Top Films Of 2020

There’s not a lot to say about 2020 that hasn’t already been said – it wasn’t great. On the bright side, even with the pandemic swiping away pretty much every blockbuster, there were still a lot of films that were released, especially via streaming services. Case in point, I figured 2020 would be the end of my years and years-long streak of seeing at least 100 new releases, but I still managed to come in at 115. Go figure! Anyhow, here are my Top 10 (plus some honorable mentions). Enjoy.

10) Birds Of Prey

I initially had Birds Of Prey in the “honorable mentions” portion of this list, but then it dawned on me that I revisited it a lot in 2020. Unlike pretty much everything else in the DCEU, it’s a colorful, fun film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I know Margot Robbie is playing Harley Quinn in the next Suicide Squad movie, but I hope she gets the opportunity to do a dedicated follow-up here, too.

09) The Invisible Man

With Upgrade and now The Invisible Man under his belt, Leigh Whannell has established himself as a heck of a director. I really love what he did here – it’s sci-fi, it’s horror, and there’s a big-time look at the effects of domestic abuse. Kudos as well to Elisabeth Moss, who is fantastic throughout the film.

08) Tenet

Christopher Nolan really did well to lampoon Tenet at every turn in 2020. Why couldn’t he just shut his pretentious mouth? Anyways, this film is an immensely ambitious effort, and I really enjoyed the bonkers ride that it took me on. I can’t say it’s for everyone – it’s definitely not as accessible as Nolan’s previous efforts – but the spectacle is there. I suspect it will grow in popularity as the years go on.

07) His House

His House came out of nowhere and bowled me right over. It’s a scary, smart film with great performances, and I still find myself randomly thinking about it (and its take on survivor’s guilt) from time to time. Writer/director Remi Weekes is definitely someone to watch.

06) Possessor

Brandon Cronenberg is a messed up man, but it sure does translate well to the screen. Possessor, which follows an assassin who takes over other people’s bodies and then uses them to kill her targets, is a weirdly relentless slowburn, and boy does it burn itself into your brain. Skip if you’re squeamish.

05) On The Rocks

On The Rocks is, of course, no Lost In Translation, but it is one of Sofia Coppola’s better films. Bill Murray is charming and Rashida Jones is relatable in this father-daughter dramedy that’s breezy and fun and sad.

04) Sound Of Metal

If you asked me to pick the most uncomfortable, unsettling stretch of film that I saw in 2020, I’d go with the scenes in Sound Of Metal where Ruben (Riz Ahmed) slowly realizes that he’s lost his hearing. Frankly, the rest of the movie isn’t exactly easy to watch either, but overall, it’s a compelling and enlightening effort. Riz Ahmed deserves a Best Actor nomination.

03) The Trial Of The Chicago 7

I feel like I haven’t seen The Trial Of The Chicago 7 on a ton of year-end lists, which is weird. Writer/director Aaron Sorkin deliverd a film that features a relevant, important story and a slew of award-worthy performances. Plus it’s entertaining as all get out! What more do people want, man?

02) Palm Springs

Palm Springs is likely the most easy-to-enjoy film that came out in 2020. Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti and JK Simmons are all great in the Groundhog Day-esque affair, and it’s really funny and heartwarming from start to finish.

01) The Forty-Year-Old Version

I moved every movie on this list around a number of times … with the exception of The Forty-Year-Old Version. Maybe it’s because I’m 37, or maybe it’s because the pandemic has decimated the industry I work in (live music), but watching Radha Blank fight to right the ship that is her career couldn’t have been more relatable. The film is also just a real charmer that’s as cheer-worthy as anything I saw in 2020.

My Biggest Guilty Pleasure Of 2020:
The Broken Hearts Gallery – it’s too cute to not like.

Honorable Mentions:
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Lovers Rock
The Assistant
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Way Back
The Wretched
Relic
The King Of Staten Island
I’m Thinking Of Ending Things
The Devil All The Time
Promising Young Woman
Soul
Wolfwalkers
Love And Monsters

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Noah’s Top 10 Of 2020 (and a touch more …)

If you didn’t already know it, well, 2020 was a pretty stiflingly shitty year. But I will say this: spending almost all of my time indoors with little to nothing to I really HAD to do freed up a lot of time to watch films. Like, a LOT of time.

It’s been an odd year for movies. With the pandemic driving the streaming stake even deeper into the heart of traditional movie watching, 2020 was a year of transition, of hedging bets, of tentatively reaching towards the future. And in the midst of this soft scramble for whatever might be next, a slew of films that would’ve been buried under the weight of the studio schedule managed to peek their heads out. And even if the critical world collectively decided that any film with the slightest pulse of inspiration or “good times” was a masterpiece, this was a year with absolutely amazing pieces of work.

Here’s the ones I thought stood out.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Each and every one of these is well, well worth your time. Yes, even the Ben Affleck basketball movie. ESPECIALLY the Ben Affleck basketball movie.

The Nest, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Kajillionaire, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Sound of Metal, The Way Back, Promising Young Woman

NOAH’S TOP TEN OF 2020 (in no particular order)

The Invisible Man / d. Leigh Whannell

When you talk about re-imagined horror classics, you can’t do much better than the Elisabeth Moss-led Invisible Man. Leigh Whannell (of SAW fame) takes the concept of a man who is turned invisible and creates a potent film about domestic abuse that is also quite scary. Never before has a film made negative space so absolutely terrifying. Elisabeth Moss continues to do no wrong. Well, aside from the Scientology thing.

A White, White Day / d. Hylnur Palmason

An Icelandic noir about a widower cop who discovers a few unsightly secrets about his wife’s past. It’s a slow, slow burn, but when it finally erupts it does so in spectacular fashion.

The Assistant / Kitty Green

Any film that puts Julia Garner front-and-center in every scene is going to be great. Kitty Green has pulled a story from the headlines and made a very subtle, very powerful indictment of toxic masculinity and the corrosive nature of its slow seep into a workplace. Garner is fantastic in her role as the titular assistant. The scene with Matthew McFayden as an amoral Human Resources guy is amazing and cringe-worthy in equal doses.

The King of Staten Island & Big Time Adolescence / d. Judd Apatow & Jason Orley

Pete Davidson is great. That’s the decision I’ve made this year. He’s not for everyone, I get it, but both The King of Staten Island and Big Time Adolescence (in which he plays almost the same character with almost the same character arc) were such crassly funny, uplifting stories about a dude figuring his shit out and it’s Davidson’s honest vulnerability that centers them. The King of Staten Island is the best thing Apatow’s made since Knocked Up and Big Time Adolescence is the kind of debut that makes people take notice.

Soul / d. Pete Docter & Kemp Powers

I come into every Pixar film that isn’t about talking cars believing it’s going to be a masterpiece. And though more and more lately it’s a high hope, Soul lives up to the hype. Pete Docter and Kemp Powers (having a hell of a year) have put together a melancholic discussion that uses the afterlife to discuss our living hopes and dreams. Jamie Foxx is outstanding as Joe, Tina Fey is creepily convincing as the voice of a pseudo-teen, but the real stars are the hybrid 2-D animation and the darkly upbeat score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

The Forty Year-Old Version / d. Radha Blank

Something I read about The Forty Year-Old Version compared it to Manhattan (the style, not the statutory rape) and I fully agree. There’s a sense of realism that permeates every frame that debut director Blank occasionally spikes with just a touch of slapstick. The story of Blank going from playwright to rapper is such a beautifully told underdog story that manages to nail both the snobbery of theater and the weed-smoke filled bedroom studio of independent rap.

Possessor / d. Brandon Cronenberg

A deeply fucked up body horror film about an assassin who uses other people’s bodies (and minds) to do her dirty work. Brandon Cronenberg has built a subtly brilliant near-future (with some deep nods to his father’s love of the horrifically sexual) in which to tell this wonderfully creepy piece of horror sci-fi.

Lovers Rock / d. Steve McQueen

Every film McQueen created for his Little Axe series is just about magnificent, but nothing moved me more than the softly experimental Lovers Rock. McQueen – with shades of Robert Altman pushing him along – places a handful of cameras at a house party in East London in the late 70s. There’s a story, kind of, but more than anything this is Steve McQueen capturing the rising and falling atmosphere of a party. There was nothing I saw this year more enjoyable than the scene where a group of partiers sing along to the entirety of Janet Kay’s Silly Games.

Shithouse / d. Cooper Raiff

A low-budget, indie rom-com written and directed by someone I’ve never heard of and it’s one of the best films of the year. Cooper Raiff’s directorial debut is just such a realistic portrayal of those initial months of college when the whole world has been flipped and all you want is to go home. It’s quirky (in a refreshingly 90s way), subtly funny and rawly emotional.

Palm Springs / d. Max Barbakow

Palm Springs is my comfort movie this year. A modern spin on Groundhog Day that finds Andy Samberg and the always incredible Cristin Miliotti stuck in a time loop, it’s just the perfect play on a tired concept mashed together with two very likable anti-heroes falling for each other. A soothing balm for a year that often times felt like acid being bored on my brain.