Another weird year for movies. Plenty I liked, naturally, but of the 94 new releases I’ve seen, I really only care about 2 of them. Dune is easily my favorite film of the last 2 years and The Green Knight is like nothing I’ve ever seen before (I know 2 other people who’ve seen it and be forewarned: they did not care for it). This year did have several films with complex characters I became sorta obsessed with. Unfortunately, they’re either difficult artsy films (like Spencer) or in controversial films I hesitate to actually recommend (notably Licorice Pizza and Red Rocket).
My main issue (and poor me, I know) is that, at least compared to when I was a kid, I feel like no one else I know actually watches these movies or TV shows. I assume most people reading this haven’t even heard of most of these. My friends/family that used to be avid watchers are busy keeping their kids alive or being ambitious or whatever. And I have no idea what everyone else is doing with their time. It’s certainly not watching The Last Duel or Shiva Baby. Maybe I should be talking to people in real life more?
2021 Rankings* so far
- Dune
- The Green Knight
- The Power of the Dog
- Spencer
- Licorice Pizza
- Judas and the Black Messiah
- The Last Duel
- Red Rocket
- A Hero
- Shiva Baby
- Stillwater
- Annette
- Parallel Mothers
- The Lost Daughter
- The Eyes of Tammy Faye
- Tick, Tick…Boom!
- The Killing of Two Lovers
- Zola
- Drive My Car
- The Rescue [documentary]
- Passing
- The Worst Person in the World
- Cruella
- Don’t Look Up
- The Hand of God
- King Richard
- Pig
- Free Guy
- Nine Days
- C’mon C’mon
- The French Dispatch
- CODA
- Shang Chi
- The Sparks Brothers [documentary]
- Worth
- Swan Song
- Army of the Dead
- The Courier
- Summer of Soul [documentary]
- Lamb
- The Dig
- The Beta Test
- Val [documentary]
- Titane
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Malignant
- No Sudden Move
- Being the Ricardos
- The Night House
- The Mitchells vs. the Machines
- I Care a Lot
- West Side Story
- Spiral
- Belle
- Eternals
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
- The Matrix Resurrections
- The Humans
- Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
- The Tomorrow War
- The Last Letter From Your Lover
- Flee
- Four Good Days
- In the Heights
- Black Widow
- Nightmare Alley
- Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
- Last Night in Soho
- Candyman
- A Quiet Place: Part II
- Mortal Kombat
- Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry [documentary]
- House of Gucci
- Bergman Island
- Fear Street Part 1: 1994
- Fear Street Part 2: 1978
- Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
- Woodstock 99 [documentary]
- Malcolm & Marie
- The Little Things
- To All the Boys: Always and Forever
- Attica [documentary]
- The Suicide Squad
- Voyagers
- No Time to Die
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League
- Fear Street Part 3: 1666
- Jagged
- Belfast
- Finch
- The Protege
- Godzilla vs. Kong
- The United States vs. Billie Holiday
- The White Tiger
- The Card Counter
- The Guilty
- The Harder They Fall
- Those Who Wish Me Dead
- Persona [documentary]
- Love Hard
- Stowaway
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
- The Voyeurs
- Old
- Cry Macho
- F9
- The Woman in the Window
- Space Jam:A New Legacy
- Moxie!
Not movies but sort of:
- Bo Burnham: Inside
- Derek Delgaudio’s In & Of Itself
*subject to change