Worst2First: Ranking the 138 Films I Saw in 2021 Part 3: The Top Ten of 2021

 

Worst2First:
Ranking the 138 Films I Saw in 2021
Part 3: The Top Ten of 2021

2021 was a spectacular year for film in both the big and small screen, and there was a number of stellar movies that were released that year, and it was almost impossible to narrow down my top ten favorites. While some of these films were technically released in 2020, they were in limited release and didn't receive a wide release until 2021, so I'm including them in this list.

So here are my top ten films I saw in 2021...

**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**

#10

Minari

Loosely based on director Lee Isaac Chung's upbringing, "Minari" centers on a Korean family who immigrated to America to make a better life for themselves in the rural United States. Focusing on the topics of family, heritage, hard work and wealth, "Minari" is a sweeping, soaring, powerful story told by former "The Walking Dead" star Steven Yeun, who went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for his performance (a first for a Korean American), as well as Youn Yuh-jung, who played the grandmother, becoming the first Korean to win the Academy Award for acting for her supporting role. It's endearing, heartfelt, and doesn't sugar-coat the struggles you face in order to achieve your dreams, but also gives you the strength to keep going forward.

#9

Nightmare Alley

Acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro is best known for supplying unique creatures in ways that are extraordinary and exceptional, and "Nightmare Alley" is no different - only this time, the creature is a man, and proves that there's nothing deadlier. Bradley Cooper gives a career-best performance as a grifter who studied at the circus on how to perform cold readings, and with his girlfriend he leaves the sideshow and accepts money from wealthy marks for him to communicate with their dead loved ones. Cate Blanchett plays a psychiatrist with ties to these wealthy men, and join forces to dupe them out of their wealth. This neo-noir thriller is not only exceptionally written and performed, but the visuals are one-of-a-kind, unique, and downright memorable.

#8

CODA

Newcomer Emilia Jones absolutely shines in this coming-of-age dramedy about Ruby, a girl who's the only hearing person in her family (also known as CODA: Child of Deaf Adults). She adores her family even with their offbeat quirks and mannerisms, but she also has dreams of her own, and they come into conflict when her family relies on her to be their only voice in a world of silence. As she endures the taunts of the hearing and struggles with her desire to pursue her singing career, Ruby is torn between two worlds, and Jones pulls it off like a seasoned pro. Throw in awards-worthy performances by deaf actors Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, and Daniel Durant, and you've got a tear-inducing drama that'll tug at your heartstrings like a master violinist.

#7

Licorice Pizza

Paul Thomas Anderson's coming-of-age dramedy centering around an unlikely young couple in 1970s California is an exceptional masterwork from the acclaimed director, a story that's filled with adventure, humor, heart, and heartbreak. Cooper Hoffman (the son of the late Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Alana Haim both make their big-screen debuts as star-crossed lovers, two people who obviously have feelings for one another, but their vast age difference (he's 15, she's 25) keeps getting in the way. With a quirky supporting performance by Bradley Cooper, "Licorice Pizza" is everything you want in a coming-of-age film, told by two up-and-coming actors who are just starting their illustrious careers.

#6

The Father

When I saw this before the Academy Awards, I felt that if anyone could pull an upset on the late Chadwick Boseman's win, it would've been Anthony Hopkins - and then he did indeed win the Best Actor Oscar at the much-maligned Academy Awards, to the shock of almost everyone. Yet it's extremely well-deserved, as "The Father" is one of the best performances of his distinguished career, a film that seems on paper to be a generic look at a man falling into the pitfalls of Alzheimer's, but director Florian Zeller turns it on its head, giving us a unique look through Hopkins' eyes. We see his daughter and son-in-law changing, his flat changing, are just as lost as he is by the end of it - showcasing Hopkins unparalleled excellence in a film that's undeniably powerful and thought-provoking.

#5

The Green Knight

Based on the legendary story "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," David Lowery's "The Green Knight" isn't what you might expect from an Arthurian legend. There's no epic sword fights or grand sweeping visuals, but instead a deeply introspective search within oneself to understand what it really means to be a man of honor. Dev Patel gives a commanding performance as Gawain, who must embark on a journey to fulfill an oath he once promised, even though he knows it will most likely lead to his demise. Along the way he comes into contact with a wide array of villains, spectors, talking animals and giants, but its his personal journey that's the most powerful. Visually stunning, grand in its story, and led by a career-best performance, "The Green Knight" has everything you're looking for.

#4

Nomadland

It's no surprise "Nomadland" won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director, because this film really has very few equals. Frances McDormand is a fearless actress who goes all in on her projects, and this is no different. Here, she plays a widower who only has an RV, and travels across the desert southwest coming across fellow RVers along the way, known as Nomads. Director Chloe Zhao made "Nomadland" almost like a documentary, and those that McDormand's character encounters along the way are actual Nomads who live in their own communities. Filled with a spirit that inspires you to explore the unknown and expand your horizons, "Nomadland" is the chef's kiss of cinema, and an unforgettable experience.

#3

Tick, Tick...Boom!

There was a time where Keanu Reeves made a huge resurgence, and people referred to it as the Keanussance. Well, 2021 will be known as the Garfieldssance, as Andrew Garfield dominated the big screen in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," another film that I won't spoil if you've been living under a rock recently, and Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut "Tick, Tick...Boom!" - a film that could easily earn him his first Oscar win. Garfield plays Jonathan Larson, a playwright living in New York City who went on to write the long-running Broadway show "Rent," but before then he dealt with an existential crisis - he's about to turn thirty, and doesn't have a hit to his name. Centering around his one-man show, the film is a soaring, sweeping, emotionally charged musical the likes of which you've never seen, rooted firmly in Garfield's compassionate performance, which is only heightened when you learn he used his experiences in the film to deal with the insurmountable grief with losing his mother to cancer earlier.

#2

The Power of the Dog

Years after her acclaimed and awards-winning writing and directing of "The Piano," Jane Campion returns to the big screen with "The Power of the Dog," a film that's stellar in every sense of the imagination, a film that is unrivaled in its brilliance, and one that gives not one, but four, career-best performances. Set against the backdrop of Montana in the 1920s, "The Power of the Dog" centers around Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons' characters, brothers who own a wealthy ranch, and who couldn't be any different. While Plemons' George is nice, quiet, and sincere, Cumberbatch's Phil is emotionally manipulative, rude, and arrogant. When George marries lowly widower Rose, Phil sets out to destroy her mentally, while her son tries to protect her at all costs. Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee round out this stellar, awards-worthy cast in a slow-burn tale filled with intrigue, suspense, drama, and heightened performances unparalleled.

And now, my personal #1 movie of 2021...

#1

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Suffice it to say, there was no film in 2021 that was as highly anticipated as "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Despite the words of the likes of Martin Scorsese who dismiss superhero films as fluff, "No Way Home" not only served to be the biggest blockbuster of the year, the first film since the pandemic to cross one billion dollars worldwide, but also proved Scorsese wrong - this film is a masterclass in every sense of the word. The action is beyond epic, the story tugs at your heartstrings like the classic dramas, and you witness a hero's journey unlike any other. Not to mention this film brings back the classic Spider-Man villains of old, including Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin (Dafoe, who did his own stunts, proved he has what it takes to still out-perform his co-stars twenty years since his original Green Goblin appearance), Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, and Jamie Foxx's Electro, as well as some other special guests that you'll have to see to believe (not that it's a spoiler, but for some of you who are literally living in the Dark Ages, you might not know the big twist). Encompassing a twenty-year history in cinema, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" rivals the likes of "Avengers: Endgame" in becoming one of the most ambitious films set to screen.