Kirkwood Library's Nic Champion's Best Movies Of 2020

From the Kirkwood Public Library:

December 26, 2020

By Nic Champion

For full descriptions, check out my article for TheArtsSTL!

1. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
2. First Cow
3. A Girl Missing
4. The Hottest August
5. Dogs Don’t Wear Pants
6. Miss Juneteenth
7. The Mole Agent
8. The Invisible Man
9. Feels Good Man
10. Deerskin

Honorable Mentions

Tesla– A bungled attempt at the experimental biopic, but when it does work, it soars.

The Personal History of David Copperfield– Near perfect cast (can’t beat W.C. Fields’s Mr. Micawber), weird and sometimes irritating pacing.

Dick Johnson is Dead– Emotionally potent documentary with a wonderful premise that doesn’t quite get off the ground. Still, a great film, would probably be #11 on my list if there were a #11.

The Viewing Booth- An amazing documentary that never got a release. If it ever does I’ll do my best to bring it here.

Crestone- Same with this one.

The Assistant– I prefer Kitty Green’s documentary work, but this movie felt like a cold slap and I dig it.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always– Excellent cast and script. Somewhat removed direction, but that’s probably intentional.

Sorry We Missed You– Pretty good social realism from the master of social realism, Ken Loach. Doesn’t have the charismatic protagonist of I, Daniel Blake, but a good ensemble of little-known actors playing a very believable family.

The Painter and the Thief– Emotional and somewhat dark documentary, not quite as rich and resolved as it could be, but still pretty interesting.

Zombi Child– A good, weird Bertrand Bonello movie, but not quite as good or weird as his best work.

Rewind– Conventional but gripping documentary. Difficult subject matter.

Nic Champion is a Customer Service Associate and Reference Librarian at the Kirkwood Public Library, and he moonlights as a film critic for online publications. Among his favorite filmmakers are Bong Joon-ho, Buster Keaton, and Todd Solondz. In addition to film, Nic's other interests include reading authors such as Jon Ronson and Haruki Murakami, discovering new music, and researching any topic that catches his curiosity.

This press release was produced by the Kirkwood Public Library. The views expressed are the author's own.