2021. Another year down, COVID is still raging, and things are looking pretty grim for movie theaters out there. The pandemic has transformed the cinematic landscape into a tempest of uncertainty, with only the most gargantuan of tentpoles being sure things at the box office. But just because profitability is scarce doesn’t mean movies are dead. Just to name a few gems, this year saw lush Arthurian legend come to life, a new freewheeling Paul Thomas Anderson flick, Ridley Scott in his element, fresh bloodcurdling horrors, and another jaunt into the Matrix. Movies have still got it. Here’s my list of the best movies of 2021.

Kristen Stewart - in a wrenching, career-best performance - disappears into the role of Diana, Princess of Wales in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, a haunting gauntlet of psychological horror in the guise of a biopic. Forgoing historical specificity in favor of evocation and the hazy purgatory between dream and nightmare, Spencer rebukes the royal mythos with a portrait of an unraveling spirit. Minor spoilers ahead…

Another entry in this year’s Midnight Madness slate, Congolese filmmaker Jean Luc Herbulot’s Saloum is a confident genre mashup. Part Spaghetti Western, part crime thriller, part folk horror, the film packs a potent cocktail of tones within its brisk 84-minute runtime. With tinges of Robert Rodriguez and John Carpenter, coupled with a crackling performance from Yann Gael, Saloum is a lean, breakneck journey into the terrifying unknown and the wildest surprise at TIFF this year. Minor spoilers ahead…

Nerds of fantasy and Arthurian lore rejoice, David Lowery’s latest film is a sumptuous translation of the anonymous Pearl Poet’s chivalric romance into visual splendor. A medieval epic unlike any other, The Green Knight grapples with the tensions between Christian honor and primordial pagan magic amidst a hero’s journey. Deliberate, visceral, and cerebral, the film rises above its sword and sorcery as true poetry in motion. Minor spoilers ahead…

Gateway horror icon R.L. Stine’s marginally graduated Goosebumps predecessor is brought to bloody life in Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy. A series of three films -1994, 1978, and 1666 - Fear Street pulls an uneven potpourri of influences together with a familiar aesthetic, but the whole ends up being a surprisingly potent tapestry of terror, perfect for gorehounds and horror neophytes alike. Minor spoilers ahead…

Rosamund Pike shines in J Blakeson’s pitch-black neo-noir, I Care a Lot. Biting, cynical, and featuring a welcome return of the villain protagonist, the film finds exhilaration through wickedness and hairpin turns, even if its messaging remains muddled. I Care a Lot balances on the knife’s edge - not always successfully - with its unrepentant characters, but through slick construction and a bevy of crackling performances, it’s remarkably efficient at finding glee in moral vacuum. Minor spoilers ahead…

2020 has undoubtedly been the dumpster fire to end all dumpster fires, but its cinema was as strong as ever. With almost everyone stuck inside, we consumed more media, content, and streaming entertainment than ever before. But even with theaters on the brink, it didn’t mean that we suffered from a lack of new movies; in fact, with a dearth big-budget blockbusters, 2020 was the year for arthouse films and indies to shine. This year was also a milestone for Strange Harbors, as I was able to (virtually) attend three film festivals as accredited press - an immense opportunity that allowed me to see a large number of the films listed below. We’re all eager to move on to 2021, but before we do, let’s take one last look at the best movies that shaped the last 365 days. Minor spoilers ahead…

Playing a thrash drummer grappling with rapid onset hearing loss, Riz Ahmed gives the performance of his career in Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal. With its thoughtful examination of the deaf community and its gripping soundscapes, the film breathes new life into a conventional narrative, delivering a remarkably sensitive cinematic experience. There’s surprising tenderness afoot within Sound of Metal’s emotional tempest, and it makes for one of the best films of the year. Minor spoilers…

Expanded from director Rob Savage’s two-minute viral video on Twitter, Host is a bite-sized horror treat that comes at the perfect time. While it doesn’t reinvent horror or even the “screenlife” subgenre, Host gets by with a bevy of unsettling, clever, and economical choices, all within the space of a single Zoom call. The film is now streaming on Shudder. Minor spoilers ahead…

After a brief dabble in documentaries, director Judd Apatow returns to the world of narrative features with The King of Staten Island, his first since 2015’s Trainwreck. Closely following the Apatow playbook, the film looks to imbue yet another funnyperson with a dose of heart through ribald humor. A loosely autobiographical vehicle for its star Pete Davidson, The King of Staten Island has a surprising charm to it, but its uneven pacing and bloated running time hobble its good intentions. Minor spoilers ahead…

Last month, I was lucky enough to catch I Will Make You Mine, Lynn Chen’s directorial debut that was supposed to premiere at SXSW in March, a film festival that has since been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A rhythmic and bittersweet end-cap to a low-key film trilogy, I Will Make You Mine is a confident debut that not only adds texture to the saga of the Surrogate Valentine films before it, but also stands alone as an indie gem, applying a refreshing lens to existing characters. Minor spoilers ahead…

Introducing a new Strange Harbors column: Capsule Reviews. I watch a lot of TV and movies, but my obsession with writing in-depth reviews and articles often gets in the way of wider and more frequent coverage. This new column will be a way to remedy that, allowing me to write shorter and more digestible reviews, reserved primarily for when I don’t have a full review’s worth of thoughts to share about a particular film. Here’s what I’ve been watching lately…

As we practice social distancing and quarantine during this new age of COVID-19, there’s only so much to do when stuck at home. Luckily, for all the cinephiles and TV buffs out there protecting themselves from coronavirus, we have our streaming services to keep us company. Today, at Strange Harbors, I’ll be recommending some of my personal favorites across all platforms that you can stream while self-isolating. Without further ado, here’s the official Strange Harbors quarantine streaming guide…

A breathtaking technical marvel, Sam Mendes’ 1917 is a single-shot journey through the horrors of World War I. Aided by the sweeping camerawork of cinematographer Roger Deakins, the film is an astonishing piece of storytelling, if a little emotionally frigid. But even with its remoteness, George Mackay and Dean-Charles Chapman put forth tremendous physical performances that make the film a sight to behold. Minor spoilers ahead…

Introducing The Strange Harbors Podcast, a weekly discussion of film and television. With the future of HBO’s Watchmen in a state of uncertainty, we’ve decided to pivot to a more general discussion of cinema and pop culture. Join me, Derek Wong, and new host Amir Touray every week as we dive deep into big blockbusters, indie favorites, and under-seen hidden gems. Hopefully, the same insight and analysis we brought to Watchmen will translate over to your favorite films and television shows.

Netflix, in an unprecedented move, dropped an entire feature-length film onto unsuspecting audiences right after the Super Bowl last night. The third film in the Cloverfield franchise developed by J.J. Abrams, The Cloverfield Paradox is a new sci-fi film that attempts to tackle parallel universes, space adventure, and giant monsters...and fails miserably. Uninspired, lazy, and mostly just nonsensical, The Cloverfield Paradox is a waste of a perfectly executed marketing stunt. Mild spoilers ahead...