The Very Worst Movies of 2021

 

By Mark Pukalo

There seemed to be more over-rated films in the Oscar Year 2021 than truly bad ones.

While this year had its share of fast forward button-worthy efforts, a few on my list of the worst 15 of year were loved by most professional critics and a few others could have been there if it had not been for acting and scenery.

I thought about putting potential "Best Picture" winner "The Power of the Dog" on this list, but it had enough elements to avoid my wrath. When my list of the best movies of 2021 comes out later in the week, the "Passable" list also has some really bad movies to avoid.

Bruce Willis makes his annual appearance on this list and other good actors like Nic Cage, Marion Cotillard, Adam Driver, Amy Adams, Kaitlyn Dever, Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Amandla Stenberg, Kelsey Grammar and Sophia Bush show up.

Here's my worst of the worst for the 10-month Oscar Year 2021, out of more than 230 films viewed.

Dishonorable mention: American Night, Awake, Blue Miracle, Halloween Kills, Held, Home Team, Intrusion, Joe Bell, Lansky, The Last Mercenary, Oslo, Small Engine Repair, The Survivalist

The Top 15 Stinkers

15. Prisoners of Ghostland - Weird Nic Cage film with strange characters that is hard to follow.

14. The God Committee - A medical ethics drama with Kelsey Grammar that just doesn't cut it.

13. American Traitor  - The story of Axis Sally is borrrrrring.

12. The Seventh Day - Exorcism, horror, nonsense and, well, who cares what else?

11. Deadly Illusions - Confusing netflix thriller, and a pretty Greer Grammar (Kelsey's daughter) can't save it.

10. Annette - Didn't really get this musical with Adam Driver and the beautiful Marion Cotillard. The snobby critics liked it somehow.

9. After We Fell - This series of movies has gotten steadily worse. Hardin is a despicable character that should have been dumped long ago, and Tessa is a beautiful idiot.

8. Separation - A dumb horror film, with no redeeming value, about a wife haunting her estranged husband.

7. The Father Who Moves Mountains - An extremely unlikable father tries to find his son, who has been lost in a blizzard.

6. Night of Sicario - Ridiculous action film about bad guys trying to get a code from a family going into witness protection.

5. Trigger Point - Promising start, but gets worse and there is no real ending to this mess of a conspiracy movie. Will there be a Trigger Point 2?

4. Cosmic Sin - As one critic put it, Bruce Willis "mails it in" in this thin and confusing Sci-Fi drama. Even Perry Reeves (Entourage) can't save it.

3. Malignant - Critics seemed to like this one. I hated it. A really stupid horror film that tries to be something it is not, in my opinion. Sorry.

2. Dear Evan Hansen  - A wasted opportunity with a great cast. Issues like teenage suicide just don't work as a musical, even though it apparently did on Broadway somehow.

1. False Positive - A really bad horror movie with Pierce Brosnan as a creepy baby doctor. Had no idea what was going on at times and did not really care. I felt bad for pretty Ilana Glazer, who is not a bad actress.

PREVIOUS WORST MOVIES OF THE YEAR

2020 - Dolittle

2019 - Cold Pursuit

2018:  Mile 22

2017 - Mother!

2016 - 13 Hours and Hail Caesar!

2015 - Chappie

2014 - The Monuments Men

2013 - The Place Between the Pines

2012 - Cloud Atlas

2011 - Tree of Life

Best from the Queen of Soul

 

Aretha Franklin's top 20 songs

Mark Pukalo

The "Queen of Soul" made every song her own, and created an amazing library. Her booming voice and presence make her one of the greatest singers of all time. Here's my list of her best songs.

1. Respect - Can't be anything else but No. 1. Originally written and recorded by the great Otis Redding.

2. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Carole King and Gerry Goffin co-wrote this classic song for Aretha. The Queen brought the house down when she sang this at the Kennedy Center honors for Carole. Go see it on Youtube. It brings tears to your eyes.

3. Day Dreaming - Catchy tune made it to No. 5 on the Billboard chart and was ranked 61st for the year 1972

4. Amazing Grace - Does anyone sing this better? I think, Not.

5. Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) - Stevie Wonder was one of the writers of the song, but did not release it on an album until after Aretha's version made it to the top 10 in 1974.

6. Freeway of Love - The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, plays his sax on this classic which was the Queen's highest charting single in 12 years when it came out in 1985.

7. I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) - Soulful title track tune made it to the top 10 as the second-best song on the album behind Respect.

8. Think - Written by Aretha with her first husband Ted White, reaching the top 10 in 1968. Later used in the Blues Brothers movie.

9. Chain of Fools - No. 1 R&B hit written by Don Covey. The song is about a woman who is being cheated on and is too weak to leave, but will some day break the chain.

10. Rock Steady - Top 10 hit was written by the Queen for the "Young, Gifted and Black" album.

11. A Change is Gonna Come

12. United Together

13. I Say a Little Prayer

14. Spanish Harlem

15. The Weight

16. Young, Gifted and Black

17. You're All I Need to Get By

18. (Sweet, Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone

19. Call Me (This Girl's in Love with You)

20. Baby I Love You

Others

Do Right Woman, Do Right Man

Drown in my own tears

Bridge over Troubled Water

Oh Me oh My (I'm a Fool for you Baby)

Mr. DJ

Spirit in the Dark

Ain't No Way

You Send Me

Something He Can Feel

Son of a Preacher Man

Top Christmas Songs of All Time

 

By Mark Pukalo

Here's my work on the top 20 Christmas songs of all time. There are so many great versions to some of these songs, but I went with what I thought was best for each. Merry Christmas everyone!

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Chrissie Hynde with the Pretenders - Chrissie's voice perfectly fits this song that was unveiled first by Judy Garland in the 1944 musical "Meet Me in St. Louis."

2. Please Come Home for Christmas, The Eagles - Blues singer and pianist Charles Brown wrote the song in 1960, but no one sang it better than Don Henley.

3. Happy Xmas (War is Over), John Lennon - John and Yoko wrote it as a protest song against the Vietnam War, but it has since fit in smoothly on Christmas.

4. River, Joni Mitchell - The Canadian great never released this beautiful sad song as a single, but apparently it has been recorded by other artists second most among her tunes. When I hear this song now, I always think of the long winding river from the airport to downtown Ottawa I drove back in the 90s. For miles and miles, I saw people skating "away."

5. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Bruce Springsteen - Clarence's Ho Hos put the cap on this classic live tune from the Boss. "Everybody out there been good or what? Oh, that's not many, that's not many, you people in trouble out here."

6. Feliz Navidad, Jose Feliciano - The Puerto Rican star wrote this simple song with a Spanish greeting in 1970. Jose wished a Merry Christmas from "the bottom of my heart."

7. The Christmas Song, Nat King Cole - Robert Wells and Mel Torme wrote the song in 1945 and no one performed it better than the great singer and jazz pianist.

8. Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy, Bing Crosby & David Bowie - The dynamic duo sang the two songs together on Bing's Christmas special in 1977, and the single made it to No. 3 in the UK.

9. Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg - This one tends to be forgotten by many, but it is a beautiful song about former lovers meeting by chance years later on Christmas Eve before the "snow turns into rain."

10. Little Saint Nick, The Beach Boys - Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote this fun song, released it as a single in December of 1963, and it went all the way to No. 3.

11. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

12. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Jackson 5

13. Let it Snow - Frank Sinatra

14. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey

15. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

16. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) - Alvin & the Chipmunks

17. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2

18. Jingle Bell Rock - Hall & Oates

19. Last Christmas - Emilia Clarke/Wham (I like Queen Daenerys' version best)

20. Do They Know it's Christmas? - Bandaid

Others Considered

Santa Baby - MaDonna

Christmas Pics - Barenaked Ladies

Blue Christmas - Elvis Pressley

Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen

I'll Be Home for Christmas - Aimee Mann

Winter Wonderland - Michael Bolton

Run Run Rudolph - Chuck Berry

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

The Very Best of the Talking Heads

 

By Mark Pukalo

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band was formed in 1975 and put out eight albums in just over 10 years, creating a new wave sound that mixed several forms of music. They were certainly one of a kind while lead singer David Byrne's Broadway show and the movie version "David Byrne's American Utopia" features some of their best songs. Here's my list, although I have to say after the top 12 many tunes are about even.

1. Once in a Lifetime - Same as it ever was. A great tune. The lyrics and vocals were said to be inspired by preachers doing sermons.

2. This Must be the Place - Byrne said this was rare love song he wrote and it sounded great in the movie "Wall Street." It is one of the highlights "American Utopia" as well.

3. Burning Down the House - The Heads' only top 10 single on the US Billboard chart. Inspired by Parliament Funkadelic. 

4. Road to Nowhere - The group's lone top 10 hit in the UK. Byrne wrote it as a "joyful look at doom."

5. And She Was - The brilliant tune is said to be basically about a woman with the power to levitate above everyone and the man who loves her, wanting her to be normal. 

6. Life During Wartime - A song written apparently about "a post-apocalyptic landscape" with a punk/funk feel.

7. Take Me to the River - The Heads' cover of a song written and performed by the Reverend Al Green. The version by Green was ranked 117th by Rolling Stone magazine among the top 500 songs of all time.

8. Wild Wild Life - Ranked second among its singles on the Billboard chart, making it to No. 25. It won Best Group Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987.

9. Stay Up Late - Bouncy song about a cute little baby from the 1985 album "Little Creatures."

10. (Nothing but) Flowers - From the band's final album "Naked." Johnny Marr from The Smiths plays guitar on the song. Used to open Kevin Smith's film "Clerks 2."

11. The Lady Don't Mind

12. Psycho Killer

13. Slippery People

14. I Zimbra

15. Making Flippy Floppy

16. Blind

17. Girlfriend is Better

18. Don't Worry About the Government

19. Pulled Up

20. No Compassion

Others Considered

Cross-eyed and Painless

The Big Country

Houses in Motion

Born Under Punches

Found a Job

Television Man

Radio Head

Love > Building on Fire

Heaven

Uh Oh, Love Comes to Town

Mr. Jones

The Good Thing

Cities

The Book I Read

The Great Curve

The Best of Neil Young: Top 20

 

I am an old man with a heart of gold, so Neil is one of my favorite artists of all time. We used to call him "The King of Distortion" in college jokingly for his electric guitar work, but most of his best songs - in my opinion - have been done acoustically. The guy is a legend and his library is so deep that it was difficult to rate them, especially from 13-30.

Neil Young

Top 20

1. Harvest Moon - A simple and beautiful love song that I could listen to over and over.

2. Heart of Gold - Neil's only No. 1 song on the Billboard charts hit the radio in 1972.

3. Old Man - Made it to No. 4 as the follow up to Heart of Gold and No. 6 on this list was the B-side.

4. Unknown Legend - An exquisitely-written song that just flows beautifully. "She used to work at a diner. Never saw a woman look finer. I used to order just to watch her float across the floor."

5. Like a Hurricane - Hard rocking tune. "You are like a hurricane, there's calm in your eyes."

6. Needle and the Damage Done - Neil wrote this sad, gripping song about heroin addiction among musicians he knew.

7. Rockin' in the Free World - Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the 216th greatest song of all time.

8. Sugar Mountain - Neil wrote this when he was a teenager in the mid 60s, mostly about his youth.

9. Hey, Hey My My (Out of the Blue and Black) - The song actually developed out of his work with the punk-art band Devo. "It's better to burn out than to fade away."

10. Comes a Time - Easy listening song. "Comes a time, when you're drifting. Comes a time, when you settle down." From the album by the same name in 1978, that includes No. 14 on this list.

11. From Hank to Hendrix

12. Southern Man

13. Prime of Life

14. Four Strong Winds

15. Cinnamon Girl

16. Long May You Run

17. Out on the Weekend

18. Walk On

19. Cortez the Killer

20. Transformer Man (unplugged)

Joe Lunardi's first six out

Lotta Love 

Powderfinger

After the Gold Rush

Down by the River

Pocahontas

Change your mind

A dozen others considered

Philadelphia

Sleeps with Angels

One of these Days

Helpless

Mr. Soul

It's a Dream

This Note's for You

Downtown

Walk Like a Giant

Cowgirl in the Sand

Tonight's the Night

Only Love Can Break Your Heart

The Best of Marvin Gaye

 

Marvin Gaye is one of the most talented artists that died way too soon. Even though we were only graced by his musical presence for a little over two decades, his library of great songs is very large.

Marvin Gaye

Top 20

1. What's Goin' On - One of the best-written songs of all time. "War is not the answer, for only Love can conquer Hate."

2. Mercy, Mercy Me (the Ecology) - Another masterpiece. Check out the cover by Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend at Live Earth

3. I Heard it through the Grapevine - The first No. 1 hit for Marvin after Gladys Knight took it to No. 2

4. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Beautiful tune written by the late Nickolas Ashford and the beautiful Valerie Simpson

5. Let's Get it On - Marvin's second No. 1 hit was about sexual liberation in 1973

6. Sexual Healing - The passionate song was Marvin's first single after he left Motown

7. I Want You - Song has a little disco edge to it in 1976

8. Gotta Give it Up - Marvin wrote this song in 1977 and you can dance to it

9. How Sweet It Is - The Motown-writing team put this to paper and Marvin took it to No. 6. James Taylor later made it his own and went to No. 5

10. Ain't That Peculiar - Smokey Robinson co-wrote and produced this wonderful bouncy number

11. After the Dance

12. Come Get to This

13. Inner City Blues

14. Can I Get a Witness

15. Pride and Joy

16. What's Happening Brother

17. Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing

18. That's the Way Love is

19. You're All I Need to Get By

20. Take This Heart of Mine

Others considered

When did you stop loving me, When did I stop loving you

Distant Lover

If I could build my whole world around you

Too Busy Thinking About my Baby

Trouble Man

Sad Tomorrows

Wholy Holy

You're the One for Me

Since I Had You

My Mistake (was to love you)

Heavy Love Affair

If I Should Die Tonight

How About A Three-Peat in Champa Bay?

 

By Mark Pukalo

Several issues can severely affect teams that win championships. They could get even worse when an organization celebrates two straight titles.

Salary caps may force management to break up the core, complacency can set in, they could get old all at once and the fatigue of two long postseasons can wear the players out.

The two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning don’t appear to have any of those problems as the first full NHL season since 2018-19 begins on Tuesday night against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sure, they lost their entire third line from the last two seasons and must retool the bottom six a bit, but the Bolts have not lost any of their All Stars to free agency. There certainly isn’t a motivation issue with this group, which would love to notch a place in history with three straight Cups. The Lightning are still a young team overall, with veteran newcomers Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare and Corey Perry the only regular skaters older than 33. This team never seems to wear out physically, either. They have made a habit of rebounding from losses the last two playoff runs.

Mental fatigue? We’ll see, but not sure that will keep the Lightning from making another run either.

There is no reason the Bolts can’t win a third straight Cup, unless injuries to their top players slow them down. It certainly won’t be easy, with several teams knocking at the door. 

“We just can't rest on what has happened the past two years,” captain Steven Stamkos told NHL.com. “The start is critical to any season and I think maybe even a little more so for our group now. Let's get off to a really good start. Especially when you have a team that has been together for as long as we have, that's when you take advantage is at the beginning of the year when some teams are just feeling out their rosters, guys are getting a chance, everyone is not dialed in on their special teams.”

The trio of Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov has arguably become the best line in the league. That group is a given to put up big points. Like always, the Lightning will need complimentary scoring - primarily at even strength - from the other three lines.

How coach Jon Cooper will set up the bottom three forward trios is still unknown, but it would be a big plus if Stamkos can have an injury-free season, Alex Killorn can continue his increased production from the last two campaigns and Anthony Cirelli can have a breakout offensive season. Mathieu Joseph and Ross Colton must take that next step while Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh assimilate smoothly into the NHL. (I just love Katchouk's potential) Early returns on Perry’s production potential look good after a dazzling preseason and the edgy winger will be more motivated than anyone to win his second Cup (He won with Anaheim in 2007) after losing to the Bolts the last two years.

The defense is set, led by Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak. It would be a plus if first-round pick Cal Foote stepped up and put pressure or gave strong support to Jan Rutta and Zach Bogosian on the right side of the defense.

The loss of talented forward Alex Barre-Boulet on waivers to Seattle on Monday hurts the depth, but the Lightning think highly of centers Gage Goncalves and Simon Ryfors while others such as Gabriel Fortier and Otto Somppi showed in the preseason they could also help up front.

As Stamkos has said, the Lightning will always have a chance with the world’s best goalie in net in Andrei Vasilevskiy. How he did not win three straight Vezinas escapes me. But, the Big Cat has two Cups. I think he’ll take those instead. Veteran Brian Elliott (256 career wins) gets a chance as the backup.

Tampa Bay is the best team in the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will make another final. The New York Islanders and Florida Panthers look good on paper and gave the Lightning their toughest tests in the 2021 playoffs. The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals are never easy to knock out and the Pittsburgh Penguins might be a threat again if they can survive without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the early months. The Philadelphia Flyers have upgraded their defense immensely and Carter Hart can't be that bad again, can he? The Carolina Hurricanes? There’s certainly a lot of talent there. The New York Rangers also have potential to make several steps forward.

But they will all have to catch the Lightning.

In my opinion, the only team that can beat Tampa Bay in the East right now is the Islanders. Lou Lamoriello did a masterful job in the offseason and if they can add another offensive player (Vladimir Tarasenko?) at the deadline or talented Oliver Wahlstrom emerges as a top-six scoring forward and/or Zach Parise finds the Fountain of Youth, this may be the team that ends the Bolts’ run.

Picks in the East:

Atlantic - 1. Tampa Bay; 2. Florida; 3. Boston; 4. Toronto; 5. Montreal; 6. Ottawa; 7. Detroit; 8. Buffalo

Metropolitan - 1. NY Islanders; 2. Philadelphia; 3. Carolina; 4. Washington; 5. NY Rangers; 6. Pittsburgh; 7. Columbus; 8. New Jersey

Wild Cards - Washington, NY Rangers

There’s no doubt the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights are the teams to beat in the West. But who will be the squads that give them the most trouble? That’s impossible to predict because all the contenders look similar. But here are my guesses at the division finishes.

Picks in the West

Central: 1. Colorado; 2. Minnesota; 3. Chicago; 4. Winnipeg; 5. St. Louis; 6. Dallas; 7. Nashville; 8. Arizona (Razor thin between 2nd and 7th)

Pacific: 1. Vegas; 2. Edmonton; 3. Los Angeles; 4. Vancouver; 5. Calgary; 6. San Jose; 7. Anaheim; 8. Seattle

Wild Cards - Winnipeg, Vancouver