MOVIESMoviesAdd TopicReady to see a great movie? These are the best films of 2021, ranked Brian TruittUSA TODAYWith theaters back up and running and new films hitting digital platforms, it’s time to catch up on the must-see movies of the year. Tom Holland reprises his role as Marvel's title teen superhero in director Jon Watts' epic new adventure "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Here's how it ranks against the rest of the best movies of 2021:MATT KENNEDY35. "Werewolves Within": Like "Clue" meets "The Howling," Josh Ruben's enjoyable whodunit features Sam Richardson as a naive but goodhearted forest ranger new to a small Vermont town who has to catch a killer among the various kooky residents.SABRINA LANTOS34. "The Guilty": Taking place over a single morning, the super-intense Antoine Fuqua action drama stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a 911 dispatch operator who tries to save a caller in grave danger, though the situation isn't what it seems.NETFLIX33. "Quo Vadis, Aida?": A UN translator (Jasna Đuričić) fights for her family's safety while dealing with inept Dutch officials and ruthless Serbs rounding up Muslims in the excellent and harrowing Oscar-nominated Bosnian war drama.NEON32. "Night of the Kings": A jailed pickpocket (Bakary Koné, center) is forced to become a storyteller in a prison run by its inmates in director Philippe Lacôte's absorbing drama, which pays tribute to the oral tradition of the tale-spinning West African griots.NYFF31. "Belfast": An Irish family (from left, Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie) are wowed at the movies but have to deal with Protestant vs. Catholic conflict in Kenneth Branagh's very personal 1960s-set coming-of-age film.ROB YOUNGSON/FOCUS FEATURES30. "Encanto": Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz, center) is a humble 15-year-old who lives with her family in a magical house in the mountains of Colombia in Disney's enchanting animated fantasy, featuring eight catchy new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda.DISNEY29. "The Boy Behind the Door": Lonnie Chavis ("This Is Us") stars as young boy who has to rescue his best pal Ezra Dewey) when they're kidnapped and taken to a strange house in the country in an excellent survival chiller with a cool twist.AFI FEST28. "The Mitchells vs. the Machines": The Mitchell family – Katie (from left, voiced by Abbi Jacobson), Linda (Maya Rudolph), Rick (Danny McBride) and Aaron (director Mike Rianda) – team up with some screwed-up robots in the joyful animated comedy.NETFLIX27. "Pig": Nicolas Cage gives a wonderfully soulful - and unusually un-Cage - performance as an Oregon truffle hunter whose beloved porcine best friend is stolen in Michael Sarnoski's intriguingly quirky, somewhat bittersweet and surprisingly tender dramaNEON26. "Judas and the Black Messiah": Daniel Kaluuya (center) plays influential Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in director Shaka King's timely period drama, which functions as political thriller and historical vehicle.GLEN WILSON25. "Language Lessons": Adam (Mark Duplass) is gifted with online Spanish lessons and has an awkward first cybermeeting with new teacher Cariño (Natalie Morales, who also directs) in the heartbreaking yet delightful dramedy about the importance of human connection.JEREMY MACKIE24. "Nine Days": In writer/director Edson Oda's deep and thoughtful existential fantasy, Will (Winston Duke, left) interviews and tests Kane (Bill Skarsgård) and a bunch of other souls to see if they're fit to be born on Earth.SONY PICTURES CLASSICS23. "Cruella": Emma Stone gamely plays Disney villainess Cruella De Vil as a young London designer in 1970s punk-rock London who tussles with a chic and ruthless fashion icon in an intriguing, colorful exploration of nature vs. nurture.LAURIE SPARHAM22. "Riders of Justice":Mads Mikkelsen (far right) is a soldier who comes home to take care of his daughter (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) and exacts vengeance on the street gang responsible for his wife's death in the brutal and heartwarming Danish action-comedy thriller.ROLF KONOW/MAGNET RELEASING21. "The French Dispatch": Moses (Benicio del Toro, center) is a criminally insane painter inspired by prison guard Simone (Léa Seydoux) in one of the collected stories in writer/director Wes Anderson's colorful ode to journalism and French cinema.SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES20. "The Suicide Squad": Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian, from left), Peacemaker (John Cena), Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) are the newcomers to Task Force X in James Gunn's bloody and absurdly delightful bad-guys-save-the-world movie.JESSICA MIGLIO/WARNER BROS. PICTURES19. "The Sparks Brothers": Edgar Wright's rock doc chronicles the five-decade career of Sparks, how the art-pop band was huge overseas but never in America, and what keeps brothers Russell (left) and Ron Mael passionate and still together today.ANNA WEBBER/FOCUS FEATURES18. "Old Henry": Tim Blake Nelson is a widowed father with a secret gunslinging ability forced to decide whom to trust – an injured stranger with a stash of cash he took in or the posse coming for him claiming to be lawmen – in the unexpectedly gripping Western action film.SHOUT! STUDIOS17. "The Vigil": A Jewish New Yorker (Dave Davis) of lapsed faith takes an all-night job that turns into a battle for his soul thanks to the arrival of a demonic dybbuk in a chiller that scares up serious religious mythos and haunting historical connections.IFC FILMS16. "Together Together": A 45-year-old bachelor (Ed Helms) unlucky in love but who badly wants children, hires a 20-something barista (Patti Harrison) to be his surrogate in Nikole Beckwith's feel-good pregnancy dramedy.TIFFANY ROOHANI VIA SUNDANCE INSTITUTE15. "The Harder They Fall": The outlaw Rufus Buck (Idris Elba, center) is released from prison and is a target for one man's obsessive vengeance in Jeymes Samuel's rousing Western, which takes the cowboy genre for a ride with style, swagger and a largely Black cast.NETFLIX14. "Mass": Martha Plimpton (left) and Ann Dowd are two mothers forever changed because of an unspeakable tragedy. They meet years later to find a way to move on in director Fran Kranz's intimate drama about grief, anger and acceptance.BLEECKER STREET13. "Summer of Soul": Sly and the Family Stone perform at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival in the splendid new documentary, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and featuring a slew of never-before-seen performances from the event.SUNDANCE INSTITUTE12. "I Care a Lot": Rosamund Pike plays a conniving conservator who bilks aging clients out of their money in the dark crime satire, a genre-exploding effort that's awash in ethical quandaries and severely lacking in good guys.SEACIA PAVAO/NETFLIX11. "The Eyes of Tammy Faye":The smart and surprisingly funny biopic is definitely worth several hallelujahs as it follows the rise and fall of televangelist couple Jim (Andrew Garfield) and Tammy Faye Bakker (Jessica Chastain).SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES10. "Licorice Pizza": Capturing youth in hilarious and poignant ways, Paul Thomas Anderson's coming-of-age film follows Gary (Cooper Hoffman) and Alana (Alana Haim) as they fall in love in the San Fernando Valley circa 1973.METRO GOLDWYN MAYER PICTURES9. "Spider-Man: No Way Home": Teen superhero Peter Parker (Tom Holland, far left) and his friends (Zendaya and Jacob Batalon) scamble to deal with new foes in a rousing film about second chances and a clever reminder that “with great power comes great responsibility.MATT KENNEDY8. "West Side Story": Anita (Ariana DeBose) sings and dances through the streets of her Puerto Rican community in the boisterous, sprawling musical number "America" in Steven Spielberg's dynamic revamp of the 1957 Broadway musical love story.NIKO TAVERNISE7. "CODA": Teenage Ruby (Emilia Jones, left) wants to explore her singing talent, but her deaf mom (Marlee Matlin) doesn't understand in writer/director Siân Heder's heartwarming coming-of-age dramedy.SEACIA PAVAO6. "Drive My Car":Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi's thoughtful, three-hour-long Japanese drama centers on a widowed director (Hidetoshi Nishijima, left) hired to stage a production of "Uncle Vanya" in Hiroshima who develops a deep relationship with his 20-year-old driver (Toko Miura).Janus Films5. "The Power of the Dog": Volatile cowboy Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch, right) shows young Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) the ropes in the Western drama, Jane Campion's picturesque, enthralling exploration of male ego and toxic masculinity.KIRSTY GRIFFIN/NETFLIX4. "tick, tick...BOOM!": Andrew Garfield plays a talented theater composer having trouble finding musical inspiration in Lin-Manuel Miranda's directoral debut, a moving and joyous adaptation of “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical show.MACALL POLAY/NETFLIX3. "The Green Knight": Headstrong young man Gawain (Dev Patel, left) wields the sword of his uncle, King Arthur (Sean Harris), and sets out on an epic quest in director David Lowery's dazzling dark fantasy.ERIC ZACHANOWICH/A24 FILMS2. "The Father": Anthony Hopkins stars as an elderly London man with dementia trying to make sense of his constantly shifting reality in writer/director Florian Zeller's immersive character study and exceptional drama.SEAN GLEASON1. "Spencer": Princess Diana (Kristen Stewart) enjoys a peaceful moment with sons Harry (Freddie Spry) and William (Jack Nielen) in Pablo Larraín's psychological drama, an enlightening and brilliant glimpse into the mind of Diana that doubles as an effective horror film.NEONFeatured Weekly Ad