After the first year of the 2020’s turned out to be a complete and utter write-off, not just in terms of cinema but pretty much every aspect of our lives, we all went into 2021 with a quietly optimistic sense of hope. Twelve months later, we’re still talking about pandemics, social distancing and vaccinations but at least the husband and I were able to get some sense of normality back by cautiously venturing out to our home away from home – the cinema. And although there were still soooooo many movies that we didn’t watch, we managed to catch enough on the big screen to justify a top ten favourite films post.

10. Don’t Look Up

Featuring a star-studded cast, Adam McKay’s political satire, Don’t Look Up, divided its audience when it dropped on Netflix on Christmas Eve. It tells the story of two astronomers who discover a comet heading straight for Earth but their attempts to warn the world falls on deaf ears when political ambitions, financial gains and public influence takes priority over humanity’s survival.

The complexity of the story is difficult to manage and does falter at times but overall McKay delivers something solid and enjoyable; a depressingly funny, hilariously depressing, bitingly cynical representation of the human race. Given that his previous film, Vice, also made it in my top ten films of the year I think it’s fair to say I’m a fan of his style.

Check out my full review – here.

9. The Mitchells vs the Machines

With the surprising success of the LEGO movie franchise and the groundbreaking, Oscar winning Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse, it seems as though anything that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller touch turns to gold, and their fun-filled story about a dysfunctional family trying to survive a robot uprising maintains their golden streak.

Its use of mixed media, including real YouTube footage and an interesting blend of 2D and 3D animation gives the film a unique aesthetic that is a little busy and chaotic, but pleasantly so. The Mitchells Vs The Machines is the type of film that you could watch again and again and still find something new and exciting.

Check out my full review – here.

8.Tick, Tick… Boom!

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut Tick, Tick… Boom! is a quiet musical masterpiece that tells the story of revered theatre composer Jonathan Larson who, on the cusp of his 30th birthday, is trying to navigate life, love and friendship in his quest to make his mark on the hallowed boards of New York’s Broadway.

Andrew Garfield sparked an Oscar buzz in his role as Jonathan Larson and it’s easy to see why, despite not having much of a musical background he gives everything to his performance and it’s the strength of his performance coupled with a soundtrack written by Larson himself.

7. Dune

Planned to be told in two instalments, Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic epic depicts roughly the first half of Frank Herbert’s classic science-fiction novel of the same name and introduces us to his dense and complex world full of mythology, religion and history. Although I’m holding out for the second half of the saga to decide how I feel about the story itself, the stunning visuals and immersive storytelling was enough to bump Dune up into my favourite films from 2021.

Check out my full review – here.

6. Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Taking place decades after the events of the first two films, Afterlife tells the story of single mum, Callie, and her two children, Trevor and Phoebe, who move to a remote rural town after she inherits a rundown old farmhouse from her estranged father, Egon Spengler. Not long after they arrive, strange events start to occur and the family soon discover their connection to the Ghostbusters legacy and the sacrifice that Spengler made to keep them all safe.

As someone who doesn’t have as much of an emotional connection to the original Ghostbuster films, I was able to go into Ghostbusters: Afterlife without the weight of nostalgic expectation, as a result, I wound up thoroughly enjoying this new installment of the franchise.

5. Petite Maman

One reason why I love going to mystery screenings is that they are a great opportunity to watch films that may otherwise fall under the radar. One such film was an elegant French drama from Céline Sciamma that, in a little over an hour, weaves an enchanting tale of a eight-year old Nelly who meets another young girl building a treehouse in the woods behind her recently deceased grandmothers house.

Sciamma’s Petite Maman is beautifully simple in its execution but deceptively complex and emotional in its story.

4. Nobody

From John Wick to Bryan Mills, the idea of an ex-something or other being dragged back into a life they managed to escape is not exactly new but writer Derek Kolstad (who gave us the John Wick franchise) puts a fresh spin on the concept and turns Bob Odenkirk – of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame – into an unexpected action star. Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell is a man so trapped and unchallenged in his ‘vanilla’ life, with a wife that shows him no affection and a son who doesn’t respect him, that as soon as he gets the slightest taste of what used to be, he finds himself whatever excuse he can to get back to it.

Check out my full review – here.

3. Cruella

Although there are elements of and nods to the classic villain we know and love, sans Cruella De Vil’s trademark cigarette, director Craig Gillespie takes this story and makes it his own, giving us a stylishly edgy spectacle chock full of elaborate costume designs, stylish musical choices and snappy dialogue.

As a big fan of Emma Stone, there’s very little she can do wrong in my eye but my personal bias aside, she takes the iconic character and makes it her own, relishing the challenge and delivering something thoroughly entertaining.

Check out my full review – here.

2. Last Night In Soho

Edgar Wright, the director who gave us comedy-horror classic Shaun of the Dead, cult superhero flick Scott Pilgrim vs the World and the super stylish Baby Driver, dips his toes into psychological thrillers with his sleek and stylish tale about a young timid girl who travels to London to become a fashion designer and forms a spiritual supernatural connection to an aspiring singer from the Swinging Sixties.

With Wright at the helm and Anya Taylor-Joy cast as one of the two female leads, alongside Jojo Rabbit‘s Thomasin McKenzie, Last Night In Soho was my most highly anticipated film of the year and, thankfully, it didn’t disappoint.

Check out my full review – here.

1. Encanto

The Madrigal’s are a family blessed by magic, with each member gifted a special power when they come of age. From the ability to control the weather to healing people with food, each gift serves to support and serve their community but Mirabel failed to get a gift and she grows up struggling to fit in with the rest of her family. When the magic starts to weaken, Mirabel sets off on a quest to save the magic and prove to herself that she is just as special and exceptional as the rest of her family, but the more she uncovers the more she puts the family – and the magic -at risk.

I wasn’t particularly enamoured by Disney’s 60th animated feature film after my first viewing but something stuck with me – and not just the film’s catchy soundtrack – so much so that I wound up watching it multiple times before the year was out. When putting together this list, it just makes sense to put the film that I’ve watched several times and have the soundtrack on repeat would make it to the top spot.

Check out my full review – here.

So there you have it, my ten favourite films of 2021. Do you agree? Did your favourite make the list?

Until next time… x