The Year 2021 in Movies

Continuing with the final part of our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through today. Today we share the sixty-eight (68) movies reviewed across ten (10) decades by Matt Lynn Digital in 2021.

(The 1941 movie Citizen Kane is one of seven movies that Matt Lynn Digital gave 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5).

Citizen Kane (1941) was written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles. The Michael Curtiz directed film Casablanca (1942) also earned 4.5-stars, as did the Alfred Hitchcock directed film Psycho (1960).

(The 1961 movie The Hustler starred Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason).

The Robert Rossen directed film The Hustler (1961) is joined by the Martin Scorsese film Taxi Driver (1976), the James Cameron directed movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and the David Fincher movie Se7en (1995) as also having earned 4.5-stars by Matt Lynn Digital in 2021.

(Several films by Alfred Hitchcock made their way into the Matt Lynn Digital reviews in 2021. North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train were a couple of favorites).

The Shop Around the Corner (1940) as directed by Ernst Lubitsch is one of eleven movies having earned 4.25-stars in 2021. The Alfred Hitchcock movie Strangers on a Train (1951) joins the Hitchcock film North by Northwest (1959) in the same category.

(Martin Scorsese movies are well received by Matt Lynn Digital. The 1995 movie Casino received 4.25-stars).

A Christmas Story (1983) as directed by Bob Clark has consistently hit me in a warm spot. The Richard Donner directed Lethal Weapon (1987) offers comedic action at a solid pace.  The Rob Reiner directed movie Misery (1990) juxtaposes mystery against the sweet storytelling of the Harold Ramis movie Groundhog Day (1993). Casino (1995) by director Martin Scorsese is the second film in our reviews to pair Scorsese with actor Robert De Niro. The Sixth Sense (1999) as directed by M. Night Shyamalan also earned our rating of 4.25-stars.

(The 2003 Ridley Scott movie Matchstick Men dips our toes into the 21st century of cinema).

The Ridley Scott movie Matchstick Men (2003) earned 4.25-stars, as did the David Fincher movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).

(The clean-cut reputation of the actor James Stewart is put to the test in his portrayal of Paul Biegler is the 1959 Otto Preminger movie Anatomy of a Murder).

Frankenstein (1931) as directed by James Whale received 4-stars as an origin tale into the more frightening side of cinema. The movie Saboteur (1942), the movie Rope (1948) and the movie Dial M for Murder (1954), as directed by Alfred Hitchcock, all earned similar ratings. The Otto Preminger directed movie Anatomy of a Murder (1959) closed out the three decades of cinema rated at this level.

(The 1974 Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein comedically poked fun of the 1931 James Whale movie Frankenstein).

The Mel Brooks directed movie Young Frankenstein (1974) worked on a level equal to the film that inspired it. Richard Donner succeeded in the horror movie genre with The Omen (1976) while John Carpenter delivered a similar 4-star rated movie with Halloween (1978). The Hugh Hudson directed film Chariots of Fire (1981) won four Academy Awards while the James Cameron sequel movie Aliens (1986) won a pair of awards.

(Seven Academy Awards and 4-stars from Matt Lynn Digital awaited the Kevin Costner‘s directorial debut movie, Dances with Wolves).

The epic Western Dances with Wolves (1990) as directed by Kevin Costner earned 4-stars, as did the Steven Spielberg movie Jurassic Park (1993), the movie Jumanji (1995) starring Robin Williams and the Tony Scott directed movie Enemy of the State (1998).

(The adventure of The Polar Express centers around the experience of finding joy in the notion of Christmas. Matt Lynn Digital granted the movie 4-stars).

The Stephen Frears movie High Fidelity (2000), the Paul Haggis directed movie Crash (2004), the Robert Zemeckis movie The Polar Express (2004), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) starring Gary Oldman and the Jake Kasdan directed movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) all earned four stars.

(John Ford directed the western named Stagecoach. The movie starring John Wayne was granted 3.75-stars).

Alfred Hitchcock directed two separate movies based on the same source material twice. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) as well as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) each earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital. The John Ford directed movie Stagecoach (1939), starring John Wayne, is accompanied by Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943), John Ford’s The Quiet Man (1952), and both The Trouble with Harry (1955) and The Wrong Man (1956) by Alfred Hitchcock.

(The 1962 Stanley Kubrick movie Lolita is often misunderstood yet tells a morally difficult story for those that can stick with it for understanding).

Stanley Kubrick directed the movie Lolita (1962), which is one of twenty-seven movies granted 3.75-stars by Matt Lynn Digital. Alfred Hitchcock‘s movie Torn Curtain (1966), Brian De Palma‘s movie Sisters (1972), the Don Siegel directed movie Escape from Alcatraz (1979), the John Hughes directed movie Sixteen Candles (1984), Ron Howard‘s movie Cocoon (1985) and the David Cronenberg directed movie The Fly (1986) each received a similar 3.75-stars.

(The 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs as directed by Quentin Tarantino received 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Total Recall (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone are joined by the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs (1992), the Brian De Palma movie Carlito’s Way (1993), the Jan de Bont directed movie Speed (1994), The Santa Clause (1994) starring Tim Allen and the Kevin Smith directed movies Clerks (1994) and Chasing Amy (1997).

(The 2002 movie Insomnia from director Christopher Nolan offered a character focused with less abstraction focus in earning 3.75-stars).

The Howard Deutch sports comedy movie The Replacements (2000) introduced a string of movies, including the Christopher Nolan movie Insomnia (2002), the Gavin O’Connor movie Miracle (2004), the Tim Burton directed movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), the Clint Eastwood directed movie Richard Jewell (2019) and the Christopher Nolan movie Tenet (2020), that offered quality movie making rated at 3.75-stars.

(The 2003 movie Timeline as directed by Richard Donner is one of three movies to earn 3.5-stars by Matt Lynn Digital).

Sylvester Stallone stars in the movie Cliffhanger (1993), which stands beside the Wolfgang Petersen directed movie Outbreak (1995) and the Richard Donner directed movie Timeline (2003) as receiving 3.5-stars.

(Brian De Palma‘s 1990 movie The Bonfire of the Vanities received 3-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 from Matt Lynn Digital).

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) as directed by Brian De Palma was not a commercial success, earning a 3-star rating from Matt Lynn Digital. The movie lost over $31 million, despite a reasonably strong cast.

Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, or similar work to that mentioned above, please be sure to let us know.

Matt – Friday, December 31, 2021

Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn and Peter Boyle in the Mel Brooks movie ‘Young Frankenstein’

Having introduced our review of the James Whale directed movie Frankenstein (1931) earlier this week on Matt Lynn Digital, we follow this closely with the Mel Brooks comedy Young Frankenstein (1974), based on the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley book Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus and, more precisely, the  cinematic film of 43-years previous.

(From left, Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher, Marty Feldman as Igor, Teri Garr as Inga and Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in the Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein).

The movie Young Frankenstein takes steps to mirror scenes along with the black-and-white presentation of the original Frankenstein movie on which this comedy is based. Some noticeable differences begin with bringing the American grandson of the original Dr. Frankenstein to Transylvania in order to meet much of his supporting cast. Gene Wilder portrays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, that grandson, who we first meet as a classroom doctor seeking to distance himself from the myth of making monsters that he as grandson has inherited.

(From left, Anne Beesley as Helga and Peter Boyle as The Monster in the Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein).

Frederick of course is set to marry, and we are introduced to Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth in this role. A comedic theme that carries through much of the movie starts between Frederick and Elizabeth, which at first indicates distinct emotional distance between the two as they separate at the beginning of the good doctor’s journey to Transylvania. There’s comedy in that journey, as well as in meeting Frederick’s supporting cast Igor, Inga and Frau Blücher in the movie’s second country. Marty Feldman portrays Igor, Teri Garr portrays Inga and Cloris Leachman portrays Frau Blücher. The theme of a potentially loveless impending marriage brings supporting comedy among these four characters.

(From left, Peter Boyle as The Monster and Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth in the Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein).

The storylines that introduced the creation and experience of The Monster, as portrayed by Peter Boyle, harken back to the original Frankenstein movie while offering new twists and, of course, variations. Anne Beesley portrays Helga, whose equivalence to Little Maria in the original movie cannot be mistaken. The notion of tremendous size is used for solid humor in addressing Helga, the angry mob that forms too in Young Frankenstein, and between Elizabeth, Frederick’s would be wife, and The Monster. The introduction of intentionally sophomoric humor in especially the relations between The Monster, Elizabeth, Frederick and Inga carries much of Young Frankenstein to resolution.

(From left, Peter Boyle as The Monster and Gene Hackman as Harold, the blind man in the Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein).

Additional humor and movie references brought to the forefront in Young Frankenstein were appreciated. The notion of The Monster’s fear of fire were well played in the gags with Harold, the blind man as portrayed by Gene Hackman. The scene where Frederick Frankenstein dances on stage with The Monster harkens back to the original King Kong (1933) movie scene, and more precisely the Harry Richman movie scene from Irving Berlin‘s movie Puttin’ on the Ritz (1930). Tying an affection for music into the pull between The Monster and Frederick Frankenstein was a nice touch of Young Frankenstein.

(From left, actress Madeline Kahn, director Mel Brooks and actress Teri Garr on set of the Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein).

Largely, I found Young Frankenstein held much of the spirit of the original Frankenstein movie and along with the emotional notion between The Monster and the man who created him, as intended in the book. There is definitely extra humor, which of course is the point of this movie. The notion of referencing multiple movies from the past in offering both homage and poking fun makes this movie giggle worthy. The movie Young Frankenstein largely works if you take the content on the level it is offered, accepting the “what did I just see?” intention to the humor the strike a chord. I grant Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, June 26, 2021

Tom Petty and the album ‘Wildflowers’

Tom Petty was a guitarist springing onto the new wave rock scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Born in Gainesville, Florida and coming to prominence with the band Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, this album was written in a style intended and allowing for listening from beginning to end. There’s hits here, nonetheless. Join me for a ride and a listen to the 1994 album Wildflowers, which was billed as a solo album for Petty without the backing of the Heartbreakers.

(The album cover for Wildflowers by Tom Petty).

The song Wildflowers leads this 15-song album with a simple and folksy, almost country sound to it. In an interview for Performing Songwriter from 2014, Petty said of the writing process that he “just took a deep breath and it came out. The whole song. Stream of consciousness: words, music, chords. Finished it.” Playing the song in one take speaks wonders to the simplicity and charm of it.

You Don’t Know How It Feels follows the song Wildflowers on the album Wildflowers as a song clearly about getting into drugs. In fact, the song was a bit controversial, but less so than the B-side from the single for You Don’t Know How It Feels. The song Girl on LSD was intended for the album, though never landed there.

(Tom Petty in the video You Don’t Know How It Feels, which is a part of the Wildflowers album).

Time To Move On provides a none too subtle message of moving past the drugs and getting on with adulthood. The song gives a hat-in-hand message of seeking forgiveness and facing the uncertainties ahead.

The second single released from Wildflowers was You Wreck Me, aiming for a more pronounced rock beat with a positive feeling. Offering the sentiment of getting euphemistically wrecked (rather than rocked) by a love interest, perhaps asking his girl to “just play dumb to whatever you know” can be forgiven with the thought of Tom being “the boy in corduroy pants; you’ll be the girl at the high school dance.” That’s a shy high school kid’s dream thought if I ever heard one.

It’s Good To Be King, a song described by Matthew Greenwald as dealing “with the phenomenon of rock & roll stardom,” calls out the Mel Brooks film History of the World, Part I (1981). Greenwald goes on to add that Petty said “This [rock & roll] life is great, …yet it’s not the only thing in my reality. An elegant, folk-rock-ish melody frames the song.”

(A single of It’s Good To Be King on vinyl from the Wildflowers album by Tom Petty).

The song Only A Broken Heart gets a bit more downtrodden and angsty, yet filled with determination for landing romance again once able to overcome the pain and fear of separating from the initial love.

Honey Bee revs up the music a sense of driving desire that is more rock & roll than country. The feeling of erotic feelings echoes You Wreck Me with less of a pop feeling and more of a cheating feel here.

(An image of Tom Petty from a Rolling Stone magazine article on Wildflowers from November 2019).

Don’t Fade On Me offers another feeling of sadness akin to that offered as consolation with Only A Broken Heart. In Don’t Fade on Me, the melody drives feeling like a blues song. The lyrics drive less toward strict consolation than toward probing towards clarity by asking questions geared at landing on meaning.

Hard On Me rebukes the questions asked in Don’t Fade On Me, at least in my interpretation. Petty almost steps back and points a finger of blame.

A country pop feeling of friskiness hits the listener with the song Cabin Down Below. The lyrics and rockabilly feel of this song are a straight up ask for time away with his lady and the narrator.

(A compact disc single of Cabin Down Below from the Wildflowers album by Tom Petty).

To Find A Friend plays as a straight up middle aged man that left his wife, committed adultery, and suffered from bad decisions. Reacting in kind, the wife lost a similar sense of lost self-respect and alienation among friends.

In a song that feels like a reaction to To Find A Friend, A Higher Place feels like a metaphorical call for redemption after seeing the reality of adultery. The song has the feel of a highway song of two folks who found a soul needing that next step, and looking to rationalize this as a call to love the one your with out of the clear and present need among both parties.

House In The Woods is another driving blues song of desire expressing intense love and desire from man to woman. The song Where Did you Sleep Last Night by Huddie William Ledbetter (Leadbelly) comes to mind.

Crawling Back To You might simply be the truest, most painful beautiful song on Wildflowers. Two people at cross purposes with each other find something they need to see in themselves through the eyes of another. The truth comes with these lines that resonate like little else:

“I’m so tired of being tired / Sure as night will follow day / Most things I worry about / Never happen anyway.”

Closing the album is the call to action, bringing things to a head. Wake Up Time is an idealist’s call to admit that walking this life alone is no way to live a life. The cost of feelings is a cold truth, and the risk of love takes the bravery of getting hurt. Admit it; show your vulnerability; with love you will shine.

I completely love the album Wildflowers. Thanks for coming along on this ride and sticking it through with me until the end.

Matt – Wednesday, January 29, 2020