Top 10 Films of 2021

[DyeLorean]

"Top 10 films"

*writes down all 235 films seen*

 

[Kane52630]

It's a rough draft so I haven't picked my top 10 yet... and "List all the movies you've seen in 2021" as a thread title doesn't really have ring to it.

But go off, I guess...

 

[Drizzle]

"Top 10 films"

*writes down all 235 films seen*

Most of the posts in this thread go beyond just 10. Nothing wrong with making it a list for keeping track of everything watched in 2021.

 

[-Arya-]

I’ll include my top 12. Still have to see Licorice Pizza, West Side Story and Nightmare Alley.

 

[Luigi]

Top 10:

1. Titane
2. Judas and the Black Messiah
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home
4. Dune
5. Zola
6. Old
7. The Matrix Resurrections
8. Red Rocket
9. V/H/S94
10. Candyman​

 

[Kane52630]

Top 10 of 2021

1. The Green Knight
2. The Suicide Squad
3. Boiling Point
4. Red Rocket
5. Pig
6. CODA
7. Nightmare Alley
8. The Card Counter
9. Psycho Goreman
10. Zola​

Grade A

11. Flee
12. The Mitchells vs. The Machines
13. The Novice
14. The Humans
15. Mass
16. Drive My Car
17. King Richard
18. Blue Bayou
19. Summertime
20. Dune
21. The Worst Person in the World
22. Summer of Soul
23. A Hero
24. Parallel Mothers
25. Spencer
26. Lamb
27. A Quiet Place Part II
28. Werewolves Within
29. The French Dispatch
30. The Nowhere Inn
31. V/H/S 94
32. Candyman
33. Shiva Baby
34. New York Ninja
35. Copshop
36. The Lost Daughter
37. Malignant
38. Last Night in Soho
39. No Sudden Move
40. The Harder They Fall
41. In the Earth
42. The Tragedy of Macbeth
43. No Time to Die
44. Coming Home in the Dark
45. Belfast
46. Censor
47. Pleasure
48. The Power of the Dog
49. A Classic Horror Story
50. Licorice Pizza
51. Riders of Justice
52. West Side Story
53. Spider-Man: No Way Home
54. Nobody
55. Finch
56. Together Together


Grade B

57. Bo Burnham: Inside
58. The Courier
59. Don’t Look Up
60. National Champions
61. The Night House
62. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
63. Black Widow
64. Eternals
65. The Tender Bar
66. Titane
67. Benedetta
68. Fear Street: 1666
69. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
70. Best Sellers
71. Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin
72. The Many Saints of Newark
73. In The Heights
74. Val
75. Luca
76. Annette
77. F9
78. House of Gucci
79. The Last Duel
80. Swan Song
81. Cruella
82. Queenpins
83. Stowaway
84. Boss Level
85. Old Henry
86. The Eyes of Tammy Faye
87. Antlers
88. Oxygen
89. Fear Street: 1978
90. Passing
91. Encanto
92. tick, tick…BOOM!
93. C’mon C’mon
94. Willy’s Wonderland
95. Halloween Kills
96. False Positive
97. Stillwater
98. The Forever Purge
99. The Water Man
100. Bingo Hell
101. Wrath of Man
102. Jockey
103. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
104. Four Good Days
105. Mother/Android
106. Free Guy
107. Cyrano
108. Chaos Walking
109. The Boy Behind the Door


Grade C

110. Superhost
111. The King’s Man
112. Black as Night
113. Batman: Soul of the Dragon
114. Sing 2
115. Kate
116. The Matrix Resurrections
117. Wolf
118. Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
119. Justice Society: World War II
120. Being the Ricardos
121. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
122. Ron’s Gone Wrong
123. Godzilla vs. Kong
124. The Unforgivable
125. Silent Night
126. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One
127. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two
128. Moxie
129. Raya and the Last Dragon
130. Madres
131. Italian Studies
132. Nine Days
133. The Marksman
134. Vacation Friends
135. Till Death
136. The Guilty
137. Worth
138. Encounter
139. Fear Street: 1994
140. Concrete Cowboy
141. India Sweets and Spices
142. Don’t Breathe 2
143. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
144. Army of the Dead
145. South of Heaven
146. Army of Thieves
147. The Protégé


Grade D

148. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
149. American Underdog
150. Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
151. Mortal Kombat
152. Bruised
153. Those Who Wish Me Dead
154. Separation
155. Mainstream
156. Prisoners of the Ghostland
157. Jungle Cruise
158. Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
159. Demonic
160. Joe Bell
161. Respect
162. Old
163. Gunpowder Milkshake
164. Coming 2 America
165. Jakob’s Wife
166. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
167. Voyagers
168. Zone 414
169. Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse
170. Clifford the Big Red Dog
171. Injustice
172. Awake
173. The Tomorrow War


Grade F

174. Reno 911! The Hunt for Q
175. Home Sweet Home Alone
176. Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog
177. The Unholy
178. Reminiscence
179. Spiral: From the Book of Saw
180. Cry Macho
181. Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms
182. Jolt
183. Infinite
184. Rumble
185. Midnight in the Switchgrass
186. A Journal for Jordan
187. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
188. The Manor
189. The Ice Road
190. Boogie


Bottom 10

191. The Woman in the Window
192. Thunder Force
193. Tom & Jerry
194. Space Jam: A New Legacy
195. Zack Snyder’s Justice League
196. Dear Evan Hansen
197. Red Notice
198. The Addams Family 2
199. Habit
200. The Boss Baby: Family Business

 

[CaptainWagner]

Still got a good amount to catch up on. But I might be able to catch all the BP noms before the ceremony, which would be a first. The local arthouse theater is screening most of them again, so I can catch some like Belfast that I missed the first time around.

 

[Drizzle]

Once I watch CODA, The King's Man and Drive My Car in the next couple of weeks I feel like my 2021 list will be as up to date as it'll be for a while. It feels like I've watched way more films in 2021 than usual and streaming definitely was a big reason for that.

 

[Drizzle]

Dusting this thread off one more time since I watched pretty much everything I wanted to from 2021.

Top 10:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Honorable Mentions:

Spoiler

11. Licorice Pizza
12. Eternals
13. A Quiet Place Part II
14. Don't Look Up
15. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
16. The Power of the Dog
17. King Richard
18. In the Heights
19. Luca
20. Judas and the Black Messiah
21. Black Widow
22. The Many Saints of Newark
23. Zack Snyder's Justice League
24. tick, tick...BOOM!
25. Last Night in Soho
26. Drive My Car
27. Free Guy
28. Encanto

The In-Between:

Spoiler

29. Nobody
30. Being the Ricardos
31. The French Dispatch
32. The Matrix Resurrections
33. Cruella
34. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
35. Godzilla vs. Kong
36. The Mitchells vs. the Machines
37. The King's Man
38. Jungle Cruise
39. 8-Bit Christmas

The Meh:

Spoiler

40. Halloween Kills
41. F9: The Fast Saga
42. Army of the Dead
43. Army of Thieves
44. Cherry
45. The Tomorrow War
46. The Little Things
47. Space Jam: A New Legacy
48. Coming 2 America

 

[CaptainWagner]

I made it! Caught up on enough movies to lock in my official Top 10

1) Nine Days
I've never before been so mad about a movie being ignored as I have been by the whole internet and film community sleeping on 'Nine Days.' To start, it's just an ingeniously original concept for a script. That this is Edson Oda's first feature script AND directorial effort is insane. He's operating on the level of a long-time pro here. The performances are amazing, making you care deeply for each heart-breaking character. The production design creates a truly immersive and unique fantasy world. The score is beautiful... I saw this on my birthday back in August and immediately knew it would be my favorite of the year. Sure enough, eight months later, its reign is unchallenged.

2) Spencer
Gotta love a real-life story that dares to escape the basic biopic trappings. Larraín crafts a gorgeous, dream-like fable for Diana to inhabit, and Stewart gives my favorite performance of the year in the lead role. Everything is so tenderly crafted here to create the perfect ambience - A sinister atmosphere JUST vague enough so that the audience can be gaslit along with Diana that maybe we really are crazy, that maybe no one's out to get her. Until that final scene with the book. Props to Timothy Spall for perfectly embodying that ambiguous malevolence in a way that's crucial to the movie's success, and to the creative team for leaving us with a hopeful ending to complete the dream state, allowing a moment of escape from the tragic reality.

3) West Side Story
Gosh... ****ing Ansel Elgort. This would have been a perfect movie for me if it wasn't for him. ****** IRL issues aside, he has neither the looks nor the charisma to make Tony's role in the story believable. But the rest of the cast delivers show-stopping performances, the cinematography, crafts and choreography are brilliant, and Spielberg directs the living daylights out of it - Easily his best work in ages. Definitely eclipses the original in my book.

4) Belfast
Love permeates every inch of this movie. The more time it's had to marinate in my memory, the more I appreciate how Branagh showcases a full journey of life-long romance in this story - The childhood crush, the messy but powerful love of the parents and the settled, persistent affection of the grandparents. Such a beautiful framing that takes a very specific, very personal story and helps it feel timeless and universal.

5) Parallel Mothers
Production Design lauds tend to go to period pieces or fantasy worlds, but few movies are so perfectly designed as this, pure in its contemporary realism yet so lavishly intentional that it feels unreal in the best way. I WANT that freaking apartment. Add in thrilling performances and a gripping, layered narrative and you get a movie I hope to revisit many, many times again.

6) Shiva Baby
One of the highest feats of the cinematic art form is to make a small movie feel like a big movie. It is a wholly different style of film-making. There may be no spectacle to manage, no VFX to coordinate or elaborate designs to bring to life. But the level of intimacy brought on by a small-scale project like this brings on a whole different set of challenges. Emma Seligman rose to that challenge brilliantly, crafting a simple situational comedy into one of the tensest, most emotionally savage movies of the year without ever losing sight of the humor of it all. Can't wait to see what she and Rachel Sennot do next.

7) The Worst Person in the World
I've been attacked. I may still be a good deal younger than the characters in Joachim Trier's intricate millennial character study, but it was cripplingly relatable. So many older writers have tried and failed to capture the millennial zeitgeist, but Trier's characters and their difficulties feel just as authentic as actual-millennial Emma Seligman's work in Shiva Baby. A wonderful story that doesn't shy away from the depressing realities of 21st century social life but retains a hopeful spirit throughout, even in the most outwardly bleak moments.

8) tick... tick... boom!
I've been attacked, again. Even worse this time being a fellow writer like Larson and knowing that, for him, his time really was running out. Andrew Garfield carries this to incredible heights, one of my new favorite biopic performances. His capturing of Larson's mannerisms is impeccable. And huge props to Steven Levinson for taking a work many thought unadaptable and seamlessly blending the story with the performance to create a perfectly specific narrative style. Him missing the Adapted Screenplay docket was one of the year's worst snubs. And props to LMM for proving his directorial skills don't end at the edge of the stage.

9) The Green Knight
I think it was a good thing that the stars didn't align for me to see this in theaters. Because yeah, the marketing was not really honest about what sort of movie this is. It's a very small, cerebral story told on an epic fantasy backdrop. While I do feel like it didn't fully succeed in selling Gawain's character development, it was a fascinating approach to the myth and had hands down some of the best camerawork and production crafts of the year. Thrilling world-building that makes me really want more Arthurian movies.

10) Passing
A lovely debut from the director's chair by Rebecca Hall. She's adapted this story very well, but more impressively has perfectly captured the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Everything from the sound design to the way the cast delivers their lines works together to make this feel like it was made in the 50's, not for Netflix in 2021. Plus Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson OWN their roles. Great work all around.

Honorable Mentions: Last Night in Soho, Nightmare Alley, Dune, Cyrano, Pig

I'll go back through Letterboxd later to try and new a complete listing of every 2021 movie I saw, but for now the Top 10 shall suffice.

 

[Filmfreak]

There are a few I haven't watched from that year yet and I change places to a lot of films in this list, but as of right now it goes something like this:

01. Dune
02. No Time to Die
03. The Green Knight
04. Last Night in Soho
05. Reminiscence
06. Candyman
07. The King's Man
08. Halloween Kills
09. Finch
10. Nightmare Alley

11. Wrath of Man
12. Belfast
13. Last Train to Christmas
14. No Sudden Move
15. The Tragedy of Macbeth
16. The French Dispatch
17. Spider-Man: No Way Home
18. Love Hard
19. The Night House
20. Zack Snyder's Justice League

21. Old
22. Being the Ricardos
23. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
24. The Dig
25. Spencer
26. Those Who Wish Me Dead
27. Spiral: From the Book of Saw
28. Coda
29. The Power of the Dog
30. Black Widow

31. False Positive
32. The Suicide Squad
33. Don't Look Up
34. The Unforgivable
35. Aftermath
36. King Richard
37. Chaos Walking
38. A Quiet Place: Part II
39. The Lost Daughter
40. Beckett

41. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
42. Free Guy
43. Drive My Car
44. Bajocero
45. The Last Duel
46. Licorice Pizza
47. The Woman in the Window
48. The Matrix Resurrections
49. Godzilla vs Kong
50. Silent Night

51. Malignant
52. Without Remorse
53. In the Earth
54. Hypnotic
55. Army of the Dead
56. Stoaway
57. Demonic
58. Superhost
59. Mortal Kombat
60. The Forever Purge

61. Fear Street: 1666
62. Fear Street: 1994
63. Fear Street: 1978
64. Black as Night
65. Bingo Hell

 

[shauner111]

1- The Green Knight
2- Dune
3- Little Fish
4- Pleasure
5- Zola
6- King Richard
7- Swan Song
8- Candyman
9- The Night House
10- No Time To Die

Rough year.

 

[Persona]

The Card Counter, best movie of last year, is now on HBO Max.

 

[shauner111]

Couldn’t sit through that one.

 

[Luigi]

Happy to see Candyman popping up on more Top 10s.

 

[Kane52630]

The Card Counter, best movie of last year, is now on HBO Max.

That soundtrack is still on my rotation.

 

[shauner111]

Tick tick boom should be banned from households.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Couldn’t sit through that one.

 

[Prison Mike]

Tick tick boom should be banned from households.

because it’s so good, right?

 

[shauner111]

Or the cringiest, most annoying thing I ever laid my eyes on.

 

[CaptainWagner]

I made it! Caught up on enough movies to lock in my official Top 10

1) Nine Days
I've never before been so mad about a movie being ignored as I have been by the whole internet and film community sleeping on 'Nine Days.' To start, it's just an ingeniously original concept for a script. That this is Edson Oda's first feature script AND directorial effort is insane. He's operating on the level of a long-time pro here. The performances are amazing, making you care deeply for each heart-breaking character. The production design creates a truly immersive and unique fantasy world. The score is beautiful... I saw this on my birthday back in August and immediately knew it would be my favorite of the year. Sure enough, eight months later, its reign is unchallenged.

2) Spencer
Gotta love a real-life story that dares to escape the basic biopic trappings. Larraín crafts a gorgeous, dream-like fable for Diana to inhabit, and Stewart gives my favorite performance of the year in the lead role. Everything is so tenderly crafted here to create the perfect ambience - A sinister atmosphere JUST vague enough so that the audience can be gaslit along with Diana that maybe we really are crazy, that maybe no one's out to get her. Until that final scene with the book. Props to Timothy Spall for perfectly embodying that ambiguous malevolence in a way that's crucial to the movie's success, and to the creative team for leaving us with a hopeful ending to complete the dream state, allowing a moment of escape from the tragic reality.

3) West Side Story
Gosh... ****ing Ansel Elgort. This would have been a perfect movie for me if it wasn't for him. ****** IRL issues aside, he has neither the looks nor the charisma to make Tony's role in the story believable. But the rest of the cast delivers show-stopping performances, the cinematography, crafts and choreography are brilliant, and Spielberg directs the living daylights out of it - Easily his best work in ages. Definitely eclipses the original in my book.

4) Belfast
Love permeates every inch of this movie. The more time it's had to marinate in my memory, the more I appreciate how Branagh showcases a full journey of life-long romance in this story - The childhood crush, the messy but powerful love of the parents and the settled, persistent affection of the grandparents. Such a beautiful framing that takes a very specific, very personal story and helps it feel timeless and universal.

5) Parallel Mothers
Production Design lauds tend to go to period pieces or fantasy worlds, but few movies are so perfectly designed as this, pure in its contemporary realism yet so lavishly intentional that it feels unreal in the best way. I WANT that freaking apartment. Add in thrilling performances and a gripping, layered narrative and you get a movie I hope to revisit many, many times again.

6) Shiva Baby
One of the highest feats of the cinematic art form is to make a small movie feel like a big movie. It is a wholly different style of film-making. There may be no spectacle to manage, no VFX to coordinate or elaborate designs to bring to life. But the level of intimacy brought on by a small-scale project like this brings on a whole different set of challenges. Emma Seligman rose to that challenge brilliantly, crafting a simple situational comedy into one of the tensest, most emotionally savage movies of the year without ever losing sight of the humor of it all. Can't wait to see what she and Rachel Sennot do next.

7) The Worst Person in the World
I've been attacked. I may still be a good deal younger than the characters in Joachim Trier's intricate millennial character study, but it was cripplingly relatable. So many older writers have tried and failed to capture the millennial zeitgeist, but Trier's characters and their difficulties feel just as authentic as actual-millennial Emma Seligman's work in Shiva Baby. A wonderful story that doesn't shy away from the depressing realities of 21st century social life but retains a hopeful spirit throughout, even in the most outwardly bleak moments.

8) tick... tick... boom!
I've been attacked, again. Even worse this time being a fellow writer like Larson and knowing that, for him, his time really was running out. Andrew Garfield carries this to incredible heights, one of my new favorite biopic performances. His capturing of Larson's mannerisms is impeccable. And huge props to Steven Levinson for taking a work many thought unadaptable and seamlessly blending the story with the performance to create a perfectly specific narrative style. Him missing the Adapted Screenplay docket was one of the year's worst snubs. And props to LMM for proving his directorial skills don't end at the edge of the stage.

9) The Green Knight
I think it was a good thing that the stars didn't align for me to see this in theaters. Because yeah, the marketing was not really honest about what sort of movie this is. It's a very small, cerebral story told on an epic fantasy backdrop. While I do feel like it didn't fully succeed in selling Gawain's character development, it was a fascinating approach to the myth and had hands down some of the best camerawork and production crafts of the year. Thrilling world-building that makes me really want more Arthurian movies.

10) Passing
A lovely debut from the director's chair by Rebecca Hall. She's adapted this story very well, but more impressively has perfectly captured the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Everything from the sound design to the way the cast delivers their lines works together to make this feel like it was made in the 50's, not for Netflix in 2021. Plus Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson OWN their roles. Great work all around.

Honorable Mentions: Last Night in Soho, Nightmare Alley, Dune, Cyrano, Pig

I'll go back through Letterboxd later to try and new a complete listing of every 2021 movie I saw, but for now the Top 10 shall suffice.

Complete ranking of all my 2021 movies: (Categories after Top 10 aren't in any particular order, at least not yet. That seemed too daunting of a task)

1) Nine Days
2) Spencer
3) Belfast
4) West Side Story
5) Parallel Mothers
6) Shiva Baby
7) The Worst Person in the World
8) The Green Knight
9) tick... tick... BOOM!
10) Passing

Great
Mass
Cyrano
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Last Night in Soho
Dune
Luca

Good
The Power of the Dog
Encanto
Free Guy
CODA
The Lost Daughter
Licorice Pizza
The Mitchell's vs. the Machines
Red Rocket
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Nightmare Alley
King Richard
Shang-Chi & the Legend of the 10 Rings
The French Dispatch
Eternals
No Time To Die
Pig
Werewolves Within
The Suicide Squad
Fear Street Trilogy
No Sudden Move
In the Heights

Fine
Drive My Car
The Last Duel
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Don't Look Up
Single All The Way
The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of CS Lewis
Muppets Haunted Mansion
Malignant
Vacation Friends
Jungle Cruise
Black Widow
Nobody
Willy's Wonderland

Disappointments
Antlers
Being the Ricardos
The King's Man
The Tomorrow War

Just Plain Bad
Aftermath
The Resort

Over all a pretty strong year. A lot of ones I'll be coming back to. Still some, like Candyman, I need to catch. Maybe once I can add more I'll put the whole list in order. Letterboxd makes this so much easier than it used to be.