Table of Contents
Nick Kelly’s Top 10 Films of 2020
Well 2020 came and went. The less said the better. Let’s talk movies.
Nick Kelly’s Top 10 Films of 2020
10. Uncle Frank
Paul Bettany leads this 1973 set drama, and once again shows what a commodity he is to any film he acts in. The film tells a familiar story of a close minded family slowly coming into the light, lead by IT alum Sophia Lillis. but Bethany’s performance is the reason to watch. It’s a simple film that sneaks up on you when you feel safe and comfortable and rips your heart out. If you need to feel the feels, ask Uncle Frank.
9. Marona’s Fantastic Tale
I watch a lot of animation, make a point to seek out smaller and foreign animated films like this one, so I have seen some amazing and truly other-worldly styles of animation, and I can say, I have NEVER seen anything like Marona’s Fantastic Tale. If you combined Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Sylvain Chomet and that kid that spray paints those really cool tags down by the train station, you would get something CLOSE to what this film looks like. At times Eye-gougingly beautiful and at others strangely upsetting, this is a must watch for fans of art and animation. As far as the story, it is a simple and sweet tale of a dog’s life, you know what that entails, so prepare yourself.
8. Onward
Poor Onward, it didn’t stand a chance, released days before lockdowns began in America, it didn’t have enough time to create a buzz, and with the designs of the characters looking more like a Dreamworks film, it was a perfect storm of bad luck. That said, this will be the Pixar film years down the line that you’ll watch again and be baffled by how wonderful it is, and all your friends who didn’t watch it in 2020, you can tell them how stupid they are.
7. Pinocchio
A very under-the-radar release in the states, Matteo Garrone’s wonderfully strange and eery version of the classic Italian fairytale boasts some incredible make up, a beautifully whimsical score by Dario Marianelli and a heart-felt performance by the always reliable Roberto Benigni: who now thankfully has aged out of playing the puppet, and brings his wonderful charm to the tortured Geppetto. If you are a fan of Garrone’s eye popping adult fairytale A Tale of Tales, you will love this dark, accurate take on a truly dark fairytale.
6. And Then We Danced
This is another film tackling oppression, this time in modern day Georgia. Where two male Georgian dancers have a secret love affair. While you may have seen a similar story to this one: society trying to keep two people apart, I can promise you, you’ve never seen it told this way. Georgian dance, which is fascinating in it’s own right, frames the love story with stunning cinematography by Lisabi Fridell. The film never lets you leave the characters world, with director Levan Akin putting the camera so close to the actors you cannot look away from what they are feeling. The film elicited riots at screenings over its depiction of LGBTQ romance in Georgia, a typical anti-gay country. Support the film for the message it sends, as well as the filmmakers who literally risked their lives to make a beautiful story about courage and love.
5. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
I love theatre as well as film, and this film plays as theatre on film. You’re in the room with these great characters as they struggle through a hot day in Chicago trying to record an album. This is the second August Wilson play brought to the screen by Producer Denzel Washington following 2016’s Fences and it holds it’s own to that Oscar winning film. Viola Davis is a force of nature, and Chadwick Boseman in his last film performance is so powerfully raw it hurts to watch. The themes that August Wilson writes into this piece dealing with racism, oppression and religion are as biting now as they were in 1927 when this film takes place.
4. Soul
Pixar delivers their most adult film yet. Tackling themes of purpose and passion and how we live our day to day lives, this may not slap with the kids as much as Monsters Inc., but for any of those who have chased a dream or felt lost, Soul puts you right in the pocket and shakes you up like a Charles Mingus funky bassline.
3. Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon, who is firmly planting themselves as the Studio Ghibli of Ireland, delivers another stunning, beautifully animated film filled with enough heart to make you howl at the moon. Don’t sleep on Wolfwalkers slipping in and stealing the Oscar for best animated right from under Pixar’s Soul-nose.
2. Another Round
Mads Mikkelsen leads a brilliant cast of Danish actors in this sometimes hysterical sometimes heartbreaking always fascinating look at four friends who are caught in a rut and looking for a way out. They find it, and then some. A perfect film for 2020 or even better: 2021, it has the weight of life behind it, but also a hopefulness that the future will bring something better, as long as you are brave enough to face it.
1. Cats
WHAT!? you say? HAVE YOU SEEN TENET you scream? PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE?! you cry? HAVE YOU SEEN DA 5 BLOODS?! HAVE YOU SEEN TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7?! HAVE YOU ACTUALLY SEEN CATS????!?!? Let me explain. 2020 was a tough year for most of us, and the idea of watching something that would make me cry was tough, most times if I watched a drama it was either for work, by mistake or I just couldn’t control the need to see a certain actor. BUTT….and the two t’s are not a typo, Cats brought true joy into my life. This Tom Hooper- helmed MASTERPIECE of a train-wreck is a FASCINATING watch. WHO Green-lit this film? WHAT the hell were they thinking? WHERE was the evil Hollywood exec who should have killed this film? WHEN have I had a better time watching a film! HOW have you not watched it yet? If I can say I am proud of ONE thing I did in 2020 it was going to see a screening of Cats and having the best time I’ve EVER had in a movie theater with my clothes on. Watch Cats drunk. Watch Cats h***. Watch Cats with your mom. Watch Cats with your dog. You’ll thank me later.
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