Top Ten Films of 2020

I went to a film festival in March. It was the first week of March and I got sick. I don’t have proof that it was COVID. But I had all the symptoms. We saw so many people and went so many places. I saw friends after that. Looking back, even though I didn’t know how serious it was at the time, that was maybe the most dangerous thing I’ve done. That seems over the top to some maybe. I don’t think it is.

I saw the my favorite movie of 2020 at that festival. That’ll come up later. I got married soon after that. We could’ve waited of course, (very glad we didn’t) but we just wanted to get married and didn’t care much for the ceremony of it all. We hope to have a reception of some kind when life can happen again. Just like anyone, I miss going out and seeing others. I miss cities. I miss museums, malls, movies, and many other things that start with the letter M. As well as the other letters too.

This particular post is about how I mostly miss the theatrical experience. I miss concerts and shows as well. Those are special but were also few and far between. I used to go to the movie theater constantly. I am weary of how the theaters will do after all this. I know it will be different. There will be less places to see a movie around areas that aren’t cities. I hope people will flock to see movies once the vaccinations take effect. I think viewing a movie in a theater is almost always better than at home. If you enjoy it at home just as much or it’s more to pass the time I get it. But that isn’t what I’m talking about. It’s about the collective experience of seeing something hundreds or maybe thousands of people worked to make some part of it good. Creative expression is a big part of what makes me feel alive and if I can’t make something myself sometimes seeing others do that is the best way to get some relief from the overwhelming feeling of being alive.

I don’t want to talk about the virus anymore or the election. There are so many better places to do that and I have nothing more to say about it besides the obvious (well, not obvious to the 70 million plus of americans). So I will get to the movies. . I saw what I would consider to be 40+ good to great movies. By comparison, I think I saw nearly 100 good to great movies in 2019 and almost that many in 2018. As previously stated, I am a maniac about seeing movies so I doubt very few reading this have seen as many new movies this year as I have (but if you have please reach out.) So that means that the lack of new movies kept others from going out and seeing them or knowing what is new on streaming without actively looking it up. We just take what the algorithm gives us most of the time.

I haven’t lost my excitement for movies. The world can feel like shit a lot of days but I find hope in little ways all the time. I don’t expect good things to happen and I’m usually happy at least once a day when I see they do.

Stay home, wear a mask, and take this seriously so we can all get back to whatever it was before this. As bad as it is, it was a lot better than this.

I am going to include some movies that came out in 2019 technically but weren’t released in the U.S. until this year.

Here’s my superlatives of movies that won’t be listed otherwise.

Movie with the Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Score I Thought was Good - Capone (40%)

Best Ending to a Movie That Made It Much Better for Me - Relic

Spin off Pseudo Sequel to The Big Lebowski that is Actually a Remake of a 70’s French Film but Only About the Character Jesus Written and Directed by the Star John Turturro - Jesus Rolls

Most Dad Movie of the Year - Greyhound

Most Sad Dad Movie of the Year - The Way Back

Movie with the Best Scene of Nicolas Cage Milking an Alpaca - The Color Out of Space

Most Wholesome Movie - Bill & Ted Face the Music

Least Wholesome Movie - Extraction

Best Creature Feature - Underwater

Best Movie About a Romance Between A Girl and A Jumbo Amusement Ride - Jumbo

Best Documentary About the Origin of Pepe the Frog Meme - Feels Good Man

Best Unique Documentary - A Metamorphosis of Birds

Best Performance in a Comedy - Dan Stevens in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Best Movie That Uses the Groundhog Day Loop Gimmick but is Also Scary - Koko-di Koko-da

Best Movie That Uses the Groundhog Day Loop Gimmick but is Also About the Deep Pain of Being Alive and Funny - Palm Springs

Best Stop Motion Movie - Attack of the Demons

Best Movie Where Colin Farrell Plays a Character Named “Coach” and Spars Verbally and Physically with Street Toughs but Also Loves Them - The Gentlemen

Best Documentary About Soundcloud Rappers Moving to an Abandoned Part of Colorado and Making Music Like the World Ended - Crestone

Best Movie Where Ethan Hawke Plays Nikola Telsa and Eats an Ice Cream Cone and Sings Karaoke - Tesla

Best Movie About Thinking You Are Being Abducted by Aliens but Mostly You’re Sad and Dealing with Mental Health Issues -Horse Girl

Best Movie About Anne at 13,000 Feet - Anne at 13,000 Feet

Best Zoom Video Based Horror Movie - Host

Best Movie I Didn’t Create a Category for Except This One - Minari

Top 26-11 Movies of the Year (26 because I liked Birds of Prey enough to want it included.)

26. Birds of Prey - Directed by Cathy Yan (HBO Max)

Better than you think and very rewatchable. Margot Robbie is so good in this, and the rest of the cast makes it a lot more fun than any movie in this boring universe has a right to be.

25. Never Rarely Sometimes Always - Directed by Eliza Hittman (HBO Max)

Subtle and unfortunately necessary movie about two friends traveling to New York for healthcare.

24. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - Directed by Jason Woliner (Amazon Prime)

Yeah, I laughed quite a bit. So did MYYYYY WIIIIIIIFFFFFFFEEEE

23. Shirley - Directed by Josephine Decker (Hulu)

Strange moment in the life story of author Shirley Jackson and her husband (Elisabeth Moss & Michael Stuhlbarg) allowing a young couple to live with them for a year.

22. The Lodge - Directed by Veronica Franz & Severin Fiala (Hulu)

Psychological thriller with a great central performance and the creepiest atmosphere in a movie this year.

21. First Cow - Directed by Kelly Reichardt (VOD)

The most adult wholesome movie of the year about capitalism and ambition but also about the TITULAR first cow.

20. Emma. - Directed by Autumn de Wilde (HBO Max)

My biggest surprise of the year? It is very fun and poignant by the end with some of the best performances of the year. This Jane Austen adaptation is for anyone.

19. The Invisible Man - Directed by Leigh Whannell (HBO Max)

Elisabeth Moss running the year and nailing a remake that is hard to pull off. Really enjoyed this.

18. Apples - Directed by Christos Nikou (VOD)

From the Yorgos Lanthimos school of deadpan high concept worlds comes a story of grief and memory.

17. David Byrne’s American Utopia - Directed by Spike Lee (HBO Max)

Great music doc that would be a wonderful introduction if you don’t know much about Talking Heads but even better if you do.

16. Marona’s Fantastic Tale - Directed by Anca Damian (VOD)

Beautiful animation and deeply felt story with childlike sensibilities but extremely french. I cried.

15. Being Natural - Directed by Tadashi Nagayama

Probably the hardest to see movie on this list but the Japanese dark comedy about gentrification and class warfare deserves to be seen by anyone who loved Parasite but enjoys when things get weirder.

14. Da 5 Bloods - Directed by Spike Lee (Netflix)

A sprawling movie that maybe needed more editing but the parts that sing really sing. Delroy Lindo is the best performance of the year, and this goes places you don’t expect.

13. Saint Maud - Directed by Rose Glass

Still hasn’t been given a full release but I saw it around 15 months ago so it goes in this year’s list. A really good horror movie about faith and trauma. One that is good the whole time but the ending sold it completely.

12. The Vast of Night - Directed by Andrew Patterson (Amazon Prime)

Simple low budget Sci-Fi movie about paranoia and the desire to know. High schoolers that do a late night radio show in the 1950s investigating a strange call and sound. Some of the best filmmaking under limits I’ve ever seen.

11. Shithouse - Directed by Cooper Raiff (VOD)

One of the more impressive debuts by a young, 23 year old, filmmaker and actor. An indie rom com that dives head first into tropes of coming of age in college but makes them feel fresh. I was completely charmed and laughed quite a bit. Excited to see what he does next.

TOP TEN

10. Saint Frances - Directed by Alex Thompson (VOD)

A great script that comes to life thanks to fun casting and good will. A story about not knowing what you will do with your life and having heavy circumstances happen at the same time. It’s funny, heartwarming, and honest. A real cliche laugh and cry movie without all the cliches that go along with that.

9. On the Rocks - Directed by Sofia Coppola (Apple TV+)

Seems like one of Coppola’s slightest movies but I think there’s more here. I am one of those weirdos who isn’t much of a Bill Murray fan but I think this is the best he’s been in a long time. The movie is carried by Rashida Jones and she is more than capable. It’s a silly over the top father-daughter and husband plot that is played like a much more nuanced movie. I really enjoyed it.

8. The Wolf of Snow Hollow - Directed by Jim Cummings (VOD)

From the great mind of Jim Cummings, creator of Thunder Road from a few years ago, comes a murder mystery in a small snowy town that is darkly comic, smart, eerie, fun, and a pretty good police procedural. His odd sense of timing and telling a story can make some tune out but I think he is a singular voice in movies today.

7. Another Round - Directed by Thomas Vinterberg (VOD)

Mads Mikkelsen is known now for being the villain in Doctor Strange, the father at the beginning in Rogue One, and being tied up by Rihanna, but he is a fantastic actor with more gravitas and chemistry than most humans to ever exist and in a movie where he sustains being drunk during his work hours he shows that completely. The movie is extremely fun while also being melancholy. I loved it and hope others will seek it out.

6. Possessor - Directed by Brandon Cronenberg (VOD)

The most Sci-Fi brutal movie of the year from the son of one of the kings of Sci-Fi horror. Great acting and a high concept executed like an intense drama about identity. It is at its base about an assassin who enters the bodies of others to do the killing. Takes a pulpy plot and makes an art film. It rules.

5. Sound of Metal - Directed by Darius Mauder (Amazon Prime)

A mesmerizing portrayal of going deaf with one of the beat performances of the year by Riz Ahmed. Makes you want to learn sign language and wear protective ear plugs whenever possible. It also turns hearing into an addiction and how we feel the need to hear things even when it’s not necessary. Loved this and hope more see it.

4. The Nest - Directed by Sean Durkin (VOD)

Carrie Coon and Jude Law in a grown up marriage drama from the director of Martha Marcy May Marlene about the stress of finances and weight of family. It is so good and refreshing in a time that doesn’t give you much of this. Carrie Coon holds a cigarette like everyone should. It has the feeling of an old horror movie but the only horror here capitalism. I think about it often and just as soon as it started I knew I was in for a FILMÈ.

3. Nomadland - Directed by Chloé Zhao (Available in February)

The most American movie of the year with a Frances McDormand performance that will probably win her another Oscar. Half fictional and filled with real people who travel this nation without a permanent home. It takes it’s time and is a kind of sweetness that can really knock someone over if seen at the right time. I loved it and I recommend it to anyone.

2. i’m thinking of ending things - Directed by Charlie Kaufman (Netflix)

The best head trip you can have in your living room this year. Kaufman’s work is always odd and occasionally off-putting but this pushes that to new heights or depths depending on where you land. He gets Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons to try and portray two characters in a strange time and place in their lives. Everything is off. It’s almost as if one can hear the others thoughts. Some things last a few seconds too long and others too fast. The inevitable fleeting of memory. 2020 has been a year of indescribable time slips. A month both went by too fast and feels so long ago. Kaufman understands this, and always has, long before a pandemic. The final shot of a character in this movie will stick with me until my memories are gone as well. Give Toni Collette her Oscar already and let’s start Jessie Buckley off while we are at it.

1. Dick Johnson is Dead - Directed by Kirsten Johnson (Netflix)

The most impactful movie for me this year was this little documentary about a woman realizing she would like to take her skills from making documentaries for a living and film her dad’s final years. They don’t know when he will die, but they know he’s getting older and is losing his memory. Her dad is all for it and is a sweetheart. It has a ton of levity and is more funny than sad. But when the bittersweetness hits it hits hard. I loved this movie and it being the last movie I saw in a theater absolutely has an effect on this ranking. It is a great movie that came out on Netflix I got to see at the festival I mentioned at the start. I wish I would have filmed my mom more. It would be very nice to have some footage to appreciate later in life. Memory and infalability of it is the theme this year. All we have our memories. Who knows how real those even are. And no matter what they will fade. Long Live Dick Johnson.

Here’s my favorite performances of the year

Leading Performances

Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal

Alison Brie in Horse Girl

Jessie Buckley in i’m thinking of ending things

Deragh Campbell in Anne at 13,000 Feet

Carrie Coon in The Nest

Jude Law in The Nest

Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man / Shirley

Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey

Supporting Performances

Marsha Stephanie Blake in I’m Your Woman

Toni Collette in i’m thinking of ending things

Jennifer Ehle in Saint Maud

Mia Goth in Emma.

Ewan McGregor in Birds of Prey

Paul Raci in Sound of Metal

JK Simmons in Palm Springs

Dan Stevens in Eurovison Song Contest: Story of Fire Saga

Michael Stuhlbarg in Shirley

Youn Yuh-jung in Minari

It has been a tough year on everyone and I hope at this time next year we have returned to theaters vaccinated and feeling okay. Be kind to each other and be patient.

Happy New Year

Recap of my favorites in Movies, Music, and TV

MOVIES

10. SAINT FRANCES

9. ON THE ROCKS

8. THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW

7. ANOTHER ROUND

6. POSSESSOR

5. SOUND OF METAL

4. THE NEST

3. NOMADLAND

2. I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS

1. DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD

MUSIC (favorite music of 2020 playlist on spotify)

10. BEGINNERS BY CHRISTIAN LEE HUTSON

9. FEAR OF DEATH BY TIM HEIDECKER

8. LP2 BY LO TOM

7. LIKEWISE BY FRANCES QUINLAN

6. RTJ4 BY RUN THE JEWELS

5. SAINT CLOUD BY WAXAHATCHEE

4. GETTING INTO KNIVES BY THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

3. PUNISHER BY PHOEBE BRIDGERS

2. NO DREAM BY JEFF ROSENSTOCK

1. FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS BY FIONA APPLE

TV

10. RICK AND MORTY

9. THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT

8. THE OUTSIDER

7. THE LAST DANCE

6. BETTER THINGS

5. DEVS

4. THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW

3. HOW TO WITH JOHN WILSON

2. BETTER CALL SAUL

1. THE NEW POPE

If you read or watched anything I did this year

thank you