If you haven’t watched these already, get on it…

So chances are most of you may be back at work now, or still settling into the new year. Bottom line is you’re probably not letting “Ke Dezember” completely clogging up all your time now. As such, how about you check out this list of 2021’s finest examples of great movies. We spent the past 2 weeks discussing them(and only got to a concise conclusion just after New Years) but we feel from everything that came out from 2021’s cinematic outings, these movies stand out for being enjoyable, thought provoking, gut wrenching, or all the above. So in no specific order, here’s our Ten Best Movies of 2021.

Honorable Mention: Cruella(Review)

Again, when we even went to review this movie, we didn’t expect much from it; a Disney based origin story to a classic character who needed no backstory. And yet Emma Stone’s breathtaking performance, an amazing supporting cast, and an emphasis on dogs that makes u either love them or fear their espionage skills makes this crazy, sometimes ridiculous ride an amazing film. Stone basically turns the titular character into one that’s as much sympathetic as she is outright crazy, with monologues that make you wonder feel sorry for her while clearly seeing just how dangerous she’ll become. Considering we all know where Cruella ends up, it’s never too surprising, but it’s definitely exhilarating seeing ourselves get there.

A Quiet Place Part 2(Review)

The Quiet Place franchise continues to be the “Thinking Man’s Horror Movie”, combining a sci-fi(but not too sci-fi) plot with a deep emotional story about family and survival. The second installment pretty much lives up to these same expectations and even picks up right where the second one left off. Introducing the remaining    family to Killian Murphy’s   who adds a different dynamic to the film by being lone survivor type just trying to live on his own not look after a family. Add in a small but stellar performance by Djimon Honsou, more clever usage of the aliens and their abilities, and the use of the baby to add even more tension to every scene, and you have a horror film that’s actually worth the focus.

Don’t Look Up

A movie that could probably be summed up as “21^st Century Human Nature, personified”, Don’t Look Up is a satirical and sometimes bleak outlook on how humans behave nowadays, with the backdrop of the earth’s extinction due to a comet giving context to every character’s action and motivation. How it manages to do this while being downright hilarious too is quite the feat, especially since this movie could have easily landed in the camp of being too self-serious and depressing or being too satirical and not landing its more emotional scenes. Instead, it’s an almost perfect blend of the two, making you not get too bummed out about the dire setting, while also pointing out the clear flaws in 21^st century mass behaviors, political leaders, our hero-worship of celebrities, and of course, our over reliance on the seeming intelligence of tech companies. The movie makes you think, but it also often makes you laugh. And that combination might as well be gold.

The Suicide Squad(Review)

Honestly this is probably still our favorite movie of the year. Why? Because it’s a film that understands what it’s trying to be and nails it perfectly, while also elevating some of its characters and themes in ways that those looking for more layered stories can appreciate. The Suicide Squad is a crazy, brutal, hilarious and surprisingly eye-catching romp of a film that celebrates how it’s characters are NOT heroes, and just how many more interesting characters the DCEU has besides the Justice League. Add in a scene stealing performance by John Cena as Peacemaker (who is by far the wrestler turned actor’s best role to date) and you have a film that honestly should be sometimes titled as “How to Adapt a comic book 101, then do it better”.

West Side Story

If you told me that a Steven Spielberg Musical was something I was going to be writing about this year, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. And yet here I am typing away and saying this is probably one of the few reboots I’ve ever seen which I feel is just as iconic as the original. Spielberg puts his signature sense of wonder and joy into his first musical while also brilliantly highlighting the issues of prejudice and class that made the original so iconic to begin with. Couple that with the chemistry between leads Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler and you’ve got yourself a movie that’s actually a pretty good entry point into musicals as a whole.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings(Review)

Phase 4 of the MCU has had multiple tasks to fulfill: maintain the momentum of Marvel Movies after Avengers: Endgame, introduce new, interesting characters that aren’t as popular as Iron Man and expand the various genres that the MCU consists of. Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings does all three with a finesse that only movies like Black Panther have reached in past. It introduces us to an intriguing yet relatable protagonist who’s one part a literal trained killer since he was young and one part bumbling, self-conscious and doubt-filled millennial. The movie brings up themes of identity, heritage and purpose in ways that make it one of the MCU’s best solo outings to date. Combine it with the best hand-to-hand fight scenes since The Winter Soldier(this is essentially a mystical kung-fu movie after all), arguably the best MCU villain since Thanos, an awesome supporting cast and you have a film that would have arguably been the best superhero movie of the year if not for another film on this list.

The Mitchells Vs The Machines

From the Creators of Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse this animated feature may be the sleeper hit of 2021. While Disney and Pixar entries Luca and Encanto definitely garnered some much needed praise as well, The Millers Vs The Machines brings up an incredibly funny and relatable family comedy mixed with an age old trope of “the world being invaded by machines”. With its sharp writing and excellent animation it stands out as being an animated movie that feels unique in a year where everything else wanted to look like what Disney and Pixar were making, and not only does it look and feel unique but it’s still dynamic in almost everything it does. If you want something you can watch with your kids but also drives you to want to watch it again yourself when they sleep, this is the movie for you.

Justice League: Snyder Cut

This is literally a movie that has been causing waves ever since the original in 2017 came out. It’s the culmination of Zack Snyder’s vision for (at least the first part of) the DCEU, it has some of the best acting from that franchise’s diverse and eclectic cast , and it solidifies the difference in nature and feel that the DCEU was originally going for. But on top of all that, it’s honestly just a great film. It’s three hour runtime may scare of some but Snyder’s vision comes to play here in ways that only he could truly accomplish. The movie explores each of it’s core characters in the best of ways and offers glimpses into what could have been (and could still become) for the DCEU . Is it perfect? Definitely not. But it is beautiful and unique in ways few other films are, superhero or otherwise.

The Harder They Fall

Now the term Black Excellence has been used by many to describe this film and for good reason. It has an amazing predominantly black cast combining veteran heavy hitters like Idris Elba , Regina King and Delroy Lindo with contemporary leading stars like Jonathan Majors and Zazie Beats, partially produced by Jay-Z as well. However, even such a prestigious title as Black Excellence would be selling this movie short. The Harder They Fall is a multi-layered film with great storylines, writing, directing and acting all put in the guise of a classic western featuring black leads instead of white ones. Combine an amazing sound track, some genuinely unexpected comedy considering the serious tone and a message about cycles that comes in the most unexpected way, and you have a film that could easily be called the best one of the year. The Harder They Fall isn’t just Black Excellence, it’s all forms of cinematic Excellence, period.

No Time To Die(Review)

The conclusion to the Daniel Craig Era of Bond movies feels both like the one we deserve and the one Bond earned for himself. Craig gives what’s easily his most layered and emotional performance to James Bond while allowing the character to evolve in ways that no other Actor before him ever did. It sets new standards for the Bond franchise (and spy movies in general) while giving meaning and purpose to what (when you think about it) was just Bond’s existence as a blue eyed, highly capable weapon for Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It reaches the emotional highs of Skyfall and Casino Royale before it while elevating the action and importance of some background characters in ways that make you understand why Bond actually works with them or better yet, cares about them. The only sad part about all this is that it’s the last Craig film, because chances are you would wish for another one even after it’s very gripping ending.

Spider-Man: No Way Home.(Review)

Now come on, we all knew there’s no way we were compiling this list without what was arguably the biggest movie of last year (and is so far the biggest movie of this year too, Box Office wise). No Way Home is a movie that quite frankly shouldn’t exist, combining amazing character arcs and emotion with a plot that seems to be ripped straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. Yet not only does this movie work, it elevates the MCU, superhero movies and movies as a whole to levels that most of us can only wonder as to where they will go next. It provides scene stealing performances from Tom Holland but also multiple Spider-Man alumni, including of course the iconic Willem DeFoe and well, actors who we still won’t name(Go watch it already).

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