Movies: Best Movies of 2021

[Savi]

It's that time of the year again to look back and, in this case, make some sense of the cinematic year that was 2021.
We didn't have a 2020 thread, last year I thought about making one but by that time it was a bit too late and people just hadn't watched a lot of films during the early days of the pandemic.

However, I feel like now many of us have picked up the pace again and have watched enough to put up at least maybe a list of their 10 favourite/best movies of 2021. I know I am so I will be posting my best one of these days as well, even though as it stands I don't feel like I have seen any 'great' film(s) in 2021.

Anyway; which movies did you guys find memorable, which were disappointing, any hidden gems, etc? Let us know

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[alko]

Can we include also adult movies?

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I've seen 29 movies from 2021 and I didn't rate a single one above 4.5/10 - so nothing from me here.

 

[Savi]

I've seen 29 movies from 2021 and I didn't rate a single one above 4.5/10 - so nothing from me here.

Well, one of them has got to be the best of the bunch

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I used to always put together a top 10-20 but for the last three to four years I feel like I haven't seen enough to have a really solid opinion. Though this feeling pre-dates the pandemic, it's only been exacerbated the last few years as I've just not done a great job of seeking out a lot of new things. The plethora of streaming options has pushed me heavily toward watching more older stuff, again even moreso these last two years.

All that said, here are the movies (in no particular order) that really stuck out to me:

Pig
Power of the Dog
A Glitch in the Matrix
The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
The Sparks Brothers
The Velvet Underground
Dune
Spencer
The French Dispatch
The Beta Test
Prisoners of the Ghostland

Edit: added thoughts....

A lot of that is pretty chalk to general critical opinion. The lack of seeing new things means I tend to see the big, popular stuff and really miss out on those little gems that are fun to stumble on. I guess A Glitch in the Matrix, Prisoners of the Ghostland and The Beta Test could qualify, but they're not that off-the-beaten-path.

I said this elsewhere a few weeks back but I thought it was a particularly good year for music documentaries. I (perhaps pedantically) would consider Get Back a TV show or series more than a movie, but that lumped in with The Sparks Brothers and The Velvet Underground presents a trio of creative and compelling looks at musicians plying their trade.

Two movies I really, really did not like — Army of the Dead, Malignant

 

[kihei]

Best of '21

1. Memoria, Weerasethakul, Thailand/Columbia
2. The Power of the Dog, Campion, New Zealand
3. Drive My Car, Yamaguchi, Japan
4. The Lost Daughter, Gyllenhaal, US
5. The Cloud in Her Room, Zheng, China
6. The Worst Person in the World, Trier, Norway
7. Annette, Carax, France/US
8. The Hand of God, Sorrentino, Italy
9. Bergman Island, Hansen-Love, France
10. The Green Knight, Lowery, US

11. Identifying Features, Valadez, Mexico
12. Red Moon Tide, Patino, Spain
13. Zero f***s Given, Marre and Lacoustre, Belgium
14. After Love, Khan, UK
15. The Trouble with Being Born, Wollner, Austria
16. Flee, Rasmussen, Denmark
17. Riders of Freedom. Nelson. Denmark.
18. Velvet Underground, H8ynes, US (documentary)
19. Azor, Fontana, Argentin9
20, Procession, Greene, US (documentary)

HM: There Is No Evil; The Rescue; The Year of the Everlasting Storm; Swan Song; Undine; I'm Your Man

Easily the poorest year this century with only three exceptional movies released, Memoria, The Power of the Dog and Drive My Car. 16 through 20 I could just as easily picked the order out of a hat or chose the films alphabetically.

 

[Pink Mist]

Like KallioWeHardlyKnewYe, ever since the pandemic I haven't watch too many new releases and have instead dived into classics and my big watchlist of films. The only 2021 releases that I watched that I can say would include in a top 10 are Spencer and Azor. I haven't watched enough to do a proper 10 ten, but those would probably make the list. I still have to catch up on stuff from 2020, but I'll probably use this thread to include films in my watchlist lol

Instead of a list of best movies released in 2021, here are my best first time watches of 2021 (in no particular order):

The Apu Trilogy, Satyajit Ray
A Man Escaped, Bresson
Lawrence of Arabia, Lean
Chungking Express, Wong
In the Mood for Love, Wong
The Battle For Algiers, Pontecorvo
La Jetée, Marker
Dawson City: Frozen Time, Morrison
Beginning, Kulumbegashvili
12:08 East of Bucharest, Porumboiu

 

[kihei]

Like KallioWeHardlyKnewYe, ever since the pandemic I haven't watch too many new releases and have instead dived into classics and my big watchlist of films. The only 2021 releases that I watched that I can say would include in a top 10 are Spencer and Azor. I haven't watched enough to do a proper 10 ten, but those would probably make the list. I still have to catch up on stuff from 2020, but I'll probably use this thread to include films in my watchlist lol

Instead of a list of best movies released in 2021, here are my best first time watches of 2021 (in no particular order):

The Apu Trilogy, Satyajit Ray
A Man Escaped, Bresson
Lawrence of Arabia, Lean
Chungking Express, Wong
In the Mood for Love, Wong
The Battle For Algiers, Pontecorvo
La Jetée, Marker
Dawson City: Frozen Time, Morrison
Beginning, Kulumbegashvili
12:08 East of Bucharest, Porumboiu

Now THAT is a killer list.

 

[Pink Mist]

Now THAT is a killer list.

It was a very good year for watching movies this year for me

 

[Savi]

Easily the poorest year this century

I think this sums it up pretty well, although last year comes pretty close too. Looking back at my list from last year (btw, I'd be interested to see if you have a best-of-2020 since we didn't do a top movie list last year) there were no exceptional movies either and it was probably the worst rating I gave my #1 of the year, ever.

But anyway, 2021.

I watched about 70 new releases over the course of the year and only 20 of them I rewarded with at least a 7/10. Among some of the worst of the year I had Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, The Forever Purge but also Mike Cahill's Bliss (and I'm usually a big Cahill fan) and Red Moon Tide, which for some reason kihei really liked

Villeneuve's Dune was disappointing too, a bit too much Star Wars-y for me, Nomadland also didn't do much for me and both The Power of the Dog and The Card Counter I wanted to like much more than I eventually did.

No Time to Die was allright as the finale of Craig's Bond run, Oxygen was a fun little sci-fi with plenty of twists, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (finally another Ana Lily Amirpour movie!) was plenty of fun, as was Drunk, Nobody or Spanish Netflix production The Occupant.

The toughest movie to watch was probably.. well, no, not probably.. definitely, Titane. I still haven't figured out if I thought it was good or not.

My 15 best though are these;

15. The White Fortress (Tabija); Igor Drljaca (Bosnia/Canada)

14. Dating Amber; David Freyne (Rep. Ireland)

13. Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares); Fernanda Valadez (Mexico)

12. Riders of Justice (Retfærdighedens ryttere); Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark)

11. Bergman Island; Mia Hansen-Løve (France)

10. Petite Maman; Céline Sciamma (France)

9. A Hero (Ghahreman); Asghar Farhadi (Iran)

8. The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske); Joachim Trier (Norway)

7. Inexorable; Fabrice du Welz (Belgium)

6. Promising Young Woman; Emerald Fennell (UK)

5. The Innocents (Den Uskyldige); Eskil Vogt (Norway)

4. Quo Vadis, Aida?; Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnia)

3. Drive My Car (Doraibu Mai Kâ); Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Japan)

2. Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades); Jacques Audiard (France)

1. Better Days (Shaonian de ni); Derek Tsang (China)

 

[kihei]

I think this sums it up pretty well, although last year comes pretty close too. Looking back at my list from last year (btw, I'd be interested to see if you have a best-of-2020 since we didn't do a top movie list last year) there were no exceptional movies either and it was probably the worst rating I gave my #1 of the year, ever.

I agree with your comment that there is not much to choose between 2020 and 2021. Both are weak years. 2020 might have a bit more depth, though:

2020 Best of Year List (updated)

1) Nomadland, Zhao, US
2) First Cow, Reichardt, US
3) Babyteeth, Murphy, Australia
4) Small Axe: Lovers Rock, McQueen, UK
5) The Father, Zelller, UK
6) Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hittman, US
7) Two of Us, Meneghetti, France
8) Quo Vadis, Aida, Zbanic. Bosnia
9) Notturno, Rosi, Italy (documentary)
10) Collective, Nanau, Romania (documentary)

11. Another Round, Vinterberg, Denmark
12 Promising Young Woman, Fennel, US/UK
13 Dick Johnson Is Dead, Johnson, US (documentary)
14. Swimming Out till the Sea Turns Blue, Jia, China (documentary)
15. About Endlessness, Andersson, Sweden
16. Small Axe: Mangrove, McQueen, UK
17. Rocks, Gavron, UK
18. Saint Maud, Glass, UK
19. Sound of Metal, Marder, US
20. Corpus Christi, Komasa, Poland

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I agree with your comment that there is not much to choose between 2020 and 2021. Both are weak years. 2020 might have a bit more depth, though:

2020 Best of Year List (updated)

1) Nomadland, Zhao, US
2) First Cow, Reichardt, US
3) Babyteeth, Murphy, Australia
4) Small Axe: Lovers Rock, McQueen, UK
5) The Father, Zelller, UK
6) Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Hittman, US
7) Two of Us, Meneghetti, France
8) Quo Vadis, Aida, Zbanic. Bosnia
9) Notturno, Rosi, Italy (documentary)
10) Collective, Nanau, Romania (documentary)

11. Another Round, Vinterberg, Denmark
12 Promising Young Woman, Fennel, US/UK
13 Dick Johnson Is Dead, Johnson, US (documentary)
14. Swimming Out till the Sea Turns Blue, Jia, China (documentary)
15. About Endlessness, Andersson, Sweden
16. Small Axe: Mangrove, McQueen, UK
17. Rocks, Gavron, UK
18. Saint Maud, Glass, UK
19. Sound of Metal, Marder, US
20. Corpus Christi, Komasa, Poland

I haven't seen any of your 2021 films, and only 2 of this list, including numero uno. Of the few worthy films I've seen, I have 3 ranked higher than Nomadland on the year: The Problem With Being Born (thanks to you), Possessor, and Mignonnes. I'd have Saint Maud too (thanks to you), but IMDB tells me it's from 2019.

 

[kihei]

Saint Maud played TIFF in 2019 but I think it only played festivals that year. I liked Possessor and it grew on me. Definitely bottom teens to HM material.

 

[nameless1]

I think this sums it up pretty well, although last year comes pretty close too. Looking back at my list from last year (btw, I'd be interested to see if you have a best-of-2020 since we didn't do a top movie list last year) there were no exceptional movies either and it was probably the worst rating I gave my #1 of the year, ever.

But anyway, 2021.

I watched about 70 new releases over the course of the year and only 20 of them I rewarded with at least a 7/10. Among some of the worst of the year I had Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, The Forever Purge but also Mike Cahill's Bliss (and I'm usually a big Cahill fan) and Red Moon Tide, which for some reason kihei really liked

Villeneuve's Dune was disappointing too, a bit too much Star Wars-y for me, Nomadland also didn't do much for me and both The Power of the Dog and The Card Counter I wanted to like much more than I eventually did.

No Time to Die was allright as the finale of Craig's Bond run, Oxygen was a fun little sci-fi with plenty of twists, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (finally another Ana Lily Amirpour movie!) was plenty of fun, as was Drunk, Nobody or Spanish Netflix production The Occupant.

The toughest movie to watch was probably.. well, no, not probably.. definitely, Titane. I still haven't figured out if I thought it was good or not.

My 15 best though are these;

15. The White Fortress (Tabija); Igor Drljaca (Bosnia/Canada)

14. Dating Amber; David Freyne (Rep. Ireland)

13. Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares); Fernanda Valadez (Mexico)

12. Riders of Justice (Retfærdighedens ryttere); Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark)

11. Bergman Island; Mia Hansen-Løve (France)

10. Petite Maman; Céline Sciamma (France)

9. A Hero (Ghahreman); Asghar Farhadi (Iran)

8. The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske); Joachim Trier (Norway)

7. Inexorable; Fabrice du Welz (Belgium)

6. Promising Young Woman; Emerald Fennell (UK)

5. The Innocents (Den Uskyldige); Eskil Vogt (Norway)

4. Quo Vadis, Aida?; Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnia)

3. Drive My Car (Doraibu Mai Kâ); Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Japan)

2. Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades); Jacques Audiard (France)

1. Better Days (Shaonian de ni); Derek Tsang (China)

While I am surprised that The White Fortress made it on your list, mainly because I did not think this Canadian/ Bosnian co-production would have been released anywhere else, I am also glad it did. While I am not that high on it, as I have it at 6.5/10, I did like it, especially the multi-layered story. Like the classic fairy tales it is inspired by, the filmmakers, underneath the surface of a classic teenage summer romance, also manages to subtly show the true and more tragic realities of every day life in a post-war Serbia that does not clash with the overall tone of the movie. For a small production, it is rather well-made, and I do recommend it.

 

[Savi]

2020 Best of Year List (updated)

Thanks. Yeah wasn't a great year either, some of the better movies I've only seen this year so they are included in my 2021 list.
Looking back at last year my #1 was Adoration (Fabrice Du Welz) followed by Gagarine (Liatard/Trouilh), 1917 (Mendes), Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Hittman), Mother (Sorogoyen), There is no evil (Rasoulof), Chiwawa (Ninomiya), Emilia (Sodero), Atlantique (Diop) and The Last Black Man in San Francisco (Talbot).

One of the 2021 movies I forgot to mention, the one that was probably my biggest disappointment, was Elisabeth Vogler's Roaring 20's. Her 2019 debut Paris is Us was fantastic and for me one of best of that year so I was really looking forward to her follow up. However, what we got was a boring, annoying film about several people walking around in Paris talking about.. stuff. Each couple/duo gets about 10 minutes maybe and then we jump to another couple. None of them are really very interesting and the conversations are incredibly shallow and bland. It's only an 85 min film and took everything out of me not to walk away early.

While I am surprised that The White Fortress made it on your list, mainly because I did not think this Canadian/ Serbian co-production would have been released anywhere else, I am also glad it did. While I am not that high on it, as I have it at 6.5/10, I did like it, especially the multi-layered story. Like the classic fairy tales it is inspired by, the filmmakers, underneath the surface of a classic teenage summer romance, also manages to subtly show the true and more tragic realities of every day life in a post-war Serbia that does not clash with the overall tone of the movie. For a small production, it is rather well-made, and I do recommend it.

It wasn't a great movie by any means, which also shows how mediocre this past year has been for this film to have made my list.
However I do have a soft spot for films coming out of post-war (former) Yugoslavia, for some reason the history of that place has always intrigued me and I thought a (still half torn up) Sarajevo provided a beautiful canvas to shoot this film.

 

[Osprey]

Can we include also adult movies?

If you mean movies without superheroes, yes.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Saint Maud played TIFF in 2019 but I think it only played festivals that year. I liked Possessor and it grew on me. Definitely bottom teens to HM material.

Saint Maud was one of the best movies I saw this year as well. Really stuck with me.

 

[member 51464]

Stillwater was the best new movie I saw in 2021. Has anyone else checked it out? I nice performance by Matt Damon.

 

[Mantis]

Can we include also adult movies?

PM me!

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Flicks I enjoyed:

Dune
The Green Knight
The Power of The Dog
Don't Look Up
Tick, Tick... Boom!
The Last Duel
No Time to Die
In the Heights

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Vulture's (3) Top 10 lists really go off the beaten path, for those that might interest. Plenty I haven't heard of at all (and likely by extension are harder to find: The Best Movies of 2021

 

[kihei]

Revised best of 2021

1, Memoria, Weerasethakul, Columbia
2. The Power of the Dog, Campion, US
3. Drive My Car, Yamaguchi, Japan
4 Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Yamaguchi, Japan
5. Petite Maman, Sciamma, France
6. The Cloud in Her Room, Zheng, China
7. The Worst Person in the World, Trier, Norway
8. Annette, Carax, US
9. The Lost Daughter, Gyllenhaal, US
10. Nitram, Kurzel, Australia

11 Green Knight, Lowry, US
12. Bergman Island, Hansen-Love, France
13. Identifying Features, Valadez, Mexico
14. After Love, Khan, UK
15. The Hand of God, Sorrentino, Italy
16. Red Moon Tide, Patino, Spain
17 The Trouble Being Born, Wollner, Austria
18. Riders of Freedom. Nelson, Denmark
19 Zero f***s Given, Marre/Lacoustre, France
20. There Is No Evil, Rasoulov, Iran