Cindy Prascik's Top Ten Movies of 2020

 

Ahhh...2020. Count me among the many who are delighted to say goodbye to you (goodbye to you-oo, goodbye to you)!

2020 was the weirdest of movie years, with most major releases opting to punt to the hopefully safer months of 2021, and many pictures that elected to test the "direct to home viewing" strategy feeling hurried, unpolished, and much like old TV movies of the week. Even with lockdowns and a hybrid work schedule that had me home more than I'm used to, I watched fewer films that I have in any other year in recent memory. Still, my dear reader(s), I feel like I owe you a list, and a list you shall have.

The usual disclaimers:

There were some noteworthy titles this year on which I deliberately took a pass. It seemed like horror was the genre that best comported itself in these new, strange times, but horror just does not interest me. My horror-loving friends report that I missed some quality offerings there. Some subject matter was just too contentious for me, given the times, such as the Trial of the Chicago Seven. I'm accustomed to seeing movies on opening weekend at the cinema, and I don't always get to streaming offerings as quickly as others, so I had advance warning to steer clear of others, like the Prom, which meant too much to too many people to have been bungled as badly as it was. In other words, the pool from which I drew these ten titles is perhaps even more shallow than it had to be.

Also, as in previous years, a movie's original Weasley score may have little bearing on its year-end placement. Some movies age well, and some do not.

Without further ado, my top ten movies of 2020.

10. Mank

As noted in my original review, Mank is a good movie that I didn't enjoy much at all. It is, however, the only place I saw Gary Oldman in 2020, and that earns it its place here. Mank features masterful dialogue and a peek behind the curtain that undoubtedly makes it an instant favorite for students of film history. And for the record, Gary is brilliant...but of course you already knew that. 

9. The Last Full Measure

The Last Full Measure is a bit pedestrian and, thus, isn't the movie it could have been, but it earns a spot in my year-end top ten for a couple reasons: First, its emotional wallop is enormous, and I felt it strongly among the veterans with whom I shared a cinema the day I saw it. Secondly, it represents a decent role for Sebastian Stan, who consistently punches below his weight with Marvel and other parts that don't half tax his enormous talent. More of this for Sebastian, please.

8. Hamilton

Does the filmed version of the Broadway musical Hamilton count as a movie? In the interest of filling ten spots, it sure does! Hamilton is a once-in-a-generation event, and that the original company was captured for posterity and shared so freely is pretty monumental. This recorded version mostly captures the spirit of the show, and hopefully engages many who otherwise might not have access to the theatre in general and a show of this caliber in particular.

7. Jingle-Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Jingle-Jangle: A Christmas Journey is an instant classic filled with festive settings, bright costumes, and bouncy tunes. A top-notch cast makes this Netflix original a holiday home run. Be sure to make time for Jingle-Jangle: A Christmas Journey, as the Twelve Days of Christmas wind down!

6. Tenet

Christopher Nolan serves up another mind- and time-bending adventure that represents one of 2020's few truly epic pictures. John David Washington and Robert Pattinson shine in an exciting movie you'll be thinking about long after you leave the cinema.

5. The Go-Gos

The first of three music documentaries to make this year's list, the Go-Gos chronicles the career of the first (and, so far, only) all-female band to achieve a number-one album with songs written by the band members themselves. From early punk roots through a meteoric rise to fame, substance abuse issues, and recent reunion, the Go-Gos is a remarkable story filled with great music. Get these ladies into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame NOW, please.

4. The Gentlemen

I was lucky to see the Gentlemen at my cinema twice before the world went sideways back in the spring. It is very much the type of movie I most enjoy: testosterone heavy, with lots of violence and swearing. (I'm a simple creature, I like simple things.) In my opinion, it also represents Charlie Hunnam's best role to date. Colin Farrell steals the show, as he is wont to do, but, really, the entire cast is just brilliant, and the story takes many turns before tying itself up in a neat little bow. Probably the most fun movie I saw all year.

3. The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

The second of three music documentaries in this year's list is How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which relates the incredible and sometimes tragic story of the Brothers Gibb. The movie maintains a positive vibe without skirting difficult issues, but primarily it's a wonderful trip down memory lane guided by hit after hit, great song after great song. The Bee Gees have a story worth telling, and director Frank Marshall was smart enough to let their music tell it. A must see!

2. Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind

My top music documentary and second-favorite film of 2020 is Gordon Lightfoot: If  You Could Read My Mind. Like the Bee Gees documentary, this film leans heavily on the subject's exceptional catalogue, with frank commentary from Lightfoot himself, who offers fascinating and often surprising insights. This one is also a can't-miss, for fans and not-yet-fans alike. 

1. Bill & Ted Face the Music

Bill & Ted Face the Music is the final installment in this time-traveling trilogy, and what a finish it is! Bill & Ted 3 is a sweet, funny, nostalgic adventure with a positive and hopeful message. It may not be a perfect movie, but it is definitely the perfect movie for 2020, and, thus, it earns the number-one spot on my year-end list.

2021 is here, and with it hope for better days ahead. The first and best way for all of us to help make that happen is to, as Bill and Ted say, "Be excellent to each other."

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Birds of Prey & The Last Full Measure

Despite the first real blast of winter rolling through my area this weekend, I was able to slip out to the cinema for Birds of Prey and the Last Full Measure.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First on my agenda, the film with the unnecessarily awkward and misleading name, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.

Following her breakup with the Joker, Harley Quinn struggles to make her way on her own.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is misnamed in that it is mostly about Harley Quinn and hardly at all about the Birds of Prey, who pop up only sporadically throughout and not until the very end as a unit. Margot Robbie clearly is having the time of her life as Harley, as is Ewan McGregor as the film's psychotic big-bad. The rest of the cast is unremarkable, outside of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, always a rose even among thorns. Birds of Prey doesn't look half as good as the Gotham TV series as far as its production design and overall appearance and atmosphere, but there are a couple exceptional set pieces, particularly the climactic battle in a fun house. The movie makes great use of some popular tunes and features terrific score by Daniel Pemberton.

On the negative side, Birds of Prey is unrelentingly foul in both language and content. I'm a grownup and grownup content doesn't put me off, but the movie tries to shock for shock's sake and that's just boring. I find the character of Harley Quinn rather annoying, and this portrayal hasn't done anything to endear her to me. Much like the Minions--who are the best part of any Despicable Me movie but couldn't effectively carry a whole movie--a little Harley goes a long, long way. "Fun" is the word I've most often heard used to describe Birds of Prey, which for me frequently is code for, "It isn't very good but I liked it anyway." I can definitely see why people like this movie, despite it's not being particularly well done, and I'm grateful that solid reviews and good word of mouth should make it a win for DC, regardless of a (so far) sluggish box office.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn clocks in at 109 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence and language throughout, and some sexual and drug material."

While Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is built of some great pieces, the whole is too dark to be fun and too silly (bordering on downright stupid at times) to be properly dark. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Birds of Prey gets six.

Next on the docket, the Last Full Measure.

A hotshot government lawyer is assigned (against his will) to review the case of an airman killed in Vietnam, whose brothers in arms are convinced he was wrongfully denied the Medal of Honor.

First and foremost, I would like to give props to my local theater for getting this movie. Even though the film is in wide-release, there doesn't seem to be much buzz around it and I was certain it would pass right by my small town. So, thank you, Marquee Cinemas, for screening the Last Full Measure.

Onward to the movie, beginning where regular reader(s) will expect: with Sebastian Stan. I've said it before and I'll undoubtedly say it again (and again): Sebastian Stan is the finest actor of his generation, and one of the finest actors I've ever seen. If you only know him as a Marvel guy, you are really, really missing out. (Shameless plug: Please check him out in the short-lived series Kings, which you can watch for free on the NBC app.) As a longtime fan, you can bet I was as proud as his mama to see his name at the top of the credits, his first real big-screen lead. This role hardly taxes his talent, but his character is the film's backbone and he serves it well. Most of the acting heavy lifting is left to the older cast members: Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Peter Fonda, and John Savage, but--while fine performances elevate the material--they can't really save it. The tone is overly sentimental and the script is pedestrian, at times so melodramatic as to be almost comical, which is a sad disservice to its subject. Having said all that, the film does put the spotlight on a very deserving hero, and the folks in my screening and the one before it were largely moved to tears. That's a movie that certainly gets something right.

The Last Full Measure runs 116 minutes and is rated R for "war violence and language."

The Last Full Measure is a film that strikes a nerve, not necessarily because it tells its story well, but because it tells *such* a story. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Last Full Measure gets seven.

Fangirl points: I mean, Seb, obviously, but Linus Roache was a nice surprise!

Until next time...