My Most Memorable Movies of 2021

2021 was the year blockbuster movies came back to the mainstream. They held out on a whole slew of big releases in 2020. I can comfortably say that the world was in a happier place with the amount of quality entertainment that came out this year.

That's not to say I got to check out every movie either. There were so many that came out that I couldn't keep up. I may mix the list up with late 2020 films that I was able to see in 2021.

Revenge Movies

First off we got a whole bunch of revenge movies out this year. This is a genre that will forever be fun for me to watch. This year in particular came 3 memorable movies. Each has their own twist to things that make them standout from one another.

Promising Young Woman

This was a movie I wasn't expecting to be as fun as it was. It's about a woman seeking revenge but the mystery is behind her madness. I was at the edge of my seat for pretty much most of the runtime for this movie.

Pig

Pig isn't the typical John Wick or Taken movie that I thought it was going to be. I went into this movie with a preconceived expectation of how it was going to turn out. They flipped the script on me and had me taking a closer inspection of life in general.

Nobody

If you wanted to know what John Wick would be like if he had a nuclear family this would be it. Some would say it was a little more realistic portrayal of what a John Wick character would be like. To them I say it's an action film and you get a ton of great action in this movie. That's why you really came for.

Superhero Movies

Hollywood isn't done with superhero movies and at the rate they're coming I don't think they'll be ending anytime soon. This is going to be the new thing for all of us and I guess we have to get used to it.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Let's get this out of the way because this is probably on everyone's memorable list for 2021. The hype is kind of justified because it brought all the memories from older Spider-Man movies into this one. This was especially memorable for Spider-Man fans across the world.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

This movie has a special spot in my heart because growing up Chinese I never thought I'd see an Asian superhero before. Not only did they provide this in a very entertaining fashion but they also added a lot of mythical creatures from Chinese folktales that I remembered as a kid. This was truly a momentous occasion for me and my brother.

The Suicide Squad

The new direction of this franchise had me salivating for more. Everyone had a bad taste in their mouth from this franchise's last outing. I think it may have prevented people from seeing this fantastic movie. If you haven't given it a try I'm sure you will be surprised at how much fun it is. Be warned though, it's pretty violent.

Zack Snyder's Justice League

This movie was a common joke amongst my friends. We never thought this movie would ever come out. When it did we had to be the first to check it out. Boy did this movie deliver. This is probably the only four hour movie that I am willing to re-watch. It's just that good!

Reboots of Old Franchises

Every year we have reboots of old franchises. It's a money maker so I can't blame them. I would consider the new Spider-Man a partial reboot because it's bringing back the old movies to put a twist to the present Spider-Man franchise. Still we got Coming to America, the Matrix and Ghostbusters back this year!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

This is the kind of my favorite reboot this year. I have to admit I was smiling and giggling through the whole movie. It was so well made and did justice to the old franchise. Some would say it treads in the same water as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I can't completely disagree.

Dune

I remember watching the 1984 version of Dune to get me ready to watch this movie. It wasn't the most pleasant experience sitting through that but I did appreciate it for what it was. This new Dune has me itching to watch the second part. I knew the movie would be put into capable hands but wow did they ever knock it out of the park with this one.

Comedy

There were a few fun comedies out there this year. Each of the comedies had their own tastes in comedy. Most of them were dark comedies which weren't really my forte. However there is one really bright sunshine of a movie that twinkled in my eye.

Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar

I'm more into zany wacky comedy and I haven't seen a lot of that in recent times. Some say that political correctness has ruined comedy but then why was this movie so funny? I couldn't stop laughing throughout this movie because of the crazy antics these two ladies got themselves into. It should be advertised a little more. I think you have to check this out if you're into wacky humor like I am.

Free Guy

This was more entertaining than I thought it was going to be. It's still weird to know that most movies are going to be about social media nowadays but this one eased me into it. It makes fun of a lot of the social media antics that happen in real life. Lots of fun and lots of laughs.

Documentaries

There was an abundant amount of documentaries that came out this year. You can't watch too many of them without having them feel very preachy. Fortunately there were some outliers that were able to keep me entertained and marvel at the humanity of their stories.

Val

I haven't heard much of Val Kilmer for a while. He was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and I was curious what happened to him? When this film came out I was stunned at how much of an overall artist Val is. He's constantly honing his craft at whatever he does. Despite his ailments he's able to keep himself busy with more art. This was truly awe inspiring.

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

This film came out of the blue on Disney Plus. It's about found footage of momentous black music festival in New York. I know what you're all thinking. If it was so big how did you not know of it? Well that's for you to find out in the film. This was a really well told story and it's a shame that it took this long for their story to be told.

Musicals

I never thought I'd be into musicals but 2021 came out with a whole slew of amazing musicals. In any other year this wouldn't even be a category in my most memorable movies of the year list. These musicals had me eager to find more musicals. There was also West Side Story that I haven't even checked out yet. One common theme of these movies is that they always talk about following your dreams.

Tick, Tick... Boom!

I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I found this movie on Netflix. It isn't normally what I would pick to watch. Sometimes you just have to go with the Netflix algorithms and have faith. Boy was I glad that I did. This movie had me floored. They talk about the struggles of achieving your goals. In this musical they were able to show us that it's also the people outside the artist that suffer too. It's done in such a genuine way.

In The Heights

With the pandemic looming over us 24/7 we needed something that would uplift our spirits and this movie was that movie. The sheer amount of color and joy that leap off the screen at you is mind-boggling. I had so much fun with this film. There's so much to enjoy with the dancing and singing. It put me in some sort of trance throughout its runtime.

Overall

It was a great 2021 for movies. The quality and production value of the movies skyrocketed compared to the movies last year. That's not to say last year didn't have its gems. I found 2020 to have more original content than this year. This year we had all the reboots and sequels that we were waiting two years to come out. I'm excited to see what 2022 has in store for us. I'll see you guys in my next reviews!