So, we’ve reached the end of 2021. Another year, another crop of films. Therefore, it’s time for a 2021 retrospective.

[Or maybe I should say, “an actual crop of films” after the cinematic wasteland that was 2020.]

Thankfully, Hollywood has been able to release more films in theaters in addition to those early sputtering attempts to grow the various streaming services.

And there have been a lot of good–even great–films for us this year, especially in the last few months.

So now that we’ve reached the (almost) end of the year, it’s time to look at the good, the bad, and the other films we’ve seen.

Heck, there’s even a few that we’ve seen on this list that you haven’t seen yet, but that will be hitting theaters before the end of the year, so since we’ve seen then, we can list them.

This isn’t going to be a “Best of” list, though; it’s more of a “favorites of,” as some of these films aren’t awards contenders or future entries on the AFI Topp 100 Films list, but they had a certain something that made them, at the very least, “fun” in the best way possible.

Ready? Here, in no particular order (okay, alphabetical order, then), are some of our favorite fiction films of 2021 (with links to our reviews, if available):

• American Underdog (in theaters Christmas Day): This based-on-the-true-life of NFL quarterback Kurt Warner stars Zachary Levi, and the casting is perfect. While our full review is coming, let us just say that we were looking forward to this one, and it didn’t disappoint.
• Belfast: Helmed by Kenneth Branagh, this autobiographical tale of “the troubles” in Northern Ireland is a wonderful bit of cinema. Beautifully shot in black & white (a theme of late 2021, it seems) and impeccably acted (including Ciaran Hinds and Dame Judi Dench), it’s a moving portrait of a family–and community–in crisis, and how love can sustain.
• C’mon C’mon: Another black & white film, this one from studio A24 (which we’ve had a pretty good track record with), starring Joaquin Phoenix as a radio reporter and Woody Norman as his unusual nephew. The film is a character piece for people who love to see people deal with their flaws and damage and grow as a result.
• CODA: Let’s not forget this darling from way back in January, when it was bought before it even screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Watch it now. Right now.
• Fear Street parts 1, 2, and 3: This feels like a cheat because it is. These 3 films, released so closely, because almost a limited series, but put together some great horror mythology both independently and as a unit.
• Ghostbusters Afterlife: Look, the hype surrounding this one was intense, especially after the beating the 2016 version took (whether rightly or wrongly). Jason Reitman delivered.
• Last Night in Soho: Look, sometimes a film can just be good, and fun to watch, and be incredibly well-acted, as well. Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy make this film, as I said then, “The hippest supernatural murder mystery you’ll ever see.”
• Spider-Man – No Way Home: I don’t want to rehash everything we talked about on this one (so click the link and listen for yourself), but suffice it to say we were more than satisfied with this entry in the Spider-Man cinematic saga.
• Swan Song: Mahershala Ali carries this spiritual, philosophical film from start to finish. A joy to watch him work… twice.
• The Tragedy of Macbeth (Review to come): Joel Coen give us Shakespeare’s “Scottish Play” (and another black & white film from A24) and demonstrates what happens when you let actors act great material.

**Also, coming soon, a franchise tent-pole film: Matrix: Resurrections. File that one under “excited but cautious.”

Moving on through our 2021 retrospective…

If you’re a documentary fan, perhaps one of these ones will tickle your fancy as they did ours (again, in alphabetical order):

• Bob Ross: Happy Accidents Betrayal and Greed: Who doesn’t love Bob Ross?
• In the Same Breath: Do you breathe? Have you heard of Covid? Watch this one.
• The Alpinist: If you loved Free Solo… this is better. Wow.

What about musicals? We’ve had THREE in the last couple weeks alone. Here’s a few of our favorites:

• Cyrano (Review to come): Dinklage. That’s all.
• Summertime: Never heard of it? Search it out. Similar to In the Heights, but Summertime is built from the work of 20-odd different poets, all woven together into a (mostly) cohesive narrative set in one day in LA. Different, quirky, but definitely entertaining.
• tick, tick…Boom!: Andrew Garfield turns in his second great performance of the year (after his turn as Jim Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye).

And finally, how about something for the family? A little animation, perhaps? Here’s a few of our favorites from this year:

• Encanto: Simply beautiful from start to finish. Great songs, great energy… a really fun time for everyone.
• Ron’s Gone Wrong: We’ve all gotten the “Ron” gift in our lives, but rarely has it worked out so well.
• The Mitchell’s vs the Machines: Got a family? Got a car? Ever put one inside the other? Yep. This movie is 100% accurate.

Well, that’s it for our 2021 retrospective.

We hope you enjoyed our reviews and discussions of these an all the other films we screened this year.

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