last one was Don't Look Up, which I thought was a solid satire and funnier than people give it credit for, but then again I was working at a movie theater when Wag the Dog came out and people got so mad at me for recommending that movie. 2022 has been a comfort pick with The Replacements. But per the newsletter- 2nd season of The Great is tiiiiiight.
Last movie of 2021- "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 70mm at 10pm EST on NYE. Not my first time watching it in theatres, but my God a great way to end the year.
First movie was "No Time to Die." No significance other than catching up with it finally.
Last movie of '21 was Matrix Resurrections. Crazy enough, my first movie of 2022 was Boyhood, which I threw on at random upon seeing it on on one of the streaming services. It was my third time seeing it, and watched it before I saw your incredible, revised piece on it. Loved both.
I never really gave much thought to what I watched first and last in a year, but I'm starting to make a bigger deal out of it. It's exciting to think about curating your end of year watch and see how it changes throughout the months. While I didn't plan it, Dolphin Tale and The Rescue is an odd double feature that works.
Really late, sorry. But yeah, I always make a fuss about what movie I watch first and last in any given year, not least because, like you, I use Letterboxd. You wouldn't want to be reminded that you actually watched something like "Freddy Got Fingered" every time you open up your stats ;-). So, I finished off 2021 the same I started it with, a screening of "Bohemian Rhapsody" (I know, I know, but I happen to really really love it). And I started my cinematic 2022 with "2001 - A Space Odyssey" (and will finish it off with "2010").
Being a subscriber to Formerly Dangerous has been a treat from the get-go, but I must say I will be one of the happiest saps on Earth once you're back in the podcasting game Drew my friend. Your recent appearances on Blank Check and Screen Drafts have been the most gratifying and informative hours my ears have been subjected to in quite some time.
Last movie of 2021 was The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Wife and I finished up a Coen rewatch. First movie of 2022 sadly hasn’t happened yet as we’ve binged TV stuff to get caught up there. The Witcher, Cobra Kai, Lost in Space, Yellowstone. I’m angling towards The Harder They Fall for later today or this weekend.
I didn't put too much thought into my last of 2021/first of 2022, but I found them both resonant for different reason.
The last film of 2021 was MASS, which I found hard to watch but incredibly powerful; it might be my pick for best film of 2021. I live in the Detroit area, not too far from Oxford High School, and both the reality of school shootings and parental responsibility for it have been on my mind in recent months. I found this to be a thoughtful and compassionate film, not so much about school shootings but about how we try to create spaces and conversations for healing and understanding. As a person of faith who's struggled with what my faith has turned into in recent years, I was impressed by Fran Kranz's quiet depiction of a church as a place not of agendas or proselytizing, but as a space that gives from for these discussions and provides a place to heal, rage and seek some sort of understanding and transcendence. I found it to be a good movie to close a hard year on.
First movie of 2022 happened by fluke. We were out of town with our kids for New Years, stuck in a hotel in Ohio. Nothing good was on TV, so we pulled out my wife's laptop and watched ENCHANTED on Disney+. I don't know if I'd seen it since its theatrical release, but it was just a joy of a movie to watch. Amy Adams, of course, is great. But man, do I love unhinged, comic James Marsden. But if your first movie of the year sets the tone for the months to come, I don't know that there's a better start than curled up in a hotel with the people I love watching something that makes us all smile.
I knew if I put any weight on what the last and first movies of the year would be, I would become paralyzed with options. So I just went with the flow.
I had COVID leading up to new years and I found myself being a blob in bed watching old episodes of Survivor Man. Don't ask me why, it just felt right. Just me and Les huddled up in our blankets trying to keep warm. That set the mood and I ended making THE ALPINIST the last movie of 2021. It was alright. No FREE SOLO, but pretty good.
I kept this "just don't over think it" attitude the next morning, and when I saw that SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK was on Netflix, I knew that I was long overdue for a 2nd watch. I liked it just as much as the first time. Turned out to be a great way to kick the year off.
I'd go so far as to say Qi'ra is one of the strongest new characters of the Disney era, even before the recent comics. I'm guessing we'll see her onscreen again before we see Solo.
Last film for me in 2021 was Cronos, because it was on a list of films with a NYE celebration within it and I realized it was a del Toro I hadn’t seen. I planned the watch a week in advance. A great sit. First film of the year was 10x10 just because. I almost always love Luke Evans; the movie was only meh. I never get amped up about the first film of the year but I do actually try to curate my last film of the year for some reason. In 2020, it was Ma Rainey and Chadwick’s swan song. Planned as a fitting end to a sad year.
Last film of 2021 was "Reds" and the first of 2022 was "Mayday". No particular milestone or reason, just things I had wanted to see. Both interesting in their own ways, but neither really landed for me and I don't expect I'll ever watch them again.
Meanwhile "The Haunting of Bly Manor" wrapped itself around those, having started episodes in late Dec and finishing on New Year's Day. That capped off a year of discovering (and loving) all of Mike Flanagan's work, starting with "Doctor Sleep" back in February.
My last film of 2021 was After the Thin Man (which I enjoyed) and my first film of 2022 was The French Dispatch (which I thought looked pretty but basically left me cold.)
last one was Don't Look Up, which I thought was a solid satire and funnier than people give it credit for, but then again I was working at a movie theater when Wag the Dog came out and people got so mad at me for recommending that movie. 2022 has been a comfort pick with The Replacements. But per the newsletter- 2nd season of The Great is tiiiiiight.
Last movie of 2021- "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 70mm at 10pm EST on NYE. Not my first time watching it in theatres, but my God a great way to end the year.
First movie was "No Time to Die." No significance other than catching up with it finally.
That's a funny coincidence. "2001" was my pick for first film of the new year.
Mine too!
Last movie of '21 was Matrix Resurrections. Crazy enough, my first movie of 2022 was Boyhood, which I threw on at random upon seeing it on on one of the streaming services. It was my third time seeing it, and watched it before I saw your incredible, revised piece on it. Loved both.
First film watched in 2021 - Basic Instinct
Last film watched in 2021 - Dolphin Tale 3D
First film watched in 2022 - The Rescue
I never really gave much thought to what I watched first and last in a year, but I'm starting to make a bigger deal out of it. It's exciting to think about curating your end of year watch and see how it changes throughout the months. While I didn't plan it, Dolphin Tale and The Rescue is an odd double feature that works.
Really late, sorry. But yeah, I always make a fuss about what movie I watch first and last in any given year, not least because, like you, I use Letterboxd. You wouldn't want to be reminded that you actually watched something like "Freddy Got Fingered" every time you open up your stats ;-). So, I finished off 2021 the same I started it with, a screening of "Bohemian Rhapsody" (I know, I know, but I happen to really really love it). And I started my cinematic 2022 with "2001 - A Space Odyssey" (and will finish it off with "2010").
Being a subscriber to Formerly Dangerous has been a treat from the get-go, but I must say I will be one of the happiest saps on Earth once you're back in the podcasting game Drew my friend. Your recent appearances on Blank Check and Screen Drafts have been the most gratifying and informative hours my ears have been subjected to in quite some time.
Last movie of 2021 was The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Wife and I finished up a Coen rewatch. First movie of 2022 sadly hasn’t happened yet as we’ve binged TV stuff to get caught up there. The Witcher, Cobra Kai, Lost in Space, Yellowstone. I’m angling towards The Harder They Fall for later today or this weekend.
I didn't put too much thought into my last of 2021/first of 2022, but I found them both resonant for different reason.
The last film of 2021 was MASS, which I found hard to watch but incredibly powerful; it might be my pick for best film of 2021. I live in the Detroit area, not too far from Oxford High School, and both the reality of school shootings and parental responsibility for it have been on my mind in recent months. I found this to be a thoughtful and compassionate film, not so much about school shootings but about how we try to create spaces and conversations for healing and understanding. As a person of faith who's struggled with what my faith has turned into in recent years, I was impressed by Fran Kranz's quiet depiction of a church as a place not of agendas or proselytizing, but as a space that gives from for these discussions and provides a place to heal, rage and seek some sort of understanding and transcendence. I found it to be a good movie to close a hard year on.
First movie of 2022 happened by fluke. We were out of town with our kids for New Years, stuck in a hotel in Ohio. Nothing good was on TV, so we pulled out my wife's laptop and watched ENCHANTED on Disney+. I don't know if I'd seen it since its theatrical release, but it was just a joy of a movie to watch. Amy Adams, of course, is great. But man, do I love unhinged, comic James Marsden. But if your first movie of the year sets the tone for the months to come, I don't know that there's a better start than curled up in a hotel with the people I love watching something that makes us all smile.
I knew if I put any weight on what the last and first movies of the year would be, I would become paralyzed with options. So I just went with the flow.
I had COVID leading up to new years and I found myself being a blob in bed watching old episodes of Survivor Man. Don't ask me why, it just felt right. Just me and Les huddled up in our blankets trying to keep warm. That set the mood and I ended making THE ALPINIST the last movie of 2021. It was alright. No FREE SOLO, but pretty good.
I kept this "just don't over think it" attitude the next morning, and when I saw that SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK was on Netflix, I knew that I was long overdue for a 2nd watch. I liked it just as much as the first time. Turned out to be a great way to kick the year off.
I'd go so far as to say Qi'ra is one of the strongest new characters of the Disney era, even before the recent comics. I'm guessing we'll see her onscreen again before we see Solo.
Last film for me in 2021 was Cronos, because it was on a list of films with a NYE celebration within it and I realized it was a del Toro I hadn’t seen. I planned the watch a week in advance. A great sit. First film of the year was 10x10 just because. I almost always love Luke Evans; the movie was only meh. I never get amped up about the first film of the year but I do actually try to curate my last film of the year for some reason. In 2020, it was Ma Rainey and Chadwick’s swan song. Planned as a fitting end to a sad year.
Last film of 2021 was Tick, Tick…Boom and first of 2022 was The Lost Daughter. Enjoyed TTB more than expected, the Lost Daughter was fantastic.
Last film of 2021 was "Reds" and the first of 2022 was "Mayday". No particular milestone or reason, just things I had wanted to see. Both interesting in their own ways, but neither really landed for me and I don't expect I'll ever watch them again.
Meanwhile "The Haunting of Bly Manor" wrapped itself around those, having started episodes in late Dec and finishing on New Year's Day. That capped off a year of discovering (and loving) all of Mike Flanagan's work, starting with "Doctor Sleep" back in February.
Last film of 2021 was "Naseeb", a Bollywood movie from the '80s.
Haven't seen a movie in 2022 yet.
Last film of 2021 was "Only Lovers Left Alive." First of 2022 was "Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched."
My last film of 2021 was After the Thin Man (which I enjoyed) and my first film of 2022 was The French Dispatch (which I thought looked pretty but basically left me cold.)