Happy New Year once again, Letterboxd! The lists are compiled, the votes are tallied, and we can sort of imagine what the Dissolve's year end list might look like. This year at the movies was interesting for me; I made it to the theater a whopping FIVE times! (6 if you add seeing Memoria in Chicago on January 2nd, which means that I managed to see 4 of the movies on this list on a big screen.) Part of that is covid, the rest of it is life and work and parenting. But with more movies debuting on streaming earlier, it's easier than ever to catch up on the best of the best, and that's what we have on this…
Happy New Year once again, Letterboxd! The lists are compiled, the votes are tallied, and we can sort of imagine what the Dissolve's year end list might look like. This year at the movies was interesting for me; I made it to the theater a whopping FIVE times! (6 if you add seeing Memoria in Chicago on January 2nd, which means that I managed to see 4 of the movies on this list on a big screen.) Part of that is covid, the rest of it is life and work and parenting. But with more movies debuting on streaming earlier, it's easier than ever to catch up on the best of the best, and that's what we have on this list.
Thank you as always to the writers for their insights, efforts, and perspectives, especially this year. Follow them on Twitter or wherever and subscribe to their work to show your appreciation. I can also strongly recommend supporting The Next Picture Show on Patreon and The Reveal, a Substack newsletter from Scott and Keith, featuring some fantastic post-Dissolve writing for fans of this thing I do.
And as always I recommend following all of the writers below wherever they are and also reading the people they recommend and follow. It's a great big world out there and there are so many vital and unique voices out there. Here's to another great year of movies!
Previous Lists: 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
Notes:
[1] Pig was #1 and it wasn't even close, thanks to its placement on almost everyone's top 10. It's a remarkable movie and even though no one had it as their personal best film of the year, it's clearly the consensus pick among this group.
[2] As always there are a few ties: #3 & 4; #10 & 11; and #13 & 14. How I chose to rank them is based on which film had the highest placement on an individual list.
[3] A special shout out to Matt Singer for single-handedly ensuring Barb & Star makes the top 10. (It's very good, by the way. Like Bridesmaids but even more absurd, somehow.)
Lists:
Charles Bramesco: AV Club
Mike D'Angelo: AV Club
David Ehrlich: Letterboxd | Video
Noel Murray: AV Club
Keith Phipps: The Reveal (subscribers only)
Tasha Robinson: The Next Picture Show podcast
Matt Singer: ScreenCrush
Scott Tobias: The Reveal (subscribers only)
Outliers:
Films that appeared on only one writer's top 10
About Endlessness
Bad Trip
The Card Counter
Dune
Encanto
Enemies of the State
French Exit
The Killing of Two Lovers
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Last Duel
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Nightmare Alley
Nine Days
No Sudden Move
Parallel Mothers
Passing
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Saint Maud
The Souvenir Part 2
Summer of Soul
Tik Tik Boom
The Viewing Booth
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
The Worst Person in the World
Zola