There was simply too much released in 2021 to catch everything that I wanted to, or intended to see before the end of the year. That’s either a great thing or a bad thing depending on your schedule. In either case, with the influx of movies being released every single week, I managed to catch some fantastic gems that kept me entertained, thriller, and stunned. 2021 had its share of stinkers, but it also bounced back from the lull in 2020 with some bangers, to boot. This is ten of the best I saw this year.
Of course I’ll still be playing catch up with 2021 over the next month.
10. Black Widow
It’s a shame that all this movie is going to be remembered for is bad timing and Scarlett Johannsen’s fall out with Disney and Marvel. Because “Black Widow” is a fun, exciting, and painfully overdue solo movie of one of the MCU’s most underrated forces of good. While it may not done everything perfectly (Ahem–Taskmaster), it’s a fun movie about family, sisterhood, and gives us the de facto current Black Widow for the MCU. I think, if properly utilized, Yelena might become just as beloved as Natasha.
9. You’re Watching Video Music Box
While the corporate entity MTV has worshipped a hundred times ad nauseum by everyone in the music industry, “Video Music Box” has been the actual hero of the game, introducing the world to hip hop, funk, house music long before MTV even refused to play a single music video by an artist of color. The overdue documentary is a loving tribute to its origins, the way it blazed a trail for many hip hop icons, and how it is, was, and will always be a New York institution.
8. Nobody
Bob Odenkirk is a brilliant artist who has managed to re-invent himself over and over again throughout his storied career. Going from the frumpy, slimeball Saul Goodman to a vicious and swift killer, Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell is a force of wrath whose own mid-life crisis re-awakens a part of his life he thought he left behind. Odenkirk is fantastic in what is a darkly comic, but action packed thriller, and I hope we get to see more of this universe soon.
7. Malcolm & Marie
Streaming on Netflix
Sam Levinson’s stripped down character piece is a great look at a toxic relationship on two terrible paths. The titular Malcolm and Marie are either on the way to a destructive break up, or a long miserable marriage based on resentment and jealousy. Co-stars John David Washington and Zendaya are dynamic as the two burgeoning Hollywood elites, both of whom have something to prove to themselves, and to one another. Levinson’s narrative, set over the course of one night, is unique and entertaining, even if it can get a little too meta toward its commentary about Hollywood. It’s also a big turn in the career of Zendaya, who continues impressing.
6. The Sadness
It’s hard to imagine a more chaotic, frantic, and perverse horror movie released in the last five years. Director Rob Jabbaz’s debut is a gore soaked, pitch black, hopeless, bleak glimpse in to the corners of human amorality and savagery during a worldwide pandemic. The Taiwanese horror film is filled with endlessly uncomfortable, blood soaked moments that will keep fans talking for days while its message will ring loud and clear to those that are paying attention. I’m anxious for the rest of the world to view this peek in to what we, as a species, are truly capable of.
5, The Suicide Squad
Streaming on HBO Max
While DC and Warner try to figure out what to do with their plethora DC Comics characters and projects, James Gunn offers a glimpse at what could be. “The Suicide Squad” is an excellent sequel/reboot of the David Ayer original. It’s a dark, funny, action packed, and brutally violent look at the ultimate Team of super villains tasked with working together, lest they be destroyed by their superiors. Everything here is excellent from the effects, the dark comedy, and performances, right down to the introduction of infamous DC villain Starro.
4. Spider-Man: No Way Home
Once upon a time Spider-Man was Marvel Comics. He represented them everywhere they went, he was their mascot, and “No Way Home” shows modern generations why he’s been so relatable since his creation. “No Way Home” is probably the most Mighty Marvel “Spider-Man” movie we’ve been given yet, with director Jon Watts delivering on spectacular action, wonderful Easter Eggs to Spider-Man’s past, and a great use of the one and only Doctor Strange. It gave me what I wanted and yet didn’t give me what I wanted. And I love it for that.
3. The Fear Street Trilogy (Fear Street: 1994, 1978, 1666)
Streaming on Netflix
Yes, I cheated a bit. I cheated a lot. But in a pretty dreary year for yours truly, the “Fear Street” trilogy was a horror movie lovers’ dream come true. The trilogy of “1994,” “1978,” and “1666” can be absorbed as one singular cinematic experience or as their own individual horror movies and they’re still damn good. These blood soaked, exciting, unique, and frankly spectacular films are an accomplishment Leigh Janiak. She deserves huge fanfare for delivering audiences three consistently stellar horror gems.
2. In the Heights
Streaming on HBO Max
Looking more and more like a period piece every year thanks to gentrification, “In the Heights” is a marvelous, lively, and engaging musical that celebrates the heart and soul of Brooklyn Heights. Fueled by the creative mind of Lin Manuel Miranda, “In the Heights” is briskly paced, never boring, and brilliantly directed. I’ve seen this beautiful ode to New York at least seven times since its premiered on HBO Max, and it gets better every single time.
1. Last Night in Soho
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor Joy, Terence Stamp, Matt Smith, Diana Riggs
I think in a few years time, Edgar Wright’s murder mystery thriller is going to be hailed as his ultimate masterpiece by film buffs and film critics alike. This is a movie that was unfairly slept on by most people in America, and that’s such a pity. “Last Night in Soho” combines Agatha Christie, “Carnival of Souls,” “Mulholland Drive,” and a touch of Argento for what is a masterful character piece about grief, mental illness, and the facade of fame and Hollywood’s “golden age.” It’s further complimented by its immense cast with star Thomasin McKenzie (from the equally superb “Jojo Rabbit”) delivering an absolutely brilliant lead performance. “Last Night in Soho” deserved so much more attention in 2021 than it received.