2020 SLEEPERS

                                                                 Part 1

        This is the first of a projected two-part series on 2020 movies I thought were pretty good but didn’t get much play. Not that anything got much play! I will note that in prior years I would have four or five sleepers columns. Alas, the pandemic took its toll on the number of films. (And on everything else.)

The last Brian Dennehy movie before his death was the excellent Driveways. It is the story of a young Asian-American mother and her son moving into her deceased sister’s house to clean it out. Next door is Del (Dennehy), an aging Vietnam veteran who lives alone. Shy 8-year-old Cody gradually becomes friends with him. The unlikely partnership grows closer with time. I loved this movie (gave it a 9)! 

Supernova is an incredibly moving film starring Colin Firth as Sam and Stanley Tucci as Tusker. They are a pair of same sex lovers who have been together for many years. Tusker is slowly dying of dementia and they take one last trip together, visiting family and friends throughout Britain. Tusker reveals he wishes to take his own life before his dementia gets any worse. Sam is horrified and they argue about it. The ending had me tearing up.

The oddly, but appropriately, named Dick Johnson Is Dead is the true story of director Kirsten Johnson convincing her father, the title figure, to film a number of scenes in which he is killed or just dies. He is suffering from dementia and goes along with her rather blackish humor plot. Not fo all tastes, and certainly off the beaten path.

Alone is not your cup of tea if “woman in distress” films bother you. But, if you’re ok with that plot, this is an excellent nail biter about a woman trying to get away from a stone cold killer. I won’t reveal the ending except to say it probably isn’t what you thought it would be. The actors are all unknowns, but they do a good job. 

Collective is from Romania, of all places. It is a documentary about corruption on the highest levels in that country. Investigative reporters unearth the fact that the disinfectant used in most hospitals is ineffective. It is made by the country’s largest drug company, which denies that their product is faulty. The journalists persist. This is one heck of a story and the only reason I gave it a 7 is I thought it stopped too soon. And I realize that a film nominated for Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film is hardly a sleeper. But it is still fairly obscure so I’m using it. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. Driveways is fine for all ages. The rest are for adults. 

                                           THE FORGOTTEN WAR- 70 YEARS LATER

Unbelievably (to me, anyway) this year marks more than 70 years since the Korean War began in 1950. While nowhere near the fertile movie ground of WWII or Viet Nam, Korea did spawn a hand full of excellent films.

M*A*S*H (1970) has a much darker, manic tone than the popular TV series. It starred Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Sally Kellerman, Tom Skeritt, Gary Burghoff and Bud Cort. They were virtual unknowns. M*A*S*H is director Robert Altman’s breakthrough film. Its bloody O.R. and irreverent wisecracks are a microcosm of the war.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is a good political thriller that features heart-pounding suspense and some neat plot twists.  Frank Sinatra is good as a government agent as is Angela Lansbury, uncharacteristically venomous . Some wag has said Lawrence Harvey was typecast as an automaton, but he makes a good one. Harvey was a POW of the North Koreans, and they have tried to program him into the perfect killing machine. Can Sinatra reprogram him?

A James Michener story is the basis for Men Of The Fighting Lady (1954) with Van Johnson and Walter Pigeon. The Lady of the title is the aircraft carrier from which dangerous raids are launched into North Korea. The battle footage and special effects are so good that the Pentagon called Film Editor Gene Ruggiero on the carpet to explain how he got this footage. The answer was, standard war footage and painted backdrops, skillfully edited. It was good enough for the Pentagon and good enough for an Oscar, too.

Another Michener tale is the backbone of Sayonara (1957) which garnered Supporting Actor Oscars for Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki. Marlon Brando, James Garner and Martha Scott complete the cast of this tale of interracial love during the Korean War. Frankly, it's a little dated, but has its moments.

The Steel Helmet (1951) was actually made during the Korean War.  It is directed by a virtual unknown, Samuel Fuller, and the best known cast member is Steve Brodie. And yet, it probably comes about as close as any movie to showing what it was really like in Korea. This is a very good sleeper.

Pork Chop Hill (1959) was an actual place in Korea, and this fine movie portrays an American unit's order to hold the hill against the advancing Chinese hordes at all cost. Gregory Peck heads a stellar cast that also features Rip Torn, George Peppard and Harry Guardino. Hard-hitting and authentic, it has a decidedly dark tone like most movies about the Korean War. 

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. None are suitable for children under 12.

                                                             The Best of 2020

After several requests to post my best films of the year for 2020, I decided to go ahead with it. I have not darkened the doors of a movie theater since February 2020. That means that all of these films have been watched at home, and to me that’s a rather large grain of salt to add to this list. I have no idea on what system I saw them. I also watched a bunch of series (so did you, right?) and I have tried to weed those out and proceed with single shot movies. And there are still well-reviewed 2020 films I haven’t been able to see but hope to before too much longer. No 10s this year but some good movies anyway. So here goes: 

1- Nomadland:  9

2- News of the World:  9

3- Driveways: 9

4- Promising Young Woman: 9

5- The Father: 8

6- Soul: 8

7- Supernova: 8

8- The Trial of the Chicago 7:  8

9- Dick Johnson Is Dead:  8

10- Alone:  8

11- One Night In Miami:  8

The sevens are in no particular order. 

Sylvie’s Love 7

Enola Holmes 7

Rebecca 7

The Trip To Greece 7

Emma 7

Ammonite 7

The Way Back 7

Collective 7

Mulan 7

Let Him Go 7

Da 5 Bloods 7

The Photograph 7

Mank 7

The Old Guard 7

Onward 7

The Midnight Sky 7

Stray 7

Minari 7

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 7

I don’t usually include the 7s but the list seemed skimpy without them. A number of films on this list will show up in 2020 sleepers articles, which cannot be far behind!

                                                         CELEBRATING AMERICA

While it’s true that some folks still see America as The Great Satan, the fact is that most of them like us individually and we are still the hope of the world. Let’s indulge in some movies that celebrate our country!

Never doubt that America has The Right Stuff (1983). This celebration of the early days of the space program and the heroism of the astronauts and the ground staff justifiably fill our souls with pride in our country. Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Sam Sheppard and Dennis Quaid lead a stellar ensemble cast in the true story of one of mankind’s greatest adventures. 

It’s hard to pick just one war movie, but my choice is The Great Escape (1963) a prison camp film featuring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner and James Coburn. The ingenious methods concocted to escape and the indomitable will to do so carry this excellent adventure. McQueen topped his career in this one. Also highly recommended is The Big Red One (1980), showing the unique qualities of the American soldier.

It would be hard to find a sunnier, happier, more American story than Oklahoma! (1955), Rogers and Hammersteins love song to our country, brought gloriously to the screen. Gordon McRae and Shirley Jones are in wonderful voice, leading the cast in one of the best scores ever written. What an upper! And in this category, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) with James Cagney as the legendary George M. Cohan, is another winner.

     Somewhat off the beaten track, but a stunning portrait of what’s right with America, is Grand Canyon (1991). Danny Glover, Steve Martin, and Kevin Cline headline a fine cast in Lawrence Kasdan’s entertaining study of some of the problems we have and how we help each other through them. This is a life-affirming anthem to America without overt sentimentality

.America, America (1963) is Elia Kazan’s love song to his adopted land and is a wonderful film about the experience of Greek immigrants to our shores, including an unforgettable trip through Ellis Island. 

Just as good is Barry Levinson’s superb Avalon (1990) about Jewish immigrants to his beloved Baltimore. The importance of family, and the impact of the new land on it, are the core of this fine film. 

One of the greatest things about America is our talent for innovation, our ability to break through patterns and find new ways. In Apollo 13 (1995) those abilities are sorely needed in this gut-wrenching, true account of a lunar mission that almost jumped the tracks. Both the engineers and the astronauts broke the mold and found a way to deal with unprecedented problems. The fact that you know how it turns out doesn’t detract one whit from the suspense. This is a real white-knuckler. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton and Gary Sinise head a good cast.

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are suitable for kids 10 and up.