10 Best Movie Action Sequences of 2020

Arguably no other movie genre suffered more from the 'Rona release shuffles than action movies, with blockbusters including Fast and Furious 9, Black Widow and The King's Man and even smaller titles like Nobody and Samaritan losing their original 2020 dates. Fortunately, Netflix and a few theatrical titles from before the shutdown did an admirable job of filling the content void with some truly electric offerings. To honor the efforts of these films, here the 10 most badass, flat-out wild and beautifully constructed action sequences that the world of cinema spawned this past year.   

Honorable Mentions:

"Warehouse Shootout"-Bad Boys for Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kxbCQqE5ak

"Final Battle"-Bad Boys for Life: Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2t_voYNdsAPart 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_XWXqKgIk4 Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpw_JLpSCvM  Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXNU9U5anN4  Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASJef4vkcNk Part 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9OKED7D-xk

"Hot Pursuit"-Birds of Prey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdUd-iTy1p0

"The Easiest Fight of Tyler Rake's Mercenary Career"-Extraction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8omyN3NO8U

"Church Fight"-The Old Guard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz2rW4JiUI4

10."Tyler Rake Lives Up to His Name"-Extraction

9."Kitchen Fight"-Tenet

8."Crystal vs. Athena"-The Hunt

7."An Introduction to The Old Guard"-The Old Guard

6."Final Battle"-The Old Guard

(Note: The dialogue exchanges were mostly edited out of this clip, so it's a little wonky)

5."Nix Takes Out a Coke Den"-Guns Akimbo 

 

4."Warehouse Fight"-Birds of Prey

3."Amusement Mile Fight Scene"-Birds of Prey

2."Harley Quinn's Police Station Takeover"-Birds of Prey

 

 1."The 12-minute Long Take Action Grab Bag"-Extraction

(Note: The entire sequence isn't on YouTube in its entirety, so here are some highlights from this bananas technical marvel)

5 Most Intriguing Titles Premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival

Not even a pandemic can shut down all of Hollywood's beloved annual traditions. The 2021 edition of the Sundance Film Festival-the iconic independent film launchpad that helped put titles like Reservoir Dogs, Donnie Darko and Saw on the road to notoriety-begins tonight with its first ever hybrid edition that features online and nationwide drive-in screenings in addition to some physical showings at its traditional site in downtown Park City, Utah. Here are the 5 titles on this year's slate that I'm most intrigued by. 

(Note: I've decided to exclude Judas and the Black Messiah, Land, The World to Come and Night of the Kings from consideration since they all have imminent release dates, active marketing campaigns and established buzz surrounding them.)

How It Ends: Band-Aid was a sneaky great dramedy and a return to that genre could mark a return to form for Zoe Lister-Jones after her directorial career took a bit of a hit with the poorly-received horror sequel/reboot The Craft: Legacy last fall.

John and the Hole: Movies about deranged kids/teenagers have been a mainstay Hollywood for decades, but John and the Hole has an innovative, particularly twisted hook (after finding a bunker in the woods by his house, a 13-year old boy proceed to drug his family and dump them in it so he can finally achieve the freedom he craves) that could make for a terrific psychological thriller that transcends the "creepy kid" subgenre.  

On the Count of Three: Jerrod Carmichael has a dark, offbeat sense of humor that has made him standout in a very crowded modern stand up comedy scene and with his film debut as a writer/director/lead actor being a film centered around a pair of best friends (Carmichael, Christopher Abbott) that enter a suicide pact, it seems like he has a golden opportunity to bring those unique sensibilities into another medium. 

Passing: While Passing's premise (a 1920's set drama about two childhood friends-both light skinned Black women-who reconnect in adulthood and discover that they've decided to live on opposite sides of the color line) has a clear window to turn into tacky melodramatic garbage, I'm still very curious to see if Rebecca Hall can join the increasingly long list of actors who seamlessly transitioned to directing with their debut effort and how formidable performers Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga fare in one of the  (unfortunately) rare opportunities they get to headline a film.

Prisoners of the Ghostland: Nicolas Cage recently described Prisoners of the Ghostland-the English language debut of acclaimed Japanese B-movie director Sion Sono (Why Don't You Play in Hell?, Cold Fish)-as "maybe the wildest movie I've ever made". Considering that he's appeared in some truly unhinged shit like Mandy, Mom & Dad and Color Out of Space just in the past few years, that is one hell of a proclamation for Cage to make and the single greatest sales pitch for Prisoners of the Ghostland that he could've possibly come up with.  

Denzel Washington Ranked

 Welcome to the latest edition of "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Denzel Washington-whose latest project "The Little Things" releases in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday

Denzel Washington's Filmography Ranked:

22.Roman J. Israel, Esq. (C-)

21.The Equalizer 2 (C)

20.Fences (C+)

19.Glory (C+)

18.The Equalizer (B-)

17.John Q (B-)

16.Deja Vu (B-)

15.The Taking of Pelham 123 (B)

14.Cry Freedom (B)

13.He Got Game (B)

12.Unstoppable (B)

11.2 Guns (B+)

10.Man on Fire (B+)

9.Safe House (B+)

8.Philadelphia (B+)

7.Flight (B+)

6.Inside Man (B+)

5.The Book of Eli (A-)

4.The Magnificent Seven (A-)

3.Remember the Titans (A)

2.American Gangster (A)

1.Training Day (A+) 

Top Dog: Training Day (2001)

There's a reason that Training Day is the most emulated crooked cop crime movie of this century. Washington astounds as a psychotic wild card LAPD narcotics officer tasked with showing a young beat cop (Ethan Hawke-who is the perfect foil for Washington's relentlessly meaning presence) who is up for a possible promotion to his unit the ropes during a ride along who proves throughout the day that he is significantly more dangerous and deranged than any drug dealer they'd come across on the street. The combination of Washington's historically good villain turn with a fearlessly grim script from David Ayer and tensely atmospheric direction from Antoine Fuqua makes this a crime thriller that thoroughly excites and unnerves.    

Lowlight: Roman J. Israel Esq. (2017)

Here was the first sign that the brilliance Dan Gilroy displayed with Nightcrawler may have drained him all of his creative juice. Roman J. Israel Esq. is a cheesy, absurdly dumb legal drama that quite literally is one tremendous performance away from being a complete disaster and Gilroy should forever be indebted to Mr. Washington's reliable excellence for making his poorly-written film even somewhat watchable.

Most Underrated: The Magnificent Seven (2016)

I'm not going to say that the latest Magnificent Seven remake is the best modern western, but it might just be the most fun. A simple yet engaging story, the charismatic group of actors that portrayed the titular hired guns (Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Byung Hun-Lee, Vincent D'onofrio, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmier), a properly imposing villain in Peter Sarsgaard's Bartholomew Bogue, and a plethora of exhilaratingly over-the-top shootouts made this a rollicking piece of vintage entertainment.

Most Overrated: Fences (2016)

From an acting standpoint, Fences is exceptional. Everyone from Viola Davis-who won her Oscar for her performance and Washington down to the bit players including Stephen McKinley Henderson and Mykelti Williamson do remarkable work that is worthy of every accolade in the book. The problem is that the collective virtuoso acting can't cover up the bland, stagey direction, melodrama-filled plot and above all, the completely unearned redemption arc for Washington's character that emerges in the final minutes that make the film incredibly tough to sit through.  

Best Late Career Goof Off: 2 Guns (2013)

Washington has put together one of the most decorated careers on both stage and screen in the history of the acting medium, so safe to say he was more than deserving of a little break from the world of serious art from time to time after nearly 30 years in the business. One of his first forays into the genre movie space came in the form of 2 Guns-a throwback 80's buddy action comedy that ended up being among the most entertaining flicks released in 2013. Washington's abundant charisma and underrated comic delivery made him the perfect person to team up with Mark Wahlberg for 2 hours of shooting guns, shit-talking and double-crossing in a proudly silly movie centered around a pair of undercover government agents who reluctantly team up once they discover the nefarious reasons why their employers wanted them to steal money from a prolific drug lord (Edward James Olmos).   

Worst Late Career Goof Off: The Equalizer 2 (2018)

By cutting back on the brutal action scenes that allowed the original to overcome its slow pacing and bizarre emphasis on a dull story, The Equalizer 2 succumbs to its shortcomings and becomes about as painfully average as a mainstream action movie with competent production values/actors/direction can possibly be.  

Best Dystopian Film with Religious Undertones: The Book of Eli (2010)

While I get how the prominent religious subtext of The Book of Eli could hamper one's ability to like it, my personal negative feelings about organized religion-particularly Christianity-didn't inhabit my ability to enjoy this movie in the slightest. The Hughes Brothers do an incredible job of building a dreary post-apocalyptic wasteland where anarchy reigns and the top-notch acting from Washington, Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman brings an unexpected level of emotional depth for a film about a nomad navigating the violence-and-hopelessness-fueled terrain to perform a task he believes to be vitally important (delivering a "book" to a secret group that's preserving art from the pre-apocalypse days).     

Quick Movie Reviews: Pieces of a Woman, Outside the Wire, Locked Down

Pieces of a Woman: Pieces of a Woman is the most potent tale of two polar opposite halves the world has seen since the Atlanta Falcons performance in Super Bowl 51. After coming out of the gate with a relentlessly harrowing 35-minute opening sequence that's quite frankly some of the most emotionally intense and fearless filmmaking I've ever seen, Kornel Mundruczo's exploration of a woman's grief (Vanessa Kirby) after the unexpected death of her infant daughter shortly after birth suddenly suddenly morphs into a maddening, contrived story that combines a steady dose of absurd melodrama with enough pretentious indie touchstones (nature symbolism, gratuitous establishing shots, characters staring into abyss in every other scenes to remind everybody that they're going through some shit) to fill Terrence Mallick's next dozen movies. It's honestly unbelievable that the same people (Mundruczo and writer Kata Weber) were responsible for every frame of this film and if that opening or the acting-particularly from Kirby and Ellen Burstyn as her overbearing mother-weren't exemplary, this would've pretty much been a complete waste of time.   

Grade: B-

Outside the Wire: Netflix's heavily-promoted 2021 movie slate has officially kicked off with a nice little sci-fi actioner in Outside the Wire. Veteran Swedish filmmaker Mikal Hafstorm-in his second career action project after 2013's underrated Schwarzenegger/Stallone vehicle Escape Plan-directs with energy and style and Anthony Mackie makes the most out of his unfortunately all too rare opportunity to be a lead by turning a stock robot/human hybrid character into a charismatic, intelligent badass that adds intrigue and gravitas to every scene he appears in. The mixed, generally underwritten messaging about the immoral nature of American's military intervention across the globe as well as the rest of the cast's failure to match Mackie's presence prevent it from hitting its ceiling, but Outside the Wire manages to be a relatively engaging, action-heavy January diversion nonetheless. 

Grade: B-

Locked Down: COVID-themed/set themes movies are likely going to be a mainstay for the next few years and Locked Down isn't a bad title to appear on the ground floor of this newly-minted subgenre. From the minds of director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, American Made) and writer Steven Knight, this ambitious genre mash-up (drama, heist film, romantic comedy) focuses on a couple that's on the cusp of getting divorced that gets stuck in lockdown together (Anne Hathaway, Chiwetel Ejiofor) and through a combination of going stir crazy, aggravation with their respective employers and good old fashioned fate, decide to rob the world famous Harrods Diamond from the iconic London department store. While Knight's script isn't nearly cohesive enough to pull off the delicate genre-balancing act he was aiming for and the heist itself is a thoroughly underwhelming, rushed shitshow, Locked Down does do a good enough job with developing its characters, detailing what went wrong in their relationship and examining how the isolation of lockdown has created this complicated dynamic that's forced them to finally confront their problems head-on while also reminiscing on the good old times to atone for its routine miscalculations. Plus there are a lot worse actors to spend 2 hours with than Hathaway and Ejiofor-whose collective ever-present magnetism keep things watchable even when the material lets them down.     

Grade: B-

Top 20 Hip Hop Beats of 2020

While 2020 was a generally underwhelming year for hip hop on the whole, the industry's abundance of talented producers still showed up in a big way. Here are the 20 beats from the year that connected with me the most on a spiritual or visceral level. 

 

Honorable Mentions:

21 Savage and Metro Boomin-Brand New Draco (Producers: Metro Boomin, Peter Lee Johnson and Prince 85)

Amine-Compensating (feat. Young Thug) (Producer: T-Minus)

Lil Nas X-Holiday (Producers: Tay Keith and Take a Daytrip)

Lil Uzi Vert-Money Spread (feat. Young Nudy) (Producer: Pi'erre Bourne)

Playboi Carti-@meh (Producers: JetsonMade, Neeko Baby and Deskhop)

20.Juice WRLD-Conversations (Producers: Ronny J, Ardist, DJ Scheme and Nils)

19.Megan Thee Stallion-Freaky Girls (feat. SZA) (Producer: Juicy J)

18.City Morgue-The Electric Experience (Producers: Mason Sacks and Powers Pleasant)

17.Gunna-Argentina (Producers: Wheezy, Morgan Connors and Frankie Bash)

16.Run the Jewels-Ju$t (Producers: El-P, Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby) 

15.Amine-Pressure in My Palms (feat. slowthai and Vince Staples) (Producer: Pasque)

 

14.Gunna-Skybox (Producer: Taurus)

 

13.Playboi Carti-Over (Producer: Art Dealer)

12.Playboi Carti-ILoveUIHateU (Producer: Pi'erre Bourne)

 

 

11.Run the Jewels-Walking in the Snow (Producers: El-P, Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby)

10.Travis Scott-The Plan (Producers: Ludwig Goransson and WondaGurl)

9.21 Savage-Steppin on N***as  (Producer: Metro Boomin)

 

8.Megan Thee Stallion-Don't Stop (Producer: Buddah Bless)

7.Run the Jewels-The Ground Below (Producers: El-P, Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby)

6.21 Savage and Metro Boomin-Runnin (Producer: Metro Boomin)

5.Young Nudy-Vice City (Producer: Metro Boomin)

4.Lil Uzi Vert and 21 Savage-Yessirski (Producer: Pi'erre Bourne)

3.Playboi Carti-Sky (Producer: Art Dealer)

2.Run the Jewels-out of sight (feat. 2 Chainz) (Producers: El-P, Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby)

1.21 Savage and Metro Boomin-Glock in My Lap (Producers: Metro Boomin, Southside and Honorable C.N.O.T.E.)

NFL Conference Championship Predictions

Divisional Round Record: 3-1 (Correct: Packers, Chiefs, Buccaneers Incorrect: Ravens)

Overall Playoff Record: 7-3

Green Bay Packers over Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 

An Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady playoff battle has been a wish of most football fans/pundits for at least the past decade and it's finally coming to fruition at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Both men should be playing with a chip on their shoulder as Rodgers seeks to kill the narrative that he's an underachiever and Brady wants to prove he can win a championship at an advanced age without Bill Belichick by his side.  Ultimately, I think Tampa's vastly inferior secondary, the Packers desire to avenge a bizarre, embarrassing blowout loss the Bucs handed them back in October and the sheer confidence Green Bay's #12 is playing with right now will swing the pendulum in this legendary QB dual towards Rodgers' team. 

Kansas City Chiefs over Buffalo Bills: 

I've been flip-flopping on this game all week long, but with Patrick Mahomes being officially cleared from concussion protocol earlier today, I'm going to roll with the Chiefs. Playing run-heavy teams has greatly helped the Bills in their prior 2 games and given that the Chiefs are a pass-dominant team who have the versatile weapons to attack defenses in any way imaginable, their struggles to cover the short-to-intermediate passing game and in the slot should finally be exposed for 4 quarters, which would put them in a bad spot to end up on the right side of a possible shootout.  

2020 in Movies: A Year in Review

With all of the pandemic-related delays and release strategy shifts, the 2020 film slate easily could've been massively underwhelming. While the impact from the large clusters of titles from every corner of the industry that were pushed off the calendar was certainly felt, the constant shakeups didn't result in a complete drought of quality movies. 

Streamers were able to make the best out of the chaotic landscape that suddenly manifested in March with pretty deep slates that balanced their own originals (The Old Guard, One Night in Miami..., Extraction) with acquisitions from theatrical distributors (The Trial of the Chicago 7, Charm City Kings, The Lovebirds) who were looking were to bank some cash to supplement the massive box office losses they are experiencing, Universal's full embrace of both PVOD and a PVOD/theatrical hybrid model allowed them to put out some great small-to-mid budget titles (The King of Staten Island, Promising Young Woman, Freaky) during a time where other major studios are largely forgoing releasing anything at all and although it seems like a million years ago now, the relatively strong 2.5 months of traditional theatrical releases that we got at the start of the year ultimately yielded some of the year's best titles (Birds of Prey, Bad Boys for Life, The Invisible Man). There was also a perhaps not completely coincidental uptick in the release of pure escapist fare (Love and Monsters, Happiest Season, The High Note, Spenser Confidential, Palm Springs, My Spy, Bill and Ted Face the Music, several of the aforementioned titles above) that felt particularly comforting in a year where temporary joyous distractions from the bleakness of reality were needed more than ever. To put it more succinctly, 2020 was a pretty decent year for movies and I'm thankful that the shot callers around the industry were able to make that possible in a completely compromised marketplace. 

Below, you'll find a smorgasbord of quick reflections on the cinematic year including a full ranking of every movie I've seen to this point, a host of accolades/awards honoring the best/worst things from 2020's movies and a very long list of titles that I haven't gotten the chance to watch yet for a variety of reasons. Please enjoy and here's to hoping that we can get COVID under control at some point this year, so we can go back to getting excited about trivial things like the release of a new Marvel or Fast and Furious movie again. 

Titles I Haven't Seen Yet, but Plan on Watching At Some Point:

All Day and a Night

All In: The Fight for Democracy

All Together Now

Ammonite

Another Round

Archenemy

Arkansas

Babyteeth

Bacurau

Blood Quantum

Blow the Man Down

Come Play

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

Critical Thinking

Cut Throat City

Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen

Dreamland

Embattled

Evil Eye

Fatale

Fatman

Girl

Greenland

How to Build a Girl

I'm Your Woman

Jiu Jitsu

Jungleland

Let Him Go

Lost Girls

Max Cloud

Minari

Miss Juneteenth

Monster Hunter

Most Wanted

News of the World

Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight

Nomadland

On the Rocks

Possessor

Proxima

Rogue

Safety

Scare Me

Scoob!

She Dies Tomorrow

Shirley

Shithouse

Songbird

Spontaneous

Swallow

Sylvie's Love

Synchronic

The Big Ugly

The Boys in the Band

The Craft: Legacy

The Croods: A New Age

The Dark and the Wicked

The Doorman

The Father

The Informer

The Kid Detective

The Last Shift

The Lie

The Lodge

The Nest

The Night Clerk

The Opening Act

The Outpost

The Owners

The Silencing

The Social Dilemma

The Sunlit Night

The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Tigertail

Time

Time to Hunt

Totally Under Control

Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula

Vivarium

Wander Darkly

Welcome to Sudden Death

Wolfwalkers

Yellow Rose

You Should Have Left

112.Gretel & Hansel (D-)

111.First Cow (D)

110.Nocturne (D)

109.Run (D)

108.Antebellum (D)

107.The New Mutants (D+)

106.His House (D+)

105.Mosul (D+)

104.Fantasy Island (C-)

103.Save Yourselves! (C-)

102.Unhinged (C-)

101.The Turning (C-)

100.Like a Boss (C-)

99.The Platform (C-)

98.#Alive (C)

97.Money Plane (C)

96.Mulan (C)

95.Hubie Halloween (C)

94.Never Rarely Sometimes Always (C)

93.Onward (C)

92.Hooking Up (C+)

91.Desperados (C+)

90.The Wrong Missy (C+)

89.The Half of It (C+)

88.7500 (C+)

87.An American Pickle (C+)

86.Dick Johnson is Dead (C+)

85.Wonder Woman 1984 (C+)

84.Come to Daddy (C+)

83.Infamous (C+)

82.Black Box (C+)

81.Love. Wedding. Repeat. (B-)

80.The Broken Hearts Gallery (B-)

79.Enola Holmes (B-)

78.Pieces of a Woman (B-)

77.Honest Thief (B-)

76.The Rhythm Section (B-)

75.Escape from Pretoria (B-)

74.Words on Bathroom Walls (B-)

73.The Assistant (B-)

72.Color Out of Space (B-)

71.Bloodshot (B-)

70.The Gentlemen (B-)

69.We Summon the Darkness (B-)

68.Horse Girl (B-)

67.Lost Bullet (B-)

66.Ava (B-)

65.Tenet (B-)

64.Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (B)

63.Irresistible (B)

62.Yes, God, Yes (B)

61.All the Bright Places (B)

60.Capone (B)

59.The Binge (B)

58.Taylor Swift: Miss Americana (B)

57.Coffee & Kareem (B)

56.Athlete A (B)

55.The Vast of Night (B)

54.Da 5 Bloods (B)

53.The Tax Collector (B)

52.Vampires vs. the Bronx (B)

51.VFW (B)

50.Hillbilly Elegy (B)

49.Mank (B)

48.Deerskin (B)

47.The Fourty-Year-Old Version (B)

46.Kajillionaire (B)

45.Happiest Season (B)

44.Unpregnant (B)

43.Spree (B)

42.The High Note (B)

41.Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (B)

40.The Babysitter: Killer Queen (B)

39.Buffaloed (B)

38.The Hunt (B)

37.Holidate (B)

36.My Spy (B)

35.Becky (B)

34.Sonic the Hedgehog (B)

33.Underwater (B)

32.The Devil All the Time (B)

31.Get Duked! (B)

30.The Lovebirds (B)

29.Uncle Frank (B)

28.Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (B)

27.Bill and Ted Face the Music (B)

26.Class Action Park (B+)

25.Guns Akimbo (B+)

24.Big Time Adolescence (B+)

23.Spenser Confidential (B+)

22.The Way Back (B+)

21.The Photograph (B+)

20.The Rental (B+)

19.Project Power (B+)

18.Sound of Metal (B+)

17.Palm Springs (B+)

16.Freaky (B+)

15.Uncorked (B+)

14.Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (B+)

13.Extraction (B+)

12.Black Bear (B+)

11.Love and Monsters (B+)

10.One Night in Miami... (B+)

9.Bad Boys for Life (B+)

8.The Old Guard (A-)

7.Charm City Kings (A-)

6.Promising Young Woman (A-)

5.The King of Staten Island (A-)

4.Birds of Prey (A-)

3.The Trial of the Chicago 7 (A)

2.Soul (A)

1.The Invisible Man (A)

Awards:

Best Picture: The Invisible Man

Best Director: Leigh Whannell, The Invisible Man 

Best Actor: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Best Actress: Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man

Best Supporting Actor: Eli Goree, One Night in Miami...

Best Supporting Actress: Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy

Best Original Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Adapted Screenplay: Leigh Whannell, The Invisible Man

Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, Birds of Prey

Best Score: Ludwig Goransson, Tenet

Best Visual Effects: Love and Monsters

Best Animated Movie: Soul

Best Non-English Language Movie: Deerskin

Best Documentary: Class Action Park

Best Directorial Debut: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Best Villain: Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), Birds of Prey

Worst Villain: Diane Sherman (Sarah Paulson), Run

Best Performance in a Bad Movie: Russell Crowe, Unhinged

Worst Performance in a Good Movie: Norm Lewis, Da 5 Bloods

Best Performance by a Suspect Actor: Kevin James, Becky

Worst Performance by a Good Actor: Sarah Paulson, Run

Best Overacting: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Worst Overacting: Kenneth Branaugh, Tenet

The 3rd Annual "Carry a Movie on Their Back" Award Presented by Greg Jennings: Alison Brie, Horse Girl

Best Action Sequence: One Take Gun/Fist/Knife Fight, Extraction

Worst Action Sequence: Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah, Wonder Woman 1984

Best Blockbuster: Birds of Prey

Worst Blockbuster: The New Mutants

Most Enjoyable Remake: The Invisible Man

Most Useless Remake: Gretel & Hansel

Best Top Dollar PVOD Rental: The King of Staten Island

Biggest PVOD Rental Bullet Dodged: Antebellum

Best Movie I Risked Contracting COVID to See in Theaters: Freaky

Top Movie I'm Glad That I Didn't Risk Contracting COVID to Go See in Theaters: The New Mutants

Finest Hidden Indie Gem: Charm City Kings

Most Insufferable Indie Trash: First Cow

Biggest Surprises:

1.The Invisible Man

2.Love and Monsters

3.The Photograph

4.Holidate

5.Becky

Biggest Letdowns:

1.The Gentlemen 

2.Tenet

3.An American Pickle

4.The Platform

5.Mank

Most Underrated Movies:

1.Charm City Kings

2.Birds of Prey

3.The King of Staten Island

4.Black Bear

5.Uncorked

Most Overrated Movies:

1.First Cow

2.Run

3.His House

4.Pieces of a Woman

5.Da 5 Bloods

Top Performances:

1.Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man

2.Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

3.Aubrey Plaza, Black Bear

4.Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

5.Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

6.Eli Goree, One Night in Miami...

7.Robert Pattinson, The Devil All the Time

8.Alison Brie, Horse Girl

9.Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

10.Joe Keery, Spree

Breakthrough Performances:

1.Eli Goree, One Night in Miami...

2.Mamoudou Athie, Uncorked

3.Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Charm City Kings

4.Cristin Milioti, Palm Springs

5.Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

6.Kingsley Ben-Adir, One Night in Miami...

7.Bill Burr, The King of Staten Island

8.Meek Mill, Charm City Kings

9.Lulu Wilson, Becky

10.Brigette Lundy-Paine, Bill and Ted Face the Music 

Top Acting Ensembles:

1.Black Bear

2.One Night in Miami...

3.The King of Staten Island

4.Charm City Kings

5.Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

6.Birds of Prey

7.The Trial of the Chicago 7

8.Uncorked

9.The Old Guard

10.Freaky

10 Most Anticipated Movies That I'll Hopefully Be Able to See in 2021:

1.Those Who Wish Me Dead

2.The Suicide Squad

3.Don't Look Up

4.Fast and Furious 9

5.Last Night in Soho

6.Army of the Dead

7.Nobody

8.The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

9.Next Goal Wins

10.The Harder They Fall

Top 20 Movies of 2020

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):

Big Time Adolescence 

Guns Akimbo

The Photograph

Spenser Confidential 

The Way Back

20.The Rental: 

With this taut, efficient thriller that cleverly uses a slowly mounting rift that emerges between its four lead characters played by Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand and Jeremy Allen White during a trip to a secluded Northern California AirBnb to build an increasingly paranoid atmosphere that reaches a tipping point when a masked killer enters the fold in the final act, Dave Franco adds himself to the increasingly growing list of actors in recent years who have made waves with their first directorial efforts.

19.Project Power: 

In a year where traditional superhero movies were almost entirely sidelined, Project Power stepped up to fill the wonderous entertainment void. This Netflix blockbuster from the unfairly slept on directorial duo of Ariel Schulman/Henry Joost (Nerve, Paranormal Activity 3) gets the most out of its clever premise (A New Orleans cop, his teenage informant and a mysterious man with a score to settle team up to stop the distribution of a drug that gives people superpowers for 5 minutes or kills them immediately) by putting likeable characters into an adrenaline-fueled package that relies heavily on bursts of wild action, slick camerawork and the excitement that stems from the wide variety of outcomes that can occur when humans get a taste of unfathomable power.  

18.Sound of Metal: 

Being deaf is something that hearing people likely can't even begin to conceive and although nothing short of becoming deaf can offer any significant insight, Sound of Metal does a great job of providing a very basic understanding of what it might be like to live with that ailment. Through exceptional sound design that distorts audio and even goes completely silent on occasion, writer/director Darius Marder puts the audience in the shoes of a punk band drummer (Riz Ahmed) that is losing his hearing at a rapid clip and how he struggles to cope with the impact his condition is having on his life. While the actual narrative is a bit choppy and needlessly melodramatic at times, the compassionate, visceral way Marder tackles living with deafness and Ahmed's extraordinary performance turn Sound of Metal into something noteworthy. 

17.Palm Springs: 

The breakout hit of Sundance 2020 is a funny, sweet and gleefully strange sci-fi romantic comedy driven by a home run of a central relationship (Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti-both absolutely fucking delightful) that is so powerful it manages to overshadow the increasingly convoluted mechanics of its time time plot device that could've easily derailed the whole movie. 

16.Freaky: 

Christopher Landon's (Happy Death Day franchise) slasher legacy continues to grow stronger with each new project he puts out. Aided by some prominent self-aware humor and a pair of deeply committed, spiritually-connected dual character performances from Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton, Landon parlays a clever body swap gimmick (Vaughn plays a small town serial killer who switches places with Newton's shy high school senior thanks to a stolen magic dagger) setup into a deliriously fun, thoroughly blood-soaked ride that successfully puts the genre's timeless DNA through a present day cultural filter.   

15.Uncorked: 

Quietly released on Netflix at the end of March, the feature debut from Prentice Penny-who is best known for being Issa Rae's writing/producing partner on Insecure- is a gem of a family drama centered around a young man (Mamoudou Athie-who crushes the lead role he's long deserved) who is torn between pursuing his dreams of becoming a sommelier and appeasing his parents (Courtney B. Vance, Niecy Nash) by remaining employed at their successful Memphis barbeque restaurant that he's set to takeover in the not-so-distant future. All of the performances are grounded to the point where every character feels like a real person living today- which makes it incredibly easy to get invested in their plights and Penny sprinkles in some moments of soul-crushing reality without taking away from the sense of heartfelt optimism that attracts viewers to this type of movie.       

14.Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: 

While never reaching the level of depraved hilarity or volume of alarming windows into the ignorant psyches of many Americans that filled Sacha Baron Cohen's prior Trump-era project Who is America?, the surprise return of Kazakhstan's most prolific foreign journalist is still a welcome use of his guerilla comedic gifts as well as one hell of a coming out party for upstart Bulgarian actor Maria Bakalova-who matches Baron Cohen's absurd wit and fearlessness every step of the way with her turn as Borat's "teenage" daughter Tutar.  

13.Extraction: 

A gruffly charismatic lead performance from Chris Hemsworth, string of dazzling action setpieces helmed by veteran stunt coordinator turned director Sam Hargrave and the presence of a classic Schwarzenegger/Stallone-esque cheesiness in every frame made Extraction an effective piece of old school meathead entertainment. 

12.Black Bear:

There's not another title that appears here that I would recommend to less people than Black Bear. Not only does it have an ambiguous plot structure where the gaps between reality and fiction are never clearly defined, it's a very meta film full of observations about the movie industry and the people who work in it that is likely to confuse or enrage a lot of viewers. Through my eyes, Black Bear is a unique, fascinating character study where the lead actors (Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon and particularly Aubrey Plaza) show off unbelievable range as they put themselves through a grueling emotional torture chamber that shifts on an almost scene-by-scene basis and writer/director Lawrence Michael Levine does an outstanding job of establishing a sense of thriller-esque unease that exposes the fragility of both the relationships and individuals that occupy this surreal universe 

11.Love and Monsters: 

Driven by a winning combination of charismatic characters, cool, clever monster designs and a massive beating heart that would likely make the late John Hughes proud, the quirkily upbeat dystopian adventure comedy romance Love and Monsters proved to be one of the most pleasant cinematic surprises of 2020.

10.One Night in Miami...:

A low-key drama featuring cultural icons in Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) essentially hanging out in a hotel room in Miami after Ali-who was still known by his birth name Cassius Clay at the time-beat Sonny Liston to secure his first heavyweight title is one of the most fascinating portrayals of historical figures I've ever seen. When have we ever seen another movie where cultural titans just sit down for a couple hours and challenge each other's ideas, bond over their shared experiences and express their own doubts/fears/insecurities during a rare instance where they're completely away from the limelight in the company of people they trust? Even if this meeting didn't exactly happen like this in real life (or at all, "inspired by true events" is about as loose of a fact-based designation as there is), it's extremely cool that something like this exists because we aren't used to seeing larger-than-life legends portrayed in such raw, human fashion. Major props go to screenwriter Kemp Powers for crafting such engaging discussions, the four men on screen who fearlessly tackled playing such stripped-down versions of these legends and Regina King- in her directorial debut- who provides a easygoing touch that gives the proceedings the free-flowing conversational tone required to make this entire project work.

9.Bad Boys for Life: 

Before the American public was fully aware of the imminent threat of COVID-19 last January, millions of people packed movie theaters across the country to watch Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett talk shit, crack skulls and destroy an astronomical amount of high-end Miami property in pursuit of an ultrarich criminal syndicate that has access to an unbelievably deep arsenal of weapons and vehicles for the first time since 2003. Now let's get our shit together as a nation so we can celebrate this type of glorious action movie excess in the venues they were made to be seen in again ASAP. 

8.The Old Guard:

Action/superhero hybrid The Old Guard wisely uses director Gina Prince-Bythewood's (Love & Basketball, Beyond the Lights) background in making dramas and the acting talent of its ensemble cast (Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marawan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli) to deeply explore the emotional pain that these immortal warriors have dealt with by having generations of loved ones be ripped away from them provides the film with level of character depth that tends to allude blockbusters-which in turn gives it a secret weapon to go along with its well-shot/choreographed action sequences that helps push it from very good to truly great. 

7.Charm City Kings:

HBO Max has done an awful job promoting Charm City Kings following its October release and since I'm not confident that more than 50 people have seen it, I can easily declare this my pick for the most underrated movie of the year. Centered around a group of motorcycle-obsessed teenagers (Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Donielle Tremaine Hansely, Kezii Curtis) attempting to navigate a tight-knit Baltimore neighborhood with a strong gang presence, this lively yet tragic coming-of-age tale packs an uncompromising gut punch that is reminiscent of classics like Boyz n The Hood, Menace II Society and Juice.         

6.Promising Young Woman:

I just watched this last Saturday and if I was posting this a few weeks from now, there's a good chance it would be even higher. Former Killing Eve showrunner Emerald Fennell comes out guns blazing in her film debut by packing a thorough exploration of the variety of factors that allow rape culture to continue to thrive in the world have allowed into the framework of a terrific darkly comedic revenge thriller that obscures its true intention until late in the game before dropping it on an unsuspecting audience like a fucking anvil-naturally leading to a game-changing conclusion that should generate a variety of strong responses across the emotional spectrum. Top things off with a knockout lead performance from Carey Mulligan that deserves to land her in the thick of the Best Actress conversation and you have yourself an excellent film with an urgent message that demands to be dissected and discussed for years to come. 

5.The King of Staten Island:

Pete Davidson has been very open about the mental health struggles he's faced that stem from the death of his firefighter father on 9/11 and this semi-autobiographical film is his way of healing through art. The unrelentingly honesty that fuels Davidson's performance paired with the sensitivity that co-writer/director Judd Apatow shows in dramatizing his story allows King of Staten Island to blossom into a quietly poignant drama with hilarious comedic interludes that explores how the deep-rooted pain of grief can cause someone to push people away whenever they start to get close and the support of the right people can help begin to brake those internal walls down. 

4.Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn): 

Almost 11 months before Wonder Woman 1984 reinvigorated the DCU online hate machine to a level that hadn't been reached since Justice League, Birds of Prey achieved an important milestone that had alluded the superhero giant's attempt to build a Marvel-esque juggernaut franchise since it launched in 2013 with Man of Steel: producing a truly great movie. Harley Quinn's long overdue headlining adventure distills the colorful, chaotic essence of its antiheroine into a consistently captivating cartoonish action saga that's overflowing with energy, visual pizazz and bone-crunching fight scenes that also happens to further cement Margot Robbie's-whose portrayal of Quinn is nothing short of perfect-status as a crucial building block for a franchise that's desperate to build lasting momentum. 

3.The Trial of the Chicago 7:

The peaceful turned unruly protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention and subsequent trial of the "Chicago 7"-a group of anti-Vietnam protestors accused of inciting a riot by the FBI-was the perfect historical vessel to receive the Aaron Sorkin treatment. Sorkin's knack for staging riveting courtroom scenes and deploying one-liners to provide levity at exactly the right time adds a layer of pure entertainment to this dramatization that actually makes the film's points on serious matters such as the government trying to scare citizens out of exercising to right to protest injustice by blatantly abusing their power and continuing to fight for justice regardless of what obstacles stand in the way stick harder.    

2.Soul:

Safe to say Pixar redeemed themselves with their second original film of 2020 after dropping the depressingly plain Onward back in March. By evoking all of the best qualities (jaw-dropping animation, well drawn-out characters, irreverent humor, an overarching message about some aspect of the human experience that will go way above the head of 99% of the kids that watch it) associated with the Pixar brand, Pete Docter and Kemp Powers have concocted a stunning movie that conjures up the same type of profound magic as the best work (Toy Story, Toy Story 3, Up) the iconic animation studio has produced during their 25-year history.

1.The Invisible Man:

Reimagining a classic horror property as a real life meets sci-fi horror flick about an abusive scientist (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who fakes his own death then uses his undisclosed technological breakthrough to silently terrorize the woman (Elisabeth Moss) that left him proved to be an unexpected stroke of genius. Anchored by Leigh Whannell's brilliant script/direction that meticulously builds an eerie atmosphere that heightens the intensity of everything from the feeling of ever-present dread that the abused feels in the aftermath of leaving their abuser to the shocks from the jump scares and a fearlessly commanding performance from Moss that conveys paranoia and fear with a haunting degree of authenticity, The Invisible Man is an intelligent, terrifying and eventually cathartic tale that does for abusive relationships what Get Out did for race relations.    

NFL Divisional Round Predictions

 Wild Record Record: 4-2 (Correct: Bills, Buccaneers, Ravens, Saints Incorrect: Seahawks, Steelers)

Green Bay Packers over Los Angeles Rams: Make no mistake, there's a clear path for the Rams to win this game. Their terrific defense can wreck games with their strong pass coverage/takeway/pass rush combo, they have a trio of strong covers (Jalen Ramsey, Darious Williams, Troy Hill) that could slow down Davante Adams wherever he lines up-which could expose the Packers lack of secondary playmakers in a way that basically no other team has this year and despite recent improvements, the Packers still have a vulnerable run D that Cam Akers-who is coming off a career-best performance against a strong Seahawks front that ranked 5th best against the run during the regular season-could feast against. However, a warm weather team traveling into a cold weather environment with a quarterback in Jared Goff who is gutting it out with a pretty much just surgically repaired thumb on his throwing hand and Aaron Donald potentially making less of an impact upfront as he deals with his own potentially bad rib injury should put the Packers in a good spot to eek out a victory.    

Baltimore Ravens over Buffalo Bills: Last week could prove to be a fluke for both sides, but I love the grit the Ravens showed in their victory over the Titans and the Bills were extremely fortunate that Frank Reich's boneheaded decisionmaking in key situations prevented the Colts from flipping the outcome of the shootout they engaged in. Plus the Ravens have a physical corner group that could give the Bills talented receiver group just enough problems to prevent Josh Allen from completely taking over the game and I'm not convinced the Bills D will be able to stop the Ravens multi-faceted rushing attack or splash play ability of their passing game-particularly if they target the middle of the field where Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds got gashed by Michael Pittman, Jack Doyle and Mo-Allie Cox last week. 

Kansas City Chiefs over Cleveland Browns: An undermanned, head coach-less Browns team going into Pittsburgh and beating up on the Steelers was the best story of Wild Card Weekend as well as a beautiful feel good moment for a franchise that has done nothing but suffer since they last made the playoffs in 2002. As confident and excited as the Browns locker room has to be right now, their fairy tale 2020 season is likely going to come to a bitter end at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. While the Browns should be able to keep it competitive with their superb ball control offense driven by a strong running and play action pass game, the Chiefs unreal ability to put points on the board in an instant-particularly against defenses with a back end that's as easily burnable as the Browns-significantly weakens that typically very useful asset and thus tanks their odds of picking up another road W.  

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over New Orleans Saints: Both regular season meetings between the Saints and Buccaneers were bloodbaths where the Bucs looked like the NFL equivalent of the New York Nationals. When one divisional rival dominates another to a truly eye-popping degree during their prior showdowns, they should be the easy favorites to win again right? Not so fast. As I outlined last week, I do not trust this Saints one bit against a legitimate opponent (hell, they struggled for roughly 2.5 quarters against an illegitimate one during Wild Card Weekend) when the bright lights are on and Tom Brady should be supremely motivated to not lose to the same team 3 times in 1 season. 

2020 in Music: A Year in Review

Unlike the outside world, the music world in 2020 consistently delivered a good type of unpredictable chaos. From Machine Gun Kelly becoming a vintage pop punk act to Taylor Swift dropping a pair of downtempo folk pop records, everything felt upside down and expectations were regularly shattered-often in the best possible way. 

Of course, there was still streaks of normalcy to be found among all the weird happenings. Routine AOTY contenders further bolstered their strong catalogs (Run the Jewels, The Weeknd, Deftones), veteran metal acts stayed the course for the umpteenth time (The Black Dahlia Murder, Lamb of God, August Burns Red) and Playboi Carti wrapped up the year by dropping another polarizing record on Christmas that generated the level of heated discourse that's typically reserved for political conversations. Below, you'll find an assortment of lists highlighting the wild year that was in music including my picks for the top 50 songs, a complete ranking of every LP/EP I heard (w/grades) and much more. Hope you enjoy,

EP's:

13.Horse the Band-Your Fault (C)

12.Incubus-Trust Fall (Side B) (C)

11.Crossfaith-Species (C+)

10.Tove Lo-Bikini Porn (B-)

9.Flatbush Zombies-Now, More than Ever (B)

8.Hayley Williams-Petals for Armor I (B)

7.Megan Thee Stallion-Suga (B)

6.RMR-Drug Dealing is a Lost Art (B)

5.Alleageon-Concerto in DM (B)

4.Inferi-Of Sunless Realms (B+)

3.Kali Uchis-To Feel Alive (A-)

2.System of a Down-Protect the Land/Genocidal Humanoidz (A-)

1.Every Time I Die-A Colossal Wreck/Desperate Pleasures (A)

LP's:

126.Poppy-I Disagree (D+)

125.Selena Gomez-Rare (D+)

124.BackxWash-God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It (C-)

123.Phoebe Bridgers-Punisher (C-)

122.Kesha-High Road (C-)

121.Charli XCX-How I'm Feeling Now (C-)

120.Chloe x Halle-Ungodly Hour (C)

119.Bedsore-Hypnagogic Hallucinations (C)

118.Kyle-See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!! (C)

117.The Chicks-Gaslighter (C)

116.Spanish Love Songs-Brave Faces Everyone (C)

115.Lady Gaga-Chromatica (C)

114.Juicy J-The Hustle Continues (C)

113.Trivium-What the Dead Men Say (C)

112.Fiona Apple-Fetch the Bolt Cutters (C)

111.Lianne La Havas-Lianne La Havas (C)

110.Perfume Genius-Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (C)

109.Jeff Rosenstock-No Idea (C)

108.Tennis-Swimmer (C)

107.King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard-K.G. (C)

106.Suicide Silence-Become the Hunter (C+)

105.Afterbirth-Four Dimensional Flesh (C+)

104.Kehlani-It Was Good Until It Wasn't (C+)

103.$ucideboy$-Stop Staring at the Shadows (C+)

102.Katy Perry-Smile (C+)

101.Purity Ring-Womb (C+)

100.Yukika-Soul Lady (C+)

99.Drake-Dark Lane Demo Tapes (C+)

98.The Fall of Troy-Mukiltearth (C+)

97.Future and Lil Uzi Vert-Pluto x Baby Pluto (C+)

96.Pyrrohn-Abcess Time (B-)

95.Wailin' Storms-Rattle (B-)

94.Westside Gunn-Pray for Paris (B-)

93.Bury Tomorrow-Cannibal (B-)

92.Pop Smoke-Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon (B-)

91.Various Artists-Birds of Prey: The Album (B-)

90.Aversions Crown-Hell Will Comes Us for All (B-)

89.Lil Yachty-Lil Boat 3 (B-)

88.Jessie Ware-What's Your Pleasure? (B-)

87.Lil Uzi Vert-Eternal Atake (B-)

86.Aeternam-Al Qassam (B-)

85.Loathe-I Let It In and It Took Everything (B-)

84.Killer Be Killed-Reluctant Hero (B-)

83.Kid Cudi-Man on the Moon III: The Chosen (B-)

82.Invent,Animate-Greyview (B-)

81.Rico Nasty-Nightmare Vacation (B-)

80.Chris Stapleton-Starting Over (B-)

79.Joji-Nectar (B-)

78.Body Count-Carnivore (B)

77.Faceless Burial-Speciation (B)

76.2 Chainz-So Help Me God! (B)

75.Warbringer-Weapons of Tomorrow (B)

74.Greg Puciato-Child Solider: Fortune of God (B)

73.Rotting Out-Ronin (B)

72.Future-High Off Life (B)

71.Sylosis-Cycle of Suffering (B)

70.Plini-Impulse Voices (B)

69.Kodak Black-Bill Israel (B)

68.Dogleg-Melee (B)

67.Good Tiger-Raised in a Doomsday Cult (B)

66.Finntroll-Vredesvavd (B)

65.The Ocean-Phanerozic II: Mesozoic/Cenozic (B)

64.Hatebreed-Weight of the False Self (B)

63.Oranassi Pazuzu-Mestrain kynsi (B)

62.Umbra Vitae-Shadow of Life (B)

61.Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist-Alfredo (B)

60.Cytotokin-Nuklearth (B)

59.Testament-Titans of Creation (B)

58.Lil Uzi Vert-Lil Uzi Vs. the World 2 (B)

57.Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats-Unlocked (B)

56.Defeated Sanity-The Sanguinary Impetus (B)

55.Sevdaliza-Shabrang (B)

54.Cryptic Shift-Visitations from Enceladus (B)

53.Young Nudy-Anyways (B)

52.Phoxjaw-Royal Swan (B)

51.Taylor Swift-Evermore (B)

50.Carly Rae Jepsen-Dedicated Side B (B)

49.Emmure-Hindsight (B)

48.Don Toliver-Heaven or Hell (B)

47.Within the Ruins-Black Heart (B)

46.Megan Thee Stallion-Good News (B)

45.VoidCeremony-Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel (B)

44.Intervals-Circadian (B)

43.Touche Amore-Lament (B)

42.Beneath the Massacre-Fearmonger (B)

41.Playboi Carti-Whole Lotta Red (B)

40.Make Them Suffer-How to Survive a Funeral (B)

39.Intronaut-Fluid Extensional Inversions (B)

38.The Ghost Inside-The Ghost Inside (B)

37.Action Bronson-Only for Dolphins (B)

36.Lamb of God-Lamb of God (B)

35.Machine Gun Kelly-Tickets to My Downfall (B)

34.Dance Gavin Dance-Afterburner (B)

33.Hayley Williams-Petals for Armor (B)

32.Amine-Limbo (B)

31.Victoria Monet-Jaguar (B)

30.Tame Impala-The Slow Rush (B)

29.Idles-Ultra Mono (B)

28.Juice WRLD-Legends Never Die (B)

27.Four Year Strong-Brain Pain (B)

26.Misery Signals-Ultraviolet (B+)

25.August Burns Red-Guardians (B+)

24.Gunna-WUNNA (B+)

23.Ulcerate-Stare Into Death and Be Still (B+)

22.Protest the Hero-Palimpsest (B+)

21.Miley Cyrus-Plastic Hearts (B+)

20.City Morgue-Toxic Boogaloo (B+)

19.Venom Prison-Primeval (B+)

18.Yves Tumor-Heaven to a Tortured Mind (B+)

17.Mac Miller-Circles (B+)

16.Gulch-Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress (B+)

15.Ariana Grande-Positions (B+)

14.Taylor Swift-Folklore (B+)

13.Kali Uchis-Sin mideo (del amor y otros demonios) (B+)

12.Black Crown Initiate-Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape (B+)

11.Dua Lipa-Future Nostalgia (B+)

10.21 Savage and Metro Boomin-Savage Mode II (B+)

9.The Black Dahlia Murder-Verminous (B+)

8.END-Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face (B+)

7.Halsey-Manic (B+)

6.Kvelertak-Splid (A-)

5.Bring Me the Horizon-POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR (A-)

4.Deftones-Ohms (A-)

3.Run the Jewels-RTJ4 (A)

2.Rina Sawayama-Sawayama (A)

1.The Weeknd-After Hours (A)

Awards and Accolades:

Biggest Surprises:

1.Bring Me the Horizon-POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR

2.Machine Gun Kelly-Tickets to My Downfall

3.Halsey-Manic

4.Taylor Swift-Folklore

5.Miley Cyrus-Plastic Hearts

Biggest Letdowns:

1.Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats-Unlocked

2.Lil Uzi Vert-Eternal Atake

3.2 Chainz-So Help Me God!

4.Hatebreed-Weight of the False Self

5.Dance Gavin Dance-Afterburner

Most Underrated:

1.Miley Cyrus-Plastic Hearts

2.Black Crown Initiate-Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape 

3.Amine-Limbo

4.Machine Gun Kelly-Tickets to My Downfall

5.Tame Impala-The Slow Rush

Most Overrated:

1.Pheobe Bridgers-Punisher 

2.Charli XCX-How I'm Feeling Now

3.Lady Gaga-Chromatica

4.Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist-Alfredo

5.Loathe-I Let It In and It Took Everything

Top Discoveries:

1.Rina Sawayama 

2.END

3.Gulch

4.Yves Tumor

5.Amine

Top 5 Artists I Hope Drop a Record in 2021 (That Don't Currently Have Set Release Dates):

1.SZA

2.Every Time I Die

3.Between the Buried and Me

4.Travis Scott

5.Kendrick Lamar

Top 50 Songs of 2020 (in alphabetical order by artist):

Allegaeon-Roundabout (Yes cover)

Ariana Grande-my hair

Ariana Grande-positions

Black Crown Initiate-Invatation

Bring Me the Horizon-Kingslayer (feat. Babymetal)

Bring Me The Horizon-Obey (feat. Yungblud)

Carly Rae Jepsen-Summer Love

Deftones-Radiant City

Deftones-Urantia

Don Tolliver-Cardigan

Doja Cat-Boss Bitch

Dua Lipa-Hallucinate

Dua Lipa-Levitating

End-The Reach of Resurrection

Every Time I Die-A Colossal Wreck

Four Year Strong-Get Out of My Head

Halsey-3 AM

Hayley Williams-Over Yet

Idles-Model Village

Infieri-The Abhorrent Art

Kali Uchis-angel

Kali Uchis-//Aguradente y limon

Kvelertak-Discord

Kvelertak-Uglas Hegemoni

Lil Baby-The Bigger Picture

Juice WRLD-Righteous

Mac Miller-I Can See

Machine Gun Kelly-Forget Me Too (feat. Halsey)

Miley Cyrus-Midnight Sky

Miley Cyrus-Prisoner (feat. Dua Lipa)

Rina Sawayama-Love Me 4 Me

Rina Sawayama-Who's Gonna Save U Now

Rina Sawayama-XS

RMR-Dealer

Run the Jewels-The Ground Below

Run the Jewels-Out of Sight (feat. 2 Chainz)

Run the Jewels-Walking in the Snow (feat. Gangsta Boo)

SZA-Hit Different (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

System of a Down-Genocidal Humanoidz

Tame Impala-Lost in Yesterday

Taylor Swift-Seven

The Black Dahlia Murder-The Leather Apron's Scorn

The Weeknd-After Hours

The Weeknd-In Your Eyes

The Weeknd-Too Late

Travis Scott-The Plan

Venom Prison-Usurper of the Throne

Victoria Monet-Moment

Yves Tumor-Gospel for a New Century

21 Savage-Glock in My Lap

Top 20 Albums of 2020

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):

August Burns Red-Guardians 

Gunna-Wunna

Miley Cyrus-Plastic Hearts

Protest the Hero-Palimpsest 

Ulcerate-Stare Into Death and Be Still

20.City Morgue-Toxic Boogaloo: 

Getting a new City Morgue record in the contentious, doom-filled landscape of 2020 was a much-needed act of unholy divine intervention. Packing 10 tracks worth of shouted rapping over chugging guitar-driven production into an under 20 minute package, Toxic Boogaloo is a deadly efficient blast of cathartic rage from NYC's most sinister hip hop duo that might as well have been called Chicken Soup for the Discontent Soul.  

Standout Tracks: 1.Crank 2.The Electric Experience 3.Buakaw 

19.Venom Prison-Primeval:

Re-recording old material often feels like a gimmick used by acts to make a quick buck off the material only a small amount of people have heard once they achieve some degree of breakout success, but in the case of Venom Prison-it was a very smart move. Primeval sees the Welsh outfit cleaning and beefing up the material from their first two EP's (Defy the Tyrant, The Primal Chaos) with crisper production that puts additional emphasis on the guitars that drive their riff/breakdown-driven attack and vocalist Larissa Stupar upping the intensity of her screams. Cap things off with a pair of killer new tracks ("Defiant to the Will of God, "Slayer of Holofernes") and you have an excellent LP that cements them as one of the most promising acts coming up right now in the extreme metal ranks.   

Standout Tracks: 1.Usurper of the Throne 2.Narcotic 3.Defiant to the Will of God

18.Yves Tumor-Heaven to a Tortured Mind:

Whatever planet or galaxy Yves Tumor descended from must be a WILD place. Heaven to a Tortured Mind is a hazy yet soulful creation that features a level of genre-bending experimentation (glam rock funk and psychedelia are just a few of the little musical niches that are explored here) that no one from Earth could possibly cook up and while not everything works (particularly on the back third when the tempo starts to slow down), it's non-stop risk taking makes it a uniquely invigorating listen that demands to be revisited.

Standout Tracks: 1.Gospel for a New Century 2.Kerosene! (feat. Diana Gordon) 3.Super Stars

17.Mac Miller-Circles:

What a legacy capper for the late Mac Miller. Circles, which was just about completed before the rapper/singer's death in September 2018, is an appropriately bittersweet sendoff for Miller that celebrates the confident vision and mature artistic groove he settled into with the somber soul-driven sound he started exploring on his previous record Swimming. Miller was just starting to really come into his own as an artist and it really sucks that we'll never get to see where he would've gone from here.

Standout Tracks: 1.I Can See 2.Everybody 3.Circles

16.Gulch-Impentrable Cerebral Fortress:

No record made me miss live music more in 2020 than Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress. Gulch has the type of fast, raw and unapologetically unpolished sound that can only be cultivated from years of  attending shows in dirtball venues. You can basically visualize the sea of moving bodies and discarded beer cans occupying a (likely) Asbestos-ridden warehouse or basement with every snare hit, slam riff and throaty scream they deliver over the course of this pummeling DIY -core special that runs for an entirely on brand 15 minutes. Hopefully I'll get to see them play in the type of venue that bred their sound once the 'Rona subsides.

Standout Tracks: 1.Cries of Pleasure, Heavenly Pain 2.All Fall Down the Well 3.Fucking Towards Salvation

15.Ariana Grande-Positions:

While Grande's return to the trap pop well isn't quite as consistently rewarding as thank u, next, Positions still features enough dazzling moments standouts ("Love Language", "Safety Net", the trio below) full of smooth hooks and addictive lowkey melodies to go down as another cohesive, accomplished effort in her rock solid discography.

Standout Tracks: 1.Positions 2.My Hair 3.Motive (feat. Doja Cat)

14.Taylor Swift-Folklore:

Much debate has broken out in the social media realms of late about which of Swift's surprise 2020 folk pop albums is better. For me, the answer is Folklore and it's not particularly close. While Evermore has many of the same strengths (cohesive sound, great downtempo production from Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, Swift's hauntingly beautiful vocals), the whimsical, fable-like atmosphere that adds a layer of wonder to the largely third person narratives spun in the lyrics and stirring magic of the run of songs from "Mirrorball" to "Invisible String" puts Folklore on another level of greatness.    

Standout Tracks: 1.Seven 2.August 3.Mirrorball

13.Kali Uchis-Sin mideo (del amor y otros demonios)

Colombian-American singer Uchis' first predominantly Spanish language release is an impassioned, intoxicating journey through the wide array of Latin music genres that influenced her artistry growing up as well as another stunning showcase of her exceptional versatility that I've enjoyed more with each listen and possibly would've contended for a top 10 spot if it hadn't been released so late in the year.

Standout Tracks: 1.//Aguradente y limon 2.telepatia 3.Vaya con dios

12.Black Crown Initiate-Violent Portraits of a Doomed Escape:

With its impressively nuanced songwriting, generally epic tone and nice balance of heavy/melodic moments, Violent Portraits of a Doomed Escape marks another notable step forward from this steadily improving progressive death metal quartet.

Standout Tracks: 1.Invatation 2.Trauma Bonds 3.Holy Silence

11.Dua Lipa-Future Nostalgia:

It only took two albums for Lipa to cement herself as a pop juggernaut. By going all in on infectious energy, big choruses and bouncy disco meets modern synthpop production, she creates a bubbly, glossy sugar rush of a record that serves as a very potent (not to mention, consistently effective) antidote to a shit mood. 

Standout Tracks: 1.Hallucinate 2.Levitating 3.Cool

10.21 Savage and Metro Boomin-Savage Mode II:

Hip hop's most prolific moden rapper/producer duo reunited after a little bit of time apart (their last full project together was 2017's Without Warning) and that 3-year gap did nothing to erode their deep artistic connection. 21 continues to up his confidence/technical prowess on the mic without shaking the deadpan aesthetic that makes his gangsta rap bars cut particularly deep while Metro takes advantage of 21's improvement to add some more upbeat textures and tempos (the almost soulful "Mr. Right Now", the old school west coast tribute "Steppin on N***as") to the beats without skimping on the cold, ominous cuts ("Glock in my Lap", "Runnin", "Snitches & Rats") that their musical partnership was built on. If these guys continue to remain in sync like this, I hope we get a dozen more entries in the Savage Mode series.    

Standout Tracks: 1.Glock in My Lap 2.Runnin 3.Brand New Draco

9.The Black Dahlia Murder-Verminous:

A bit of a cooldown after 2017's relentlessly blistering Nightbringers seemed inevitable for The Black Dahlia Murder and that's exactly what Verminous provides. Black Dahlia dives back into the eerily atmospheric sound they showcased on past efforts including 2013's Everblack and their 2007 classic Nocturnal with the type of unwavering giddiness, clinical songwriting precision and filler-free tracklist that have become so synonymous with their band that they feel practically guaranteed at this point.  

Standout Tracks: 1.The Leather Apron's Scorn 2.The Wereworm's Feast 3.Removal of the Oaken Stake

8.End-Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face:

Big shoutout to End-whose lineup includes Counterparts vocalist Brendan Murphy, Fit for an Autopsy guitarist Will Putney and Structures drummer Andrew McEnaney-for not only being the only metal supergroup that put something out in 2020 that lived up to the talent level of its members, but releasing one of the best heavy music records of the year period in Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face. This laser-focused debut LP (!) conjures up a vicious metalcore storm that dispenses a tidal wave of punishing, hopelessness-fueled chaos for 40 straight minutes and displays plenty of proof that its members-particularly Murphy and Putney-can excel outside of the established comfort zones of their primary groups. 

Standout Tracks: 1.Reach of Resurrection 2.Fear for Me Now 3.Covet Not

7.Halsey-Manic:

Although Badlands and Tragic Fountain Kingdom were middling records plagued with huge consistency issues, Halsey's huge potential always managed to shine through. On her third LP Manic, she (mostly) puts her past weaknesses to bed and capitalizes on her talent. From both a thematic and musical perspective, this record covers a lot of ground and that variety establishes a loose vibe that allows Halsey to be more vulnerable as a lyricist and dynamic as a vocalist-which results in a honest, lively and thoroughly memorable record that will hopefully go down as just the first great thing she puts out.   

Standout Tracks: 1.3AM 2.Graveyard 3.Still Learning

6.Kvelertak-Splid:

Since their inception, vocalist Erlend Hjelvik has been the focal point of Kvelertak. From his distinct shriek/growl/singing combo to the glowing eyed owl mask he sported at every live show, he made their unique hardcore punk/black metal/hard rock hybrid sound mesh and is the perfect spokesman for an act that positioned themselves as the guardians of all things cheesy and excessive. In a truly stunning turn of events, Hjelvik's departure ended up leading to the best material they've recorded since their groundbreaking 2010 self-titled debut. Not only does Hjelvik's replacement Ivar Nikoalisen do a great job of fitting Kvelertak's '80s rocker from hell vocal mold, his fiery presence provided their core guitarist/songwriting braintrust (Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland, Maciek Ofstad) with a needed jolt of inspiration that resulted in them coming out of the riff lab with some of the meatiest, shamelessly over-the-top guitarlines they've ever written.  

Standout Tracks: 1.Discord. 2.Uglas Hegemoni 3.Crack of Doom (feat. Troy Sanders)

5.Bring Me the Horizon-POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR:

Bring Me the Horizon's unexpected return to the world of metal takes the essence of the multiple 90's/00's genre trends (metalcore, nu metal, industrial metal) that shaped their early works and sprinkles in the hookiness/heavy electronic programming use they picked up during their recent pivot to synthpop to create a preposterously catchy, fun release that manages to hit all of the nostalgic pleasure centers while also sneakily morphing into something completely fresh. If the rest of this planned series of releases is in even the same stratosphere of quality as this, I'll happily stop actively slandering their first three albums.   

Standout Tracks: 1.Kingslayer (feat. BABYMETAL) 2.Obey (feat. Yungblud) 3.Ludens

4.Deftones-Ohms:

Apology accepted for Gore, Deftones. Reuniting with iconic producer Terry Date and actually letting guitarist Stephen Carpenter into the studio to drop some heavy riffs to put alongside the mellow ones they've favored in recent years not only atoned for the sins of its disturbingly lifeless predecessor, but allowed Deftones to churn out their most stunning, well-balanced and generally crisp-sounding group of tunes since their 2010 masterpiece Diamond Eyes.  

Standout Tracks: 1.Radiant City 2.Urantia 3.Genesis 

3.Run the Jewels-RTJ4:

Undeniably benefiting from an eerily timely release just a week after the killing of George Floyd, the latest tremendous collection of hardcore political hip hop anthems from Killer Mike and El-P provided catharsis, motivation and even some distractions for a world that needs their art now more than ever.    

Standout Tracks: 1.out of sight (feat. 2 Chainz) 2.walking in the snow (feat. Gangsta Boo) 3.the ground below

2.Rina Sawayama-Sawayama:

There are artists who bend the rules of a genre, then there artists like Rina Sawayama that actively destroy the concept of conventions entirely. Every time it seems like Sawayama is settling into a specific sound (Gaga-esque theatrical pop, Eurohouse, nu metal), it heads down a path that is completely unlike the one (and often more exciting) that came before it while retaining a preposterous level of catchiness at every rollicking, unpredictable turn. Having the courage, confidence and musical tools to pull off so many different styles over the course of one album without it ever feeling disjointed or half assed takes the work of a special artist and even after only two major releases, it's clear that Sawayama is in that rarefied air.  

Standout Tracks: 1.XS 2.Love Me 4 Me 3.Who's Gonna Save U Now?

1.The Weeknd-After Hours:

Starring down the barrel of 30 during the writing process for his much-anticipated seventh full length release put The Weeknd in a reflective headspace and the regrets that stemmed from that soul searching fueled a much different type of record from him. By creating a loose concept album centered around how he hurt himself and the people he cared about with the shallow, nihilistic antics of his 20's that  successfully combines the garage rawness of his early mixtapes with the infectious 80s-inspired pop of his recent offerings, The Weeknd is able to put together the most mature, dazzling release since his breakthrough 2011 effort House of Balloons.

Standout Tracks: 1.After Hours 2.Too Late 3.In Your Eyes