It was another year of watching big movies on small screens, but at least 2021 invited us to dip our toes into the water of the Cinema. Big screen offerings like Dune and Spider-man: No Way Home brought out the masked masses, but great films like many listed below were left wanting. Of course, there is nothing listed here that won’t end up on streaming, if it hasn’t already. So to paraphrase Nora Desmond, “The Pictures are big. It’s the viewing devices that got small.”
“Best” is a subjective word, of course, so here now are my favorites of 2021. The ones that gave me the Best experiences:
#1 Nightmare Alley
I’ve watched it 3 times and counting. Haven’t done that since Guillermo del Toro’s last film, “The Shape of Water.” This one is dark as pricey chocolate and as fun as a Ferris wheel. Here is my review.
#2 The Power of the Dog
Also dark, with a tension that builds to quiet perfection. I’ve heard some say they didn’t like it. This isn’t a mainstream Western, to be sure. It’s something different. Something much more satisfying if you have to wade through hundreds of movies each year: it’s different. Here’s my review.
#3 Passing
I’m shocked that this exquisitely rendered film hasn’t been knocking down doors for the awards nominations it deserves. Every frame is gorgeous, the subject matter is fraught with peril and the two female leads, Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, should have already been part of every conversation. Oscar, don’t let us down. Here’s my review.
#4 The Harder They Fall
The Critics Choice Awards have given this neo-Western a “Best Ensemble” nod, which this richly deserves, and I hope they win it. I was never a traditional Western fan, but the gleeful Cowboy violence, the all-Black cast, and the revisionism that reminds you of Tarantino’s fantasy takes on history, all come together to make a most satisfying watch. Here’s my review:
#5 Pig
These days, seeing Nic Cage’s name attached to a film makes you a little nervous. He’s done a lot of “paycheck movies” in the past ten years. Also some nutty films like this year’s Prisoners of the Ghostland, which I liked, but damn, it was weird. Here, Cage is at his most nuanced. It’s actually a very straight story…about a man trying to find his stolen pig, but whose journey takes us to unexpected places and revelations. Here’s my review.
The Best Documentaries of 2021
#6 West Side Story
A glut of musicals this year. I’m a longtime fan of Musical Theater and I have a lot of Broadway under my belt. But I was underwhelmed by some of this year’s most beloved films like In the Heights and Tick, Tick… Boom! And even Disney’s Encanto. There is a sameness that runs them together. Thank Heaven for Spielberg’s reboot of Broadway’s greatest musical. These songs didn’t live 60 years by accident. Here’s my review.
#7 Dune
I usually sleep like a baby in long sci-fi flicks and end up having to circle back to watch again. But Denis Villeneuve has done the impossible and made a gorgeous, coherent, watchable epic. Is there anything this director can’t do well? Not so far.
#8 Licorice Pizza
Paul Thomas Anderson went soft on us this time around – and I love it! Here’s a coming of age story that takes the tropes of the genre and mostly stands them on their ears – you’ve seen young love and the pain that comes with it, but you haven’t seen this indelible characters, sprinkled with 1973 nostalgia dust and set against that soft orange Southern California sun. Here’s my review.
#9 Belfast
This was my #1 of the year for a time. It’s still one of the year’s very best. Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical tale of life in Northern Ireland set against the backdrop of the troubles in the 60s is a delightful ensemble piece with young actor Jude Hill as our innocent eyes that see dark truths and sublime ones, too. Here’s my review:
#10 Titane
It won the Palmes d’Or at Cannes and then was shut out by the Academy when the released their short list for International films this year. The divisiveness is understandable. This French doozy is bat shit crazy and I could not look away for a moment. I don’t think I’ve even written a review of it yet, but I love watching movies without a clue as to their destination, and this one was all of that and more. Here’s a synopsis.
Still to Come…Most Overrated, Best Performances and Best Animated Films
I’m all in for weird and gorgeous! Thanks for the great list.
Thanks, Kyle. I’ll keep the list and watch ‘em all.
Thanks, Kyle. I’ll keep the list and fatch ‘em all.
Good ,the best??