My Top 15 Movies of 2020

Well… 2020 sucked. Coronavirus has and is continuing to, wreak havoc. A lot of the movies everyone hoped to see got pushed back, who knows what the future of movie theaters looks like. But on the bright side, a lot of great movies, especially on the indie circuit came out. Also, I made a Letterboxd, so give me a follow on there. Here’s what I thought was best.

Also note Minari, Nomadland, and One Night in Miami didn’t have major releases yet so I haven't been able to see them, maybe they’ll be on next year’s list. Also shoutout to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which I watched just after putting out my 2020 list. It’s really good and on Hulu so check it out.

Documentaries I liked (and Hamilton because I’m not sure where else to put it)

• The Last Dance
• Boys State
• Feels Good Man
• Be Water
• Hamilton

Honorable Mentions

• Sonic The Hedgehog
• The High Note
• The Invisible Man
• The Personal History of David Copperfield
• Uncle Frank
• Spree
• The Broken Hearts Gallery
• Freaky
• King of Staten Island
• Love and Monsters
• The Climb (pictured)
• Happiest Season
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

15. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Directed by George C. Wolfe

This film adaptation of a stage play explores the exploitation of Black artists by white executives. Ma Rainey features a transformational performance by Viola Davis in the title role and Chadwick Boseman is his best and unfortunately final performance. Expect to hear more about this one when awards season starts to hype up.

14. Another Round

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg

Everyone’s imagined at some point or another what it would be like to be drunk on the clock. In Another Round four teachers led by Mads Mikkelsen attempt to improve their careers, love, and family lives by carrying a constant buzz during working hours. While the premise of the movie sounds very fratty, it gets surprisingly dark at some points. An electric ending dance sequence by Mikkelsen makes this one a must-see.

13. Tenet

Directed by Christopher Nolan

I’m not gonna even try to explain this movie, but if you like Nolan’s other movies you’ll like this too. John David Washington, Robert Pattison, and Elizabeth Debicki v̶i̶b̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶A̶m̶a̶l̶f̶i̶ ̶C̶o̶a̶s̶t̶ travel back and forth in time or something. I maybe understand like 40% of what’s going on but it looks really cool.

12. Wolfwalkers

Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart

One of the year’s biggest surprises and likely a Best Animated Picture winner if it wasn’t for a movie later on the list. Wolfwalkers is an Irish Animated film that explores humanity's relationship with nature as well as British Colonialism in Ireland surprisingly well for a kid’s movie where people turn into wolves. This has amazing visuals and a great soundtrack to match. Give it a shot.

11. Yes God Yes

Directed by Karen Maine

Karen Maine fleshes (hehe) out the world of her short film into a feature where Natalia Dyer discovers her sexuality and deals with the Catholic guilt that comes with it on a retreat. As someone who was Catholic educated and has gone on retreats similar to the one in this movie, Yes God Yes hits the experience right on the head. This one has some real laugh out loud moments while making you think about the hypocrisy in the way many religious institutions instruct sexual education.

10. The Gentlemen

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Like many other of Ritchie's films, The Gentlemen has an almost poetic swing and meter to it. This film has an all-star cast, fun set pieces, and witty dialogue. Succession’s Jeremy Strong has one of my favorite performances of the year. Also, there’s a scene shot at Arsenal’s home stadium, The Emirates so that’s dope.

9. Sound of Metal

Directed by Darius Marder

When fate cruelly takes away your dream, how do you move on? Sound of Metal sees a sensational Riz Ahmed as a metal drummer trying to adapt to life without hearing. This film’s sound design is incredible and it is really informative about the deaf community.

8. Da 5 Bloods

Directed by Spike Lee

One of my favorite character pieces of the year. Five War Vets go back to Vietnam to reclaim a treasure they left behind. This movie has some of the wildest twists of the year and some incredible moments. Delroy Lindo gives the performance of the year bar none.

7. Shithouse

Directed by Cooper Raiff

Cooper Raiff’s passion project is the ultimate “I miss college” movie for the year of online learning. This dialogue-heavy coming of age film shows why the college experience is so damn special and can’t be replicated properly in Zoom boxes. This surprisingly tender film (which was made for only $15K?!?!) is a homage to those special nights where you almost didn’t go out.

6. Bad Education

Directed by Corey Finley

This white-collar crime story is so Long Island it hurts. Hugh Jackman eating Long Island Pizza and Allison Janney going to Leslie’s Pool Supplies? Yep, that’s home. Even if you’re not from LI, this movie is a charismatic and fun fall from grace movie where rising star Geraldine Viswanathan’s student journalist character shows how powerful just giving a damn can be.

5. Big Time Adolescence

Directed by Jason Orley

This one has really slept on this year in my eyes perhaps overlooked by Davidson’s other feature King of Staten Island. In this coming of age film, Griffin Gluck befriends his older sister’s drug-dealing boyfriend played by Pete Davidson. This movie has a lot of heart, strong performances, and a resounding message about the hardest part of growing up: letting go.

4. First Cow

Directed by Kelly Reichardt

A great A24 movie to vibe out to. This surprisingly relaxed western features two friends trying to make a buck selling oily cakes using milk stolen from the only cow around. It's a great story of brotherhood and critique of capitalism with a really adorable cow: What’s not to like?

3. I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Directed by Charlie Kaufman

Probably the trippiest movie of this year. Breakout Jessie Buckley and the always reliable Jesse Plemons play a couple on the outs visiting the boyfriend’s house. Toxic Masculinity, Poetry, and Oklahoma! are a few of the things that come up in this masterpiece.

2. Soul

Directed by Pete Doctor.

Pixar once again knocks it out of the park in this story of Joe, a jazz musician who attempts to cheat death and get a second chance to live out his dream as a jazz musician. It’s a damn shame that this movie didn’t get the theatrical release it deserved because of the pandemic: the film’s iconic final scene deserves to be shown on the big screen. Soul is just one of those movies that remind you of why people love movies in the first place.

1. Palm Springs

Directed by Max Barbacow

A fun rom-com take on the “Groundhog Day” formula featuring Cristin Miloti and Andy Samberg. When these two find themselves in a time loop on the day of a wedding, everything possible can and will happen. The chemistry between the two leads, clever writing, and the supporting role of JK Simmons make this one definitely worth subscribing to Hulu (or borrowing someone’s password) for. Palm Springs is probably the most I’ve smiled at a movie in this horrible year