My Favourite Films of 2021

 

21 From 21

My Favourite Films of 2021

“Caveat emptor”, I say!

Okay, there’s a huge problem with my putting together another best films of the year column (after an absence last year due to the way the pandemic affected my viewing habits)... and it’s still mainly due to the Corona that I have to put this warning up front. You see, there are a load of films I wanted to see this year which, for some reason or another, just didn’t make it in front of my eyes and, rather than wait another three months or so until I’ve seen them all, I am going ahead without them. So, yes, it might be foolish of me to do this without having seen Spider-Man No Way Home but, well, there’s a possibility it might be one of my favourites of the year but, I’ll have to wait until I’ve seen it. Similarly, while I’ve seen a lot of non-UK and non-USA films this year, this is not the case with ‘first run UK release films’, which is what this list really has to be. So, yeah, this list is fairly dominated by American product but, so what? They certainly make great movies too.

One last thing... if you’re wondering where the new James Bond film is in this list... well, I’ve decided not to do my usual ‘Worst Films Of The Year’ accompanying list this year so, yeah, that’s why it’s not in my list. And it is quite possibly was the worst film I’ve seen all year, in all honesty. Anyway, nobody will ever agree with a list of movies put up by another person (or there’s something wrong with you) but this one is mine and I hope you enjoy it. In all but one case (where I’ve not got around to publishing the review yet), you can click on the titles to take you to my original review of the film. So, in reverse order then, my 21 first run UK release favourites of 2021 were...

21. Freaky
USA Directed by Christopher Landon
Wonderful comedic take on a classic body swap style movie but in this case, it’s a teenage girl accidentally trading places with a male serial killer. Absolutely hilarious movie from the guy who gave us the two fantastic Happy Death Day movies and it doesn’t skimp on the gore on this one either.

20. Army Of The Dead
USA Directed by Zack Snyder
Snyder's post apocalyptic zombie heist movie has already had a prequel from another director released (it’s on my to watch list, haven’t had time to catch up to it yet) but this was an enjoyable slice of body count carnage. Just wish they’d put it out on a proper Blu Ray.

19. Willy’s Wonderland
USA Directed by Kevin Lewis
Ha. A typical slice of maniacal Nic Cage mayhem as the silent hero finds himself trapped in a locked down, abandoned restaurant... battling evil animatronic animals who want his soul.

18. Jolt
USA Directed by Tanya Wexler
Kate Beckinsale plays a lady who needs to wear an electric shock wire vest to give her a jolt to take away her extreme anger management issues. However, this energetic action thriller works best when she doesn’t pull the trigger to dampen her lethal skills.

17. The Advent Calendar
France/Belgium Directed by Patrick Ridremont
Quite a nice horror franchise opener (one hopes, this one could run and run if it’s picked up) deals with a series of life changing incidents which escalate on a daily basis as each candy in an advent calendar is consumed with dire consequences for the owner.

16. A Quiet Place Part 2
USA Directed by John Krasinski
Not as good as the first movie but a really not bad sequel to the classic first film, which builds on the foundations laid in that one, rather than just repeat them.

15. Deerskin
France/Belgium/Switzerland
Directed by Quentin Dupieux
Wonderfully surreal film about a man obsessed with his newly purchased deerskin jacket. From the genius who gave the world Rubber (reviewed here).

14. In The Earth
UK Directed by Ben Wheatley
Wonderful film made by Wheatley during the pandemic and set in the pandemic. A modern tale of folk horror which gets extremely intense and suspenseful in certain scenes.

13. Censor
UK Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond
A really interesting tale set during the height of the Video Nasty moral panic in Britain in the 1980s, as seen from the point of view of a character who is one of the offensive censors of the time.

12. Jungle Cruise
USA Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
A wonderfully pun-tastic movie based on the old, 1950s Disneyland ride that’s a total joy from start to finish. It’s like watching Indiana Jones crossed with the first Pirates Of The Caribbean movie by way of the Stephen Sommers Mummy movies. Just a completely entertaining family film adventure with a genuinely surprising twist about three quarters of the way through.

11. Malignant
USA/China Directed by James Wan
If you like Brian DePalma’s Sisters (reviewed by me here) then you’ll probably be one of those audience members who really appreciated Malignant for the wonderful movie it is, rather than one of its ‘surprisingly many’ detractors. I was puzzled by what was going on in this movie for a while until the idea behind the central antagonist was revealed (not completely a surprise reveal but I’m glad they did it this way).

10. The Suicide Squad
USA/Canada Directed by James Gunn
This follow up to Suicide Squad is absolutely brilliant. It’s easily one of the best four of the recent DC Cinematic Universe films put out and, with its surprisingly gory content coupled with a very strong dose of black humour, it seems to be much more reflective of the content of modern comic books, as opposed to what people who don’t read them think comic books are like nowadays.

9. Gaia
South Africa Directed by Jaco Bouwer
Another wonderful eco-friendly horror film about the Earth fighting back at the human species who overrun it. A perfect film to double bill with In The Earth (from earlier in this list).

8. Adrienne
USA Directed by Andy Ostroy
Powerful documentary film about the wonderful actress/director Adrienne Shelley, who was murdered just before she saw how successful her movie Waitress was about to become... directed by her husband and featuring their daughter, this is both a hard movie to watch but also a wonderful celebration of her life.

7. One Cut Of The Dead In Hollywood
Japan Directed by Yûya Nakaizumi
While not quite as brilliant as the original movie, One Cut Of The Dead (reviewed by me here), this is still a very charming and funny companion piece to it.  While the final scenes where the truth behind the Hollywood sign is revealed is not as brilliant as the reveal behind the ‘crane shot’ in the first movie, it still brings a big smile to the face and is worth a look if you loved the original.

6. Reminiscence
USA Directed by Lisa Joy
This is a beautiful film noir filtered through a kind of Philip K. Dick tinted lens which doesn’t end the way you might hope. It would not be out of place in a triple bill with the original cut of Blade Runner (reviewed here) and Hotel Artemis (reviewed here).

5. The French Dispatch
(review coming soon)
USA Directed by Wes Anderson
I’m kinda shocked that, in a year when Wes Anderson has a new film out, it only scrapes into my top five rather than take the number one spot. It’s certainly not in my top five Anderson films either but, it’s still a pretty remarkable film. One of my favourite, living directors, for sure.

4. French Exit
Canada/Ireland/UK
Directed by Azazel Jacobs
Wonderful film dealing with some dark ideas in a funny and quirky way. This one had me immediately thinking that I’m going to have to track down the source novel at some point soon.

3. Last Night In Soho
UK Directed by Edgar Wright
Cinematic chameleon Edgar Wright takes us on a nostalgia infused look at London in the 1960s via a modern day prism. No real surprises in this one but it’s so skillfully put together and so beautiful to look at that you can’t help but admire it.

2. Gunpowder Milkshake
France/Germany Directed by Navot Papushado
A truly spectacular slice of colourful, female led action thriller which should be on more people’s ‘film of the year’ lists. This is everything a modern action movie should aspire towards being. Simply astonishing.

1. Pig
UK/USA Directed by Michael Sarnoski
Nicolas Cage again, this time playing a man who is trying to retrieve his stolen truffle pig. This gives us a classic Cage set up and then proceeds to completely ignore it as the incredibly beautiful film about friendship, bonding and loss does nothing you would expect it to. My second watch through cemented it for me as the film of the year, as far as I’m concerned.

And there you have it... I’m sure most readers worth their salt will disagree with my choices but, you know, I can’t help it if you’re all wrong... ;-) I hope you enjoyed reading this list and, if possible, hope some of you discover what you consider to be some real corkers from checking this out. Thanks for reading.