I probably watched more movies in 2021 than in any year previous. There was a lot to like, but, as can be expected, there was also a lot to… not like. In 2021, movie theaters began to open back up but streaming far outpaced my cinematic intake. Going to the movies is one of my favorite things to do, but I decided to stay home this year. And honestly, I’m okay with that.
At any rate, the Oscars this year have inched closer to their traditional airdate (tomorrow, as of this writing), which means it’s once again time to count down my favorite movies released in the year that was. This list is comprised of the films that impacted me most this past year, but there are several that fell just outside my traditional top ten. These honorable mentions include About Endlessness, The Tragedy of Macbeth, C’mon, C’mon, The Card Counter, and The Humans. I urge you to see each and all of these films, as they come with the highest of recommendations from yours truly.
And now, on with the show. Presenting The Daily Orca‘s Top Ten films of 2021.
10. Mass
At no point are we being sold anything other than understanding – something that Mass and its cast deliver on in more ways than one, and something I hope is found in much bigger supply as a result. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
9. Pebbles
From its mesmerizing opening sequence to its haunting final shot, P. S. Vinothraj’s Pebbles is a fabulously measured display of restraint and pacing that you just don’t see in American productions. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
8. Attica
Nelson and Curry capture and display this half-century’s worth of anger, frustration, and no doubt lingering trauma with a combination of compassion and allyship that strips away all pretense of grandstanding or showboating, leaving us with a reassuring sense of sincerity. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
7. Nightmare Alley
As movie fans, we owe more than we know to the shadowy figures, venetian blinds, and billowing plumes of smoke from the past. It’s a debt that must be repaid – which is exactly what Guillermo del Toro has done with his fantastic remake of Nightmare Alley. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
6. Lamb
To the unimaginative, this wildly abnormal folk-story-meets-family-drama may prove distasteful or even stupid, but those poor souls would be missing out on a wondrous world of vision and inventiveness. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
5. There Is No Evil
This is storytelling at its finest, made even more compelling by the circumstances of its production, the bravery of its director, and the system that would suppress it. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
4. The Power of the Dog
The western genre is no stranger to explorations of the male psyche and the destructive nature of masculinity, but rarely have these themes manifested so beautifully and viciously as they do in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
3. Parallel Mothers
With ease, style, grace, and most of all empathy, Almodóvar out-writes and out-directs nearly everyone in 2021, and manages to make one of the year’s most subtly powerful political statements in the process. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
2. Drive My Car
With very little flash or pomp, Drive My Car (based on the short story by Haruki Murakami) explodes time and again with such immense amounts of revelatory humanity that one can’t help but feel crushed and uplifted at once. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
1. The Green Knight
It is a truly fantastic and magical film that delights the mind and senses alike, while maintaining a near-fiendish level of cold and mythical foreboding that is impossible to ignore or forget. READ THE FULL REVIEW.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.