Top #Movie Discoveries from 2021 for NinetyForChill: Justice to Rabid

*This blog post was started on December 8, 2021.

Why is it that Blueberry Red Bull is the only flavored version that I can find anytime of the year? Why is it pomegranate for this years holidays? I have never seen pomegranate sauce at the feast. How would they sell that anyway? This "What's the deal with" bit is going to result in me Googling all of these questions, and I will just end up falling behind again.

Right now, I am in a state of restlessness, and with the "Ready or Not" podcast to record tonight Red Bull is a necessity. Will I miss my nephews birthday because of the lack of sleep? The kid is still in grade school, so I might just make it in time tomorrow. But if I do just that bit of rushing, will I have the energy to venture into Downtown Peoria? Is that going to be forbidden since I am driving my older sister up to C2E2? Dad may want to get out of the house, but irresponsibility should not lead to a chauffeur.

But he is a Duran Duran fan. Sing, Blue Silver.

With my busy schedule and sudden Tinder popularity, I guess we can blame the flirtations instead of my computer issues for my set backs. There has not been too much time to think outside of my podcast. Even with C2E2, my podcast setup must be ready. My big sister was not a fan of dragging the boom mic and other accessories while I parked the car when were at Wizard World.

It could be a great editing experience. Why not use my Zoom P4 and my laptop if I can talk someone into record?

As for the blogs, 2021 still needs to be wrapped up, and the podcast has made it so there are twice as many movies to cover. With that said, lets continue my work on this years best of list.

2021 Discoveries for NinetyForChill.com:
"Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" to "Rabid"

Honorable Mention: Pumpkinhead

I hate to remove Lance Henriksen from contention to advance to the best 20 from the breakdown thus far, but "Pumpkinhead" is more of a effects man trying to prove their worth. Henriksen makes that feature because no one else is worth remembering except him. It is a pretty straight forward mystical revenge narrative. The monster, Pumpkinhead, is effective is scaring us, but without traditional slasher victims, it is not really allowed to do much.

 

Winston's offers up an ideal ninety minute movie, but it is not the best feature I saw this year by any stretch of the imagination. It is easy to argue that it is better than "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" or "Laid to Rest", but they are far more outlandish and rewatchable, one for the comedy, the other for the ridiculous violence.

 

I guess it just comes down to ranking the final 10.

GKids - Nocturna

The Top 10 Discoveries of 2021 Ranked (Kaboom to Rabid)

1. Nocturna (2007) dir. Adria Garcia and Victor Maldonado
2. Lady Snowblood (1973) dir. Toshiya Fujita
3. Nighthawks (1981) dir. Bruce Malmuth (Gary Nelson: Uncredited)
4. Kaboom (2011) dir. Gregg Araki
5. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) dir. George Miller
   
6. London Town (2016) dir. Derrick Borte
7. Meatballs (1979) dir. Ivan Reitman
8. Rabid (2019) dir. Jen and Sylvia Soska
9. Laid to Rest (2009) dir. Robert Hall
10. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) dir. Stephen Chiodo 

The Top 10 Discoveries of 2021 Ranked (2001 [Maniacs] to Rabid)

10. Bit (2019) dir. Brad Michael Elmore (previously 8)

 

I thought about replacing it with "Kaboom", but I feel this is the better structured and coherent queer film.

 

9. Castle Freak (1995) dir. Stuart Gordon (previously 7)

 

8. Death Race 2000 (1975) dir. Paul Bartel (previously 6)

George Miller's "Mad Max 2" is a classic, but you know he is wanting to step up the grandeur. It is probably why he made this movie two more times since.

 

7. Hellraiser (1987) dir. Clive Barker (previously 5)

 

6. Nighthawks (1981) dir. Bruce Malmuth (Gary Nelson: Uncredited)

I am initially placing this at number 10 because it is definitely the best Sylvester Stallone feature that I have seen this year. Number 10 from the previous breakdown, "Thanksgiving and #Movies to Distract from the #Racism", was 1986's "Cobra". This was at the peak of his '80s excess and Stallone has acknowledged that his film did not come out the way he wanted it to.

 

5. Lady Snowblood (1973) dir. Toshiya Fujita

 

This feature is a perfect blue print to demonstrate how Quentin Tarantino films features once he was able to step away from his wise guys with guns features that put him on the map. It is quite appropriate that "Kill Bill" was when he really got to show off his talent as a director because it is essentially the same story, just without the over-the-top characters. These two features can duke it out when it comes to over-the-top violence.

 

As for the previous number nine, Bloodsucking Bastards, a comedy that could have been shot in a day by an expert, cannot compare.

Pinterest - @donaldkroth

  

4. Nocturna (2007) dir. Adria Garcia and Victor Maldonado

 

I could see this making it all the way up to number two right now, but the top three are very solid. "eXistenZ" is a lot of fun, but it nowhere near the top David Cronenberg features. "Dracula (Horror of Dracula)" set the standard of what a modern-take on classic monster flick should be. "John Dies at the End" is just joyous anarchy from start to finish.

More family movies should be as original and as whimsical as "Nocturna". The experimental style is a refreshing change of pace from the standard "relatable" presentation of American animation. It is a heavy feature, so in the end, it is not as much fun as everything ahead of it.

3. Dracula (a.k.a. Horror of Dracula) (1958) dir. Terence Fisher

 

2. John Dies at the End (2012) dir. Don Coscarelli

 

1. Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020) dir. Dean Parisot