No honorable mentions, no B.S. This is my list of my top 25 favorite movies of 2021.
25. Malignant
dir. James Wan
24. The Suicide Squad
dir. James Gunn
If you're anything like me, you probably hated the original Suicide Squad, which somehow manages to become even more unbearable with the gift of hindsight, but with James Gunn behind the camera, this one managed to be funny, wild, and everything that the first horrific failure was incapable of being at all times. Great cast, fun characters, and really just a fun time.
23. The Night House
dir. David Bruckner
Although the script may not always be the most polished I've ever seen put on film, the scares in this movie are effective, and that matters more in a dramatic horror movie anyway. Plus, this movie has the added bonus of Rebecca Hall's lead performance, which is one of the best of the year, and among the strongest horror performances of the past several years. It might not be a game-changer, but it worked for me.
22. Parallel Mothers
dir. Pedro Almodovar
It almost feels weird to put Almodovar on a list like this and not have it close to the top 10, but I'm not gonna lie and pretend this movie didn't have its flaws. But I'm also not going to act like Penelope Cruz alone isn't worth finding a spot for this film on the list. She's terrific here, as usual, and handles the melodrama perfectly. She carries the movie, and stands as one of my favorite performances of the year.
21. Swan Song
dir. Benjamin Cleary
Another wonderful acting vehicle for the lead, Swan Song (not to be confused with Swan Song, the Udo Kier movie from this very same year) also has a pretty great script that tackles all sorts of emotional sci/fi material in a deeply human way. Mahershala Ali is, of course, terrific, and I really loved how immersive the world created by the film was. It's definitely among my favorite sci/fi films of recent memory.
20. Licorice Pizza
dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is another one of those directors who, every time he makes a movie, I know it's going to be great. Sadly, this is one of his weaker efforts, which means it's only *kinda* great. People have plenty of complaints about the movie, but as usual, I think people need to lighten up a tad and maybe do a modicum of research into filmmakers before they walk into a movie and being angry that there aren't enough farts and people falling over for their comedic tastes. There's lots of fun little sequences of events (Bradley Cooper totally steals the show here), and I found the leads to be totally unique and charming in their own quirky sort of way. This isn't a movie that anyone could pull off, and while this is by no means PTA's finest work, I still enjoyed it quite a lot. Plus, I sat next to an old guy who was playing Pokemon GO right before the movie started, so I was already in a good mood going in.
19. Mandibles
dir. Quentin Dupieux
So quickly after Deerskin, which is perhaps the most absurd movie of 2020, I didn't expect Dupieux to have another wacked out comedy up his sleeve, but I guess I shouldn't expect anything different from this absolute madman. This is a weird little movie that most people are bound to look at with pure confusion and possible irritation, but I loved it pretty much the entire way through. It's stupid, but not in an insulting way.
18. Listening To Kenny G
dir. Penny Lane
I don't give a single crap about Kenny G or his boring elevator music, but this movie managed to make the subject of both his own passion for music and the passion other people have for (as well as against) him into something I just couldn't stop being totally enthralled by. It's funny, intimate, and really gives you an open-minded and informative look at one of the most seemingly inoffensive yet equally divisive figures in music history.
17. Copshop
dir. Joe Carnahan
I always love when I can look at a movie and just feel the era and tone it's going for without it being made obvious by cheap editing choices (a la Planet Terror), and this cheesy B-movie grime-fest is definitely one of them. Action-heavy but not even remotely devoid of huge chunks of dialogue and character development, this isn't a "great" movie by most people's standards, but I really loved it pretty much the entire way through. Also it has two genuinely wonderful performances to offer, which is pretty rare for an action/cop movie.
16. New York Ninja
dir. John Liu & Kurtis M. Spieler
What an amazing discovery this movie was. The Vinegar Syndrome found a ton of footage (presumably in a bin somewhere), and attempted to put it all together in a way that made sense, recording new audio for the whole film, music, SFX, voice dubs, etc. The result is a legitimate attempt at doing a film that never had a chance to really exist justice, which makes all the failings of the original filmmakers even more entertaining. This whole thing is so weird and off-kilter, and so unbelievably '80s. For fans of over-the-top '80s action/ninja movies, this film is a godsend.
15. Belfast
dir. Kenneth Branagh
Maybe not the Oscar juggernaut everyone seemed to expect it to be, Kenneth Branagh's wonderfully sweet and sincere semi-autobiography about a period of civil unrest in Ireland told through the lens of a young boy and his family was still a surprisingly entertaining little movie. I loved the main kid in this (which is a rare thing for me to say about a child performance), and pretty much everyone else in the movie was just as great. It's an excellent ensemble with a great script that perfectly balances comedy and drama, all while shot in gorgeous black and white. Good stuff.
14. Minari
dir. Lee Isaac Chung
Oh no, now it's time for me to be both controversial and not controversial at all! Minari, which was up for the Oscars for the 2020 season, wasn't released in any way for me to have seen in in 2020, so I am including it here on my 2021 list instead. To put it simply, this movie was ultimately too good for me to allow it to slip through the cracks, and by the letter of the law, it really was released in 2021. This is a small movie, with wonderful performances, and a realistic setting that allows you to really empathize with its characters. This whole movie feels to lived-in and filled with subtle drama that doesn't feel the need to shove things in your face for the story to work. It's just a lovely little film.
13. Spider-Man: No Way Home
dir. Jon Watts
I think that not being subjected to Marvel movies for a couple years there has really allowed me to find superhero movies slightly more enjoyable again. That being said, I don't think it would have mattered at all how much Marvel crap I'd have had shoved down my throat before this one, I was always going to find it really fun. This is pretty much the most fan-servicey movie that's ever been made, but instead of being too annoying or feeling like it's made only to pander to nostalgia, it weaves its multiple stories together in a way that's exciting regardless of your own history with Spider-Man movies. It's big, loud, fun, and even surprisingly emotional. Maybe it uses a few too many cheap tactics to tug at your heart-strings, but it never feels too manipulative for it to work.
12. The Sparks Brothers
dir. Edgar Wright
It's not terribly often that I find myself a big fan of multiple documentary films in a single year, but this weird, wonderful, and fast-paced Edgar Wright doc was definitely one I couldn't possibly overlook. Packed with all the fun editing choices that are pretty commonplace for a Wright feature, this chronicling of the bizarre experimental music duo Sparks was so charming and stylistic that it never bored me -- in spite of its near 2 and a half hour runtime. Even if you don't know who Sparks are (I can say I was barely aware of them going into this), there is still a lot to love about this documentary both in how it covers an unsung musical subject, and in how well it manages to find humor and personality in all of the most unconventional ways. It's a rare documentary that actually has real filmmaking behind it, and I absolutely loved it.
11. The Humans
dir. Stephen Karam
I love when a film is able to capture a sort of horror tone in spite of never actually being a horror movie itself. This is very much a character drama, with a surprising cast full of excellent performances and dramatic tension that permeates through every scene. Richard Jenkins, as always, tends to draw your attention the most, but he is by no means the only one here who deserves praise, as everyone here has more than a few great moments. But really, it's how this dysfunctional family and rundown setting manages to be imbued with such tension thanks to the lighting, cinematography, and editing that makes the movie stand out. Much like Spencer, this movie made me feel suffocated by the time it was done, and I can't say that about many films out there. Hell, even Amy Schumer gave a solid performance.
10. The Power Of The Dog
dir. Jane Campion
The likely future Oscar-winner for Best Picture, this Jane Campion western drama has been talked about enough for me to almost feel like I can ignore writing about it at all here, but I will still toss out a few things. First, Benedict Cumberbatch is incredible here. It's a deeply complex and conflicted role that he pulls off with menace and charm. He's had issues with accents in the past, but he really came into his own here, and I think that's worth mentioning. Second, the cinematography (in spite of a few weird digital shot) is lovely, doing a great job at capturing a unique feel for a western. Third, this isn't a manly western movie filled with gunfights and cowboys. It's a subdued genre film that most people will probably find boring if they don't have the interest in dissecting the deeper meaning behind what you're seeing on screen. It's a pretty exceptional movie.
9. Pig
dir. Michael Sarnoski
Nicolas Cage strikes again. Going into 2021 I had a handful of Nic Cage movies on my watchlist, and while I was mostly indifferent towards one (in spite of how absolutely insane it was) and loathed the other (I'll go into that mess on a future post), he still was able to give one hell of a lead performance in an unsuspecting character drama that sounds silly and idiotic on the surface. I just can't quite put my finger on the guy, but I will say this movie rests pretty much entirely on his shoulders, which is especially impressive as a performance due to how little he speaks and communicates almost exclusively through mannerisms and body language. This isn't a "Nic Cage movie", but an actually great movie that tells a powerful story of loss, regret, and redemption. Corny synopsis, I know, but it's true.
8. Spencer
dir. Pablo Larrain
Do you like historical biopics that focus more heavily on a particular period of time in the subject's life as opposed to a broad and sweeping overlook of their career like a Lifetime original? Do you think the actors in the Twilight movies were unfairly maligned for their acting skills when a majority of the failings of those movies lied with the poor script and direction? If you said yes to one or both of these questions, watch Spencer. It's not some stupid biopic where they shove Bella from Twilight into a dress and call her Princess Diana, it's a real film made by a real filmmaker, and it's terrific. This movie has a suffocating tone that really gets you into the head of Princess Di, and Kristen Stewart does an excellent job at communicating that. Seriously good.
7. Red Rocket
dir. Sean Baker
One of the most scuzzy, realistic, and thoroughly unlikeable movies I've ever seen and still somehow loved, Red Rocket is the third movie by Sean Baker (who seems to specialize in making films about the most detestable and grubby people) and by far his strongest so far. In fact, I hihgly doubt he'll ever top this one, as he found something genuinely special in Simon Rex as his film's lead. This is a highlight reel of a lead performance that tackles a lot of tricky material, both emotionally and physically. This is a movie you watch just for a performance, and that he was able to play such a disgusting and sleazy character and still manage to make him somehow charming is a feat I have seen few actors capable of, but here it is. In fact, this might be the performance of the year.
6. The Green Knight
dir. David Lowery
Another absolutely gorgeous looking movie by David Lowery (A Ghost Story was one I hated when it came out, and have since come to really appreciate), The Green Knight is the kind of medieval adult fantasy that is incredibly rare to come by, as it never really succumbs to any of the Game Of Thronesian tropes that have become standard of the genre over the past decade. It's whimsical, but very dark. It's beautiful, but drenched in mud. The main character goes through a journey that's both physical and spiritual, and watching this unfold and seeing how his attitude changes towards his impending doom is really something to behold. Maybe this movie isn't for everyone, as it seems is true of most things I tend to like, but for those of us out there who like something slightly different, it's one of the best films the genre has produced in years.
5. Psycho Goreman
dir. Steven Kostanski
And just when I think I couldn't possibly be more self-serious and pretentious, I remember how much I loved this retro B-movie cheeseball splatterfest. It's hard for me to explain to people sometimes just how much I love a really ridiculous, violent movie like this without sounding like an overgrown child, but I think I'm okay with that. Sometimes it's great to feel like a dumb kid who wants to see monsters ripping people's limbs off before exploding into an ocean of blood. Not only this, but the movie has some seriously funny jokes that I still think about from time to time over a year after having seen it. This is a total blast from beginning to end, and every time I was afraid it was gonna lose me, it pulled me right back in. I was never even slightly bored or less than entertained by this one, and I find it hard to believe any reasonable number of rewatches would change that.
4. Boiling Point
dir. Philip Barantini
Movies that were all shot in one take have a sort of gimmicky appeal that I'm never quite sure about. Often these movies sacrifice pacing and decent scripting to instead focus on following through with that gimmick, but this movie isn't like that at all. Much like Birdman (one of the best movies of 2014), this film takes that method of filmmaking and uses it to paint a complete picture of the setting, giving you a glimpse into the lives of its characters in a way that makes full use of the one-take style in a relentless onslaught of dramatic tension and character revelations. The lead performance by Stephen Graham is terrific, the setting is fully realized, and they way the camera weaves in and out of scenes never feels staged, but rather complete fluid and realistic. In a lot of ways it feels almost unfair for this movie not to have wound up even higher on the list, but these last several films are all so terrific, I just couldn't put it any higher.
3. Mass
dir. Fran Kranz
Directed by the stoner from The Cabin In The Woods, this is another movie that's all about acting and dramatic reveals. Basically you plop 4 actors at the top of their game down in a conservatively decorated room and watch them all slowly unfurl their emotions in the most heartbreaking and revelatory of ways. Ann Dowd and Jason Isaacs in particular are incredible as the parents of a tragic victim of... I don't want to go into it any more than that. This is the kind of film that the less you go into knowing, the better you'll probably find it. Suffice it to say this is an emotional powerhouse of a movie that paints vivid pictures exclusively through the words of its actors. You might find yourself being slightly bored near the beginning, but as the characters heat up, the tension in the room both increases and dissipates. It's an absolute whirlwind of emotion. It's heartbreaking, tragic, and genuinely tough to sit through at times, but is still easily one of the best things I saw all year.
2. The Father
dir. Florian Zeller
Oh look, another hopelessly tragic movie that utilizes veteran actors to the best of their abilities. But this one has the advantage of being a thoroughly engaging film in a visual sense, as we witness the events as they unfold from the eyes of a man suffering from a debilitating mental disorder. This is a gut-wrenching movie that just might feature the best performance of Anthony Hopkins' entire acting career, not to mention Olivia Colman tearing her own heart out as a loving daughter forced to watch as her father fades away in front of her eyes. This movie is emotionally raw, but polished in all the best ways. There were more than a couple moments that blew my mind how they were executed visually and thematically, but I won't go into anything there. This one was up for the Oscars for the 2020 season, but just like Minari didn't have any sort of theatrical or streaming release until 2021, so I had to wait to put this on this list. Even after this very long year, it's held up as one of the best films I saw in a year that was pretty strong.
1. Nightmare Alley
dir. Guillermo Del Toro
Guillermo Del Toro is often too focused on style in his movies for them to really hold up as stories, making many of his post-Pan's Labyrinth efforts come across as shallow. Well, this time around, I think he really landed on something special. Having already seen the 1947 movie (but not read the novel it was based on) I already knew what to expect from this one plot-wise, but still found myself fully immersed in the story, characters, and visuals more than I ever anticipated. Del Toro is able to find tension here that was severely lacking in the original film, focusing on scenes and moments that really helps to up the dramatic stakes and flesh out the characters. I loved the setting, found the performances captivating, and even though the movie was damn near 3 hours long, never found myself looking at the clock hoping it would end soon. This was a triumphant film achievement that proved to be well-worth the trip to a theater to experience, even after it had been close to 2 years since we'd gone to one. I don't know how well most people might respond to this film, but I loved it and couldn't imagine anything else landing in the #1 spot.
As always, thanks to anyone who actually bothered to read this post (I know I personally would have just skimmed through), and I hope people might be able to walk away from this list with a few new movies on their radar to check out. If you like or loathe what I've got on here, let me know, I'm always interested in that stuff.
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