ReelBob: Top 10 movies of 2021

My look back at the year in movies, with my top 10 choices, 5 honorable mentions and 5 movies that I do not want to revisit.

2021 was a strange year for movies. Theaters slowly reopened, depending on local protocols and health conditions.

I watched the majority of movies I saw online because I was hesitant to return to movie theaters and be with people.

Despite the challenges, it was an interesting movie year, and I was impressed by several titles.

So, here are the ones I chose as my top movies of the year.

1. “Mass.” The most emotionally raw picture I ever have experienced. This simple movie about the grief shared by two couples — one, the parents of a perpetrator; the other, the parents of a victim — meet to basically try to make sense of the senseless. They share their grief, anger and regret. The movie is so intimate that you feel uncomfortable, as if you were eavesdropping. Writer-director Franz Kranz has created a powerful and overwhelming experience that will drill down deep into your soul — no matter your feelings about guns and gun control.

2. “Drive My Car.” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s three-hour meditation on acceptance and forgiveness is built around a solemn performance by Hidetoshi Nishajima as a famous stage actor and director who, two years after the death of his wife, agrees to direct a production of Chekov’s “Uncle Vanya” at a theater festival in Hiroshima.
In the city, Nishajima’s Yûsuke Kafuku is assigned a driver for his beloved car, which he reluctantly accepts. Tensions mount during rehearsals as well as between Kafuku and a young actor, with shares an unwelcome connection with Kafuku’s late wife.
The movie, though very understated, is underlined with pain and sorrow about lost opportunities.

3. “CODA.” Writer-director Siân Heder’s dramedy centers on a fishing family in Glouster, MA. The parents and older brother are deaf. Their younger daughter, Ruby (newcomer Emilia Jones), can hear. Thus, the burden of being the family conduit between her parents and the outside hearing world falls on her young shoulders. CODA is an acronym for child of deaf adults. “CODA,” the movie, overflows with heart and love.
It features splendid performances by Jones, Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin as her mother and Troy Kotsur as her father. Heder does not pander nor use the family’s deafness as a tool for pity or sympathy.
The movie features both comic moments that will warm your heart and poignant ones that come close to breaking it.

4. “West Side Story.” I admit I was an early skeptic when it was announced that Steven Spielberg was directing a remake of this iconic musical. And I freely admit my skepticism was unwarranted.
Spielberg’s movie, with a script by Tony Kushner, improves many aspects from the original 1957 Broadway show and the 1961 Academy Award-winning movie, most notably in the dialogue and in dealing with the cultural, ethnic, sociological and political issues in the New York City of the late 1950s.
Kushner’s update adds an ironic subset to the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks. They are lashing out at each other to retain territory that, within months, will be displacing them. Progress — and city hall — it seems, is the most powerful gang in the city.
If you are a fan of “West Side Story,” do not fear. Spielberg’s film makes a wonderful companion piece, keeping the spirit of both, while adding relevance that makes this new version a compelling and touching equal.

5. “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” Director Joel Coen, going solo without brother, Ethan, has created a film-noir, expressionistic take on the oft-filmed Shakespeare tragedy.
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand portray older versions of the Scottish nobles who believe it is their time to claim what they believe is rightfully theirs.
Coen’s black-and-white feature is a minimalist production, an ode to Orson Welles’ 1948 shoestring-budgeted version. Coen has created an oppressive movie that is mostly quiet and intimate. It is stark and cloistered; the sun is always obscured by clouds and smoke; the castle’s corridors are long and narrow and supported by high, thick columns.
Washington and McDormand give superb, intense performances. Coen’s movie is a tragedy about preordained doom.

6. “The Power of the Dog.” Writer-director Jane Campion’s first move in 12 years examines what it means to be a man and all that entails.
Benedict Cumberbatch gives an Academy Award-worthy performance as a rancher in 1925 Montana who lords it over everyone around him. His dirty and uncouth persona is the armor he wears to mask his vulnerability. He revels in the past and fears change.
His Phil Burbank is very upset when his brother, George (a resolutely quiet Jesse Plemons), marries a local widow and brings her to their ranch. His constant tormenting makes her feel unwelcome. And the arrival of her shy medical-student son over the summer vacation, offers Phil another target for his verbal bullying.
The film’s unexpected finale is unsettling, but not unexpected.

7. “Flee.” This documentary depicts the refugee experience through animation as it tells the story of Amin Nawabi, who fled Afghanistan as a child. The movie traces Nawabi’s displacement through many countries, while keeping a secret that may alienate him from his family.
The movie has enough tension and suspense to fill a half dozen thrillers. “Flee” is a profound and emotional feature that details the challenges of losing one’s place in the world and trying to find another.

8. “Red Rocket.” Not since Paul Newman’s “Hud,” has there been such a despicable movie character as Simon Rex’s Mikey. Writer-director Sean Baker has created an irredeemable individual who manipulates, uses and discards people without conscience or remorse.
Mikey a has-been porno star, is a big-mouth, fast-talking, selfish son-of-a-bitch. Yet he is fascinating to watch. Rex’s all-in, fearless and bold performance is the movie’s driving force. You feel a little guilty about enjoying “Red Rocket” and perhaps, secretly, admiring Mikey’s chutzpah. However, afterwards, you do feel dirty and want a shower.

9. “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” The movie is every Spider-Man’s fantasy come true. Teenage Peter Parker finds his world upended when his secret identity is revealed to the world.
When he asks Doctor Strange to make everyone forget that Peter and Spider-Man are the same, things go very wrong, creating new problems for both superheroes and putting the Marvel Cinematic Universe on a new and exciting path.
Tom Holland’s sincerity and Benedict Cumberbatch’s wry humor are part of the film’s delight as are the appearances of villains from past Spider-Man adventures. The movie is a treat that you can see more than once.

10. “C’mon C’mon.” Writer-director Mike Mills created this vibrant and touching story about the relationships and connections between adults and children. Joaquin Phoenix gives a sturdy performance as Johnny, a documentary filmmaker who works mostly with children.
To help his sister, he volunteers to take care of her young son, Jesse (an outstanding Woody Norman), while she is solving some personal issues with her ex-husband. Johnny and Jesse slowly forge a bond that changes them both.
The movie is embraceable and cuddly. It is an affirming, delicate and positive story about family ties and, most importantly, listening.

Five honorable mentions, in alphabetical order

The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
The Lost Daughter
Nightmare Alley
Val

And, finally, the most disappointing movies of 2021:

Don’t Look Up
F9
Jungle Cruise
The Matrix: Resurrections
Old

OK, that is it. See you in 2022.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap substack and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.