Staying safe at the movies with Chris Nichols, in 2021

Film
you have my avid attention — for an entire year!

Some people spent 2021 doom-scrolling on their phones. Others, like my friend Chris, spent it watching movies. When Chris idly let drop that he saw 86 movies last year, I had to ask for the basis of that claim. Said Chris (he is also known to his readers in Los Angeles Magazine as “Ask Chris“), “I keep a record of all the movies I watch.”

Oh. Okay. Got that. He added with journalistic accuracy that he does “NOT keep a record if [he] fell asleep during them.” I must say that could be a whole other list, but who would write it? He’d be sleeping! Chris was the host of our early COVID drive-in movie screening of Village of the Giants (1965) in July 2020, which seems like eons ago.

I immediately felt that artsmeme readers would want to peruse My Friend Chris’s movie list — and recognize his achievement. Or, perhaps because of COVID, they have nothing better to do.

high on the aarp top-ten for ’21

1/17
War Games
Home

1/20
Super Intelligence
Home

1/22
Wonder Woman 1984
Home

1/23
Some Kind of Heaven
Home 

1/29
My Spy
Home

1/31
Maria Montez: The Movie
The Muppet Movie 
Home

2/3
Ball of Fire
Home

2/4 
Dames
Home

2/13

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Home

2/14
Space Sweepers
Home

2/17
The Martian
Home

2/19
The Cheap Detective
Home

2/20
Blithe Spirit
Arena Cinelounge drive-in

2/26
Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar
Home

2/27
Minari 
Vineland Drive-In

3/7
Chaos Walking
Mission Tiki drive-in

3/10
Newsies
Home

3/13
Coming 2 America
Vineland Drive-In

3/18
The Last Blockbuster 
Home

3/25
Trial of the Chicago 7
Home

3/27
The Courier
Vineland Drive-In

4/3
Encino Man
Home

4/7
Walk of Shame
Home

4/9
Thunder Force
Home

4/11
Senior Moment
Home

4/15
Logan’s Run
Home 

4/17
Hairspray (1988)
Greek theater

4/18
Sweet Charity
Home

4/24
Street Gang: How we got to Sesame Street
Vineland Drive-In

5/1
Nomadland 
Home

5/15
Lil’ Abner
Home

5/23
Real Life
Home

5/29
Cruella
AMC Montebello

6/4
High School Confidential! (1958)
Home

6/5
Police Academy (1984)
Home

6/12
Queen Bees
Laemmle Pasadena

6/18
June Bride (1948)
Home

6/25
Dream Horse
Landmark

7/3
F9
Regal LA Live

7/8
Only the Lonely
Home 

7/10
Summer of Soul
Alamo Drafthouse

7/11
The Mitchells vs the Machines
Home

7/17
Black Widow
Look, Monrovia

7/18
Defending Your Life (1991)
Aero

7/19
Pig
Laemmle Monica 

7/24
Bo Burnham: Inside
Look, Monrovia 

7/25
Mandibles
Nuart

7/29
La Bamba (1987)
Home

8/1
Jungle Cruise
Cinema City, Anaheim

8/7
Swan Song
Laemmle Pasadena

8/14
Free Guy
Century Stadium Orange

8/19
The Swimmer (1968)
Los Feliz 3

8/22
Annette
Laemmle NoHo

8/29
Respect
Cinepolis Pico

9/5
Shang Chi
Cinepolis Pico Rivera

9/11
Queenpins
Cinemark Downey

9/19
Eyes of Tammy Faye
AMC Americana

9/26
The Guilty
Alamo Drafthouse

9/29
Day of the Locust (1975)
New Beverly

10/7
Muppets Haunted Mansion
Drive-in “Hallowstream” premiere
West LA College

10/9
No Time to Die
Cinepolis

10/10
I’m Your Man
Laemmle Pasadena

10/17
Venom
AMC Montebello

10/22
The French Dispatch
The Grove

10/23
The Electric Life of Louis Wain
Laemmle Pasadena

11/6
Finch
Alamo Drafthouse

11/14
Dune
Regal La Habra

11/20

Ghostbusters Afterlife
Cinepolis

11/27
Polyester 
Home

11/28
Encanto
El Capitan

12/3
House of Gucci
Cinepolis

12/9
Luca 
Home

12/10
The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
Home 

12/11
West Side Story
AMC Montebello

12/14
Clusterfunke Christmas 
Home

12/19 
Spider Man: No Way Home
Atlantic Times Square

12/22
Galaxy Quest
Home

12/24
It’s a Wonderful Life
Home

12/24
Harry and the Hendersons
Home

12/24
Top Hat
Home

12/26
My Dinner With Herve
Home

12/27
One Two Three
Home

12/27
Reno 911 The Hunt For Qanon 
Home

12/29
Ron’s Gone Wrong
Home

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