The BRAG Media

Australia’s 25 Favourite Movies of 2021

2021 ended up being an incredibly strong year for movies. So much so, that picking the best films of the year feels like an almost impossible task. This is exactly why Rolling Stone Australia called upon you, the readers, to share your valuable opinions on your favourite movies of 2021. Having tabulated over 10.000 votes in the process, we've now been left with a list of films that act as perfect time capsules of the year that was. If any of the titles slipped you by or if they demand a re-watch, they are all available now to either rent, buy or pre-order on disc or digital, so you can enjoy them all from the comfort of your home.

Jungle Cruise
10

Jungle Cruise

Not only did Emily Blunt star in two of the year’s most popular films, but the films in question couldn’t have been more different. In Jungle Cruise, Blunt plays the tenacious and noble botanist, Dr. Lily Houghton, who travels to Brazil in search of the Tree of Life. Lily and her brother, MacGregor (comedian Jack Whitehall), partner with the unpredictable riverboat captain, Frank Wolff, portrayed by an appropriately over-the-top Dwayne Johnson. The thrills are as unrelenting as the Disneyland ride from which the film gets its name, but the all-ages watchability of Jungle Cruise hinges on Blunt and Johnson’s star performances, as well as that of Jesse Plemons, who appears as Lily’s rival explorer, the German Prince Joachim.

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A Quiet Place Part II
9

A Quiet Place Part II

As far as film sequels go, A Quiet Place Part II is the equivalent of The Strokes’ second album, Room On Fire. I.e. while it might lack the thrill of the new, it’s in all other areas an improvement on the first. Emily Blunt returns in the role of Evelyn, the mother of Marcus and Regan, the latter of whom is deaf. Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy joins the cast as Emmett, a reclusive and despairing survivor. Of course, the tone of A Quiet Place Part II is diametrically opposed to the cheery sounds of The Strokes—despite working with a bigger budget and within wider narrative parameters, director John Krasinski has again succeeded in crafting the tensest post-apocalyptic horror of the year. 

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The Dry
8

The Dry

Erica Bana starred in two Australian silver screen features in 2021. The title of the second, Back to the Outback, could serve as the synopsis for the first. There’s something redemptive about Bana’s appearance in Robert Connolly’s crime-drama, The Dry. Not only has the Melbourne boy stepped away from the Hollywood glitz of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and the padded goofiness of Ricky Gervais’ Special Correspondents, but in his role as federal police agent, Aaron Falk, Bana puts his capital “A” Acting abilities to the test. The consensus view is that Bana, along with co-stars Genevieve O’Reilly and Keir O’Donnell, passes with flying colours.

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Cruella
7

Cruella

Despite Glenn Close’s inimitable on-screen gifts, the Cruella de Vil of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians films did very little to attract viewers’ sympathies. By contrast, audiences were rooting for the title character in this 2021 origin story right from the word go. Emma Stone plays Cruella, the alter-ego of an orphaned street dweller and budding fashion designer named Estella. Set in London on the eve of the punk rock revolution, Cruella spotlights the theatrical flair of Stone and her co-star, Emma Thompson, who plays Cruella’s mentor-turned-nemesis Baroness von Hellman. The film’s sinister narrative is pleasantly offset by a dazzling sushi train of haute couture fashion and a soundtrack of glam and classic rock hits. 

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Black Widow
6

Black Widow

Black Widow is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; the title character, played by Scarlett Johansson, first appeared in Iron Man 2 (2010) and features prominently in the Avengers and Captain America films. But Black Widow is an MCU outlier on account of how comfortably it stands on its own two feet. The ending isn’t designed as fodder for a sequel and the background info required to optimise one’s enjoyment is covered inside the film’s 134 minute running time. Johansson co-stars alongside Florence Pugh, who plays her sister, Yelena Belova, another skilled spy and assassin. In fact, while Black Widow doesn’t want for combat sequences and supernatural twists, the plot revolves around the sisters’ relationship and sifting of past trauma.

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