As revealed in my December review, 2021 finished on a tally of 207 new films — my third highest ever. They’re all listed below, in alphabetical order, along with the small handfuls of titles I admitted to my “Guide To” series and the short films I watched. After last year’s “frankly extraordinary” high of 65, this year I only watched four shorts. Maybe I should set a shorts-watching target too…

Normally this post also serves to be a big pile of links to reviews I’ve posted in the past year. But those were thin on the ground in 2021: in the list of 207 new films, just four have a review to link to. Oh dear. But you can always (re-)enjoy my monthly reviews (filled with Fun Stuff like the Arbies), and the TV reviews I posted… before that column came up short too.

Well, hopefully things will be different soon…

• As It Happened — 2021’s monthly updates, with a chronological list of my viewing.
• The List — an alphabetical list of every new film I watched in 2021.
• Television — an alphabetical list of the TV programmes I reviewed in 2021.
• Next Time — more of 2021 still to come.

Below is a graphical representation of my 2021 viewing, month by month. Each of the images links to the relevant monthly review, which contain a chronological list of everything I watched this year. There’s also other exciting stuff in there, like my monthly Arbie awards and what I watched in my Rewatchathon.

And now, the main event…

An alphabetical list of all the films I watched for the first time in 2021, followed by other films I’ve covered (or intended to cover) this year — primarily, a couple of instalments in film series that I’ve given the “Guide To” treatment, and a trickle of short films. As I mentioned in my introduction, normally many of these titles would link to the appropriate review, but this year you’ll find just four links in the main list. Coincidentally, they’re all really close together.

• 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
• 23 Walks (2020)
• 3 Idiots (2009)
• The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), aka Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed
• The Aeronauts (2019)
• Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972), aka Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes
• An American Pickle (2020)
• Appointment with Death (1988)
• Appointment with Murder (1948)
• The Awful Truth (1937)
• Baby Done (2020)
• Bachelor Knight (1947), aka The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
• Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)
• Beginners (2010)
• The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)
• Bill (2015)
• Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
• The Birth of a Nation (1915)
• The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
• Black Widow [3D] (2021)
• Blithe Spirit (2020)
• Boss Level (2021)
• The Broadway Melody (1929)
• A Brief History of Time Travel (2018)
• Bright Young Things (2003)
• The ’Burbs (1989)
• The Burning Buddha Man (2013), aka Moeru butsuzô ningen
• A Boy Called Christmas (2021)
• Calling Dr. Death (1943)
• Capernaum (2018), aka Capharnaüm
• Captain Phillips (2013)
• Carefree (1938)
• Carol (2015)
• The Catcher Was a Spy (2018)
• Cats (2019)
• A Christmas Story (1983)
• Cinema Paradiso (1988), aka Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
• The Coldest Game (2019)
• Coming to America (1988)
• Con Air (1997)
• Crank (2006)
• Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)
• The Current War (2017)
• A Damsel in Distress (1937)
• The Danish Girl (2015)
• Daughters of Darkness (1971), aka Les lèvres rouges
• David Byrne’s American Utopia (2020)
• David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)
• Dead Man’s Eyes (1944)
• Dead Man’s Folly (1986)
• Defending Your Life (1991)
• Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street (2002), aka Meitantei Conan: Bekâ Sutorîto no bôrei
• The Dig (2021)
• La Dolce Vita (1960)
• Dreamcatcher (2003)
• Drop Zone (1994)
• Dumb and Dumber (1994)
• Dune: Part One (2021), aka Dune
• Ernest & Celestine (2012), aka Ernest et Célestine
• Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time (2021), aka Shin Evangelion Gekijôban
• Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021)
• Falling for Figaro (2020)
• The Father (2020)
• Festen (1998), aka The Celebration
• The Final Countdown (1980)
• The Fly (1986)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• The Frighteners: Director’s Cut (1996)
• From Here to Eternity (1953)
• The Frozen Ghost (1945)
• Futureworld (1976)
• Gambit (2012)
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955), aka Gojira no gyakushû
• Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
• Going in Style (2017)
• Going My Way (1944)
• Good Boys (2019)
• The Green Knight (2021)
• Gremlins (1984)
• The Guilty (2018), aka Den skyldige
• La Haine (1995)
• Happiest Season (2020)
• Happy Death Day 2U (2019)
• High Life (2018)
• Holiday Affair (1949)
• Home Sweet Home Alone (2021)
• Hotel Reserve (1944)
• Hotel Transylvania [3D] (2012)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978)
• The House of Fear (1939)
• I Care a Lot (2020)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• Isn’t It Romantic (2019)
• Jerry Maguire (1996)
• Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway (2019)
• Jingle All the Way (1996)
• Joint Security Area (2000), aka Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA
• Jungle Cruise (2021)
• The Kid Detective (2020)
• Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
• The King (2019)
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), aka Kingu Kongu tai Gojira
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
• The Last of Sheila (1973)
• Last Train to Christmas (2021)
• The Last Warning (1928)
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
• A Little Chaos (2014)
• Love Affair (1939)
• Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
• The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
• Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019)
• Midnight in Paris (2011)
• Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo (2017)
• The Money Pit (1986)
• Mortal Kombat (1995)
• The Mummy (1932)
• Murder by Decree (1979)
• Murder in Three Acts (1986)
• Muse: Simulation Theory (2020)
• My Fair Lady (1964)
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (2012)
• News of the World (2020)
• No Time to Die (2021)
• Nobody (2021)
• Nomadland (2020)
• Official Secrets (2019)
• One Night in Miami… (2020)
• Page Eight (2011)
• Pather Panchali (1955)
• Pillow of Death (1945)
• The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975), aka Flåklypa Grand Prix
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
• Primary Colors (1998)
• The Prom (2020)
• Psycho Goreman (2020)
• The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
• Radioactive (2019)
• Raffles (1939)
• Rain Man (1988)
• Red Notice (2021)
• Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
• Rodan (1956), aka Sora no daikaijû Radon
• Royal Wedding (1951), aka Wedding Bells
• Salting the Battlefield (2014)
• Sansho Dayu (1954), aka Sansho the Bailiff
• Sátántangó (1994)
• Search for Danger (1949)
• The Secret Garden (2020)
• Seven Chances (1925)
• Shakespeare in Love (1998)
• A Single Man (2009)
• Six Minutes to Midnight (2020)
• Sneakers (1992)
• The Social Dilemma (2020)
• The Son of Kong (1933)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
• Space Station [3D] (2002)
• Spielberg (2017)
• Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
• Spontaneous (2020)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Stowaway (2021)
• Strange Confession (1945)
• Strictly Ballroom (1992)
• Stuart Little (1999)
• A Study in Scarlet (1933)
• Superman and the Mole-Men (1951)
• Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
• Taken 2 (2012)
• The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
• Tangerines (2013), aka Mandariinid
• Tea with Mussolini (1999)
• Terje Vigen (1917), aka A Man There Was
• Testament of Youth (2014)
• Thirteen at Dinner (1985)
• Three Identical Strangers (2018)
• Time After Time (1979)
• The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
• Tokyo Godfathers (2003), aka Tôkyô goddofâzâzu
• Tower Heist (2011)
• Truly Madly Deeply (1990)
• Turks & Caicos (2014)
• Twister (1996)
• Under Siege (1992)
• Vampyr (1932)
• Vivacious Lady (1938)
• Warning from Space (1956)
• We Bought a Zoo (2011)
• Weird Woman (1944)
• When the Wind Blows (1986)
• The White Tiger (2021)
• Who? (1974)
• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
• Wild Target (2010)
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
• Wolf Warrior (2015), aka Zhan lang
• WolfWalkers (2020)
• Wuthering Heights (1939)
• Xchange (2001)
• You Only Live Once (1937)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
• Zatoichi’s Conspiracy (1973), aka Shin Zatôichi monogatari: Kasama no chimatsuri
• Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), aka Shu Shan – Xin Shu shan jian ke

The 100 Films Guide To…

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
• King Kong (1933)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Shorts

• Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
• Scenes with Beans (1976), aka Babfilm
• Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900)
• What! No Spinach? (1926)

.

My monthly TV columns came to an accidental halt in February (crikey, I hadn’t realised it was so long ago), but that means I still got in reviews of the following…

• Blankety Blank 2020 Christmas Special
• Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime
• Cobra Kai Season 2
• Dial M for Middlesbrough
• Doctor Who Revolution of the Daleks
• Ghosts The Ghost of Christmas
• The Goes Wrong Show The Nativity
• Have I Got 30 Years for You
• It’s a Sin
• Mark Kermode’s Secrets of Cinema Series 3
• Not Going Out Resolutions
• Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse
• Staged Series 2
• The Twilight Zone ‘More Of’ Selection 1, 2
• Upstart Crow Lockdown Christmas 1603
• WandaVision Episodes 1-4, 5-8
• The West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote

Things are in a slightly different order this year, for one reason or another. Normally next up would be the statistics, but I think before that it’ll be my most-read posts of 2021.