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 "Palm Springs"

On our quarantine date this weekend my wife and I sat and watched "Palm Springs".

This is the Lonely Island movie that won Sundance, and sold for a record amount of money, which was a record by 69 cents, and that is hilarious to me. But, the movie was obviously well received, and got good feedback. I am a sucker for a lot of stuff that comes out of Sundance, and is considered a "darling" movie, and "Palm Springs" got all that attention and then some. Add on the fact that Andy Samberg, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors, is the star, and I am going to give it a very fair shot.

So after my wife watched the preview and said she'd love to see it, we turned it on, and the next ninety minutes were wonderful. I loved this movie. It more than lived up to the hype. I am not going to spoil much, if anything because I really want people to watch and support this movie, but I will give you a little outline. The movie is like a newer generation "Groundhog Day", except with much more cursing, and way more sexual situations("sexual situations", what am I a hundred?). Andy Samberg plays Nyles, a guest at a wedding, and he ends up reliving the same day over and over and over again. He doesn't exactly know how it happens, or does he, but he is just reliving the same day. Nothing changes, so he just decides to roll with it eventually, and he decides he doesn't care anymore. He has tried to find ways out, be it suicide, or other, but nothing has worked. So, instead of trying to leave, he simply gives in. He does the same thing, but changes up the situation from time to time. One day he'll fight with his girlfriend, the next he is nice to her. He hooks up with all different people, the best being when he claims to have hooked up with the bride's dad, played by Peter Gallagher. That scene is a riot. But there is one night where he sees someone new. He decides to give a speech to save her, and they go to hook up out in the desert. Only, the hookup doesn't end like they both want. Nyles is being hunted by Roy, who is played by JK Simmons, and man is he great, and the girl he is with, Sarah, played by Cristin Milioti, goes to try and help him, and then realizes she is trapped in this infinite loop. She goes to Nyles and finally gets him to explain what is happening but she doesn't buy it. She thinks he is crazy, and she decides to drive all the way home to Austin so she won't fall asleep there. Well, she wakes up in Palm Springs again, and from there on out the movie just becomes more and more hilarious. When Sarah finally starts to buy in and join Nyles on some crazy adventures, That's when I truly fell in love with the movie. They go out and constantly find ways to wreck the wedding. They do copious amounts of drugs. They get drunk everyday. They fight bar patrons. They even did a dance at said bar, and that was some of the funniest dancing I have ever witnessed. I cannot imagine how many takes that took to get that full shot. It was glorious. Throughout all this stuff, Sarah and Nyles start to realize they have feelings for one another. They have an intimate evening, but when they awake again, they both have different reactions. Sarah realizes she has done something wrong, and Nyles, well, he may or may not have been lying to Sarah this whole time. They have their argument, and Sarah disappears. She eventually comes back, and she has a plan that just might get them out of this loop. Nyles isn't so sure, he has grown accustomed to this life, and that is where I will leave this review because it gets so wild and crazy from there.

All in all, like I said above, I loved this movie. Samberg showed some real chops. He has always had the comedy, but in this movie he had to show other emotions, true emotions, and he nailed it. I already said how great Simmons was, and so were the other bit actors they got to be in this movie. But Milioti, she is the star of this. She owns this movie as much, if not more so, than Samberg. She is funny, dark, mysterious, quirky and excellent in everything she does in this movie. I was blown away by her performance, and I shouldn't have been. She was great in "30 Rock", and was totally awesome in her episode of "Black Mirror". She is a damn good actor. Check out "Palm Springs". It is on Hulu, it is short and it rules. This is definitely one of the best movies I have seen in 2020.

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.