The Best Films of 2021
I am a huge fan of movies, and 2021 was an incredible year for them. Between the large amount of releases that were originally slated for 2020, as well as the ones meant for 2021, we got a ton of films. I’ve watched more than 80 releases from last year, and here I’m going to highlight just a few of the best films to come from 2021.
Judas and the Black Messiah
One of the earliest releases of 2021, as well as one of the strongest is easily found in Judas and the Black Messiah. This film chronicles the powerfully emotional, beautiful and tragic story of the leader of the Black Panthers, Fred Hampton, and his fall from power after being betrayed by FBI informant Bill O’Neal. This film is as frustrating at points as it is sad, seeing a group of protestors be labeled as a threat by the government and treated like dangerous criminals leading to an inevitable, but devastating conclusion. From the gorgeous camera work to the stellar performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Lakieth Stanfield, all the way to the musical score, Judas and the Black Messiah is a film you don’t want to miss.
The Matrix Resurrections
In our current era of blockbuster cinema, it seems that every day there’s a new franchise film coming out. Whether it be the newest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new Transformers film, or the next Halloween movie, you can almost always expect a new film in a long running series in theaters, and with each of them you likely know what kinds of things to expect. Franchise films, especially ones that are sequels in long running series, often have elements you can expect in them, and one of the biggest elements of those are callbacks to earlier installments. Just this year we’ve had three big examples of this in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Space Jam: A New Legacy. All three of said films have their fans, and although I enjoyed one of them a fair amount all three lean on the crutch of nostalgia and often use that as an easy way to please their audiences. The Matrix Resurrections offers an alternative to this. Although this film still makes callbacks to its predecessors, they are almost entirely used to mock the idea of the big Hollywood franchise. It manages to mock and comment on the state of franchises, while also remaining a worthy entry in its own franchise. It’s clever, fun, action packed, and easily one of the best films of the year.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
In 2017 audiences were delivered Justice League, a film that quickly became an embarrassment to its studio. It was credited as being directed by Zack Snyder, but it was quickly revealed to the world that although Snyder had filmed most of his own version of the film, what we got was not at all his. Snyder took time off from the film due to a personal tragedy of losing his daughter to suicide, and after stepping away from the film Warner Brothers took the opportunity to replace him with Joss Whedon, who reshot most of the film before releasing it as a tonally confused mess that audiences and critics both hated. Fans campaigned for three years before Warner Brothers finally allowed Snyder to finish his version, and in 2021 we got it. Even if this film wasn’t any good, it’s worth having out there as a true artistic vision of one man, versus a messy mix of two different tones sloppily released by a studio for a quick buck. Thankfully this film is a wonderful epic, mixing dramatic and heartbreaking tones with the right amount of fun needed for a superhero film. At over four hours in length, Zack Snyder’s Justice League goes by like a breeze and manages to be one of the best comic book films of all time.
Nobody
It’s important to note that this list isn’t in a particular order, because if it was Nobody would easily make the top of the list. Taking a clever and fun twist on the “unlikely action hero” trope, Bob Odenkirk stars as Hutch Mansell, an overlooked suburban dad with a dead-end job and repetitive boring life, who’s past life comes to haunt him after a series of events stemming from a home break-in and the disappearance of his daughter’s kitty cat bracelet. Mixing the comedic tone of the more goofy action films of the ’80s with the violence and action of more modern action films, such as John Wick, Nobody manages to be entertaining from start to finish. Although some of its more brutal moments will definitely leave some audience members wincing, there’s no film from 2021 I’d recommend more.
Wrath of Man
While we’re on the subject of brutal action films, one would be remiss to not mention Guy Ritchie’s newest film, Wrath of Man. Unlike Nobody, this film is lacking in humor, but for what it lacks it makes up ten-fold in its frankly mean-spirited brutality. Though it’s far from the most violent film of the year, Wrath of Man‘s cold and brooding take on revenge is hard not to find engaging. This film’s two plots converge as a series of cash truck heists and Jason Statham’s character’s thirst for revenge for the death of his son cross, leading to results that are predictably not pretty.
Pig
A truffle hunter who lives alone in the wilderness of Oregon is forced to return to the city of Portland, which he left behind years ago after the capture of his beloved pet pig. Nicholas Cage delivers one of his greatest performances in this, as every moment of pain, depression and loss is echoed through his every expression, movement and voice. Though this was strangely billed as a goofy action revenge movie, nothing could be further from the truth. This isn’t a revenge film, or even an action film, but a film about what it means to lose something or someone so dear to you. It’s a film about loss that manages to be one of the most heartfelt and touching of the year.
No Sudden Move
Director of Ocean’s Eleven, Steven Soderbergh brought us quite the treat this year with No Sudden Move. Released on HBO Max, this film follows a ragtag group of criminals hired to steal and deliver an envelope without having any clue what contents it holds or who hired them. This crime noir reminiscent of those from decades past takes many twists and turns, much like Soderbergh’s other films, all of which serve to keep you wrapped up in the incredible narrative it tells.
Malignant
Director James Wan has had an interesting career in Hollywood. Starting his career with the game changing 2000s horror classic Saw, he set himself up as a new face in horror. Immediately following Saw, Wan made one more horror movie before working on a revenge thriller with a focus on action known as Death Sentence. Although said film wasn’t a massive hit, it did establish Wan as someone who knows how to direct action. From this point forward he’d go on to start two of the biggest horror franchises of the 2010s (Insidious and The Conjuring), as well as direct two big franchise action films (Furious 7 and Aquaman). It seems that Wan’s career has been a sort of tug of war battle between two genres, until 2021’s release of Malignant in which Wan uses his strengths in both genres to create an incredible unique, fun and scary horror/action blend. This film beautifully plays to his strengths in both genres, never once making one overtake the other. It’s a wonderful thrill ride with a third act unlike no other.
The Green Knight
If you go into The Green Knight expecting an action fantasy tale like Conan the Barbarian, you may leave disappointed. This is a great fantasy film, but it’s not one of epic battles between knights and orcs like you may expect. The Green Knight is the tale of the nephew of King Arthur, Sir Gawain and his journey to confront his own mortality. It is a slow, existential and beautiful film that trades sword battles for examinations of life and what it means to live. It isn’t a journey for everyone, but it’s one that you will likely never forget.
The Last Duel
Ridley Scott released two films this year, and although House of Gucci is certainly worth your time, The Last Duel is arguably one of the best of his career. Following the true story of Lady Marguerite de Carrouges, a French noblewoman who in 1547 accused nobleman Jacques Le Gris of rape, The Last Duel is a story told from three perspectives. First, offering the perspective of her husband Jean de Carrouges, then the perspective of the accused Le Gris, and finally in its last act the perspective of Marguerite herself, which is aptly labeled “The truth.” Although this film’s story is of an incredibly dark nature, it can be fun at times without ever undermining the seriousness of the subject matter. This is a brilliant tale that will certainly be remembered for years to come.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Over the course of 2020, I and a few of my friends gathered together and watched through all eight of the films in the Saw franchise. Starting with the first and ending with Jigsaw, I found myself absolutely enamored in the soap opera-esque horror drama that is that franchise. Each film uses every trick in the book to surprise you with their famous and often mocked twist endings that often make the timeline increasingly more and more confusing and absurd. These films are aggressively fun and entertaining, so obviously my friends and I were excited to see that a new spinoff film was releasing in 2021. This is very likely my most self-indulgent pick on this list, but it’s a film I genuinely love to the point where I believe it’s the best of the franchise. Furthermore, it being a spinoff makes it so that new viewers need only to be familiar with the first film to really follow the story of this installment. Do yourself a favor and check this one out if you don’t mind a fairly violent horror flick. You’ll have fun, I promise.
Old
Director M. Night Shyamalan’s career has been a long battle of being both loved and hated by the general public. His first American film The Sixth Sense was a cultural phenomenon big enough to have Newsweek boldly predict him to be “The Next Spielberg,” but his career after that would offer a variety of reactions from audiences leading to many considering him to be a terrible director, but I believe those people are wrong. Although his career has certainly had some missteps, nearly every one of his films are a showcase of his talents behind the camera (and even sometimes in front of it). Old only makes this more obvious. Telling the story of a group of people on vacation who get trapped on a beach that mysteriously causes them to age rapidly, leading them to having most of their lives reduced to a single day as they try to escape alive. Though it never oversteps into imagery that is too graphic (after all, the film is rated PG-13), Old‘s concept is used perfectly to convey a level of horror that is as disturbing as it is intriguing.
Ron’s Gone Wrong
I felt I needed to recommend at least one family film here, so I offer you Ron’s Gone Wrong, an incredibly cute, simple kids’ film with a lovable titular character and a ton of heart. The story here isn’t anything entirely new. It’s a simple family film plot, but what makes this film is Ron himself. The titular character is an adorable broken robot whose personality takes on a life of its own. It’s impossible to watch this without having a smile on your face. It truly is a blast for kids and adults alike.
The Sparks Brothers
If you go onto Netflix right now, you can treat yourself to a wonderful documentary from Edgar Wright entitled The Sparks Brothers. This documentary follows the long extensive career of the band Sparks, led by the two enigmatic and charming brothers, Ron and Russell Mael. If you are a fan of the band, this documentary offers a wonderful amount of insight into their career, and if you aren’t it can serve you as a perfect introduction to them. In a little under two and a half hours you will fall in love with Sparks, their music, the band, and the brothers.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
In all likelihood you are in some way familiar with the story of Macbeth. Many of us had to read this Shakespeare play in high school, chronicling the rise and fall of a man who for a time would be the King of Scotland. Maybe you’ve even seen it preformed on stage, or seen one of the many movie adaptations over the years dating back to the earliest from 1948, all the way to the 2015 adaptation. It’s true this is not the first Macbeth film, nor will it likely be the last. In fact it may not even be the best version on screen to date, but an argument can be made that this film may be the most unique direct adaptation of this story to date. Joel Coen brilliantly blends cinematic language with the feeling of stage performance with sets that often blur the lines between that of a film and that of a play. Each performance given here is played perfectly, from Denzel Washington’s distressed and broken Macbeth all the way to Kathryn Hunter’s horrifying portrayal of the three witches. Not many films top how truly gorgeous this one looks, and if only for that reason this becomes one of the best of the year.
Short Films
I wanted to finish off this list of the best films of 2021 with a brief highlight of three wonderful short films I watched this year, because shorts are often overlooked and don’t get enough love. Especially since these are often only a few minutes in length, I especially implore you to check these out, as they are easily available online.
Centuries and Still
Centuries and Still is a short mixed-media film made to coincide with the “Stop Asian Hate” movement. It is a difficult watch, but an important one that is haunting in its material. Directed by Sally Tran, this film showcases America’s long and unfortunate history of discrimination against Asian people dating back centuries all the way to the California Gold Rush. You can find this one on Vimeo with a quick Google search.
Abe’s World
Stephen Steinbacher’s music video for the band “A u t o p i l o t” is a wonderful cosmic journey told through the eyes of an adorable dog. A wonderful meshing of visuals and light set to music helps to showcase Steinbacher’s keen eye for color as well as his incredible technical ability in visual storytelling. Give it a watch right here.
Bugbear
Gabrielle Vines’ short horror film Bugbear is an abstract nightmare, featuring a heavy use of red lighting and a wonderfully creepy mask. The lack of dialogue and reliance on the visuals and music allow for Vines to tell a short story left entirely up to the audiences interpretation. In only five minuets you are treated to a nice eerie tale that has to be seen to truly be experienced. Experience it here.