2021’s Cinematic Highlights

As regular readers will know, I don’t rush into choosing my favourite films of any given year until a few months into the next one – partly because a film’s staying power is a key factor for me when picking my favourites, and partly because there are still some films left to catch up on. But that said, as we’re now entering Hollywood’s awards season with the Oscar nominations announced this week, I do like to take a look back at the last year and hand out a few light-hearted prizes of my own!

So without further ado, here are some of my highlights from 2021’s cinematic releases.

“Ray of Sunshine” Award – Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar.This film came out in February 2021, just when we most needed a laugh and an escape from the real world, and it provided both in spades.This silly, batsh*t crazy comedy was just the pick-me-up we all needed, and one of my biggest regrets of 2021 is that I never got to see it with an audience in the cinema for the collective comedic experience.

Hidden Gem(s) of 2021 – I Care A Lot. This jet-black comedy thriller deserved more attention, and while it won’t be to everyone’s tastes, I loved this darkly amoral satire that’s powered by Rosamund Pike’s mesmerising central performance. Another film that deserved to have more commercial success (and no doubt would have, had it not been for the pandemic) was Freaky, a fun horror-comedy from the director/co-writer of the Happy Death Day films that playfully combines the body-swapping of Freaky Friday with the slasher-horror of Friday The 13th.

Time-Loop Movie of 2021 – Palm Springs. Honestly, you wait years for a good time-loop movie, and then two come along in the same year! Palm Springs was the better of the two, a sweet (if R-rated) time-loop rom-com that combines comedy and emotion in a way that deserves to be talked about in the same conversation as the grand-daddy of all time-loop rom-coms, Groundhog Day. But a close runner-up was Boss Level, an action-comedy that adds a videogame aesthetic to the time-loop concept, where the protagonist has to fight his way through a series of (literally) deadly encounters to reach the final confrontation.

Bus-Fight Scene of 2021 – Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. Honestly, you wait years for a good bus-fight scene, and then two come along in the same year! But in all seriousness, two of my favourite action sequences from 2021 were both set on buses, and the bus-fight in Shang-Chi where the audience get their first glimpse of the main character’s hidden talents was a fantastically choreographed sequence that made entertaining use of the surrounding environment. A close second was the bus-fight in Nobody, where the main character first indulges his addiction to violence with brutal results.

“Delayed Gratification” Award – Zack Snyder's Justice League. We had to wait 5 years (counting from the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016) to see the culmination of Zack Snyder’s trilogy, but it was worth the wait. Yes, there will always be those who don’t gel with Snyder’s take on the DC characters, and that’s fine (you can’t please all of the people, all of the time) – but there’s no denying that this indulgent, 4-hour epic is a completely different film from the anaemic 2017 theatrical release, and it offers more character development, more backstory, more world-building, a more coherent plot, and a fitting conclusion to a far more unified trilogy.

Family Film of 2021 – The Mitchells vs. The Machines. There were a lot of decent-to-good family films last year, but for me, The Mitchells vs. The Machines was on a whole other level. Visually, it was the most inventive animated film since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but it also hit all of the right comedic and emotional notes, managing to be both laugh-out-loud funny and genuinely moving … all while also being a bona fide sci-fi adventure.

Thought-Provoking Film of 2021 – Promising Young Woman. I generally try to keep these awards fairly light-hearted and avoid the more serious dramas, but Promising Young Woman was a genuinely entertaining thriller, that also doesn’t shy away from making some genuine and heartfelt points about the changes that we as a society need to make. In this instance, the social commentary didn’t detract from the film’s entertainment value as a thriller, much in the same way as the social commentary in I Care A Lot didn’t make that film any less entertaining.

Most Visually Stunning Film of 2021 – Dune: Part One. Having already given us the most visually stunning film of 2017 with Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve now takes his second title with the first part of his Dune adaptation. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know what I mean when I say that there are many images from the movie that you could frame as a piece of art, and the production design brings this new universe of characters and civilisations to life.

Best Score of 2021 – Zack Snyder's Justice League. Don’t get me wrong, Michael Giacchino’s score for Spider-Man: No Way Home was pretty special, but it did incorporate a lot of old/classic material, whereas Tom Holkenborg’s score for Zack Snyder's Justice League was entirely original, and I listened to it repeatedly over the summer.

Biggest Surprise of 2021 – Free Guy. This film was an unexpected delight, and was one of my favourite feel-good movies of the year. It also takes the award for Best Cameo(s) of 2021, as it contained the most unexpected laugh-out-loud cameo of the year (together with several other amusing ones).

Most Nostalgic Film of 2021 – Ghostbusters: Afterlife. There were several films in 2021 that looked to generate nostalgia in the audience, from Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections to Coming 2 America, but none were quite as emotionally impactful as the Ghostbusters threequel, which was a poignant tribute to the late, great Harold Ramis, as well as to the film series he co-created.

Comedy of 2021 – People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan. There were several great comedies in 2021, including Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar, Palm Springs and Free Guy, but none made me laugh-out-loud as consistently and constantly as the big screen follow-up to the BAFTA award winning comedy TV series People Just Do Nothing. Okay, so it might not have the same impact if you’re not already a fan of the TV show, but as a fan, this delivered everything I could ever ask for from a swansong to these comedic creations.

Biggest Disappointment of 2021 – Unhinged. It was actually a pretty good year for films, and there was only one which was significantly worse than I was expecting, and that was this thriller/urban horror film that clearly had social commentary aspirations, but the poor script meant that any potential message was delivered extremely clumsily.

Guilty Pleasure(s) of 2021 – The Suicide Squad. I’m not sure it’s really fair to describe The Suicide Squad as a “guilty pleasure”, because it’s genuinely a hugely enjoyable and inventive action-comedy that skilfully hits all the right notes. But on the basis that there will be those who look down their noses at it simply because of its subject matter, I think it deserves this award as recognition of how much fun it actually is.

Debut of the Year 2021 – Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. There were a lot of contenders for this title, and Florence Pugh was a close runner up for her scene-stealing debut as Yelena in Black Widow. But Florence Pugh has been making waves for a couple of years now already, whereas I think it’s fair to say that Simu Liu was effectively an unknown before Shang-Chi came out. That’s hard to believe, because he carries the film, and has the presence and charisma of a far more experienced actor. In fact, I’d say it’s been a while since someone made such a huge impression on audiences in their debut movie, and so Simu Liu deservedly took the Debut of the Year award. His Shang-Shi co-star Tony Leung also takes the Best Villain of 2021 award, for his multi-layered performance as Wenwu.

Person of the Year 2021 – Daniel Craig for No Time To Die. Every year I like to nominate one person who’s had a good year or who’s made a real impact, but this year’s winner is effectively taking the award based on his entire 15-year run as James Bond. That’s not to say that I didn’t think Daniel Craig was great in No Time To Die (he really is), but this award is recognising the fact that he took what was essentially a fairly two-dimensional character who had barely evolved or developed in the preceding 40 years, and gave him an engagingly emotional character arc with a definitive beginning, middle and end. Where the franchise goes from here is a conversation for another day (Daniel Craig will be one hell of an act to follow), but for now, let’s just take a moment to appreciate all that he achieved in the role.

Favourite Cinematic Moment of 2021 – Spider-Man: No Way Home. This movie is still in cinemas, and so I don’t really want to get into spoilers for anyone who’s not seen it yet … but let’s just say that this film was packed full of moments that generated more spontaneous cheering and clapping from the audience than I can remember seeing in a long, long time. There were half a dozen jaw-dropping moments in total, but perhaps none quite as iconic as the scene set in a character’s grandmother’s dining room…

These aren’t necessarily all of my favourite films from 2021, but they are some of the highlights!

Watch this space for my Top Ten of 2021 in a couple of months, but for now, you might want to check out some of the above highlights if you’ve not seen them already.