HLS Top Movie of 2020 Part 4! 25-11
Welcome back to HLS Top movie list, this is part 4 and will be a shorter list than the past two to set up the top ten: If you missed the first few installments you can click on them here Part 1 92-81 , Part 2 80-51 , Part 3 50-26 . One thing I want to point out is sometimes when writing my quick blurbs about each film I am trying to sell the movie to you, if I cannot reveal the plot without spoiling it I generally will say so or recommend you watch the trailer but there are sometimes where I am being purposefully misleading in a description ONLY because I hate spoilers and what I say is true but the context of the movie changes what I said.
Now with every movie I am going to be putting what I personally think is the safest grading scale out there, the IMDB user rating score. Here is a simple breakdown of what their 0.0-10 grading scale means:
0.1-5.0 = Horrible waste of time
5.1-6.4 = Risky might be good might be garbage
6.5-7.4 = Good solid movie
7.5+ = Movie that is widely adored by everyone
Now this is not a gold standard but is a good starting point, on to the movies. On to the movies!
25. Get Duked! (Amazon) - IMDb Score: 6.2
This movie is about three troubled youths in Scotland who have basically given one last shot to turn their lives around by completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award by being dropped off in the middle of nowhere and surviving in the wilderness as they make their way through the country. Only given a map to follow and a checklist of things to accomplish this laugh out loud goofy silly movie will certainly brighten your day while creeping you out at the same time.
24. 7500 (Amazon) - IMDb Score: 6.3
7500 is the flight code sent by pilots to air traffic controllers when their plane has been hijacked. This intense, confined thriller welcomes Joseph Gordon-Levitt back to the silver screen for the first time in about four years. JGL puts on a remarkable performance as quiet tempered Tobias Ellis the co-pilot of the plane that is hijacked in this film. Don't really recommend watching this movie before your upcoming flight. Here is the trailer if you need further convincing but be warry of potential spoilers in the trailer as the plot is very straightforward and the film is more about JGL's performance.
23. The Lodge (Hulu) - IMDb Score: 6.0
Horror movies get bad ratings just for existing blah blah blah I have said it twenty times in these lists and it continues to be true, some people just think less of a film because it dares to be in the genre. This is not your generic concept scary movie in an isolated area. The tropes are there but are subverted multiple times throughout the movie. This movie does have moments of gruesome realism be prepared (nothing to the level of Hereditary or Midsommar though), and I will fight that Riley Keough is getting so disrespected this award season by not even bringing her name up for nominations. Okay here is the synopsis for the movie and like I said it seems paint by numbers to certain movie tropes by I assure you it isn't, "A soon-to-be stepmom is snowed in with her fiancé's two children at a remote holiday village. Just as relations begin to thaw between the trio, some strange and frightening events take place" via IMDb.
22. Big Time Adolescence (Hulu) - IMDb Score: 7.0
Griffin Gluck plays Monroe an adolescence teenager who has grown up for years being best friends with his older sister's ex-boyfriend and college dropout Pete Davidson's Zeke. Zeke is a great honest friend to Monroe (Mo) but is naturally a horrible influence on him. This surprisingly touching coming of age movie was a surprise love of mine that I rewatched multiple times. Pete Davidson's great year is just starting though, I really hope this leads to him getting more roles in other roles because between this and the other movie on this list he stars in he really proved to me and the world that he is an amazing actor.
21. News of the World - IMDb Score: 6.9
Tom Hanks plays Captain Kidd a Civil War veteran who now spends his days traveling from town to town to deliver the "News of the World". In the time of no internet, no phones, and the most reliable transport is a horse, I imagine getting news from outside your small home in the west would be nearly impossible. Captain Kidd comes across a wagon that has been shot up and rifled through on the road to discover young Johanna, played by Helena Zengel, who had been taken by the Kiowa people but now needs to be reunited with her only living family in the world. When no one else wants to or accepts the task Captain Kidd takes it upon himself to deliver the child home. Tom Hanks is well Tom Hanks you know you have a great as always performance from him, but people are rightfully giving the young Helena Zengel praise for her very understated quiet role in this film.
20. Swallow - IMDb Score: 6.5
If you have ever loved watching shows like "My Strange Addiction" you might LOVE this movie or absolutely loathe this pull back of the curtain into seeing what it is like for a newly pregnant housewife who finds herself obsessing over trying to eat increasingly dangerous household objects. Haley Bennett has received some love for her leading performance in this movie but still deserves vastly more love than she has gotten.
19. The Vast of Night (Prime) - IMDb Score: 6.7
You have probably seen this type of movie before, you have probably even heard stories like this before, but what might have actually happened in the 1950s when a switchboard operator and radio DJ discover a strange audio frequency that seems to have mysterious connections to disappearances across the countries. This movie is just so much more with amazing camera work that even casual film fans will notice delivering this tightly written script so beautifully and long winded without leaning on sci-fi clichés it is just a wonderfully done movie that honestly probably deserves to be higher up this list and it was for a LONG time through 2020 after I saw it in May. Here is the trailer, you need to watch this movie.
18. The Devil All the Time - IMDb Score: 7.1
Looking at reviews for this is movie is hilarious because the grades are so all over the place, 83 from Entertainment Weekly all the way to 40 from Variety. This movie is "controversial" in its' grades because of one thing, patience. This movie is a slow burn, it doesn't pretend to be some big action movie it actually feels like a movie out of time where this one be standard pacing in an 80s-90s murder mystery noir but in 2020 patience was not in high supply. I was so happy to see Tom Holland branching out once again from his role as Spider-Man in the MCU to play a more diverse range of roles great for him. Meanwhile our future Batman and past vampire Edward Pattinson puts on an outlandish overplayed wonderful performance as this questionable reverend who has come to town. There is just so much going on in this movie I could not properly tease the entire synopsis so I will link it here.
17. The Invisible Man - IMDb Score: 7.1
Spoiler for 2nd annual HLS Movie Awards, Elisabeth Moss is AMAZING in this classic twist on the monster movie. Elisabeth Moss plays Cecilia Kass the victim of an abusive relationship that is fighting for her life to escape it. This movie's synopsis is in the spoiler territory I highly advise you to just watch it it is incredible but I will link the trailer here if you need further convincing. Elisabeth Moss' performance alone is worth the watch.
16. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - IMDb Score: 7.1
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play by the same name and is about the trailblazing "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey and as she fights her own fight against prejudices she, and many others, faces in her life. The play, and this film, is a look into her life as tensions and temperatures rise one day during a recording session in the 1920's. Viola Davis plays the titular character and deserves all the awards love she is getting but the standout of this movie for most people will be Chadwick Boseman playing Levee as this was his last on-screen appearance before he sadly passed away. THIS is the movie Chadwick Boseman deserves awards for, not Da 5 Bloods. While Chadwick was great in both, this is a much more powerful performance.
15. The King of Staten Island - IMDb Score: 7.1
This is the semibiographical movie of what Pete Davidson's life could have been if he never found his path in standup comedy and acting. Losing his firefighter father at a young age throws Scott Carlin, Pete Davidson, into a loop or perpetual bad decisions never really grappling with his grief and depression of losing his father. This movie is about him finally taking those first steps to move on with his life as his mother, Marisa Tomei's Margie, begins to move on with hers and begins dating. Bill Burr young in his acting career has a shockingly good performance as Ray Bishop the loudmouth firefighter his mother starts dating.
14. Never Rarely Sometimes Always - IMDb Score:7.4
The simple movie synopsis from IMDb is "A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy", this movie is a cold harsh look into an unintentional pregnancy that is the definition of gut wrenching. If the purpose of film is to make you feel something this movie will certainly accomplish that as it shows the horrors of what Sidney Flanigan's character Autumn goes through on this trip.
13. The Last Full Measure - IMDb Score: 6.8
This movie is based on the true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger who was a pararescue who died saving almost 60 men during a brutal battle in 1966, and the story three plus decades later of Scott Huffman (the fictional amalgamation of multiple people) a Pentagon staffer who was assigned to investigate the Congressional Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger. This movie honoring an American hero that was almost forgotten is filled with an all star cast including Sebastian Stan, Bradley Whitford, William Hurt, Jeremy Irvine, Christopher Plummer, Samuel L Jackson and Ed Harris.
12. Bacurau - IMDb Score: 7.4
This was a movie that had me on the edge of my seat confusing me, enthralling me, disgusting me, making me cheer, if you are worried about it not being in English I have a simple response "Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films" - Bong Joon Ho, 2020 Best Picture Winner for Parasite (another film you should regret skipping if you did). This movie is about Teresa coming home to her matriarchal village in Brazil to find the whole village quickly turned into turmoil.
11. The Gentlemen - IMDb Score: 7.8
This movie was my hardest cut from the top ten, I loved this movie it was incredible. Matthew McConaughey is incredible in this villainous role that we so rarely get to see him play. Not to mention the entire ensemble cast was great Hugh Grant, Colin Farrell, Henry Golding, Jeremy Strong, and Charlie Hunnam. Specifically want to shout out Hugh Grant's sleazy performance that should have gotten awards love. Just another amazing fun movie from Guy Ritchie with multiple stories, multiple perspectives, and with amazing camera work. Coming out January 24th, back in the pre pandemic simpler times this movie is already over a year old and deserves multiple viewings.
Thank you so much for reading! This will be the last specific breakdown of the 2020 list as we have reached the top 10. I will be releasing every Friday over the next few weeks the nominees for the Second Annual HLS Movie Awards, including the top ten movies for Best Film! Please Subscribe so you do not miss out on the upcoming blogs and share with your friends!
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