14 January 2021
This article is a look at my favourite films of 2020. |
MY TOP 26 FAVOURITE FILMS OF 2020
26. ARKANSAS
Since BREAKING BAD, narcotics thrillers are 10 a penny. This doesn’t reinvent the wheel but has style, wit and enthusiasm. In a neo-noir way, has a flavour of the Coen brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
|
25. THE INVISIBLE MAN
Leigh Whannell’s stomach-clenching THE INVISIBLE MAN [2020] reminds of Steven Soderbergh’s excellent UNSANE [2018]. They are so tense you want them to be over, in a good way.
|
24. BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
23. WEATHERING WITH YOU
22. EMMA.
21. PURE AS SNOW
20. THE DECLINE
19. THE CALL
It is so rare when a movie pulls the rug from under an audience, here in terms of tone and genre. Starts off as a naff time travel flick with a generic title, but evolves into a tense serial killer movie. A cross between FREQUENCY and LOOPER.
|
18. LOST BULLET
17. BIRDS OF PREY
A ratatat superhero bone-breaking action flick. Is fun, violent, and has a relevant baddie - Ewan McGregor channelling inheritance man-baby misogynist villainy. There are some stand out shots and sequences - uncommon for a blockbuster - especially Harley Quinn breaking into a police station. Out Deadpools DEADPOOL.
|
16. RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR
15. THE HUNT
An action-comedy political satire. Violence and humour intermingle as “liberal elites” hunt, for sport, guessed at Trump supporters. Far from one-sided, the film’s targets range from the perceived tedious, sanctimonious word policing of the left to the perceived hypocrisy of the right. The main aim is those who do not think through consequences. Entertaining, but could have delved deeper.
|
14. THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN
13. GREED
12. EXTRA ORDINARY
11. SMALL AXE
The first project I’ve seen that is both television and film. Five stories looking at racial injustice in Britain. Hard to watch in one go, they are so profoundly upsetting. Ferocious odds and injustice are arrayed against the protagonists, yet hope is given and guidance. Is Steve McQueen the UK’s best director working right now?
In particular: MANGROVE - What a courtroom drama! The camerawork and framing are masterful. ALEX WHEATLE - Heartbreaking isolation in the care system. Societal brutality exacerbated by racism, but despair is narrowly avoided through wise advice. |
10. THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
9. CAPITAL IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
8. SAMURAI MARATHON
7. CRAZY WORLD
I agree with this film: Action movies don’t rot your brain, it’s love stories. Takes meta to a new level. Even though only an hour long, it packs so much into the runtime.
Ugandan action-comedies are my new jam! Specifically Wakaliwood. (Check out the director’s WHO KILLED CAPTAIN ALEX? and BAD BLACK.) |
6. THE PLAGUES OF BRESLAU
5. TIME TO HUNT
4. MOSUL
Produced by the directors and writers of AVENGERS: ENDGAME, respect to them for using their clout to make this. And Netflix. A rare American war film from the perspective of Iraqis. An elite, unfathomably brave Iraqi SWAT team hunt ISIS amid the desolation of the country’s second largest city. Heart-pumping and heart-rending.
|