{"id":36476,"date":"2022-01-01T01:42:39","date_gmt":"2022-01-01T06:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=36476"},"modified":"2022-01-01T07:12:19","modified_gmt":"2022-01-01T12:12:19","slug":"the-10-best-films-i-saw-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2022\/01\/01\/the-10-best-films-i-saw-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Best Films I Saw in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>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.<\/p>\n

Of course I’ll still be playing catch up with 2021 over the next month.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

10. Black Widow
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s a shame that all this movie is going to be remembered for is bad timing and Scarlett Johannsen\u2019s fall out with Disney and Marvel. Because \u201cBlack Widow\u201d is a fun, exciting, and painfully overdue solo movie of one of the MCU\u2019s most underrated forces of good. While it may not done everything perfectly (Ahem–Taskmaster), it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

9. You\u2019re Watching Video Music Box
\n<\/strong>While the corporate entity MTV has worshipped a hundred times ad nauseum by everyone in the music industry, \u201cVideo Music Box\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> 8. Nobody
\n<\/strong>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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

7. Malcolm & Marie
\n<\/strong>Streaming on Netflix
\n<\/strong>Sam Levinson\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s also a big turn in the career of Zendaya, who continues impressing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>6. The Sadness
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s hard to imagine a more chaotic, frantic, and perverse horror movie released in the last five years. Director Rob Jabbaz\u2019s 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\u2019m anxious for the rest of the world to view this peek in to what we, as a species, are truly capable of.<\/p>\n

5, The Suicide Squad
\n<\/strong>Streaming on HBO Max
\n<\/strong>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. \u201cThe Suicide Squad\u201d is an excellent sequel\/reboot of the David Ayer original. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>4. Spider-Man: No Way Home
\n<\/strong>Once upon a time Spider-Man was Marvel Comics. He represented them everywhere they went, he was their mascot, and \u201cNo Way Home\u201d shows modern generations why he\u2019s been so relatable since his creation. \u201cNo Way Home\u201d is probably the most Mighty Marvel \u201cSpider-Man\u201d movie we\u2019ve been given yet, with director Jon Watts delivering on spectacular action, wonderful Easter Eggs to Spider-Man\u2019s past, and a great use of the one and only Doctor Strange. It gave me what I wanted and yet didn\u2019t give me what I wanted. And I love it for that.<\/p>\n

3. The Fear Street Trilogy<\/strong> (Fear Street: 1994, 1978, 1666)
\n<\/strong>Streaming on Netflix
\n<\/strong>Yes, I cheated a bit. I cheated a lot. But in a pretty dreary year for yours truly, the \u201cFear Street\u201d trilogy was a horror movie lovers\u2019 dream come true. The trilogy of \u201c1994,\u201d \u201c1978,\u201d and \u201c1666\u201d can be absorbed as one singular cinematic experience or as their own individual horror movies and they\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

2. In the Heights
\n<\/strong>Streaming on HBO Max
\n<\/strong>Looking more and more like a period piece every year thanks to gentrification, \u201cIn the Heights\u201d 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, \u201cIn the Heights\u201d is briskly paced, never boring, and brilliantly directed. I\u2019ve seen this beautiful ode to New York at least seven times since its premiered on HBO Max, and it gets better every single time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>1. Last Night in Soho
\nDirected by <\/strong>Edgar Wright
\nStarring <\/strong>Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor Joy, Terence Stamp, Matt Smith, Diana Riggs
\n<\/strong>I think in a few years time, Edgar Wright\u2019s 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\u2019s such a pity. \u201cLast Night in Soho\u201d combines Agatha Christie, \u201cCarnival of Souls,\u201d \u201cMulholland Drive,\u201d and a touch of Argento for what is a masterful character piece about grief, mental illness, and the facade of fame and Hollywood\u2019s \u201cgolden age.\u201d It\u2019s further complimented by its immense cast with star Thomasin McKenzie (from the equally superb \u201cJojo Rabbit\u201d) delivering an absolutely brilliant lead performance. \u201cLast Night in Soho\u201d deserved so much more attention in 2021 than it received.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[58,64,138,219,258,292,315,477,622,633,696,700,703,906,922,964],"class_list":["post-36476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-year-enders","tag-action","tag-adaptation","tag-biography","tag-comedy","tag-dario-argento","tag-documentary","tag-edgar-wright","tag-horror","tag-magic","tag-marvel","tag-murder","tag-musical","tag-mystery","tag-science-fiction","tag-sequel","tag-spider-man"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36476"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36485,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36476\/revisions\/36485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}