Best of 2020: Top Five Movies

For my best of lists this year, today I come to you with movies.

Movies weren't as hard as music, but I still ran into some issues. I watched a ton of old movies this year. My wife and I do have a movie date night every Friday or Saturday from our home, but again, we have watched a ton of older movies, movies we liked when we were teenagers, or before we started to date. And there were a ton of good ones during these date nights. But we did see some movies that came out in 2020. We haven't seen a lot of the Oscar bait movies yet, but I usually wait until later anyway to see those movies. That is why "Uncut Gems" didn't make my initial list last year. And while we did just watch the new "Wonder Woman" movie, and liked it, it did not push its way into my best of. With all that being said, let's get to the list.

At number five I have "Bill and Ted Face the Music". This movie was all I wanted it to be, and so much more. My wife hadn't seen either of the first two, so we watched them, and then saw this movie, and she loved it too. This movie was funny and fun and silly and cool and had an excellent message. The music was also pretty rad. They also brought back classic characters, and introduced some funny new ones. I have seen the movie a few times since we first watched, and it is still as funny and fun as the first time. This is a great movie to watch to let you escape from the crazy world. It is a good movie, and a very solid sequel.

At number four I have "Da 5 Bloods". I had some issues with this movie personally, but it wasn't anything that a third viewing totally got rid of. The first time I watched, I loved it, but thought it was a bit too long. The second time, I felt I understood it more, but not quite enough. The third time was where it hit me the hardest. This movie is a true masterpiece in many ways. The way Spike Lee directed this, intercutting scenes with Chadwick Boseman as his young soldier self, and his platoon as their older versions, was amazing. The way they weaved racism and the new generation and mistaken identity, fantastic. The setting was beautiful. The story was compelling and heartbreaking. This is a movie that deserves all the awards, and hopefully it will be recognized for the achievement it is. It is also one of Boseman's last performances, and he is magnetic. I highly recommend multiple viewings of this movie. It is a slow burn, but a great slow burn.

At number three I have "Palm Springs". This is my generation's, hell maybe even a generation younger than me, "Groundhog Day". Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti are so great as the two people caught in the time loop. JK Simmons was pretty wonderful too. But the way they did this movie, the comedy and the raunchy and the sweetness and the story itself was just wonderful. I also love that it is the highest selling movie to ever come out of Sundance by 69 cents, per request of the movie makers. That rules. But this movie is good. There is a reason it is the highest selling Sundance movie ever. The performances by the leads are tremendous and noteworthy. They both deserve Oscar buzz. And the way it all unfolds, in a comedic/science fiction way, was so unique and so cool. I love this movie, I love that it is on Hulu still so I can watch it whenever, and I love how great of a movie it truly is.

At number two I have "David Byrne's American Utopia". Is it a concert film? Yep. Didn't Spike Lee direct this one too? Sure did. Isn't it just David Byrne being himself? Most definitely, and it is exquisite. I am new to Talking Heads, and anything involving the four original band members. But like most people I have gravitated towards Byrne. Sure he is a weirdo, probably did some shady stuff to Talking Heads during their heyday and can be a headache, but he is a genius, and "American Utopia" proves this tenfold. Watching this concert doc was the closest I have come to feeling optimism towards the world in 2020. This movie was all about upbeat, good things to come in, hopefully, the near future. And the people backing Byrne were absolutely magnetic. They almost stole the show from Byrne. The dancers and the band were amazing. They were incredible to watch. But Byrne would talk in between most songs, and while I am even one of the people who have no problem admitting that he is pretentious, this was the least pretentious I have seen him. Maybe age and wit and wisdom have caught up to him and he finally realizes how he can put out his music without being an asshole. I also was moved to tears when I heard them do Janelle Monae's "Hell You Talmbout". That was so moving and powerful. I have watched this almost a half a dozen times already, and I know I will watch it many, many more times. "American Utopia" is one of the greatest concert docs ever. It is right up there with "Stop Making Sense". And, real quick, Lee's direction was perfect.

One movie is better than "American Utopia", and that movie, my number one movie, is "The Last Dance". Not a movie you say? I disagree. Just because it is nearly 10 hours long doesn't mean it is not a movie. The OJ doc was always considered a doc, and that is the case with "The Last Dance". Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was looking forward to this. I have friends that do not care about sports at all that watched "The Last Dance". This was the moment we would finally get to hear Michael Jordan, the GOAT, talk about his personal experience with the Bulls during their two three-peat title runs in the 90's. And you know what, Jordan didn't hold back at all. He said whatever he felt, what he deems to be true, and it was incredible to see the distaste and disdain he has for some people. It was also interesting to see him admit that he needed more than just himself to get to the heights he achieved. This movie also gave answers to pretty much every question people may have had about Jordan, the 90 Bulls and the other players on that team. We found out the truth about the "flu game". We got to see the real Dennis Rodman. We got to hear Scottie Pippen talk about when Jordan left, and how that made him feel. We got some real dirt on Horace Grant. Phil Jackson is the hippiest hippy out there still. Jerry Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf are both pretty shrewd businessmen, and could be real assholes. I truly, really loved this movie. I love that ESPN, who I do not like that much, released it two months early because they knew people didn't want to wait in quarantine. "The Last Dance" is a true one of a kind classic. Sure there are other sports movies and sports docs, but this one feels different. This one was more salacious, more dirt was spilled, the real people told real stories, it was all unedited and real. It was awesome. It is on Netflix now too, I have already rewatched it all once. "The Last Dance" is an achievement that will go down in history. It is number one, and it is so far ahead of the rest of the competition.

That does it for movies, come back tomorrow for my top five shows of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "American Utopia"

Yesterday I had the chance to sit down, uninterrupted for two hours, and watch "American Utopia". This is the new concert movie from David Byrne and directed by Spike Lee. It was his short run Broadway show in fact, and it was absolutely amazing. I was totally blown away by the entire thing. I was excited to watch, and when it started, that excitement jumped to a 10.

The opening of “American Utopia”, with Byrne holding a fake brain and singing the song "Here", was pretty god damn cool. The song, and the prop, were a perfect way to open this show. From there on out, Byrne and his band went on to crush the entire set. The spectacle of it all, the band, the music, the message, the way the message was put out there, Byrne interacting with the audience, it all worked out to perfection. I used to attend many live shows, and I still did up until February of this year, and I have never seen something like this. This was so over the top, but in the best possible way. I absolutely loved the way they did the lights, the shadows, everything was done up so well. I loved hearing the songs I have gotten to know off of "American Utopia" in the recent months. As you all know, I am a late comer to David Byrne and Talking Heads. I am catching up during the pandemic, especially when I go running. So seeing this now, for me, was perfect timing. It has all these songs that I am growing to love, and understand more, on a daily basis. The version they play of "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)", which is my current favorite Talking Heads song, was so cool. I was dancing on my couch while they played it. "I Zimbra" was rad. The way they performed it, it was so cool to hear all the isolated instruments. "I Should Watch TV" was quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen on TV, or in person for that matter, ever. That was done so well, and when Byrne crashes through the chains, and the stage goes to black, damn that was awesome. "I Dance Like This" was really well choreographed. The way the entire band moved in sync, and danced their hearts out, it was really neat. "Everyday is a Miracle" was pretty brilliant, and I was pretty moved by Byrne's performance. I really enjoyed when Byrne talked about the Detroit Choir doing a version of his song, "Everybody's Coming to My House", and making it a totally different song without changing anything. I also liked why his version is much sadder than the Detroit Choir's version. It was also great to hear the Choir's version during the end credits. "Once in a Lifetime" was really exceptional because Byrne recreated a lot of the dancing he did on "Stop Making Sense". I liked that. "Burning Down the House" sounded as full as ever, and when the whole band came together, my goodness was that amazing. The song that moved me to tear up, literally, was their version of the great Janelle Monae song "Hell You Talmbout". To listen to the full band play and sing the song, then say the names of the too many murdered African American people, with their pictures placed in the movie, was heartbreaking and moving and made me want to go and start a revolution. This was simply put, a perfect representation of this important song. And closing the show with "Road to Nowhere", walking into the crowd and singing and playing, it made me miss live shows.

"American Utopia" really had everything I wanted. It was great music. Byrne discussed important, pressing issues, like climate change and voting, amongst other things. The band was incredible, and to see them perform all these songs was truly exceptional. These people are amazing musicians and performers. And it made me miss live music, which is what I look for now when I watch concert movies. Spike Lee's directing was top notch also. Lee can do no wrong. If he doesn't win an Oscar this year, for this or "Da 5 Bloods", it would be very disappointing. I highly, highly recommend everyone watch this movie. It is great music, it is timely, it is important and it rules.

Seriously, go watch this immediately.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.