Top 10 Movies of 2021

You Can Watch All of These Now

5 min readMar 26, 2022

This is the year I watched most of these movies on my TV. Same day releases on HBO Max creates a weird dilemma for the viewer. If the movie sucks, then you regret spending the money (and it makes you more apprehensive about going out to the theatre next time.) But you can also rewatch that new release over and over which is incredible.

But when it hits in theatres: the score booms in through the speakers, the popcorn is extra fresh, the picture is large and sharp, and the audience is loving it, damn does it hit!

I look forward to going to the movies more in 2022.

Honorable Mentions: The Green Knight, Woodstock 99, Last Night in Soho, No Time to Die, The Matrix Resurrections

10 — The Hand of God

This personal and autobiographical story from director Paolo Sorrentino shows a glimpse into the fascinating world of 80s Naples, Italy. It comes with all his quirks of sensuality and idiosyncratic visual elements. It’s inhabited by the strangest characters that we don’t usually see portrayed on the screen. Highly recommended film.

9 — West Side Story

Adapting this classic was always going to be a challenge, but Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński capture its majesty in all its widescreen technicolor splendor. The craft of this film cannot be understated with its production design capturing a stunning post-war NYC by Adam Stockhausen and elevating the costuming with a rich color palette by Paul Tazewell. I hope this wins some craft awards at this year’s Oscars.

8 — Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself

Part one act play, part magic show, In & Of Itself is among the strangest movies I’ve seen. Frank Oz directs the performance of Derek DelGaudio that had me gasping with awe as he unveiled a new side of magic that I’ve never seen. DelGaudio’s mastery over storytelling, reveals, and memorization is mind-blowing. Highly recommended.

7—The Mitchells vs. the Machines

One of the best family movies of the year, The Mitchells vs. the Machines brings both the humor and heart. It has all the charisma of a Lord & Miller production, and the scale of this movie is elevated by director Mike Rianda. Fun for all you parents out there and great counter-programming to the samey Disney/Pixar movies we constantly get.

6 — The French Dispatch

Director Wes Anderson delivers a love letter to his adopted country with vignettes so well designed and orchestrated. His creativity and mastery of the visual canvas is always stunning, but his application to a time and place he cares so much for elevates it all.

5 — CODA

This is the feel good movie that you are looking for. Its emotional layers keep going deeper throughout the film culminating in one of the best endings in a movie this year. The performances are astonishing with the deaf actors demonstrating the full range of ASL. It’s funny and incredibly heartfelt.

4 — Spencer

Taking place over two days, Spencer is a meditation on loneliness amidst family, obligation, and expectation. I’ve always be a Kristen Stewart skeptic but I was won over by her nuanced and loving portrayal of this somewhat tortured figure. The film is poetic and the score by Jonny Greenwood creates tension and unease to make something as simple as a dinner scene feel sinister.

3 — Judas and the Black Messiah

Among the two best performances of the year are Daniel Kaluuya’s Fred Hampton and Lakeith Stanfield’s rat Bill O’Neil. It’s a tragic and emotionally rich true story. Director Shaka King displays utmost confidence and style to create a gripping and human story. You learn to resonate with every character on screen no matter how heinous their actions.

2 — Licorice Pizza

Director P.T. Anderson takes us to the nostalgia soaked 70's Los Angeles of his memories. The two leads look so unlike the beauty that Hollywood spits out and their wide-eyed optimism carry the film. It’s a whirlwind of emotions and the leads rubber band together and apart with lots of running. The portrayal of LA is a dream of sunsets, dimly lit restaurants, and sidewalks that I could have watched for far longer.

1 — Dune

Dune makes our blockbuster landscape full of sci-fi and superheroes look like utter garbage. This is a film with incredible visual style and master craft. Cinematography Greig Fraser is ascendant with this visual feast that includes some for the best CGI I’ve ever seen rendered on screen. Director Denis Villeneuve has done what no other director could do by making this dense story relevant. It includes all of the economics, politics, religion as the novel, but doesn’t over-explain itself. The production design of the palace and locations is like no other. Dune is a refreshing take that I couldn’t be more excited to see further explored in sequels.

For more movie reviews, check out my Letterboxd page to see what I am watching now.

Read my previous years’ Top 10 movie lists:

See my other 2021 lists:

Thanks for reading :)