Top 21 Films of 2021
I thought 2020 was a mixed bag in terms of movies, but 2021, thankfully, was a good one. Maybe it’s also due to the fact that I saw over twice as many films this year as I had last year. I watched 168 movies: some of them repeats, some films I hadn’t seen in years (Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Lilo & Stitch), half of them ones I’ve been meaning to see pre-2021 (The Fast and the Furious franchise, the Paddington movies), half films released this year, and finally dedicated more time to watching Asian cinema (Memories of Murder, The Host, Shoplifters, Dead Pigs, Drive My Car, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy).
Ranking the best films of the year is always difficult, not just because it’s totally subjective, but because I’m so indecisive (it’s the gemini in me). I thought I finalized this list two weeks ago, only to continue tinkering it the days after “finalizing” this post. I’m sure a few days after I publish this I’ll change my mind again. But it’s always fun to try to capture what I’m thinking and how I’m feeling at this very moment.
My favorite films of the years were ones that evoked a visceral reaction from me. They told stories about the human condition. They exuded hope, love, and optimism. They’re about relationships, families, and communities. They’re films made for the theatrical experience. They wrapped up stories from longstanding franchises. The following are the 21 best films of 2021:
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Malignant, The Matrix Resurrections, Pig, Plan B, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; Those Who Wish Me Dead
21. Eternals
Upon my initial viewing of Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao’s superhero movie, I was disappointed. But after my second viewing, I loved it. Eternals is unlike anything else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite being hampered down by the Marvel formula, the film at least tries to offer something new by being introspective and focusing more on the relationship between its characters rather than mindless action. In Zhao’s attempts to break the mold, Eternals tackles big ideas, even killing off some of our new favorite characters. Combined with Ramin Djawadi’s ethereal score, Sammy Sheldon Differ’s beautiful costumes, and scenes that were actually shot on location, Eternals is both the worst MCU film, but also one of its best.
‘Eternals’ is currently playing in theaters and will be streaming on Disney Plus on January 12, 2022. Read my review here.
20. The White Tiger
Many have called Ramin Bahrani’s The White Tiger, based on the novel of the same name by Aravind Adiga, the anti-Slumdog Millionaire, which is a lazy comparison. Both films are set in India, following an impoverished lead seeking riches. But that’s where their similarities end. In The White Tiger, Adarsh Gourav stars as Balram Halwai, a poor young man who begins chauffeuring for a rich and corrupt businessman and his family. What follows is a dark, comical thriller about the casualties of capitalism. If Slumdog Millionaire is a crowd-pleaser, then The White Tiger is truly its opposite—a feel-bad, though wildly compelling, stylish, and entertaining thriller.
‘The White Tiger’ is streaming on Netflix.
19. Raya and the Last Dragon
Raya and the Last Dragon is set in a fictional and magical world, though it’s not completely unlike our own today—it’s beset by a dangerous plague. Continuing the trend of Disney animated films tackling ambitious themes, Raya revolves around the idea of trust and how we can save the world if we put aside our egos. Led by stellar voice work from Kelly Marie Tran, the film gives us not one, but two badass Southeast Asian Disney Princesses for a new generation of kids to admire.
‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ is streaming on Disney Plus. Read my review here.
18. Life in a Day 2020
When the first Life in a Day came out ten years ago, I loved it. I thought it was a powerful film that needed to be experienced. I feel the same way about this sequel. It's easy to forget the world doesn't revolve around us, and this new film reminds us how many different lives there are in the world, how many different experiences we have even within just 24 hours. Featuring hundreds of footage from everyday people from around the world, all filmed on the same day, we see people's best days, their worst days, their firsts, new love blooming, relationships ending, and peoples' hopes and fears. There are many moments that'll make you want to cry out of joy, and other times cry out of sadness. This world is incredible.
‘Life in a Day 2020’ is streaming on YouTube.
17. Come From Away
The last several years have been really depressing with everything feeling like it’s going to shit, but there have also been many things that have helped make these days feel a little better, and Come From Away is one of’em. This is a live stage recording of Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s hit, Tony-winning musical based on actual events that took place during 9/11, in which a small town in Canada hosted thousands of international airline passengers after the U.S. airspace was suddenly closed due to the terror attacks. But don’t be fooled, this musical is no downer—it’s a fun, crowd-pleasing, lively show that radiates love, compassion, hope, and optimism.
‘Come From Away’ is streaming on Apple TV Plus. Read my review here.
16. The Lost Daughter
The last great film of 2021 (it debuted on Netflix on December 31st after premiering at festivals), The Lost Daughter is a sneaky little bitch. Adapted by first-time director Maggie Gyllenhaal from the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante, the film stars Olivia Colman as a literature professor peacefully vacationing in Greece when the sudden appearance of another vacationing family triggers painful memories of her past. The Lost Daughter is a stunning achievement from actor-turned-writer/director Gyllenhaal, who directs this with such ease it’s surprising this is her directorial debut. The film has a creeping anxiety to it. It’s not flashy. It’s all in the faces and reactions from its trio of wonderful performers, including Colman (who may very well win another Oscar for this), Dakota Johnson, and Jessie Buckley. It’s a film about motherhood and bad parenting that’ll leave you sympathizing with its characters, even if you don’t necessarily agree with them. That scene late in the film when Colman’s character breaks free from her stoic performance and tears stream down her face is momentous.
‘The Lost Daughter’ is streaming on Netflix.
15. The Mitchells vs. The Machines
This is another inventive animated feature from Sony and filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, after their Oscar-winning and groundbreaking Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Based on writer/director Mike Rianda’s own family, The Mitchells vs. The Machines follows a dysfunctional family trying to bond during a road trip… in the midst of a robot uprising (led by its robot leader voiced by the great Olivia Colman). It’s a delightfully hilarious (I said “what the fuck” while laughing a lot) and surprisingly touching picture filled with a lot of heart. And it features a unique animation style, proving that Disney doesn’t have to have a hold on mainstream animated movies.
‘The Mitchells vs. The Machines’ is streaming on Netflix.
14. I Care a Lot
Few can make bad look so good like Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), and she plays another wickedly fun role here as Marla Grayson, a con artist who makes bank from manipulating the legal system into granting legal guardianship over wealthy old people (not unlike the Britney Spears’s infamous conservatorship) and selling off their assets. But her efficient system goes awry after her latest victim’s crime lord son (played by Peter Dinklage) comes looking for revenge. This is a wildly entertaining dark comedy with fun and memorable performances from Pike, Dinklage, and Dianne West that offers another searing critique of capitalism.
‘I Care a Lot’ is streaming on Netflix.
13. tick, tick… BOOM!
The multi-hyphenated talent that is Lin-Manuel Miranda marks his directorial debut with tick, tick… BOOM! Based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same name from Jonathan Larson (the creator of Rent), this is a film that feels like a celebration of not just one man, but of musical theater as a whole (it also includes Stephen Sondheim’s final role before his death this year). Featuring an Oscar-worthy performance from Andrew Garfield (in his first singing role), great songs, and memorable musical sequences, tick, tick… BOOM! is an infectious labor of love that encourages you to reach your dreams, honors the heroes that came before us, and inspire ones to come.
‘tick, tick… BOOM!’ is streaming on Netflix. Read my review here.
12. Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home may not be the best Spider-Man film (that spot still belongs to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2), but it’s a worthy celebration of two decades of Spider-Man in film. Featuring returning characters from Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire and Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield’s films, we finally see Tom Holland’s Peter Parker become the Spider-Man we’ve all been waiting for, one that’s defined by personal losses and begins to understand that with great power comes great responsibilities.
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is currently playing in theatres. Read my review here.
11. In the Heights
Continuing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2021 supremacy is Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Miranda’s Tony-winning musical In the Heights, a sprawling spectacle that focuses on small-scale stories of family, community, and love. In a year filled with an unusual number of movie musicals, In the Heights is the best one thanks to Chu’s expertise in delivering fun, energetic, and inventive musical numbers (my favorite is “96,000,” and when that light beam turns into a subway pole in “Paciencia y Fe?” Awe-inspiring!). In the Heights has what West Side Story (2021) wants.
‘In the Heights’ is streaming on HBO Max.
10. No Time to Die
Writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s No Time to Die is a touching swan song for Daniel Craig’s 007 that successfully, albeit messily, wraps up his James Bond story that started with 2006’s Casino Royale. Featuring the return of our favorite characters, this film also introduces new, fun, bad-ass memorable characters like Lashana Lynch’s Nomi, the new 007 agent, and Ana de Armas’s CIA agent Paloma. The film’s craft matches that of Skyfall and Spectre thanks to Fukunaga’s direction, Hans Zimmer’s bombastic score, and Linus Sandgren’s gorgeous cinematography. Daniel Craig proves himself to be the best Bond, and his storyline concludes in an emotionally-satisfying, though surprising, fashion.
‘No Time to Die’ is available for purchase/rent on digital platforms. Read my review here.
9. Mass
Mass is centered around a meeting between two couples years after their respective sons died in a mass shooting at their school: Jay (Jason Isaacs) and Gail (Martha Plimpton), and Richard (Reed Birney) and Linda (Ann Dowd). We quickly learn that Richard and Linda’s son was the perpetrator, and the purpose of the meeting is to provide closure to both families. Jay and Gail want answers: Was it bad parenting? Was their son depressed? Was he bullied? Why did this have to happen? There’s no easy or clear answer. This is one of the rare stories that attempts to humanize the parents of mass shooters, a demographic often blamed and given little sympathy when such tragedies occur. Mass is a tearful and emotional journey featuring four of the best performances of the year.
‘Mass’ is available for purchase/rent on digital platforms. Read my review here.
8. Drive My Car
One of two films released this year by writer/director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car is based on the short story of the same name from Haruki Murakami. It follows a widower, Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), years after his wife’s sudden death, who has been hired to direct a multilingual stage production of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” Per his contract, Yūsuke is forced to hire a chauffeur to drive him to and from work. What follows is a meditative cinematic experience in which much is said without words, and characters bond and communicate beyond shared languages. This is a rich story about grief, trauma, regret, self-acceptance, and moving on that didn’t hit me when I first saw it, but overwhelmed me almost a month later.
‘Drive My Car’ is currently playing in theatres. Check to see if it’s playing in your city here. Read my review here.
7. The Father
Florian Zeller’s The Father is infamous because of Anthony Hopkins win over the late Chadwick Boseman for Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards, but make no mistake, Hopkins is absolutely deserving of this award. His performance as “Anthony,” a man losing his grip on reality due to his dementia, is phenomenal. It’s heartbreaking to see his interactions with his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman), confusion about what’s real and not real, what’s happened and not happened. It may not be fun to watch, but you’ll be engrossed by the magnitude of Hopkins’s devastating performance and Zeller’s perfect direction and writing.
‘The Father’ is available for purchase/rent on digital platforms.
6. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s other film released this year, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, started out as a test drive in preparation for Hamaguchi’s adaptation of Drive My Car, but the former moved me more than the latter. Composed of three unrelated short stories united only by similar themes, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy relies on coincidences and lies to explore unspoken truths. All three installments are great, but my favorite is the third one, “Once Again,” which depicts two former friends, Natsuko (Fusako Urabe) and Aya (Aoba Kawai), reuniting after their 20-year high school reunion. This simple premise moves into interesting territories after a major revelation occurs, resulting in a beautifully cathartic experience.
‘Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy’ is playing in select theatres and can also be purchased for streaming. Check here to see if the film is playing in your city and/or to stream it online. Read my review here.
5. King Richard
A lot of people (including me) were skeptical about King Richard because, instead of centering around Venus and Serena Williams, two of the greatest athletes of all time, it focuses on their father. But I’m happy to be proven wrong, as the film more than justifies its existence as the Williams Sisters’ loving tribute to their father (the sisters are executive producers on the film). This film is their truth. Will Smith does a solid job portraying the titular character, but the biggest surprise is the major attention to two supporting characters: Venus, played by Saniyya Sidney, and the sisters’ mother, Oracene Price, played by Aunjanue Ellis. The two are so good, and Price especially so, often outshining Smith in the scenes they share. While the film is too afraid to dive into the more controversial aspects of Richard Williams’s life, King Richard is such an impressive crowd-pleaser it’s easy to forgive.
‘King Richard’ may still be playing in select theatres and will return to HBO Max sometime in the near future. The film is currently available for purchase/rent on digital platforms. Read my review here.
4. The Rescue
The Rescue is an incredibly thrilling documentary about the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, in which 12 boys and their football coach were trapped for 18 days in the cave in Thailand. The film, from Academy Award-winning husband-and-wife team Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Free Solo), is an incredibly gripping thriller featuring a story we know the ending to, yet it still keeps you on the edge of your seat. The film includes never-before-seen footage, events most of the public may not have known about (I sure didn’t), and interviews with the many people involved in the rescue. The Rescue is a testament to human ingenuity, bravery, resiliency, and hope.
‘The Rescue’ is streaming on Disney Plus. Read my review here.
3. The Suicide Squad
The best DCEU film so far, writer/director James Gunn’s soft reboot of the Suicide Squad is a bloody wicked joyride from beginning to end. Instead of a cheap rehash of his take on the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn’s Suicide Squad is a unique story that follows bad guys trying to save the world, one of the rare comic book movies with actual risks involve, with many of the characters ending up dead. Gunn does an excellent job at making fan favorites out of characters that shouldn’t work, like Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) or King Shark (Sylvester Stallone). Fans of Gunn’s irreverent humor and balancing of an ensemble cast will find more to love here, as he’s allowed to take advantage of the R-rating, unlike Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films. Returning characters like Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) are as great as ever, and others like Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) are more memorable this time around. The Suicide Squad is a rare superhero flick that can depict a touching father-daughter relationship while also offering an anti-American imperialism bent.
‘The Suicide Squad’ is available for purchase/rent on digital platforms and will return to HBO Max sometime in the near future.
2. Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry)
Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry) is the first Vietnamese film I’ve ever seen in American theatres, and I was blown away by how much I loved it. While not everyone will enjoy its combination of farce and melodrama, I found it to be quite touching. Based on the YouTube series of the same name from Trấn Thành, Trấn plays Ba Sang, a man who makes up for his lack of financial riches with the richness of his eclectic family (he’s the second oldest of four). He also has two children, his young adult son (played by Tuấn Trần) and adolescent daughter. Ba Sang is the type of person to sacrifice anything to help his family, even when he knows he may be taken advantage of. His son uses his fame and fortune as a YouTube star to give his family a better life. The film follows the messy drama that usually occurs when families get together. It’s a deeply moving movie about filial piety, about not just what kids owe to their parents, but also what parents owe to their kids. I saw this film with my mom and she told me she liked it, despite her not being a fan of the original YouTube series. Perhaps that’s enough of an endorsement!
‘Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry)’ is available for purchase/rent on digital platforms.
1. Dune
Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” is the type of film made for the theatrical experience. This is a sci-fi epic, depicting an intergalactic war over spices on a desert planet, that can only be made today, with an auteur and “Dune” fan like Villeneuve whose previous films have all led him to this point in his career. I was swept away by every aspect of the film. It has an incredible score from Hans Zimmer, impeccable production designs from Patrice Vermette, stunning shots from Greig Fraser, and a seamless marriage of CGI and live-action. The entire ensemble is excellent, including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Jason Momoa, and Charlotte Rampling. Best of all, Dune feels lived-in, expansive, and real—the world-building is impressive. I didn’t know anything about the “Dune” books or franchise before this, and I was surprised by how much I loved it—enough to make it to the top of this list! It’s still only half of a potential masterpiece (the on screen title is “Dune: Part One”). Let’s hope part two (due in 2023) sticks the landing.
‘Dune’ is currently available for purchase/rent on digital platforms and will be available on home media on January 11, 2023. The film will eventually return to streaming on HBO Max. Read my review here.
Non-2021 films I watched for the first time that I enjoyed:
Fast Five, Furious 7, The Host, Memories of Murder, Shoplifters
Biggest disappointments from 2021:
Candyman (2021), CODA, Dear Evan Hansen, Encanto, The Green Knight, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Last Night in Soho, Luca, Nine Days, Passing, The Power of the Dog, Titane, Zola
2021 films I wish I caught:
The Card Counter, C’mon C’mon, The Falls, Flee, Licorice Pizza, Parallel Mothers, Petit Maman, Quo Vadis, Aida?, Red Rocket, Shiva Baby, This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection, The Worst Person in the World
