Josh’s Favorite Movies of 2021 — Part Three!
Click here for part one of my look back at my favorite movies of 2021, and click here for part two!
15. Raya and the Last Dragon — The first of two exquisitely enjoyable new Disney animated films released this year, Raya and the Last Dragon is an exciting adventure story with a pleasing balance of fun action and rich characters, set in a delightfully well fleshed-out original world. It’s a pleasure to see a Disney film that so richly embraces Southeast Asian culture. Kelly Marie Tran is tremendous as Raya, Disney’s first princess (and the story makes sure to clarify that Raya is a princess) of Southeast Asian descent, and Awkwafina is both hilarious and tender and moving as the dragon Sisu. The animation is gorgeous, and the voice-cast is top-notch. It’s hard to ask for more! (Click here for my full review.)
14. The Harder They Fall — Jeymes Samuel’s fun and gripping Western is an attempt to move Old West stories away from the usual white male perspective and recenter the narrative on the stories of people of color and women. I loved this rollicking Western, and I was blown away by the work of the stupendous cast, including Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Delroy Lindo, Danielle Deadwyler, and so many more! I loved the modern music on the soundtrack, and I loved the “title card” freeze-frames and text captions as the film introduces each member of Nat and Buck’s gangs, and so many other fun touches like that. (Click here for my full review.)
13. One Night in Miami — Regina King’s powerhouse of a directorial debut (written by Kemp Powers, adapting his own play), is a riveting fictionalized version of what might have happened on the night in February, 1965, when Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, Malcolm X, and Sam Cooke were together celebrating after Clay’s defeat of Sonny Liston, a moment captured in a famous photograph. It’s a fascinating exploration of these four complex, charismatic men. There’s a lot of joy and drama to be found in imagining what these four men might have had to say to one another, and how they might have bounced off of one another. All four lead actors are extraordinary: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Aldis Hodge, Eli Goree, and Leslie Odom Jr. I found this film to be fascinating from start to finish. (Click here for my full review.)
12. No Time to Die — This fifth and final film starring Daniel Craig as James Bond is excellent. This is top-tier Bond. Mr. Craig remains remarkably magnetic as 007, bringing toughness but also humor and, more importantly, real feeling and drama to the role of Her Majesty’s “blunt instrument”. The film is stuffed with terrific action set-pieces and also some lovely moments of emotional depth (something the series rarely saw before Mr. Craig took on the role). I was pleased to see the narrative attempt to correct the mistakes of Spectre and try to pull together storylines and character arcs from across all four of Mr. Craig’s previous Bond movies. The film takes some huge narrative swings and I respect the filmmakers (director Cary Joji Fukunaga and his fellow screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) for trying to make some big, different moves with this familiar character. I loved this film for much of its run-time, though the ending didn’t work for me at all. (This film would be higher on my list if I found the ending to be more satisfying.) Nevertheless, it’s an exceptionally well-made film and a fine swan song to Mr. Craig’s tenure as Bond. (Click here for my full review.)
11. In the Heights — John M. Chu’s adaptation of the musical by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda was wonderfully joyous and moving. The three main leads — Anthony Ramos as Usnavi de la Vega; Melissa Barrera as Vanessa; and Leslie Grace as Nina — were spectacular and magnetic. Beyond them, I really enjoyed how large and well-developed the entire ensemble was, and how the film explores the stories of many different people within the Washington Heights neighborhood, at different stages of their lives. The music was fantastic, compelling and catchy, and the dance choreography was eye-popping. The story is painful and moving but also joy-filled and hopeful. I love this film and I don’t think it’s gotten the acclaim this year that it deserves. (Click here for my full review.)
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you’ll come back tomorrow as we enter my TOP TEN list…! See you then!
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