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.

Jane Campion’s first film in over a decade, The Power of the Dog, is making waves at the New York Film Festival. A simmering domestic drama amidst the rolling mountains of cowboy country, Campion’s welcome return to cinema delivers poetry in motion and Benedict Cumberbatch’s career-best performance. Upending the rawhide masculinity of turn-of-the-century Montana, The Power of the Dog’s seeping venom sneaks up on you in an arresting slow burn. Minor spoilers ahead…