For movies, 2021 will be a year looked over and examined for how the distribution model, and access to films, truly changed. Whereas 2020 studios were forced to change their release model because there wasn't another option, 2021 saw several different experiments, from the shortening of the theatrical window (45 days now I believe until those new releases are available VOD) to Warner Bros.' fairly bold and wild decision to release their full slate both in theaters and on their HBO Max platform on the same day (the movies were only available streaming for 30 days). Disney tested their "Premiere Access" tier, where their movies were released simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ for $30, although by September they dropped the experiment, with Shang-Chi becoming the first big Disney release exclusively in theaters. This led to Scarlett Johansson suing Disney over her contract for Black Widow (a Premiere Access release), claiming she lost millions because Disney wouldn't pay her from the streaming revenue.
Even bigger, of course, was that theaters reopened. I know in a lot of the US theaters were back open in limited capacities in 2020, but where I primarily reside in Los Angeles, theaters closed in March 2020 and didn't reopen until a full year later. The fallout in LA was widely felt too; beloved theater chain Arclight announced they would be going out of business and closing all locations nationwide (though primarily in Southern California, they had begun expanding in markets such as Chicago). This was a devastating blow, as Arclight was often seen as the premiere theater experience, where you could be sure to have a respectful audience and was often where the hottest limited releases would begin their runs, not to mention the Arclight Hollywood shared it's site with the historic Cinerama Dome (I'm sure someone will reopen the Dome before long). The major chains for the most part survived by the skin of their teeth and perhaps a bankruptcy filing or two, and AMC and Regal have begun taking over the empty theaters left behind by Arclight.
Returning to the theater was amazing; the last film I saw was Corpus Christi in February 2020; I returned by seeing Spiral on May 2021, and proceeded with three days in a row of movies, including a rerelease of Top Gun in Dolby, and Bob Odenkirk's John Wick-like Nobody. Since then I have seen dozens of movies on the big screen and while yes, home theaters are getting better and better, there's still something essential about going to a theater and totally disconnecting from the world for a few hours to get lost in a new film. In the digital age it's hard for my mind not to wander to my phone when watching something at home; in a theater, my proclivities for social respect demand that I focus, pay attention, and engage with the movie. I'm not disciplined enough to carry that to my home viewing experience.
Access to movies is greater than ever, too. Sundance 2022 just wrapped and for a fee, you could view the hottest festival titles on streaming, rather than being forced to fly out to the frozen tundra of Park City, UT and pay for expensive shuttles, lodging, and dining. Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+, and others all made a variety of interesting movies, and if you missed that indie in theaters, it was available at home soon after.
All that to say, I've seen my fair share of movies from 2021, and even though I haven't seen everything (Drive My Car being the most notable example), I self impose a deadline of February 1st to release my top 10. Because it's my list, I set my own rules: there are films on here that were nominated in last year's Oscars, but because the Oscars extended the eligibility window from January 2020 to February 2021, it means that some 2021 releases were considered for the 2020 Oscars. I am but a humble plebeian who does not get special access to things, and so was unable to see these movies until well after my own cutoff for my 2020 list. Loosely, I follow the USA release calendar for movies, and use that as my guide. So, enough rambling! Without further ado, here is my top 10 of 2021.
10. Dune, 155 min. PG-13
Denis Villeneueve's much anticipated big screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi epic was a huge success, translating the dense, layered mythology of Herbert's prose to a fairly digestable format. The story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his families trials taking over the sand planet Arrakis (the Dune of the title), Dune is a juggling act that builds far-off worlds with great effect. The grand desert vistas are incredible, and the visual effects are so good that you believe these are real places. Rounded out by a stellar cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya, and you have Part One of what will hopefully prove to be an epic two-part film.
Wes Anderson is fast becoming one of my favorite filmmakers working today; he's honed such a sharp and distinctive style that bothers some and enthralls other. The pinnacle of his work was The Grand Budapest Hotel, and while The French Dispatch doesn't quite match up to that film, it's still a wonder to behold. We almost take for granted now the amount of detail that goes into any one shot of Anderson's movies, and this one is bursting at the seams with expressive camera movements and production design. Anderson may have a finely honed aesthetic, but it's one that's taken him decades to perfect and to seem his talents on full display here is truly a sight to behold.
The Oscar winner for Best Picture of 2020 had an official release of February 2021 in the USA, and so it fits right into my Top 10 of 2021 nicely at number 8. Chloe Zhao's contemplative piece on the Americans who move from place to place freely, never having a home, is a beautiful and haunting film. Frances McDormand's Oscar-winning performance is top-notch, and the casting of real Nomads adds an extra layer of authenticity to the film's aesthetic. It's a quiet movie that asks you to stop and appreciate the world we live in, one that is so consumed by work and the capitalist drive to succeed and come out on top. Though Zhao seems to have stumbled with her Marvel film Eternals (I didn't see it but the overall reception was mediocre) I am still very excited for what she does next with her big Marvel paycheck.
Jane Campion's Western epic, an adaptation of a 1967 by Thomas Savage, is a strange tale of ranchers and forbidden love. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons, the film boasts a rich cast, and a plot that is not always straightforward. Most of the time we are living in this time and this place with these characters, and Campion's sure hand guides us through this strange and sad tale. It may seem like a bit of slog but it's a great experience and one I won't soon forget.
Sundance's indie darling is a sweet, moving tale of the Rossi's, a mostly deaf family save their youngest daughter, Ruby (Emilia Jones). She is in her senior year of High School and is ready to break free of her families fishing business, but her family has become used to her hearing abilities and put undue pressure on her to stick with the family. It's a pretty clichéd tale, but director Sian Heder handles the affair with a sure hand and keeps the film from teetering into Lifetime-level fair. It's a tricky act, and several eccentric characters threaten to tip the scales too far to cloying, manipulative story beats, but overall the clichés work and what you get is a powerful, moving tale that delivers the waterworks.
The Father is probably most notable at this point for being the film that upset the Best Actor Oscar at the ceremony in April 2021; Chadwick Boseman was expected to pull of a posthumous win and the category was moved to be last, a risky decision that proved unwise when Anthony Hopkins won instead for his performance in
The Father (not to mention the show just ending because Hopkins was asleep in the U.K.). But what shouldn't be overlooked is just how great this film is; directed by Florian Zeller and based on his own play, the film is a harrowing look at dementia's effect on the mind. Hopkins plays, appropriately, a character named Anthony and Olivia Coleman is his daughter Anne. He lives in a big apartment in London, but the film cleverly blends the days together, as people's faces change on a dime, and events repeat or take on a new perspective. You're never sure what is real and what isn't, and the film culminates in a scene so utterly heart wrenching and devastating that it will tear you down. It's a sad and scary film, a look at a disease that comes for many of us and has no happy resolution.
Animated documentaries are a fairly unique genre; the only one that comes immediately to mind is Waltz With Bashir, a 2008 film about recollections of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Flee focuses on one man's tale of escaping first Afghanistan in the 80s and then Russia in the early 90s. A refugee, Amin recalls his story in vivid detail, and animation is used to bring to life his memories. This serves a few functions; for one, it gives us a look at the setting and conditions of the story in a unique way that staged, live action recreations often fail out; for another, the subjects need to remain anonymous since they were smuggled into their respective countries under false pretenses, and rather than have Amin be shrouded in shadow we still get to see a facsimile of him and his family. It's an essential tale, and one that offers a key look at why many migrants escape from one country for another; they aren't simply looking to take your job, they are also looking for a better life for themselves.
David Lowery's fascinating retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a sumptuous visual feast, a film bursting at the seams with impressive imagery. Dev Patel stars as Gawain, who takes up the Green Knight's (Ralph Ineson) offer to land on a blow on him in exchange for the same blow to befall Gawain in one year. Gawain beheads the Green Knight, and is shocked when, still alive, he carries his head out and declares he will await him in one year. Much of the film follows Gawain and his treks through several fantasy adventures to his fate. What Lowery pulls off is a beautiful fable engrossed me from start to finish. The climax of this film is spectacular, and when it was all over I wanted to start the film over again.
Paul Thomas Anderson has had quite the career, releasing a series of films from Magnolia, to There Will Be Blood, to The Master that many would rank as some of the best of their decades. With Licorice Pizza, Anderson slows down a bit from his recent films to create a film that is more of a hangout movie, about a light flirtation between 25-year-old Alana (Alana Haim) and 15-year-old Gary (Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Phillip Seymour). The light plot follows a series of vignettes, where Gary first starts a water bed business and then a pinball store, while Alana tries to find her footing and direction in life (her family is played by her real family). Both Haim and Hoffman are wonderful, and Anderson recreates the San Fernando Valley of his youth, breathing life into a more subdued side of the 70s.
I know little about the Bosnian War of the mid-90s, so when I turned this on I was floored by the harrowing tale the end of the conflict, as Serbian militants invade the small town of Srebenica and the residents flee to a UN safehold for extradition. Jasna Djuricic is electrifying as Aida, a translator from the local village working with the UN in the conflict, continually using her leverage to try and get her family to safety. The film is tense and shocking, based on the genocide that took place that happened not even 30 years ago. It's a sad film and not an easy one to digest, but Jasmila Zbanic directs the proceedings with a natural tension, lingering from afar on horrible events as an observer who would love to intervene but can't.
Other notable mentions
Sometimes I like to bring up a few other random films not released in 2021 that I saw for the first time and enjoyed. One was the 1921 silent film Destiny, directed by Fritz Lang, about two lovers who encounter death and must try to reunite through three tableaus set in different locales. While the way the film represents different countries is problematic, the storytelling and skill on display by Lang and company is impressive for this 100-year-old movie, and was a surprise gem.
Of course, no 2021 media retrospective is complete without mentioning the Netflix sensation Squid Game. I don't consider TV shows and miniseries for my top 10 as a rule, but season 1 of the show as incredible and it was amazing to see an international show become one of the biggest, most talked about events of the year.
Finally, I watched Ingmar Bergman's epic Fanny & Alexander, both the TV and theatrical versions. It's an impressive work and a fascinating film, although in both versions I felt the Christmas stuff went on way too long. When it really gets going, though, it's the master at his most refined and best, and I'm glad I finally saw it. I purchased the Criterion box set about 10 years ago and it sat on my shelf intimidating me with it's massive runtime (the theatrical cut is 3 hours and the TV version is over 5).
Stinkers
And of course, I saw plenty of films I did not like.
Halloween Kills was the direct follow-up to 2018's Halloween, a direct sequel to the 1978 classic. While 2018's Halloween managed to be a good sequel and follow-up, this film is just plain stupid. It brings back a whole host of characters that you don't even remember from the original, and features some plain dumb characters. I do hope the forthcoming Halloween Ends is true to its name, but I'm not holding my breath.
Space Jam: A New Legacy was never going to be good, but boy was this one even worse than imaginable. Lebron James is fine, but the film devolves into an IP orgy as several Warner Bros characters cheered from the sidelines of the big game. It's a crass, low, soulless film that can't even get the Looney Tunes right.
And finally, Thunder Force, the worst film I saw released in 2021, starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer. Whenever McCarthy is paired with her husband Ben Falcone the result is terrible; he doesn't restrain her and he's a lazy director. The movie low budget with no charm, and the only amusing gag is Jason Bateman's lobster claws. It's a dumb movie that's poorly written, directed, and acted, and I dearly hope McCarthy stops working with her husband.
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