Last year was a pandemic-fueled disaster that kept cinephiles at home to watch films. And though many of us went back to the movies, blockbusters …
Last year was a pandemic-fueled disaster that kept cinephiles at home to watch films. And though many of us went back to the movies, blockbusters returned and streaming services persisted,2021 was still a strange year that’s now ending with Spider-Man battling not the Green Goblin or Venom, but the omicron variant. OK, so things aren’t totally back to normal, but there was plenty to see wherever you preferred to watch your favorites. It was a big year for movie musicals – some wonderful, others not so much (looking at you, „Dear Evan Hansen „). A year after “Bill & Ted” returned, Keanu Reeves brought back another beloved series with “ The Matrix Resurrections .” Marvel debuted its first lead Asian superhero in “ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings,” Vin Diesel revved up the box office with a ninth “ Fast and Furious ” and Scarlett Johansson reprised her “Avengers” role in “Black Widow,” then sued Disney. And amid all that, some really great works rose above the rest in 2021. Here are the year’s best films, ranked (and where you can watch them): When Paul Thomas Anderson makes an awards season film, one expects the likes of, say, “There Will Be Blood.” So this excellent coming-of-age film set in 1970s San Fernando Valley is unexpected, but also a fun and scrappy delight that introduces two fantastic young leads. Come for Cooper Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) as an entrepreneurial teenage actor and Alana Haim (of the band Haim) as his quick-witted 25-year-old crush, but definitely stay for Bradley Cooper hijacking the movie as Barbra Streisand’s outrageous producer boyfriend. Just when you think superhero epics can’t get bigger than „Avengers: Endgame,“ here comes the most Spider-Man movie ever. Tom Holland ’s teenage hero weathers magical spells and multiverse high jinks with a raft of old supervillains (welcome back, Willem Dafoe!) but also some surprise returning heroes fans probably never thought they’d see again. Where „No Way Home“ differentiates itself from other blockbusters, however, is in its moral center, as a movie ultimately about the importance of second chances and a thoughtful reminder that „with great power comes great responsibility.
