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Top 5 Films of 2020

2020 has certainly been a whirlwind of a year for many reasons thanks due to global pandemic. Like many others within the film community, I have found solace in films during the difficult times and the closure of cinemas have resulted in the majority of new releases being released onto streaming services. My website has seen huge growth and I feel more confident in my writing now thanks to all of the support. This year also saw me review my first lot of film festivals with London Film Festival and Raindance Film Festival providing unforgettable experiences.

As a lot of people begin to post their Best of 2020, I thought I would do the same. Rather than do a top 10, I thought I would do a top 5 instead (it’ll become clear why when you see my choices). Bear in mind that I am counting films that were released after this year’s awards season so films like Parasite won’t be included (if I had included them, it would have to be a top 30 and I don’t have the time sorry!). I will be writing a mini review for each but my full reviews that be accessed by clicking the links.

Before I commence my top 5, I want to give an honourable mention goes to Pedro Almodóvar’s spectacular short film, The Human Voice. As my list consists of feature length films, I thought I would mention The Human Voice here. Featuring a stellar Tilda Swinton performance (as if she delivers anything less!), it’s a fantastic glimpse into the deterioration of a woman whose life slowly becomes to fall apart as she comes to terms with the end of her relationship. You can read my fuller review for The Human Voice here.

Without further ado, here are my top 5 films of the year:

5) Soul

Kicking off this list is the first of two animation choices. In a year of strong animation output, Pixar’s Soul was the most discussed, especially since their awards attention was going to be pushed onto this film more than Onward which was released just before lockdown. Just when you thought Pixar couldn’t get bigger with their imagination, they got Pixar legend Pete Docter in to direct yet another masterpiece. A film that delves deep into one man’s life and his purpose, Soul is mesmerising in both its animation and narrative. At times abstract and bizarre, it feels artistic at times thanks to the limitless minds at Pixar which is what makes the studio so exciting. Boasting an A list cast and a score to die for (pun intended), Soul kicks off this list with hugely high standard.

4) Small Axe

So my number 4 choice is a tad controversial as I have given it to Steve McQueen’s revolutionary anthology film series Small Axe rather than a specific film from the collection. Hear me out though! I initially had compiled a top 10 and unsurprisingly, it was overwhelmed with the films from Small Axe and so I wanted to acknowledge McQueen’s phenomenal cinematic achievement in one go. Spanning several decades and showing the discrimination faced by the West Indies community in London, Small Axe explores well known stories such as first installment Mangrove and lesser known issues as seen in the concluding installment Education. Each film as good as the last, McQueen is one of the most exciting directors working today (you can read my article on his films here). He is a fearless filmmaker who isn’t afraid to confront the racial issues head on, whether that is through the realistic brutality endured at the hands of the police sworn to protect or the vile discriminatory language used to belittle the community. Small Axe is an anthology series that has flipped the script on how filmmaking can be perceived as well as making that important statement that the issues explored haven’t completely gone away.

3) Da 5 Bloods

It couldn’t be a proper top 5 without the incredible Spike Lee. Following on the flawless Blackkklansman with the equally stellar Da 5 Bloods, Lee takes us through the African-American experience in Vietnam during the war and its aftermath. Following 4 men returning to Vietnam to locate their fellow soldier’s body, Da 5 Bloods is a film that makes it statement, showcasing the struggle of men who fought for a country that treats them unfairly. Mixing in different forms of film to provide a wider historical perspective, Lee is a true master of making his films into political statements that have plenty to say. His films are made to show the disturbance within a system that is sworn to protect its people. The racial discord is clearly one that is still evident today and those connections from the Vietnam War to now is evident in how Da Bloods are treated throughout the film. Disrespected wherever they go, the men can only find true solace in each other because no one else has had their experience both in the literal war and racial war.

2) I’m Thinking of Ending Things

My number 2 pick takes us deep into the wonderful world of writer-director-genius Charlie Kaufman with his adaptation of I’m Thinking of Ending Things. In true Kaufman style, what begins as a straightforward narrative in which an unnamed woman (Jessie Buckley) contemplates ending her relationship with partner, Jake (Jesse Plemons) soon turns into a winding labyrinth into the subconscious where reality and fiction and time and space become completely fluid to the point where nothing really makes sense. Eventually, the woman’s name is changed on a regularly basis and the tone shifts from drama and comedy to thriller and suspense. It’s a film that doesn’t allow you to glance away for a moment. Kaufman really is one of a kind but it is his mind and imagination that has drawn fans in again and again. His films are entirely up to interpretation so one person may take something from the film whereas the person next to them will take another. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a film you will either love or hate but the bottom line is you will feel strongly about it one way or other.

1) Wolfwalkers

Just as we begun the top 5 with an animation, we’ll end it with an animation as well. Easily my top pick for this year is the incredible Wolfwalkers. Cartoon Saloon’s latest offering is beautiful beyond words and becomes even more magical on every rewatch. Available now on Apple TV, not only does it deserve to sweep the animation categories, it fully deserves to be a contender among the Best Picture nominees when the time comes. I go into more detail on my review which you can access by clicking the film title but be assured that Wolfwalkers is a film that will impact you long after viewing it. From the contrasting artistic styles to showcase the conflicts within the film to the spellbinding music, Wolfwalkers is a film that provides escapism while also incorporating important life lessons and folklore in a way that is engaging to audiences of all ages.

While this year has been one full of challenges and sadness, film can always be a portal to escape those troubles for an hour or two. Despite the closure of cinemas, this has been an extremely strong year for film and the upcoming awards season has proved to show huge competition, particularly in the acting, directing and writing categories. A year of diversity across all mediums has shown the desire and importance to create films from cast and crew from varying background. Not only does this give something different to what the usually white mainstream cinema is accustomed to but the differing perspective makes way for revolutionary discussion and helps to break those barriers.

What were your favourite films this year? Let me know in the comments below!

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Soul (2020)

One of the most hyped film of 2020, especially after it was delayed a couple of times after the pandemic took hold. Pixar’s Soul has been the subject of much conversation when Disney announced that it would be uploaded onto Disney+ on Christmas Day. I had actively avoided watching any trailers but knew that it involved jazz somehow. Watching the film provided to be both captivating and enlightening, providing one of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen in a Pixar film (yes, you read that correctly!).

Soul is directed by Pete Docter who is responsible for some of the best Pixar films including my favourite of all time, Up. What Docter does so well is include more mature themes that children may not understand initially but can grow to appreciate whilst maintaining that feeling of hopefulness and light. The film follows aspiring jazz musician, Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who is struggling to find purpose as he works as a middle school teacher to make ends meet. Juggling the pressure from the school and his mother, Joe finally is given an opportunity to play with professional musician, Dorothea (voiced by Angela Bassett) but an unfortunate incident leads to his untimely death. What follows is an abstract and bizarre journey that explores what happens after life. When he finds himself mentoring an unborn soul called 22 (Tina Fey) to help find their spark and purpose to live, Joe begins to understand that there may be more to life than just jazz.

The film has garnered a lot of controversy among parents who feel as though the subject of life and death is too macabre to explain to children but death is a part of life and if your child is too young to understand then they are not likely to be affected by that aspect of the plot. Pixar’s earlier films Coco and Onward are among the many films that have incorporated life and death into their narrative yet generated no controversy for doing so. Soul has more to offer than simply suggesting what may lay ahead and there is enough music and liveliness to keep the overall tone lifted. Films can often be seen as a form of escapism but there is no harm in including some challenging questions and ideas into the storyline.

As expected, the cast is glittered with stars, bursting at the seams with huge A list names. I have previously mentioned some of them above and everyone does a fantastic job. I would, however, like to draw attention to the casting of Richard Ayoade and Rachel House as some of the monitors based in the “Great Before”, the place one enters before venturing to the “Great Beyond”. Ayoade and House mainly provide comic relief and their distinctive voices are always a nice inclusion in any film.

In terms of the score, it’s quite clear that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are having a stellar year after their recent collaboration for David Fincher’s Mank. The score for Soul is unlike any sound they have experimented with before. Combining jazz inspired music with dramatic ballads to show the clash between worlds from Joe’s perspective, the score is more subdued than what I thought it would be, particularly considering that jazz and music in general plays an integral role in the film. However, it feels as though that decision was made to show that music doesn’t necessarily have to be everything in Joe’s life. The tender moments we see him (or 22 as him) share with the people around him get him to realise this.

Soul really was worth the wait and more, particularly a scene near the end in which Joe journies as far as he can with 22 to Earth made for one of the huge emotional moments in Pixar history. The animation feels like it has been turned up a notch in terms of how much detail and scope the artists go. The scenes in which Joe ventures through the Great Before are the reason why audiences became captivated with Pixar in the first place. That unhindered imagination where nothing is impossible is hard to ignore and easy to appreciate. I do feel as though the ending could have done with an extra scene just to tie everything up neatly but that is proper nitpicking. Missing out on Soul is missing out on one of the best cinematic experiences of the year. It is just such a shame that it wasn’t to be appreciated on the big screen.

What did you think of Soul? Let me know in the comments below!

Soul is now showing on Disney+ so watch it as soon as you can!

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Pixar Features: Final Ranking

Way back in June 2019, I began my reviews and rankings of the Pixar feature films. Over a year later and I have managed to finish this task. It was just one of those things were I kept forgetting to complete it and before you know it, two more films had been released!

Pixar is one of the strongest animation studios in the world and it’s not hard to see why. The feature films have collectively won 16 Academy Awards with 10 of them for Best Animated Film. From the brilliantly developed characters, stunning animation and star-studded casts, Pixar has been churning out blockbusters since they brought out their debut feature Toy Story in 1995 which won the studio a Special Achievement Oscar as the Best Animated Feature category was introduced in 2002.

You can catch up with the reviews here:

Films 1-5

Films 6-10

Films 11-15

Films 16-22


Here is my ranking from bottom to top:

22) Cars 3 (2017)

21) Cars 2 (2011)

20) Cars (2006)19) The Good Dinosaur (2015)

18) Monsters University (2013)

17) Brave (2012)

16) Finding Dory (2016)

15) The Incredibles 2 (2018)

14) A Bug’s Life (1998)

13) Toy Story (1995)

12) Toy Story 4 (2019)

11) Onward (2020)

10) The Incredibles (2004)9) Finding Nemo (2003)

8) Monsters, Inc (2001)

7) Toy Story 3 (2010)

6) Rataouille (2007)

5) Inside Out (2015)

4) Coco (2017)

3) Toy Story 2 (1999)

2) WALL-E (2008)

1) Up (2009)So that’s that. The next Pixar film due to be released is Soul however I am not sure if it has been delayed and if so then for how long.

What did you think of my reviews and rankings? Let me know what you think in the comments!

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Pixar Features Ranking: Films 16-22

It’s about time I added the final installment for this series of posts and get myself up to date. Admittedly I did not do this in time for Toy Story 4 or even Onward like I wanted but better late than never I suppose. Much like Disney, we’re well into the era of sequels, prequels and remakes and Pixar isn’t exempt to this although the enormous success of Inside Out has opened Pixar’s eyes to dedicating itself more to creating original content. Only three of the six films in this post are original but the fact that Pixar have planned several originals for the future and less franchise releases shows a step in the right direction. Pixar thrives off its originality and it is the imagination of these films that make them stand out.

If you need to catch up with the series, here are the links to the previous posts below:

Films 1-5

Films 6-10

Films 11-15

As I have mentioned before, the films in this post do follow the trend for nostalgia and rebooting franchises by bring back loved films from the Finding Nemo and The Incredibles universe as well as the long-awaited sequel to Toy Story 3. I am glad that Pixar have originals planned for the future because the prequel/sequel trend has worn thin now and the films aren’t bad but they don’t hold their ground against the originals.

Here are the reviews for Pixar films 16-22:

16) The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Set in a world where dinosaurs didn’t go extinct, The Good Dinosaur chronicles the friendship between a shy Apatosaurus named Arlo and a young boy called Spot. Featuring a starry cast including Frances McDormand and Jeffrey Wright, this film sadly became Pixar’s first box office bomb despite it’s positive reviews. It’s a rare Pixar original during the flurry of franchises and coming after the brilliant Inside Out, it didn’t really stand a chance. I felt really underwhelmed by this film overall. I loved the background design and nature backdrops but the animation of the film’s characters clashed in a way that made for a confusing viewing experience. The film feels as if it doesn’t quite give the emotional punch that it could have done as it explores the deep confusion and complexity of losing a parent at an early age. It’s a film that means well but sadly doesn’t fill its potential.

17) Finding Dory (2016)

Finding Dory follows everyone’s favourite forgetful fish who finds herself swimming across the ocean to locate her parents who she lost when she was younger. Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) is just as lovable as ever and it’s great seeing her get her own film. She ventures to the Marine Life Institute in California where she is captured and quarantined leaving Marlin and Nemo in a position to rescue her. Dory is one of the best loved characters in the Pixar universe and the film’s critical and commercial success (which saw the film break $1 billion at the box office) proves this. The film suffers from feeling unoriginal as the situation is identical but on the other side of the world with the characters swapped around. I understand that the title makes that clear and the search for her parents makes it different but I felt underwhelmed by the film as a whole.

18) Cars 3 (2017)

I did not go into this film with high hopes. Anyone who has been following my Pixar rankings will know that the Cars franchise is simply not my cup of tea. What baffled me the most about this sequel is that it feels really forced and added on. Like Cars 2, it feels as though protsgonist Lightning McQueen hasn’t actually learned any lessons from the previous installment and must take yet another whole film to his humility and learn the importance of friends and family. It’s not clear what the intention of Cars 3 is as McQueen struggles with the realisation that his racing days may be coming to an end. The character arc from the previous two installments should present a McQueen who is eager to pass on the mantel and train the next generation but what we are presented with is the McQueen from the beginning of the first two films who is arrogant and refuses to accept anything other than a first place win.

19) Coco (2017)

By far the best film in this list and a true testament to Pixar’s love of incorporating different cultures into their films, Coco is a Mexican based tale set on Dios de las Muertos and follows aspiring musician Miguel who longs to sing despite his family’s strict ban on music. It’s a tale that explores the importance of family and identity and is guaranteed to have you in tears at the climatic scene with his Grandma Coco. It also portrays dementia in an accurate way that is educational for children and emotionally relatable for adults. Coco isn’t afraid to delve in darker topics such as death as the majority of the film takes place in the afterlife where Miguel encounters his dead relatives. The soundtrack, written by duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez is even better than Frozen in my opinion. I think the songs really capture the heritage and tone of the film perfectly with songs such as the Oscar-winning “Remember Me” and “Proud Corazon” bringing the film to life.

20) The Incredibles 2 (2018)

One of the Pixar films that I did not imagine would ever get a sequel, The Incredibles 2 follows directly on from the first. As expected, the dialogue was punchy, Mrs. Incredible (voiced by Holly Hunter) is feminist as always and the score is somehow even better than the first. My only problem with this film is that it is pretty much a carbon copy of the first film but the roles are reversed with Mrs. Incredible taking on the challenge and Mr. Incredible staying at home. I also had a bit of an issue with the animation itself. With it being a superhero movie, I expect it to be fast-paced with a lot of colours and flashing lights but there was one particular scene that had so much strobe lighting that it was hard to concentrate and was (literally) painful to watch and gave me a headache. It was an uneasy sequence to watch and ruined the film a bit for me, particularly because it didn’t need to be in there.

21) Toy Story 4 (2019)

I wrote a full review when I went to see this which you can read here so I won’t spend too much time repeating myself. Featuring the star-studded cast lead by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, the fourth installment follows the toys in the care of Bonnie, the lovable little girl who Andy gifts the gang to. Woody finds it hard to belong under Bonnie’s care and what follows is an adventure of identity and family. It’s wasn’t a necessary film but it definitely was worth the wait. Not to mention that Forky is one of the best characters to come from the Toy Story franchise.

22) Onward (2020)

The first of two original Pixar films initially planned to be released this year (I’m not too sure if the release of Soul has been delayed or not), Onward is set in a mythical alternative universe populated by trolls, goblins and pixies among other creatures. Following young elf teenager, Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Tom Holland) and his older brother Barley (Chris Pratt) as they navigate being seen as outcasts by their peers. When Ian turns 16, their mum Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) gives the boys a wizard staff that belonged to their father before his passed. Ian finds out he possesses some powers and managers to resurrect his father’s legs and the boys are against the clock as they have to figure out how to resurrect the rest of him within 24 hours. Of course, in true Pixar fashion, the film explores the brothers’ relationship and their relationship with their mother and others. Despite the film’s fantasy setting, I found its depiction of parental loss and its affect on the children to be among the most accurate put to the film. The desperation to see their father again and the pain the brothers go through organic and real as they constantly bicker and argue like siblings but would do anything for each other. I think the film is hugely underrated and feel that it is among the better films Pixar has released in recent years.

So with all of the reviews completed, I am now faced with the task of ranking them. It wasn’t as difficult as previous posts (mainly the second installment) but it’s interesting to see where the likes of Coco and Toy Story 4 rank up against the legendary films. I do think that Coco is the film of this bunch that is likely to become the best known one and with good reason.

Here is the up-to-date ranking:

1) Up (2009)

2) WALL-E (2008)

3) Toy Story 2 (1999)

4) Coco (2017)

5) Inside Out (2015)

6) Ratatouille (2007)

7) Toy Story 3 (2010)

8) Monsters, Inc. (2001)

9) Finding Nemo (2003)

10) The Incredibles (2004)

11) Onward (2020)

12) Toy Story 4 (2019)

13) Toy Story (1995)

14) A Bug’s Life (1998)

15) The Incredibles 2 (2018)

16) Finding Dory (2016)

17) Brave (2012)

18) Monsters University (2013)

19) The Good Dinosaur (2015)

20) Cars (2006)

21) Cars 2 (2011)

22) Cars 3 (2017)

Looking at the final ranking, it seems such a shame that the calibre for Pixar films reaches a slump. They had such a flourishing first decade and dominated cinema but then crippled by Disney’s desire for sequels and prequels. This evidently lowered Pixar’s standards but hopefully they will continue to make the original films that audiences really love.

What do you think of my final ranking? Which Pixar film is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below!