Hi friends! It’s that time of year again! It is time for me to make my picks for my blind spot series for 2021. This series is designed as a way for me to check much heralded and praised films off of my to be watched list. This will be my 5th year of blind spot picks and I always try to make it a mixture of critically praised and audience favorites as well as some cult classics along the way.
So here goes. My 2021 Blind Spot Picks!:
January
Selena
This pick goes out to my friend Larry who was aghast to find out I have never seen this musical biopic. I’m not sure how it slipped under my radar but it needs to be seen!
February
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I have a lot of blind spots from 2004 as it was the year I served a full-time mission for my church. Eternal Sunshine is one of those films. I missed it when it came out and have never caught up with it. I’m told it is a tragic love story with Jim Carrey trying to forget Kate Winslet? Either way I always try to pick a romance for February so this should be good.
March
Highlander
March seems like as good a time as any to finally get caught up in the fantasy action-adventure from the 80s: Highlander. This battle between the immortal warriors looks like a lot of fun.
April
Two for the Road
I’m a big Audrey Hepburn fan but haven’t seen this zany road trip movie she is in with Albert Finney. They play a married couple traveling to France and it looks like something right up my alley. It is also directed by Stanley Donen who did films like Singing in the Rain so it should be fun!
May
Bonnie and Clyde
A landmark film of its era Bonnie and Clyde has been on my bucket list for some time. I remember Roger Ebert particularly liked it and it was one of the movies that convinced him to become a critic. It should be really good!
June
Beverly Hills Cop
I always try to include a popular comedy I haven’t seen and Beverly Hills Cop fits that bill. Eddie Murphy scored a massive hit with this first film of the franchise but the screenplay was even nominated for Best Original Screenplay. A lot of comedies from the 80s don’t hold up well so it will be fun to see how this one does.
July
The Wild Bunch
I tend to not think of myself as much of a Western fan, but I’ve enjoyed most of the films of the genre I’ve watched for the blindspot series including The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence which was fantastic. Now we have The Wild Bunch from 1969 about an ‘aging outlaw gang on the Mexican border in 1913. It stars William Holden, Ernest Borgnine and is a long 145 minutes. Perfect for blind spot!
August
Godzilla 1954
A definite blind spot of mine is I have only seen modern Godzilla films. The earliest I’ve seen is the terrible one from Roland Emmerich in 1998. From what I’ve read this version from 1954 is the best and it looks like a lot of fun. I enjoy creature scares and monster movies when they are done right so hopefully this one will be.
September
Her Blue Sky
I always try to include some anime in my blind spot list but I’m running out of most of the big names. Her Blue Sky is a film I’ve heard a lot of good things about. The story about a young girl and time travel sounds intriguing and I love the writer Mari Okada so it will hopefully be a win!
October
Frankenstein 1931
Another big gap in my film knowledge is the Universal Monster movies. I’ve seen hardly any of them, and that needs to change. First up will be Frankenstein from 1931 starring Boris Karloff and Colin Clive as Frankenstein’s monster and the man himself respectively. It should be a great choice for Halloween!
November
The Gold Rush
I’ve seen a lot of Charlie Chaplin but never seen The Gold Rush for some reason. In this film the Little Tramp heads north to join in the Klondike Gold Rush and all kinds of shenanigans ensue. It looks like a lot of fun and I look forward to watching it
December
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
I had never heard of this holiday film until this year while watching the TCM special they had on holiday films. Margaret O’Brien was talking about Meet Me in St Louis (which I adore) and she mentioned also appearing in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes. I’ve seen most of the holiday classics so I immediately added it to my blind spot list!
So there you have it! My blind spot picks for 2021. What do you think of them? Have you seen any of them? Let me know what you think!
I’ve only seen Frankenstein out of these – it’s the best of the old Universal horror films I’ve seen. (The Invisible Man is next best, while Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man are all OK.) There’s a podcast on Audible called A Universe of Horrors which goes into the history of Universal horror.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been on my list for a while. I’d like to watch 1954 Godzilla but it’s difficult to find.
Oh I didnt even think it would be difficult to find
I think it’s here on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00ADHR99A/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
It’s not available to rent on UK Amazon unfortunately.
Bonnie and Clyde, The Wild Bunch and Frankenstein are particularly excellent ones 👌
Some great films on this list! Our Vines Have Tender Grapes is a really sweet movie.
The only classic Universal Monsters films I’ve seen are Dracula, The Wolf Man, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (if you count that, lol).
I also need to see Two for the Road as an Audrey Hepburn fan.