February '21 Films / TV Shows

Picks of the Month

Every Little Thing (2021, HBO): Crime thriller with impressive list of Oscar winners (not just nominated) set in 1990's Los Angeles that follows two detectives (Denzel Washington & Rami Malik) who investigate a string of murders involving mainly young females with their primary culprit played by Jared Leto. If you're looking for a story with a major twist or shocker, this is not the one, though I was expecting this. The main thing for me was just first just seeing the power of this super star studded cast all on the screen. It's noticeable that Denzel has aged, but he nicely plays the underdog, so to speak, relying on old school sleuthing to help solve the crime in contrast to the more modern detective in Rami Malek. Two generations joining forces and adds to the list of Denzel Washington pairings with usually a younger White protege' (Ryan Reynolds, Ethan Hawke, Clive Owens, etc.). Jared Leto shines as the elusive suspect who plays the isolated, creepy characters to a T. One of the key themes that resonated with me about this film that deviates from the traditional crime mystery tropes is the illusions that Denzel Washington's character imagines throughout as he is haunted by all of his murdered victim, not in a horror flick type of a way, but showing that the scars are forever etched, which then becomes the major life lesson that he ultimately imparts to his colleague Rami's character who is the fresh, green detective who has a young family to care for. The film is not so much about the whodunnit question, but more about the personal and emotional tolls that affects the detective lifestyle. 👍

The Undoing (2021, HBO, 1S/6E): This mini-TV series starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant is a thriller that focuses on how a wealthy family's life is turned upside down due to their involvement in a murder case. Although most films focus on the murder victim's family, this one uniquely focuses on the suspect's perspectives, and follows along a trend of recent films like Defending Jacob. The main draw is the strong acting from top to bottom including Donald Sutherland who provides a strong performance, though I would say that Nicole Kidman is the front and center star who carries the Herculean load of this movie. The film has a strong whodunnit theme that carries on to the very end which is a major strength considering that you don't really know the full story until the very end. Artistically shot and the director has a vision of creatively designing an abstract view of murder that is very interesting, though be forewarned that it is still brutal and massively gory. Another reason why the film is compelling is the paradoxical sense of empathy for this family despite their major wealth and social status, which runs counter towards our sensibilities, but manages to do so in an effective way. 👍

Honorable Mentions

Nomadland (2021, Hulu)👋: Although this is probably the 2021 Oscar frontrunner, I didn't resonate with this movie as much as I wanted to. Huge fan of Frances Mcdormand (especially with her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri) but the story itself wasn't compelling for me to really sink my teeth into, though obviously I was aware that this film wasn't designed to focus on any major plot points, but more of an awareness about Mcdormand's character who is on a "journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad." The film is beautifully shot and also nice features one of my favorite non-A list celebrity: David Strathairn.

Bridgerton (2020, Netflix) 👍: Ahh how can I not put this as my pick of the month when obviously this was the runaway quarantine TV series of the year so far, with every pop culture reference based on this show? Chick flicks aren't my usual cup of tea, but when you've got the Shonda magic (Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder)

Other Honorable Mentions: 

• His Dark Material (2019, HBO, 2 Seasons) 👍: A Harry Potteresque show. Storyline follows through the events of the Golden Compass, but provides a nice expansion. Impressively shot and visually stunning given that there are many non-human CGI characters throughout that show true realism with very minuscule flaws. Hoping for another season, though the show's world is so massively epic that I would say that it's on par with a GoT type undertaking. 
• Wandavision (2020, Disney, 1 Season) 👍: MCU Spin off that initially didn't resonate with me in the beginning, but has slowly picked up steam as the storyline has become more compelling due to its strong connection with the MCU Universe. I'm not completely drawn to the acting performance, though they are all historically talented (Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bethany), it might be more due to the cookie cutter aspect of the Disney environment where the the acting can't get too past pushing the envelope. But obviously the series is still going on so my opinions might change. The main thing that's unique here is that the TV series really breaks the 4th wall down in an extreme way, which is a good reason to stay hooked.  
• Palmer (2021, Apple TV) 👍:  A feel good movie starring Justin Timberlake focused on the importance of inclusion particularly from the perspective of two radically different personal life experiences who find common bonding: ex-incarcerated man (Timberlake) paired with a transgender young boy that takes place in a historically non-inclusive environment in the far South.