10 Movies Released Last Year That I Really Liked, 2020 Edition
Jeez 2020, amiright?
An abbreviated write-up this year because 2020 was an asterisk-worthy year if ever there was one. Movies opened and then were pulled. Movies were announced and then postponed, and postponed again. Theaters closed and, at least in New York, stayed that way. Fest went online (not entirely a bad thing). Drive-ins made a comeback (ditto). While the moviegoing experience was largely lost, the movies kept coming—and for the most part, they were great, for which I’m eternally grateful.
This top 10 could easily have been a top 30, but I decided to set some limits. And since the Golden Globes are only a few hours away as a type, I’m going to keep it short this year. (If anyone wants a one-liner for any of my honorable mentions, hit me up on Twitter.)
Big disclaimer: I excluded all Shudder titles from consideration, even though many could have made this list. It wouldn’t be fair to the dozens of incredible filmmakers I work with every year if I had to rank them. And since I’m paid to promote them all, I can’t say there’s no bias. I can say, without hesitation, that if you like scary stuff, Shudder is the best bang for your streaming buck, hands down.
My top 10 of 2020, in alphabetical order:
Crip Camp
My second favorite doc of the year, one that gives me strength and hope every time I see something terrible happening in the world, which was almost a constant in 2020. If a group of horny ’70s kids written off as less-than by everyone could grow up, speak out and quite literally fix the world, then no change is ever really out of reach—if you’re willing to fight like your life depends on it. Funny, eye-opening and inspiring.
Da 5 Bloods
I didn’t know Spike had a Vietnam War movie in him, but I’m sure glad he did. Heroic work by all, including a career-defining performance from Delroy Lindo, a quietly powerful one from Chadwick Boseman (that only grew in power as we learned about his battles with cancer), Spike at the peak of his powers and some next-level needle drop with a cappella Marvin Gaye.
Dick Johnson is Dead
A joyous, life-affirming doc about death that is the opposite of mournful in every way. A tribute to a great dad from his filmmaker daughter turns out to be so much more. This sly, inventive exploration of The End managed to take my breath away, with a few tears and many more laughs. Life is fleeting, but love and cinema are forever.
His House
A refugee couple from South Sudan try to build a new life in a government-issue dilapidated English house, while facing evils both past and present. A stunning debut feature that delivers everything you could want in a haunted house film, while saying even more through fully realized characters with perspectives horror has ignored for far too long.
The Nest
It’s been almost a decade since Sean Durkin’s stunning debut feature Martha Marcy May Marlene, which made my 2011 Top 10. Of his earlier film, I wrote it “could almost be considered a horror movie. It delivers a sense of inescapable dread,” and the same is true of The Nest. A drama with a darkly comedic undertones (so dark you’d be forgiven for missing the) that meticulously charts the cracks in a family unit led by a caddish Jude Law and a quietly furious Carrie Coon, both brilliant.
Nomadland
Three movies baked into one: a decent if not surprising drama about another stone-faced Frances McDormand character who has to do things Her Way; a documentary about real people who live nomadic, van-dwelling lives on the fringes of the American economy, playing essentially themselves and telling their own stories; and a series of beautiful vistas and big skies that play out in long, languid takes. I adored two of those and kind of rolled with the third, aided by the occasional presence of an always welcome David Strathairn.
Possessor
God, could Brandon Cronenberg be on a path to being a better filmmaker than his father? With only his second film, he’s delivered a sci-fi dystopian mindfuck that’s the equal of Existenz and Videodrome, two of my favorite examples of that particular sub-genre.
Small Axe: Lovers Rock
In a year spent socially isolated, the Lovers Rock chapter of Small Axe was the party invitation we desperately needed. Somehow, Steve McQueen has managed to capture the vibe of a every part of an epic houseparty: the anticipation, the preparation, the flirtation, the exaltation and the exhalation. Lovers Rock provided a perfect bubble of music, dance and pure joy, without ever losing sight of the slights and dangers of the world just beyond.
Swallow
A psychological portrait of a woman clinging to a sense of control in her own life, in the worst way posssible. A beautiful, meticulously crafted film surrounding an equally precise central performance. Director Carlo Mirabella-Davis and star Haley Bennett echo Safe-era Todd Haynes and Julianne Moore. I can’t wait to see what Mirabella-Davis brings us next.
The Vast of Night
Two small town, fast-talking early 1960s teens—he a radio DJ, she a part-time phone operator—hear something strange over the airwaves and phone lines that might just be of unearthly origins. A love letter to the power of stories and the compulsion to chase a mystery all the way down the rabbit hole, no matter what. This is the kind of lo-fi sci-fi that makes my moviegoing heart sing.
Honorable Mentions
The Assistant • Bad Education • The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart• Birds of Prey • Boys State • Come to Daddy • Deerskin • Emma • Extra Ordinary • I’m Thinking of Ending Things • The Invisible Man • Palm Springs • The Platform • She Dies Tomorrow • Shirley • Tesla • VHYes • Zappa
Did Not See
Another Round • Babyteeth • Bacurau • Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets • First Cow • Kajillionaire • Minari • Never Rarely Sometimes Always • Relic • Sound of Metal • Soul
