Another year has come and gone in the history of cinema, now approaching its 130th anniversary.
This was a great year for movies, perhaps the best since the lockdowns of 2020. Here are my picks for the ten best films of the year:
1. The Wild Robot – This is not only the best film of the year, but the best film to come out of Dreamworks Animation since its inception a quarter century ago. It has humor, heart, a gorgeous design, and a potent pro-life message about the dignity of all beings. Rozzum’s character development from mindless drone to caring mother is the best arc of the year.
2. Orion and the Dark – A close second is Charlie Kaufman’s brilliant animated movie about a child confronting his fear of the dark (also from Dreamworks). In classic Kaufman style, there are fun time jumps and a beautiful new lore about the night time.
3. Sing Sing – This is the best film I’ve seen to portray day-to-day life in a prison. Divine is a long-time prisoner who leads a troupe of actors in a yearly play to make life a little more meaningful. Based on a real group called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), it is a beautiful story of survival and redemption.
4. Thelma – This movie was just so, so funny. Ninety-year Jane Squibb gives the performance of the year as a senior citizen cheated out of ten thousand dollars who goes looking for the scammer. Think Ocean’s Eleven on a motorized scooter.
5. Dune, Part II – This is the great epic movie of the year. It brilliantly envelopes the audience is a brand new world. The story is rich and compelling, borrowing much from Christian and Muslim theology.
6. We Grown Now – Childhood is always rough but especially when you grow up in the North side Chicago project. Nonetheless, friends Malik and Eric form a bond and help one another grow through poverty, sadness, and joy.
7. The Forge – Our culture is having a crisis of masculinity, and The Forge offers a potent solution. A man is someone who sacrifices his own desires for his family and the Kingdom. It is a difficult task, but we don’t have to do it alone.
8. Am I Racist? – Matt Walsh’s sophomore effort into the documentary world confronts the DEI philosophy with Borat style bravado, going undercover as a “certified expert” in the field. It is profound, cringy, and–most importantly–hilarious.
9. Exhibiting Forgiveness – Fred Rogers said, “it’s the people you love the most who can make your feel maddest.” Tarrel seems to have life figured out until his deadbeat dad suddenly comes returns, seeking pardon for his past. Tarrel is sent on a spiritual and emotional rollercoaster, wondering if he should or even can forgive his fathers for decades of neglect and abuse.
10. January 6th: The Most Deadliest Day – This is a hilarious, Spinal Tap style mockumentary about the Capitol riots on January 6th, 2021. Filled with strange interviews, sly commentary, and constant gags, the film is political comedy at its finest.
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I am thrilled to say that I attended none of the aforementioned films. In a very rare instance do I attend any film and it would have to be a blockbuster according to reputable Christian reviewers. Our secular culture is severely broken so attending films that are emblematic of that culture makes no sense. In case no one has noticed, Hollywood is represented by some of the more despicable actors in our culture.
Thanks for this rundown. You may actually make me consider going to the movies again.
I’ve never heard of any of these movies. But I don’t watch movies, other than the Christmas movies that I’ve watched for years (various Christmas Carol adaptations, Polar Express, Ernest Saves Christmas, Home Alone, etc.), and the occasional old horror movie classic on “Svengoolie”. I don’t like the genre of “movies”–it’s hard for me to connect the 60-90 scenes that make up a movie. Not sure why. I do love books.
I only saw one phrase in the leader for your article and scrolled to comment. “Lockdowns of 2020”. As misguided and dictatorial the governments handling of COVID, through outright lies and DR Fauci leading a reign of his personal phobia and covering his part in the virus development, we as a people were never “locked Down”. We were locked out of jobs, churches, schools, and businesses. Our parents were locked away in government control nursing homes. You lose so much credibility when you use the defeatist language of those who believed our government. My church, the Catholic Church with a rich history of worshiping under tortuous conditions, collapsed like a sand castle. Locked the doors and went on line to hide until the all clear was called.
Get over yourself. 🙄
Nagnar. Dr. Fauci? A world renowned dedicated immunologist.
“misguided and dictatorial the governments handling of COVID, through outright lies and DR Fauci”. And, Dr. Vouci? Explain further.
You must have seen the delays from holding the discovery of the vaccine for COVID, and the “just use a household cleaner and it is gone”.
I agree there were many serious flaws in the quest to solve the pandemic. I also believe that “Warp Speed” helped.
You are out of your depth, morganD. Badly so.
Thanks, Carl. But you remain vague in your responses. How “deep” do you suspect?
Who cares about (stupid) movies!
Aren’t we entertained watching our world collapse?!
I’ll have to check out the Babylon Bee satire about January 6th. Thank you for the reminder.
Deacon above – Agreed that most of what comes out of Hollywood is corrosive crap. But recently I’ve seen two movies, Ghostlight and Central Station (not new), that give me a glimmer of hope.
It may not be the best idea to always keep your mind hermetically sealed. Just sayin’.
Keys to the City with Isaiah Washington, this movie is a depiction of East Coast city politics focusing on ambition and obsession. I saw this some years ago, around the time of emerging COVID scare. I thought it could be realistic and that the dramatization was a good effort. When you read up on the actual politics in Atlanta and Baltimore you get a sense of how fiercely the party battle-lines engage each other. It feeds into the voting problems and electoral challenges.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8216656/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-I5atb71kQ