By Dan Skip Allen

My Honorable Mentions In No Particular Order: Nickel Boys, Tuesday, The Piano Lesson, Jim Henson: Idea Man, Seed of the Sacred Fig,  All We Imagine As Light, September 5, Furiosa: A Mad Max Story, Will & Harper, Maria,

10: A Complete Unknown

In the early 1960s, 19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in New York with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. Forming his most intimate relationships during his rise to fame, he grows restless with the folk movement, making a controversial choice that reverberates worldwide.

I’m a super big fan of musical biopics,  so I’m hard on them when they’re not good. I’m also very supportive of them when they are done right such as A Complete Unknown. Timothee Chalamet is transcendent as Bob Dylan. Especially when he’s singing, and playing the guitar/harmonica. If you close your eyes and you didn’t know it was him singing and playing the instruments you would think it was Dylan. James Mangold brought the 1960s to life on screen exceptionally well. The cinematography, production design, costumes, and sound were all fantastic. The supporting cast from Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, to Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash as well as the two women who play Dylan’s love interests Elle Fanning and Monica Barbaro as Joan Biaz were terrific. Great supporting cast! This is one of the best musical biopics I’ve seen in years.

Director: James Mangold

7.8/IMDB 74% Rotten Tomatoes

9: I Saw The TV Glow

A classmate introduces teenage Owen to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

As a fan of 80s television, I Saw The TV Glow gave me the vibes of some of my favorite shows from that era. Specifically Star Trek: The Next Generation. The entire vibe of the film from the production design, clothes makeup, and hairstyling was right out of that decade. Both Justice Smith and Bridgette Lundy-Paine are both fantastic and Jane Schoenbrun gave me a Poltergeist mixed with 80s nostalgia take on the horror/fantasy genres. I was completely transfixed by this movie.

Director: Jane Shoenbrun

84%Rotten Tomatoes 86% Metacritic

8:Monkey Man

A young man ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he’s beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, he discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Ever since I saw Slumdog Millionaire I’ve been a fan of Dev Patel. His career has had a lot of twists and turns since then, but Monkey Man is the best one since Slumdog Millionaire. Bollywood films have a certain quality that other films don’t have regarding music and dance sequences, but Patel as the director, gave this action revenge thriller some new energy. It’s a balls to the wall non-stop action fight scene from beginning to end. It was very bloody and the fight scenes were very kinetic and filled with incredible sequences. I loved every minute of it. This was one of the best action films I’ve seen all year. All because of Patel’s vision.

Director: Dev Patel

89% Rotten Tomatoes 3.7/5 Letterboxd

7: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Actor Christopher Reeve rises to stardom when he lands the role of Superman in the 1970s. When a horse-riding accident leaves him paralyzed in 1995, Reeve spends the rest of his life searching for a cure for spinal cord injuries.

As a kid, I was introduced to Superman The Movie at a very young age. The amazing score by John Williams and the portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman by Christopher Reeve had me very inspired. I loved the film so much and I even loved Superman 2 even more. Reeve became the definitive Clark Kent/Superman for me as a child. I was taken aback by the horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story dives into all of Reeve’s achievements and what happened after his tragic accident. I was emotionally glued to the screen learning about his relationship with Robin Williams and how his children have taken his foundation and used it to help many in need and to study spinal cord injuries. This man’s story shows that no matter how bad things can get you can find a way to make them better. He was an inspiration for millions. This documentary shows that very clearly.

Directors:  Ian Bonhote & Peter Ettedgui

8.1/10 IMDB 98% Rotten Tomatoes

6: Anora

Anora, a sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Sean Baker has been making films in his career about people who live and work on the fringes of society for years. Such as low-income hotels, transgender prostitutes, porn stars, and now exotic dancers.  Anora, his latest film is the most complete of his entire filmography though. He has a way of giving his characters a grounded feeling. With that having sad endings comes with the territory. Mikey Madison as the star of the film acts and sounds like a New York exotic dancer if I ever saw one. This is a breakout performance for her. The rest of the cast is fine as well, especially Karren Karagulian. Happiness isn’t guaranteed in life even when all the spoils and riches in the world are thrust on someone. Baker shows that very well here

Director: Sean Baker

8.1/10 IMDB 95% Rotten Tomatoes

5: The Wild Robot

Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a robot named Roz must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling.

A robot getting stranded on an island in the Pacific Northwest who ends up caring for a baby gosling,, goose, doesn’t sound like much of a story, but it’s one of the best films of the year. The paintbrush-style animation similar to Puss and Boots: The Last Wish is absolutely gorgeous to behold. The maternal instincts and nature over nurture story is fantastic.  The voice-over work from Lupita Nyong’o,  Pedro Pascal, and many others is terrific. The music by Chris Bowers fits perfectly into this film. The Wild Robot gave me chills regarding how incredible it was to watch and listen to. This is a perfect film, besides the animation which notwithstanding is phenomenal. It has great messages as well.

Director: Chris Sanders

8.3/10 IMDB 97% Rotten Tomatoes

4:Nosferatu

In the 1830s, estate agent Thomas Hutter travels to Transylvania for a fateful meeting with Count Orlok, a prospective client. In his absence, Hutter’s new bride, Ellen, is left under the care of their friends, Friedrich and Anna Harding. Plagued by horrific visions and an increasing sense of dread, Ellen soon encounters an evil force that’s far beyond her control.

As a fan of the original one-hundred-year-old SW Murnau Film, I was quite skeptical that Robert Eggers could achieve what he was going for in the remake. He exceeded my expectations. This Dark Gothic love story was right up my alley. The performances across the board, especially Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgard are phenomenal. Willem Dafoe is pretty funny in a strange way. The crafts of the movie are what truly blew me away though. The cinematography, makeup and hairstyling, sound, and production design are all suburb. This is one of my favorite films of the year because it’s a take on this classic story I’ve never seen before. Eggers is four for four with me.

Director: Robert Eggers

95% Rotten Tomatoes

3:Dune Part 2

Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

My favorite film from 2021 was Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve which is based on the Frank Herbert sci-fi novel from the 1960s. It had everything I was looking for in an adaptation of this classic celebrated novel. It won 6 Academy Awards as well. The second part which came out this year had big shoes to fill. It once again proved to me that Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today. He captured everything he did with the first film and topped it with Dune Pt 2. The craftsmanship from the cinematography by Greg Fraser to the score by Hans Zimmer and everything else in between was incredibly well done from top to bottom. This is the conclusion of this story I so desperately wanted and needed. This is a great achievement in filmmaking no matter how you measure it.

Director: Denis Villeneuve

8.5/10 IMDB 92% Rotten Tomatoes

2:Conclave

Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events — participating in the selection of a new pope. Surrounded by powerful religious leaders in the halls of the Vatican, he soon uncovers a trail of deep secrets that could shake the very foundation of the Roman Catholic Church.

As a kid growing up in inner-city Lowell,  Massachusetts, I was exposed to the catholic religion quite a bit. I grew away from it as a teenager. Conclave brought back a lot of those memories, similar to Spotlight. I have a love-hate relationship with Catholicism still to this day. After seeing this film I realized there is more to this religion than I had thought before going in. The process of electing a new Pope was very difficult. That being said these are humans that are involved in this process and their petty ambitions and greed can play into their decisions. The performances across the board from Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence to Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes. Everybody is giving top-tier performances.  The cinematography, score, production design and costumes are all incredibly well done. They completely sucked me into the world of this movie based on the Robert Harris novel of the same name. The intrigue and backstabbing are all here, as well as the fantastic twist ending. This film had everything I was looking for in a fictional take on electing a new Pope. 

Director: Edward Berger

7.4/10 IMDB 93% Rotten Tomatoes

1: Wicked

Misunderstood because of her green skin, a young woman named Elphaba forges an unlikely but profound friendship with Glinda, a student with an unflinching desire for popularity. Following an encounter with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship soon reaches a crossroad as their lives begin to take very different paths.

I was able to see the Broadway production of Wicked when it came to Florida about fifteen years ago or so. I was blown away by every aspect of this production. That being said when I heard the play was going to get the big screen treatment I was very excited. Jon M Chu had a lot to live up to with part one of this story. Yes, Wicked is only the first half of the epic production. It ends on the perfect moment though with a great performance from Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba singing “Defying Gravity”. She kills that song and it’s one of the greatest moments in any film that I’ve seen all year. Erivo is amazing opposite Ariana Grande as Glinda. She is also very good when she’s singing “Popular” and other songs. Every aspect of this movie was very impressive to me. The production design,  costumes,  makeup, and hairstyling, and choreography were all exceptionally well done. There are many aspects of this film that are so important for society. The country and the world need this story right now. With all the political machinations that are going on in the country, the movie felt like it was channeling those to me. The racial unrest and so forth also play a huge part in the story as well. As soon as I walked out of my screening I was instantly thrown aback by my emotions. I cried. This story meant a lot to me. It was everything I had hoped it would be going in. I can’t say enough how much I loved it.

Director: Jon M Chu

8/10 IMDB 88% Rotten Tomatoes