This year, I have been able to enjoy so many films. Some have been boring, not-so-great, and bland. That said, I have also seen some very outstanding, beautiful, and colorful movies, and that’s why I’m going to share the best movies I have seen in 2021.
For this, I’m going to give explanations as to why, ratings, where you can stream these movies, age rating, genre, and more!
MOVIE MUSICALS
This year, I have been able to enjoy so many films. Some have been boring, not-so-great, and bland. That said, I have also seen some very outstanding, beautiful, and colorful movies, and that’s why I’m going to share the best movies I have seen in 2021.
For this, I’m going to give explanations as to why, ratings, where you can stream these movies, age rating, genre, and more!
● In The Heights- Director Jon M. Chu stunned us all by bringing to life Lin-Manuel Miranda’s wonderfully written, produced, and casted broadway musical, In The Heights. As a theatre nerd, I did not expect this to be as brilliant as it was. I had low expectations as we’ve seen some movie musicals be complete flops; Into The Woods, Cats… But I was pleasantly surprised when this musical had me clapping, singing along, weeping, and smiling the whole way through.
Rating: 9.5/10 Produced by: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anthony Bregman, Mara Jacobs
Screenwriter: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes
Director: Jon M. Chu
Release Year: 2021
Age Rating: 13+
Streaming: Hulu, HBO Max, Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Video
● Dear Evan Hansen- I have to warn you about this movie before you watch it. It is very triggering and can be somewhat hard to handle. It’s a wonderful movie when it comes to representation for mental illnesses, but it’s very dark and hard to process. If you’re going through some stuff right now, I do not recommend watching this movie. That said, it moved my heart. It was really good and it was beautifully done. I think that for those who don’t deal with mental illnesses, it will open their eyes to the mental trauma that those who do have to go through on a regular basis.
Rating: 8/10
Produced by: Marc Platt, Benj Pasek, Steven Levenson
Screenwriter: Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Director: Stephen Chboksy
Release Year: 2021
Age Rating: PG-13
Streaming: Amazon Video, YouTube TV
FOR THE FAMILY
● Luca- We all fell in love with Alberto and Luca. These sweet boys tugged on our heart strings and gave us a little hope to hold onto. The pure love and joy that radiated off of the characters made my tummy turn, hurt, flip, and get butterflies. I do believe that this movie will go down in history as my all time favorite Disney movie. Also, all around claps and praise for LGBTQ representation.
Rating: 8/10
Produced by: Kiri Hart, Pete Docter
Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews, Mike Jones
Director: Enrico Casarosa
Release Year: 2021
Age Rating: PG
Streaming: Disney +
● The J Team- Not only can she sing, dance, and act, but she can do all three in one movie, produce it, and inspire ages 4+. I am a JoJo Siwa stan and I am proud of that. She showed us so much in 2021, but she blessed our hearts when she released her movie “The J Team”. This movie was obviously meant for younger ages, but it was cute, sweet, and bubbly. Lots of the aspects of it even inspired my 17-year-old heart.
Rating: 9/10
Produced by: JoJo Siwa, Don Dunn, Eydie Faye
Screenwriter: Eydie Faye
Director: Michael Lembeck
Release Year: 2021
Age Rating: PG
Streaming: Paramount +, YouTube TV
● Jungle Cruise- This movie was adorable! I loved it so much. I think there were definitely great plot twists and I loved Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt together. I think that was a great pairing. Something I did want to point out is that they have an openly gay character in the movie- I almost wish that they didn’t have the character like they did. He was very feminie and the definition of every gay stereotype. I wish he could’ve been the strong, mysterious, main character but at least they included an LGBTQ character!
Rating: 7/10
Produced by: Beau Flynn, John Davis, John Fox
Screenwriter: Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Age Rating: PG
Streaming: Disney +
ACTION MOVIES
● Red Notice- I never thought that a combination like Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Godot would be something that I was interested in, but it was the best pairing I’ve seen in a long time. This movie was so good that I had to see it twice. It was fast paced, filled with plot twists, and super energetic.
Rating: 10/10
Produced by: Beau Flynn, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia
Screenwriter: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Release Year: 2021
Age Rating: PG-13
Streaming: Netflix
● Charlie's Angels- Female power is all over this. I loved how much female representation there was and I hope that they decide that we need yet another Charlie's Angels. I loved how instead of over sexualizing the females, they made them strong for who they are.
Rating: 8/10
Produced by: Elizabeth Banks
Screenwriter: Elizabeth Banks
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Release Year: 2019
Age Rating: PG-13
Streaming: Hulu, Sling TV, Starz, Amazon Video
● Black Widow- Honestly, I did have pretty high standards for this movie. I had been waiting so long for it that I didn’t think it would live up to all the things I wanted to be developed and happen in this movie. I’m glad I get to say that it lived up to every expectation I had and was one of the best Marvel movies released in the last ten years.
Rating: 10/10
Produced by: Mitch Bell, Victoria Alonso, Jamie Christopher
Screenwriter: Eric Pearson, Ned Benson
Director: Cate Shortland
Release Year: 2021
Age Rating: PG-13
Streaming: Disney +
ROMANCE
● Happiest Season- What can I say? It’s a Christmas romance movie with TONS of LGBTQ representation. I mean, it’s about two girls in love and their journey during the stressful time of coming out during the holidays. Enough said, you need to watch it!
Rating: 8/10
Produced by: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey
Screenwriter: Clea DuVall, Mary Holland
Director: Clea DuVall
Release Year: 2020
Age Rating: PG-13
Streaming: Hulu
● To All The Boys: P.S. Always and Forever- The third movie in the To All The Boys trilogy and I’m so glad it ended this way. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen it yet, but go watch it!
Rating: 7/10
Produced by: Don Dunn, Michael Fimognari
Screenwriter: Katie Lovejoy, Jenny Han
Director: Michael Fimognari
Release Year: 2021
Age Rating: PG-13
Streaming: Netflix
I hope you take these films and consider watching them! I’d love to know that people are taking suggested films and enjoying them.
SaraJane Devereaux (Pronounced: Dev-Er-Row) is from Las Vegas, Nevada. SaraJane has a passion for reading and tends to read almost anything she can get her hands on. She has been making up stories for a long time, between telling stories with a pencil and paper or acting it out in front of her family, she's a storyteller at heart. Right now, SaraJane is focused on writing what her heart wants, but she wants to be a screenwriter as her career. She has been published on Blue Things Zine, Feed Us With Words, and SAST, just to name a few. She hopes that the world realizes that it's okay to still be obsessed with Hamilton in 2021.
Comments