Today I will be concluding the best of 2020 and 1 which is my top 20 favourite films for 2020 and 2021 by giving you guys the final top 10 films on my list. Last week I had an amazing list for you all that contained some classics, films that were the most memorable and in my opinion and the most deserving of a spot in the list of top twenty films of the preceding year and the year before that. And yes there will most certainly be some of you who would very much disagree with some of the films that made the list and I do admit that there are some films which do deserve to have a place on this list but I will confess now that they wouldn't be making the list not necessarily because they are bad and I hate them but simply because I didn't see them. Many of them did make top ten lists of many notable movie reviewers but for me they weren't just the genre of films I enjoy even though I admit that that isn't an excuse and I should go see because who knows I might be pleasantly surprised. Some them include Cop shop, Titane, Lamb, and some other notable mentions
Made with canva
You know I was looking at my blog today and I came across my previous top ten movie post which I made in 2018; that's quite some time ago and I realise how much has changed since then. Now I use more words and my posts are better organised than they were and it still sounds as original as before. It does make me a tad bit happy.. Alright enough nostalgia. Now that that's out of the way, let's get straight into the conclusion of this awesome list starting off with our number 10 film
10.Zack Snyder's Justice league
This one is going to cause a bit of a controversy but I will say it. This film showed us how a masterpiece could easily be ruined by studio executives whose main concerns are simply making profits by the quickest means necessary and who have no passion when making certain projects. Looking back and comparing the version of this film that was released in 2016 and the Zack Snyder's version which was released last year it's very obvious how much quality was cut from this film simply because it was convenient to do so and release haphazard CGI storyline. The entire origin storyline of Cyborg was cut out of the film and to new comers of the DCEU it made no sense who he was and why they were to get emotionally invested in his character especially as they just saw him come out of nowhere and assume the position of someone important to the storyline. Most of these issues where fixed in this version of the Justice league and if anything proved this it was the high reviews the film received from film critics all over the world. Even though some people may complain about the length of the film and the slow motion used it was worth it because like I said it spent time fixing the continuity errors the first Justice league film had.
9.The Green Knight
I enjoyed this film, suprisingly especially because I'm not a fan of slow paced dramatic adventure films and that's exactly what this film was. A well blended mix of slow burner drama, fantasy and adventure. It was all that and more and even though it felt stretched out sometimes i.e like the scene where the lead leaves the city to start his quest, it still felt like a film that took its time developing the main character. This film is a classic example of what character development would look like if it was the main goal of a film, like the whole essence of the plit was to make the audience experience first hand the changes that were happening to the lead as he went on his journey. This probably explains why I personally connected with this film more than I expected I would because it showed the journey of a reckless, brash young man whom circumstances pushed into taking up responsibility, eventually imbibing him the archetype of a hero and a true knight. To a large extent I could relate with this unlovable protagonist because I could understand the burden that comes with being responsible and being the knight especially when you are young and wild and you can easily choose to escape and run away from all the pressure. The latter part of my last sentence is the main core of this film, it's simply about either choosing to escape responsibilty or embracing it and letting it shape you into a hero or knight. In the end the green Knight is a sort of epic fantasy coming of age drama that really contains the strong themes of growth, responsibility and most importantly accountability.
8.Free guy
Another movie that genuinely left me surprise especially because of all the signs of eminent failure it showed was the Free guy. It's a story about a non playable video game character (NPC) who suddenly gains consciousness in the video game immediately after he falls in love with the avatar of a real life player in the game. This leads him seeking her out and basically altering the games mechanics. His actions eventually put the who game a risk of jeopardy since the game development company the change he brings is bad for business. I mean like I said free guy is a movie that wasn't supposed to work but in the end it actually did simply because it was a simple concept that was executed correctly, one which tackled several themes such as game violence, consumer culture, unity and change, all in such a wholistic manner. It didn't try to deal with some these socio-political problem from a biased one sided point of view, neither did it try to just talk about a theme that only resonated with a select group of people. At its core it was a film about unity and the potential anyone and everyone has to determine his or her own fate be they a real person or just a simple NPC. It felt very grounded and relatable as a film even though it was suppose to be this goofy out-of-this-world CGI story featuring a superstar. It is at heart an example of how a good script writer can make a crazy story into a film with soul that connects with and touches the feelings of anyone watching it. It's a film I highly recommend that everyone sees at least ones because like I said its themes; probably one of the best I saw last year.
7.The Suicide squad.
Yes I know some people wouldn't also agree with this one but one thing we can all agree on is the fact that this was a far better film compared to the first suicide squad and it did deliver on all the story telling elements the first film failed to give, like the producer sat down, did their homework, discovered what was wrong with the first film and tried to correct them in this film and for that reason alone I believe this film deserves a seat at the table. In essence it was a more grounded film that had and followed a more centralised, linear storyline. It had us experience the story through the lives of central characters with whom we built some form of connection in their journey to to the final act unlike what we saw in the first film. When I saw the trailer it got me wondering how Director James Gunn was going to manage working with the numerous characters once again, I mean it was double of the cast of the first film that appeared in the part 1 and look how it ended for them. So for a spilt second it looked like this was going to be a repeat of what we saw or even worse. Then he came up with the best decision the first film couldn't make, (Spoilers ahead) he killed off all the meaningless characters in the third scene of act one to establish the characters responsible for the story progression in this film and it was a freaking awesome move by the way because it provided the cohesion the first film lacked and like I said earlier it gave us central characters through which we could experience a more centralized story; each character have their own character arcs and character moments. It definitely deserves a place on this list as it is probably the best film DC produced this year.
6.Nobody
Of all the John Wick rip-offs I saw last year, this is my favourite. Ok I admit it is wrong to call this film a John Wick rip-off cause that would be an oversimplification also it makes it sound un-original even though that is not the case. It does share a lot of striking resemblance to John Wick part 1 though especially with the kind of premise it tries to set up and in all fairness neither it nor John Wick are the first films to follow the popular trope of never messing with the calm quite friendly neighbour because it turns out that he is a world class assassin. Films like The accountant and Salt are just some examples of films which came out even before John Wick but had the similar storyline of highly skilled assassin who appeared to be everyday people at first. What sperates Nobody and John Wick from the pack however is how it introduces and build a certain side of these characters before our eyes only to then switch them up 360 and surprise us all. You see it's one thing to know that your lead is world class assassin, it's another thing however to believe and be sure that your lead is a depressing loser whose life sucks and whose story is beclouded by tragedy and misery only for some unfortunate bad guys to finally mess with him and then he reveals his true identity and dish out some well deserved punishment to does poor suckers who deserve it. It is even more interesting when we learn that our lead who first appeared to be a "nobody" (no pun intended) is a character whom everybody fears. That's the one thing that both these films get right because they both play on the anger and frustration they build up within the audience by having the lead character take out their frustration on bad guys and giving us a satisfying ending. It's a proven trope that works and gives us quality action pieces that are the most memorable.
5.The Harder they fall.
Ohh boy was this a classic in my opinion and sadly it's not one film that really made it into a lot of people's list and that's just disappointing if you ask me because this film most definitely deserves a seat at the table. It's an example of how you properly write social commentary into any film, by examining more than one side to the story and avoiding the trap of being biased. For me it's something close to a perfect story with a stand out ending that talks about different issues our society from a wholistic point of view without taking away personal responsibility from each character. It's a story about black people but it isn't a story for Balck people and that's where it does it right. It's the mistake many progressive film makes in this day especially film makers with feminist and black liberation ideas. Many of them make movies about a select group of people FOR a select group of people and then market it for everyone to come see it only to be surprised when it doesn't do well. This film learns from others mistakes and it does well to correct this mistake by portraying the wholistic view of what a society run by black people would look like, nothing like a utopian city of freedom and prosperity but everything a normal emerging metropolis with all its good and bad. It's a simple revenge tale that takes us on this wild ride and pits two characters with strong motivations against each other popularizing the saying that there is only space for one person at the top and we all have our reasons for doing what we do.
4.The Last Duel.
source
Another classic of a story that completely surprised me, well not really surprised more of stuck with me was this film from Director Ridley Scott. I was completely enamoured by this story and by the actors who made up the cast. The story is one that was told beautifully and the way in which it was told was one of my favourite styles of breaking acts. I do have a lengthier breakdown of this film on my blog and you can check it out here. In a year that had a lot movies showcasing superheroes flying into space, martial artist fighting with dragons and spies trying to topple world governments, it felt relaxing and entertaining to see a simple drama that focused on two men fighting over a woman but not just a simple drama but one that was done so well and so intentionally. Like the previous film before this, this story tackled several themes such as the oppression of women in the old days and the corruption and incompetence that drives uneducated leaders and it shows these themes in such a practical manner by making us witness it through the experiences of our main character. The theme of how everyone is the hero of their own story and how the truth is relative to all and simply a person's narrative is the most striking theme of this film and it opens our eyes to see how we can never truly know something when we hear it as an account from people. All in all it was a great film and it does deserve this number on the list
3.Spiderman No way home
source
Tom Holland's web slinging bad boy antics is back for the third installment of the amazing Spider-Man and you know what they say what's better than one Spiderman, three. Yep that's right I remember seriously searching throughout the internet on the weel of this movies opening just to find out all the spoliers I could get and also to confirm if indeed they were three Spidermen and boy was I glad that the rumours and leaks where true. I've also done an extensive breakdown of this film on my blog and you can go check that out here but I will say this though this movie was the best of the three solo Spiderman films that Tom Holland did. It was a big upgrade from what we saw in two and it was a perfect turning point for the MCU Spiderman. Like the other Spidermen before him, this film have him the tragic moment his character needed to develop from the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman to a hero who understands the reality of fighting evil in this world and protecting the people you love. We see how this realisation changes him in the form of him deciding not to bring himself into the lives of the people he loves because he understands that it's best for them to move on and have a peaceful life instead of getting involved with him and the troubles his crime fighting brings. It was also cool seeing the consequences of the multiverse cracking at play and potentially having almost anyone and everyone appearing in the MCU is absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to see it and if you haven't yet seen it, what really are you waiting for exactly.
2.Dune
source
This one was a hard one because in all honesty this film was almost found its way to number one on this list and that is because in my opinion it was a classic and the only reason it didn't make it to number on was because it is only the first part of this story and we can only find out it's true perfection if the part 2 is as amazing as part one was. This film is the most beautiful/visually outstanding film I saw last year and I mean that, like nothing, nothing beats the visuals of this film and the musical score ohh heavenly. There's this scene where the house Atriedes lands on the planet Arrakis and the pipes and drums welcome them to the desert island. The sound and visuals of this scene is just heavenly, absolutely beautiful. What makes this film stand out the most is that it isn't just all about aesthetics visuals and amazing sound but it is all of these mixed with a deep rich story and lore that takes the time to build each character and expand the story before our eyes to the point where we feel as though we are a part of the story. At one point when we are knees deep into seeing the perils of Paul and his pregnant mother in the desert we completely forget all the beautiful sites we have seen in this film and we are simply scared and worried about the lives of our lead and his pregnant mother. So many scenes are outstanding in this film and they all deserve their own special appreciation each of them seeming as distinct stretched out pieces at first glance but at a closer inspection we see how each detail parts of the plots that connects themselves together and make up the whole story. It's like one YouTube film reviewer said "every shot and Dennis Villeneuve is like let's make this the greatest looking scene in existence" and he is absolutely right. Every shot in this film carried so much emotion into it, like you saw some really beautiful shots an since you are following the story and you know what it's about your emotions are heightened and you are fully invested into the story whether why you feel is tension, or fear or anger whatever the case is you feel it and you feel it well. So then after all the praises I have showered on this film what crazy movie could possible beat it to gain the number one spot? Well I'm glad you ask well I give you your Number one film an that.........
1.Tenet
Some of you would have guessed this one already because as many of you know I believe that Christopher Nolan is the greatest director of this day and age and no one can pull of science fiction better than he can. This movie is a classic example of that as it is an example of movie that shouldn't work in theory but it is practically the greatest movie I have seen in the last three years. I cannot and I repeat I cannot reiterate how good I think this film is, like every single time I rewatch it it makes more sense to me and I realise how well thought out and written the story is. Christopher Nolan is an example of man who knows all the rules so well that only he one can break the rules and get away with it simply because of how well he knows the rules and this film is an example. Let's take for example his introduction or our protagonist in the opening scene. Usually in story telling when you introduce your main character in an opening scene he or she has no idea what the story is about and in his journey in the story he gets to discover new things about which makes you discover the story as a viewer. Nolan doesn't do that in the opening scene heck he does the exact opposite of this. He chooses to introduce events to lock the audience out on what's really going and for the major part of the first act of the movie the audience has to try to figure out what's really going until we get to the second act where everything begins to make sense and in order for it to make more sense to us, we have to see movies three times in order to appreciate the story for what it is. Yes in a lot of ways it does seem very trippy but in the end with a Little bit of patience and a little bit of paying closer attention to the details in the dialogue it becomes clearer what the grand scheme is things is. There is the sense of overwhelming dread and urgency that surrounds the entire story which we don't necessarily see in actuality but we sense through the actions or protagonists characters and the apparent inevitability of our antagonist. Yeah I know it's quite a lot I've mentioned and it doesn't make a lot of sense. I have also done a review of this film and you can find it here
source
So with that folks we have come to the end of this series. I was thinking I was going to do a top 10 worst movies of 2021 post but I don't think I would be able to pull that off. I have a ton of things to write about and I don't have a lot of time on my hands. Please do leave a comment down below on some films you thought deserved a spot on this list and let me know what your top 10 list looks like and until we see again..... Ciao.
