Top Ten Movies of 2020 (Sort of)

This past year, my Korean moviewatching was decidedly not highbrow so plenty of pulpy flicks have made the cut this December. Scanning the picks, I do see some themes tellingly repeating: Revenge, Underdogs, and Prison. Do these three concerns have anything to do with my being cooped up in an apartment and not knowing what to do with the fluctuating anxiety caused by the Coronavirus? Probably. Would I have picked different movies had I been living in a COVID-free world? Um, duh. But these films provided relief. And likewise should be honored.

1. The Shower: It's rarely a bad idea to build a movie around first love. The same could be said about first death. Here, you get both!

2. The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion: The diabolical military program employing twisted genetic engineering backfired but the resultant movie, helmed by Kim Da-mi, is a bona fide hit.

3. #Alive: Perfect for these pandemic times, this film features two housebound lovebirds who must navigate a zombified neighborhood whenever they step outside. Wear a mask!

4. Miss Baek: With her scarred legs, knotted hair, and butchered pinky, this flick's young charge should qualify for seasonal check-ins from the Make-a-Wish foundation.

5. Psychokinesis: The beleagured superhero movie gets a lift when a negligent dad drinks magical spring water shortly after his ex-wife dies.

6. Revenger: After watching this martial arts B-movie, you may ask yourself: Who the hell is Bruce Khan and where has he been all my life?

7. The Prison: This madcap men-behind-bars melee is a deliriously delightful Rube Goldberg machine of crime, cruelty, and power-tripping.

8. The Outlaws: If you want to watch Ma Dong-seok kick butt as a cop for two hours, have I got a blockbuster for you.

9. Ashfall: It seems only right to include a disaster movie in a top ten list for 2020.

10. The Drug King: Proof that Song Kang-ho can carry a messy movie if you supply a great '70s soundtrack and period perfect '70s garb.

Honorable Mentions: The Classified File, The Client, Failan, The Lost Choices, Piagol, and Yeong-ja's Heydays.

#Alive: Metaphor for the Moment

If you're looking for a movie that translates the anxiety of self-quarantine during the year of the Coronavirus, I may have found the perfect film for you. Entitled #Alive, Cho Il-hyeong's zombie thriller has a timely mix of isolation, paranoia, desperation, and insanity. Its hero — bleached-blond gamer Jun-woo (Yoo Ah-in) — is basically an everday Joe whose everday world completely disappears when an airborn virus mysteriously turns the majority of the population into rabid cannibals with cataracted eyes. A good part of the movie involves him all alone holed up in his apartment while failing to get word from the outside world and figuring out how to survive off a poorly stocked fridge while watching human-monsters run around the streets in search of food like him.

Eventually he develops a survival-friendship (with a touch of a crush) with a young woman (Park Shin-hye) who lives in the residential complex across the street; she's equally suicidal but somewhat savvier and unquestionably more savage when it comes to fighting off the enemy. (I mean, she wields a mean scythe, although why she has one is less clear. Then again, who cares?) Each becomes the other's main support — together, yet at a distance — as they navigate a sucky reality where stepping outside is suddenly high-risk and your neighbors cannot be automatically trusted. I can't say it's as great as Train to Busan but as zombie flicks go, it's not just well-timed. It's exhillarating! It's also a reminder that things could always get worse. So here's to tomorrow!