A list of movies watched in 2021.
JANUARY
Cinderella (2015)
A surprisingly earnest live-action version of the classic 1951 Disney movie starring Lily James.
A surprisingly earnest live-action version of the classic 1951 Disney movie starring Lily James.
BASEketball (1998)
Two stoner slackers accidentally invent a new professional sport in this well-crafted (though somewhat foul) parody of sports movies.
The Queen of Katwe (2016)
An oddly inspirational tale of an African girl who becomes a chess champion.
Zootopia (2016)
The concept of the worldbuilding in this movie was interesting, but it was just okay as a film.
The Thirteenth Year (1999)
This is an unusual film even for early Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs), with the characters extremely static throughout the script, though Dave Coulier (Full House) tries hard as the father. Very gay vibes throughout as a middle-schooler learns his birth mother was a mermaid.
Total watched this month: at least 5, probably more.
FEBRUARY
Kick-Ass (2010)
A parody of superheroics and fandom, starring future super-project-related actors in Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Age of Ultron), Evan Peters (X-Men) and Lyndsy Fonseca (Agent Carter). Very foul content-wise, but a well-made movie.
A parody of superheroics and fandom, starring future super-project-related actors in Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Age of Ultron), Evan Peters (X-Men) and Lyndsy Fonseca (Agent Carter). Very foul content-wise, but a well-made movie.
Best in Show (2000)
A mockumentary parody of the conformation world, this movie actually inspired the real-life National Dog Show. Watched on PBS as an OETA Movie Club Pick of the Week.
X-Men (2000)
The movie that kickstarted the superhero resurgence in theaters, introducing the world to Hugh Jackman along the way.
X2: X-Men United (2003)
A bit longer and more dull than the first, this was still decent, though the experimentation with the stories the format could tell was still being workshopped.
The Princess Bride (1987)
A classic tale of true love and high adventure, watched as part of the Weird Christian Twitter Movie Night.
Holes (2002)
A fairly good adaptation of Louis Sachar's middle-grade novel of the same name. WCT Movie Night pick.
Total watched this month: 6, making 11 for the year.
MARCH
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Christopher Lloyd star in this very strange Disney youth sports classic of the 1990s, and Matthew McConaughey has a minor role as an outfielder.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Bisecting the X-Men timeline as Wolverine skips from a dystopian 2023 to prevent a murder in 1973, splitting the series' timeline in half. One of the better non-MCU movies in the superhero genre, based on the classic 1983 comics storyline.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
A sad drama about an elitist Vermont boarding school in the late 1950s starring Robin Williams as an offbeat English teacher. A WCT Movie Night watch.
Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
This is the story of an LA middle schooler from the ghetto who earns a spot at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, with Laurence Fishburne as her coach. Found one day while flipping TV channels.
The Wolverine (2013)
Logan goes on a standalone adventure in Japan to say goodbye to a WWII colleague. A little paint-by-numbers adaptation of an average graphic novel, but a solid movie.
Definitely, Maybe (2008)
Ryan Reynolds and Abigail Breslin star as a father-daughter pair in this offbeat, pleasantly melancholy romcom with a hint of mystery.
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
Steve Carell and Keira Knightley are neighbors who find friendship and possibly love in the last weeks before Earth is annihilated by an incoming asteroid. Like About Time, it's a thoughtful drama with splashes of humor.
You Lucky Dog (1998)
Kirk Cameron is a canine psychiatrist who channels dogs' spirits and inherits control of a fortune. This second-ever DCOM is just as awful as it sounds.
Total watched this month: 8, bringing total for the year to 19.
APRIL
Porcupine Lake (2017)
This Canadian indie movie set in a rural Ontario tourist trap about an autistic girl and her trailer trash lesbian best friend was interestingly thoughtful and puzzling.
Halloweentown (1998)
One of the earliest DCOMs takes a ridiculous premise and Wishbone vibes into a Harry Potter knockoff that was one of their big successes. It's very dumb.
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
This follow-up was slighter better at depicting an alternate realm where witches, warlocks, goblins, etc, exist, but still too stupid to take seriously.
Halloweentown High (2004)
The second DCOM franchise to become a trilogy, this one actually had moments of being decent, as the creatures pose as foreign exchange students in the Disney Channel debuts of future High School Musical cast members Lucas Grabeel (Ryan) and Olesya Rulin (Kelsi).
Deadpool (2016)
A very well-crafted (though crass) parody of superhero movies starring Ryan Reynolds and Firefly's Morena Baccarin.
Total watched this month: 5, bringing total to 24
MAY
Return to Halloweentown (2006)
Marnie's actress is replaced in this final film, as she and Dylan go to college at Witch U in Halloweentown.
Descendants (2015)
The children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil (Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos) learn to become heroes at Auradon Prep as exchange students in this musical, a knockoff of Once Upon a Time. It's decent for a DCOM.
Descendants 2 (2017)
Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay return to the Villains Isle to rescue a kidnapped Ben.
Descendants 3 (2019)
The lines of good and evil get rather confusing in this third installment of the franchise.
101 Dalmatians (1962)
The Disney classic based on Dodie Smith's novel, which it greatly simplifies much to its detriment. On the other hand, figuring out a way to save on printing costs possibly saved Disney as a studio, which is probably a good thing.
BRAT Patrol (1986)
A bizarre Sean Astin TV movie about tweens roaming unsupervised around an Air Force base.
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
I wanted to like but hated this quirky movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel and Chloe Grace Moretz (and directed by Marc Webb of the Amazing Spider-Man movies), but it left you with a lot of thoughts afterwards. Watched as a WCT Movie Night pick on my birthday.
Total watched this month: 7, bringing total to 31.
JUNE
Blast from the Past (1999)
Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone (with Dave Foley of A Bug's Life, Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek) star in this very sweet movie about a man raised in a Cold War fallout shelter encountering late-90's Los Angeles.
Knives Out (2020)
An Agatha Christie-style murder mystery starring Daniel Craig as a Southern detective, with Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans and Katherine Langford as some of the suspects. Watched as a WCT Movie Night pick.
Fired Up (2009)
Two football players ironically go to cheer camp to pick up girls, only to realize they become less selfish and more considerate people as they discover they actually enjoy this challenge.
Total watched this month: 3, bringing total to 34.
JULY
H-E-Double Hockey Sticks (1999)
Matthew Lawrence is a young hockey star and Will Friedle is the demon trying to capture his soul in this bizarrely ambitious TV movie based on an opera that also features a young Gabrielle Union.
Coyote Ugly (2000)
Piper Perabo is an aspiring songwriter who gets a job at a country-themed bar in New York City. No idea who the intended audience for this movie was.
Black Widow (2021)
The first movie of the MCU's Phase 4, this is a super-intense action movie set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Brendan Fraser is a stuntman/spy working with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in this movie that works better than it probably should.
Rewatch of Blast From the Past
WCT Movie Night pick.
MVP: Most Valuable Primate (2000)
From most of the same people behind Air Bud, a chimpanzee learns how to play hockey after being accidentally dropped off in Nelson, British Columbia. Stars Kevin Zegers.
The Circle (2017)
Emma Watson and Tom Hanks star in this overly-sanitized version of Dave Eggers' 2013 novel about a supertech company - the book was far more uncomfortable to read, but better story-wise.
I, Robot (2004)
Will Smith stars in this bland action movie that was very loosely based on an Isaac Asimov short story collection.
Total watched this month: 8, bringing total to 42.
AUGUST
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
George Clooney stars in this loose adaptation of the Odyssey set in Great Depression Mississippi. This is a very strange movie watched for a WCT Movie Night.
Whip It (2009)
Ellen Page (at the time) stars in this Drew Barrymore-directed roller derby movie set in central Texas, which features Andrew Wilson (Owen and Luke's brother) as the coach and Jimmy Fallon as the announcer. Adapted from a YA novel, this was a thoughtful, nuanced movie that proved enjoyable.
Goon (2011)
An extremely foul, but well-made, Canadian sports comedy about a kind-hearted Jewish guy who becomes an enforcer in minor league hockey.
Dog Days (2018)
A very tangled plot-wise romcom starring Vanessa Hudgens, Finn Wolfhard and a bunch of famous faces in this very light, rather stupid and overall perfect film about dog lovers.
Total watched this month: 4, bringing total to 46.
SEPTEMBER
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are a pair of sleazy best friends who weasel their way into weddings to hook up with girls, only to accidentally fall for real for sisters Isla Fisher and Rachel McAdams, members of a very wealthy and strange family. This romcom doesn't quite have all its pieces together, but it tries.
Ping Pong Summer (2014)
This curiously inert slice-of-life movie follows a young teenager in the early 1980s on summer vacation as he tries to defeat his nemesis at table tennis. Also stars John Hannah, Lea Thompson and Susan Sarandon.
The Program (1993)
Follows a corrupt college football team through the 1993 season. Halle Berry as a tutor was a highlight.
Superhero Movie (2008)
This crass and pathetic excuse for a satire is...really awful.
Balls of Fury (2007)
George Lopez is an FBI agent who has to partner with a washed-up table tennis prodigy in order to arrest an evildoer played by Christopher Walken in drag. Somehow it kind of works, and is far less foul that than scenario could be.
Ping Pong Playa (2007)
A Los Angeles college-aged slacker begins teaching his mom's table tennis class - this movie knows it's ridiculous and stupid, but the commitment to treating the story honestly and the grounded setting make it work really well.
The Courier (2021)
A Benedict Cumberbatch historical drama about a British spy who helped stop the Cuban Missile Crisis. By definition, rather dull, but an interesting look at an overlooked particle of history.
Total watched this month: 7, bringing total to 53.
OCTOBER
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
A terrifically-creepy Cold War thriller starring Frank Sinatra and a pre-Murder She Wrote Angela Lansbury.
Hocus Pocus (1992)
The cult classic Halloween movie, starring Sarah Jessica Parker - VERY stupid. Watched for a WCT Movie Night.
Spooky Buddies (2011)
The fifth of the seven-film Air Buddies series, reviewed for Dog O'Day.
Total watched this month: 3, bringing total to 56.
NOVEMBER
13 Going On 30 (2004)
Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo star in this amazing romcom. A WCT Movie Night pick.
Jumper (2008)
Hayden Christensen and Samuel L Jackson star in this strange sci-fi movie I found while flipping TV channels one night.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Dr Strange meets karate in this very odd, but compelling, Phase 4 MCU movie, the franchise's first solely-back-at-theaters film.
The Lucky Ones (2008)
A bizarre but compelling road trip movie about three Army soldiers on leave, starring Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena.
Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)
Hayden Panetterie of Heroes stars in this goofy third entry in the cheer series.
Total watched this month: 5, bringing total to 61.
DECEMBER
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
This Sandra Bullock/Bill Pullman romcom is close to a perfect movie. Bethany had never seen it, so we were showing her.
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009)
The fifth entry in the franchise is very less-than-great, though it does make an effort to reach out to the Latinx population of Southern California.
Elf (2004)
The Will Ferrell Christmas classic that also stars Zooey Deschenal, Ed Asner and Jon Favreau.
Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack (2017)
Yikes. This sixth entry was, even for this series, very bad. The smartphone age does make for interesting story possibilities, though.
Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007)
This fourth movie is basically a commercial for Universal Studios resort, but decent.
Bring It On Again (2004)
This stars Felicia Day from Dr. Horrible in a fairly large role, and felt like a really earnest home video in terms of quality.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
A superhero movie roughly 20 years and 30 films in the making, this was an incredible way to go back to the movie theater for the first time in two years.
It's a Wonderful Life (1947)
The Jimmy Stewart/Donna Reed Christmas classic.
Rewatch of Shang-Chi
Sleepover (2004)
This teen movie about a scavenger hunt is notable only for the stacked cast - Alexa Vega, Brie Larson, Evan Peters, Jane Lynch and Summer Glau are all included.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
The classic that is often thought of as the beginning of the Disney Renessaince.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
The other main pillar of the Renessaince canon.
Aladdin (1992)
On the plus side, this movie gave us the song "A Whole New World.' On the negative side, everything about this movie is bad.
The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
A paper-thin and painfully dull muddle mess of an adventure.
The Lion King (1994)
This isn't as good as everyone says it is, but isn't terrible, either. Courtney hadn't ever seen it, so we were showing her.
Total watched this month: 14, bringing total for year to 75.
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