Everything Everywhere has Soul, while the bad ones go Looney and Doo Doo Little on us.

For the first time in CJ @ The Movies history, I’m presenting to you a special edition of the Midway Point. But this one commemorates the Best and Worst movies of the decade so far. The 2020s.

The Best Films of the 2020s So Far

5.) “The Boy and the Heron”

Hayao Miyazaki is an animating legend-creating one fantastic world after another through moods, tones, and commitment. His latest feature won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, as it should win for that, because he takes a boy going through pathos and places him in a world shared by the living and dead. There are giant parakeets, a short man disgusting himself as a heron, and bubble-like spirits who eventually come to the living world born as babies. You’ve never seen anything like it.

4.) “Sinners”

I just voted this vampire movie as the best film of 2025, because of how it takes advantage of the genre by connecting it with the past and present. It regards music and culture, and director Ryan Coogler and his star Michael B. Jordan (who plays twin gangsters this time) have proven themselves to be a dream team.

3.) “Soul”

Out of all the great Pixar films I’ve seen in the 2020s so far (“Turning Red,” “Inside Out 2,” etc.), none was more existential, more delightful, and more insightful about life than “Soul.” It’s also the best animated film I’ve seen this decade so far. Jamie Foxx voices an aspiring musician named Joe Gardner, who finds himself in the afterlife, and must help a cynical new soul named 22 (voiced by Tina Fey) find her purpose on Earth. And it’s all animated with some attention to detail, some Picasso, and all humanity. I’ll be surprised if there’s a better animated feature later on.

2.) “Oppenheimer”

Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning hit is one that knows the “father of the atomic bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer. And Cillian Murphy gives one of his best performances as Oppenheimer, along with an all-star cast of Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr, Kenneth Branagh, and Tom Conti as Albert Einstein. This is a history film and a blockbuster, one that really tests our senses and represents the fear of the detonation of the atom bomb. In fact, this is a timely and universal story.

1.) “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

I told Ke Huy Quan that this movie would so far be the best movie I saw this decade, and how surprised he was when he won the Oscar for his role. This is a multiverse movie like no other, one that loves movies, people, Chinese culture, and originality. The directors-Daniels-are pure geniuses in taking the genre to new heights and for having a terrific cast also with Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Zsu among others. The minute this movie won the final Oscar for Best Picture, my heart melted like butter on warm toast.

The Worst Films of the 2020s So Far

5.) “Coffee & Kareem

If you’ve ever met a kid named Kareem, you would think Veruca Salt is an angel, because this kid is a brat, a jerk, a racist, and a potty mouth. He’s an African-American kid, who hates the fact that his mom is dating a white cop named Coffee. Hence the title, which sounds like Coffee and Cream. I’ve been thinking less of this movie as time passes, but this one needs to cut into ukulele picks, as Roger Ebert would suggest.

4.) “Space Jam: A New Legacy”

Lebron James is big talent, but he was a big jerk in this spiritual sequel to the 1996 hit that combined basketball with the Looney Tunes. And it’s not just his talents being wasted, but the spectators of the big game are just Warner Bros IPs that don’t even interact with the characters, Porky has to rap as the Notorious P.I.G., and Rick and Morty’s cameo was the most interesting thing about the movie. I declare Wabbit Season on this mess.

3.) “Dolittle”

Robert Downey Jr. can talk to animals, and their voices include Emma Thompson, John Cena, and Kumail Nanjiani, but the only people talking are the critics who hated this movie. I am one of them, and I think I stepped in dog doo Dolittle.

2.) “Music”

This Sia-directed bomb was like a minstrel show for autistic people with a non-autistic actress like Maddie Ziegler making us look like idiots. And by “us,” I mean I’m autistic, too. But you should know that if you’ve read my bio or acknowledge that I’m on NEWHD Radio.

1.) “Madame Web”

The worst movie of the decade so far is also the worst superhero movie of the decade so far. Dakota Johnson, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, and Sydney Sweeney are all wasted in this Marvel debacle that takes place in a Spider person universe that Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy would be bored by. This isn’t a superhero movie, but a teaser for a superhero movie that’s happening in another universe. And we’re not in that universe.

Reminder: these are not my final choices, because 2029 is when we find out the overall winners and losers of the decade.