Episode 69: Highlights of 2021

Cinema in Context

Highs and lows of the year. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss their highlight films of 2021, including their biggest surprises, disappointments, wildcards, recommendations, runner-ups for the best film/television of the year and then each person's top pick. Here are the films discussed: • Biggest surprise: Werewolves Within [William]; Annette [Sarah]; and WandaVision [Jeremy] • Disappointment: Titane [Sarah & William]; Ted Lasso - Season 2 [William]; and No Time To Die [Jeremy] • Wildcard: Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar [Jeremy]; Slamilton [William]; and Class Action Park [Sarah]. • Recommendations: Reservation Dogs [William]; The Leftovers (2014-2017) & The White Lotus [Jeremy]; and Lapsis (2020) [Sarah]. • Runner-up films for the top spot: F9: The Fast Saga, Last Night In Soho, The Green Knight, VHS: 1994, The Suicide Squad & Pig [William]; Collective & Coming Home In the Dark [Sarah]; and In the Heights [Jeremy]. • Film/television series of the year: The Father [Sarah]; Arcane [William]; and Dune [Jeremy]. We had not consensus around our picks this year, so there is no overall Cinema in Context film of the year. We also talked about and mentioned these films throughout the episode: The Thing (1986), Hateful Eight (2015), Clue (1985), Raw (2016), Donnie Darko (2001), Southland Tales (2006), Drive (2011), Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021), Game of Thrones (2011-2019), Rick and Morty (2013-), Casablanca (1942), A Clockwork Orange (1971), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962), Space Jam (1996), 21 Jump Street (2012), 22 Jump Street (2014), Men In Black (1997), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Peacemaker (1997), The Last Duel (2021), The French Dispatch (2021), The Little Mermaid (1989), Toy Story (1995), Paperman (2012), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), Resident Evil (2002), Super Mario Bros. (1993), Apocalypse Now (1979), House of Gucci (2021), All The Money In The World (2017), Hannibal (2001), The Matrix: Resurrections (2021), The Batman (2022), The Power of Dog (2021), Encanto (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), West Side Story (2021), The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) and Othello (1951).