Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
6.8
Similar cinematography to “The Revenant.” Just imagine it’s that, but instead of a bear chasing Leo, it’s one of the creepiest characters on the big screen in 2020 chasing this… unwise young woman. Unwise, because she makes literally every wrong move in every situation. It’s a car crash you can’t turn away from. Get ready to scream “No, don’t do that!” and “Look behind you!” for the entire runtime until you lose your voice. In between facepalming.
6.2
I expected so much more…
I loved the first Wonder Woman for its nuance and perfectly balanced touch when it came to filmmaking. It was everything that the other DC movies weren’t. You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
So many great ideas and scenes, left undeveloped. So much potential, wasted. So much… runtime. So much… 1980s for no reason.
Third time’s the charm, right?
7.8
The beginnings of the “War on Drugs” explained. The beginning of many of the societal ills that we are now reaping what we had sewn at this pivotal moment in American history. It was equally shocking to see what transpired and how we handled it. It’s always a painful pill to swallow when you can see how little the human race learns from history and how much we walk in a big circle, acting equally if not increasingly shocked with the results of our often flawed ways.
Government often creates many of the problems it “comes to the rescue” to solve, and most of the time rushing things and acting on emotion is the worst strategic alternative. This felt much longer than its runtime, but in a good way. A great deal of quality information and storytelling packed into this one. Well worth a watch.
8.5
A masterclass in suspenseful filmmaking. The action is razor-focused. The characters are developed in a way that beautifully balances depth with intrigue.
All three leads fit perfectly within their characters. Emily Blunt serves well as a stand-in for the audience, playing off the other characters as she peels back each menacing layer of the narrative onion. Josh Brolin plays the charismatic bad(?) guy that you can’t help but get behind from time to time. Benicio Del Torro has an immense presence on the screen, serving as a man of few words who speaks volumes with the little dialogue he does have. He really serves as the mooring in reality and sanity for the story in the end, as the only consistent character. Even if he is consistently sinister with just enough heart and logic behind him that you go “I kinda get it.”
A thought-provoking film, regardless of your politics and level of violence tolerance. Nuance that is often lacking in today’s storytelling. Plus, the score is amazing. Highly recommend.
It was a weird year. Thankfully, there were still enough movies to fill a year-end countdown! A newfound love for the drive-in theater, and even more scouring streaming than normal led to a really interesting 2020 lineup in my movie watching this year. Huge thank you to all of you, from all over the world, who visit my page to check out a random guy’s thoughts about movies. Can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store, and to continue to grow the page and connect with even more of you! Cheers!
In no particular order, here are my top 17 of the year… (I couldn’t narrow it to 16, whoops)
Freaky
The Gentlemen
1917
Just Mercy
The Lodge
The invisible man
You should have left
Tenet
Words on bathroom walls
A nice girl like you
Hooking up
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
A rainy day in New York
Love and monsters
Spontaneous
Antebellum
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 