Each year I select my favorite movie of the year. When I’m done with a year the winner is crowned with the highly coveted “Deano’s First Place, Far Out, Fantastic, Favorite, Fine Film Award”. I watched 24 of the films released in 2020 (of those I really enjoyed 7).
The “Deano’s First Place, Far Out, Fantastic, Favorite, Fine Film Award” for each year usually takes me a while to wrap up. Hence I’m just now getting around to nailing down 2020. This isn’t my full-time job! Regardless, when I’ve seen everything that I’m interested in I call it done. That time is now.
The lifetime list is here:
https://deanorolls.com/movies/deanos-favorite-films-miniseries-and-television/
And the winner for 2020 is…
Deano’s Best Movie of 2020
1917 – I’m a sucker for a war movie. I’m REALLY a sucker for a very well-done war movie. 1917 delivered both. This movie follows events of World War 1 (based on actual events). I’ve seen fewer WW1 war movies than from other wars. This one is one of the best of them all, however. This film was pretty amazing in terms of cinematography and visuals. The camera follows the characters mostly uncut throughout the entire film. There is only one time the scene cuts in the entire film (to cut from day to night). I thought this was fascinating and couldn’t imagine how they pulled it off at times. Aside from that the film had a great story and was very entertaining. Very well done film! No question, the best movie of 2020. Not even close!
NOTE: I’m cheating a little bit by placing this movie in 2020. It had a limited release in 2019 but didn’t release widely until 2020. 2020 was a pretty miserable year for fine cinema so I adjusted on this technicality (a first for Deano). Hey, this is my award system so I can do whatever I want! Besides, 2019 had Joker already and I couldn’t decide between this movie and that for that year. I wrestled with it for a long time.
Honorable Mentions
Hillbilly Elegy – I’m also a sucker for a true story where an underdog rises up and wins in life. This movie didn’t fare well with the critics but audiences liked it much more. That also bodes well for me. I’m finding more and more that movie critics suck. If they don’t agree with the story they dish the film (they let their politics guide their review) Ain’t nobody got time for that! I guess in this case they didn’t like the story of a poor kid rising up in life (with life constantly trying to drag up the past). Regardless, a very decent movie and a very inspiring story.
The Outpost – Another war film that is based on true events. This one takes place during the Afghanistan war. It is about troops stationed at a base that is largely regarded as a deathtrap. They are attacked and completely outnumbered (54 to around 300) but somehow ‘win’ the day. Again the critics tell us not to like this story of bravery in the face of adversity. Audiences ignored them (as did I) and we enjoyed an inspiring film/story. The film was commended by veterans for the way it handled the battle scenes and soldier behavior.
Midway – I had low expectations for this movie for a variety of reasons but I wound up enjoying it very much. Critically, it was pretty hated and audiences seemed to dislike it as well. It was CGI heavy (which I can usually do without) but the divebombing scenes in the battle of Midway made me not mind that at all. From what I’ve read the movie was historically accurate. As I was watching the movie I realized I didn’t know this story (of how we destroyed 4 aircraft carriers in a single day of battle) at all. I realized I’d never seen the original Midway (from 1976). It is on its way now! I enjoyed the movie but enjoyed the surprise trip down an unexplored path of history even more.
Emma – My girls (daughters and wife) made me watch this. I was not enthusiastic but did my fatherly/husbandly duty. I wound up enjoying it very much. The movie was very well done. I don’t care too much for the material/characters/story (elite, high-society, people living their elite lives) but the movie was well done. When it was over I thought “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.” So, I must give credit where it is due.
The Father – At first I didn’t like this movie mainly because of the subject matter. But the more I thought about it the more I liked it. It is told from the perspective of a father who has dementia. The way the movie twists and turns (as I’d imagine a person with dementia’s life might be) was interesting. From the subtle changes to the man’s home to the downright confusing introduction of characters/situations the film grew on me.
Nomadland – I like the idea of this movie. I’m an RV’er and like the idea of getting out there and exploring new places. There is something more to life than just hanging around the same old place all the time. This movie reminded me of a modern-day Western. A lady and her RV traveling around taking whatever life throws her way and dealing with her demons along the way. It was also a pretty well-done movie and beautiful to watch.
Other Films I Saw
I also saw these, they were fine.
- A Quiet Place 2
- Bert Kriescher – Hey Big Boy
- Birds Of Prey And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
- Call of The Wild
- Da 5 Bloods
- Invisible Man
- Kevin Hart – Zero Fucks Given
- King of Staten Island
- News Of The World
- Plandemic 1 – Dr. Judy Mikovits
- Plandemic 2 – Indoctornation – Dr. David Martin
- Promising Young Woman
- Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb
- Taylor Tomlinson – Quarter-Life Crisis
- Tenet
- The Phenomenon
- The Social Dilemma
- The Trial Of The Chicago 7
- Tom Segura – Ball Hog
- Wonder Woman 1984
Of that list, I can’t believe I have a Christopher Nolan-directed movie not even as my film of the year or even receiving an honorable mention. Christopher Nolan is my favorite active director. Alas, Tenet seemed to be confusing for confusing sake. It was probably my least favorite Nolan film. [sad face emoji]
I was also disappointed in Wonder Woman 1984. After the first Wonder Woman being so good this one dropped off significantly.
What Did I Miss?
This is the box office (and top streaming) for films released in 2020. I think I’ve seen everything that I’m interested in for that year.
What did I miss that is worth watching?
DeanoRolls (@deanoroll5) 