2020 has been an interesting year to say the least; from the coronavirus and the new civil rights movement to the 2020 election, this year has been one filled with a lot of stress and uncertainty. When 2020 started, my wife and I decided that we would go through the AFI Top 100 (10th anniversary). January through March was very successful, we made it through about one movie from the list per week while watching some other films too. If you haven’t watched movies from the AFI Top 100, they are all excellent films, ones that have impacted and will continue to impact the American film industry. However, most are not easy movies to watch because they are very artistic and most cover heavy subject matter. When the pandemic hit and we all were forced to go into lockdown, our desire to continue watching from the list went completely out the window because we were so emotionally drained from all that was going on in society. At that time, we stopped watching films from the list and started checking out a lot of movies from our local library that we hadn’t seen yet. 2020 has been tough but I have really enjoyed catching up on some great movies that we have been wanting to watch. Here are my top 10 from this year. 

10. Bodied (2017)

When I first heard about this movie from a podcast, I had no idea it existed. This YouTube Original was produced by several people including Eminem and Paul Rosenberg. It follows Adam (Calum Worthy) who is an English graduate student who has been studying rap battles for his thesis subject. He becomes embroiled in the underground rap scene and becomes a rap battler himself. The movie takes an outlandish satirical approach and covers topics of racism, cultural appropriation, the music industry, and identity. It is funny, extremely witty, emotional, and even scary at points. Definitely was not the movie I was expecting it to be and I was totally pleased with it.

9. Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Ever since I watched What We Do In The Shadows years ago, I have absolutely loved anything that the director Taika Waititi was involved with. The premise of JoJo Rabbit is quite outlandish, as it follows Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) , a shy young boy living in WWII Germany with his mother. He, like many other children, has some struggles making friends and not embarrassing himself, however, unlike other children Jojo copes with these struggles with the help of his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (Taka Waititi). This film delivers on so many levels but is a prime example of how a coming of age film can be extremely funny, heart warming, and cover serious subjects while also being extremely weird. 

8. Upgrade (2018)

As an avid horror fan I had heard of Upgrade from several of my friends but just hadn’t put aside the time to watch it yet. This film was primarily produced by Blumhouse Productions, which can be very hit or miss, but oh boy, am I so glad that I finally saw this movie. It takes place in the near future where human-kind works and lives alongside smart cars, drones, and other life-assisting robots. However, Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is a mechanic that restores classic cars for extremely rich clients. He and his wife, Asha (Melanie Vallejo), go to deliver one of his recent projects to a client. On their way back home they end up in a car accident and are attacked by a group of mysterious mercenaries that end up killing his wife and leaving Grey paralyzed. He then receives an experimental treatment that turns out to be more than he bargained for. What happens next is a creepy and intense story about what happens when human-kind pushes the boundaries of technology too far. With an estimated miniscule budget of 5 million dollars, this movie is a masterclass on how to make a movie on a scant budget that looks amazing and seems like it could have been a much more expensive production. This will definitely remain one of my all-time favorite sci-fi horror movies. 

7. Every Time I Die (2019)

Robi Michael comes out of the gate swinging with his feature-length directorial debut. Every Time I Die is a stellar film that tells the story of Sam (Drew Fonteiro), a socially awkward EMT who has not been feeling like himself lately. He is invited to visit a lake house with some of his friends. When he is murdered during a heated encounter his consciousness begins to inhabit the bodies of his friends as he attempts to protect them from the killer. This trippy and dark journey leads to the discovery of his true identity. This will be one of my all-time favorites for sure. 

6. Brigsby Bear (2017)

I don’t watch all that much comedy because in my opinion, most comedies are uninspiring, raunchy, and rehashing of similar stories. However, Brigsby Bear is one of those true gems of pure genius because it is so original and clever. It stars Kyle Mooney (who actually co-wrote the film) as James, a man in his twenties who was raised in an underground bunker by Ted (Mark Hamill) and April Mitchum (Jane Adams), who convince Kyle that the world above is irradiated and uninhabitable. However, early on in the movie James is rescued by a special forces team and it is revealed that Ted and April kidnapped James when he was very young. James is then reunited with his family and he struggles to reintegrate back into society. One way he copes is through watching the Brigsby Bear Show, a show with hundreds of episodes featuring an intricate plot and universe that was actually created by Ted and April as a way to indoctrinate James. When he finds out that the show will not be concluded James decides to team up with his friends to create the final episode of Brigsby Bear. One of the most heart-warming and weird stories I have ever seen on film.

5. Do the Right Thing (1989)

Do the Right Thing is the only film from the AFI Top 100 to make it to my top 10 list. This Spike Lee Joint was released in 1989 but it seems like it could have been released in 2020. Starring so many greats including Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and even Spike Lee himself, this film covers a community of Black/African American people who live on a street in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn on one of the hottest days of the summer. As the temperature rises so does the tension between the community and the police, the racial divide, and bigotry. The tension reaches a boiling point in a confrontation between the owners of a pizza joint, the community members, and police officers. When I watched this back in February I had no idea how relevant it would be for the rest of the year. It helped me confront my own internal biases, showed me areas I could grow in, and how I needed to do more to confront racism and bigotry within my circles and the broader the community.

4. Host (2020)

Again, mentioning another horror movie because it’s the genre I tend to focus on. And since I do watch so much horror I do see many duds and even the good movies don’t necessarily scare me anymore. However, this movie really got me. It made me feel similar feelings to when I first watched Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring, As Above, so Below¸ and other greats that made my heart race. This movie is a Shudder Original and only runs for just under an hour. It follows a group of friends who meet over Zoom to perform a séance with the help of a medium. However, things go awry and the group must fend of a powerful entity that they were not expecting to confront. This is definitely going on my list for my favorite horror movies.

3. Color Out of Space (2019)

So this year I not only watched a lot of horror but I specifically got into cosmic horror. I watched many of the greats like Reanimator, Evil Dead, The Void, and more. When I saw the trippy movie poster and that Nicolas Cage was the lead I was very curious. This was one of the most beautiful and simultaneously horrific movies I have ever seen.

2. The Wailing (2016)

I used to be so narrow-minded when it came to international films. If a movie wasn’t dubbed I would not watch it, regardless of how much praise it had received, because I claimed I couldn’t follow what was going on in the movie and read the dialogue at the same time. However, when Parasite came out last year my wife and I went and watched it in theaters and afterwards I was hooked. Since then we have been watching so many international films. We were able to borrow The Wailing from one of our close friends and we were not disappointed. It follows a police officer in a small Korean town who just can’t seem to stay on top of things. He is constantly screwing up at work and with his family. However, when his family is affected by a mysterious sickness that is also plaguing the town, he steps up to the plate and investigates the dark secret behind what’s affecting the town. Such a good film in regards to acting, pacing, cinematography, and storytelling. I will be revisiting this one multiple times in the years to come.

1.The One I Love (2014)

Any time a movie stars Elisabeth Moss and Mark Duplass, you know you can expect a good time. This movie has been on my Netflix watchlist probably ever since it was released. When we finally got around to watching it I was not disappointed one bit. Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss play a married couple whose spark is dying out. In an attempt to revamp their marriage they go away on a vacation at a beautiful getaway as suggested by their therapist. However, while trying to stoke the flames of their tenuous relationship things become extremely complicated by some sort of cosmic influence. It’s not a romance movie, but it is. It’s not a comedy, but it is. It isn’t a horror movie, but it is. I just love it when movies can be successful in genre bending. It is extremely pleasant to go into a movie expecting a comedy and getting so much more from it. By far one of my all-time favorites and have watched it multiple times this year already.

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Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others.

Bodied is property of Neon Pictures and YouTube. We do not own nor claim any rights. Host is property of Shudder. We do not own nor claim any rights. Every Time I Die is property of Gravitas Ventures. We do not own nor claim any rights. The One I Love is property of RADiUS-TWC. We do not own nor claim any rights.

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