Titane — Features — Cinema As We Know It

Megan's Top Ten Films of 2021

2021 offered a smorgasbord of unique films. So unique, in fact, it’s hard to draw any conclusions about trends or new themes in my own taste. In years past, it was the coming-of-age story that was in fashion, or tales of American hardship and triumph that hit home. It would be a tall task to find a box that comfortably fit a sports documentary, an art-rock marionette baby, an Arthurian legend, and whatever descriptors you’d use for Titane. Perhaps common denominators are overrated. Eclectic in the best way. My top picks of the year each seemed to be plucked from disparate corners of the medium to form a delightful lineup with something for any mood.

Theo’s Top Ten Films of 2021

If 2020 was the year of watching movies at home, 2021 was the year of the movie theatre. For me, it meant a return to two cinemas I particularly adore which provided a chance to catch up with favorites old and new. But as the year drew to a close with COVID-19 cases again on the rise in the UK, the bizarre question of whether I should be going to the cinema again weighed on my mind. And so, it was another weird year for movies and moviegoers – but far from a bad one. The difficulty I had in putting this list together is testament to the fantastic quality of films released in the period; any year in which sublimely sweet works from Paul Thomas Anderson and Céline Sciamma didn’t make my top ten is surely a good one.

Greg’s Top Ten Films of 2021

Looking back on 2021, the major theme has to be the return of theaters. What they have to offer — spectacle, shared experience, dialog — cannot be replicated at home in isolation, and more so than any one release, the return of theaters was notable based on the simple fact that they enable exhibition. Going from sitting at home and streaming movies for most of 2020 to being able to finally watch a film on the big screen served as a potent reminder of what is lost when theatrical exhibition is removed from the equation. While you should seek out these films by any means necessary, my favorite films from 2021 go hand in hand with the cinematic experience.