2020 was a weird year. Unlike most previous years, I watched only a few movies in theaters: only 12 compared to 62 in 2019. Lots of movies slated for 2020 release got pushed back to 2021, so the things that did come out were usually smaller expected box office returns or already slated for streaming services. I took the opportunity to catch up on my backlog and the vast majority of the movies I ended up watching (140 out of 158) came out in a year prior to 2020.
So given all that, I figured instead of a year end list of movies that came out last year, I’d give a list of movies that I saw in the last year, regardless of what year they came out.
15. The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
This movie is based on a Japanese folktale and it’s lovingly animated in a style reminiscent of traditional Japanese watercolors. Being a Ghibli film the caliber of animation is incredible and the storytelling is extremely compelling. Each and every character is well realized such that every moment is full of meaning.
14. The Old Guard (2020)
The Old Guard is exactly my kind of shit. The basic idea is “what if some people were immortal, what could they do with it?”. The immeasurable Charlize Theron plays the leader of the group of immortals who has to cope with being hunted by a tech magnate who wants to study them in order to gain eternal life while trying to acclimate a new immortal to her new life. It’s got well staged action, which actually is surprising given that you’d think immortality would kill all tension, but it’s handled well. The lore is where the movie really shines though and it’s obvious they have a plan for more movies which could go in very interesting directions. This doesn’t stop the main plot from being well paced and compelling, though.
13. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) / Weekend at Bernie’s II (1993)
Kinda cheating by putting two movies here, but whatever, it’s my blog!
First up, Weekend at Bernie’s. It’s kind of amazing how well this movie actually manages to stretch it’s pretty thin premise. However, I was laughing right up until the credits. Each running gag and subplot feeds into the main humor very well that I just had a fun time with it. Like a fun vacation and your friend’s island getaway!
Weekend at Bernie’s II somehow manages to inject life into the dead horse beating of the first movie.1 The incredibly silly but versatile addition to the premise of Bernie’s corpse being voodoo cursed to dance to the beat really sets up some great comedic moments. Although this movie is a bit more “plot heavy” than the first, it never misses an opportunity to bring out a laugh.
12. The Wind Rises (2013)
The second Ghibli film on this list and not the last one, this is probably the most subdued I’ve seen of their filmography, probably because this is a fairly straight biopic. However despite it’s real-world subject, the film uses the format of animation to do some amazing moments, often seamlessly transitioning between the real and surreal with no cuts. My only complaint is the treatment of a person who was instrumental in creating weapons of war as pure of heart feels a bit disingenuous at time. However, I think it gives appropriate weight to the consequences of his actions.
11. The One I Love (2014)
I watched this movie based on the strength of it’s trailer alone, which is intriguing as hell. Like the trailer, I won’t reveal the central thing in the movie, but I love the way it’s done. This movie doesn’t so much have a twist so much as slowly revealing the truth over the course of nearly the whole movie. And it does it all with really just two actors for the bulk of the runtime.
10. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
This movie is based on an Agatha Christie story and it shows. Nearly 100 years later (the story was published in 1925) and her mastery of the mystery genre still shows through. Again being a mystery movie I won’t give anything away, but this movie tickles me in a similar way to Knives Out (itself drawing heavily from Christie’s influence of course). Each moment is full of high stakes drama where you are never quite sure whose word you can trust. But in the end, it still manages to surprise and, most importantly, delight.
9. Blood Quantum (2019)
Blood Quantum is more or less your standard zombie movie with one very interesting twist: the main characters are largely First Nations people who through a quirk of biology are immune to the zombie infection. Created by First Nations filmmakers and actors, the thematic element of the power dynamic between natives and colonizers being flipped on its head is never far from your mind. Plus it’s just got some all time classic zombie action.
8. Three Days of the Condor (1975)
I had been vaguely aware of this movie by reputation of Robert Redford, who plays a CIA researcher who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small office. This is a pure, uncut spy movie that is a classic for a reason. Every twist and turn is carefully calibrated to leave our protagonist always on his back foot. And so you’re always waiting for yet another shoe to drop until the final scene plays.
7. A Few Good Men (1992)
Another venerated classic, it’s a classic for a reason. Aaron Sorkin’s famous dialogue is here in force, brought to life by some of the greats: Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon. It’s a classic courtroom drama to a t with all of the best parts. It’s a must see, though you probaly don’t need me to tell you that.
6. The Invisible Man (2020)
This movie teeters on the edge of thriller vs. horror in a way that made me maybe a bit too tense, but it’s such an incredible premise that I was willing to power through. And does it deliver. So much of the movie depends on Elizabeth Moss’s incredible performance, often acting against a completely invisible person. The themes of gaslighting and abuse are extremely well realized to such an amazingly stark degree. I would love to gush more abuot specific scenes, but you should just watch it!
5. Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Everyone told me this movie owns and holy shit they were right. From the first moments the animation is amazing, impressive as any of the best Ghibli films. The story is what really shines here though, leaning hard into the environmentalist theme found in many of the studio’s filmography.
4. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
This is the most fun I had watching a superhero movie in a while. The DCEU is in such a weird postion right now after the tanking of Zack Synder’s vision, but I’m glad that we got something like Birds of Prey to come out of the wreckage, the a Phoenix. The ensemble cast each with their own subplots which eventually converge in the climax is just fun and cathartic from start to finish. Hell, this movie manages to make you sad when Harley gets her breakfast sandwich knocked out of her hands, and that’s just in the first few minutes of the movie.
3. Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)
I coincidentally watched this movie about a week after the beginning of the George Floyd protests, but it has unfortunately become even more relevant since then. A dramatization of the Judges Trial during the Nuremberg trails following the fall of Nazi Germany, it rightly shows that the only way forward when injustice as occured is reaffirmation of that justice. It also shows how much of evil is banal; people saving their own skins at the expense of others. It’s important to watch now, but also important to understand that one of it’s lessons is that justice doesn’t always last.
2. American History X (1998)
If Nuremberg is a reminder of what we need to remember, American History X is a reminder of how we got where we are now. This deep look into the mindset of white supremacist in the late 90s is all too relevant today, with those groups having grown further away from the fringes of society. But it also has some hope that it is possible to escape this trap. On a lighter note, I enjoyed the mini-reunion of some Star Trek actors in this movie (Avery Brooks and Jennifer Lien).
1. Das Boot (1981)
Das Boot is the platonic ideal of a submarine movie. The cramped, single hallway of U-96 is the setting of the bulk of the runtime of this nearly 2.5 hour movie. Despite it’s length I was near the edge of my seat for a huge amount of that time. The moments of tension and release are pitch perfect and you can’t help but enjoy every triumph and despair at every defeat of the crew.
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I crack myself up ↩︎