Top 15 movies of 2020

It was a tough year in movies this year. A lot of studios held back releases this year so that people would get to see their movies in movie theaters which always brings in more money. As a result we got a lot of indie darlings this year. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it does make for thinner picks. So this year here are my favorite movies of the year. To start the one's that just missed out on my top 10. 

15) Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 
14) Crip Camp
13) The Father
12) Promising Young Woman 
11) The Invisible Man

And now here are the top 10

10) Da Five Bloods 

Spike Lee’s been doing some of his best work in the past few years. Maybe that’s because the subject material of so his movies is perpetually topical as the experiences of Black Americans haven't improved since the days of Do The Right Thing.  In this movie he is showing the Black experience through the lens of the Vietnam War and a treasure hunting story. A group of veteran talents (Delroy Lindo who was robbed an Oscar nomination) and promising newcomers (Lovecraft Country breakout Jonathan Majors) play a squad of close-knit vets, returning to the country to retrieve the remains of their fallen comrade (Chadwick Boseman) and the buried treasure they left behind. The treasure hunting is part of the  B-movie adventure that keeps it entertaining, but the way Lee rounds out his storytelling, drawing threads from the past to very real issues we’re facing in the present, is what makes this one of the best movies. The fact that this is one of the last films Boseman made before his tragic passing this year? Well, that just makes it an all-the-more-emotional watch.

9) Nomadland

This is the prettiest movie of the year. The story is about a woman named Fern (Francis McDormand) who works odd jobs here and there, travling from around from one place to another, staying at community van parks and running into the same group of people. This is a stunningly gorgeous film that harkens back to some of Malick’s most beautiful shots. Zhao’s film makes a viewer feel like they are right there, every step of the way with Fern. It’s a stunning display of direction and cinematography that just cements Zhao’s standing as one of the best directors working today and makes me excited to see what she does with a Marvel movie budget

8) Minari

Lee Isaac Chung’s movie is telling a story told 1000 times before through the lens of a family of immigrants. But because of what 2020 was in the year of politics it’s almost impossible not to think of that rhetoric while watching Minari. In this movie we see a Korean family who settle in rural Arkansas in the 1980s to make on their own growing crops on some somewhat sketchy farmland. What this movie does best is the family aspect to chasing the dream. The heart of the movie is in the grandmother's relationship to the young son even if the story moves through Steven Yeun's Jacob. Jacob just wants what’s best for his family, even though his family doesn’t quite understand why he’s pushing this hard with little to no payoff. If a person works this hard, good things will happen, right? And, that, right there, is the crux of what we call the American dream, which Minari captures better than any other film and what makes this movie unique and universal at the same time

7) Soul

On first viewing, it’s hard not to compare Pixar’s “Soul” to the animation studio’s mind-altering 2015 hit “Inside Out.” Both films suggest revolutionary ways to think about big ideas: emotion in “Inside Out,” and personality (or purpose) in “Soul.” And both movies are the brainchildren of Pete Docter. And yet, while there are certainly similarities between them, they each seem like miracles to me: brilliant, intuitively simple cartoon metaphors for concepts so abstract they’ve confounded scientists and psychologists for centuries. Pixar’s been playing it safe lately with sequels and subpar originals like “Onward,” whereas “Soul” marks a return to what the studio does best — and a huge step forward. More than just a feel-good experience (though it’s warm and funny and life-affirming in all the right ways), the movie takes big risks, challenging the conventional thinking that its hero will be satisfied once he achieves what he wants, while giving audiences permission to reexamine their own priorities.

6) Palm Springs

Obviously there have been a lot of attempts at a Groundhog Day-type plot. But this was the most charming. Love Andy Samberg, who brings his carefree attitude to the movie. It’s breezy and refreshing and also moves through some of the existential points in a way that doesn’t feel forced. .And let’s face it — a lot of us wouldn’t mind being stuck in a time loop this year and a destination wedding sounds great right about now. That seems pretty relaxing. If I had a  loop of liquor and entertainment and the freedom to act as stupidly as possible without consequences, I’d probably be zen too. Obviously I’m a sucker for romance and Christina Milioti is great in this and I hope to see a lot more of her. It’s a romantic comedy that prioritizes comedy and is sneaky with romance, so they made one of my favorite genre movies that can appeal to anyone? Give me all of it and vengeful J.K. Simmons. Hell yes 

5) One Night in Miami

Based on Kemp Powers’ play (who also wrote the screenplay), is a masterstroke by first time director Regina King on how to direct actors. Because besides Leslie Odom Jr there is not a ton of tape on the other three actors who play Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown, and Malcolm X - Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Kingsley Ben-Adir respectively and she gets the absolute best out of all four. It is just a captivating dialogue between these four historical heavyweights who all have different views and roles during the Civil rights movement of the sixties and somehow that is all expressed in this two hour story. This is a story that stuck with me and i know that because ever since I saw the movie I find myself listening to and singing Sam Cooke music. And that was months ago and still the characters, story, and music stays with me. A sign of a good movie. 

4) Sound of Metal

This is a mesmerizing debut from writer-director Darius Marder, but Riz Ahmed is obviously the big star of the movie As Ruben, the heavy-metal drummer going deaf he conveys the frustrations of losing touch with the world around him. And I think he is just a fantastic actor but this movie really highlights his talent. Not only is Riz amazing in this movie but I can't believe how amazing the sound design is, when was the last time we spoke about sound design in a movie. It makes the movie immersive and adds a lot to the story. I liked that they used deaf actors I wish they had cast a deaf actor to play Paul Rocky's character but he got nominated for an Oscar so it is hard to argue with the results. This movie transported me into the story more so that any other movie and I think that is an impressive feat and it's why it's my number four movie of the year.
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3) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

​Is Borat 2 as funny as the first? In terms of total laugh volume, probably not. Yet it’s probably a bigger achievement to have pulled off a social experiment in a country that knows your tricks. Here we have Sacha Baron Cohen in a double disguise, as Borat disguised as other characters at a debutante ball and a rightwing rally. Borat’s fame leaves his daughter, Tutar, to carry the film, and guess what Maria Bakalova keeps up with him, which is really fuckin impressive. Sacha Baron Cohen makes acting legitimately dangerous, which is why it’s so hard to turn away. In the midst of all that, this time around Cohen has created a legitimately compelling arc between these two ridiculous characters. Oh, and if that’s not enough he created an actual news worthy moment when they lured Rudy Giuliani to a quote unquote underage girl’s hotel room to “tuck in his shirt.” What may be even more amazing is that is not the most embarrassing thing that happened to Rudy Giuliani last year. Wild stuff.

​2) The Trial of the Chicago 7

It's obviously an Aaron Sorkin movie, he wrote it and directed it. I loved  the story, the acting, all of it. And Personally, I like a good Sorkin courtroom scene, with all its desk-banging and idealism, all the idea that a good speech can actually change somebody's mind. For all of those reasons I enjoyed his take on real-life events surrounding the riots outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It helped that he had actors who went for it. Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong as press-savvy/hungry counterculture activists Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin? Going for it. Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Black Panther leader Bobby Seale? Going for it. Frank Langella as a cranky judge and, don’t sleep on Michael Keaton who is in the movie too and loves a good ensemble piece. Hell even Eddie Redmayne, who I normally hate, as the more mainstream political figure Tom Hayden? I mean, you know Eddie Redmayne is going for it, he can’t help himself, but when reigning in it a bit the role works especially because it is clear that Aaron Sorkin sides with him the most, which is probably worth digging into. But not during this list. At the end of the day for all of those reasons and more this is an extremely watchable movie about events that resonate today with lots of snappy dialogue. The Trial of the Chicago 7 isn’t an arthouse movie or the sign of a true artist, but it is a good movie that tells a good story and features good actors doing good work. The Trial of the Chicago 7 was a good movie and my second favorite movie of the year.

​1) Judas and the Black Messiah

These top two movies stuck out for me more than any other movie of the year and I think they are a good one two punch, telling similar stories but obviously from different perspectives. Trial of the Chicago 7 is the more sanitized, easier to digest version. This one has a stronger sense of who it is, a stronger style and two dynamite performances. Including Daniel Kaluya who is the attention getter and who as far as I’ve seen can literally do anything. Get Out, Black Panther, this. But don’t forget LaKeith Stanfield who has the harder part because it is more nuanced. He is the morally murkier character we are following and is the audience’s guide through this world and such an interesting way to tell the story. And makes this biopic which is a genre I normally hate into something I can’t stop thinking about. It’s been months since I’ve seen this movies and some of those Fred Hampton speeches are still sticking with me and it is because of that sticking power I am putting this as my favorite movie of the year.