FEATURE: My 2020 in Cinema

PSA: Unlike with this year’s roundup on the Movie Robcast, I’ve decided not to include any films that were eligible for the previous Oscars; even if they were only released in the UK in 2020.

That means no Parasite for Best Picture, or Céline Sciamma for Best Director (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), no Scarlett Johansson for Best Supporting Actress (Jojo Rabbit), or Roger Deakins for Best Cinematography (1917).

Spy is a vulgar, good-natured feminist riff on the old 007 formula

Spy reunites writer-director Paul Feig and Oscar-nominated funny-woman Melissa McCarthy.

McCarty plays meek CIA desk jockey Susan Cooper, providing support to her suave male counterpart Bradley Fine (Jude Law doing Bond, tux and all). A tragic turn of events draws Susan out of the basement, leading her to go undercover, and gives her plenty of opportunity to prove her badassery – and for McCarthy to stretch her comedy chops.

Black Sea wrings some suspense out of a tired tub of a genre

 

Take a dangerous group of men and trap them in a lethal environment with the promise of seemingly infinite riches at their fingertips.

It’s a tried and tested premise that’s been been striking sparks since The Treasure of the Sierra Madre almost seventy years ago.…

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is one half poet, one half charlatan, and entirely nuts

Okay, let’s get the major issues out of the way: No, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is not former Python Terry Gilliam’s best film.

That honor is reserved for Brazil, Orwell’s 1984 via German Expressionism.

Nor is it the late Heath Ledger’s defining performance – whether you prefer Brokeback‘s closeted cowboy or the anarchic philosophizing of his Joker in The Dark Knight, both are, in my opinion, far more notable.…