The Films of 2020

Beginning in 1998, I started my own movie awards show. I'd just turned 22, and was deep into my Leonardo DiCaprio phase. Disappointed that he wasn't even nominated for his star-level turn in Titanic, I decided to do my own alternative to the Oscars -- The Matt Awards. Initially used as a pressure valve (and kind of a joke), I've ended up doing the Matt Awards every year since. The latest edition is very, very late (I try and do it during the first half of the year), but, better late than never?

Here, then, are my personal selections for the best in cinema for the preceding year:

Best Picture

Da 5 Bloods

A Vietnam War movie with an almost all-black cast, the film featured tour-de-force performances, deft direction by Spike Lee, and gorgeous cinematography. It also put me in my mind of my late father, who was a young, African-American drafted into the war.

Best Director

Spike Lee for Da 5 Bloods

Spike's career has been hit and miss for me. I enjoyed Get on the Bus, found the thriller Inside Man to be engrossing, and who doesn't find something to appreciate about Do the Right Thing? That said, it wasn't until last year that one of his movies really fired on all cylinders for me, so he wins here for Da 5 Bloods.

Best Actor

Delroy Lindo for Da 5 Bloods

Years ago, a co-worker and fellow movie buff, and I were talking, specifically about Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson's starring turns in their big 2002 films -- Gangs of New York, and About Schmidt, respectively. He argued that "it is more difficult to implode than to explode," referring to acting styles and performances. According to my co-worker, Nicholson had imploded in his role, and was therefore more deserving of praise than was Day-Lewis. I agreed with him. That said, explosive performances tend to get more attention. Lindo was exploding all over Da 5 Bloods, and didn't receive a nomination come Oscar time. But he wins here. Yes, it was showy, but he was also just so good.

Best Actress

Elisabeth Moss for The Invisible Man

Moss gave two strong performances last year, one for our winner, the other as the title role in Shirley (about writer Shirley Jackson). It's my view that The Invisible Man is the better of the two films, and Moss's performance in it the stronger. She carries the movie, and helps lift it from being just another horror reboot, to something greater.

Best Supporting Actor

Brian Dennehy for Driveways

The first time I remember seeing Brian Dennehy was in Cocoon, where he played the leader of the humanoid-looking aliens, come to Earth to retrieve their own. He had a long and varied career, always bringing a sense of gravitas to every role he took on, perhaps none more so than in Driveways. One of his final roles, Dennehy played Del, an old man living next door to the house where a woman and her son come to sort through a deceased relative's estate. Dennehy has good dialogue to work with, but imbues his character with such heart and vulnerability that you feel he was born to play the role.

Best Supporting Actress

Yuh-Jung Youn for Minari

By this point, most everyone has heard of our winner, since she also won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at this year's Academy Awards. Minari is a quietly powerful movie in its own right, but when Youn enters the frame, approximately a third of the way in, she becomes its beating heart, leaving an indelible mark on the audience.

Best Screenplay

Charlie Kaufman for I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Based on the novel by Iain Reid, Kaufman crafted a screenplay so dense, yet so sparse, simple and impenetrable that it is engrossing in its multitudes. You'll either love or hate this movie, and I love it. There's nothing quite like it, which is something not easily said these days.

Best Cinematography

Newton Thomas Sigel for Da 5 Bloods

Spike was wise to bring on Sigel as his DP. Last year featured a lot of movie watching at home, seeing first run films via streaming platforms. For the most part, that worked well, but Da 5 Bloods was one of the rare instances where I thought, 'Wow, I wish I could see this in a theater.' Sigel's cinematography just made the movie feel big, lush and epic.

Best Score

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross for Soul

A great Pixar film, and one of the best movies of 2020 features a jaunty and soulful (ahem) score by Reznor and Ross. One of the most memorable pieces of movie music of the year.

Best Documentary

Mucho Mucho Amor

The best documentaries are often the ones that 1) present interesting subjects and/or topics, and 2) introduce the audience to a person or event they may not be familiar with. Our winner here manages to do both with some aplomb. I'd never of Walter Mercado, a superstar of Spanish-language television, but found his life -- as presented in Mucho Mucho Amor -- to be quite fascinating. Definitely worth a watch.

Best Foreign Language Film

Your Name Engraved Herein

I'm a sucker for a good (key word: good) gay romance drama, and this Taiwanese film certainly fits that criteria. Great acting, solid direction, and gorgeous cinematography come together to create a compelling feature. It's only let down by the last 15-20 minutes.

And, there you have it -- my best of the best from 2020. I sometimes include a Horror movie category, but not this year. Either there was a dearth of proper horror films in 2020, or I just didn't see them. Hopefully, it'll be back next year. 

I'll leave you the ranking of my Top 10 favorite movies of 2020. And, next year, I'll try and do these awards a little sooner.

1. Da 5 Bloods

2. Let Him Go

3. Driveways

4. Your Name Engraved Herein

5. Soul

6. The Invisible Man

7. Minari

8. I'm Thinking of Ending Things

9. Mucho Mucho Amor

10. The Photograph