by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

When asked to do a Top 10 for 2021, it is easy to gush about an obscure film that readers won’t likely see or bash a film that I hated. (And yes, I’ll do both here). But given that I’ve been writing for MovieJawn for a year now, I thought I would re-evaluate the highlights and lowlights of 2021. Looking back at the films I covered for the site, here are some of my favorites—and some things I hope to never see again.

Romance Back in January, I leaned into the fake-dating rom-com, Stars Fell on Alabama. Yes, it was corny and cheesy, but I also found it sweet and wholesome. The leads, James Maslow and Ciara Hanna were attractive and winsome. This film may have played things safe and inoffensive, but it managed to charm me. Moreover, it was better than the other romances I reviewed this year, Love Sarah, Long Weekend, and Hard Luck Love Song. 

Documentaries Summer of Soul, about the Harlem Music Festival, was easily one of the best films of the year, a vibrant performance film, full of amazing talent and rarely seen footage. But it had deep insights as well, both political—regarding how the Black community responded to the moon landing—as well as personal, as when Marilyn McCoo of the 5th Dimension movingly describes the importance of performing at the concert. Questlove organizes the film like a mixtape. He lets the film pulsate to its own rhythm, emphasizing the importance of music as a force to unite, incite, and inspire — and it does. 

Horror Violation, which premiered at Sundance before getting a release on Shudder, was an intense revenge-thriller that had a real sense of dread—especially during the film’s big set piece where Miriam (cowriter/codirector Madeleine Sims-Fewer) lures Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe) with the promise of sex. Plying him with alcohol, blindfolding him, stripping him naked, and then having her way with him, Miriam’s idea of getting it on involves cudgeling Dylan, not cuddling with him. This audacious, extended sequence gives both performers bravura moments. It is certainly one of the more memorable scenes of the year. In contrast, Rage, was an overlong and underwhelming thriller from Down Under, about a home invasion/assault and it was abysmal. 

Films about Colonization I was quite taken with the compelling Edge of the World, about Sir James Brooke (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) a British soldier and adventurer who travels to Sarawak, Borneo, and becomes involved in love, war, and colonization. A modest film, this diverting history featured passionate acting—Rhys Meyers gets to go a bit bonkers in the latter half, and there is a scene-stealing turn by Samo Rafael as Prince Bedruddin, who is in love with him—as well as some gorgeous cinematography. Director Michael Haussman creates a strong sense of time and place. Likewise, High Ground was a smart, sharp, and violent western about the tensions between an Aboriginal tribe and the white men who want to colonize them in early 20th century Australia. 

Best Performance In the flinty drama, The Card Counter, Oscar Isaac gave a mostly poker-faced performance as a man whose past and future dictate how he will behave in the present. Isaac gives a very internal turn, but his best scene unfolds in a diner where he performs a card trick while recounting a poker game he once saw. It is a hypnotic moment, and he is no less mesmeric as when he launches into a story from his past. Isaac is aces. 

Best Debut Luzzu, by writer/director Alex Camilleri was an auspicious first feature, an absorbing character study about Jesmark (Jesmark Scicluna, terrific in his screen debut) a fisherman facing tough times. This story, a nod to Italian neorealism, shows the lengths that Jesmark will go as he fights to maintain his dignity and loyalty to the old ways or fishing, and/or adapt to the rapidly-changing world and market demands. The film is immersive and features some real complex issues as Jesmark makes some questionable decisions as he struggles to survive. It’s fantastic.

Best Discovery Drunken Birds. I still can’t shake this film, which screened only at festivals. It unfolds like a puzzle as Willy (Jorge Antonio Guerrero, of Roma) tries to find Marlena (Yoshira Escárrega), the girlfriend of a Mexican cartel kingpin, whom he loves. The film travels to Canada, and to a farm where Willy works as a migrant worker. It also features an intriguing subplot involving Léa (Marine Johnson), a teenager on the farm who has an encounter with Willy. It is best to see how things connect, but Drunken Birds is both visually stunning and emotionally powerful. May it get distribution in 2022.

Worst Movie(s) of the Year. I reviewed some really awful films this year. The Birthday Cake, wasted a great cast—Ewan McGregor, Lorraine Bracco, Val Kilmer, Emory Cohen, Shiloh Fernandez, Paul Sorvino, Luis Guzman, William Fichtner, and Aldis Hodge!—on a lame Italian mob drama. Hollow Point, was a forgettable run-of-the-mill action/vigilante B-movie, and Collection, about the insidious business of debt collection, was as toxic as its characters. But none of these films were as bad or as pretentious and risible Wolf, which features a bunch of actors behaving like animals in a film about the perils of conversion therapy. It was wrongheaded, misguided, and truly insufferable.