The 2020 Mid-Year Movie Report – Part 4

July 31, 2020

Welcome back to my mid-year movie report for 2020.  Yes, I realize we are way past the mid-year point of 2020 (does anyone really know what day it is anymore, anyway?), but bear with me.  Hopefully you have found some good recommendations from this series.  You can find the first three parts on the home page here. As I started this blog, one of my goals was to expand my knowledge of film and filmmakers, and that meant I would need to branch out beyond the movies that usually rule the box office or the Oscars.  I’ve explored more documentaries, more independent films, revisited old classics, and dove into the work of filmmakers after discovering one of their films.  It’s been a fun journey and hopefully you have enjoyed it too.  We’re going to wrap up this series with five movies that I really enjoyed for different reasons.  Let’s dive in.

The “Way Too Early” Oscar Front Runner – Da 5 Bloods

It would be a massive understatement to say this is a unique year in film.  While most of the films that get the most awards buzz are released towards the tail end of the year, occasionally you see films released in the spring and summer that can have an impact at the Oscars.  Take last year, for example.  Best Picture winner Parasite premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and opened wide in the summer.  My favorite film of the year, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, opened in July.  Spike Lee’s Vietnam treasure hunt adventure, Da 5 Bloods, was scheduled to premiere at Cannes (Spike was the jury lead), but upon cancellation of the festival and the change in Oscar eligibility I wrote about here, Netflix decided to release the film directly to streaming.

Last month, I shared my thoughts here on discovering Spike Lee’s film history, noting that he can definitely be described as a unique filmmaker.  He is not subtle in his storytelling and that is certainly the case with Da 5 Bloods.  Tackling the Vietnam War, Spike brings together a combination of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Apocalypse Now.  (Speaking of the latter, if you are interested in the art of filmmaking, I highly recommend the documentary Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, available on Amazon Prime.  It shows the behind the scenes history of how different aspects of movie sound have evolved over the years, including the groundbreaking work on Apocalypse Now).  In Da 5 Bloods, we have a squad of veterans who travel back to Vietnam to find the remains of their squad leader and find a buried treasure that they left behind when he died during the war.  Each of the characters goes through different emotional journeys while on their quest, but the one we have the most intense experience with is the leader of the group, played by Delroy Lindo.  You may recognize Lindo from a number of movies, particularly a few past collaborations with Lee.  His performance is outstanding and will definitely be a front runner come award season.  As is the case with most of Lee’s movies, it features a rich narrative, a tight script, a wonderful score and soundtrack that compliments the story, and messages on race relations that hit you right in the face.  As I mentioned last month, it feels right to have a new Spike Lee movie in the culture at this particular time in our country, when we need to be exposing, debating, and solving the issues we are facing every day. 

One interesting technical choice Lee made in the film was to use the same actors for both the scenes set in current day Vietnam and the flashback scenes set during the war.  It’s a little jarring at first (since the actors are in their 60s and 70s), but you get used to it.  Lee indicated in press interviews that one reason he didn’t use the “de-aging” technology that Martin Scorsese used in The Irishman was due to budget constraints.  In fact, Lee said he shopped Da 5 Bloods around to all of the major studios and Netflix was their last hope to get it made, and they agreed to finance the film.  It’s hard to believe he had problems finding a studio to sign on for his film, given his long track record of success and an Oscar for his last film, BlackKklansman.  Netflix will be making a big push for the Oscars this year with Da 5 Bloods and a few other films on the schedule for this fall that I am very excited about.  These films will be completed and released, so no worry about delays for Netflix’s portfolio of films.  There will be more to come on those films in my fall movie preview in a few weeks.  Now, I’m not sure if Da 5 Bloods is technically the “front runner” for Best Picture at this point, but it will definitely get a lot of attention for Lee’s script, his direction, and Lindo as a candidate for Best Actor.  I liked the film a lot (although it is a little long), and admire the ambition Lee took in telling the story.    Available on Netflix.   

The Visually Beautiful Quiet Friendship Tale – First Cow

From a loud, action-packed war film, to a quiet tale of friendship taking place in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1800’s comes First Cow.  This film received strong critical reviews at a few film festivals in late 2019 and had a brief theatrical release in early March before the shutdown.  Independent film production company A24 (one of the leading companies in the industry today) handled distribution, deciding to forgo a second theatrical release and pushing First Cow to Video on Demand in July.  Directed by Kelly Reichart (who I had never heard of before this movie, but will now definitely check out her earlier work), we see the story of a chef named Cookie and King-Lu, a Chinese immigrant on the run for killing a man.  Cookie decides to leave the fur trappers he’s been traveling with and stay with King-Lu in his shack, where they develop a friendship.  They hatch a scheme where they steal milk from the only cow in the area, owned by a rich English gentlemen who lives nearby, and make biscuits to sell at a local market.  You won’t recognize many actors in this film – the star here is the story, the beautiful scenery and the chemistry between the two main characters.  This was a film I really liked because of its simplicity.  As much as we marvel at what can be created on film using computers and technology, sometimes it’s nice to watch a film that is all about the story and the performances.  Available to rent on Amazon.

Best Movie I’ve Seen This Year (Drama) – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Here we have another independent film that had its theatrical release upended by the pandemic.  Directed by Eliza Hittman (another filmmaker I hadn’t heard of, but am glad I have now), Never Rarely Sometimes Always premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to great critical acclaim and tells the story of two teenage cousins traveling from Pennsylvania to New York so one of them can get an abortion.  Unlike the next film I discuss, this is not a light-hearted film that’s easy to watch, but it’s an important story about the state of our country and a woman’s right to choose, told through the story of everyday Americans.  What’s truly impressive about this film is not only Hittman’s unique filmmaking style (particularly during the scenes on the streets of New York City), but the performance of Sidney Flanigan in her acting debut as the 17 year-old lead character, Autumn.  When she learns that she is pregnant, and with no one to talk to at home, she turns to her cousin who supports her on their journey to New York, which doesn’t have a parental consent requirement to terminate her pregnancy.  Throughout the film, we are whipsawed between the enormous consequences of Autumn’s decision and the reminder that these are just teenage girls navigating the big city.  The unique title to the film makes sense during a particularly emotional scene near the end of the film when Sidney meets at a clinic with a social worker, played by a real-life social worker, not an actress.  If you’d like to learn more about Eliza Hittman and the film, I recommend an interview with her on The Big Picture podcast from January 31 of this year.  Available to rent on Amazon.

Best Movie I’ve Seen This Year (Comedy) – Palm Springs

One of my goals in this blog is to highlight films that you might not have found through the mainstream Hollywood news or by scrolling through what’s popular on streaming platforms.  That is certainly not the case with this next film, which has received a lot of great press since it was released on Hulu in July.  I mentioned in a recent blog post that when I go into a film, I try to find the balancing act of knowing what the film is about to set some expectations, but don’t want too much of the film to be spoiled (like watching a three minute trailer where the whole plot is revealed).  This is true with Palm Springs, so I will be careful what I write.  This film stars Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live, Brooklyn 99) and Cristin Milioti (who may remember from The Wolf of Wall Street or as “the mother” in the television series How I Met Your Mother).  They play a couple who meet at a wedding in Palm Springs and get stuck in a time loop.  That’s all I’m going to say about the plot.  Before you think, “I’ve seen this movie before,” trust me, this is different.  Yes, there are elements that will make you think of Groundhog Day (still rewatchable) or Edge of Tomorrow (the excellent Tom Cruise / Emily Blunt action film that is wildly underrated), but this is all about the clever premise, a winning script and the chemistry between Samberg and Milioti.  In the hands of two different leading actors, I’m not sure if this film works.  You may start watching this and wonder where the heck it is going in the first twenty minutes, but give it a chance.  It has a good payoff.  If I had to describe this film in one word? Delightful.  Watch Palm Springs and you’ll want to watch it again.  Available on Hulu.

Best “Theater” Experience – Hamilton

No, I didn’t actually go to a theater to see Hamilton.  I haven’t been to a theater since early March when I saw Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a beautiful French film that is now available on Hulu.  But for the Disney+ debut of Hamilton, we decided to create the closest thing to a theater experience – put down the phones, turn down the lights and turn up the sound.  And we only paused it during the “intermission.”  I mentioned earlier that sometimes I try to write about movies in this blog that you might not otherwise hear about – Hamilton would decidedly not fit into that category.   The “film” represents a recording of the actual stage show filmed over the course of three performances at the Richard Rogers Theatre on Broadway in 2016 (featuring the original cast) and edited together as one performance.  Disney moved the release of the film up from October 2021 to July of this year, and was rewarded with very strong subscriber additions and streaming statistics when it debuted.  You may be wondering if Hamilton is eligible for an Oscar and the answer is no.  It’s not because it went to streaming and not a theater – it’s because the Academy has a rule that filmed performances of stage productions are not eligible for Oscars. 

I’m not sure how much I need to write about the plot – you probably know the story.  Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap-musical opus about the life of Alexander Hamilton was a massive hit on Broadway and in other cities that were featured on its national tour.  I had no relation to the play, other than knowing a lot about it from my wife, daughter, and sister who saw it together on Broadway.  I’ve been a casual fan of musical theater productions, usually seeing about one a year, depending on what plays in our nearby theater.  I think the best musical I saw recently was Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.  Wow, was that impressive.  I am always blown away by how talented the performers are, especially bringing an exceptionally high level of energy for every performance.  It is like watching a world-class professional athlete perform at the top of their game.  While I may not be able to provide you any new information about the Hamilton musical, I can point you in the direction of an interesting podcast interview with Lin and Tommy Kail, the musical’s director.  They were interviewed on The West Wing Weekly, a podcast about the TV show The West Wing, which helped influence parts of Hamilton.  The conversation was a fascinating insight into how Lin and Tommy thought through the creation of the musical and some early history of how a few of the songs were developed.  The episode aired on April 4, 2018 and is available wherever you listen to podcasts.  In short, Hamilton was amazing (the story, the songs, the performers) and is on the short list of 2020 films I will definitely watch again.  After it was finished, my wife asked me what song was my favorite.  When I responded I didn’t know, she said, “That’s ok, you can decide when we watch it again tomorrow!”  No, I haven’t rewatched it yet, but will soon.  If you haven’t seen it, go watch it.  You won’t be disappointed.  Available on Disney+.

That’s it for this week.  I hope you enjoyed this (very long!) series on the year so far in movies.  I’ll be back next week for another new topic.  Thanks again for reading and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe here.