he wants to make a musical since before I was born - and it's one thing to pick a "big" project for when that chance finally comes, but taking a swing at remaking arguably "the" great American musical? How do you tackle that?

Evidently, by joining the John Carpenter's The Thing Club of "remakes that are better than the original."

NO TIME TO DIE - All the Time in the World

Ever since Dr. No landed in 1962 and launched the film franchise, James Bond has been a perpetual motion machine. 007 will always walk into M's office and accept the next mission, blow some things up, save the day, and we're told "James Bond will return" to do it all over again in a couple years. The problem being that most Bond actors run out the clock and end on a a damp squib rather than going out on a high note

But with Not Time to Die, Daniel Craig has a chance to leave as big an impression with his final round as Ian Fleming's secret agent as he did with his first.