2021 was a year that will be remembered as “The Year Where We Went To The Movies … Or Did We?” While some theaters were filled with people watching the latest offerings on the big screen, other theaters were empty because the movies weren’t very good.

If last year (2020) was defined by crowd-pleasing blockbusters that set new records and captivated our imaginations, this year’s cinematic legacy has yet to be decided. Could it be that soft movies and quiet movies were 2021’s answer to last year’s explosive spectacles? Or could it, instead, be that exciting movies were 2021’s answer to last year’s boring movies? This conversation will continue; only time will tell when it ends. (And truth be told, someone will probably make a movie about this very subject! It could be called “A Movie About Movies,” that would be fun.)

Anyway, what I wanted to say was that I saw many (if not most) of this year’s greatest movies. Whether on the silver screen, or sitting at home, it is true that I count myself among the nation’s most intense movie-goers. If you asked me in 2021 whether I saw some movie or other, the odds are certainly true that I would happily answer YES at the TOP of my LUNGS. (“Hey, stop yelling in the movie!”)

So let’s turn our cameras on, make sure everyone is on set, and say “ACTION!” as we celebrate the TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2021:

10. Pretty good movies

9. Really good movies

8. Movies that moved us and touched us deeply but also made us laugh (or chuckle in order to be quiet during the movie)

7. Thrilling movies of today

6. We go to the movies in 2021

5. Local movies

4. Movies that told a story

3. Movies that dazzled us as only movies can

2. Amazing movies, never to be forgotten

1. Simply the best movies