Beginning in the early spring every year, I start assembling my Top 10 film list as I maintain the belief that not all great Oscar contenders are released in the fall. That’s when studios inundate critics with screenings, on-line links, and the occasional hard-copy DVDs in the 11th hour hoping that what we watch last will be what we remember most. This approach apparently works to some degree as I didn’t see my top pick until late November and my number two until Dec. 1st.
For the first time in 26 years as a critic, I’m including two separate lists: one for Top 10 live-action and another for Top five documentaries. I’m a sucker for documentaries and find that comparing them to live action productions is an apples and oranges thing.
Top 10 Live-Action Features
1. ‘Licorice Pizza’
Writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson’s ninth feature is second in quality only to “re Will Be Blood,” but is far and away his most audience friendly. Newcomers Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman) steal the show from the likes of Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, and Tom Waits in one of the best coming-of-age comedies ever produced.
2. ‘Nightmare Alley’
Director Guillermo del Toro and his wife Kim Morgan’s adaptation of the 1946 novel by William Gresham is a psychological thriller masterwork. Containing elements of “Citizen Kane,” “ Great Gatsby,” and “Elmer Gantry,” it stars Bradley Cooper as a circus carny-turned mentalist whose reach eventually exceeds his considerable grasp.
3. ‘Passing’
Actress Rebecca Hall makes an auspicious directorial debut in adapting the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen. After years apart, childhood friends Clare (Ruth Negga) and Irene (Tessa Thompson) reconnect in Harlem where one “passes” as white only infrequently while the other does so full-time. Deftly making the movie about class and not race, Hall never provides easy answers in this hauntingly brilliant think piece.
4. ‘ Many Saints of Newark’
hotly anticipated prequel to the HBO series “ Sopranos” delivers lots of “fan-service” content while not confusing newcomers who’ve never seen the show. late James Gandolfini’s son Michael plays the younger version of Tony growing up in Newark during the late ’60s riots while being mentored by his uncle Dickie (Alessandro Nivola). As with the show, the movie includes some passages of graphic violence, more than earning its “R” rating.
5. ‘Belfast’
Basing the script on his own childhood during the unrest in Belfast in the late ’60s through the ’80s, writer and director Sir Kenneth Branagh has delivered the finest movie of his career. Seen from the perspective of the preteen Buddy (Jude Hill), his “Pa” (Jamie Dornan) and “Ma” (Caitriona Balfe) must chose whether or not to stay put or relocate.
6. ‘ Unforgivable’
Adapted from the 2009 British TV mini-series “Unforgiven,” producer Sandra Bullock and German director Nora Fingscheidt’s bare bones morality play is a gripping and jaw-dropping mystery thriller. Released from prison after serving 20 years for murder, Ruth (Bullock) attempts to put her life in order and gets thwarted at every turn.
7. ‘Nobody’
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”) becomes an unlikely senior action hero in this “John Wick”-inspired crime thriller. Recalling Bruce Willis’s stone-faced turn in “Red,” Odenkirk’s Hutch is an unassuming family man and office drone who reluctantly revisits his dark past.
8. ‘Free Guy’
Turning in a chipper take on his deadpan “Deadpool” character, Ryan Reynolds stars as a bank teller who isn’t aware he’s part of a video game. Jodie Comer plays dual roles: programmer Millie and gamer Molotov Girl who is both Guy’s enemy and his salvation. Despite its upbeat audience-friendly presentation, the movie is a scathing indictment of artificial intelligence and gaming addiction.
9. ‘A Quiet Place Part II’
biggest surprise of writer and director John Krasinski’s prequel to the immensely entertaining original wasn’t how great it turned out, but how it was able to do better at the box office in the time of COVID-19. Ending in a manner which suggests a third and final installment, “AQPPII” was a sublime treat.
10. ‘ Tender Bar’
After surprising everyone with his turn as a cad in “ Last Duel,” Ben Affleck plays an affable and wise (cracking) bar owner and the uncle and stand-in father figure for budding writer J.R. (Tye Sheridan). Directed with unfussy ease by George Clooney, it was written by William Monahan, adapting the memoir by J.R. Moehringer.
Top 5 Documentary Features
1. ‘Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time’
In a manner not unlike that of Peter Bogdonovich and Orson Welles, director Robert B. Weide spent over three decades interviewing his idol: the iconoclast writer Kurt Vonnegut. This is a rare “warts-and-all” projects that lives up to its pre-release hype.
2. ‘ Sparks Brothers’
brothers here are Ron and Russell Mael, Southern California Baby Boomers who formed the art-rock band Sparks. Forever operating outside of the mainstream, the Maels have released 25 albums over 50 years and in the process amassed a huge cult following, many of them other musicians.
3. ‘Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain’
This is a film which serves established fans well and gives reason for the uninitiated to investigate further. With the noted exception of Julia Child (who also had a great bio-doc made about her released this year), the troubled Bourdain was perhaps the highest profile TV celebrity chef of all-time.
4. ‘Becoming Cousteau’
This thorough film covers the life of Jacques Cousteau, a French scientist and conservationist who parlayed his love of the sea into multiple TV series and dozens of films, three of which won Oscars. Director Liz Garbus does a splendid job culling together still photos, news reels, and interviews into a seamless whole.
5. ‘ Lost Leonardo’
Equal parts history lesson and mystery thriller, this enthralling procedural goes into the in-depth history of the “Salvator Mundi,” an alleged lost painting by Leonardo di Vinci. After its “rediscovery” in 2005, it changed hands multiple times until a final (?) sale in 2017, yet has still not convinced many in the know that it is authentic.
Best of Categories
Best Animated Feature: “ Mitchells vs. the Machines”
Best International Feature: “Drive My Car”
Best First Feature by a Director: Rebecca Hall, “Passing”
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
Best Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
Best Lead Actor: Bradley Cooper, “Nightmare Alley”
Best Lead Actress: Jessica Chastain, “ Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Best Supporting Actor: Ben Affleck, “ Tender Bar”
Best Supporting Actress: Ruth Negga, “Passing”
Best Acting Ensemble: “Nightmare Alley”
Breakthrough Performers: Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman, “Licorice Pizza”
Best Score Composer: Jonny Greenwood – “Licorice Pizza,” “Spencer”
Best Soundtracks: “Last Night in Soho,” “Licorice Pizza,” “ Tender Bar”
Best Cinematography, Black & White: Eduard Grau, “Passing”
Best Cinematography, Color: Claire Mathon, “Spencer”
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