Hey guys! Merry Christmas Eve! I am so excited to share my favorite movies I watched in 2021. I have watched some good movies this year. It’s funny one of the movies on this list I just went to go see yesterday. I still have some movies I want to see this year. I don’t know if I’m going to have time to watch them. I doubt it. I haven’t been watching movies too much lately. I wanted to get 100 again like last year but I did make it to 60. So that is really good. Let’s dive in to see what my favorites were.
Another Round Directed By Thomas Vinterberg
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 1 hour 57 mins
Released: December 18th 2020
Rating: Not Rated
Plot: Four high school teachers consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives.
My Thoughts: This movie was intense. It was such a wild story. I don’t want to say much about it but it got emotional. I definitely wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I know they are remaking this movie and I’m not excited for it. I don’t think the American remake is going to be as good. I feel that is how it always goes. Plus Mads does such a fantastic job in this role. I’ve really become such a Mads fan over the past couple of years. I’m excited to watch more of his movies. I highly recommend watching this version of the movie. You won’t be disappointed.
Silent Movie Directed By Mel Brooks
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 1 hour 27 mins
Released: June 16th 1976
Rating: N/A
Plot: A film director and his strange friends struggle to produce the first major silent feature film in forty years.
My Thoughts: I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie. I ended up enjoying it so much. I found it hilarious. It was so fun to watch. I’m not very familiar with Mel Brooks. I have watched Space Balls and that’s it. I wanted to put Blazing Saddles on this list but I can’t remember it. I do remember this one a bit more. I remember both being hilarious. I wish I could say more but my brain is blanking.
The Guard Directed By John Michael McDonagh
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Runtime: 1 hour 36 mins
Released: July 7th 2011
Rating: R
Plot: A film director and his strange friends struggle to produce the first major silent featurAn unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is partnered with an up-tight F.B.I. agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.
My Thoughts: This was a dark comedy. I thought Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle worked so well together. Brendan Gleeson’s character wants nothing to do with what’s been going on. He wants to just live his normal life. While Don Cheadle’s character disturbs that. It got a little crazy at the end but I still found this to be such a good movie.
Reno 911! Miami Directed By Robert Ben Garant
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Runtime: 1 hour 36 mins
Released: February 23rd 2021
Rating: R
Plot: A rag-tag team of Reno cops are called in to save the day after a terrorist attack disrupts a national police convention in Miami Beach during spring break. Based on the Comedy Central series.
My Thoughts: I’ve watched Reno 911! here and there. I thought the show was hilarious. My boyfriend was a pretty big fan of the show. So we decided to watch this movie. Basically just think of the ridiculous of the show just longer. Plus there is a cameo from my boy Paul Rudd. I didn’t know he was in this movie and his scenes had me dying. It was a very non Paul Rudd character which added to the experience.
Nobody Directed By Ilya Naishuller
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Runtime: 1 hour 32 mins
Released: March 26th 2021
Rating: R
Plot: A docile family man slowly reveals his true character after his house gets burgled by two petty thieves, which, coincidentally, leads him going to a bloody war with a Russian crime boss.
My Thoughts: I am a huge Bob Odenkirk fan from watching Breaking Bad. So when I saw he was going to be in the new Ilya Naishuller movie I was hyped. Hardcore Henry was one of my favorites of last year. So I couldn’t wait to see what Ilya does next. He did not disappoint. I thought Bob Odenkirk did a great job. He was perfectly casted. It was such a fun action packed movie. Plus it’s written by the guy that wrote John Wick so that should also be a selling point to watch this movie.
Goodfellas Directed By Martin Scorsese
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Runtime: 2 hours 26 mins
Released: September 21st 1990
Rating: R
Plot: A docile family man slowly revealThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mob, covering his relationship with his wife Karen Hill and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito in the Italian-American crime syndicate.
My Thoughts: I have always heard great things about this movie. I finally decided to watch it and boy it doesn’t disappoint. The acting was incredible. There was so much drama. Scorsese does it again. I definitely need to watch more of his films. I saw Taxi Driver this year but wasn’t a big fan of it. This one I ended up really enjoying. I still can’t believe it’s based off a real story. It’s also wild to me that the guy didn’t get killed. If you’re into gangster crime this is a must see.
Riders of Justice Directed By Anders Thomas Jensen
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 1 hour 56 mins
Released: May 21 2021
Rating: Not Rated
Plot: Markus goes home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde, when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. It seems like an accident until a mathematics geek, who was also a fellow passenger on the train, and his two colleagues show up.
My Thoughts: I feel like this may be the year of Mads for me. This is the second movie he appeared in on my list. There is one more movie with him that I plan to talk about. I feel this movie was just all the things. There is action, revenge, comedy, and drama. I feel there was a lot going on but I did end up really liking it a lot. I do like these movies where you get a group of people who have all these different skill sets come in and fuck things up. I was never bored by this movie and at times it made me a bit emotional. Overall I found it fun and would watch again.
Men & Chicken Directed By Andres Thomas Jensen
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Sci-fi
Runtime: 1 hour 44 mins
Released: February 5th 2015
Rating: Not Rated
Plot: Two outcast brothers, through getting to know their unknown family, discover a horrible truth about themselves and their relatives.
My Thoughts: Okay this by far was the weirdest movie I watched all year. I didn’t realize that going into it. I just remember looking up the director who did Riders of Justice. I saw he likes to work with the same actors a lot which I love. I saw this was a dark comedy so I told my boyfriend about it. Boy were we in for a weird experience. This movie was hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing but wow was it strange as hell. I don’t want to say anything incase you decide to watch it. I honestly don’t really know how I’d describe it. I want to tell people to watch this but then I feel they’d look at me differently unless they also enjoy it. I do want to watch more from this director.
Free Guy Directed By Shawn Levy
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-fi
Runtime: 1 hour 55 mins
Released: August 13th 2021
Rating: PG-13
Plot: A bank teller discovers that he’s actually an NPC inside a brutal, open world video game.
My Thoughts: I had been waiting for this movie to release. I was so happy when it finally came out. I ended up enjoying it a lot. It was very action-packed and overall pretty funny. It reminded me a little bit of The Lego Movie. Guy had an Emmet vibe to him. Plus I just thought the video game aspect was so cool. It was fun seeing the characters in the game and also seeing people play it. It also had some fun cameos from people who I didn’t know were in this movie. So that was a nice surprise. This was worth the wait.
Nightmare Alley Directed By Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Runtime: 2 hour 30 mins
Released: December 17th 2021
Rating: R
Plot: An ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is.
My Thoughts: This is probably my favorite movie of 2021. I really enjoyed it a lot. It had such a great cast. It was done so well. Plus I always say I love things that take place in a carnival. The first part of the story takes place in a carnival. It’s a very dark movie. I never found myself bored. It was such a wild ride. I feel it was a slow burn. I really need to watch more of Guillermo del Toro’s movies. If you’re into that dark movie vibe I think you really like this. The story is very well done. I also found out this was a book which I had no idea. I might end up checking it out.
There are my favorites of 2021. I do want to mention Blazing Saddles and The French Dispatch. Those were two other movies I really ended up enjoying but didn’t end up putting on my favorite list. I am a little bummed because I was supposed to see the new Spider-man movie. However things didn’t end up working out and I wasn’t able to. I am planning to see after the new year so can’t wait for that! I have been hearing so many good news about it. I can’t wait!
What are some of your favorite movies you watched in 2021?
Bookish In Bed 