I wrote about my top 20 of 2020 on my website — read the full list here! And I also wrote about the best non-2020 movies that I watched for the first time this year — that list is here.
Small Axe, as a complete project, topped my list of 2020 wide releases because it’s so much more than the sum of its parts. It’s a gorgeous encapsulation of the beauty and the struggles of West Indian life in London. Not…
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always felt like more of an observer than an active agent in the world. I know logically that this isn’t the case — I know that I have my own set of responsibilities, problems, and experiences that make me a specific, individual person — but, for some reason, my default mentality is to let the world wash over me, rather than worrying about my particular place within it. I think this is part…
Barry Sonnenfeld’s movies are almost always shot well and amazingly cast. Big Trouble is no exception to the trend — it’s a straightforwardly good-looking movie with an absolutely insane ensemble of character actors and rising stars, including Tim Allen, Stanley Tucci, Zooey Deschanel, Ben Foster, and Sofia Vergara. The movie never really finds its footing, as Sonnenfeld attempts to recapture the loose magic of Get Shorty with a much weaker script and a substantially shorter runtime. There are two bad dumb…
I liked this even less than the first time, because it’s easier to see the bones of a great movie that has nothing to do with Frozen. I applaud the idea of tackling the legacy of colonialism and ecological irresponsibility in an accessible way. Retroactively making some of the phenotypically-whitest animated characters ever into indigenous royalty and using Rise of Skywalker-level consequencelessness is not a good way of approaching those ideas. Let characters die! Destroy the kingdom! The Anderson-Lopez songwriting duo deserves better than this.
If you don’t think Sal is a racist, you should probably rewatch this movie. His climactic use of racial slurs can’t be chalked up to a lapse of judgement. He repeatedly clarifies that he only tolerates black people because they haven’t done anything bad to him, and because they provide his livelihood. His respect for the black community is entirely conditional and transaction-based — as soon as his “terms” of respect (essentially not having any major negative encounters with any…
“Anyone can be anything” is a solid message. “Certain beings are naturally predisposed toward savage violence, but you should overcome your justified prejudice and allow them into society” is not. The movie is way better when it leans toward the former instead of the latter.
Zootopia’s worldbuilding is superb, and exploring the city through a detective story is a great idea. I wish that the mystery was a little smaller in scale, without the blatant, hamfisted moralizing about being tolerant of scary minorities. A standard missing person’s case would be fine! We don’t need a citywide conspiracy!
