2020 was sucked. So sucked that everyone tagging themselves “I survived 2020” label as if it’s a medal of honor. Personally for me, 2020 sure had some ups and downs, However I’m so grateful I could get much to receive last year (not to mention a huge leap in terms of epiphany). Anyway, even if 2020 was the worst year for you, hey, I believe there are still some things you can be grateful for. No matter how small it is. So cheers for the passing year and let’s welcome the (hopefully) better year of 2021!
Okay, no more babbling and let’s move on.
2020 was surely harsh for movie industries
in general: theaters were closed, lots of movies were pushed back from its
original release dates / moved to streaming services, shifts and changing trend
in audiences’ preferences, etc. You get the point. But one thing that was
totally benefitted so much during this time was definitely streaming services.
Netflix topped 2020 with Mank, Enola Holmes, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (and among
others); Amazon got their praises through Sound of Metal, Borat 2 and their hit
series The Boys, Disney + with the awesome Season 2 of The Mandalorian, and
Apple TV for Wolfwalkers. Although the Oscars would probably be dominated by
streaming movies, A24 is still going strong with critically acclaimed Minari,
On the Rocks (co-produced with Apple TV) and First Cow. And international
features like The Long Walk, Bacurau, A Sun, deserve some spotlights. Less eye
candy movies, more original and Oscar caliber ones? Hell, yes.
Before we get to my top 10 list, here are some honourable mentions that literally almost made it:
- Bacurau
- Pieces of a Woman
- Farewell Amor
- Tenet
- Wonder Woman 1984
- Soul
- Mangrove
- Blow the Man Down
- The Invisible Man
- Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- A Sun
- Da 5 Bloods
And so, the main attractions of the
circus:
10. Birds of Prey (dir. Cathy Yan)
The only film I watched in the movie theater
last year. Birds of Prey is surprisingly what I’ve wanted: a comic book take on
toxic feminity with well-acted, well-choreographed actions, incredible set pieces
with bright and acidic colors all over? Well count me in! Although it’s a
little bit thin on plot, but hey, the ballsy move to aim for R-rated Suicide
Squad spinoff surely pays off! Cathy Yan manages to blend the fun yet dark
comedic tone of the movie is perfectly balanced with Margot Robbie’s energetic
and tremendous dedication for the role she was born to play, and of course, all
that great tics from Ewan McGregor as Black Mask. Damn, I didn’t see that
coming.
9. The Long Walk (dir. Mattie Do)
What if supernatural horror, thriller and
science fiction were mashed together? That’s what you get from the highly
anticipated third film from Mattie Do, The Long Walk. Like His House, The Long
Walk doesn’t rely too much on jump scares, but it is more about philosophical
thoughts, depth emotional feelings toward redemption and loss, as well as
religious meaning behind it. The film itself is a wholly original concept that
you rarely get these days, and it’s a perfect piece of the introductory of Laos
cinema to international audiences. Mattie Do, one of the finest Southeast Asian
filmmakers working today, proves herself to be formidable among her
contemporaries. And its because her passion and responsibility of her arts that
stays with me, and resonates through all her films. If you lucky enough to talk
with her, she’s a wonderful person. I’m a big fan!
8. Wolfwalkers (dir. Tomm Moore & Ross
Stewart)
I have a hard time choosing between
Wolfwalkers or Soul. And I personally love all Pete Docter’s works (Up, Inside
Out). But hands down, I think the best animated movie of this year is the
amazingly insane animation polished with good ol’ folklore narrative in the
form of Wolfwalkers. Sure, Soul has its soulful (excuse my pun) emotional beat
just what you’d expect from a Pixar film. But Wolfwalkers to me is waking my
inner childhood more. Although it’s a clear good vs evil kinda story, with the
seemingly predictable twists and turns, it surprisingly captivates me both on
visual and emotional level. Thanks for making me 6 years old again. Ah, those
were simpler times..
7. His House (dir. Remi Weekes)
2020 has a long list of great horror
movies: Possessor, The Invisible Man, some to name a few. But His House is what
wins my heart or gut (?) the most. Sure, people will compare this to the social
horror thriller like Get Out, but in terms of simplicity and impacts? Boom,
it’s almost the same and in fact, better in some ways. His House has some great
jump scare moments without relying too much on it. Its repercussion with
philosophical yet cultural mystic of South Sudanese culture blended with
modern-present-day-kinda-like social tension that undoubtly experienced by most
refugees? It’s socially and politically charming yet frightful at the same
time. Oh, and don’t forget that moving performance by Wunmi Mosaku. We have a
clear winner here.
6. Mank (dir. David Fincher)
Mank is a movie that I’d never think David
Fincher’s gonna make. But in the end, he did actually, and no matter what
subject he brought to us, his Fincheresque stays. The seemingly absent but yet
so subtle Fincher’s trademarks scattered scene by scene are easy to miss and
somewhat feel too subliminal. Compared to his earlier works, Fincher’s actually
getting more and more subtle as he gotten older; concealing in every genre he
makes and just disappears into the fabric of something else without a trace. And
Mank is one of the best examples of this. Brilliantly shot in black and white,
Fincher managed to recreate the atmosphere of the Golden Age of Hollywood
through grandeur production set designs, aesthetic look that exactly match the
time period, cleverly sharp dialogue, superb acting from Oldman and Seyfried
whom I strongly believe would be nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting
Actress respectively, and of course, a period-authentic retro mono sound by
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It is David Fincher at the height of his power.
5. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (dir.
Charlie Kaufman)
I didn’t expect to see a thriller directed
by Charlie Kaufman, but hey I’ve seen it and I swear I thought I was watching a
drama film about existentialism and the sadness of being lonely and old (just
like other Kaufman movies). But, the movie is great. It starts painfully slow
as a drama, suddenly a thriller and then it blurs its line to absurdity and
over the top with I must say, an ambiguous ending (if you’re watching it first
time and without any wikipedia help). The story’s blatantly there, but Kaufman
being Kaufman, he did not get easy on you. He spins the narrative so uniquely
his style, that no other working directors nowadays can immitate him.
4. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (dir. Aaron
Sorkin)
Ah, the one that has all the Oscars flashes.
From its sharp walk and talk style to great performances by ensemble casts (in
particular Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Mark Rylance and Michael Keaton),
Aaron Sorkin’s historical film puts him to his familiar area of expertise: legal
drama. The dialogue is what we all expect come from Sorkin; the amazingly
accurate depiction of that time period; and those moments where you want to
scream in front of your iphone to Frank Langella’s hypocrite (sometimes over
the top) Judge Hoffman. It’s great, it’s solid, and successfully mixed my
feelings (certainly in a good way). Amidst of the latest police brutality
protests in the US and obvious allegory of Nixon as proto-Trump, I think The
Trial of the Chicago 7 is a right film in the right time.
3. (TIE) Sound of Metal (dir. Darius
Marder) / First Cow (dir. Kelly Reichardt)
It won’t be called Leo’s top 10 best
movies list if there were no any ties. I’d say Sound of Metal is an actor’s
film, and in this case, the film’s positive receptions I think primarily because
of Riz Ahmed’s breathtaking performance and passionate dedication as Ruben
Stone. Ahmed takes it to another level in 2020 with this and Mogul Mowgli. I
think what this movie triumphantly succeed, is to evocatively highlight the
experience of deaf community. It seems hard to connect at the first time, but
the impact aftermath makes you feel more intimate. How people accept and make
peace with their unpredictable sudden changes. And in the end, people just can’t
move on either to the old things or to the new things.
On the contrary, there is First Cow, a
masterfully directed film by Kelly Reichardt. If Sound of Metal mostly works thanks
to the elevated performance by its actor, then First Cow works by the precision
commands of its director. I’ve never seen any of Reichardt films before, but
what I feel while watching this film is the simplicity of it that stays with
me. It’s so simple that when I try to breakdown its plot, this movie should not
have worked in whatsoever. However, it’s detailed simplicity that turns this
film from ordinary to a masterpiece.
2. (TIE) Never Rarely Sometimes Always (dir.
Eliza Hittman) / Promising Young Woman (dir. Emerald Fennell)
It’s another tie. Both movies are based on
feminist point of view (post Me-Too movement) where one is about accepting the
pain and dealing with the aftermath while the other is just rejecting the pain
and taking revenge with it. Both saw men as evilish sexual predators where
masculinity dominates feminism through forced lust and erotic craves. Never
Rarely Sometimes Always is a movie that for me, has the same effect when I
first saw Call Me By Your Name. It is alienating at the first time, making it a
whole new perspective to be dissected for me. And as the film progresses, it
unfolds its layer of emotional stirs that you don’t need to be women to feel
all that pain and grief. On the contrary, if Never Rarely Sometimes Always is
my 2020’s Call Me By Your Name, then Promising Young Woman is my 2020’s
Midsommar. And here’s why: each protagonist walks her cathartic journey through
darkness toward light (both end with emasculation). Dani in Midsommar experiences
her rocky relationship with his boyfriend, Christian, just to find out that he’s
too much of a shitty man whose willful inconsideration and lack of empathy
borders on sociopathic line. Same here with Cassie in Promising Young Woman:
traumatized by the rape of her best friend (or even lover) in public by her
classmate, Al Monroe, whose teenage innocence borders on sociopathic line. Both
men are ended emasculated in different way: Christian gets a literal
emasculation through burnt to a crisp while Al gets his in the most Me-Too way:
publicized past video scandal.
1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (dir. George
C. Wolfe)
Where to start... A black-centric film
about the life and career of the mother of blues in 1920s during Great Depression
era with Viola Davis’ sweatin over the seemingly accurate and caleidoscopic suburbs
of Chicago? Check. A posthumous Oscar worthy performance (and 100% guaranteed
Best Actor winner) by Chadwick Boseman? Check. A great storyline with a sprinkle
of social dicothomy of blacks and whites ala every single movie in the last
decade? Check. This movie has it all. George C. Wolfe manages to awe-strike me
with every tics of Davis and Boseman’s performances, especially Boseman whose
anger and empathy to joy and cheerful moments of screen time are channeled
right into the perfect energy of charisma that it perhaps the greatest achievement
an actor could do ever. For a long time, I haven’t been making an emotional
face while watching on such movie. And this time, boy, did I do it. Thanks.
That's my list and see you on the Oscars predictions!
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