Look I don’t need to tell you this, but 2020 has been a weird one. For us as reviewers of movies and TV, the year has seen cinemas shuttered, but streaming explode. We have not been able to go to and experience the communal enjoyment (or groan) of a group of people feeling, and seeing, and reacting to things together, but we have seen an enormous amount of content come through our (not so little) small screens.
So when we decided to pull together our list of favourite movies, always a tough list to pull together in the best of times, 2020 felt a little harder. So here it is, my top three, in no particular order, as well as a list of notable mentions because I couldn’t leave these out, not for love nor money.
1. Greyhound
Greyhound is Tom Hanks’ turn as the almost clichéd commander of a fleet of ships as they try to cross the Atlantic, all while being hunted by a pack of German U-boats in World War II. The movie is best described as tight. There is very little set up and absolutely no exposition. There are no voice over narrators to prime the audience. Greyhound throws you almost immediately into the action as the Germans pick off boats one by one, all while taunting the American fleet and their first time commander. But don’t get me wrong, Greyhound isn’t Tom Hanks’ (who also wrote the screenplay) version of Bad Boys. It isn’t all just naval battles and ships punching at each other with cannons and guns. It isn’t just all action. Well it is, but in the perfect definition of the screenwriter’s creed of “show, don’t tell.”
Tom Hanks strips the script down to only the most necessary dialogue. Everything else is on the actors. Their expressions of fear when confronting an unseen enemy. Those glimmers of doubt we see in their eyes each and every time they look at their tenderfoot Captain. Can he get them through this? Does he know what he’s doing? It’s all right there on screen and absolutely none of it is spoken out loud.
Greyhound is the definition of a tight movie. Greyhound is tense and you will be left panting and out of breath at the end of it. And then wishing there was more.
“While there are far more World War II movies than one can shake a stick at, I can only think of six others that are set during this period that historians refer to as the Battle of the Atlantic. (The Cruel Sea, The Enemy Below, San Demetrio London, Atlantic Convoy, Corvette K-225, and, of course, Das Boot.) I’m not really sure why more filmmakers haven’t ventured into this particular segment of history except maybe that movies of this sort are incredibly difficult to pull off.
The Goggler Greyhound review
To that end, Greyhound is a resounding success. It depicts the war at sea, and its consequences, in a way that feels genuine. It may not be the final word on war movies set on boats – that title still remains with Das Boot – but it makes a valiant effort and rightfully earns its place with the very best of them.”
2. Mosul
Netflix’s war movie set in the Iraqi city of Mosul is a reminder that there are never really any winners in a war and that casualties aren’t just the deaths on the battlefield.
Mosul starts off like that other Russo-Netflix production, but here there’s just something about your protagonists not being Anglo-Saxon (white). We’ve seen so many Hollywood war movies, and been burned too many times by the “based on a true story” tag that, as an international audience, we no longer believe the peril when our heroes are American. But when that action movie is set in a Middle Eastern country, with Middle Eastern actors, speaking anything other than English, suddenly it feels like the safety nets have been removed. You tell yourself that as Middle Eastern actors they inhabit characters differently in a movie about the Iraqi war. You tell yourself that they know the pain, the motivations of pulling that gun, or shooting that other man.
But let’s not kid ourselves. It’s mostly because we’ve seen so many Hollywood war movies that we don’t believe in the danger anymore. Not when Tom Hanks is the commander of the Greyhound, marshalling ships across the Atlantic ocean. Not when Tom Hanks is the commander of Apollo 13 as he marshals it safely back to earth. Not when Tom Hanks is crossing Europe to save Matt Damon. Okay, maybe not that last one.
There’s just something about watching a movie when the hero is a non-American, speaking not-English. The movie feels different. Tenser. You’re not sure who’s going to die or survive until the end. The Hollywood adages of “the Black guy dies first,” or “his name is top billing so he’ll get to the end AND get the girl,” no longer work because you, the Western educated audience, don’t recognise anyone on the cast. You don’t know who the hot young Iraqi actor is making waves in Middle Eastern cinema.
It’s like walking across a frozen lake, unsure if your next step will leave you vertical, lead you to being horizontal, or wet in freezing water. And Mosul was that for me. It left me tired. Not knowing what is around every corner, or who on the cast might bite the bullet next. I’m along for the ride, keeping my eyes peeled on the blown out rooftops, and second guessing every passing car. Mosul was my roller coaster ride.
Mosul is fierce, unforgiving, and unrelenting. The action is fast and loud, and the explosions will rock you. The deaths and killings will shock you. There are no heroics and no dive-in-front-of-bullets to save a friend moments. All of this is told with a harsh realism; no soaring soundtrack, no action movie music. The silence after a battle is deafening. As are the stolen moments of quiet.
The Goggler Mosul review
3. Hamilton
Hamilton was that last piece of pop-culture that remained inaccessible for most Malaysians (and technically still is due to it’s appearance on the Disney+ service, which is still officially unavailable on our shores). When the original cast soundtrack was released two years after it premiered on Broadway in 2015, that soundtrack immediately became a regular on my Spotify playlist.
And to finally be able to watch it for the first time in 2020, with it’s original cast, albeit on screen, truly fulfilled a five year dream.
Aside from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s use of urban music and POC casting – all of which has been written and rewritten about – Hamilton is also a very good story, very well told. The rise and fall of an immigrant. Constantly pushing and striving for more. Recognition, power, responsibility, credibility. The joys of victory, the ache of losses, the pain of trying too hard and wanting too much. In a year where we were all stuck at home for more than we’d have liked, I have found myself rewatching Hamilton, putting it on while I was bored, or, just like the soundtrack before it, while I was doing chores. Inevitably, I’d find myself sitting down, my focus drawn.
The stage itself is bare, which was both surprising and not. I had seen images of the stage setup and so I knew what to expect. But to actually see it, and experience how the cast and ensemble play on it, was eye opening. … It’s basic. But that in no way does it a disservice. Much like how Nirvana’s debut album Bleach, and its follow up Nevermind, heralded the coming age of garage grunge with its underproduced sound, Hamilton’s bare set works in its favour, focusing the audience on the action and the characters on stage.
The Goggler Hamilton review
Honourable Mentions
Soul (Cinema)
Pixar’s Soul was truly something else. In a year with so much upheaval, an animated movie about dying and finding your purpose, and how that isn’t actually what truly makes a person happy, was something I didn’t think I needed. Much like Inside Out, Soul falls squarely in the “get-your-kids-to-ask-hard-questions” category of animated movies, and believe me when I say, you will not be ready for any of it. Soul also hits all the prime Bahir categories of cartoon, jazz, and cats. Soul is easily my favourite movie of the year, and is only in the honourable mentions of my list because my colleague had called dibs on it first.
The Vast of Night (Amazon Prime Video)
The Vast of Night is a perfect example of how you don’t ever need eye watering amounts of money to tell a good story. First time writer/director Andrew Patterson knew the story he wanted to tell, knew what his limited budget (USD700,000) could do, and knocked it out of the park.
Prospective filmmakers take note, this is how you do a great movie on a shoestring budget.
Tenet (Cinema)
What is there left to say about Tenet that hasn’t already been said. In a year where cinemas have been closed and many have shuttered, Christopher Nolan releases a classic Christopher Nolan film that is best enjoyed on the big screen. Tenet is what most cinema-goers crave; a smart movie, told well, with enough action that doesn’t devolve into a Michael Bay film. Some may have found the movie convoluted, but to me, the movie reminded me why I fell in love with movies in the first place. Sure Tenet may just have been a popcorn flick, but my goodness what good popcorn it was.
Allegedly Great Movies That I Want To See…
Despite all the time and streaming services available, there were still movies that came out this year that I wasn’t able to get to, either because I forgot about them, can’t (legally) get them, or just haven’t found the time (or the mood) to get to them. But let’s be honest, it’s mostly because I forgot about them.
- The Personal History of David Copperfield
- Sound of Metal
- Freaky
Dishonourable Mentions
And here are a list of movies that I regret having seen this past calendar year and wish to forget.
May 2021 be better for you than 2020 has been. All the very best from all of us here at Goggler, to you and yours.
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