Favorite Movies Watched in 2021

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's time again for my end-of-year wrap-ups. First up: movies! 

I reviewed 13 movies in 2021 (same as 2020). To clarify, as with last year, I reviewed 13 movies but watched more (see below). Blogging time was at a premium last year! However, if I did take the time to review a movie, it was because I really enjoyed it, so any movies on my 2021 list are worth watching, not just my top picks.

The TV icon in the image above is still mostly accurate, as we watched just one movie in a theater last year. We had about two weeks last summer--after I was fully vaccinated and before the COVID numbers started going up again--when we felt safe going to the theater. We were in a recliner theater for an early matinee with only one other couple across the room, and it was quite a thrill to eat movie popcorn and watch something on the big screen again!

As in years past, you can see my full list of movies reviewed this year further down (plus those I watched but didn't review), and my top picks in each genre just below. To see all of the movies I have reviewed on my blog (a considerable list), check out the Movies tab, where they are listed by genre. Note that where each movie is available might have changed over the years, since I first reviewed it, so double-check to see where you can watch it now.

So (drum roll, please): My Top Picks for 2021:

 

 Best Action/Suspense/Thriller

A Quiet Place, Part II 

Original, genre-busting movie as good as the original!

 

Best Drama

The Peanut Butter Falcon

Such a hard choice! So many good dramas last year, but this one hit all the buttons. We both loved it. 

 

Best Comedy

Moxie

  Fun, uplifting coming-of-age mother-daughter movie.

 

Sci Fi 

Chaos Walking

Action/thriller on a different world, based on a YA novel - we both loved the book, and this was a faithful adaptation.

All Movies Reviewed in 2021

My favorites are marked with a *, but I only review movies that I enjoyed, so these are all worth a watch:

Action/Suspense/Thriller

The Nice Guys - entertaining action/thriller with humor, set in the 1970's

 * A Quiet Place, Part II - original, genre-busting movie as good as the original

Drama

* Find Me - warm, poignant movie with gorgeous settings (end of review includes recommendations for five other movies with beautiful outdoor settings)

* Leave No Trace - quiet, powerful movie about father-daughter relationship, set outdoors

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things - teen time-loop movie with lots of fun & plenty of heart

* Nomadland - beautiful, gentle film about real-life modern nomads - won 6 Oscars

* Palmer - poignant, uplifting movie about ex-con bonding with boy

* The Peanut Butter Falcon - wonderful! Original, heartwarming & funny

Comedy

Blow the Man Down - dark comedy in a Maine fishing village

* Grandma - warm, funny, heartbreaking movie about eccentric grandma & her granddaughter

* Moxie - fun, uplifting coming-of-age mother-daughter movie

On the Rocks - warm, funny movie about marriage and a father-daughter relationship

Sci Fi

Chaos Walking - action/thriller on a different world, based on a YA novel

 

In 2021, I did not review any Musical Dramas, Family, or Documentary movies.

 

Movies I watched but did not review:

I’m Your Woman - action

Honest Thief (Liam Neeson) - action

Devil in a Blue Dress - excellent suspense/thriller

Hamilton - musical

Save Yourselves! - sci fi comedy - entertaining but weird

The Woman in the Window- suspense/thriller - OK but not as good as the novel

Vertigo - classic Hitchcock suspense/thriller

News of the World - historical drama with Tom Hanks, adapted from the novel

Free Guy - fun comedy/drama with a unique premise

Don’t Look Up - uneven satire/dark comedy