The Movies of 2020
But I’m most upset about Promising Young Woman. Even after that Tenet experiment they decided the only way I could see this movie this year was in theatres one day before a lockdown… cool… cool. Needless to say, I didn’t make it. But this isn’t about what I didn’t get to see. It’s about celebrating what was actually released and what I actually got to see.
January
January’s winner is… Just Mercy! Much like Promising Young Woman this year, Just Mercy was too cool for me to see in 2019 during the festival season. So I'm celebrating it here. I’ve heard some people I respect don’t like this movie. Maybe they don’t like the performances (which I disrespectfully disagree with them on. MBJ and Jamie put in work. Jamie even gave us an arc of charming to beaten down and frustrated then back to happy). Jamie Foxx is a great actor, period. Others might just not like the movie as a whole. Whatever floats your boats I guess…. If there’s one thing I love, it’s world building. The work they did with the inmates to let you know the world they created for themselves alone put this movie at the top for me. Plus the emotional highs of certain executions and certain trial results had me.
The Gentlemen is needlessly racist and then there’s the attempted rape scene (which is also tied to the racist stuff) but I like when Guy isn’t redoing Aladdin or King Arthur and I always enjoy the casts he assembles. Also there is a stick up that turns into a music video in the world of the movie and I can’t help but think that’s a great idea and the execution worked for me in theatres and at home so… I guess I’m a bad person. I saw Bad Boys for Life with my dad thus continuing the tradition of seeing these movies for the first time with my dad. This movie was also about sons and dads… so that’s interesting I guess. The new kids weren’t nearly as annoying as I thought they’d be so it also has that going for it. But, why oh why did they call it Bad Boys for Life? This only serves to undercut the potency of whenever they reveal the Bad Boys 4ever title.
Believe it or not I’m a big RDJ fan but it seems like he’s having some issues outside of playing Iron Man. Do you think he should have swapped with Matthew Rhys (a proper Welshman) and do Perry Mason like he was supposed to and let Matthew do Dolittle? I do. Dolittle has a great cast and they all seem to be in different movies. But also it seems the camera is cutting away from Robert any time he’s delivering a line. Just felt like no one was trying their best. Like A Boss was ok. I did find it weird that Rose Byrne was the poor kid taken in by Tiffany Haddish… but I’d hate it if it was the other way around so I guess the movie does have it’s positives. I honestly had fun with Glass Houses for a Sunday afternoon do nothing watch but it is by no means a good movie.
Febraury
February’s winner is… Birds of Prey! The trailers hooked me and then when I realized it was John Wick fight choreography with characters from one of my favourite universes… I failed to see a downside. I know people who don’t like it saying they thought there was too much fighting… ok I hope they keep that same energy for other franchises…. Anyway I get into my true analysis on episode 102 of Spoiled Rotten so you can listen to that and get more of what I liked about this movie. Also yes I forgot to mention that Cassandra Cain has been a voiceless Batwoman in the comics. I think I said she was Spoiler… I’m a bad person I guess.
The Invisible Man was a surprise to me. We know Elisabeth Moss can act but I genuinely didn’t know how an invisible man movie would work well. Then the movie shows you its hand. It’s about a woman trying to escape an abusive relationship that can involve gaslighting and a literal invisible man making things worse so no one believes her. I also loved the ending and where these movies could go in the future. I think I was similarly surprised by Sonic even though I shouldn’t have been. Like 10 minutes in I was like OH YEAH! I love 90s Jim Carrey and Sonic. That’s what this movie is delivering. Also, like Invisible Man, the ending of Sonic the Hedgehog promises nothing but good times in future films!
Bro I simply didn’t get The Assistant. It ended and I was like… I didn’t even really think this movie got started. It was like a bunch of build up till the credits. I am not that smart so there is a chance this movie is amazing, subtle, and sophisticated but it seemed like a waste of one of the most fierce women from Ozark, Julia Garner. Julia doesn’t always have to play fierce but she never really plays invisible either. Maybe that was the point. Maybe the movie just wasn’t for me. No. It’s bad. Final answer. I didn’t like Horse Girl. It’s a bit too much whimsy with very little grounding to make me invested. Oh no, Will and Julia, what is you doing, babies? Downhill is an American remake of a foreign film, I’ve heard is great but never saw, that didn’t want to commit, making it feel sloppy and miscast. I don’t think you need me to tell you Fantasy Island isn’t great. And I liked the cast of The Photograph. I. wish there was more to the movie they were in though.
March
March’s winner is… Uncorked! You want to tell a story about a father and a son and how that relationship affects the protagonist. You’ve got a story I will lean into, friend. That is exactly what Prentice Penny, representing for Insecure and the much slept on Happy Endings, did. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about wine, and I never intend on getting to know more, but the story of a young man who wants to become a sommelier was one of the most gripping movies I watched in 2020. Great cast and it definitely hits you in the feels at exactly the right moments.
Emma was a nice film. Especially as I watched it with Pauline and we picked out who represented which Clueless character. No, seriously, it’s a well made movie and I genuinely think I liked it more than most people I know. I don’t know if it was my desire to not watch Black people struggle in 2020 but The Banker won me over. I loved the look of it and it had Sammy J adding to his list of great performances. It’s not all sunshine and happiness, though. Samuel’s Joe Morris warns Anthony Mackie’s Bernard Garrett that you can’t trust anyone but white people’s knowledge of the fact that when they betray people others will look the other way definitely comes into play in a refreshingly honest way. Plus the movie doesn’t end on a downer, even though it does seem a bit too cheery. I’ve done some deep soul searching and I think the only reason I think Wendy is a good movie despite all the 1/10 reviews I read is because I love the story of Peter Pan. Plus Peter is black in this version and I thought the girl playing Wendy was great. But also, when I guessed who would be Captain Hook and got it right, I felt like I was a genius and that the movie was also genius because great minds think alike. Although I would say that it’s time for Benh to work with people who he didn’t just find on the way to locations. I’m listening to the Wendy score as I write this and I just can’t fathom a world where people don’t at least let that give the movie some good grace to coast on. I genuinely don’t remember much about Onward other than the lead reminded me of my good friend also named Ian and that’s nice. Vivarium is weird but totally worth watching. I kinda dug it.
Guns Akimbo is fun but ultimately I was kinda happy when the movie was done and I don’t think that’s the response you want when someone is watching your work. Swallow lost me with its ending. It seemed to abandon where I thought it was going not leaving enough time to give me the movie I guess it was leading to. Ben Affleck made an oddly flat addiction/sports movie. That or I just don’t get the cinematic references that supposedly elevate The Way Back. The Hunt was stuck not committing to a take. But it’s got some great action in it. I don’t get the love for First Cow. My love for Deadwood kept me invested but my lack of enthusiasm for just being outside and listening to nature kinda put a ceiling on how enjoyable this movie could have been. I did like when they almost got caught by the cow’s owner but I guess the kind of movie this is would never play that tension out in an appealing way for me. Bloodshot has some genuinely interesting ideas but doesn’t trust the audiences and steps on some of its own reveals. I don’t get what people like about Blow the Man Down other than the chorus who I imitated for months after watching this movie. They are genuinely great.
April
April’s winner is… Bad Education! I’m pretty sure this should have been a mini-series but here we are. A great story about corruption and who pays the price. Even though Hugh Jackman nailed the role of Wolverine, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a great actor sans claws. Hugh J and Allison J are both amazing in this movie and even though there was a pretty satisfying ending to this movie, I just felt like I wanted more time with all these characters to truly flesh everything out.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always, was great but I did feel like I was being put at a distance from the lead. That was probably on purpose. Either way I can’t describe why but I felt less engaged in the film. Tigertail came from Alan Yang, the co creator of Master of None and Forever, two shows I feel can be funny but don’t need to be. Unfortunately the magic from those shows didn’t really translate to this almost self-serious story about Alan’s parents. Still good but, judging by the other work from this creator, not as special. I really like Eric Andre. I really like man on the street type gags. I really liked Bad Trip.
Extraction is a really well shot fight sequence. Funny I didn’t hear anyone complaining that Chris Hemsworth was just fighting the whole time in this… Anyway without characters I could genuinely care about the movie didn’t work as well for me as it did for others. Love Wedding Repeat made me realize I actually like Sam Clafin… I think. At any rate, that’s all I got out of the movie, unfortunately.
May
May’s winner is… The Trip To Greece! I get the feeling this movie is my First Cow. The scenery, the two men bonding, the food. It’s all there, But this movie has better scenes of people doing impressions and way more Greek scenery. Sorry Daki, I know we said we’d watch this after the Pandemic died down, but that didn’t really happen in 2020.
The Lovebirds and The High Note both had charming moments and featured strong Black female leads that I enjoy on TV shows.
Scoob! was almost there. It had a fun concept, music I liked and a diverse cast. It just seemed like we could have done more to honour some great living voice actors since I don’t think the Jason Issacs and Mark Whalberg fans are rushing to see this. I could be wrong though. How To Build A Girl was missing some elements that I think would have made it a much more successful film. It’s genuinely hard for me to get on board when everyone is a bad person. I’m a big Lauren Lapkus fan so I gave the Wrong Missy a chance. The movie is as good as it can be given the track record of the studio it came from. Valley Girl is a jukebox musical starring Cher from Clueless but doesn’t want to give her credit. It’s fine I guess. I honestly don’t remember a lot of what happens. Hey Josh Trank got to make a movie again… Capone didn’t work for me. It seemed like it purposefully was avoiding getting into the obvious story it needed to tell. Maybe Fantastic Four wasn’t all the studio’s fault…
June
June’s winner is… Da 5 Bloods! I still don’t know where I land with Spike Lee. Surely he’s made more good movies than he has spouted things I just can’t get down with, right? Either way. Da 5 Bloods has black people in Vietnam (HEY I DID THAT) going for it, plus Chadwick and an amazing cast all around but more specifically Delroy Lindo daring you not to nominate him for all the awards. I got into it on the Uncolonized Podcast if you want to hear more about what I think.
I don’t know why but Pauline loves Pete Davidson, But she does. As such, I guess I care about him too even though he didn’t quite make the cut on the best SNL members list. His movie has some good parts but I think I’m tapped out on the Apatow love. He really showed his ass during the Cosby stuff as it pertains to his respect for Black people, more specifically Black women. As the director and the guy he is, I think his finger prints might have undone what could have potentially been a better movie.
Honestly Eurovision isn’t as good as I think it is. But I had some laughs. Same goes for 2 Minutes of Fame and it does star Jay Pharoah who I do think made the cut for SNL. Shirley should have been better. It stars Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg. Two extremely consistent actors who deliver. I was just left feeling like, “That’s it? That’s your big idea for a movie?”
July
July’s winner is… Palm Springs! Yes I love Andy Samberg. But he didn’t write this movie, he just makes sure he delivers in it. I also realize that Cristin Milioti elevates every role I’ve ever seen her in. They did her dirty on How I Met Your Mother and she’s been making sure they regret that every time she pops up in something. I also didn’t see her character’s turn coming because I was too busy enjoying the ride.
Hamilton is one of my favourite things. Not because I think it absolves the forefathers of any of their sins, but because I love the music and think it’s great that that many people of colour get to be on a broadway stage without having to sing “OLD MAN RIVER”. I guess I’m a bad person. However, someone just taped the stage show so I can’t make it the winner. There is a bit of a narrative to Black is King and it co-stars JAY-Z but again I can’t really assess it as a movie. It’s just a present Queen Bey gave us that we should all enjoy. I thoroughly enjoyed Yes, God, Yes. It seems to have Netflix’s casting director, but I didn’t find that distracting, I was just impressed with Natalia Dyer’s Alice’s quest to learn about tossing salad and her reactions to hypocrisy. The Old Guard had a Black female director that knew exactly how to shoot action and deliver a pretty engaging comic book movie… somehow Grace Randolph chose to ignore that as she continued her weird crusade against women having more decision making power in Hollywood. Also Gina Prince-Bythewood was all up in A Different World. A TV show I just finished rewatching for the 11 hundredth time in lockdown so I’m all for the advancement of Gina Prince-Bythewood. Sue me I enjoyed Desperados. It’s obvious and holds no real surprises in store but it had a Black and Iranian-American lead (who made the SNL cut by the way) so I was more invested in the outcome.
I already knew Fatal Affair was going to be bad. Deep down you did too. But I had to watch.
August
August’s winner is… Tenet! I don’t need a trailer for a Christopher Nolan film. I’m sold on his brand. You just tell me when I can see it and I’m there. But you tell me Christopher Nolan has a black lead in his next movie. I will do anything to see that movie. No really. I risked my life for this movie. I went to an actual movie theatre during a pandemic to watch Tenet. It did not disappoint. Did it suffer from what most Nolan films suffer from? You bet. However, Christopher Nolan’s ability to make things seem more complicated while giving you most of the bread crumbs to sort things out really works for me. PLUS JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON is the protagonist. No seriously his name is the protagonist.
I’m all in for Colour Blind casting word to Hamilton and The Great. So, obviously, I was down for a colour blind period piece by Armando Iannucci, word to Veep! While Armando doesn’t have access to his usual expletive laden dialogue, he is still able to deliver something very satisfying. Anyway try not to enjoy Dickens when you aren’t limited to just white actors! I was excited for KiD CuDi in Bill & Ted Face The Music as it’s clear that Scott wanted to hit us with music, tv, and MOVIES! But it was Anthony Carrigan who proved he’s always going to steal the scene when he’s on screen as the really bad robot assassin, Dennis Caleb McCoy. Plus I liked the different versions of Bill and Ted throughout the film. I do wish they committed to Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine as the leads, though. I think Project Power was fine, but I will not be revisiting to confirm one way or the other. An American Pickle needed to be more fun based on the subject matter. It was oddly earnest. And young Seth Rogen was such a BUMMER!
Unhinged surprised me by committing to Russell being the bad guy. I thought he was going to be some kind of an anti-hero. But at the end of the day it’s a Russell Crowe vehicle and I’m not really here for those types of movies. The New Mutants is what happens when you film like 70% of a script, hope to solve that issue with reshoots then realize you can’t get those reshoots. Also they spelled one of the creator’s, Bob McLeod, names wrong and decided against casting afro-latino actors (even though they were written that way - I hear that means everything) so I don’t really know what to tell you. It is bad.
September
September’s winner is… The Boys In The Band! I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I really like when plays get turned into movies and they keep all the TALKING and limited locations. I’m not joking. I loved all the secrets getting unraveled and the feuds unfold. They even managed to slip in some race relations.
Pieces of a Woman was one of the TIFF movies we were allowed to pay to watch online… Pauline and I feel like royalty. I now is not the time to praise Shia so I will just say that Vanessa Kirby is a treasure and she was so good in this movie about a pregnancy and how it can affect a family but mostly the woman who is pregnant. And she still has time to show up in the best Mission Impossible movie and Hobbs & Shaw. TALENT! Concrete Cowboy was another movie TIFF let us pay to watch online. It’s so nice to be part of this exclusive club… If only we meet the requirements to be able to pay for One Night in Miami or Nomadland… ohe well. I’m always here for Idris and the kid from Stranger Things but I don’t know if all the good parts added up to a great film. The Devil All The Time made sure that I knew Tom Holland can do more than Spider-Man. It was better than I thought it would be from a painfully white cast. Is Zoey Deutch a proper lead? She must be because I was on board with her Peg character in Buffaloed from beginning till end. It didn’t hurt that fellow Black Hole Film podcast guest and Deathmatch Dad cast member, Nicholas Carella shows up and kills it in many scenes. Enola Holmes brought Henry Cavill into the Sherlock universe and my new favourite white British actor, Sam Clafin. Also the Fleabag director loves that turn to camera shot, don’t he? The movie had great momentum then lost me once we stopped looking for mom. The important thing is Elven can do more than Stranger Things, because Godzilla had me worried. Unpregnant also had its moments.
I just can’t condone the fact that people love I’m Thinking of Ending Things. It feels like a “It was all a dream” type ending that then slaps you in the face with an LOL let’s end on a musical number. I wish people had the patience with non white directors who make those types of swings. Sorry to all the great actors who did great jobs in this frustrating movie that represents a bigger problem than the (wow… I just looked it up… ) 2 hours and 14 minutes that this movie runs for. Antebellum is a real head scratcher. I didn’t like it, and feel that it lied during its promotional campaign. It put Janelle Monet in a pretty racially tone deaf movie. The Babysitter sequel brought back some characters I liked but I didn’t recognize the lead and felt the movie just wasn’t able to capture the magic of the first one. Mulan… oof. They made Mulan a literal magical woman. She didn’t learn to persevere she just stopped hiding her literal magic. Seems to me if you’re removing Mushu who is offensive, you may want to avoid making a real life person someone who uses magic to be a hero. Just me I guess. Love, Guaranteed was somehow worse than I thought it would be.
October
October’s winner is… The Forty-Year-Old Version! Radha Blank must be protected at all costs. I can’t wait to see what happens the next time she’s able to make something. The Forty-Year-Old-Version explores the writing process, hip hop, and has some misanthropic moments that tickle me to no end. It’s also about creating art as a Black person. The movie even inspired an episode of Uncolonized Podcast! Everyone needs to see this.
On The Rocks featured Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans in a Sofia Coppola movie. Yeah I was interested. The movie actually ended up surprising me and I enjoyed all the performances throughout. Maybe I’m just in the bag for Aaron Sorkin but I didn’t hate The Trial Of The Chicago 7. I liked the performances and was happy to see Yahya light up the movie with his performance. I don’t think we needed a Borat sequel but at least we got Maria Bakalova as Borat’s daughter. I hope Hollywood doesn’t waste her talent. Oh yeah, even Zemeckis wanted to work with Black people as leads too with his remake of The Witches co-written by Kenya “I make a lot of tv” Barris, Guillermo “Sure I’ll do your movie, PSYCHE” del Toro and a producer credit from Alfonso Cuarón… I simply must watch the documentary about the making of this movie. I found Anne’s accent very distracting. But that’s my own issue, I think she did a good job overall. I didn’t mind Vampires vs. The Bronx but felt it could have been a bit more fun.
Apparently everyone was in on the joke that Hubie Halloween was supposed to be bad. I didn’t get that sense, but sure, that’ll teach them not to give you a (seriously much deserved) nomination for Uncut Gems. I guess I’m just not that into the original The Craft. Because the sequel(?)’s ending is great for world building but I also felt like… nah we can stop here. It should be noted that I am pretty sure I liked the movie more than Pauline did.
November
November’s winner is… Happiest Season! My initial thought was this was ok. But the more I thought about the movie, the more I appreciate it. Mary Holland definitely took advantage of everything she wrote for herself and I feel like we can all agree that Abby and Riley should have ended up together. There was also the very thoughtful exchange Dan “Schitt’s Creek is really good. YG’s initial thoughts were wrong” Levy’s John had about coming out that makes this movie more than just a fun holiday movie.
I think I’m missing something because I don’t hate Hillbilly Elegy like most smart critics I follow. I had some issues with the movie but it was more forgettable than it was offensive to me. Plus Pauline loved it and put her phone down the whole time we watched it so it can’t be bad at all. It takes a lot to get her attention.
Jingle Jangle certainly looks good and has a genuinely great soundtrack but unfortunately I didn’t get swept up in it the way others did. I love Melissa McCarthy, but Superintelligence ain’t it. I think I liked the First Princess Switch movie. I feel I was genuinely invested in the baking competition or whatever, but they lost me on this movie. Some of the secrets felt like they were just ways to have conflict instead of things even these characters would do. Oh well. I had high hopes for Freaky. It wasn’t as good as I hoped for.
December
December’s winner is… Soul! Pixar has done it again! A movie that forced self reflection and made me laugh. Plus it avoided the magical negro ending I really thought they were aiming for. Way to bookend the year, Jamie. Plus you showed up in the middle too!
Death To 2020 was exactly the laugh I needed at the end of this year and it was almost the winner of December. Thank goodness Ma Rainey gave us another non Black Panther performance from Chadwick to prove he can do more than just comic book movies… even though he’s really good at them. It’s another play using limited locations and lots of talking, so you know it worked for me. I especially loved the way Viola commanded respect throughout and didn’t let anyone tell her how or when she could do her thing! The ending was a bit much for me but I get why it’s there. Sound of Metal gave us THE Riz Ahmed performance I think? In a very good movie to boot. Mank was cool for me, but I get the sense everyone is not so keen on it anymore or never were??? It’s definitely not my favourite Fincher but I really liked anytime Orson made an appearance. Let Them All Talk has the weirdest description on Crave. It really sets the wrong expectations for the movie. But you should just go in looking to enjoy Meryl Streep, Lucas Hedges, and Gemma Chan in a Soderbergh movie. Sylvie’s Love looks really good and with Tessa Thompson in the leading role, it’s easy to let everything else just wash over you. I’m Your Woman starts off really interesting as a woman’s boyfriend brings her home a kid and then disappears. However there is that pesky matter of the middle where I found it hard to digest all the info hitting me. The ending tries its best to pull out of the nose dive. Yet and still, I enjoyed this movie more than other movies this month.
Black Bear’s magic trick was making me not notice that it is this weird male fantasy played out In two different ways even though Aubrey Plaza is ostensibly the lead and the author of both stories playing out in the movie while I watched it. Shame on me and the movie. I wanted more for Jillian Bell on her first G rated led movie but at least she got the look and did the best she could. I really wish Wonder Woman 1984 made better use of the cast it has. I really wish it wasn’t about how Wonder Woman gets over a man she knew for maybe a couple of months and then continued to live like 7 decades without. More thoughts can be found on episode 122 of Spoiled Rotten. The Prom lost me when it wanted to play “there are good/bad people on both sides” especially since its Ryan Murphy. I have a special spot for Life in a Year because Pauline and I were there while they filmed the opening of the movie during my mid day date with Pauline during that period where I had no work 3 years ago. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have even watched this movie when it finally showed up.
See, even though we didn’t get any MCU films, 2020 still had some great things going for it! Now that we have decided on the winners of each month, it’s time to find out which of those 12 movies make up my top 5 of 2020!
Thank goodness for black filmmakers and black leads in 2020, amirite??? Anyway let’s find out who the one true winner is!
Seriously, I thought Palm Springs would make my top 5 this year. But I had to really think about what wowed me and what stuck with me. So here we are with 5 great films regardless of the year and circumstances in which they were released for me to whittle down to one overall winner.
Just Mercy was a great film to emotionally engage with. I understand some people could have issues with the mechanics of the story telling or even some of the performances, but I think its emotional impact makes it more than the sum of its parts. I really don’t have much I would change about Uncorked. We are, however, trying to decide what my favourite movie of the year is, however, and I suppose that I feel there may be too many characters for the run time of the film. Some feel like they just fall off or get tied up neatly so we can get to the finish line. Tenet… the movie that got me out of my house and put me in a movie theatre during a pandemic. I guess I had to make it “worth it” in my head. But then Pauline and I saw it at a drive-in months later and I think I liked it even more. The point is I’m a Nolan Stan. This means I get he has shortcomings when it comes to female characters. This movie doesn’t fix that. But there is so much fun to unpack after seeing it and piecing together who certain characters really are and how names of characters, names of locations and the overall way the plot unfolds all come back to one work “TENET”. Makes you feel like a genius. But if you’re looking for some game changer, this movie ain’t it. It’s just a fun bond movie with John David in the lead and a pretty good performance from the new Batman directed by the guy who gave us the best Batman movie. I think we all know I’m in the bag for Jamie Foxx especially when he drops a movie in December. Soul felt like spending time with family and that’s important. But like I said, the movie really makes you think about how much weight people put on purpose as opposed to living a full life and respecting those around you. It’s a truly special movie that needed more Rachel House!
This leaves us with The Forty-Year-Old Version. A movie that is so specific about it’s lead/writer/director and yet speaks to almost everyone I spoke to about it. Yes I’m so happy a Black woman made this movie and created something for herself that Hollywood wouldn’t have given her if she was just the actor, just the writer, or just the director. But I feel the fact that Black people can get so much out of this movie and then Black creators or creators of any ethnicity makes this the movie of the year. Oh yeah, and its connection to hip hop must be mentioned. When they had a set-piece based around an all female rap battle I knew this movie was operating on a different level. As always, I hope the Oscars treat this movie accordingly, but I’m sure I won’t be surprised if they don’t. It’s a Netflix movie starring Black people without a white saviour. But it’s black and white so it’s classy!!! Either way, looking forward to what 2021 will bring us in terms of movies.
-YG