I had intended to finish this list by the end of 2021 -- in fact, I had intended to be caught up with all the new films by the end of 2021 – but I ultimately had to stay home for nearly a week after Christmas for reasons which you can probably guess, and I only caught up with the last of the new films a few days ago.
Predictions are in boldface, followed by those which I personally would nominate in italics. As with previous years' lists, for several categories I have NOT provided my own nominations, since frankly I know jack about costumes, sound and so forth, though more and more I try to pay attention to sound in particular. Films that I have listed as my own personal nominations yet which will definitely not be nominated -- either because they are ultimately ineligible in those categories or simply not shortlisted -- are marked with an asterisk.
PICTURE
BEING THE RICARDOS
BELFAST
CODA
CYRANO
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
KING RICHARD
LICORICE PIZZA
THE POWER OF THE DOG
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
WEST SIDE STORY
FLEE
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
THE GREEN KNIGHT
LICORICE PIZZA
NO SUDDEN MOVE
PARALLEL MOTHERS
PASSING
THE POWER OF THE DOG
RIDERS OF JUSTICE
ACTOR
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH – The Power of the Dog
PETER DINKLAGE – Cyrano
ANDREW GARFIELD – Tick Tick…Boom!
WILL SMITH – King Richard
DENZEL WASHINGTON – The Tragedy of Macbeth
DON CHEADLE – No Sudden Move
CLIFTON COLLINS JR. – Jockey
TIM BLAKE NELSON – Old Henry
JOAQUIN PHOENIX – C’mon C’mon
DENZEL WASHINGTON – The Tragedy of Macbeth
ACTRESS
OLIVIA COLMAN – The Lost Daughter
NICOLE KIDMAN – Being the Ricardos
LADY GAGA – House of Gucci
FRANCES MCDORMAND – The Tragedy of Macbeth
KRISTEN STEWART – Spencer
JESSICA CHASTAIN – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
OLIVIA COLMAN – The Lost Daughter
RUTH NEGGA – Passing
MOLLY PARKER – Jockey
TESSA THOMPSON – Passing
SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEN AFFLECK – The Tender Bar
CIARAN HINDS – Belfast
JARED LETO – House of Gucci
TROY KOTSUR – CODA
KODI SMIT-McPHEE – The Power of the Dog
CIARAN HINDS – Belfast
TONY LEUNG – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
J.K. SIMMONS – Being the Ricardos
KODI SMIT-McPHEE – The Power of the Dog
JEFFREY WRIGHT – The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
SUPORTING ACTRESS
CAITRIONA BALFE – Belfast
JUDI DENCH – Belfast
KIRSTEN DUNST – The Power of the Dog
MARLEE MATLIN – CODA
RITA MORENO – West Side Story
NINA ARIANDA – Being the Ricardos
AUNJANUE ELLIS – King Richard
GABY HOFFMAN – C’mon C’mon
KATHRYN HUNTER – The Tragedy of Macbeth
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING – Benedetta
DIRECTING
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON – Licorice Pizza
WES ANDERSON – The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
KENNETH BRANAGH – Belfast
JANE CAMPION – The Power of the Dog
STEVEN SPIELBERG – West Side Story
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON – Licorice Pizza
WES ANDERSON – The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
JANE CAMPION – The Power of the Dog
JOEL COEN – The Tragedy of Macbeth
DAVID LOWERY – The Green Knight
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEING THE RICARDOS
BELFAST
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
THE HERO
LICORICE PIZZA
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
LICORICE PIZZA
NO SUDDEN MOVE
RIDERS OF JUSTICE
TOGETHER TOGETHER
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA
THE LOST DAUGHTER
THE POWER OF THE DOG
THE TENDER BAR
WEST SIDE STORY
I’M YOUR MAN
THE LOST DAUGHTER
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
PASSING
THE POWER OF THE DOG
CINEMATOGRAPHY
BELFAST
DUNE
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE POWER OF THE DOG
WEST SIDE STORY
C’MON C’MON
DUNE
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
LICORICE PIZZA
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
PRODUCTION DESIGN
BELFAST
DUNE
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE POWER OF THE DOG
DUNE
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
LICORICE PIZZA
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
FILM EDITING
DON’T LOOK UP
DUNE
KING RICHARD
THE POWER OF THE DOG
WEST SIDE STORY
DUNE
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
LICORICE PIZZA
THE POWER OF THE DOG
SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
COSTUME DESIGN
CRUELLA
CYRANO
DUNE
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN
HOUSE OF GUCCI
SOUND
DUNE
NO TIME TO DIE
THE POWER OF THE DOG
A QUIET PLACE PART II
WEST SIDE STORY
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN - Alexandre Desplat
THE POWER OF THE DOG - Jonny Greenwood
SPENCER - Jonny Greenwood
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING SUN – Alexandre Desplat
NIGHTMARE ALLEY – Nathan Johnson*
NO SUDDEN MOVE - David Holmes*
THE POWER OF THE DOG – Jonny Greenwood
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
"THE ANONYMOUS ONES" - Dear Evan Hansen
"BE ALIVE" - King Richard
"BEYOND THE SHORE" - CODA
“BEYOND THE SHORE” – CODA
“A LITTLE CLOSER” – Dear Evan Hansen*
“THIS WAS ME” – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie*
VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE
GODZILLA VS. KONG
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
DUNE
FINCH*
GODZILLA VS KONG
REMINISCENCE*
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLYING
COMING 2 AMERICA
CRUELLA
CYRANO
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
HOUSE OF GUCCI
DUNE
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
HOUSE OF GUCCI
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
THE SUICIDE SQUAD
ANIMATED FEATURE
ENCANTO
FLEE
LUCA
THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
I think I may have seen barely more than five new animated features in 2021 (and I missed Luca, as its one-week theatrical run in Los Angeles coincided with my first week way from town since the pandemic began), so I won’t bother to give my own choices for this category. I don't want to be like the Tony Awards, who at least one year gave an award for basically Only New Musical.
And, as always, here are my nominations for a category which doesn't actually exist but damn it, it ought to:
TITLE DESIGN
CANDYMAN
NO TIME TO DIE
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
WEST SIDE STORY
MY FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2021
BLACK WIDOW
DUNE
THE FRENCH DISPATCH OF THE LIBERTY, KANSAS EVENING POST
GODZILLA VS. KONG
LICORICE PIZZA
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
NO SUDDEN MOVE
NO TIME TO DIE
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
THE SUICIDE SQUAD
MY LEAST FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2021
I disliked few of these films enough to call them the “worst” of the year (though I kind of hated Halloween Kills, and The King’s Man’s mix of cartoonishness and historical earnestness is utterly baffling to me), but these were the ten which I found the most irritating or unsatisfying.
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT
DEMONIC
DON’T LOOK UP
HALLOWEEN KILLS
THE KING’S MAN
MALIGNANT
THE MISFITS
SING 2
SPENCER
WOLF
MY FAVORITE THINGS FROM THE MOVIES OF 2021
The big spoiler surprise(s) of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which I won’t go into here for obvious reasons. I’m way more of a 007 geek than I am an MCU fan, but I thought this film earned the emotions it was trying for way way more than No Time to Die did.
The black-and-white cinematography of C’mon C’mon (Robbie Ryan) and The Tragedy of Macbeth (Bruno Delbonnel)
The cinematography (Dan Laustsen) and production design (Tamara Deverell) of Nightmare Alley, probably the most beautiful looking color film of the year.
Don’t Look Up largely annoyed me or left me cold (and it was way too long, and I've come to despise Adam McKay's shooting and editing style. He's definitely a filmmaker where I prefer "the early, funny films," to quote Stardust Memories), but the running joke about Jennifer Lawrence’s character, the general played by Paul Guilfoyle, and the White House snacks cracked me up every single time, and I saw the film twice (don’t ask why).
Florence Pugh in Black Widow, especially when she’s making fun of the title character.
J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda as William Frawley and Vivian Vance in Being the Ricardos. Kidman and Bardem were fine, but I could have watched a whole other film about Frawley and Vance, and overall the film was cast with typical excellence by Francine Maisler (Moneyball).
Last Night in Soho was a frustratingly uneven movie, but I will always appreciate the chance it gave me to see the peerless Diana Rigg in one final movie role.
The opening title sequence of No Time to Die, by 007 perennial Daniel Kleinman. Not even among his best work, but I knew going in that it would be my favorite part of the film, and it was.
Pretty much everything about Licorice Pizza. I don’t know if it’s just pandemic-related deprivation, but it felt like the best new movie I had seen in years. Since it probably was.
Honestly, I don’t know if there was anything I saw in movie theaters in 2021 that was quite as satisfying as just being able to go back into movie theaters on May 1st (for Godzilla vs. Kong, Nobody and Raya and the Last Dragon) after having received my second vaccine shot, for the first time since theaters had closed down on March 16, 2020. Okay, maybe Licorice Pizza (in 70mm, at the Village Theater in Westwood) was even more satisfying.
MY TEN FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK RELEASES OF 2021
MASADA [Intrada Special Collection]
SHAMUS [Intrada Special Collection]
THE BEST SCORES OF 2021 COMMERCIALLY UNRELEASED ON CD
BENEDETTA – Anne Dudley
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE – Theodore Shapiro
THE GREEN KNIGHT – Daniel Hart
JULIA – Rachel Portman
THE LAST DUEL – Harry Gregson-Williams
NIGHTMARE ALLEY – Nathan Johnson
NO SUDDEN MOVE – David Holmes
THE POWER OF THE DOG – Jonny Greenwood
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS – Joel P. West
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH – Carter Burwell
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