Wow, what an odd year that was for movies. I genuinely found it difficult to put together a list of things I really enjoyed (hence the late release of this countdown), but this is, I think, mostly the fault of the Oscars, who allowed January and February releases to be made eligible for the 2020 awards. What that ultimately did was push back the releases of the kind of Oscar-oriented movies that normally would pop up in November and December, so a good chunk of the stuff that might have normally slid in just in time for a list like this had to sadly be passed up. Basically what I'm saying is that my 2021 lost is going to be a lot better, even if all the lockdown business is still happening for the rest of the year.
Anyway, I'm not going to babble on forever, I'll just get into the list. What I've done is singled out the 15-20 movies from 2020 that have stuck out to me the most, and while there aren't any undisputed 10/10 picks in here, I'm still mostly satisfied with these picks. I do really like all the movies on this list, even if it took me a while to come around on some of them.
Honorable Mentions
Da 5 Bloods - While some of the creative choices are a little too obvious and eyeroll-worthy, there is an intensity to this movie and effectiveness to the performances (mainly Delroy Lindo) that really make this Sierra Madre rehash stand out.
VFW - It's pretty awesome to see a bunch of old dudes prove they're still badasses in a gritty exploitation movie like this, and even if it's not the most technically perfect movie out there, I still found a lot to enjoy here.
The Lodge - One of the few standard horror movies of 2020 that managed to get an actual reaction out of me, The Lodge doesn't break any new ground, but manages to take inspiration from several places and blend it all together in a satisfying way.
Why Don't You Just Die - Another movie that feels like the sum of a bunch of existing material, this Russian crime comedy is full of twists and turns, is funny, and does it all with a great deal of style.
15. Lake Michigan Monster
I struggled with this one, because I know a big part of me only included this movie because of how absolutely ludicrous it is and how much I love seeing such a low budget movie with such high aspirations, but even though I know this isn't high art and is far from the most technically polished movie around, I enjoyed it far more than almost every other movie I saw all year. Sort of like a stylistic/humor blend of Spongebob Squarepants and a Guy Maddin movie, Lake Michigan Monster is bound to be a pretty tough sell for most people, but fans of silly and absurd high concept fantasy movies should give this screwy comedy a try.
14. The Color Out Of Space
I definitely feel I need to explain myself with this one, as I wrote a very lengthy review of this movie about a year ago where I spent a good deal of said review complaining about just about every aspect of this film, but over time (and a much needed rewatch) I have really found this to be one of the more enjoyable movies of 2020. It's got a strange sense of humor, some crazy visuals, and Nic Cage hamming it up in the deliberate style of Vampire's Kiss. Even though it's not a great movie, it is pretty entertaining.
13. Rewind
A very powerful documentary that messed with me more than anything else all year, Rewind is not the kind of movie I could find myself watching ever again, as it is one of the most disturbing and sickening family dramas I've ever seen. I don't really even want to talk about this one anymore, but it definitely left an impact on me.
12. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire
While this one may be counted by some as a 2019 movie, it wasn't made available for me to watch until 2020, so I'm going with it. A powerful drama with great performances, beautiful cinematography, and quality pacing. There's nothing technically wrong about this one, though I do with they had made a minor change to the final scene, but I won't spoil that here. This is a quality French film.
11. The Climb
I'm a sucker for long takes, and this movie is very much a showcase for them. But more than just trying to present itself as a kind of technical achievement, the film uses these long sequences to flesh out the complex nature of the characters and their relationships with one another. It's an intimate drama and an effective comedy, and manages to make you really feel like you know the characters by the time it's over.
10. Dick Johnson Is Dead
One of the more unique films of the past several years, Dick Johnson is a sort of narrative fiction documentary hybrid that sort of disappears up itself as it incorporates acted out sequences of death featuring the titular Dick Johnson, who is the elderly father of the filmmaker. There is a sort of lightheartedness to this movie that occasionally slips into the more somber and tragic side of accepting death and coming to grips with the loss of loved ones. It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, as well as being a very conceptually fascinating movie. Definitely worth a watch.
9. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
One of the few standard Oscar movies to appear on this list, this adaptation of the August Wilson play pretty much ticks all of my boxes when it comes to what I want out of a dialogue-heavy drama. It's got great performances (Chadwick's final screen appearance does not disappoint), wonderful monologues, fine attention to period detail, great music...really, the only thing that didn't work for me with this movie were a few strange digital zooms and jarring edits. Other than that, great stuff.
8. Deerskin
Probably the weirdest movie I saw all year (it feels bizarre to even question that statement when it comes to this one), this French absurdist crime comedy has a super short running time, which really helps to make the ludicrous concept not overstay its welcome. Jean Dujardin and Adele Haenel are both perfect in their roles, helping to make a ridiculous story somehow plausible (within the film's universe, of course).
7. Promising Young Woman
A dark and wonderfully acted drama with just enough humor to match the seriousness of the subject matter, this is the kind of movie that I can see a lot of people having issues with. It's tonally all over the place, but I found that eccentricity weirdly working for me. Carey Mulligan is fantastic (probably should've won the Oscar, but how often do they get that right anyway?) and Bo Burnham was also surprisingly effective. This movie was a pleasant surprise for me, as I expected to hate it.
6. First Cow
The female-directed indie drama that should have been the one to receive all the attention over the bland and forgettable Nomadland, First Cow is a small movie that takes it's time, but I never found it boring at all. There's an intimacy to the way it was filmed that really draws you into the characters and their story. Sometimes a western doesn't have to be full of gunfights to be captivating, and this movie is proof of that.
5. Wolfwalkers
My favorite animated movie of the year by a mile, this is the third directorial feature by Irish animator Tomm Moore, and as far as I'm concerned, easily his best. The animation style alone would be enough to get me to love this movie, but with wonderful storytelling, likable characters, and (mostly) great music, there's really not much I can complain about here. There was one sort of musical sequence that I didn't care for, but otherwise this is a borderline animated masterpiece.
4. Bacurau
I like when a movie messes with you and goes genre-hopping halfway through, but it's not an easy thing to pull off. This one, as evidenced by how high it is on this list, is one of that rare few that totally pulls it off. Great performances, totally unexpected plot twists, and wonderful pacing. This is 2~ hours that flies by. Additionally, it's awesome to see Udo Kier given a decent amount of material to work with, as he's just fantastic.
3. I'm Thinking Of Ending Things
I didn't know how I felt about this movie for weeks after watching it, but it stuck in my mind in the way that Charlie Kaufman movies generally do, and now 8(?) months later I still have sequences and moments from it lodged in my brain, as I helplessly try to shake it. This is a tough movie to watch, and even harder to recommend, but it's the kind of challenging film that I wish there were more of. It works on many layers and offers the terrific cast more than enough material to work with. Don't have much but praise for this one.
2. Another Round
Mads Mikkelsen is one of the best actors of his generation, and this is the best he's ever been. The Hunt is in the running (same director as well), but the balance of drama and comedy in this one is probably more of a challenge, so I'm giving this the edge. Anyway, this is obviously one of my favorites of the past year, and it's another one that I haven't been able to get fully out of my head.
1. The Vast Of Night
One of the first movies I saw from 2020, and it's one that I had been looking forward to for quite a while beforehand. I've talked about this movie in real life so much, I feel like there's nothing else I can add to it, but I get that that doesn't really matter in this scenario. Either way, there aren't many movies about UFOs, and having one that is so grounded in reality and engrossing conversations between it's characters (not just flashback sequences and no sense of mystery whatsoever) is even rarer. I love pretty much everything about this movie, I love the atmosphere, the acting, the dialogue, the sense of mystery and wonder...it's almost as if it were designed for me specifically.
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