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By Lucas Allen
With 2020 coming to an end, it was too awful of a year for anybody to reflect, especially the endless bummer we had to deal with. Not to mention, it has changed the movie industry as we know it with theaters closing, streaming services blowing up, and the box office in a coma state. But there’s a silver lining to it, with more people discovering new titles week after week while remaining in lockdown for a long time. Here are the many great titles released in theaters or on streaming that made the year more tolerable.
10. Tenet
Though not one of Christopher Nolan’s best films, the director remains ambitious and committed to bring the big screen experience back to theaters. In this case, he mostly succeeds with masterful sequences full of action and science fiction that are some of the best this year. With a story and concepts too complex on the first viewing, it’s still one of those films that can be re-watched time and time again and become more appreciated over time.
9. 7500
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is wonderful as a pilot trapped in a tense confrontation with hijackers on a plane. From beginning to end, you’re right alongside his character fighting both the terrorists and for survival as the intensity increases to a breaking point. It’s a very realistic, post-9/11 experience that will have you thinking more carefully where and when to fly from anywhere in the world.
8. On the Rocks
In a love letter to New York City and classic romantic comedies, writer/director Sofia Coppola brought to life a beautiful dream of a movie about love, life, and loss. While Rashida Jones is the main focus in a likable performance, Bill Murray is an absolute delight with his dry humor and humorous observation on life and romance. Plus, it gives viewers access to a pre-pandemic New York City full of happiness and excitement that a lot of us miss and wished it can happen again. It’s a 90-minute fantasy and a very happy one that can help put anybody’s mind at peace at home.
7. The Devil All the Time
Much like the upcoming “Cherry,” Tom Holland removes himself from his Spider-Man persona to show his dark, dramatic side for this intense drama. Future Batman Robert Pattinson also leaves a lasting impression in a story of testing one’s faith that can be easily broken and a shifting moral compass for its main character. It’s an epic, horror story that stays with you long after you’ve seen it.
6. News of the World
Tom Hanks is outstanding in his first western that’s equal parts dark and heartwarming, with stunning cinematography and beautiful landscape. Co-writer and director Paul Greengrass keeps the pace going with some suspenseful scenes, while the loving bond between Hanks’ character and young Helena Zengel provides the movie’s heart and soul. It also harkens back to those classic Hollywood westerns where good triumphs over evil, and how morality and goodness can help everybody.
5. Let Him Go
Here’s a darker western that’s also a family drama akin to The Godfather. Both Diane Lane and Kevin Costner shine as a grieving couple out for vengeance, while Lesley Manville oozes evil and charisma as the mother with a psycho streak. This one’s more like an equivalent of a Sergio Leone-western and it leads to a memorable climax that would make the late filmmaker proud.
4. The Way Back
Ben Affleck gives a career-best performance as an alcoholic basketball coach on a road to redemption while facing a tragic event that brought him there. In fact, it’s not just about the sport and team spirit like similar movies, but more from the perspective of a once-promising player going through the motions of his behavior in order to find the right path. It’s a very human story that’s also a timely reminder of how anyone can see the light through the surrounding darkness.
3. Soul
Sadly, it didn’t come to theaters, but this new Pixar classic still brings the magical power of storytelling to everybody’s homes. Much like Inside Out, it has an existential viewpoint of life and death, and it provides colorful animation, great characters, and wonderful humor to help carry the theme. Jaimie Foxx and Tina Fey each add to the fun with their performances, while the jazz score help enhance the story. Beautiful to look at as well as entertaining to watch, families will embrace it for years to come.
2. Da 5 Bloods
Director Spike Lee once again strikes a chord in timely fashion when he made a movie about black Vietnam vets finding lost gold with important social commentary and satire. Delroy Lindo brings emotional intensity in each scene as a man lost in the past as well as his mental state. But it’s very notable as the first of the final two film roles of Chadwick Boseman, who sadly passed away from cancer late last summer. As well as his other great performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Boseman is riveting and absolutely at the top of his game that it’s a sad shame we’ll never see more of his extraordinary talent on screen.
1. Shirley
Not really a biographical film of author Shirley Jackson, but how her eccentric personality has a haunting effect on those around her, including a young couple staying with her and her husband. Elisabeth Moss brings to life the real-life author with almost a terrifying and sensual presence that works with the film’s moody atmosphere. Also, the movie has a feel of a ’70s docudrama with a feeling of light and dread, which helps to convey the author’s mental state. The creative energy given to this film is a great way to give the viewer a window into another world for a few short hours and away from the real world.
Now that we’re in 2021, hopefully we’ll slowly but surely return to big gatherings in theaters though streaming titles are still welcome. In the meantime, stay safe and stay vigilant and maybe things will get better.
