Remember when I started last year’s list by saying “remember when I started last year’s list by saying 2019 felt like ‘the year that was never going to end?’ Boy, did that not age well,”…boy, did that not age well. 2021 continued the trend of being a total dumpster fire of a year, made only slightly tolerable by the fact that Britney Spears is now free. Oh, and the COVID vaccines and boosters being widely available, that was a pretty good too, I guess.
This was the year theaters opened back up, and barely survived. And it’s easy to see why. Why should I go spend a couple hours inside a packed space with a bunch of strangers when I could watch all these new things available on streaming? I still think it’s too early to say what kind of an impact this will have on the future of theatrical releases, especially as the only major hit this year was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which hit the billion dollar mark, so let’s just focus on the good stuff.
While the new Spider-Man didn’t make my list, there were a bunch of great films that did, and some I had to sadly leave out for honorable mentions. Before I start, I should mention that like last year, you shouldn’t expect a ton of consistency with what counts as 2020/2021/2022 because the releases and the awards qualifications has been a huge mess, and I’m kinda winging it this year, so…just be prepared for some inclusions that might not make the most sense. Whatever. I also want to bring up JustWatch.com, which is a great resource to look up where a film can be available to watch, so be sure to check out that site if you want the latest digital/streaming release information since some of what you see here might be outdated if you read this at a point past its publishing date.
Enough of that, let’s get to the goods, after a whole year, 273 films, and over 100 reviews, let’s start off the honorable mentions, which will be in alphabetical order like the main list: 7 Prisoners, 83, Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn, Belfast, Bombay Rose, Cry Macho, C’mon C’mon, Eeb Allay Ooo!, Eternals, Luca, Mass, Memoria, One Shot, Parallel Mothers, Shiva Baby, Summer Of Soul, The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, The Novice, The Perfect Candidate, The Rescue, There Is No Evil, The Scary Of Sixty-First, Those Who Wish Me Dead, and Titane.
And now my Top 50!
A Hero
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Amazon Prime
Can a lie ever truly be justified? Even if it serves an act of good? Is an act of good worth it if it cannot be proven that it even happened? Asghar Farhadi’s latest offers a look at such a situation, and it will leave you drained, frustrated, angry, and sad for everyone involved. It’s a riveting drama, his best since A Separation, and it’s anchored by a wonderful performance from Amir Jadidi. Farhadi brings such a human touch as a storyteller, and his work is all the more invaluable for it.
Army Of The Dead
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Netflix
One one hand, this is a fairly simple and silly zombie riff on Ocean’s Eleven with some heavy Aliens stank on it, but on the other, it’s a political, melancholic, and deeply weird film that uses its formula/archetypes to touch on the how the powerful exploits the powerless by forcing desperate rogues in a futile pursuit of capital. On top of all that, Zack Snyder brings in some wild fascinations like UFOs, time-loops, robots, and the new types of zombies rooted in Greek mythological imagery. It’s a fascinating world with more to say than most gave it credit for.
Bad Trip
Review: N/A Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Netflix
By far one of the funniest pictures I’ve seen all year. Kitao Sakurai, Eric André, and the rest of the cast and crew brilliantly execute a rather genius conceit, what would happen if a dopey studio comedy started happening around real people? And somehow, it also manages to be a hopeful film that showed people be genuinely helpful and concerned whenever André throws himself into one of his outrageous antics. It’s a shame that a Netflix release prevented this from hitting theaters because experiencing this with a crowd during normal times would have been such a gift.
Belle
Review: Click Here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Theaters
Even a mid-tier Mamoru Hosoda film is one worth treasuring. It’s not my favorite of his, but there is so much lovely character work, storytelling, and breathtaking designs and animation. Hosoda is a filmmaker who has always worn his heart on his sleeve, and his technological riff on Beauty And The Beast is not only his most visually ambitious – sometimes overwhelmingly so, seeing this on the big screen was a treat, it’s also his emotionally naked to date, exploring trauma, teenage insecurities, and loneliness with an unbridled sense of empathy.
Benedetta
Review: N/A Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Theaters, VOD
How lucky are we that Paul Verhoeven continues to make films, and ones that still manage to shock and provoke audiences, even as a filmmaker approaching his mid-80s? Benedetta is an outrageous yet righteous indictment on the church, especially on its position as another tool of the state, serving the elites and the oppressors, within a broader political machinery that only wants the supposed “lessers” to know their place. And hey, for funsies, we got lesbian nuns and Jesus chopping heads off. This is cinema.
CODA
Review: N/A Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Apple TV+
There’s always a bunch of these middle-brow crowd pleaser that will pop up throughout the year, and they’re rarely anything above “just fine.” CODA serves as an example of how to utilize a tried and true formula to tell a story in a way that feels fresh and just as compelling as you heard it the first time. While the specific struggles of a deaf family are explored with great sensitivity and humor, the exploration of a family trying to understand each other was one that I found very moving.
Copshop
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Home Video, VOD
This is the kind of movie I should’ve found on in a dusty VHS cardboard sleeve on the dollar rack at my local Goodwill 20 years ago, not thrown unceremoniously into the multiplex in 2021, and I mean that in the best way possible. Copshop is Joe Carnahan channeling the best of cheap 80s sleaze. This film has personality bursting through every frame, with an abundance of memorable characters, killer lines, and some hard-hitting action beats that keeps the tension going to the very end. This film was a blast.
Drive My Car
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Theaters
From the outside, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feels like the kind of arthouse film that would feel too oblique to hit on an emotional level, especially considering its length and unconventional plotting. However, it doesn’t take long before you find yourself invested in its meditative rhythm and its characters. Rarely do films allow themselves to be this patient, this quiet. It’s the kind of film that really sneaks up on you, and when it’s ruminations on art, grief, and the way they can interweave becomes clear, it packs a huge punch. Truly a special picture in every regard.
Finch
Review: N/A Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Apple TV+
Finch is an intimate and unassuming sci-fi character piece that can certainly be described as sentimental or corny, but it absolutely wears its heart on its sleeve. And in a time when every movie with a robot preys on the fear of robots taking over humanity, it’s a pleasant surprise to see a film explore a robotic character with as much sensitivity as they would with a person. I was shocked by how effortlessly it got me invested and how moved I would end up being by the end. A true hidden gem if there ever was one.
Flee
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: VOD, Home Video On March 1st
Flee is a triumph in documentary filmmaking, utilizing expressive animation to showcase the harrowing journey of an Afghan refugee at a deeply vulnerable stage in his life, and how he has coped since, not only with his loved ones, but with himself. It’s the kind of film that I truly believe would help make the world a better place if everyone were to see it. There’s countless stories just like this that we don’t get exposed to, and I’m grateful to Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Amin for sharing this.
France
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Theaters
Léa Seydoux’s face was made to be captured on camera. And it’s just because she is an incredible beauty, it’s in her ability to inhabit an astonishing amount of emotion, intention, and meaning with every expression. Bruno Dumont seems to understand this quite well, as even when his media satire can be all over the place at times, he will place the camera directly on Seydoux, often silent, and somehow, it all comes together, it works, you understand where the character is. The film is quite good in and of itself, but Seydoux elevates it to another level.
Fried Barry
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Shudder, VOD, Home Video
Ryan Kruger is a deranged man, and I hope he gets to make whatever he wants. Somewhat similar in plot and theme to something like Under The Skin, but an absolute 180 in terms of aesthetics. Fried Barry is a total assault on the senses in every respect, from its booming synth-heavy score, its relentless pacing, and nasty detours into some gnarly situations. There are countless, more respectable sci-fi films about “what it means to be human,” but none are as brash and honest as this.
Godzilla Vs. Kong
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: HBO Max, VOD, Home Video
Don’t sit there and act like this wasn’t an absolute blast. I’m not sure what it is with modern audiences who seem to highly anticipate “dumb movies,” and then act shocked by the ridiculousness when they see them, and dismiss them as bad. It’s like clockwork. As far as I’m concerned, this film delivers exactly what it promises, and it was one that I was happy to revisit. Adam Wingard proves to have a solid grip on blockbuster filmmaking without sacrificing too much of his personality, and the film embraced all the weird and over-the-top qualities you would want from it.
House Of Gucci
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: VOD, Home Video on February 22nd
Speaking of over-the-top, I was thoroughly delighted by Ridley Scott’s second picture of the year from start-to-finish. A trashy, borderline farcical interpretation of what – on paper – seems like a fairly straightforward Godfather riff in the fashion world. Ridley Scott has so much contempt for everyone on screen, and he relishes in the backstabbing, the melodrama, and the amazingly gloomy aesthetics contrasting with the lavish lifestyles portrayed here. Sure, it can sometimes lose its way, going from romance to family drama to thriller, but it does it with so much pizzazz, I was there for the ride.
Karnan
Review: N/A Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Amazon Prime
Dhanush’s Karnan is mad as hell, and he isn’t going to take it anymore. The new film from Mari Selvaraj is one filled with righteous anger from the first frame to the last. This anger isn’t one born of contempt, it is born of desperation, the desperation of a community of lower caste villagers who are only asking for very basic and simple needs that neighboring upper caste communities continuously fail to accommodate. Loosely inspired by the 1995 Kodiyankulam riots, Selvaraj uses symbolic imagery and Dhanush’s powerful lead performance to capture a specific feeling, and it’s one that will stick long after seeing the film.
Licorice Pizza
Review: Click here! Trailer: Click here!
Where To Watch: Theaters
Paul Thomas Anderson’s freewheeling and sometimes dreamlike hangout movie follows two young people, Gary is a 15 year old who can’t wait to grow up, and then you got Alana, a 27 or 25 (who really knows) year old who is grown up, but isn’t ready for it at all, allowing herself to cling to whatever antics and hustles that interests Gary at any given point. While I do think the film has its fair share of flaws, the things that resonate with me shine through very strongly. Growing up is messy, finding your place in the world is messy, relationships are messy, and this film isn’t afraid to touch on that, and have some fun in the process.
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