HLS Movie Awards Top 116 Movies of 2021 Part 4! 70-51
Welcome back to HLS Entertainment! Today we are going to discuss Part 4 of the top 116 movies of 2021, this time 70-51. Part one we discussed many popular well-known movies that flopped quality wise (and box office in some cases), part two contained films that were so close to being good but just were not quite there but were still enjoyable, part three was more of the same but had less obvious misgivings, here in part four we have a few that fit that mold, but this is where the list turns into just really good movies. I will highly recommend all but one of these films, but we will discuss that when we get there. We might have loved movies you hated, or hated ones you loved, let us know in the comments or on Twitter @HLSEntrtainment or my personal Twitter @HaroldLStokes.
Now like always with every movie I am going to be putting what I personally think is the safest grading scale out there, the IMDB user rating score. Here is a simple breakdown of what their 0.0-10 grading scale means:
Now this is not a gold standard but is a good starting point, on to the movies. On to the movies!
70. Respect
IMDb Score: 6.6
Jennifer Hudson did not deserve this bad script. This should have been an incredible movie, but it just missed the mark with poor writing and bad editing. This movie feels like episodes of a good tv show that were poorly edited together to be a single movie. Worth watching for the great performances and music alone.
69. Concrete Cowboy (Netflix)
IMDb Score: 6.3
A problem child (Caleb McLaughlin) is sent to live with his estranged father in Philly who is a part of a culture of "Concrete Cowboy"s who hold onto traditions of the past. This humbling story takes a familiar trope and puts it through a very unique story lens.
68. The Guilty (Netflix)
IMDb Score: 6.3
This American remake is solely a Jake Gyllenhaal acting showcase. Gyllenhaal is the only person on screen for about 95% of the film, very similar to 7500 (2019). If you love Gyllenhaal, you will enjoy this movie, if you do not... maybe pass this one.
67. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (HBOMax)
IMDb Score: 6.3
I am personally a huge fan of this series, but this was the first of the mainline series that just brought no wow factor. Vera Farminga and Patrick Wilson are their normal great selves in this but nothing jaw dropping. If you enjoy the series you will be happy but not excited.
66. Land
IMDb Score: 6.7
Robin Wright's directing her first film and did just an incredible job. Stories and films like this (and #77 Ride the Eagle) were obviously greenlit and made because they were good scripts that required as few people on set as possible and might be one of the few positives, we have gotten from covid. This movie has a very simple set up, Edee (Robin Wright) is a bereaved woman looking for a new life living by herself in a cabin in Wyoming.
65. Jungle Cruise (Disney+)
IMDb Score: 6.6
Indiana Jones and the Mummy mixed together, set in the Amazon, with the humor dialed up, all the way down to the random Nazis. That is this movie, simple as that. I ADORE those movies, so this movie was right up my alley. While not perfect by any means, but if you want to watch a fun adventure movie that will make you laugh, you could do significantly worse than this movie.
64. Four Good Days (Hulu)
IMDb Score: 6.6
This movie was not on my radar at all until I saw the shortlists of award season movies and Reba has an original song in this movie so I just happen to throw it on. I thought this movie was very good, probably Mila Kunis best acting performance. But I just kept wishing Glenn Close had more to do in this movie.
63. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
IMDb Score: 6.3
This might be the most ridiculous movie of all time, and they know it. It is so weird how there is such a fine line between doing dumb things in a movie on purpose or being unaware, this film is so aware I am shocked they do not constantly break the fourth wall. Kristen Wiig continues to be a delight, and now I want more Annie Mumolo.
62. The Eyes of Tammy Faye
IMDb Score: 6.7
I get that this movie is based off a documentary and is supposed to be only from Tammy's (Jessica Chastain) point of view but man it was just a few scenes from Jim Bakker's (Andrew Garfield) side of things away from turning this into a top tier movie. We have a singular look behind the curtain as Tammy over sees some things, but it needed so much more.
61. The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Amazon)
IMDb Score: 6.8
I really wish more people watched this movie. I feel like the trailer came and went and people assumed it was just a Palm Springs rip off, meanwhile it is the Antz to its A Bug's Life, and we can love both movies. This movie has so much coming of age movie fun I love it.
60. Vacation Friends (Hulu)
IMDb Score: 6.3
Peacemaker just ended and if you want more awesome comedic John Cena look no further. John Cena is the new Arnold Schwarzenegger but more focused on heart and comedy instead of being pure raw action star. Very funny movie, one of my favorite comedies of the year as it follows an engaged couple who go away together right before their wedding and run into a wild crazy couple who become their vacation best friends.
59. I Care a Lot (Netflix)
IMDb Score: 6.3
I feel like this movie is so very well done but there is no reason to like a single person in this movie. Not in a way where you root for them all to fail or die but just in a way where you are left not caring about the outcome, but still enjoy the ride. I believe that is the difference between a good and great film. I will watch anything with Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage in it.
58. Blue Bayou (Netflix)
IMDb Score: 7.1
This is a very emotional story about a man just trying to work and take care of his family, but due to failures not his own he is up for deportation. He was adopted as a child and brought to Louisiana, but his adoptive parents failed to file the correct paperwork that would have made him a citizen of the United States. This movie is based on the very real ongoing issue of people who were adopted and raised here but are now facing deportation to a country they might not have ever been to.
57. Titane
IMDb Score: 6.6
This movie is extremely well made and acted. It will also scar you watching it, and not in a "fun" way that Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019) did. If the point of art and film is to make you feel something then this movie has accomplished that tenfold, but at points feels closer to a snuff film than an actual movie you would want to watch.
56. The Lost Daughter (Netflix)
IMDb Score: 6.7
I had no idea who was in this cast aside from Olivia Colman going into it so when Dakota Johnson shows up I was shocked, but then Jessie Buckley showed up and I was thrilled I think she is one of the best actresses working. Reading the synopsis of this movie after watching the movie I was very confused as to why the mafia was in the synopsis, had no idea they were supposed to be in the movie.
55. West Side Story
IMDb Score: 7.8
I do not know what the fact of this being a movie instead of a play brought to the story at all. I thought it was incredibly well done, but I don't know what is to gain from watching the racist white gang snapping and dancing through the streets again for the millionth time.
54. Don't Look Up (Netflix)
IMDb Score: 7.2
This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year based solely off Leonardo DiCaprio being in an Adam McKay movie. I thought this movie was fine, I wish they went full tilt serious or full tilt comedy, to me they failed to walk that thin line. Still a very well-made movie filled with incredible actors, the mix of DiCaprio's acting and Nicholas Britell's score did SUCH a great job showing the growing tension and anxiety, but this movie strayed away from the main story too much for me.
53. Passing (Netflix)
IMDb Score: 6.7
Tessa Thompson is always worth the price of admission, and all I had to do was turn on Netflix? Easy decision to watch this sometimes-brutal look into 1920's Harlem, showcasing two women and the decisions they have made about how to live their lives.
52. House of Gucci
IMDb Score: 6.7
This movie should have had a chance to be a top tier film this year but there was just so much working against it. Listen all of these actors are incredible but they all dramatically sound like they are from opposite corners of the globe while they are supposed to be family members. Easy thing to get over so if you do you will still enjoy this movie, but it is a little too long and gets hung up on too many business details instead of focusing on the family.
51. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (Prime)
IMDb Score: 6.9
Love quirky Benedict Cumberbatch? This movie is full of it. Based on the real story about the incredible artist Louis Wain and his life, love and the losses he sustains along the way. This is not a movie that is going to just wow you, but with the very creative visuals and excellent acting this movie is worth the watch!
Thank you so much for reading! Please be sure to follow me on Twitter @HaroldLStokes and let me know what you think about the ranking!
