Welcome to the annual New Year's edition of 6 Flicks Picks that will jump-start the year 2021!
Normally, this would have followed an entire 12 months of seeing lots of films the previous year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic absolutely destroyed that idea, with most movies being pushed to the next year or onward (although Onward didn't, surprisingly). Only some made it out to streaming platforms and theaters, which made for an abysmal 2020 at the theater.
This means 2021 is packed with a lot of holdovers from 2020 and this list is going to be similar to last year's, albeit with a few changes. Some of the films did come out, some new ones are in the running and I've learned more information about the movies, which may bump them up or push them further down the list.
For those who haven't seen 6 Flicks Picks before, the way this goes is rather simple: out of all the options scheduled to come to theaters, you are given six choices of what you'd want to see. If there aren't six worth watching, you have to pick from the ones you don't want to. If you want to see more than six, you have to narrow down your list.
Usually, this goes month by month. But at the beginning of the year, I do one overall 6 Flicks Picks list that encompasses the entire lineup as of January 1st.
Keep in mind the pandemic is not yet over and it's guaranteed some of these films will see different release dates, so by the end of 2021, this list could look much different in hindsight.
Without further ado, let's take a look at what makes my cut for 2021!
6 FLICKS PICKS FOR 2021
This year, I have 24 films I had written down, which evens out to a proper split of several different tiers of 6. As per usual, this is largely based on blockbusters, as most smaller films are just meaningless titles to me that I know nothing about.
Low Tier Honorable Mentions:
24. Dune — I haven't seen the original, but this looks impressive enough for me to go along for the ride. Maybe it's full of itself. Maybe it's an amazing epic. Let's find out.
23. Jungle Cruise — This wasn't listed last year, but
likely would have been #25 in 2020. It's still at the bottom of the list,
as I don't imagine it'll be spectacular. But it could be some mindless
fun to shut your brain off and enjoy.
22. The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard— To be honest, I was disappointed with the first one. However, I enjoyed it just enough to think that maybe this time around, they can get some more laughs out of me. Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek are great. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
21. Space Jam: A New Legacy — The first film is one of those movies most people loved as a kid. I wasn't as big on it as everyone else, but I did enjoy it back then. I watched it a few years ago and boy, it does not hold up. But maybe this can be some childhood fun in a way.
20. Mortal Kombat — The original two films are terrible. Admit it. Likely, this film will be bad, too. However, at least the CGI shouldn't be as rough. Since the game was something I liked, I'm definitely revisiting this. However, I was always more of a Street Fighter guy.
19. Snake Eyes — This stayed exactly at #19 compared to last year's list, funny enough. G.I. Joe was never my biggest passion, but I did enjoy it when I was younger. I saw the other two films and if this movie is better than those, then cool. It can't be that hard to beat them, right?
Middle Tier Honorable Mentions:
18. Morbius — This also stayed exactly at the #18 position from last year. I am positive Sony has made a lackluster film here. However, it's connected to Spider-Man. I pretty much have to see it.
17. Top Gun: Maverick — This fell down some spots. Last year, it was #14. I hadn't seen Top Gun until 2019 and while I wasn't totally in love with it, I understood why people could be high on it when it came out. It was a decent enough film that I do want to see this, though.
16. A Quiet Place Part II — I enjoyed the first one quite a bit. Of course I'll watch a sequel if that's the case. This fell a few spots as it was #11 last year.
15. Coming 2 America — This fell some spots, too. Last year, it was #12. I had first seen Coming to America in 2019 as recommended by my then-girlfriend, now fiancée. Guaranteed, this will be a date night for us.
14. Free Guy — Admittedly, this doesn't look as great now that I've seen more than one trailer. I do still think it can be a lot of fun, but I dropped it down a spot. Last year, it was #13.
13. The Forever Purge — I wasn't big on the first Purge film. The second, third and fourth, though, I did enjoy, and I liked the television series. I'm down. This fell a few spots, though, as it was #8 last year.
Top Tier Honorable Mentions:
12. The Matrix 4 — I'm not as big on The Matrix as most people. I think the first film has a lot of merit and the second and third bring up some good points, but the series is largely stuck up its own ass and has overrated visuals that no longer hold up and at the time, were only innovative because people forgot slow motion existed. With that being said, I'm curious as hell how they take the franchise in a different direction.
11. The King's Man — Down several spots. It was #5 last year. I absolutely love the first Kingsman. The second one was a massive departure and I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I felt they made some terrible mistakes in the direction of the series. I hope they've learned their lessons.
10. The Suicide Squad — The first film is pretty horrible. I actually think this will be bad, too. But I trust James Gunn to deliver something interesting, no matter how bad it is. He did pull off Guardians of the Galaxy, after all. I really, really, really hate the title, though. Adding "the" in front of the other movie's name is so stupid.
9. Eternals — I know virtually nothing about The Eternals. However, it's the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You've got my money.
8. Godzilla vs. Kong — This was bumped up one spot from last year. I still don't know how they're going to make this work by stepping backward
and doing two babyfaces against each other while they already had
Godzilla fight everyone else the last time. But hey, King of the
Monsters was a visual spectacle, so that should at least be a selling point. However, if this is released at home and not in theaters, I'd imagine it won't have the same impact.
7. Venom: Let There Be Carnage — This stayed at #7. The first film had some major flaws, but also some charm. Since it's a Spider-Man thing and I love the Venom character, as well as Carnage, I'm still hoping for the best and seeing this no matter what.
What Made the Final Cut:
6. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — I know virtually nothing about Shang-Chi, too. However, MCU and the real Mandarin? Neat.
5. Mission: Impossible 7 — These films basically keep getting better and better. Take my cash.
4. Ghostbusters: Afterlife — This actually stayed in the #4 spot compared to last year. I really, really don't want them to screw this up. I absolutely love the first film and I still maintain some fondness for the second, even though it's nowhere near as good. Bustin' makes me feel good. Don't make me feel bad.
3. Black Widow — Down one spot. It's an MCU property, so it gets high priority. Black Widow is great and this movie has a lot of potential to set up some interesting things going forward.
2. No Time to Die — Down one spot. I'm getting increasingly more nervous that this film is going to go in the direction I don't want it to, where they're setting up Nomi to take the lead with the franchise and try to either kill James Bond off or retire him for real, with her being 007 going forward. I watch Bond films to watch Bond, not to watch some other character. Give me an opening gun barrel, a better film than the previous one, something that FOR ONCE doesn't entirely revolve around Daniel Craig being "not Bond yet" (Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace) or "too old already" (Skyfall and Spectre). Then, end it where we can recast Bond and reboot the series again. Don't play any other games.
1. Spider-Man 3 (title unknown) — No shit, right? It's an MCU film revolving around my #2 favorite superhero of all time. You've got the multiverse coming into effect here. I'm going to go BONKERS for this film. Aaaaaaaaaah!
WHICH MOVIES ARE YOU INTERESTED IN CHECKING OUT?
TELL US IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
