"If 2020 was a long, dark winter for movie lovers—a season of some terrific pictures, sure, but also a long slog of having no choice but to stream everything at home—2021 has been the exuberant, celebratory spring. Not even just your regular, garden-variety spring, but a full-on Stravinsky-style spring, with crocuses bursting from the earth in symphonic unison, rain showers copiously blessing the fields and trees blossoming from every twig. The reason for this is partly practical, and somewhat predictable: A number of this year's best movies were completed in 2020 but were held back until they could be released—properly—in theaters. But it's hard not to think of this bounty as a kind of spiritual reward as well, a celebratory season of light after months of darkness. To that end, please consider this list of 10 of the year's greatest movies—plus a handful of honorable mentions—to be a roadmap for your viewing pleasure. We've all earned it."
- Stephanie Zacharek-
