Stew’s Top 20 Movies Of The Half-Decade (#20 – 11)

The 2020’s are half-over!

To most of us, that’s probably crazy, as it signals the inexorable onward march of time and our own eventual decay. I was born in 1980; I still view events from the early 2000’s as “probably, like, ten years ago”. So to figure that 2020–the dreaded year 2020, home of COVID-19!–was HALF A DECADE AGO is astounding. It was January 2020 when I had an emergency appendectomy, and that was five years ago as I write this. It still feels so recent!

But as the decade is in its waning years, I’ve decided to look back at what started the 2020’s off and judge what my favorites have been. I think it’s been a really solid decade of cinema so far, but I’m also a man of very simple tastes (as my #20 entry will make abundantly clear; I like big, dumb movies perfectly fine).

I’m sure there will be mild inconsistency here. If you look at articles I’ve written in the last few years ranking my favorites of the year, you may be able to say “You once put This over That, but now you have That making the list, but not This. What gives?!”. Well, I guess my opinion changed. And a lot of the list came down to “If I had to re-watch twenty movies right now, which would I watch?”

Oppenheimer comes to mind.

I love Oppenheimer; I think it’s a marvelous film. It doesn’t make this list. Because as good as it is, I don’t think I ever need to watch it again in my life. And this isn’t the list of movies I necessarily think are the objective and technical best; it’s a list of what were my favorites.

So with that in mind, let’s dig in!

20. Bullet Train

For my full review, click HERE!

I ain’t even feel bad, and you can’t make me feel bad in the comments. I unabashedly love this flick.

It shares the same DNA as Big Trouble In Little China where you spend the entire flick thinking this is a White Savior trope, only for the movie to turn that trope on its ear by having our protagonist be wildly inept as as an actual Asian hero emerges and saves the day.

Along the way to that point, you’ve got a loaded cast with tons of star power. And the movie is just fun. It allows Brad Pitt to play into his comedy strengths (I’ve long said Pitt could have been one of the best comedic actors of all time if he didn’t look like Brad Pitt and get cast as such), and the action is phenomenal.

So yeah, I really enjoy this. You don’t have to have. But respect the pick!

19. The Banshees Of Inisherin

In a ranking that will blow film snobs’ minds, I have The Banshees Of Inisherin rated SLIGHTLY higher than Bullet Train. But it is close.

I loved this in theaters, though I have not seen it since then. The surprisingly darkly comedic turn it takes blew my mind, but even before that, the simple story of two friends who just… aren’t friends anymore is so relatable and engaging. Colin Farrell’s bewilderment at Brendan Gleason’s decisions in this film is so palpable as he delivers a very strong performance. Gleason obviously matches him every step of the way, and the two have impeccable chemistry dating back to their time together on In Bruges.

Beyond the two of them, you have Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon also muscling in to the picture and delivering awards-worthy jobs in their roles. This is one of those pictures where everything just came together and everyone put on their working boots. It’s so damn good.

Even a little bit better than Bullet Train.!

18. Top Gun: Maverick

Okay, I’ll quit referencing Bullet Train.. There were, after all, better action movies from the past ha’-decade.

I went into Top Gun: Maverick expecting very little. I’m not a particularly big fan of the original Top Gun, which I watched right before Maverick came out to be ahead of the curve, and… I don’t get it. It’s not a very good movie. It’s boring, and there’s barely any plot.

But whatever… it became a beloved–or at least somewhat-fondly-remembered–piece of 80’s legend, and it would have been easy enough for Tom Cruise to pop out and put together a similar effort in the 2020’s.

What we got instead was one of the greatest action movies ever made.

Top Gun: Maverick is a white-knuckler for sure; I distinctly recall sitting in the Dolby theater of my local AMC and just gripping the armrests for all that I had in me. It’s a great ride with tremendous effects and, of course, the incomparable Cruise.

17. CODA

I really loved the dynamics of all of the characters here. They felt real, genuine. Everything about this felt pretty earned. It’s maybe a bit over-happy at the end (we never do see how the family can suddenly afford the interpreter the whole movie told us they couldn’t), but the story does a solid job making you WANT everyone to win, so I didn’t care.

Stellar performances from Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, and Eugenio Derbez. Jones carries the movie as the star, but Kotsur and Derbez in particular are so damn strong.

So yeah, it’s a heartfelt, realistic, grounded, coming of age movie about reconciling with your family when you are almost alien to them. I really liked this! I don’t get why history isn’t particularly kind to this flick. Sure it won Best Picture in a really down year, but that’s not this movie’s fault. And the 2010’s were littered with worse winners in worse years than CODA.

16. Bloody Hell

We can’t get too far into any list of movies I love without talking about about Horror, and if the film in question is a Horror-Comedy? Even better. One of my two favorite genres (and we’ll get plenty of the other genre in the top ten, don’t worry). This has become my absolute go-to since I’ve seen it when people have asked me to recommend a little-seen Horror film to them.

This was just an absolute joy of a horror-comedy romp, with Ben O’Toole turning in a Bruce Campbell-lite performance, a smart and funny story, and a really interesting conceit of our protagonist having a bit of a screw loose.

The story is of Rex, a former military man who thwarts a bank robbery… but for his tactics in doing so, is sent to prison for 8 years. Upon release he decides to get away from it all and finds something so, so much worse.

One of those gems you find on Shudder while just hoping to dig up something watchable. I’m really glad we came upon this!

15. Nimona

For my full review, click HERE!

The 2020’s have proven to be a good decade (so far) for animation, and this Netflix offering is the first of FOUR animated outings to make the top twenty. So buckle in, because I hope you dig cartoons.

Nimona is a bit predictable and a touch saccharine at the end, but it’s also incredibly witty. Nimona herself is one of my favorite new characters of the 2020’s (well, new to ME, as this was based on a graphic novel property), as she is a bad-ass warrior with a great sense of humor and a fun power, but you can always tell she is fighting a buried tragedy in her past.

14. John Wick Chapter 4

Top Gun: Maverick AND John Wick Chapter 4? We have been spoiled for action movies in the 2020’s so far.

John Wick’s fourth outing is a never-ending thrill ride of memorable action set pieces. You could legitimately leave the theater with four friends, and each of you could have a different but equally viable favorite action scene in the movie. Reeves, Chad Stahelski, and the rest of the cast and crew left everything they had in this one. It leaves me worrying a bit about future spin-offs such as Ballerina; What could possibly be left that this franchise hasn’t done yet?

Regardless, Wick 4 pays the series off handsomely, as it gives the titular character the send-off that makes the most sense for him, introduces even more fun opponents for him to punch, kick, and shoot his way past, and delivers even with a whopper of a runtime.

13. Barbie

For my full review, click HERE!

Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s pinksplosion of what it’s like to be a woman and faced with impossible expectations climbs up to #13 on my list.

Robbie, America Ferrara, and Ryan Gosling (another actor who could have an unimpeachable comedy career if not for the fact that he looks like typical leading man Ryan Gosling) carry a really special picture. The movie has crept all over the cultural zeitgeist, and it has left its impression everywhere.

12. Flow

This would have ranked quite high in my recent Top 30 Of 2024 list… if only I had actually seen it before January. As it is, you are getting a sneak peak at what will surely rate fairly high at the end of 2025 when I get to my Best First Time Watches list.

Flow is outstanding. The story is really engaging, and the runtime FLIES by. It really did not feel like I sat there for almost an hour and a half. When the film ended, I thought there was still twenty minutes or so left. That’s a big deal for my piddly ass, as I usually complain every movie under the sun is too damned long. But I easily could have been swallowed up in Flow’s waves for another half an hour and been completely at ease.

The animation is beautiful. It’s really remarkable what we can do with animation these days between the Spider-Verse movies, Wild Robot, Weathering With You, and this. Water can’t be an easy thing to animate, but Flow makes it look effortless.

11. Hundreds Of Beavers

I’ve talked so much about Hundreds Of Beavers lately. Between my full-length review, which you can find HERE, and my ranking of it in my Top 30 Of 2024, which you can find HERE.

What is even left to say?

Just: watch it! If you STILL haven’t taken my advice, here is yet another directive for you: go find Hundreds Of Beavers (it’s free on a few different services) and WATCH IT.

Thank me later.

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Well that’s the top half of this list. What’s left for the top ten? Well…

One movie character makes two appearances.

One director has two appearances, too.

The other two animated films I alluded to are covered.

And #1 is no less than a movie that changed cinema for me.

Until next time… take care!