Due to studios having until late February to release their Oscar contenders, I finally caught up on all the major films of 2020. Here is a list of the best films I saw from January 2020 until March 2021. Only a handful of films made it into the theaters. This is based on a mixture of films I saw in theaters, streaming, and on demand. So the pricing and screen and sound were drastically different, which I’m fully aware may make me biased. With that said, 2020 had a lot a real gems. With no big blockbusters outside of Tenet, this year the independent film reigned supreme with a lot of wonderful stories dealing with issues like sexuality, poverty, race, political ambition, and other topics that deserve to be addressed. Below are the top ten I saw. 1. Trial of the Chicago 7Aaron Sorkin’s true story of the protestors in front of the DNC convention of 1968 is a powerful and wildly entertaining drama that challenges our ideas of freedom of speech and justice. Filled with great performances, Sasha Baron Cohen stands out as hippie Abbie Hoffman, the pot smoking freethinker who leads this eclectic band of liberal misfits against a conflicted prosecutor and strict judge. 2. Ma Rainey’s Black BottomAugust Wilson’s play about a famous black female singer named Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and the rebellious trumpet player played by Chadwick Boseman is another four star masterpiece after Fences. The film takes place during one day in a 1920’s recording studio, following a multitude of characters, including the band, the music producers, and Ma’s secret lover and nephew tag alongs. Dealing with hard systemic racism as well as musical integrity, the film is a glorious showcase for two of the finest performances of the year. 3. Promising Young WomanEmerald Fennell’s directorial debut is a sharp, dark, perspective look at rape cultural across the campus and corporate world. Carey Mulligan’s performance is a literal tour de force, as she caries out a variety of methods in making “nice guys” reveal their more sexually depraved nature by pretending to be drunk, being driven by men to their place, and her turning the tables of power on them. With sharp writing and an excellent supporting turn by Bo Burnham, the film looks at the female revenge thriller from a psychological point of view more than a violence dominated point of view. 4. SoulLeave it to Pixar to be the film dealing with existential meaning through jazz music in a year where we all asked questions about who we are. When Joe, a frustrated substitute teacher, slips and falls into a pot hole, he ends up in the after life heading toward the light. But with his big break as a musician finally coming through on earth, he fights his own death to return home to give himself the shot he never had. But to complicate the story, soul 22 needs a mentor to figure out her place in the universe. With a rich and beautiful score, Soul tackles the issues of life and death most great films never would or could, but also reminds us that life is what we make of it. 5. The FatherA heartbreaking and deeply moving film about Anthony Hopkins’ Alzheimer’s induced father, battling the figments of his imagination and places of his mind, as they begin to blur, causing much confusion and desperation. Olivia Coleman plays his daughter trying to take care of him, but we grow weary with her as Hopkins goes deeper and deeper into his unawareness of the world around him. The film is a Masterclass in acting, editing, set design and score. 6. MinariThe beautiful story of a Korean family moving to the deep South to pursue the American Dream, this film took the festivals and critics by storm, becoming the winner in multiple foreign language categories, and earning Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Screenplay. With a beautiful score and intimate cinematography, director Lee Isaac Chung looks at his own life through the eyes of a five year old Alan Kim and the father played by Steve Yuen, to find the joy of family and cruelness of nature. 7. Sound of MetalThis hard hitting slice of life film looks deeply into the deaf community through the eyes of Riz Ahmed’s newly deaf drummer about to lose everything unless he can get an operation he believes will save his career and relationship. Paul Racci gives the performance of his life as the rough but loving leader of a deaf commune, and the film uses silence in a way unused in film before. A rare film not afraid to tell a difficult story without trying to tie a happy Hollywood ending to its tail. 8. News of the WorldPaul Greengrass’s brilliant episodic western staring national treasure Tom Hanks as a man who goes from town to town reading the news in a post Civil War Texas. Along the way he finds an abandoned girl (Helena Zengel) raised by Native Americans and speaks no English. The film abandons cliches and becomes a showcase, showing a world not too different from our own with mass sickness, political opportunists, and child traffickers. But at the heart of this methodical western are two lonely people who build a family and life together. 9. Judas and the Black MessiahThe true story of how Black Panther Fred Thompson was brought down by the CIA and a black informant played by LaKeith Stanfield, in an amazing performance highlighting his shame and guilt. Daniel Kaluuya gives the performance of his career as Thompson. The film takes a real intimate look at how America wrongly tried to paint the freedom fighter as a terrorist and fills the screen with many fascinating and complex characters. 10. NomadlandChloe Zhao directs, produces, writes, and edits this quiet poetic film staring Francis McDormand as a nomad who states, “I’m not homeless, I’m houseless” to define her new minimalist lifestyle. Beautifully acted, the film uses real life nomads inspired by the book of the same name. The film challenges the way we think capitalism and materialism will make us happy by showing another world beyond our rat race mentality.
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I like to consider myself the most famous least accomplished wrestler of all time. For a guy with no real wrestling accomplishments to have the influence I did in the California wrestling scene from 1999-2016 is quite something.
My career started in 1995 at Valley View Middle School. Thinking this was the first step to professional wrestling, I tried out for the junior high wrestling team. In 1995-96 I went 4-5 in the Simi Valley Middle School season, taking second in the league, only because my semi-finals my opponent had an asthma attack and I pinned him while he couldn't breathe. I was majored in the finals. My only other accomplishment that year was I lost 15 pounds. The next year at Simi Valley high school, I lost my pigtail at the 1996 Thousand Oaks novice tournament and then pinned the other loser. But I did take third at the Rio Mesa Frosh/Soph that year. I still thank Rio Mesa’s coach Todd Stoke when I see him for having that tournament. And I still mention it when I run the seeding meeting at Newbury Park Invitational. Got promoted to Varsity at the end of my sophomore year because we needed the carpool drivers. That is not a joke. The regular varsity wrestler was a sophomore who went JV to win the league title. He pinned a kid in the finals I beat three days earlier. So I made myself a certificate as the “unofficial” JV Champ at school on Monday. I threw it away on Tuesday. My two year varsity career was more uneventful than a Biden press conference. I went 0-6 at Marmonte Varsity League Finals over three years at Simi High. I won two actual matches. I beat a kid from Santa Monica who pinned himself, and I pinned a kid from Agoura who went o-7 in league. I went a much more impressive 1-5 that year in league, and 2-11 overall, losing in the first round of most carry tournaments. I was injured most of my senior year, but filled out brackets better than any stat girl in the country. Humble brag - I was in honors English. I finished my illustrious career with a 13-15 JV record and 2-18 varsity record. Lettered twice. Didn’t get any awards at the banquet. So the team gave my an honorary Team Spirit Award for not missing a practice in two years, even when injured. I was Rudy. My college career was even less impressive. I wrestled one day at Moorpark College in the summer of 1997 as a junior in high school, thinking it would be good to get beat up by college kids. My carpool partner quit after a day, so I wasn't able to go back. Still got a B in the class because Head Coach Paul Keysaw had no idea who I was, as I was on the roster for the summer class but never went. Easiest B I ever earned. My coaching career started at Simi High (1999-2006) and then Royal (2006-2008) where I helped Royal win two league championships. I won one league title at Simi Valley in 2001 with a group of wrestlers in which half became ineligible after league finals. At Royal I helped them reach new heights, even though one of dads turned assistant coach made my life hell. Eventually we had to kick him off the staff. His kid was the only CIF State qualifier. That was awkward. I was fired after leading the team to a league title and top three finish in CIF, because the coach who brought me on said “I don’t want people thinking you’re the reason for the success of the team.” I ended up coaching at Moorpark College in 2008 and after that they canceled the program. So I went to El Camino Real, where I was part of three LA City Titles. During 2004-2010 I was one of the head coaches for the TCWA All-Star teams. Mostly because the President and Treasurer knew I wouldn't take the petty cash to a strip club or buy alcohol, which I guess had happened in the past. Adults, am I right? As the Team Leader we placed top 5 in Freestyle Duals every year and in 2010 took 2nd in the state in both Greco and Freestyle. With the coaching assistance of Buck Blakeman, Terry Fischer, Anthony Califano, Paul Clemente, Scott Yvarra, and many more, we overcame crappy seeding and hours of travel to succeed. From 2009-2016 I was part of a few CIF committees because of the committee seeding data I collected when they switched from an all coaches meeting to a league rep seeding meeting. And a few times I was brought in to run CIF seeding meetings. But that was only because I was the SS Ranking dude for the TCW. And a lot of dads would send me nasty emails about how their son should be ranked in the SS because he took 4th at a 5-Way. Dads ruin sports. Never forget that. In 2016 I won a LA City Title with my good friend Terry Fischer. As we left the Roybal High School gym, he looked at me and said, “We won the championship tonight, and no one in China cares.” That might be the best way to define my career. The decade was filled with great action films, epic dramas, and lots and lots of comic book movies. I’ve broken down my list based on films on previous top ten lists and how I fell in love with them over the years. So, here are the fifty best films of the past ten years. 1. Boyhood (2014) 2. Django Unchained (2012) 3. The Florida Project (2017) 4. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) 5. Moonlight (2016) 6. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018) 7. The Martian (2015) 8. Whiplash (2014) 9. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) 10. Last Flag Flying (2017) 40 Great Films Broken Down By Categories.Family Dynamics
Lady Bird JoJo Rabbit Captain Fantastic Marriage Story Fences The Descendants The Way Way Back If Beale Street Could Talk Not Just For Kids Toy Story 3 The Muppets Alice in Wonderland The Jungle Book A Monster Calls Acting Ensembles True Grit Flight American Hustle Birdman Boys Will Be Boys Once Upon a Time in Hollywood The Wolf of Wall Street The Nice Guys Creed The Mule The Two Popes Scary Good The Conjuring Cabin in the Woods Get Out Based on a True Story Dolemite is My Name The King’s Speech The Social Network Bridge of Spies Darkest Hour Can You Ever Forgive Me? Saving Mr. Banks Moneyball Marvel Classics Guardians of the Galaxy Avengers: Infinity Wars Avengers: Endgame Black Panther Best Documentaries OJ: Made in America Fyre Festival Films (Netflix & Hulu) Waiting For Superman Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like. Deceive yourself no longer.' Life has thrown a lot changes at me lately. And there has been a lot of ups and downs and unanswered thoughts. Faith is believing in the unseen. Having faith is hard. But not having faith is harder.
There are a few exceptional years in movie history. 1939 and 1941 are two amazing years, and 1993 had a series of important films, but if there is one year in cinema that changed everything, it was 1994. 1994 is responsible for Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, The Lion King and Clerks. 1994 solidified Disney again as the animation kings, brought Jim Carry’s career to its peak (Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura, The Mask), created the modern independent filmmaker (Clerks, Pulp Fiction) and produced arguably three of the greatest films ever made in Shawshank, Pulp Fiction, and Gump. If anything, the films of 1994 were the most influential since the golden era of the late 30’s and early 40’s (Gone with the Wind, Pinocchio, Citizen Kane). Kevin Smith taught a whole generation that a film didn’t have to look great to be great. Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction defined the way filmmakers would create pop culture references and stylized violence, and The Lion King was an epic in ways previous Disney films weren’t. Plus, Pulp Fiction has the greatest ending in movie history. Box Office ChangesBefore 1994, Jurassic Park (1993) was the gold standard in $300+ million box office, but 1994 had a record number of $100+ million hits. And Jim Carry is in 3 of the top 20 films. He redefined what a comedy movie star was. Look at that list...which doesn’t even include The Shawshank Redemption, which would go on in 1995 to become the video rental king. Plus, only 3 sequels are in the top 25 films (Clear and Present Danger, Star Trek, and Naked Gun), reminding us when Hollywood was pumping out original content more often. The Oscars Influence1994 was also a year the Oscars helped build the myths of films. Whether it was nominating Shawshank for 7 awards, giving Tom Hanks his second Oscar in a row (1993 he won for Philadelphia), and giving Elton John three nominations for The Lion King and the win for Can You Feel the Love Tonight. The Academy also gave British films For Weddings and a Funneral and The Madness of King George a slew of nominations.
Looking back, 1994 was a great year in cinema, and arguably the greatest of all time. Four certifiable classics and the lasting influence on a whole future generation of filmmakers. |
Paul Douglas Moomjean Blog's About What's on His MindBlogging allows for me to rant when there is no stage in the moment to talk about what's important and/or funny to me. Archives
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