The Year 2020 in Movies

With the oddness that has been the year 2020, new movie releases have been few and far between. Matt Lynn Digital continued to look into the past for movies to enjoy and review with you. The year saw us review thirty-six (36) films through the year, which we will share with you by decade, shared from highest rated to lowest.

(Argo starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and  John Goodman was a 2012 gem that leads the 2010s with 4.5-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Argo (2012) leads the way for movies from the 2010s. The film earned 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 stars, which is the highest rating matched only twice for movies this year. Earning 4.0-stars for the decade were Game Night (2018) starring Jason Batemen and Rachel McAdams, Captain Phillips (2013) starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi and The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) starring Matthew McConaughey and, for a second time this decade, Bryan Cranston.

(Matt Damon makes two appearances for the 2010s, the first with the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari).

 Ford v Ferrari (2019) offers the first of two starring roles in the Matt Lynn Digital movie reviews for Matt Damon and Christian Bale. The story of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans earn a rating of 3.75-stars along with The Martian (2015), which starred Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig and Jeff Daniels and Gravity (2013) starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and Ed Harris.

(Tom Hanks returns to our list with the 4.25-stars granted Cast Away by Matt Lynn Digital).

The Robert Zemeckis film Cast Away (2000) starts in the holiday season where the character portrayed by Tom Hanks faces tremendous odds while delivering an outstanding movie granted 4.25-stars. The movie Ray (2004), starring Jamie Foxx in the role as Ray Charles and the Ang Lee movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) starring Michelle Yeoh and Yun-Fat Chow each earned 4-stars in their 2020 reviews.

(The Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York featured among the best portrayals of a movie villain ever delivered by Daniel Day-Lewis. The film earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Gangs of New York (2002) leads a stable of five movies to earn 3.75-stars from the decade that began the 21st century. While prominent, the performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson and John C. Reilly held sway in part for where the ranking placed. Other films from this decade gaining 3.75-stars included The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, The Blind Side (2009) starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, Friday Night Lights (2004) starring Lucas Black, Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw, and Elf (2003) starring Will Ferrell, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel.  The Skulls (2000) starring Joshua Jackson,  Paul Walker and  Craig T. Nelson earned 3.5-stars.

(Fight Club starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter and the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco lead the 1990s with 4.5-stars granted by Matt Lynn Digital).

The film Fight Club (1999) and the film Goodfellas (1990) bookend the 1990s with a pair of movies earning the 2020 top rating of 4.5-stars offered by Matt Lynn Digital. The football movie Rudy (1993) starring Sean Astin and Ned Beatty is joined by baseball movie The Sandlot (1993) with Denis Leary and the military, political intrigue movie The Hunt for Red October (1990) starring Sean Connery, James Earl Jones, Alec Baldwin and Sam Neill with ratings of 4.0-stars.

(For Love of the Game starring Kevin Costner, John C. Reilly and Kelly Preston lead 1990s films getting 3.75-stars by Matt Lynn Digital).

Baseball and borderline romantic comedy film For Love of the Game (1999) earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital in 2020. The film Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) with  Richard Dreyfuss and the Ron Howard film Far and Away (1992) with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman join For Love of the Game with 3.75-stars. Earning 3.25 stars is the film The Usual Suspects (1995), which starred Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Pollak.

(The Brian De Palma and Oliver Stone film Scarface with  Al Pacino,  Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Loggia and Steven Bauer kicks off the 1980s with a 4-star rating by Matt Lynn Digital).

The 4-stars earned by the organized crime movie Scarface (1983) is joined by the Steven Spielberg film Empire of the Sun (1987) starring Christian Bale, John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano and Tim Burton‘s film Beetlejuice (1988) starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. The Richard Donner film Scroooged (1988) starring Bill Murray, John Forsythe, David Johansen and Carol Kane completes the decade with 3.75-stars.

(Ridley Scott‘s film Alien starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and Ian Holm earns the best rating of the 1970s for Matt Lynn Digital at 4.25-stars).

Alien (1979) closed out the 1970s with quite the impact, garnering 4.25-stars for a science fiction story that stands on its own. The Martin Scorsese concert goodbye The Last Waltz (1978) with The Band leads three other productions getting 3.75-stars. Joining The Last Waltz with 3.75-stars include the baseball movie The Bad News Bears (1976) with Walter Mathau and Tatum O’Neal, the western movie The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) starring Clint Eastwood and John Vernon and the comedic war movie Kelly’s Heroes (1970) starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’ Connor and Gavin MacLeod.

(The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance and The Lady Vanishes achieved two different things in two different decades to complete the movie reviews by Matt Lynn Digital in 2020).

The John Ford movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance (1962) starred John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin and Vera Miles in a western that earned 3.75-stars. The Lady Vanishes (1938) put Alfred Hitchcock on the proverbial map with a political commentary in the guise of a thriller starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas and May Whitty. The Lady Vanishes earned 4.0-stars from Matt Lynn Digital.

(Blog friend Cobra reviewed the movies Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight in a single sharing on Matt Lynn Digital).

Matt Lynn Digital also enjoyed sharing a review of Richard Linklater‘s Before Trilogy of movies. Blog friend Cobra reviewed Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013) in a single review. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy explore the notion of relationships a bit more fully and cleverly than often happens with any movie franchise. It is with thanks that we look back to this sharing.

Share the Matt Lynn Digital blog with your friends if you see value in what we are doing. We feel these reviews provide excellent content that we would like to continue offering.

Matt – Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter in the film ‘Fight Club’

A cup of toxic masculinity today? A side of questionable mental health and an unreliable narrator? How about a slice of did she really exist? Also a possible stand in for other metaphorical equivalents, the film Fight Club (1999) is the subject of today’s review. This review includes spoilers; know that I recommend you watch the film. Continue reading now or come back after watching the film.

(From left, Edward Norton as Narrator Jack and Meat Loaf as Robert Paulson in the 1999 film Fight Club).

Edward Norton stars as the unreliable narrator who we in the audience come to know as Jack through the course of the film Fight Club, which is based on the 1996 book Fight Club: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk. We’re introduced to the notion that our noble narrator might have some emotional struggles early on as he moves from support group to support group, regardless of having the underlying issue at the core of each group. It is in this environment where Jack meets Bob Paulson, later Robert Paulson and portrayed by Meatloaf. It’s also in this environment that we meet Marla Singer as portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter.

(From left, Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer and Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in the film Fight Club).

It is in the relationships with Paulson and Singer that we begin to get a notion for discreet disconnects in the personality of Jack. The nature of the disconnects become much to obvious to ignore when we meet the character Tyler Durden as portrayed by Brad Pitt. If you’ve never watched Fight Club, or you are up for another viewing, offer special notice of the relationship Jack has with Singer and Durden in particular. Notice also the ancillary details offered in these performances, as the story really excels at the subtle offering of clues along the way.

(Zach Grenier as Richard Chesler in the film Fight Club).

Richard Chester, as portrayed by Zach Grenier, is Jack’s boss for an automobile company. Chester witnesses the truth of Jack’s character, as revealed fully to the audience, perhaps first among the many characters in the movie. The storytelling means of revealing this information is expertly accomplished because the dialogue and action explains exactly how the world experiences Jack. Chester’s response in the face of what is unwell in Jack stands in well for the audience in addition to being the critique of the culture underpinning the actions of Tyler and Jack.

(From left, Brad Pitt and Fight Club director David Fincher at a promotional event for Fight Club).

David Fincher directed Fight Club, bringing the dark edge to the full expression of the film that has been something of a signature of his films. In offering an additional twist not explicitly spelled out by the film, yet suggested explicitly and interestingly by That Film Theory, is it possible that the big reveal we get at the end of the film regarding Tyler Durden and Jack aren’t the only dramatic plot twists? Is it possible that Marla Singer also exists only in the mind of Edward Norton‘s character? The video included with the link to That Film Theory offers an interesting take with observations from the film. Even the closing dress of Jack and Marla to close the film leaves this possibility open.

(From left, Edward Norton as Narrator Jack and Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer in the film Fight Club).

The film Fight Club offers much for the careful film viewer looking to be entertained. The subject matter is not for everyone, for sure. If this film might be your style, you will be rewarded with the viewing. I rate Fight Club at 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe and the film ‘Motherless Brooklyn’

The film Motherless Brooklyn (2019) sets itself against the backdrop of 1950s New York City with a puzzle for lead character and private detective Lionel Essrog, as played by film director Edward Norton, in the starring role. Essrog battles Tourette’s Syndrome, and as a result is taken under the wing of Frank Minna, as played by Bruce Willis, from childhood.

(Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Laura Rose, left, and Edward Norton as Lionel Essrog in the film Motherless Brooklyn).

Frank Minna sets the story in motion with a shady proposition to extort more payment for his business from businessmen whose background Minna keeps deliberately vague. Using the photographic memory of Essrog to plant puzzles for a crime solving plan for the private detective, things turning sideways for that deal reveals a story that offers a degree of potential character depth that isn’t present in many contemporary movies.

(Bruce Willis as Frank Minna, left, Willem Dafoe as Paul, center, and Alec Baldwin as Moses Randolph in the film Motherless Brooklyn).

The pieces suggest involvement by characters Paul, as played by Willem Dafoe, Laura Rose as played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Moses Randolph as played by Alec Baldwin. Randolph, a character written into the book Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem, resembles power broker Robert Moses as described in the book The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro. The intrigue within the movie, a project brought to the movies due to Norton, includes intrigue that in part includes character Tony Vermonte as played by Bobby Cannavale.

(Bobby Cannavale as Tony Vermonte in the film Motherless Brooklyn).

The Rotten Tomatoes listing for the film Motherless Brooklyn rightly mentions the film takes the story from the “gin-soaked jazz clubs in Harlem to the hard-edged slums of Brooklyn”. The film aims for setting a mood, a place, and a feeling of corruption fighting that works if understood through the lens of those constructs, some of which Norton seems to have added into the film’s screenplay. The film largely worked for me due to this, which leads me to my rating of 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, November 20, 2019