By my count, I saw 236 2021 releases in 2021 (an all-time record by far for me!), and could easily present a Top 50 here of films I’m really passionate and excited about. And yet, even so: I’m woefully behind! I was so happy to be able to return to my happy place in the (carefully distanced and masked) theater for the latter half of this year. But I also got busy with work again, and the last film I saw in a theater was 4 weeks ago, which means that basically all of the major awards-contender auteur and franchise December releases are still outside of my grasp! There are so many marquee titles I haven’t gotten to yet that I feel like my final Top 10 could end up being comprised of entirely different films from the ones currently taking up the top slots for the moment. Of the 38 films named in my 5 SunBreak colleagues’ Top 10s, there are 17 I still haven’t seen (and am dying to) – although my list does also include 7 contributions nobody’s mentioned yet! The year is over and I can’t drag out publishing this any longer, so here stands my work in progress: 10 of my favorite films (that I’ve seen so far) from 2021!
10. Dune (Denis Villeneuve)
A somewhat controversial pick, I know. But as a fan of patient, slow-burn sci-fi, beautiful landscape photography, and Oscar Isaac, I found this film to be an absolute feast. I’m sure it made a huge difference that I was able to see it on an IMAX screen, my attention and field of vision held entirely captive. Like many others, I was surprised (and slightly disappointed) to discover when the lights went down that this was only Part 1, and thus didn’t have much of a satisfying conclusion, but even so, I was fully knocked over. Unlike David Lynch’s much-maligned 1984 effort, I found this film to have an entirely comprehensible story, so that I wasn’t focused on parsing out the labyrinthine space politics that I couldn’t care less about, but rather got to observe the subtleties of character and consider overarching themes, while losing myself in those gorgeous vistas and cheekbones.
(Dune is currently available to rent on various VOD platforms, but it’ll also show back up again on HBO MAX in not too long.)
9. C’mon C’mon (Mike Mills)
As far as I’m concerned, Mike Mills has never made less than a five-star film. Miranda July’s husband goes a little lighter on the precious quirk factor than she does (without leaving it behind entirely), and takes an arguably more straightforward route to an understanding of the human condition, via the fertile entry point of family stories. Joaquin Phoenix is a perfect fit as a prickly uncle trying to fit his estranged family back into his life, and the black-and-white photography is lovely.
(C’mon C’mon is currently playing in theaters and available to rent on various VOD platforms.)
8. In The Earth (Ben Wheatley)
Ben Wheatley’s newest folk-horror entry slid its insidious little tendrils into me when I watched it in January’s virtual Sundance, and it hasn’t let go. The intricately layered sound design, and score comprised of aural clips actually captured from recordings of plants, are worth the price of admission alone. Come for Joel Fry’s affable comic relief, but stay because you’re trapped here forever – wait, I mean, stay to find out what that mysterious stuff deep in the forest is!
(In The Earth is currently streaming on Hulu.)
7. On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael)
Comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s directorial debut, co-starring himself and Christopher Abbott who agree to a suicide pact, is dark, bleak, and heavy, with a solid sprinkling of laughs mixed in and a really lovely depiction of a deep male friendship. It’s not an easy or fun watch, but it’s richly human and, ultimately, beautiful.
(On the Count of Three is not currently available to view anywhere legally, but keep an eye out. It’s worth it.)
6. The Beta Test (Jim Cummings)
Jim Cummings came out of the gate strong with Thunder Road (my favorite film of 2018), and he hasn’t stopped swinging since. This year’s deep dive into toxic modern masculinity comes via the story of a Hollywood talent agent at the end of his rope, trying and failing to keep all his life’s plates spinning at once. Cummings’ razor-toothed comedic sensibilities become even sharper and more pointed when they’re turned toward lampooning an industry of which he’s found himself with an intimate knowledge, and these shots don’t miss.
(The Beta Test is currently rentable on various VOD platforms.)
5. How It Ends (Daryl Wein & Zoe Lister-Jones)
I don’t know why this little pandemic film hit home so well with me and, seemingly, nobody else, but for me it really struck a chord. As Zoe Lister-Jones’s Liza and a metaphysical embodiment of her younger self (Cailee Spaeny) traipse around Los Angeles, tying up loose ends on the final day before the end of the world, the film melds whimsy and silly humor – and some of my favorite comical scene exits of recent memory, courtesy of the cast’s extremely deep bench of top-class improvisers – with the heaviness of finally facing and dealing with past traumas and regrets.
(How It Ends is currently available to stream via Epix or rentable on various VOD platforms.)
4. Mogul Mowgli (Bassam Tariq)
Riz Ahmed is a musician who has his life derailed by a medical condition which he at first stubbornly refuses to acknowledge and slowly comes to terms with – and I’m not talking about my favorite film of 2020, Sound of Metal. Somehow, he and director Bassam Tariq have managed to weave in autobiographical story points plus Ahmed’s own actual rap music, plus elements both fantastical and hyperreal to accentuate themes of confusion, longing, and alienation from one’s family and cultural identity as a British member of the South Asian diaspora, and it all comes together in a form that feels completely fresh and unique.
(Mogul Mowgli is currently rentable on various VOD platforms.)
3. The Green Knight (David Lowery)
This one shows up on three of my five SunBreak colleagues’ lists as well, so I know I don’t need to belabor the point, but David Lowery made a masterpiece here. Gorgeous and lush visually, twisty and surprising in structure and story even if you know the legend of Sir Gawain going in (the Arthurian Legend class I took in college finally came in handy; I knew that English lit degree would pay off someday!) Anchored by an impressive performance by Dev Patel, and two by Alicia Vikander!
(The Green Knight is currently rentable on various VOD platforms.)
2. Strawberry Mansion (Kentucker Audley & Albert Birney)
The year’s most imaginative production design by far can be found in this hallucinatory, absurd, yet strangely emotionally anchored and sweet mind-melter. Highly recommended for fans of both Narnia-like fairy tales and trippy altered consciousnesses. I watched this film, and live Q&As supporting it, at two different virtual fests in 2021, and I still don’t feel like I’ve had enough of it.
(Strawberry Mansion is not currently available to view anywhere legally, but keep an eye out. It’s worth it.)
1. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (Josh Greenbaum)
Easily the most silly, absurd, and downright joyful comedy to have graced our screens in years: director Josh Greenbaum and co-writers/stars Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo have gifted us with the antidote to the too-serious 2021 blues. Who knew Jamie Dornan had this comedic puppydog-sincere straight man in him?! Plus the best use of Harry Belafonte since Beetlejuice! “Morgan Freemand”! Trish!! That song!!! And it’s just unbelievable how well they succeeded at creating characters who are so over-the-top silly, just completely joyfully ridiculous without being mean at all, and then somehow managed to put them into a story with actual heart and care in it, not just total goofy nonsense. It is so much weirder AND sweeter than I’d imagined. Seriously an amazing achievement. I dare you to watch this and not giggle in delight!
(Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is currently streaming on Hulu.)
Honorable Mentions and What-Ifs:
As you can imagine, this list comes with lots of asterisks and addendums. First, a glut of honorable mentions: I wish I had more space to shine even more of a spotlight on more of this year’s many gems, like Cryptozoo, This Town, Wyrm, Blue Bayou, The Souvenir Part II, Land, Belfast, Annette, The Hand of God, and Nobody.
And then as I mentioned, I’ve got a huge list of films I expect to love but still need to get to. The top of that list at that moment includes Nightmare Alley, Titane, Drive My Car, The Lost Daughter, Licorice Pizza, Flee, Parallel Mothers, Benedetta, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Passing, About Endlessness, Labyrinth of Cinema, Red Rocket, Days, Petite Maman, Spencer, Werewolves Within, and A Hero. (I told you there were a lot!)
All of the Sunbreak’s Year-end lists: Josh | Morgen | Chris | Tony