Top Films of 2021

*Note*: Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t seen every single film released in 2021. If it’s not on my list, maybe I haven’t seen it, or perhaps it just wasn’t that good.
*Another Note*: Yes, some of these films were released prior to 2021. However, I’m rocking with their “wide release” being in 2021.
*Final Note*: Click on the photo for each film to learn more.

10. Saint Maud

Worth watching for the final shot alone. Things are not always what they appear.

9. The Killing of Two Lovers

A beautifully shot, beautifully acted, slow burn that lands its tone with every frame.

8. The Last Duel

This should not have flopped at the box office, but alas, here we are. Ridley Scott absolutely mastered the Rashomon effect, but maybe we should just like, believe women?

7. The Long Goodbye

Yes, this is a short film. Quite frankly, I don’t care. It deserves your attention. It’s available on YouTube, so set aside 15 minutes today.

6.  Another Round

While on the surface, the film’s concept may seem silly (a group of teachers trying to maintain a certain blood alcohol level throughout the day), it turns into so much more. Mads Mikkelsen and his supporting cast put on a masterclass, leaving you hooked through the final scene.

5. Dune

If we were judging this film based on its visuals and sound alone, it might be one of the greatest films of all time. No, seriously. Villeneuve had wanted to make a Dune adaptation since he was a kid, and it shows. Tremendously detailed and nuanced, this initial film serves more as world-building than a completed project. Fingers crossed that Dune: Part Two brings the rest to life.

4. The Green Knight

Similar to The Last Duel, this is an epic that deserved a better performance at the box office. In a two hour medeiveal fantasy, full of naked giants and knights made out of trees, the story remains grounded and human, which is no easy task. Dev Patel continues to be one of the more underappreciated actors working today.

3. Inside

Okay, another contenious one. For some, this is a “comedy special”, but for anyone who cares about film, it is not difficult to recognize Bo Burham’s masterful filmmaking within the first two minutes of Inside. This movie is not simply a collection funny sketches and songs. It captures the zeitgeist of our COVID era better than perhaps any other film. Needless to say, Burnham has come a long way since singing in his bedroom and posting on YouTube.

2. Petite Maman

Céline Sciamma, take a bow. Following a nearly perfect film in A Portrait of a Lady on Fire, this beautiful rendition of grief and imagination hits again. Sciamma is at the top of her game, and the world needs to look at her. While this film runs only a brief hour and 12 minutes, it doesn’t need any “fluff” to capture the moments it intends to capture. For a movie based primarily around child actors, the dialogue somehow remains genuine, and Gabrielle Sanz’s performance allows us all to suspend our disbelief.

1.  C’mon C’mon

I might be the first person to ever say this, but Joaquin Phoenix is pretty good at acting. Seriously though, Phoenix provides another brilliant performance alongside his child co-star Woody Norman. This film combines actual interviews that Phoenix conducted with children and young adults across the U.S with his own fictional journey of “parenting” his nine-year-old nephew. While simple in concept, C’mon C’mon packs an emotional punch that should leave you welling up if you have any sort of heart.