The 15 Best Movies of 2021 According to Our Staff


Dune

Frank Herbert’s dense sci-fi novel is once more adapted for the big screen but this time from the critically-acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival). Much like the book, the film takes place in the far future where planets feud for control of Arrakis, the desert planet where the invaluable spice Melange can be harvested. The House Atreides becomes the current rulers but their power will soon be overtaken by the scheming House Harkonnen. The only hope for both the House Atreides and Arrakis facing a totalitarian rule lies in Paul Atreides, a boy who may just be a messiah. The film adapts half of the first book in a beautifully ambient experience with an all-star cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.