My Top 10 Favourite Movies of 2020

__Well, the year 2020 is about to end, and I'm sure none of us are sorry to see it go! I don't think anyone would deny this has been one of the worst years in recent memory. To perfectly sum it up, all you need is two words: "social distancing". Anyone who was trying to predict the future and what great developments would unfold in the first year of a new decade, there's no way they could have foreseen a highly contagious virus that would almost cripple society altogether! Personally, I'm thankful that neither I nor anyone I know has contracted the virus, but obviously a lot of people weren't so lucky.

__We were all affected in other ways, though. A lot of public places were forced to close, including cinemas. As a result, my movie-watching experience this year was an especially lame one. Not in the sense that there were tons of bad movies, like in some previous years. I said last year that I was retiring my worst-of-the-year list and therefore giving up on actively seeking out bad movies, and I meant it. So an overabundance of bad movies wasn't the problem. It's more that my schedule was starved of anything super exciting. In the absence of any big tentpole releases in cinemas, my main source of information this year was the films page on Letterboxd, which is sorted by popularity by default. That's how I kept track of what were the year's biggest hits, as it were. I didn't see nearly as many movies as in previous years, but on the plus side, there weren't too many stinkers among the ones I did see. I still saw enough that I disliked for a top five of the year's worst, but I stand by what I said before: I'm not going to make that list. I'll still spotlight the most disappointing movie, but before that, let me go over my usual reminder of my year-end list's criteria, my definition of what movies qualify for a particular year.

__The movie simply has to have been released for public consumption by the end of the year – which, in this case, usually meant streaming. So anything that's only been seen at a film festival so far doesn't count. Neither does a movie that was released in another country in a previous year. After all, most of what I saw at the cinema in those first two months was 2019 movies that were only just making it to the British Isles, including The Lighthouse, Jojo Rabbit and Parasite.

__Before I list my ten favourite examples of movies that fit that bill for 2020, let's talk about the single most disappointing one. This year, partly because I saw comparatively few bad movies, the biggest disappointment also happens to double as the year's worst movie. And for me, the choice was clear. There could only be one candidate for this unfortunate distinction.

__It's Artemis Fowl. I wrote a 1,500-word review on my Wordpress blog detailing my issues with this movie, but to summarise, it grossly misrepresented one of my absolute favourite books. It got just about everything wrong, including the reasons behind key events and, above all, the title character himself. The fact that I'd been waiting sixteen years for a film adaptation compounded matters; not since Jurassic World have I been so thoroughly let down after an immensely long wait. It might be the worst adaptation I've ever seen, and it's so rushed, agitated and emotionless that I can certainly declare it the worst movie I saw in 2020.

__With that said, let's move swiftly on to the ones that made this year slightly more bearable.🙂

__Like I said before, this wasn't exactly a spectacular year in terms of movies. There were several good movies, but none that impressed me enough to even warrant a five-star rating. In any other year, several of the movies on this list wouldn't even have made the shortlist of runners-up, let alone the top ten. So should the ones that came out on top consider themselves lucky or not?

__Now, when I do these year-end lists, I usually list off some examples of popular movies that I haven't seen yet, but I wouldn't even know what to include this time. I've seen just about everything that sounded appealing to me. I've heard it suggested that part of the reason cinema seemed so meagre this year was that, because the cinemas were closed, there was no film journalism either, so there was almost no way to stay informed on what was being released. It'll be interesting to see other people's lists and find out what comes most highly recommended. But for the time being, these are the movies I personally saw and enjoyed the most.

__So sit back and enjoy my top ten favourite movies of 2020.

#10 = The Invisible Man

This modern take on the H.G. Wells novel (and, by extension, the classic movie from 1933) starts out very promising because of the easily discernible context of the opening scene, and the deathly silence ramps up the tension to agonising heights. Its most impressive aspect is the pertinent allegory for abusive relationships, and Elisabeth Moss brilliantly portrays the trauma and torment her character is going through. Ironically, it's when the action escalates that the movie weakens, because it clashes with the much more grounded ideas previously. It's not a patch on the 1933 classic, but as its own horror film, it's pretty solid.

#9 = Soul

Pixar's contemplation on the meaning of life should, in theory, be inspiring and provocative (and I can see why others would see it that way), but it just didn't resonate with me that much. I think it's because its message about what really matters was a little too intangible for me to grasp, and it didn't help that I never cared for the idea of the beforelife. That said, I still found the characters' journey in the second act amusing, and the animation is terrific as always. It's definitely a good movie, but a little too abstract to blow my mind like other Pixar movies.

#8 = The Trial of the Chicago 7

Aaron Sorkin's second film as a director is based on the real-life trial of a group of Vietnam War protesters charged with conspiracy to cross state lines and incite a riot. It's a legal drama, which Sorkin is best at, but I think its jumbled narrative prevents it from having the impact it could have had. However, it does successfully convey how much public scrutiny the trial was under and the frustration of dealing with a clearly incompetent and bigoted judge. So this is basically a repeat of my feelings on Soul: it's not my favourite of Sorkin's works, but still a good one.

#7 = Love and Monsters

Dylan O'Brien stars as Joel, a young man who sets off on a journey across a monster-infested apocalyptic world to reunite with his girlfriend. Apocalypse stories are a dime a dozen, but this one has its own charm stemming from fun characters and a jovial sense of humour, which allows it to stand out from the crowd and keep you interested in the world it sets up. What makes the world so intriguing is that we learn about it at the same rate Joel does. The last thing to mention, of course, is the CGI, which is above average for the most part.

#6 = Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Much like Avengers: Endgame, this is the epic conclusion to a series of interconnected films. And, with its huge cast and cataclysmic storyline, it's certainly an impressive finale.🙂 You feel the devastation that the inciting invasion causes, and the plan the heroes concoct when they unite to combat the threat is intriguing, adding to the desperation that makes the action scenes so thrilling. Its one downside is that the violence is so grisly that it doesn't really enhance anything; in fact, combined with the swearing, it feels like it's just pretending to be mature. That doesn't detract from the intensity of the plot itself, though.

#5 = Superman: Red Son

It was actually hard to choose whether I preferred this or Apokolips War, but I went with this one because it has the advantage of being a standalone film rather than a sequel. Based on Mark Millar's acclaimed miniseries, it's a fascinating character study of an alternate Superman enforcing the supposedly noble Soviet ideals, and it shows how even good intentions can be misguided and destructive. Even the politics are explained well enough that I could easily follow them and was always interested. Its only issue is the pacing, which definitely feels more like a comic book series than a three-act movie.

#4 = The Gentlemen

It's not often that the first movie I see during the year remains one of the absolute best, but here we are.🙂 Writer/director Guy Ritchie gives us another of the crime comedies that he used to excel at. Like Love and Monsters, it's supported by a witty script and fun characters, but I especially enjoy the way the story is told: it's mostly in flashback, with a little speculation from the character narrating the events (after all, even he isn't clear on all the details), which keeps the conclusion a mystery until the very end. I'd say it's a return to form for Guy Ritchie.

#3 = Palm Springs

This comedy drama involving a time loop is potently funny and sentimental, and once again, it's all held together by likeable characters. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti give charming performances, and I found myself surprisingly invested in their romance despite their selfish actions. I love the various ways in which they approach the idea of inescapably repeating the same day, ranging from partying without concern to discussing the effects of aging in such a situation. When it comes to time loop stories of this nature, most people instantly think of Groundhog Day, but Palm Springs could become a new modern classic in the same league.

#2 = Onward

Yep, both this year's Pixar movies made the list, and I might be the only one who prefers Onward by far. The trailers piqued my interest, promising a fantasy world evolving to include modern technology, but the film is also a tribute to the entire fantasy genre. The story is a quest as classic as you can get, which delightfully ties into one of the two starring brothers being an avid RPG player. The characters are endearing (yet again), my personal favourite being the Manticore. The third act is where the real heart of the story becomes apparent, but I won't spoil it.

And my #1 favourite movie of 2020 is… Wolfwalkers

As grand as Pixar remains, both their offerings this year ended up beaten out (for me at least) by a smaller movie boasting hand-drawn animation. And hot damn is said animation impressive! The effort really shines through at times: moments where you can see every stroke in the linework, and sometimes you can even see the shapes of the rough sketches. As well as engaging you in the animation process, you could argue that the crudeness contributes to the vagueness and uncertainty of its fantastical subject matter. However, other imperfections are less forgivable. The dialogue is a little too simplistic for my liking, and there's often no reason for the characters to not just tell the truth. But the film's emotional impact more than makes up for that. The second half brings both intense joy and intense sadness in equal measure; the scene where Robyn first learns to be a wolf is glorious, and the climax is spectacularly poignant. It's a magnificent showcase of animation and emotional storytelling, and it gets my vote as the best movie of 2020.

Runners-up:

• The Devil All the Time is a compelling drama that keeps you interested in how the various forms of depravity affect the main character.

• Extraction is a brutal and skilful action movie that includes a chase scene deftly edited to resemble one continuous shot lasting nearly twelve minutes.

• Greyhound is another one that draws you in almost immediately, leading to an exciting first half as the chase between the ship and the unseen submarines ensues.

• Guns Akimbo is an absolute blast, with athletic camerawork enhancing the action scenes, and a script that takes some fun shots at how artificial action movies can be.

• The Hunt is entertaining as a fun thriller with a dark sense of humour, although the satire is completely directionless and nothing more than lip service.

• Never Rarely Sometimes Always is an understated but highly effective drama that lets you feel the characters' concern as the complications lead to more delays.

• Possessor covers all the interesting bases with the idea of invading people's bodies, and never shies away from the dark nature of the premise.

• And Uncle Frank, though a little too light-hearted in its performance, is a hard-hitting look at the damaging effects of homophobia, especially from family.

__And those are the ten movies that shone most brightly in a generally miserable year. Let's hope for much better times all-around in 2021. Even if the pandemic ends soon, I don't know how long the recovery process will be – the social distancing rules might persist for a while – but here's hoping things at least start back on the road to normal in the coming year, and that they keep researching treatment to reduce the chances of another outbreak as much as possible. Also, most relevant here, I hope cinema standards return to normal and we're given a much better crop of movies in 2021. Several big titles that were originally scheduled to be released this year have been delayed until next year, so that's a good start.🙂 Whatever happens, take care of yourselves, and don't lose hope when times are hard, whatever the reason may be.

__So that concludes my parting words to 2020. All that's left to say is: happy New Year.🙂 See you soon.