All of the new releases I saw in 2020 ranked in order from most best to least best:
1. Blow the Man Down
Two sisters struggle in a Maine fishing town
When a murder most fowl goes down
Residents anxiously wait
Police investigate
As what goes around then comes around
2. Clemency
There once was a torn prison warden
Who conducts the death of condemned men
One case is quite fraught
She struggles a lot
Her humanity tested in the pen
3. Palm Springs
A wedding guest stuck in a time loop
Two wedding guests stuck in a time loop
A new wedding each day
The same wedding each day
Two wedding guests stuck in a time loop
4. Tenet
A global terrorist plot
To traverse time and ensure a future fraught
Our protagonist can fight
Back and forth he left right
Destiny and time of web a in caught
5. The Forty-Year Old Version
A play-write clinging to her prime
Decides to change careers on a dime
Her half-hearted play
A reserved DJ
Pits prose against her urge to rhyme
6. Mangrove
There was a Caribbean community
Harassed by police with impunity
Nine go on trial
Testing racial denial
Fighting for justice at every opportunity
7. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
A relationship nearing its conclusion
Driving hours to meet a family in seclusion
It’s all in your head
It’s all in his head?
Oklahoma wind come sweeping past delusion
8. Minari
From sexing chickens to owning a farm
An Arkansas trailer with little charm
Cultures entangle
Grandma gets into trouble when able
Reaching for the American Dream with open arms
9. The Assistant
A young woman works for a boss
Who none of the employees dare cross
He abuses and yells
And knows what she tells
Complicity prevents her job loss
10. Color Out of Space
A meteor brings color and new friends
To a family out where the signal ends
A do-it-all hydrologist visits the site
And tries with all his might
Nic Cage’s mind the meteor bends
11. Onward
Two brothers out on a quest
To revive their Dads legs and the rest
Magic abound
Peril all around
Finding love when it was the real test
12. City Hall
Watching city operations
Municipal life presented sans narration
Not always fun
Makes the city run
Each aspect a person’s vocation
13. First Cow
Unlikely friends in the Old West
Find a secret ingredient to make their cakes best
Sales jump up real fast
But how long will it last
When their scheme is put to a rest
14. Wendy
There once was a town of wiley youth
Who reach for a world so uncouth
Adventure awaits
But time hesitates
Revealing the world and its truth
15. The Half of It
A teenager who doesn’t fit in
Finds a heart she’d give anything to win
She makes a new friend
Helps him plot to pretend
To leave and find what’s within
16. Just Mercy
There was a lawyer on a noble crusade
To free men who justice has betrayed
He was unwelcome he found
Racism all around
Giving hope to those he can aid
17. The Trial of the Chicago 7
Protest in the Windy City
Police violence leads to scenes not pretty
A political trial
The most raucous for a while
Classic Sorkin, banter extremely witty
18. Borat Subsquent Moviefilm
There was a reporter from Kazakhstan
Who comes to America once again
This time with his daughter
Meets some cultural squatters
Antics extremely on-brand
19. Da 5 Bloods
Men linked by trauma reunite
To find closure from an old fight
Examine their past
Their race and their class
Can’t escape even with all their might
20. Beanpole
Two women lost after the war
No idea what their future has in store
Relationships sour
In Leningrad every hour
Pain that can only bring more
21. Emma.
Regency England bring us a wealthy friend
Young Emma connives to the end
To keep up her social life
And perhaps make herself a wife
To her the others must bend
22. The Gentlemen
A PI gets caught up in a scheme
Gangsters warring over a drug money dream
He’s too clever by half
But doesn’t get the last laugh
Coach, in the end, saves the team
23. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
A spurned lover now takes her own lead
And on the pain of others she will feed
But when a child needs protecting
And her self-interest connecting
She forms a team of rivals to handle it with great speed
24. Trolls World Tour
The six Troll tribes lose their magic strings
And without them no dancing, no one sings
The Rock Trolls revel in their glory
It’s maybe a Cold War allegory
But in the end it’s redemption the Trolls bring
25. Wonder Woman 1984
There was a woman from an ancient isle
Who hasn’t seen her boyfriend in a while
But a magical rock
Delivers wishes with a shock
And Kristen Wiig turns into a cat
Slam Zuckert is a municipal bureaucrat. He sees a lot of movies and reads a lot of books and sometimes writes about them. His favorite movie is There Will Be Blood, his favorite mathematician is Georg Cantor, and his least favorite mathematician is Leopold Kronecker.
Keep it Going Louder 