2021 Top 5s. Odd because there is so much television to pick from, yet I still haven't seen quite a few movies that might be here (West Side Story, Raya, that Bradley Cooper noir).
TV
5) Hawkeye. Finally an MCU series nailed the landing. The finale was comic book-y in all the best ways, with costumes, silly trick arrows, face turns by villains, even a falling hero being saved by a … not an awning or flagpole but same energy. Both leads are perfectly cast, fun to watch, giving us an interesting mash-up of the Batman & Robin dynamic. Supporting cast also strong (especially the surprise villain). Would be top 10 MCU for me if it was a movie.
4) Mayor of Kingstown. The other show where Jeremy Renner is a badass who looks out for a 22 y.o. actress. But otherwise the anthesis of Hawkeye. A bleak story about bleak, broken people whose lives are intertwined with our bleak, broken justice system. Telling that this show has yet to show a courtroom or even (I think) a lawyer—just telling its story from the POV of cops and criminals and convicts and prison guards, all bound together by uneasy rituals each must follow. A dark show but one I felt the need to binge.
3) Shadow & Bone: did a fuller review when it came out, but surprised how much I liked this. Took a ton of hackneyed fantasy tropes but put in enough new spins and Tsarist Russia-esque window dressing to make them feel fresh.
2) 1883. How good is this show? Tom Hanks and Billy Bob Thornton have throw-away two-minute cameos yet they don’t feel out of place. Obviously Sam Elliot is amazing, Tim McGraw stepping up here as an actor, but Faith Hill and the actress playing her daughter steal every scene they are in. The strong female presence and beautiful shots help separate this from Deadwood and Hell on Wheels, which both did the whole “realistic Western” thing before. Only 3 episodes in, could go off the rails, but so far been phenomenal.
1) Welcome to Earth. Gorgeous vistas, interesting cocktail party facts about nature, all driven by Will Smith’s easy charisma. Except even he gets upstaged by his co-star guides, including a guy who is basically Daredevil only real. Binged all 6 episodes in 24 hours, would gladly have watched a dozen more.
Honorable Mention: Mr Mayor, Squid Game, Young Rock (families need shows too)
Movies
5) The King’s Man. An unusual movie, more episodic than a three-act structure. And weird that a movie that drops a ton of f-bombs and has over-the-top fight scenes also expects you to have a college-level knowledge of WWI. But the action is incredible, and Ralph Fiennes makes it all work somehow.
4) Spider-Man: No Way Home. As mentioned in the review thread, great performances (particularly Defoe and Molina), exciting action. Everything I could hope for in a comic book movie, and the best live experience in a theater in years.
3) King Richard. An old-school biopic with top-tier performances by Will Smith, Jon Bernthal and the Aunjanue Ellis. All three could win Oscars for this. Otherwise nothing particularly ground-breaking, but it covers the familiar ground well.
2) Dune. Could nitpick over little things—e,g, short shift given mentats and Dr. Y--but ultimately the (first third of the) book brought to life in a visually stunning movie.
1) Cruella. As a huge fan of the original cartoon, I expected to hate this movie. But if you ignore the handful of connections that were clearly forced into the script, this is a fun, colorful heist movie with likeable leads and a hissable villain set in a fantastical punk-era London. The action sequences and fashion are over-the-top but not quite to the point of incredulity. May not be the greatest movie from a technical perspective, but was my most fun watch in 2021.
Honorable Mention: Tom & Jerry (the all animals are cartoons gimmick has stayed with me), that weird Brendan Frasier/Don Cheadle film noir that turns out to be about the auto industry