Filmspotting

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“The flagship film podcast” featuring in-depth reviews, top 5 lists and interviews.

Filtering by Category: 2020

#810: Best Scenes of 2020

Opening Scene

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Adam

1. THE VAST OF NIGHT - “McBroom is looking for you”

2. PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN - “Boys”

3. THE INVISIBLE MAN - Escaping the mansion

4. BLOW THE MAN DOWN - Sailors’ shanty

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Josh

1. BLOW THE MAN DOWN - Sailors’ shanty


Funniest Moment

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Adam

1. THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS - Sneaking out the window

2. Palm Springs - Meet cute synchronized dance

3. I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS - “Directed by Robert Zemeckis”

4. MANK - “I already made my exit”

5. ON THE ROCKS - Felix talks his way out of a speeding ticket

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Josh

1. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST - THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA - “The elves went too far”!


Moving Moment

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Adam

1. THE PAINTER AND THE THIEF - Karl-Bertil sees his portrait

2. DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD - Ray’s eulogy + end hug

3. TIME - Reunion hug

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Josh

1. THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION - “Mamma May I”


Music Moment

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Adam

1. ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI - Final scene

2. DA 5 BLOODS - “Got To Give It Up”

3. ANOTHER ROUND - “What A Life”

4. PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN - “Stars Are Blind”

5. THE NEST - “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

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Josh

1. DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA - “Hell You Talmbout”


Scene of the Year

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Adam

1. LOVER’S ROCK - “Silly Games”

2. SOUND OF METAL - “Have you had any moments of stillness?

3. MANGROVE - “Fight me!”

4. THE VAST OF NIGHT - “We’ve got a sound we’d like to play”

5. MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM - Levee’s monologue

Josh

1. LOVER’S ROCK - “Silly Games”

#807-808: Top 10 Films of 2020

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Josh

1. Lover’s Rock
2. Soul
3. First Cow
4. Vitalina Varela
5. Relic
6. Dick Johnson Is Dead
7. The Assistant
8. The Forty-Year-Old Version
9. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
10. Mangrove

Adam

1. Lover's Rock
2. First Cow
3. One Night in Miami
4. Sound of Metal
5. The Painter and the Thief
6. The Truffle Hunters
7. Mank
8. The Trip to Greece
9. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
10. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom


MICHAEL PHILLIPS

1. Lover’s Rock
2. First Cow
3. David Byrne’s American Utopia
4. Nomadland
5. City So Real
6. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
7. The Assistant
8. Mangrove
9. The Vast of Night
10. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

TASHA ROBINSON

1. Small Axe
2. Boys State
3. Nomadland
4. The Trial of the Chicago 7
5. The Platform
6. Wolfwalkers
7. David Byrne’s American Utopia
8. First Cow
9. Dick Johnson Is Dead
10. Kajillionaire


Special Guest Picks

Chris Klimek: Tenet
Cat Sullivan: The Invisible Man
Melissa Tamminga: The Assistant
Scott Tobias: Dick Johnson Is Dead
Alison Willmore: Bacarau
Dave Chen: Sound of Metal
Mekado Murphy: Soul
Josh Youngerman (Listener): Nomadland
Aisha Harris: Lover's Rock


Summary

1 List: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets; Boys State; City So Real; The Forty-Year-Old Version; I'm Thinking of Ending Things; Kajillionaire; Mank; Never Rarely Sometimes Always; One Night in Miami; The Painter and the Thief; The Platform; Relic; Soul; Sound of Metal; The Trial of the Chicago 7; The Trip to Greece; The Truffle Hunters; The Vast of Night; Vitalina Varela; Wolfwalkers
2 Lists: The Assistant; David Byrne's American Utopia; Dick Johnson Is Dead; Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Mangrove; Nomadland
3 Lists: n/a
4 Lists: First Cow, Lover's Rock/Small Axe


#806: Best Performances (and More) of 2020

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Adam

Best Supporting Male Performance

  1. Leslie Odom, Jr., ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

  2. Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL

  3. Malachi Kirby, MANGROVE

  4. Bo Burnham, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

  5. Orion Lee, FIRST COW

Hon. Mention: Bill Murray, ON THE ROCKS; Mark Rylance, TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7; Michael Ward, LOVERS ROCK; Robert Pattinson, DEVIL ALL THE TIME + TENET

Best Supporting Female Performance

  1. Amanda Seyfried, MANK

  2. Margo Martindale, BLOW THE MAN DOWN

  3. Letitia Wright, MANGROVE

  4. Olivia Cooke, SOUND OF METAL

Hon. Mention: Mia Goth, EMMA; Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, LOVERS ROCK; Kiki Layne, THE OLD GUARD; Talia Ryder, NEVER RARELY...; Yeri Han, MINARI

Best Editing

  1. Gabriel Rhodes, TIME

  2. Jennifer Lame, TENET

  3. Mick Audsley & Peter Lambert, THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD

  4. Chris Dickens & Steve McQueen, LOVERS ROCK

  5. Kelly Reichardt, FIRST COW

Hon. Mention: Chris Dickens, MANGROVE; Kitty Green & Blair McClendon, THE ASSISTANT; Scott Cummings, NEVER RARELY...

Best Cinematography

  1. Gregory Kershaw & Michael Dweck, THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS

  2. Miguel Ioann Littin Menz, THE VAST OF NIGHT

  3. Alessandro Abate & Francesco Di Giacomo, MARTIN EDEN

  4. Christopher Blauvelt, FIRST COW

  5. Erik Messerschmidt, MANK

Hon. Mention: Lukasz Zal, I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS; Michael Latham, THE ASSISTANT; Shabier Kirchner, MANGROVE + LOVERS ROCK; Jay Keitel, SHE DIES TOMORROW

Milos Stehlik Breakthrough Filmmaker

  1. Darius Marder, SOUND OF METAL

  2. Regina King, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

  3. Andrew Patterson, THE VAST OF NIGHT

  4. Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy, BLOW THE MAN DOWN

  5. Emerald Fennell, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Hon. Mention: Garrett Bradley, TIME; Arthur Jones, FEELS GOOD MAN; Cooper Raiff, SHITHOUSE

Best Male Lead

  1. Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM

  2. Kingsley Ben-Adir, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

  3. Shaun Parkes, MANGROVE

  4. John Magaro, FIRST COW

  5. Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL

Hon. Mention: Jude Law, THE NEST; John Boyega, RED, WHITE AND BLUE; Mads Mikkelsen, ANOTHER ROUND

Best Female Lead

  1. Carrie Coon, THE NEST

  2. Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

  3. Jessie Buckley, I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS

  4. Carey Mulligan, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

  5. Viola Davis, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM

Hon. Mention: Julia Garner, THE ASSISTANT; Elisabeth Moss, THE INVISIBLE MAN; Anya Taylor-Joy, EMMA

Most Promising Performer

  1. Kingsley Ben-Adir, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

  2. Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARLEY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

  3. Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, LOVERS ROCK

  4. Eli Goree, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

  5. Orion Lee, FIRST COW

Hon. Mention: Michael Ward, LOVERS ROCK; Talia Ryder, NEVER RARELY...; Sierra McCormick, THE VAST OF NIGHT

Josh

Best Supporting Male Performance

  1. Malachi Kirby, MANGROVE

  2. Christopher Abbott, POSSESSOR

  3. Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL

  4. Michael Stuhlbarg, SHIRLEY

  5. Orion Lee, FIRST COW

Best Supporting Female Performance

  1. Margo Martindale, BLOW THE MAN DOWN

  2. Yeri Han, MINARI

  3. Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, LOVERS ROCK

  4. Amanda Seyfried, MANK

  5. Mia Goth, EMMA.

Best Editing

  1. Steve McQueen, Chris Dickens, LOVERS ROCK

  2. Gabriel Rhodes, TIME

  3. Nels Bangerter, DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD

  4. David Barker, SHIRLEY

  5. Matthew Hannam, POSSESSOR UNCUT

Best Cinematography

  1. Leonardo Simoes, VITALINA VARELA

  2. Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS

  3. Karim Hussain, POSSESSOR UNCUT

  4. Shabier Kirchner, LOVERS ROCK

  5. Christopher Blauvelt, FIRST COW

Milos Stehlik Breakthrough Filmmaker

  1. Natalie Erika James, RELIC

  2. Radha Blank, THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION

  3. Darius Marder, SOUND OF METAL

  4. Bridget Savage Cole and Daniell Krudy, BLOW THE MAN DOWN

  5. Andrew Patterson, THE VAST OF NIGHT

Best Male Lead

  1. Shaun Parkes, MANGROVE

  2. Jude Law, THE NEST

  3. Steven Yeun, MINARI

  4. Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

  5. Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL

Best Female Lead

  1. Carrie Coon, THE NEST

  2. Viola Davis, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

  3. Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

  4. Vitalina Varela, VITALINA VARELA

  5. Julia Garner, THE ASSISTANT

Most Promising Performer

  1. Sidney Flanigan, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

  2. Lovie Simone, SELAH AND THE SPADES

  3. Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, LOVERS ROCK

  4. Talia Ryder, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS

  5. Oona Roche, THE NEST

#800: Top 5 Questions about the Fall(ish) 2020 Movie Season

Adam

  1. Which stage adaptation will provide the best showcase for its immensely talented star who seems destined for a Best Actor nomination, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (Chadwick Boseman) or THE FATHER (Anthony Hopkins)?

  2. In the voice of your Documentary film prof... Compare/contrast Steve James’ (CITY SO REAL) and Frederick Wiseman’s (CITY HALL) presentation of local politics. What are the unique and common challenges between Chicago and Boston? How do the esteemed documentarians approach and express these challenges in similar or different ways? Does either provide a more hopeful view of civic engagement?

  3. Will ZAPPA be the rousing, competently made ‘70s rock god exploration that STARDUST almost surely will not be? Or will I have to seek my music fix in SOUND OF METAL?

  4. Who will I most wish I could be stuck longer with: Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke (ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI); Martha and Franklin (SMALL AXE LOVERS ROCK); or the ‘friend’ and family of HAPPIEST SEASON?

  5. Will LUPIN III: THE FIRST steal the animation-fan hearts of the Kempenaars and successfully relaunch our family movie nights?

Josh

  1. Will Wolfwalkers or Soul overtake Weathering With You as my favorite animated movie of the year? (Wolfwalkers, Soul)

  2. Will Steven Yuen make it a trifecta with Minari? (Minari)

  3. Can I handle another dementia movie? (The Father)

  4. Will The Truffle Hunters do for truffles what Honeyland did for honey? (The Truffle Hunters)

  5. Is George Clooney, director, DOA? (The Midnight Sky)

#799: Top 5 High-Concept Horror Movies

Adam: Top 5 High-Concept Horror Movies (I really want to see)

  1. Pontypool

  2. Happy Death Day

  3. Teeth

  4. House

  5. [REC]

Josh: Top 5 High-Concept Horror Movies

  1. “Birds go bonkers” - The Birds

  2. “A proudly virginal high schooler discovers she has teeth … well, where there shouldn’t be any.” (Teeth)

  3. “A vegetarian vet student develops an insatiable desire for meat” (Raw)

  4. “If you say a killer’s name in the mirror five times, he’ll appear” (Candyman)

  5. “A malevolent spirit haunts a chat room” (Unfriended)

#796: Top 5 Mozart Moments in Movies

Adam

  1. A Man Escaped (Great Mass in C Minor, K. 427: 1. Kyrie) — Scene | Music

  2. Amadeus (Serenade K361 "Gran Partita" for 13 wind instruments: Adagio) — Scene | Music

  3. Moonlight (Laudate Dominum from Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, K. 339) — Scene: at 13:20 on Netflix | Music

  4. Alien (Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525 "Eine kleine Nachtmusik": II. Romanze: Andante)

  5. The Tree of Life (Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile": II. Andante) — Scene | Music


 
 

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