It has been a bad year for movies in 2020; only a few of them were released in cinemas, most of them had vacated their original release schedule for future dates, and some of them had been released to streaming platforms instead. It was a mess.
I had only been able to watch 5 movies total in cinemas in 2020, and 1 movie so far in 2021 (which I am going to include in my 2020 top movies list). Because of that, I would only have 6 movies for my 2020 list! I won't be including movies that were originally scheduled to be released in cinemas but then changed to release digitally for purchase or on streaming platforms. To be honest, I don't really buy movies digitally anyway, I'll usually wait for them to be released on HBO or something.
So here are the 6 movies that I've watched ranked from bottom to the top.
6 - The Grudge
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| Image source: Wikipedia |
It's a slow-paced movie but interestingly, I kind of like it. I'm not sure if it will be in my top 10 list if it's a normal year (without the pandemic and cinemas are open as usual) but I genuinely like this movie. It's a slow burn but in my opinion it works. Interesting cast, interesting setting, and fascinatingly still creepy for a franchise that have been around for two decades now. Andrea Riseborough really stands out for me as one of the main actor in the movie, her performance was fantastic. I don't think I've watched a lot of movies that she starred in but I was surprised to find out that she is the same actress in Oblivion, the 2013 Tom Cruise movie. Wow, her transformation for this movie is shocking, she is like a chameleon.
5 - Soul
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| Image source: Wikipedia |
For a movie dealing with the subject of death, Soul is surprisingly a very cozy movie. From the colourful settings on Earth, the warmth atmosphere in the "Great Before" (where the unborn souls prepare for life on Earth), to the heart-warming story about enjoying life...it is a pretty cozy film to sit through. The two main characters, Joe Gardner voiced by Jamie Foxx and 22 voiced by Tina Fey, are so likeable that it helped making this movie even more interesting. Other stand out characters are the soul counselors at the "Great Before" (or should I called them the "Jerry"s since they are all named Jerry) voiced by Alice Braga and Richard Ayoade, and Terry the soul counter (or should I say the "Great Beyond" accountant) voiced by Rachel House. The story is very uplifting and I really recommended it if you haven't already watched it.
4 - Wonder Woman 1984
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| Image source: Wikipedia |
I love this movie and interestingly the villains stand out as much as the aforementioned hero in the film's title. They are more than just supervillains crave to conquer the world; they have tragic back stories that made me empathize with them. Yes, the film lacks elaborated fight scenes that usually filled these superhero movies but it definitely doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I would say that it does have enough action scenes to get me entertained but what's important to me is the story, and it managed to get me engaged until the end of the movie. I really, really love the villains though so I hope I get to see them again in future movies (fingers crossed).
3 - Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
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| Image source: Birds of Prey official site |
Birds of Prey is a fun and entertaining film. I like the visual choices made for this movie in terms of how the characters look and its visual effects, it brings out the "fun" factor for the movie. But make no mistake, it's a brutal movie as well when it comes to its villains, Black Mask and Victor Zsasz. Black Mask in particular is a very scary character, Ewan McGregor really excel in his performance and I wish I could have seen more of him in the movie, because I don't think I get enough. I like the dialogues too, I find it smart. I don't remember anything specific but I do remember thinking that when I watched the movie in the cinema last time.
2 - Underwater
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| Image source: Underwater official site |
The atmosphere in this film is great; the crackling sound, the flickering lights, the atmosphere is really amazing, it just feels great to me. You can feel the tension and dread that the characters are feeling too, trapped underwater trying to find their way out to the surface of the ocean. The cast are great, they played their characters well. I know in this type of movie not all characters would make it out alive but I was helplessly rooting for them. Critics didn't particularly like this movie and it didn't grossed much at the box office as well, so it seems like I'm probably one of the few that actually love it. That may not say much since I only watched a few movies at the cinemas in 2020 but I genuinely love this movie. It's great.
1 - Tenet
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| Image source: Tenet official site |
I may not fully understand what's going on in the film, like it's really confusing sometimes and really hard to follow, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a great film with great story and concept, and that's what made me fall in love with it. I love movies that involve time manipulation but never in my mind that it can be showed like how it's being shown in this film, it just blows my mind. It's a very ambitious film and because of that I think it's going to alienate some audience because of its complexity. It really needs multiple viewing but even then I'm not sure if I would fully understand it. Still, it would be fun to try to figure it out while watching it again. I certainly won't mind.
We've come to the end of the list, thanks for sticking through! Things doesn't seem to improve much with this pandemic even though we're already in 2021 but hopefully things will get better soon and I really hope I get to watch more movies at the cinemas soon.
Stay safe everyone.
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