Sean’s Favorite Movies of 2021: Ranking All 66 Movies Watched this Year
#33 – #22: Liked!
33.) Army of the Dead
32.) The Voyeurs
(Insert eyes emoji here)
31.) The Tomorrow War
Everything about this movie screamed that it would suck, but for some strange reason, it landed. Someday Yvonne Strahovski will be appreciated at the highest level.
30.) Shadow in the Cloud
Another weird one that was a lot of fun. If you have 80 minutes, give it a shot.
29.) The Guilty
28.) Army of Thieves
Prequel to Army of the Dead, there were no zombies here. Solid heist flick and highly recommended.
27.) Good on Paper
Iliza Shlesinger is funny.
26.) Nobody
25.) Godzilla vs. Kong
24.) Red Notice
23.) Don’t Look Up
Good, but not great. Almost too much nonsense in the middle, leading a movie that should have probably been Top 10 to be #23.
22.) Eternals
Eternals has the chance to move the most up or down this list. A middle of the road MCU movie, for now, that could change a lot on second and third viewings. Kinda felt like they couldn’t decide what type of movie this should be, but there’s a lot of excitement for the future of the characters introduced.
#21 – #11: Loved These
21.) Last Night in Soho
Thought this was going to be a thriller but got a straight up horror movie instead. Very good.
20.) Fear Street Part 1: 1994
19.) Fear Street Part 3: 1666
18.) Fear Street Part 2: 1978
If I was to give an award for least talked about movie(s) of the year that everyone should watch, it would be the Fear Street Trilogy. I lumped them together because it was kind of like watching a mini-series, but all three of them were great, and far more of a “fun-scary” than horror. Actually can’t wait to watch these again!
17.) Boss Level
Everyone knows I love a good, old Groundhog Day movie. Add in Frank Grillo with a whole lot of killing and we have a winner.
16.) F9
After a weaker eighth installment to the Fast franchise, the boys went to space. They nailed this one.
15.) Cherry
Tom Holland is a good actor. Carried the whole thing.
14.) Black Widow
After a second viewing, this movie really is great. If the third act was a bit stronger, it would probably land in the Top 10. ScarJo as the Black Widow is iconic and the introduction of Florence Pugh into the MCU in this movie is going to be remembered for a long time.
13.) tick, tick… BOOM!
Andrew Garfield is a better actor! Even if he doesn’t win an Oscar, I hope he gets nominated and pulls a Globe. Garfield deserves hardware for this, as he taught himself how to sing for the movie and completely nails it.
12.) The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
Groundhog Day movie. Kathryn Newton. Best teen/chick-flick of the year.
11.) I Care a Lot
Top 10!
10.) Cruella
Emma Stone is absolutely phenomenal as Cruella DeVil. The whole movie felt kind of like The Devil Wears Prada, but also felt original at the same time. I loved it. It should come as no surprise that the sequel is already in the works.
9.) Justice League: The Snyder Cut
After years of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, the 4+ hour epic was finally released on HBOMax in 2021, and it didn’t disappoint. The Snyder Cut took everything I hated about the original 2017 version of the movie and made it so much better. This was the Justice League everyone wanted. Still a controversial movie that probably deserves its own article, everything about The Snyder Cut felt right to me. Consider me a fan at number nine.
8.) A Quiet Place: Part II
Not a big scary movie guy but both of these movies are phenomenal. While the first is slightly better than the second, Part II is still a home run.
7.) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Top tier superhero origin story. Simu Liu has the ability to carry the franchise far and be a staple of the MCU for a decade. All of the action sequences are so unique and really hold up after multiple viewings.
6.) The Suicide Squad
Similar to Justice League, this is the Suicide Squad movie that we should have gotten five years ago. James Gunn was the perfect director to bring in for the job. He knows better than anyone how to introduce several obscure characters and make it seem like we’ve watched them for years. Hilarious, violent, and pretty much perfect.
5.) Dune: Part 1
Easily the most beautiful movie to be made this year, Dune is incredible. The movie takes some time to develop, but Denis Villeneuve did an excellent job at creating the beginnings of this vast world. One of the best movies of the year that has the potential to be a generational set of movies.
4.) Promising Young Woman
Arguably the best movie on this list, I was pretty disappointed when Promising Young Woman didn’t win Best Picture last year. A dark and twisted, yet incredibly executed movie. As usual, if it were up to me, this wins Best Picture and Carey Mulligan wins Best Actress at last year’s Oscars.
3.) In the Heights
Everyone knows I’m a sucker for the musicals, but In The Heights still managed to exceed all my expectations. The music was obviously phenomenal, but I wasn’t expecting the rest of the story and visuals to be equally as great.
2.) No Time to Die
Ever cried during a Bond movie? Well ya have now! No Time to Die went ahead and threw its hat in the ring to be the best James Bond movie ever this fall. It was epic in every sense of the word and brought about every emotion imaginable. Maybe the most bold Bond movie ever made, they went where no Bond movie had gone before. I loved every second of it.
1.) Spider-Man: No Way Home
What a ride. There’s only so much that can be written about Spider-Man: No Way Home without giving away spoilers, so I’ll just leave it at this: Sony and Marvel took 20 years of Spider-Man movies and created an epic masterpiece filled with action-packed fun, laughter, and gut-wrenching emotion. Not even close, my favorite movie of 2021.
