Check out our favourite films of 2021 below:

10. The Suicide Squad

James Gunn made his return to the big screen with the wild and crazy supervillain rollercoaster of a movie with The Suicide Squad. And this was pure comic book pulp at its best. R-rated and totally over-the-top, Gunn was like a kid in a candy store as he took his favourite most despicable, and sometimes useless DC supervillains, and threw them into a do or die mission to save the world. The Suicide Squad was loud and in-your-face cinematic fun and audiences were sure to get a kick out of it.

9. Jungle Cruise

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt took a trip into the Amazon jungle and this was one wild ride down the river! With terrific swashbuckling flair and moments of spot-on humour, Jungle Cruise was an enjoyable watch through and through. Johnson and Blunt had perfect chemistry together and you couldn’t help but fall in love with these two fantastic characters. Frank and Lilly were a terrific match on-screen and they certainly got involved in one hell of rush that was blockbuster fun at its best.

8. West Side Story

When you want that special feeling of the movies you only need to turn to movie legend Steven Spielberg and he delivered a stunning cinematic event to the big screen with West Side Story. Big, bold, colourful and bright, West Side Story was an incredible piece of cinema that was brought to life with the power of the famed stage show and translated onto the canvas of the movie screen like never before. This was a story to escape into and it truly got you in your groove thanks to a wonderful combination of performance, choreography and music, and made the movie theatre a very magical place once more.

7. Land

Filmmaker and performer Robin Wright took audiences out into the grand wilds of a still uncharted America in Land, and this film presented an intimate and meditative picture of life, love and loss. And it was sure to touch your soul. Using images and performance over dialogue and words, Wright showcased the feral beauty of a still untamed landscape and the consequences that happen when one encroaches on it. As her character Edee Holzer learn to live with the landscape she soon became one with it and a beautiful story of rebirth and renewal unfolded before the audience. Land was an absolute beauty of a picture and for those who witnessed it, it was certain to stay with them.

6. I Care A Lot

Rosamund Pike brought a cold, calculating and truely psychopathic quality to shady legal guardian Marla Grayson in the sharply original dramatic thriller I Care A Lot….and this one certainly cut deep. Frame by frame, minute by minute you had no idea where this crazy thriller was going to turn to next and as it moved quicker and quicker the tension only ramped up and the shocking final moment hit with the force of a 367 Magnum! This was cinematic originality as I’ve never seen before and I was hooked from the very first moment.

5. Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Multiverse has arrived and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man jumped headfirst into the web-spinning fun of it all with Spider-Man: No Way Home. And there were plenty of ‘Oh My God’ moments in this superhero extravaganza! Packing together action and narrative all in one, long time Marvel fans were treated to some very cool treats thanks to director Jon Watts unique narrative and this was a cinematic experience that truly fed the fanboy or fangirl in all of us. Audiences of all ages were sure to love what was delivered in Spider-Man: No Way Home and the result was pure fun at the movies.

4. Cruella

Fashionistas beware because Emma Stone was about to smash the catwalk with the high energy, rock edge of Cruella. Stepping into the devilishly decadent couture stylings of the infamous Cruella de Vil, Stone showcased the origins behind the madness and mania of one of Walt Disney Pictures greatest ever villains and Cruella was one wild time out at the movies. Feeding off the rebel, rock n’roll energy of the 1970s, Cruella was a hell of a lot of fiendish fun and there were plenty of bold moments to make you sit up and say WOW! Gorgeous to look at, and entertaining through and through you certainly weren’t going to forget the rush of Cruella and the devil was certainly given her due.

3. Wrath of Man

Tough guy director Guy Ritchie returned to the big screen with a vengeance with an action film of pure Old Testament vengeance with Wrath of Man. And this one hit with the strength of an M4 on full auto! Jason Statham was in pure beast mode as the mysterious ‘H’, a security cash truck driver who was not all he claimed to be and who had one hell of a grudge to settle. And the result was pure chaos. Wrath of Man was packed full of testosterone and kept you guessing the whole way through and it was a great pleasure to see Ritchie and Statham back together and the result was a piece of classic action cinema. Wrath of Man was not for the faint of heart, but damn did it hit hard.

2. The Last Duel

Maestro filmmaker Sir Ridley Scott took audiences back to the steel and fire of the Middle Ages with The Last Duel, an extraordinary historical story of truth and justice and this was a cinematic event for the ages. Telling the true story of the quest of the Lady Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer) for divine justice and the battle that her husband Sir Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) would fight with his sworn enemy Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), this was a once in a lifetime cinematic event. Damon, Driver and Ben Affleck were all truly exceptional in their parts, but the success of this movie belongs to Jodie Comer who gave a fiery and passionate performance and would not quit until she saw justice done. Bold and mighty, The Last Duel was an impressive and powerful watch and is far and away one of the best films I can claim to have ever seen.

1. No Time To Die

After a long wait, we finally saw the swan song from Daniel Craig as he once again donned a tuxedo and stepped into an Aston Martin for his final performance as secret agent 007 James Bond in No Time To Die. And this blockbuster cinematic event was nothing short of extraordinary. Operatic and dashing, No Time To Die was a film of pure energy and character and had the flavour of the ultimate Bond film as Bond raced against the clock to save the world from a dangerous and unhinged new villain. Craig was in his element as Bond and brought a complete full circle to his performance as the debonair spy in this energetic and pulse-pounding action thriller and damn was it a fine watch. No Time To Die was a fantastic experience in the cinema and audiences sure got their adrenaline fix with this one. It was just magnificent on every single level and a very worthy choice for the best film of the year.

The post SpicyPulp’s Top 10 Films of 2021 appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Teenagers Tony and Maria, despite having affiliations with rival street gangs, the Jets and Sharks, fall in love in 1950s New York City.

2021 has not been a very comfortable year and for many of us a trip to the cinema is something we could have only wished for. Well, now you’ll get your wish granted because Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg is here to invite you back to the cinema these holidays for the unprecedented cinematic event that is West Side Story. Bringing the classic stage show from Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents to the big screen for an entirely new generation, Speilberg pours his boyhood passion and love for the source material into this project and it shows in every single frame of film. Everything about this movie comes together. Cast, production design, costuming, cinematography, hair & make-up, choreography and of course the music, and it’s a truly lively time out at the movies.

Helping Spielberg to bring West Side Story to the big screen is Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner, who as a long time collaborator and friend of Spielberg has helped shape some of the best films of the past two decades including Munich and Lincoln. Together these two artists work to bring the stage show to the big screen and focus very much is on the stage show aspect of the story. Where some Hollywood musicals can just feel generic, Speilberg and Kushner have really worked hard to make this piece of cinema feel like it is a piece of Broadway come alive, both in construction and presentation and Kushner’s adaptation of the famed work strikes new ground for a contemporary audience. Themes of love, acceptance, new beginnings, prejudice and the American Dream abound throughout the narrative and are handled in such a way that feels completely in keeping with the original show, along with having a real relevance in our modern age.

As a cinematic experience, West Side Story is what the movie theatre was made for. Bright, colourful, and majestic, this is a film whose frames use up every bit of space of the canvas and Spielberg brings his unique hand for wonderment to this presentation. Capturing the energy, fashion and style of the mid-1950s with an elevated Hollywood sense of glamour and detail, Speilberg brings to life the frantic clash of worlds that exist between The Jets and The Sharks, and from its opening crane shot that takes you into the bowls of a broken New York City you’re hooked as an audience member. Music and dance combine to transport you back in time and you’re sure to groove in your seats. Of particular enjoyment for me was the film’s school gym dance and the classic ‘America’ performance. Both scenes are filled with lively dancing, a rousing score and dashing costuming, and these two moments for me truly capture the fun and energy of this timeless story.

Portraying the central characters of Tony and Maria are Ansel Elgort and newcomer Rachel Zegler, and both are pitch-perfect in their performances. Elgort gives Tony a true Paul Newman flair as a former bad boy who is looking for a way to do good in his life, while Zegler is a beautiful ingenue as Maria who truly captures the centre of the screen and whose voice and presence are utterly angelic. Both have excellent chemistry on screen together, and pay tribute to the classic performances of Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, but also make the characters their own. While staying true to the classic rendition of the production, there is also a very present feeling about their performances that leads into the modern.

Providing a key level of support to the film’s story are Ariana DeBose as Anita, David Alvarez as Bernardo and Mike Faist as Riff. DeBose brings spontaneity and flair to her role as the whipsmart and slightly diva-ish Anita. Alvarez on the other hand has the intensity and fire of a young Marlon Brando and makes a forcible presence on the screen as the volatile and hot-headed Bernado. Faist brings the production together with his turn as Jets gang leader Riff, who is so caught up in his own misplaced hate that he is fated to an early doom.

Finally bringing this cinematic presentation of West Side Story to a complete full-circle is the one and only Rita Moreno as Valentina. A triple-crown winning actress, Moreno is a stateswoman of the silver screen for the other actors with her performance here as Valentina, or simply Val as the teenagers of this neighbourhood refer to her as. As a maternal figure to Tony, she tries to guide him and Maria in the right direction, but sadly she can only look on as hate and injustice swirl around them and lead into the tragedy that lie at the heart of the story. Moreno has a grand presence in the film and her performance and spirit hold the attention of the audience whenever she appears on screen.

West Side Story is a lavish, big-screen production of Hollywood at its grandest and this is a film that the whole family will be mesmerized by. Bright and bold it speaks to the power of cinema to both move and entertain us and it is exactly the kind of film we need at this moment in time. Do not miss out on this one at the cinema, for it is a grand treat.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

The post ‘West Side Story’ – Review appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Watch the brand new and beautiful teaser trailer for West Side Story below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Teenagers Tony and Maria, despite having affiliations with rival street gangs, the Jets and Sharks, fall in love in 1950s New York City.

Using the combination of music and imagery to build a deeply emotional and affecting atmosphere, this first teaser trailer sets the atmosphere for Speilberg’s new rendition of West Side Story, a timeless classic which audiences will once again be sure to fall in love with as young stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler step into the characters of Tony and Maria, previously played by Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood in the classic 1961 adaptation.

Spielberg and frequent collaborator Tony Kushner (Munich, Lincoln) have worked to more closely follow the original broadway production of Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and audiences can expect a lavish production thanks to Spielberg’s masterful directorial hand.

While we only get a quick look into the film with this teaser trailer it is clear that this will be an emotional and beautiful story of love, loss and the struggle of two unique groups of people in 1950s New York. Both Speilberg and Kushner are working to capture the essence of not only the struggles of working Irish-American youths of the time period, but also the essence of the immigrant experience of the Puerto Rican community who are working to make a home for themselves in New York City.

West Side Story is sure to be one of 2021’s most beautiful films, and this one will be a film that audiences will not want to miss out on. Prepare yourself for beauty, grace and a timeless story when it arrives in cinemas this December.

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