My Top 5 Movies of 2021
Introduction:
The course of 2021, I watched a lot of movies, something I make sure to do, even going out of my way often times. As a Director, I feel it’s necessary. Not only to hone my craft, but to enjoy the craft as an artist, and connect with other director’s thoughts and details they put into creating their art.
I’m gonna list off my Top 5 movies of the year, keeping it real casual.
Going to stay away from major spoilers, but likely will talk about some light spoilers in a descriptive analytical way.
Number 5: Last Night In Soho
Edgar Wright has a good amount of hits, most notably Scott Pilgrim, and this movie could only be made by him. Through heavy sound design and song choice, this movie transports you back into the 60’s. Thomasin Mckenzie killed it as the lead, and Anna Taylor-Joy as a pseudo-supernatural star shined every time she was on screen.
This movie will make you feel uncomfortable, but the tight storytelling, the cool visuals, and general mystery by an excellent director made this a really fun watch. The song ‘Downtown’ by Petula Clark (1964) is sung by Anna-Taylor Joy slowed down, and months later, the creepy vibes of it is still stuck in my head.
I also called when the character was wearing headphones listening to music, then the music stops when they take the headphones off before I watched it. Classic Edgar Wright.
Number 4: Don’t Look Up
Like Edgar Wright, Adam Mckay, director of Don’t Look Up, is not one I love every one of their movies. This one was different, however.
I loved Don’t Look Up. Such a simple concept of an asteroid coming to destroy the Earth, and nobody cares.
It’s a total satire with a commentary on the political landscape, and I’m here for it. The tone of it is super fun, even though the stakes are incredibly high. The leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, obviously knocked it out of the park.
There’s a scene Leo does that is similar to one he did in Once Upon A Time In HollyWood, and I loved it.
A lot of times a huge star studded cast can become just a fun time, and doesn’t really matter too much in the long term. This used that energy to make its political satire stand out even more.
Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Cate Blanchett + more all play a part in the movie, and everyone nails their role.
Number 3: Dune
I struggle to put this one in the third place spot, but the two above it really hit well for me.
Dune was the most anticipated movie I’ve had in a while. And Dennis Villenueve knocked it out of the park. While there will be some complaints from book fans, I understand why some things had to be how they were.
Every single shot in Dune is a screenshot that you can hang up on your wall.
The number one strength: the scale.
From Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, I knew this was something Villenueve used, and in Dune, it couldn’t have been done better.
The Sandworms came off looking gigantic, and seeing it directly in frame with Timothee Chalamet was amazing.
The best part of Dune is how it legitimately feels like an epic, and I can’t wait for Part 2.
I really liked the character of Lady Jessica.
Number 2: Spider-Man: No Way Home
This was one of the most fun movies I have seen in a long time. I love the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, often calling Spider-Man 2 one of my favorite movies ever, and this hit the nostalgia button right.
I’m usually very hesitant about things dealing with nostalgia because if done incorrectly, they usually aren’t good.
I love the MCU, but to be honest, I haven’t loved any of the new Spider-Man movies. This changed here.
This movie is kind of like 2 superheroes have a conflict by wanting to solve something in different ways, and it works really well, and setup the future of the universe really well.
Seeing all the Spider-Man characters from over the years together in one film is just too awesome and fun not to be ranked this high.
Number 1: Nightmare Alley
I never thought I would like a Guillermo Del Toro movie more than I liked The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth.
Maybe it’s just because I saw this one more recently, but I loved this movie.
One of my favorite directors, I think this movie was just about perfect.
I don’t think it’s necessarily the most exciting movie, especially the second act gets slow, but as a complete picture, all the choices Guillermo Del Toro, aaaaaah.
Incredibly poetic, perfectly structured story, amazing symbols. I feel like I could watch this movie 10 times and still find hidden things.
Cinematography was some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, a lot of the production design was straight up beautiful.
The colors in a Del Toro film help tell the story, and this film is poetry.
Honorable Mentions:
Quiet Place 2 — I had a really good time with this movie, I love the way it uses sound. If it wasn’t for Don’t Look Up coming out recently, this probably would have made my list. Story wasn’t as great as the first one, in my opinion, but I will happily watch a third.
Tick Tick Boom — Fun songs still stuck in my head, as a creator/writer myself it hit well.
The Suicide Squad — Super fun, loved it. Finally a good, fun DC movie.
Shang Chi — I love MCU, and this felt fresh. The hand to hand combat, and the asian influence let this movie shine over a handful of MCU movies.
Movies I wanted to see, but haven’t yet:
Licorice Pizza — All the trailers intrigued me, and I feel I’d like this movie.[I have since watched it, and was not a big fan of the movie.]
French Dispatch-Wes Anderson, love the symmetrical style, and has inspired a lot of my cinematography.
C’mon, C’mon — I hear Joaquin Phoenix was really good in this movie. It seemed extremely charming to watch him and a child actor in a movie where that’s exactly what it is, in a good way.
Conclusion:
I haven’t done much film analysis or film talk yet, but it’s something I want to do. I’ll likely start up a podcast down the line in this regard, but sharing my love of cinema is incredibly important to share what I love with the community.
I kept this pretty casual, and I’ll likely do a Nightmare Alley deep analysis dive eventually, explaining all the little details I loved with the directing, and how they relate to the plot. Amazing work, Del Toro.
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