2021 was honestly not my favorite year for movies, and we are going into a highly disappointing Oscar season by the unredeemable amount of nominations for Don’t Look Up. I did like a lot of movies this year though; I also watched way more movies from 2021 then any year I have before. At the time of writing this I have marked down 82 movies from 2021 on my Letterboxd, which is a crazy amount of times I sat in a theater. There wasn’t a lot of box office success, and definitely an even higher impact on Oscar pick season in the late fall and winter movie runs, but it was fun to watch a lot of very different stories and look at the different techniques in which filmmakers go about their movies.
Here are some honorable mentions without a lot said about them:
Candyman: I am not always one for horror movies but the themes and feelings radiating from this movie are like no other. Nia DaCosta is a director to keep an eye on for future projects.
No Time to Die: I love a good Bond film, and even though this represents the end of my favorite Bond, it is cool to see him have a more classic Bond adventure, but with a more certain conclusion added onto it.
The Tragedy of Macbeth: I’ve been on a Coen binge, and seeing this in a special showing was fun. I love the use of black and white, the set design is incredible, and you can’t go wrong with a Frances McDormand film.
Dune: My first Denis Villeneuve movie and it is pretty incredible. There is a lot of fun here, a great Timothée role, not a lot of Zendaya as seemingly promised. It is paced so well, and the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer carries the big moments to seemingly operatic heights.
Pig: I didn’t expect to enjoy this that much, I am not the biggest Nic Cage fan, but the story, the pacing, and the cinematography are just so graceful. This was top of my list for the longest.
Without further ado, don’t judge me.
10. The Green Knight dir. David Lowery
I had been excited for this one since I learned of it. I had to wait a while to see it, and when I did it was something mystical. Every scene feels delicate; you feel unwell yet full when watching it. Every movement in this movie feels well placed and necessary in order to see the full picture. The use of color is amazing, and the cinematography is mind-blowing with some of the scenes being so raw and beautiful.
Dev Patel fits so well into this role; every emotion he relates is immediately felt. They make your connection with his characters so intimate and immediate. You can’t help but feel uncomfortable when he fails, or scared when he is taken advantage of. You ponder his emotions, and you feel for him, even when it seems like he takes every wrong step towards the end of the journey he is on.
Not to say this movie isn’t confusing at first (I feel like I barely got it, and the people I saw the movie with couldn’t help but ask what the hell was going on the entire time), but you get a sense that that is sort of the point. That you just have to experience it for what it is, and whatever you get from it, you at least see the journey Gawain went through.
9. Tick, Tick…BOOM! dir. Lin-Manuel Miranda
I tried honestly to hold off my growing admiration for this movie, especially because it was made by Mr. Miranda himself. Yet god damn does this hit so hard. Andrew Garfield is such an amazing actor, he dedicates himself to this role so indiscriminately hard, and sings his lungs off. The songs are amazing, and the story hits home for so many artists. Having to deal with the dream of wanting to do something with this talent you have, yet feeling like time keeps slipping away from you—this can be related to any trouble but especially to that of making your dreams come true. To see that story manifest or die in these characters, and the struggle with that decision to keep pursuing or to let them fade within Jonathan’s character.
Lin-Manuel Miranda starts his directorial career with this and honestly I gotta give it up to him, he pulls out an incredible debut here. I am excited to see where he goes from here. If I can take anything away, or give any semblance of my mind on this movie and the musical soundtrack spanning out from it, I love “30/90” and it is half the reason this movie is on the list.
8. Spencer dir. Pablo Larraín
I am writing this on the morning of the Oscar nominations and I can’t believe the absolute snub fest that occurred for this movie. At least Kristen Stewart is set up to win Best Actress. This movie is so tragic, yet so stunning. It feels like you are watching a classic Shakespearean tragedy yet it is occurring within the psyche of a woman gone depressed because of the royal family. The slightly over lit, yet faded look of the movie makes everything seem so pristine, yet the horror of the silent agony that occurs for Princess Diane is so potent throughout the film, and these two sides are contrasted so well. Kristen Stewart is incredible, and if she doesn’t win Best Actress I will riot in Hollywood and stamp a Twilight sticker on every corner of every street.
7. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
Now I am a sucker for superhero movies, and I love Simu Liu too much now. This movie is really good. I can’t really speak much to the messages of the story, because I can’t fully relate—which is fine, this story really isn’t for me—but I enjoyed it so much anyway. The action is the cleanest I have ever seen in a superhero movie. It is the closest to Zhang Yimou’s work I have ever seen in a movie like this, and that is what I prefer for my movie action. It is fluid and hard hitting, and every fight comes down to a needed and accurate conclusion. The story of family and love is so powerful, and it is played well by every actor. If I can say anything about this movie, it is that I am excited to see Shang-Chi in future Marvel projects.
6. The French Dispatch dir. Wes Anderson
I am a big fan of Wes Anderson’s directing and cinematography. I think the motions of his films are so beautiful, and fluid, yet I am such a fan of the story within this one. Each portion of the movie comes from the narration of the article’s writer, and a scene in which they tell this story. We learn about these writers less through the story they take part in, and more from the way they write, and how they interact with their editor played by Bill Murray. We know how they view themselves, they know how they want their writing to be heard, and we know how serious they are about the job and how much they want their editor helping them. It is so subtle, yet when I picked it up, it just enhanced the ideas of the movie so much more for me. I love how well crafted the story is. Other than that, the characters are all so different and all so fun to watch. The scenes are rich with great direction, and creative soundtracks options to match their story beats. I’ve had “Aline” by Jarvis Cocker stuck in my head since I saw it in October.
You can read Luke Wilhelm’s review of The French Dispatch here.
5. King Richard dir. Reinaldo Marcus Green
Yes, something can be said of my enjoyment of this movie. I can recognize that it probably isn’t the best of any of the genres it covers, yet I am a sucker for sports movies for some unknown reason, and this is no exception; if anything it is the conqueror of my weird love for them. I always love movies that explore family dynamics and fathers. It is interesting to watch Will Smith in this kind of role. While he usually plays a badass, a guy with the funny quips, and the cool action, and he is just a father trying to do his best to teach and to inspire. He earned his Best Actor nomination for this film, and I honestly prefer him to at least two of the options in the category. It is so exciting to watch this family prove themselves, and so upsetting to see the stubbornness of a father get in the way as well. I know that King Richard isn’t perfect, but I enjoy it nonetheless.
You can read Julia Lipsztein’s review of King Richard here.
4. Flee dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen
I am not always the biggest on animated films; animated features can at their best be some of the greatest examples of visual cinema and storytelling like with Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse or Fantastic Mr. Fox, or they can be the exact opposite of that, lazy storytelling coupled with under-budgeted animation iron-gripped to soulless creative shackles, an example of that being oh I don’t know, choose any of the latter half of the Ice Age franchise, or Gnomeo and Juliet honestly. Flee is the former; it deserves the Oscar for Best Animated film, and it deserves your time. The use of different animation styles to accurately show the story of the man’s life is incredible. It feels so intimate and deeply personal, and it is incredible to watch such a tragic story. Flee brings up issues you never fully have the grasp on, and it makes you believe in humanity all the same. Encanto is incredible, I will admit, but something this well put deserves recognition.
You can read Piper Coyner’s review of Flee here.
3. The Worst Person in the World dir. Joachim Trier
One of the newest entries on this list, and my only Sundance purchase, The Worst Person in the World is everything I like in movies: it explores a character with such a refined perspective, and interrogates every one of her emotions and thoughts, whether actually spoken or not. It is heartbreaking, and spirit lifting. She is the worst person in the world, but is she? We can all be that if we want, to whoever may think that. Julie’s story tells us about change, love, and dreams. We don’t always know where we are going, we don’t always know what to do, but Julie keeps moving forward. It doesn’t always work, and she can’t help but think of the places where women in her lineage were at her age, but she always moves in the direction she believes will make her better. How do we deal with these natural steps through life? This movie tries to give us a look, and I love it for that reason.
2. Spider-Man: No Way Home dir. Jon Watts
Yeah, unfortunately my nerd is showing up again. I have been watching the Spider-Man movies since the original came out when I was in elementary school. Spider-Man 2 is one of my all time favorites, and this just works for me. The ending of a high school Spider-Man, the consequences that follow Peter making quick decisions, and how he deals with loss. Such core Spider-Man ideals mixed with such amazing call backs, and crazy good character redemptions from other series. The jokes line up with what we come to expect from a Marvel movie, the score is another hit by Michael Giacchino. Most importantly though this is probably the most feeling ever given to the character. Of course there is the typical sadness that is displayed in the original Raimi trilogy and then the cheesy, angsty, heavy crying of the Amazing Spider-Man films but this felt different. You feel the pressure on Peter, the need he has to make things right, to create not just a better world but a but environment around him. You see how he figures out what it means to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and you see the dangers and the repercussions of the actions of a superhero more so than in anything else Marvel has created. This movie is so special to superhero fans and probably won’t leave the minds of them until, you know, the next one, probably.
1. C’Mon C’Mon dir. Mike Mills
This was a revolutionary film for me, filled with such great emotions, such amazing acting, and so much heart it probably stole the life of a couple dozen people just to put that much into this movie. The themes of family, life, and where we are and where we are going are incredible. Everything feels so important in this movie, and yet so casual. This is the story of a documentary director and his nephew trying to learn more about life through each other’s experiences, and trying to figure out how to move on and be okay with what is happening and what has happened. I thought about this movie for months afterwards, and it almost makes me weep that it’ll never cross the mind of anyone in the Academy or any awards show for that matter. It is just so quaint, and full of life. It is hard to really describe all of the emotions we see here. I think Joaquin Phoenix is just so good at getting to the emotional center of a role to the point that describing how he performed is an unfair task, and when you add a kid involved, it is just heavenly how well the two main actors work together. More than most films, C’Mon C’Mon wants you to feel: how alone people can get, feel how much joy can rise from simple situations, feel how frightening it can be to care for someone. Every moment of this movie matters to the core point of getting you to feel. Then, once you are done, and you hear this uncle and his nephew speak to each other, in the crazy ways they love to talk. You feel at home, yet full with everything this movie wanted you to be full with. So I implore you to watch this absolute emotional beast of a movie that got snubbed by every awards ceremonies everywhere.