Coming off the absolute banner year for cinema that was 2019, looking forward to 2020 almost seems depressing. It’s going to be difficult to match last year’s output, and only a handful of the titles slated for release are ones I absolutely cannot wait for. Or at least, that’s what I thought until I started compiling this list and realized that I can’t fit it all into a top 10. Movies are still good, everyone. Or at least, they are unless these all suck. Before we begin, I must insist upon a moment of silence for Wong Kar-Wai’s Blossoms, which was initially slated for a 2020 release and would’ve been far and away at the top of this list had it not been indefinitely postponed.
Alright. Now, on to the stuff that is coming out this year.
First up, a few honorable mentions, in no particular order:
The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It (dir. Michael Chaves)
No James Wan and a ridiculous title kept this one off the list.
Memoria (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
It’s a great film, but I’m not nearly as into Uncle Boonmee who can Recall his Past Lives as most other people are, so the new Weerasethakul misses the cut. Spelled the whole name from memory, by the way. Just wanted to share that.
Annette (dir. Leos Carax)
I should see some of Carax’s films. I’ll watch Holy Motors and Les Amants de Pont Neuf and revisit this list. Until then, this settles for honorable mention based on how interesting it sounds, even without initiation into its director’s work.
Nightmare Alley (dir. Guillermo Del Toro)
I’m so excited for this. How did it not make the list?
The Many Saints of Newark (dir. Alan Taylor)
The Sopranos prequel movie. Self explanatory.
The Last Duel (dir. Ridley Scott)
I feel like Scott, despite having made some canonical masterpieces and being a household name, gets kinda underrated nowadays. What I’m trying to say here is that American Gangster rules.
10- West Side Story (dir. Steven Spielberg)
Extremely cautious on this one because OH MY GOD HOLY BEIGE. Spielberg’s Eastwood-ian impulse to throw color to the wind in the later stages of his career, if followed through on, would do serious damage to a version of a film that relies so heavily on color and vibrancy. Still, he’s one of the indisputable greatest American directors, and the original West Side Story is one of the only legitimate musicals I really like, so I’m still hopeful this is what it has the potential to be. Still, it can go so, so wrong, and when it does it will win 13 Oscars and everything we’ve gained from Parasite‘s win shall be lost (well, no, because that can never be taken away. This is, I think, my first post since that happened, by the way, so I would like to officially react: YEAH. HOLY CRAP. THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. That is all).
9- The Green Knight (dir. David Lowery)
This wasn’t on my radar until the absolutely incredible trailer made me aware of it. It looks like a completely insane blend of fantasy and horror, featuring a knockout cast (including Dev Patel in the starring role and Ralph Ineson, who is a recurring character in this post, as that thing above) and some impressively eerie visuals. I’ll just link to the trailer so its glory can be further basked in.
8- Dune (dir. Denis Villenueve)
Villenueve. That cast. Dune. The hype for Dune is real and it’s deafening, following Villenueve’s critically adored previous foray into beloved sci-fi property. The only question is- Is Dune unadaptable? David Lynch’s notorious 1984 misfire has many people questioning whether it can be done. I mean, all respect to Denis Villenueve (Enemy owns), but if David Lynch can’t do it, what makes you think anyone can? Nonetheless, with the money and talent behind this, the time seems ripe for the Dune adaptation everyone wants, if it’s ever going to happen.
7- Tenet (dir. Christopher Nolan)
“Directed by Christopher Nolan” is a guarantee of interest on my part, which makes me exactly like everyone else. It’s not a stretch to call Tenet 2020’s most widely anticipated film, seeing as it seemingly reunites the uber-popular master with his forte: ridiculously complicated sci-fi thrillers with one word titles. Now, that’s like saying that Martin Scorsese only makes gangster movies, it’s disrespectful to his other, more interestingly-titled work such as, uh… Following… Memento… Insomnia… Dunkirk…. Whatever. This movie is going to be amazing, I have nothing more than that to say about it, so I filled this paragraph with half baked jokes at the expense of a filmmaker I greatly admire. I must admit I like the one word titles. They sound really cool. Now to end this write up, having gotten to the requisite length without slipping and mentioning my shameful secret belief that Following is his best movie and OH CRAP.
6- Mank (dir. David Fincher)
It’s impossible not to be excited by this, given that it’s been so long since we’ve gotten a feature from Fincher. Plus, Gary Oldman as the legendary screenwriter of Citizen Kane. I’m only slightly reserved in my anticipation due to the fact that it feels overly biopic-y, and it would be a waste to confine one of the most idiosyncratic and visionary working directors to something so formulaic. However, I trust Fincher and recognize that I shouldn’t question this gift, so bring it on.
5- Da 5 Bloods (dir. Spike Lee)
The most you could undersell Spike Lee would be by saying his films are always interesting. They are, but I feel as though you need a stronger word. New work from one of the greatest and most important living directors is easy to be excited for, especially coming off something as major as BlacKkKlansman. Taking his talents to a war film will hopefully yield something special, and because it’s Spike Lee, there’s serious talent involved. The great Chadwick Boseman is just the beginning. Delroy Lindo! Jonathan Majors (whose role in The Last Black Man in San Francisco was one of last year’s most disappointingly overlooked)! Giancarlo Esposito! Paul Walter Hauser! Jean Reno! Jean Reno is still around, guys! Who knew? Apparently he played Mufasa in the french dub of last year’s Lion King remake. Movies.
4- Macbeth (dir. Joel Coen)
Is there a more perfect casting choice than Denzel Washington to play Macbeth? There is, and it’s Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth. Throw in Brendan Gleeson as Duncan and Ralph Ineson as… well it hasn’t been confirmed who he’s playing yet but come on it’s Ralph Ineson, and you’ve got a perfect cast for this thing. Plus the singular talents of the Coen brothers and… oh what’s this? It’s only Joel? This will be the first project one of the brothers works on without the other, and because of course there has to be a drawback to all of these, it’s not not a cause for mild concern. Still, it should be pretty hard to mess up Macbeth. Especially with that cast, and the fact that Joel Coen clearly isn’t helpless without Ethan, or else he wouldn’t be billed as his collaborator. This is going to rule.
3- I’m Thinking of Ending Things (dir. Charlie Kaufman)
Kaufman is one of our great auteurs, and has been since before he even really qualified. A Kaufman-written film is an all-too-rare pleasure: Anomalisa five years ago was his last outing as either a writer or director. So it’s great to have him back simply due to scarcity, and even more so because of the subject matter. The film has been described as a psychological thriller/horror, which will be new territory for the typically quirky-comedy-minded writer, and the cast is excellent: two similarly named stars of the moment in Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons, as well as seasoned scream queen Toni Collette, as well as British veteran David Thewlis. Netflix continues to knock it out of the park when it comes to delivering work from big names.
2- Last Night in Soho (dir. Edgar Wright)
This was the clear-cut number one until recently, when the current (slim) top pick knocked it off its spot. Last Night in Soho has been described as a psychological horror drawing from Don’t Look Now and Repulsion… from one of the greatest and most exciting comedic directors currently working. Sign me up on that alone. Screen legends Diana Rigg and Terence Stamp are in tow, as are The Witch powerhouse Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie of Leave No Trace and Jojo Rabbit fame. The ostensibly insane material should prove right in Wright’s wheelhouse.
1- The French Dispatch (dir. Wes Anderson)
I am nothing if not a slave to style, and Wes Anderson has it in spades. From the first look at Anderson’s latest, it would appear that he’s going as far into his trademark idiom as he ever has, diving headfirst into his typical faux-saccharine pitch black twee-as-hell comfort zone, and delivering an impeccably wrapped “f*** you” to all of his critics who wish he would just make something normal. I’m fired up.
The Movie Files 