My Top Films for 2021

I only have 7 movies here in my 2021 list, so it's obviously not a top 10 list as per usual, but at least it's more than the 6 movies that I've listed for 2020...so I guess that's still a win? The pandemic really hampered me from going to the cinemas but to be honest, it really changed my habit of watching movies too. So far in 2022, I've only watched 5 movies, far less than what I used to before the pandemic.

I don't know how my 2022 list will look like but let's just focus on the current list. Late as per usual, here's my top films for 2021 (only those that I watched at the cinemas).

7 - The Vigil

Image source from Wikipedia

Have you heard about this movie before? I certainly didn't before I went to see it, so I didn't really had any expectation going into the cinema hall. I did quite enjoyed watching it; it has its moments and the creepy atmosphere was well done despite the small budget and the limited setting. The Vigil is the directorial debut feature of Keith Thomas (he later directed Firestarter) and starred Dave Davis, Menashe Lustig, Lynn Cohen and Ronald Cohen. The story involves the culture and relationship in the Orthodox Jewish community which I'm not familiar of and so I find the story quite interesting.

6 - Venom: Let There be Carnage

Image source from Wikipedia

This sequel to the 2018 movie Venom see the return of Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Reid Scott alongside newcomers Woody Harrelson, Naomie Harris and Stephen Graham. Directed by Andy Serkis, the movie continue to explore the love hate relationship between Venom and its human host Eddie Brock, while facing new enemies in the form of Carnage and its human host, a psychotic serial killer Cletus Kasady, as well as Kasady's lover Frances Barrison. The relationship between Venom and Eddie Brock is the most interesting aspect of the movie in my opinion beside some of the fun action scenes. I can't decide if I like this movie or the 1st one better, both movies have things that I like and dislike, either way I hope they can make it even more interesting for the 3rd movie which was confirmed to be in development by Sony.

5 - Mortal Kombat

Image source from Wikipedia

I watched this at the cinema despite it being released in HBO Go here in Malaysia as well. I do find myself enjoying the movie more while watching it at home on HBO Go compared to the cinema which I find kind of interesting. Where did you watched Mortal Kombat if you did watched it? Nevertheless, it was a fun movie overall with many great fight scenes, especially the one involving Sub-Zero and Scorpion. The ice special effects involving Sub-Zero were really beautiful to look at. I particularly love the opening of the movie which shows the back story of Hanzo Hasashi who would later become Scorpion. I don't think there is anything to shout about plot-wise since this is a martial arts movie so obviously the fight scenes should be the draw of this film. While the fight scenes were good, I do wish some of them were a little bit extended; some fights were shorter than others... although that kind of understandable considering the many characters that were featured in this movie. A sequel had been greenlit by the studio so if you're a fan, watch out for more news on that.

4 - Godzilla vs. Kong

Image source from Wikipedia

I've enjoyed the previous movies in the MonsterVerse franchise; 2014's Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters; all of them are good, entertaining movies. Godzilla vs. Kong (shorten to GvK for convenience), the 4th movie in the franchise, is also a fun blockbuster movie to watch but I have to say, it's not my favourite from the franchise, I still hold Kong: Skull Island as my favourite. Directed by Adam Wingard (he also directed 2016's Blair Witch, love that film!), GvK brings back characters from the previous movie played by Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler alongside newcomers Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle, Brian Tyree Henry and Julian Dennison. The movie got cool fight scenes between the two titans and a surprising third titan who would later join the fight. The studio is currently developing a sequel with a tentative release date in March 2024.

3 - Antlers

Image source from official website

I was very excited to see this movie when I first saw the trailer for it but the release date was delayed several times so it got me worried that the movie might not even be released here in my country. Sometime small movies don't get release here and it's even more unlikely when it was delayed several times so I must say that my worry was totally valid. Luckily, it was still released here and to make things better, I really like the movie! It was great and explore the folklore of the evil spirit wendigo, a topic which I find very fascinating albeit scary. Directed by Scott Cooper, the movie starred Jeremy T. Thomas (who I thought portrayed the troubled and lonely boy, Lucas Weaver, brilliantly), Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Graham Greene and Scott Haze. It's not as creepy as I hoped it would be but still it was very atmospheric, the location and cinematography really help elevated the movie. The theme of loneliness, domestic abuse and abandonment were also explored which make the story even more interesting, and the film more than just a typical horror movie.

2 - Eternals

Image source from official website

Eternals is quite unlike any other Marvel film that I've seen before. It's quite different in tone, quite grounded despite telling a story about a group of alien beings coming to Earth and become its protectors for thousand of years. It's the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so it's reasonable to think that the studio might want to deviate a bit from its previous movies. I really like Eternals; it's charming with likeable characters, a good story and a balanced pacing. The special effects for the movie is quite impressive; I love the golden effects that came out when the Eternals project their powers, it looks regal and elegant. I must admit, I was not really interested when I saw the first trailer but the second trailer really sold me on this movie and I was not disappointed. Unfortunately, the movie was not well-received by critics and the box-office numbers are not very high either (but at least you could still point to the pandemic for the box-office result). I'm not sure if a sequel to Eternals is in development, maybe the characters would appear in other Marvel movies instead.

1 - Dune

Image source from official website

Dune is just an amazing film. Great story, amazing ensemble cast, beautiful settings and breathtaking cinematography. It's quite slow-paced with quite a complicated premise but it has a very moving and engaging story. It is not easy to tell a story to people, someone like me, who has no knowledge about the settings, culture and lore of the original source material but I think the movie managed to pull it off. A sequel, Dune: Part Two is in development now with a scheduled release date of November 17, 2023.

Thanks for reading! One question before we end this; how has the pandemic changed your habits of consuming movies?