2020 Movie Log: December

Lovers Rock – Steve McQueen (2020)

2nd: Boys State – Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine (2020)
I simultaneously find Boys State to be so remarkable and also just completely unappealing. To be clear, I think this is a really good documentary. It’s almost unbelievable to me that it isn’t scripted. The events play out like a Greek tragedy. I think you could pretty easily include it in the canon with other classic political novels and films. I’m amazed by how these filmmakers put the documentary together. They are able to zero in on the major players in this event. It strikes me that they must have shot just an incredible amount of footage in order to be covered no matter how the week played out. I have to assume there are hours and hours of footage for characters who didn’t end up playing a major role in the event. What’s most impressive to me is the way this documentary so narrowly focuses on “the problem” with American democracy. The argument of this documentary seems to be that the pursuit of public office is absolutely corrosive. Time and time again, we see these boys (a few with good intentions) who sell-out all of their values and principles just to win an election. An election, by the way, that has no legislative consequence or value. This week literally ends after it. This exercise is literally just theater. And yet we see lies, manipulation, thinly and not-so-thinly veiled racism all in pursuit of a fake political office. It’s really fucking depressing. But so is our country at the moment.
Grade: B

5th: Vice – Adam McKay (2018)
It’s hard for me to really evaluate this movie. In some ways, it’s quite similar to The Big Short, a McKay film that I think is absolutely brilliant. And just like The Big Short, Vice uses a creative and unorthodox structure to detail its historical events. Moreover, just like he does in The Big Short, McKay makes these history lessons incredibly entertaining in Vice. This is a long movie and I never felt my attention drifting during it. That should count for something! But my big qualm with Vice is that I don’t know what it accomplishes. I think The Big Short tends to work because it breaks down a subject that most people don’t understand, but has affected all of our lives. And I’m not naive enough to say that McKay is giving a completely objective, or relatively unbiased portrayal in that film. But I think at least it’s focused and digestible. It’s presentation is, more or less, “How come people don’t understand the economic collapse of 2009? Here is our argument for what happened and what has happened since.” Vice, on the other hand, is just way harder to pin down. On one hand, McKay seems to be doing a more subtle or nuanced thing. Many parts of the film wink at the fact that this is an imperfect representation. In other words, McKay always keeps the viewer aware that it’s impossible to know if things happened exactly like this. On the other hand, this film is not really subtle or complicated at all. Throughout it, Cheney is just a power-hungry, evil, quiet man. His only motivation seems to be pleasing his wife. And maybe those things are true. But I just keep coming back to the fact that I’m not sure what any of that says about anything.
Grade: C+
Vice – Adam McKay (2018)

8th: Mank – David Fincher (2020)
I watched this four days after it came out and already I’m too late to say anything interesting about it. Perhaps that’s just the 2020 of it all. Really though, the discourse for this movie has swung way out of control. First it was a masterpiece and a Best Picture lock. Now it’s tremendously boring and a let-down in Fincher’s career. Honestly, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle of all that. Mank is pretty good. It’s beautifully shot. Oldman’s performance is phenomenal. The dialogue perfectly imitates the wit and charm of a bunch of drunken 1930s Hollywood writers. The plot is a clever replica of Citizen Kane. And all of it ends up to being a pretty good feature. I mean, it was made by David Fincher after all. But, if the standard for underwhelming means not as good as Zodiac or The Social Network, this is absolutely underwhelming. How could it not be? It’s a sentimental movie that is fairly emotionless. It’s a biopic that is know to be partially invented. The film builds to a climatic showdown with Orson Welles that’s perfectly ordinary. It’s a well-made movie with some holes. In other words, pretty good.
Grade: B
MANK – David Fincher (2020)

12th: Da 5 Bloods – Spike Lee (2020)
I have the same recurring dilemma with many of Spike Lee’s films. On one hand, his films are probably the most risky, exciting, and idiosyncratic of any mainstream, blockbuster-caliber director. On the other hand, these very qualities often make his films uneven. There are, of course, exceptions. Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X are unimpeachable masterpieces. I also liked Lee’s last film, Blackkklansman, as I quite like many of Lee’s other films. Unfortunately, Da 5 Bloods just doesn’t work for me. And yet, the complication I have in saying that is that Da 5 Bloods is more interesting than 90% of the 2020 films I would say are “better” than it. This is a blockbuster level adventure film that critically examines the role of Black Americans in the Vietnam War. Who else can could make that? And just evaluating the film itself, I really liked the first half! I think my frustration largely stems from how much the second half of the film deviates from it. As much as I admire the risks Lee takes, I just thought they didn’t really pan out here.
Grade: C+
Da 5 Bloods – Spike Lee (2020)

13th: Mangrove – Steve McQueen (2020)
Mangrove is easily the best new film I’ve seen in 2020. Watching it felt almost cathartic, especially in a year like this in which there haven’t been any other great films. It’s one of a few special instances in which a movie comes along and reminds me of why I watch 200 of them a year. So what’s going on? Why am I responding so much to it? I think first and foremost is the story. Mangrove details the true story of the Mangrove Nine, a story I had shamefully never heard of before. And in fact, one I honestly didn’t know was true until the end credits. That’s a real testament to McQueen’s work. This film and its message could stand on its own even without the weight of historical “truth” behind it. I’m not sure that’s the case for many historical dramas. What I think McQueen does so well in this film is enrage you. I don’t think you can watch this film without having a strong emotional reaction. It is just brutal. The first act even feels like an attack on the viewer in a way that seems to mimic the police’s harassment of The Mangrove. Before you can even get your feet set in this world, the officers are raiding this restaurant again. It’s remarkable filmmaking that McQueen makes look easy. I think the standout feature of this film is that it turns into a courtroom drama at the midpoint. I think ordinarily I might find that decision to be strange, abrupt, or even disjointed. Here, it just works. I kind of don’t know how or why. But McQueen uses this setting, and the tropes of the genre, flawlessly. Something I think that he does really smartly is always keeping the film moving. This film, and the trial, are propulsive. McQueen is trusting the viewer to roll with him even without all the details. In a lesser movie, this would be disastrous. Here, it’s absolutely brilliant. I really can’t say enough good things about this film. The performances are incredible. The cinematography is amazing. I finally feel like there’s at least one 2020 film that I’ll return to in the future. I’m so excited to watch the rest of this series. I kind of can’t believe this film is just a fifth of McQueen’s entire project.
Grade: A
Mangrove – Steve McQueen (2020)

14th: Lover’s Rock – Steve McQueen (2020)
Wow! Steve McQueen is really coming through for me at the end of this year. Mangrove is probably the more important and better film (though not by much!), but Lover’s Rock is really just everything I could want from a film. It’s a 60-minute party with a brief opening and closing. It’s kind of like if Everybody Wants Some!! had the ending of Before Sunrise. I honestly am blown away by it. I think we’re extraordinarily lucky that McQueen, who obviously made his name in historical dramas with 12 Years a Slave, has decided to make these types of “smaller” films. Which are films I’m obviously drawn to and don’t think of as being lesser. But what he’s doing is significant. This is one of the most pure documents of life I’ve seen on film. And more importantly, it captures a group of people whose stories we only see in a historical epic or a tragedy. Never in a hangout movie. God, it was so refreshing to see a film like this (especially after Mangrove) in which the cops, or the white neighbors, don’t bust this party. The funny part about that is that this film isn’t without drama. There’s a sexual assault. There’s a guy trying to pick a fight. But it all happens within this party and this community. I’ll definitely be re-visiting this film. I’m sure there’s so much I missed. Plus, all I want to do is re-watch the “Silly Games” scene again and again. 
Grade: A

15th: Red, White and Blue – Steve McQueen (2020)
I would definitely have more affection and enthusiasm for this film if I didn’t watch it after Mangrove and Lover’s Rock. I still like it! But it isn’t quite at the transcendent level of those two other films. Red, White and Blue feels the most traditional out of the Small Axe series so far. Unlike Mangrove and especially Lover’s Rock, it’s the film I feel like I’ve seen a version of before. It was the least nuanced or surprising to me. Which, it’s a true story, I don’t know what McQueen is supposed to do about that. I believe everything in this film happened. I believe that LeRoy Logan faced this awful treatment in becoming a Black police officer. And I don’t mean to suggest that McQueen could have handled this material any better, because I think it’s a really well-made movie. I just didn’t feel exceptionally moved by the story in the way I did by the previous installments. But again, it’s a good movie, so let’s finish with positives. John Boyega is tremendous in this part. He should be a movie star. It was great to see him outside of the Star Wars universe. I thought McQueen’s direction was exceptional. It feels to me that these films have, at least, a B- baseline because of how good he is. And I particularly liked the way McQueen ends the film.
Grade: B / B+
Red, White and Blue – Steve McQueen (2020)

16th: Alex Wheatle – Steve McQueen (2020)
I had seen some mixed reviews floating around for this film. And while I certainly don’t think it’s as good as Mangrove or Lover’s Rock, I still liked it quite a bit. I thought it was a nice companion piece specifically to Red, White and Blue. Both of these films are focused on real-life individuals who navigate Black English life in this time. I even liked the symmetry of Red, White and Blue being about one of the first Black police officers in London and Alex Wheatle being about a Black man who’s life is changed by being sent to jail. I thought Alex Wheatle was specifically refreshing in that there were moments of humor throughout, something that has not come up in the other Small Axe films. Lastly, I have to say that I really enjoyed the relationship between Wheatle and his London flatmate. It’s the type of mentor-mentee relationship I’ve had in my own life. It was cool to see it captured so well here. 
Grade: B
Alex Wheatle – Steve McQueen (2020)

16th: Time – Garrett Bradley (2020)
Man, oh man. I’m still emotional thinking about this one. What a beautiful film. It’s political, concise, and so moving. This is the type of film that I hope can enact real-world change. I honestly can’t imagine anybody watching it and not seeing the inhumanity in this country’s prison system. Bradley does an incredible job of balancing the personal toll this prison sentence has taken with this family’s resiliency. Going in, I expected this film to be difficult to watch. It’s about a husband who has been in prison for 20 years, how could it not be? And yet, this movie is extremely watchable. This family, and particularly Sibil, are magnetic. They’re charismatic, charming, and just fun to spend time with, even if they’re dealing with a personal injustice. I’m really not sure what else I can say. I thought this was a perfectly-executed, exceptionally thoughtful film. It’s easily one of my favorites from the past few years. 
Grade: A

19th: Rafiki – Wanuri Kahiu (2018)
Rafiki had been on my list pretty much since it came out. The background of the film is really cool. It centers on a romantic relationship between two girls in Kenya and because of this subject matter, was banned in its home country. But  it also got a lot of positive exposure for that too. It was the first Kenyan film to be screened at Cannes, for instance. Unfortunately, for me, that is kind of where the positives of this movie end as I found the actual content of the film to be pretty disappointing. The first two acts, in particular, feel really run-of-the-mill and kind of lifeless. It is obviously very cool to see a same-sex relationship shown on screen, and in particular, one in Kenya. But that’s not enough to carry the film for me. I will say the last 20-30 minutes are the best part of the film. It is really intense and brutal in a way that is genuinely surprising. 
Grade: C
Rafiki – Wanuri Kahiu (2018)

19th: Attenberg – Athina Rachel Tsangari (2010)
I really liked this film! The most obvious comparison to Tsangari would be to fellow Greek filmmaker and actor in this movie, Yorgos Lanthimos. But Lanthimos’s films are strange specifically in their subject-matter and details. Tsangari’s films feel alien even beyond that. In this film, for instance, Tsangari uses these bizarre vignettes of two of the characters performing synchronized walks. Really, between this and Chevalier, she’s made two films that are completely unique from anything else I’ve seen. My only hope is that she is making these films at her own pace, and not because she’s having any difficulty in getting them funded.
Attenberg – Athina Rachel Tsangari (2010)
Grade: B+

19th: Die Hard – John McTiernan  (1988)
It’s insane how good this movie is. Some of the optics should not work in 2020. The film’s primary  hero is a renegade cop who doesn’t play by the rules. The other hero is a cop who’s been assigned to desk work because he accidentally shot a kid with a toy gun. Like why does that even need to be in this movie? And yet, I just don’t care. The dialogue is simultaneously so amazing and also completely corny and cliched. The performances are totally over-the-top and perfectly suited for this movie. The only comparison I can think for Die Hard is Top Gun, another totally ridiculous movie that I love without irony. 
Grade: A
Die Hard – John McTiernan (1988)

20th: Education – Steve McQueen (2020)
What a beautiful film. A truly fitting end to McQueen’s Small Axe series. I can’t emphasize enough how impressed I am by these films. The only comparison I can think of is if we got five Mike Leigh films at once because, in a lot of ways, that’s what these films strike me as. They are almost-scripted feature/docs about daily life in England. The difference from Mike Leigh is that McQueen has made these films with an emphasis and focus on race where Leigh tends to focus more on class. I’ve said it my reviews of other films in this series, but I’m just thrilled that McQueen, who is as good a director as anyone, chose to make films like these. He chose to make an entire series of “day-in-the-life” films (which happen to be my favorite genre) to focus on a group rarely seen anywhere in cinema. It’s so exciting to me. I already can’t wait to revisit them. 
Grade: A-
Education– Steve McQueen (2020)

21st: Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Eliza Hittman (2020)
I am fascinated to see how this film sticks with me. One thing I’ve tried to be conscientious of recently is that the various emotions a film elicits can have an outsized effect on how you initially perceive it. If a film is enraging, for instance, you might not like it right away as much as one that ends on an upbeat note. On the other end, I’m a sucker for any movie that makes me cry. But that’s just one emotion and one that’s probably equally valid to humor, anger, or despair. All that is to say that Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a beautiful, extremely well-made film that is kind of just brutal to watch. It’s bleak but not in any grand operatic or tragic way. It’s just a grueling, punishing, almost-physically exhausting film. My dilemma about how to review this film is that while I wasn’t blown away, I can’t think of a single thing I would change about it. In fact, I thought the choices Hittman makes in this story were exceptionally well-done. I particularly thought the decision to never introduce the father was so smart and effective. This movie is just perfectly suited to its subject matter. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how long it sticks with me. 
Grade: B+
Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Eliza Hittman (2020)

22nd: 1917 – Sam Mendes
It’s annoying that to assess this movie you have to discuss its filmmaking gimmick. And I don’t even mean that derogatorily. Plenty of films have gimmicks. But Mendes really centers this film on its presentation – that this is all one continuous sequence – so it would be flawed to not assess it in those terms. Really, the central question is whether or not this choice works for the story. I think the answer is partially. Mendes does an unbelievable job in capturing the look, feel, and horror of this situation. At times, it absolutely feels like the best video-game ever. But I think he fails in capturing any real emotion or weight behind most of the film. To be honest, I just didn’t feel much of anything watching it (other than it was pretty cool). Perhaps that’s the gimmick or perhaps that’s just me. 
Grade: B-

25th: La Strada – Federico Fellini (1954)
This should be the start of many Fellini reviews as I have an Essential Fellini boxset on the way! Right now, I feel a bit unqualified to really review this film. Between 8 1/2 and this, Fellini remains an enigma to me. But that is not to say that I didn’t like this film. Quite the opposite! It blends humor, melodrama, and tragedy in a way I found quite appealing. I don’t know how else to put it. I would like to read more about the film, as well as Fellini, to really contextualize it. I imagine there are layers and layers of thought and meaning behind this film that I haven’t picked up on. And yet, just on the surface, I found it to be extremely entertaining. It wasn’t stuffy, or purely academic, in the way some older art house films can be. I think that point boils down almost entirely to Giulietta Masina’s performance. The movie is designed around her and she’s thrilling to watch. 

27th: Breathless – Jean-Luc Godard (1960)
Another film I feel completely unqualified to review. This was my introduction to Godard, and probably only the 2nd or 3rd French New Wave film I’ve seen. The two lead actors are incredible to watch. I was mesmerized by the scenes of their characters just interacting in her room. I really expected to not like Michel at all. He’s pretentious and often cruel to Patricia. And yet, it’s done in a way that’s magnetic and intentional. Godard isn’t trying to hide that he’s a shitty person- he kills someone right away. Still, I think the balance in this character is a real achievement. I am anxious to read more about the filmmaking. The jump-cuts are very cool, but I could not elaborate on their meaning. The only context I have is the way they’ve been emulated in other films, such as Chungking Express. 

29th: Dirty Harry – Don Siegel (1971)
I can’t lie. I kind of think this movie rules. It’s an exceptionally well-made thriller. I especially love the way Siegel makes San Francisco look. Of course, the politics in this movie are horrendous. It’s literally about a violent racist cop who plays by his own rules. The liberal mayor and the liberal police department are too incompetent to get anything done. The villain is a man of pure evil who happens to be a hippie. What would we do without no-nonsense vigilantes like Dirty Harry? Is it so bad that he’s a little rough around the edges? 
Grade: B