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Best and Worst Films from October 2020

Best Films from October 2020:

3. Thesis

I started my European Cinema Month during the end of October, and all three movies from this selection ended up on this list. The first one is this Spanish horror thriller that truly disturbed me in a couple of scenes while it was consistently suspenseful as well. In addition to that, Thesis is also a sophisticated tackling of our obsession with death and violence. Many of its twists and turns were super entertaining and very dark.

2. Aferim!

Aferim! is a Romanian period piece that depicts the harsh realities of living as a gypsy during the nineteenth century. They were basically slaves to the Romanians and some scenes in this movie are incredibly brutal and heartbreaking. Surprisingly enough for this dark material, Aferim! is also incredibly funny and insightful in its dialogue. The visuals are mesmerizing and the movie is a true western spectacle in its own right.

1. Children of Nature

I adore Children of Nature. I expected a good movie, but never did I expect this level of greatness. It’s a film that depicts old age in a heartbreaking manner with some truly sad scenes, but there are the lightweight, happy ones to counteract it. The nostalgia is felt throughout and a strong sense of melancholy while the direction, editing and cinematography are simply put perfection. Iceland has never looked more enchanting here, in particular due to the magical realist parts of this peculiar, otherworldly cinematic experience. It’s absolutely impeccable.

Worst Films from October 2020:

3. Oblivion

Oblivion had a lot of potential. Its visuals are superb and the performance from Tom Cruise is quite good. However, the characterization is bad, the pacing is horrible, the storyline is a mess and the movie is way too sluggish and derivative to make a bigger impact.

2. Quest for Camelot

Quest for Camelot was Warner Bros. answer to Disney’s owning of the animation market in the nineties, but it was a mediocre one. The villain is good, but the soundtrack is middling and so is the animation while the characterization and plot are unfortunately very weak.

1. Ice Age: Collision Course

This franchise has always been silly, but this installment was preposterous in its stupid plot. The characters are all underdeveloped, badly used and either annoying or downright frustrating. It’s by far the worst entry in this failing series that finally needs to die off like its creatures in question.