...And a happy new year!
Well, it has certainly been another usual by-the-numbers movie year. Between all the major blockbusters getting released on time and movie theaters buzzing, the year in cinema felt almost generic. Can't wait for the Oscars next February!
Without further sarcastic remarks, I shall share my list of 2020's best movies. After a lot of back-and-forth consideration, I decided not to include Disney Plus's Hamilton on this list, as a filmed version of a Broadway musical doesn't quite qualify as a movie, even if its production quality and cinematic value are off the charts and it would smash its way all the way to first place if it did qualify.
Here are my honorable mentions: Becoming (2020), Bill & Ted Face The Music (2020), Helene (2020), The Outpost (2020).
10. Tove
Hooray for Finland! This domestic release was one of the very few films that I managed to see in the cinema this year, and I sure am glad I saw it. Tove is a biopic of iconic author and illustrator Tove Jansson, played here by the wonderful Alma Pöysti. The film's style is a warm blend of melancholic and whimsical, which is quite appropriate for the story at hand. Pöysti is amazing in the lead role, as she really captures the quirky and inspiring nature that Jansson is known for.
9. Call Of The Wild
Sure, it's a Disney-fied adaptation that takes away the grittiness of Jack London's original novel and replaces it with an extra level of coziness and warmth. But so what? That's exactly the type of re-adaptation that Michael Green's screenplay and Chris Sanders's directing were going for, and I don't blame them - while I do appreciate the raw and gripping nature of the book, the warmer side of the story leaves a lot to be explored, and thus an adaptation focusing on that side was welcome (especially in a year like 2020, where grittiness hasn't exactly been in short supply).
The Yukon scenery is absolutely magnificent throughout the film - while many of the visually astonishing scenes are done with CGI, it feels like the real thing, and the movie feels like an ode to the nature in those magnificent parts. One of the coolest experiences in my life was doing a raft trip down the Yukon with my brother, father and uncle in 2013, and watching this film really brought back some memories on how beautiful that part of the world is.
8. Host
Making the best out of a bad situation like a boss, Rob Savage directed a horror film entirely via Zoom during the strictest lockdown period in the UK. As my fellow 2020 survivors will know, Zoom calls can be enough of a horror show on their own, but this film takes it to a whole new level with a carefully crafted hour-long story about a group of friends who try to hold a seance remotely. Things go horribly wrong, leading to various mayhem happening on the different camera screens during the videocall. The gimmick works wonders, as Savage's expert directing mixes realism and the supernatural impressively with the well-coordinated production.
7. I'm Thinking Of Ending Things
My New Year's resolution is to watch more Charlie Kaufman movies. I haven't seen much from him, but everything I've seen has left me begging for more. This very much includes his straight-to-Netflix release I'm Thinking Of Ending Things, a movie that begins with a simple premise (a young woman isn't sure about her relationship with her boyfriend and considers breaking up) and then escalates further than you could ever imagine.
It is by far the oddest and most experimental film I saw this year, and at first I wasn't sure whether I even liked its specific method of creativity - long story short, I had no idea what was going on for much of the film's duration. But after doing some analysis (and perhaps reading some helpful analyses by people who have actually read the book that it's based on), it hit me. Now I have a lot of appreciation for the film's unique and cryptic way of conveying its central themes, and I should really watch it again now that I have some idea of what it's really about.
6. Mank
Based on a script by his late father Jack, director David Fincher got ambitious with this Hollywood biopic. The film centers on the (somewhat embellished) true story of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (played here by Gary Oldman), and his time working on the legendary screenplay for Citizen Kane (1941) - truly the Citizen Kane of movies, if you ask me.
The story is quite controversial, as it highlights Mankiewicz's role so much that it more or less demonizes Orson Welles (played here by Tom Burke), who is often seen as the sole genius behind Citizen Kane. Bold points-of-view aside, one thing beyond any debate is that Fincher does an astonishing job directing. Mank is not only shot in black-and-white, but there are countless small touches in the cinematography, editing and production design departments (not to mention the dialogue) that truly make the film feel like an actual 1940's film - something that many modern filmmakers have tried to do, but almost never as successfully.
5. Palm Springs
Who gave a romantic comedy starring two sitcom actors permission to be this awesome??
Please, if you have the possibility, watch Palm Springs without knowing anything about the plot or premise (or genre) beforehand. I did just that, and it was quite the joyride - it begins like a very usual romcom, and around the 11-minute mark it throws the first of many out-of-the-box curveballs to the viewer's delight. The film is an untypical combination of genres, and while I hugely appreciate the creativity put into the story, the very best part of the movie is honestly just how well it works as a mere love story. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti have amazing chemistry in their roles, making this into a film that really immerses a viewer like myself in rooting for the characters.
4. Da 5 Bloods
Spike Lee's latest joint has it all - a Vietnam War setting, a hidden treasure -narrative, a tense-as-hell minefield sequence, Delroy Lindo earning himself an Oscar nomination (I'm guessing) in the role of a mentally unstable, Trump-supporting African-American war veteran, just the strange balance of comedy and darkness that you'd expect from Spike Lee, just the type of genius juxtapositions between fiction and reality that you'd expect from Spike Lee, just the kind of scathing social criticism that you'd expect from Spike Lee, Finland's own Jasper Pääkkönen playing a Finnish guy named Seppo, and even a tear-jerking, inspiring final performance by the late Chadwick Boseman. Need I say more?
3. The King Of Staten Island
Speaking of a perfect balance between comedy and drama, this film will make you laugh, then cry, then cry from laughter, and then chuckle while crying. I'm a huge fan of comedian Pete Davidson, from his top-notch work on Saturday Night Live (1975-Present) to his stand-up comedy act. With The King Of Staten Island, he basically did what Eminem did with 8 Mile (2002) - he told his story, not as a straight-up biopic, but as a fictional drama semi-loosely based on his own life, where he plays the lead character who has a different name but more or less is him. And the result was breathtaking.
As you might expect from a Pete Davidson film (directed by Judd Apatow, no less), there are moments of crude humor and black comedy. The film also doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of Davidson's life, from his mental health struggles to his difficult family ties. But beneath all of the dark and/or sick humor and the gripping realities that the film deals with, there is a raw and real layer of heart and hope to be found. The King Of Staten Island is extremely moving in a raw and unique way, and I recommend it to pretty much everyone - if you're a fan of Davidson's, you'll be sure to enjoy, and if you don't like the guy in all of his controversial behavior, this film might help you understand him a bit better.
2. Tenet
"Mind-bending" doesn't even begin to describe Christopher Nolan's latest masterpiece. I'm a huge fan of time travel fiction, and it is simply amazing that in a world filled with books, movies and television shows about travelling through time, Nolan came up with an entirely new and fresh way to write time travel. That's a creative genius right there.
I won't say hardly anything about the plot or about how time travel works in this film, because it's better to see it for yourself. Let's just say that it's a film that demands a lot from its viewers - it's almost like Nolan got annoyed at his nerdier fans complaining about his films being so filled with exposition and over-explanatory dialogue, and he made this film to state "Okay, how do you like it when I don't explain anything any more than I have to and make you guys do all the brainwork?". But if you're in the right frame of mind and ready to use the hell out of your brain in an attempt to follow the film's complicated plot, I can say that it's an incredibly rewarding experience.
There's a lot to love about Tenet - the cast is spectacular, Ludwig Göransson's soundtrack takes you out of this world with its psychedelic synth layers, and the thought that went into directing the action sequences in a way that keeps with the film's sci-fi rules is something the mortal human mind can barely grasp. But the film's biggest asset by far is simply the ultra-creative premise, and the genius way this premise is executed. It's a story unlike any other, and one that I'll find myself watching over and over again in the years to come.
1. The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Apparently, when Aaron Sorkin started working on the screenplay for this true-story courtroom drama, he didn't have current-day relevance in his mind, but rather wanted to tell an interesting historical story. Then the summer of 2020 happened, and the film accidentally became a super-topical eye-opening experience. Of course, civil rights issues, protests and police violence are by no means a new thing in the U.S., but these issues have been discussed on a wider platform and with more visibility this year than possibly ever before - and those are the exact issues that are argued about in this film, centering on the aftermath of a violent series of riots in Chicago to the backdrop of the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
While his primary strength has always been as a writer, Sorkin proves to be a surprisingly great director as well with this film. From the humorous ways the dialogue cuts away from one scene to another in the memorable opening sequence, to the way that the loud soundtrack, intense cinematography and various other touches make the main riot sequence into a heart-pounding and tear-jerking thing to behold, the movie is filled with great style touches. The cast is also top notch, between Eddie Redmayne's emotional lead performance and Sacha Baron Cohen's unique portrayal of unique character Abbie Hoffman, just to name a few.
The movie's final scene is especially powerful, as it really appealed to my worldview and made me cry my eyes out. The Trial Of The Chicago 7 is an extremely important film, as it delves into many of the defining questions of our current societal debate regarding civil rights - where does the blame lie when protests turn violent, is the responsibility with the protesters or the police to keep the situation safe, why are they protesting in the first place et cetera. The story may take place in the late 60's, but it is incredibly relevant in 2020, which is why I recommend this film to every single person reading this blog. If you're only going to watch one film from this year, let it be this one.
Thank you for reading - not only this week's blog, but throughout the past year! More good stuff coming in 2021, starting with next Thursday's ranking of 2020's greatest television shows. Happy New Year!
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