![The Best Movies of 2021](https://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/12/attachment-best-of-2021-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
The Best Movies of 2021
What a difference a year makes. Thanks to the pandemic, I saw fewer new releases in 2020 than any time I’ve been at this job, which is closing in on two decades. Even with 2021’s sluggish start, I wound up watching about 50 percent more movies before making this list. Last year’s cinematic drought turned into a deluge; there was almost too much stuff to see, and certainly too many good films to cram into a single Top 10.
I still tried my best, although I had to resort to a second batch of honorable mentions to squeeze in more favorites; even then, stuff got left out. (I’m sorry, Benedetta!) When I look at the pictures that did make the cut, I see that my tastes this year gravitated toward movies that created entire worlds to get lost in, whether that was medieval France, 1920s Montana, or a desert planet populated by enormous sandworms. That doesn’t necessarily mean they were all works of escapism though. Some used those far-off locales and intricately detailed universes to talk about some of the most pressing and polarizing issues of the day. (We as a society do not talk enough about what a problem sandworm invasions are. This needs to be addressed.)
In ascending order of preference, here are my picks for the best movies of 2021.
The Best Movies of 2021
Honorable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order): Annette, The Card Counter, The Green Knight, The Harder They Fall, Judas and the Black Messiah, Licorice Pizza, The Lost Daughter, PG: Psycho Goreman, Shiva Baby, tick, tick... Boom!
The 12 Worst Continuity Errors In Popular Movies
![logo](https://townsquare.media/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/WOZIFM.png?w=100)
More From
![2022 Oscar Nominees: The Full List](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/04/GettyImages-512367448.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Best Movie Trailers of 2021](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/12/attachment-best-trailers-123.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![15 Ill-Advised Toy Lines Based on Movies](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2019/05/coneheads-toys1.png?w=980&q=75)
![AI Ranks the 10 Best Places to Vacation in Maine](http://townsquare.media/site/494/files/2024/07/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-07-25T105846.299.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![This Maine Trail Was Unsurprisingly Rated as Best in State](http://townsquare.media/site/494/files/2024/07/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-07-24T092646.622.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![This Steakhouse in Maine Was Named Best in the State](http://townsquare.media/site/494/files/2024/07/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-07-22T121720.788.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Maine Restaurant to Be Featured at Dave Portnoy’s Pizza Festival](http://townsquare.media/site/494/files/2024/07/attachment-Untitled-design-2024-07-22T134335.772.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Everything You Need to Know About Maine’s New ‘Blue Envelope Program’](http://townsquare.media/site/490/files/2024/07/attachment-Give-us-Maine-Summer-destinations-where-you-WON%2525E2%252580%252599T-find-tourists-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Best Amazon Prime Day Deals for Mainers](http://townsquare.media/site/494/files/2024/07/attachment-IMG_4688.jpeg?w=980&q=75)