Favorite Movies of 2021
It was a great year for movies too, made all the better by being able to go back to the theaters. My first movie back was Heat at the Music Box; having my eardrums blasted by Michael Mann gunfire and seeing Robert De Niro and Al Pacino gaze longingly at each other over coffee and dead bodies was a perfect way to return. Some other gems this year were a private screening Scott Pilgrim Vs The World for Hal’s birthday, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me followed by a Q&A with Sheryl Lee and Dana Ashbrook, and my all-time favorite Paris, Texas at the Gene Siskel.
There are still some big ones that I haven’t seen yet (West Side Story, House of Gucci, few others) but of the obscene amount of new movies I saw, here are my favorites.
Honorable Mentions:
- Malignant
- Annette
- Benedetta
- The Night House
- The Voyeurs
- No Time To Die
- The Green Knight
- The Last Duel
- Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar
- Judas and the Black Messiah
20. F9
Nothing reminds us of the importance of family better than Vin Diesel and car stunts.
19. The Tragedy of Macbeth
Further proof that Denzel Washington is the greatest living actor.
18. No Sudden Move
I hope Steven Soderbergh never stops making lean “in-and-out” crime movies like this one.
17. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Drive My Car is getting more attention, but this other movie that Ryusuke Hamaguchi released this year is also excellent. Three short stories, each one better than the last.
16. Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Some of these performances are absolutely electric.
15. Bergman Island
Best ABBA needle drop since Cher in Mamma Mia 2.
14. Nomadland
This could’ve been a two-hour slideshow of Chloé Zhao shooting western landscapes and I’d still love it.
13. Old
The culture is slowly but surely coming around on M. Night and claiming him “good” again and I for one couldn’t be happier about it.
12. The Card Counter
Love that Paul Schrader put one of the year’s most romantic moments, Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish walking hand-in-hand through a zoo lights exhibit, in his movie about Abu Ghraib.
11. The Velvet Underground
Just as the saying goes, everyone who watches this documentary will go out and make their own documentary.
10. The Power of the Dog
Kirsten Dunst in a Western, a match made in heaven.
9. C’mon C’mon
I love Crazy Joker Joaquin as much as the next guy, but Tender Joaquin is where he really shines.
8. The French Dispatch
Practically every performance in here is one of the year’s best.
7. Titane
Tender and horrifying in the same beat.
6. Drive My Car
As good as every bit of hype you’ve heard.
5. Pig
I’m biased as a Nicolas Cage enthusiast, but this is the best thing he’s done in a long time.
4. The Matrix Resurrections
Seeing Keanu and Carrie-Anne Moss together again is almost overwhelmingly joyful. A true love letter of a movie from Lana.
3. Dune
Slogging through the book before seeing this was the right move, because it felt like even more of a triumph seeing Villeneuve actually pull it off and make this an incredible adaption.
2. The Beatles: Get Back
Beatlemania simply will never end, and thank god for that.
- Licorice Pizza
PTA correctly understands that the most romantic thing in the world can be a timely-placed Paul McCartney song.
