I saw some movies this year and then made a list.
Hey there. How are you doing? I know we’re just all constantly saying that it’s been quite a year, but, man…it’s been quite a year. There are a bunch of movies that I thought I would be seeing this year, but that didn’t happen. Maybe next year, maybe 2027. I don’t know.
I have nothing but time so I tried to recap everything before the top ten with a sentence or two. Hopefully, we’ll be back in movie theaters next year.
61. The Lovebirds
This was a rom-com that had no romantic chemistry and no comedy.
60. Holidate
It’s very funny to me that the same studio that can put out Roma or Marriage Story can also release this.
59. She Dies Tomorrow
Too arthouse. Even for me.
58. Horse Girl
Allison Brie tried her best. It just wasn’t enough.
57. Tigertail
I barely remember this one, to be honest.
56. The Hunt
Gruesome and boring. I think I paid $20 to watch this at home. That was a mistake.
55. Bad Boys For Life
Saw this at a drive-in, so that was fun.
54. The Turning
The movie just ended. I thought it was leading somewhere and then it was over.
53. Hubie Halloween
Adam Sandler said he’d make a terrible movie if he didn’t get an Oscar nomination for Uncut Gems and this wasn’t terrible, so that’s a win. It just wasn’t good either.
52. Zombi Child
Got free popcorn since I was the only one in the theater. It feels like I watched this ten years ago. I kind of remember there being a few great scenes and a lot of filler.
51. Deerskin
The plot of this movie — a man’s obsession with his designer deerskin jacket causes him to blow his life savings and turn to crime — is so much better than the final product.
50. The Rental
This was actually pretty fun until the last 30 minutes where nothing made sense anymore.
49. An American Pickle
Read the short story it’s based on. It’s much better.
48. Greyhound
I’m glad Tom Hanks found his one true love in World War II reenactments.
47. Onward
Even Pixar had a bad 2020…
46. The Gentlemen
There was a good movie hidden within this movie. Guy Ritchie needs to relax.
45. Wonder Woman 1984
An unfathomably bad mess. Real Cats energy. I loved it so much.
44. The Assistant
I saw someone else say “Good intentions don’t necessarily make a good movie.” That’s how I feel.
43. Soul
Even Pixar had a bad 2020… (Pt. 2)
42. The Truffle Hunters
Barely a movie, but the dogs were adorable.
41. Shirley
I respected this more than I enjoyed it. Someone make sure Elisabeth Moss is okay.
40. The Old Guard
Hey, I kind of liked this one. Much better than it had any right to be.
39. Big Time Adolescence
The lesser of the two movies in which Pete Davidson plays Pete Davidson.
38. The Trial of the Chicago 7
Maybe the worst ending to a movie I’ve ever seen. Would love to see a version of this film with a real director to get rid of Aaron Sorkin’s Sorkinisms.
37. Emma
I miss the Alamo Drafthouse so much. This was fine.
36. Enola Holmes
No one’s better at making “meh” movies to watch while also scrolling through Twitter than Netflix.
35. Happiest Season
An enjoyable family-watch even with Mackenzie Davis begging to be broken up with. I can’t tell if this was a decent movie with some bad parts or a bad movie with some decent parts.
34. Birds of Prey
The farther we get from this movie — a dumb/fun blockbuster I saw in theaters with some great performances — the fonder I remember it. Pretty wild that the entire plot revolved around a breakfast sandwich.
33. Dick Johnson Is Dead
Some interesting big ideas, but also felt kind of emotionally cheap.
32. Yes, God, Yes
I watched someone else’s screener of this and it had their name over every scene of the movie, so that was a thing.
31. Miss Americana
This documentary came out like three Taylor Swift albums ago. I didn’t add folklore: the long pond studio sessions to this list (since it’s not really a movie) but just know that it’s 5/5 stars.
30. The King of Staten Island
I would’ve just preferred a movie only about Bill Burr and Marisa Tomei.
29. Tenet
It’s looking like this movie didn’t save the film industry. Who could’ve seen that coming?
28. The Way Back
Ben Affleck playing a less successful version of Ben Affleck was actually pretty good and emotionally powerful.
27. Blow the Man Down
The opening musical number is perfect and it’s a suspenseful and fun movie from thereon out. A real surprise.
26. The Invisible Man
Not as exciting on rewatch — flaws really jump out — but so much fun in theaters. I had Buncha Crunch.
25. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Rudy Giuliani for Worst Supporting Actor.
24. World Of Tomorrow Episode 3
A time-traveling movie that actually had a point and was interesting. This is a thinly-veiled shot at Tenet.
23. Boys State
Guys are pretty bad.
22. The Platform
Cannibalism: The Movie.
21. Promising Young Woman
I did not see that ending coming. I’ll tell you that.
20. The Devil All the Time
Robert Pattinson doing wild accents in B-list Netflix films is my new favorite genre.
19. The Lodge
BLEAK. Yes, I enjoyed it.
18. Nomadland
Chloé Zhao will be a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood for a long time. It did leave me a little cold and wanting more.
17. Another Round
One of the best final scenes of any movie of the year. Mads Mikkelsen can act.
16. Da 5 Bloods
This one was a real mess, but it had a lot to say and had real fun saying it. The first real movie of the year after the start of the pandemic and shoutout to Delroy Lindo for going for it.
15. On The Rocks
Certainly not Sofia Coppola’s best, but still a good time and you get to see Bill Murray chew up the scenery. Especially now, I love a movie that loves New York.
14. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The Chadwick Boseman show from start to finish. He’s going to win an Oscar and it’s 100% deserved. Truly a gut-wrenching loss for his family and friends but also for the future of movies.
13. The Nest
A horror movie without the usual horror fare. This is Marriage Story stripped down to the bone.
12. Bad Education
Keep on letting Cory Finley make movies about sociopaths. The guy has a lane and it’s a fun one.
11. The Vast of Night
A beautiful and haunting extended Twilight Zone episode. Big things to come from director Andrew Patterson.
10. Sound of Metal
This was pitched as the Riz Ahmed show. And it kind of is, but I wasn’t expecting such a good movie to back up the stellar lead performance. The tagline is a drummer who loses his hearing, but it’s much more than that. Sound of Metal is about what it means to grow and change as a person and trying to find where we belong. It’s chock-full of great performances with Ahmed’s leading the way and it has some of the best sound design I’ve ever heard.
9. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
One of the unintended consequences of all of these big movies being pushed back to 2021 is that the smaller, more personal stuff that would have fallen to the wayside by December is being propped up in a way that it probably wouldn’t have in a different year. Never Rarely Sometimes Always, a critical darling and incredible movie about a girl going to New York seeking an abortion, is one of those aforementioned films. The Eliza Hittman movie features two phenomenal performances from Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder and seems to have stuck around in the awards circuit in a relatively big way.
8. First Cow
This was the last movie I saw on the big screen before the world devolved into madness. It’s a slow burn and takes its time, but it’s worth the wait. It’s about friendship and building something for oneself and also features an old-timey milk heist. Kelly Reichardt created something perfect here and more people should see this one when they have a chance.
7. Lovers Rock
I really wish I could have seen this one in theaters. That goes for nearly every movie on this list, but especially Lovers Rock. The second of five films from Steve McQueen (and the first of two on this list), this 68-minute romance has two of the best dance scenes recorded this year and is a gorgeous small story featuring new stars. It’s tough to describe this one since it’s more about the cinematography and feel more than it is the plot or character development. It’s so much fun though.
6. Shithouse
I got flashbacks to freshman year Greg here. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. It probably isn’t. The movie’s great though. A small walk-and-talk that’s reminiscent (at least to me) of indies like Before Sunrise and Richard Linklater dramedies has a lot to say about young adulthood without beating you over the head with it. It leaves you hopeful. The kids are alright.
5. Minari
There was a ruling from the Golden Globes the other day stating that Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, an A24 film about a Korean American family trying to make things work in Arkansas, would be submitted in the Best Foreign Language Film category, thus making it ineligible for the main Best Picture award, which is frankly bullshit. This is the most American movie of the year, a beautiful story (as Lulu Wang puts it) about “an immigrant family, in America, pursuing the American dream.” It’s a perfectly-told narrative that deserves every accolade it has received so far. Really beautiful.
4. Mangrove
The Trial of the Chicago 7 will most likely be the courtroom drama that gets the big awards push. And that’s fine and all. It has some strong performances and name recognition that appeals to the Oscars. Mangrove has so much more to say and is a better movie in every single respect. This Steve McQueen feature on a trial between a clash of Black British citizens and a brutish police force is expertly directed and contains some of the best scenes of the year. It’s rage-inducing in the ways that only a great film can be. Watch out for Malachi Kirby. He’s a star.
3. Mank
Easily the most fun movie to say out loud. Just say it. Mank. Isn’t that fun? Do you know what’s also fun? This movie. The David Fincher period piece — that’s kind of about the man behind Citizen Kane but is more about the process of writing — is a blast that has been unfairly maligned. It features incredible performances from the leads (Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Charles Dance) to the bit parts and has some of the best dialogue and repartee in any of Fincher’s work. I think this is a level below Zodiac, but what isn’t?
2. Palm Springs
In a matter of weeks, I watched Palm Springs three times and I’m sure I haven’t seen the last of this sci-fi rom-com. Andy Samberg is (of course) phenomenal, but it was Cristin Milioti that really blew me away. It’s the most entertaining watch of the year and just a pleasant hang despite the heavy topics it broaches. The less you know about this Hulu movie, the better. Just know that it features a critical speech featuring a grammatical punch line. There was no way I wasn’t going to love this.
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things
This feels fitting as my number one film of the year, because like 2020 it was unpredictable, meandering and confounding. It’s a movie that seems to both love and hate movies and plays with the genre in increasingly twisted ways, slowly building the tension until it reaches 11. This also sounds dumb as I’m thinking it, but it’s the movie that felt the most like a movie this year. A sentence that I’m sure would infuriate its writer/director, Charlie Kaufman. It garnered every single type of reaction, led to plenty of discussions and arguments and let you read into it as much as you wanted to. The pieces on the creation of our personalities through culture resonated with me and the two lead performances from Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons were stellar. Buckley, in particular, has so much to play with and I can’t think of another actress that could have mastered the part. It’s a movie that I’ve already returned to and I’m sure I will again. It’s a mess, but I kind of think it was created to be purposefully difficult to break into. It’s definitely worth it though once you do.
