Thomas's Top Ten In 2020
2021 is here, and while we all have high hopes for how much better this year will turn out, it’s time to look back on (the good parts of) 2020. Many many many MANY movies were delayed into 2021, which left a very special selection of films for us to experience during challenging pandemic restricted times. Thank goodness for streaming services right?
After watching some films on streaming VOD, experiencing some films at virtual film festivals, and catching a very limited selection of films in theaters, I’ve finally narrowed down my favorite movies from this year. While I caught some really great films that screened in limited capacities, the movies on my top ten list are feature length films that had wide theatrical release dates or VOD release dates in 2020. But for extra commentary, I do have a few special shoutouts for films that fall outside of that criteria after my top ten list.
Did any of my top ten movies make it into your top ten? Are there any surprises on my list? As always, feel free to leave comments and thoughts at the bottom of the page!
Thomas’s Top Ten Films of 2020
#10 | Bad Education
HBO Max debuted right as the entertainment industry was being upended by strict pandemic restrictions, and one of their biggest selling point was Bad Education, and for good reason. This is a film with a captivating story and a top notch cast. The tension mounts as deep investigative journalism brings the main character closer and closer to the dire consequences they thought they could avoid, and this film captures that suspense so well. And now that HBO Max has added new, good content since it’s debut, as well as a mega agreement to get WB blockbusters on day and date release, there’s multiple reasons to sign up for the service and check out Bad Education.
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Free for HBO Max subscribers
#9 | Host
I am happy to have a horror film crack my top ten for this year. Host impresses not just with it’s scares, screenlife style, and charismatic cast, but it wins points for cleverly capitalizing on the relatively new global pandemic situation. The concept is alluring since we’ve all dealt with the struggle of quarantining, social distancing, and virtual hangout sessions, but incorporating traditional horror storytelling in this overly familiar environment then releasing it in the midst of pandemic uncertainty was brilliant. Host may not be groundbreaking horror filmmaking, but it gets enough creativity points to make it a stand-out experience.
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Free for Shudder subscribers
#8 | Survival Skills
Genre-bedding efforts almost always pique my interest. So coming across Survival Skills at Fantasia 2020 was an absolute delight. This suspenseful dark comedy drama offers a unique and timely perspective of the life of a police officer in training, and how naivety and good intentions can complicate the job. The premise might seem silly, but Survival Skills is full of comedy, drama, and heart thanks to creative storytelling from director Quinn Armstrong as well as a strong and emotional performance from lead actor Vayu O’Donnell. This one likely flew under the radar for most, but is absolutely worth checking out.
READ MY REVIEW | WATCH MY INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR QUINN ARMSTRONG AND LEAD ACTOR VAYU O’DONNELL
Available for rent
#7 | The Willoughbys
I can tell you definitively that there is no movie I laughed at more this year than The Willoughbys. Even now, the phrase “I can’t knit!!” sends me into a chuckling fit. Comedy as consistent and sustained as what’s found in The Willoughbys is hard to find, but this animated adventure also stands out thanks to great storytelling, an entertaining cast of characters, and a significant dose of carefully curated emotional value.
Free for Netflix subscribers
#6 | Soul
Here’s a last minute entry to my list. Releasing on Disney+ on Christmas Day, I was looking to Soul to end 2020 on a note high note that demonstrates Pixar still has the storytelling capabilities they use to be reliably legendary for, and boy did it deliver. Although the story isn’t as straightforward as some of Pixar’s best, Soul takes the spirit of Inside Out - addressing deeply human issues like mortality, depression, and purpose - and wraps it all into a in a vibrant, fun, wide-eyed, and emotionally-driven story. And the best part is it seamlessly integrates Jazz and African American culture that I’m very familiar with. Soul proves that Pixar is expanding its storytelling chops in the right ways, and
Free for Disney+ subscribers
#5 | Tenet
It might come as a surprise to many that Tenet is just barely making my top 5 for the year. I have been a major ambassador this film, forgiving the flaws to appreciate Nolan’s accomplishments in big budget mindbending storytelling. From my perspective, what exists in Tenet is a phenomenal theatrical experience bolstered by Nolan’s signature style of filmmaking. But the film does suffer from trying too hard to be too high minded. Tenet employs a complex concept in an elaborate journey with a fast talking screenplay that’s not concerned about if audiences keep up. I don’t mind this, and it ultimately helped to make Tenet a wonderful IMAX experience for me. But I have a feeling that if I had seen it at home like most audiences had to, I might not have been as impressed with the production, especially with constant complaints about the audio quality in viewing formats other than IMAX.
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Available for rent
#4 | The Vast of Night
There is a special magnificence that exists in low-key sci-fi storytelling, and The Vast Of Night is proficient at putting that splendor on display. Staged like an episode of The Twilight Zone, this film drops audiences in a remote town in the mid 1950s and lets the art of captivating storytelling work it’s wonder. Most of the film is nothing more than one on one conversations as the main characters try to get to the bottom of paranormal occurrences in their town, and the suspense it generates doesn’t need excessive CGI, or jump scares, or over-the-top scenes to be effective. The power of the stories told were more than good enough.
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Free for Amazon Prime members
#3 | Sound of Metal
Riz Ahmed is quickly becoming a valuable selling point for me in movies. His performance was a highlight in Mogul Mowgli, so I was excited when I had the chance to see Sound of Metal at AFI Fest where once again his performance impressed. But in addition, the movie made some fantastic creative choices, like the choice not to subtitle sign language (for AFI Fest, subtitles for spoken dialogue was the default). And the film has one of the best conclusions I’ve seen all year, making it a satisfying movie to watch.
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Free for Amazon Prime members
#2 | Farewell Amor
Farewell Amor was another movie this year that I happened upon at AFI Fest, and am so thankful that I did. It’s a family drama where the only discernable antagonist in the plot are the characters’ good intentions. The story is told in three parts, one for each main member of the family, and as the film jumps between details in perspectives, audiences get a clearer sense of why the reunion of this loving family is so much more complicated than you might imagine it would be. But how the story falls into place is exceptional.
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Available for rent
#1 | Black Bear
I cannot stop talking about how much I loved watching Black Bear. Going into coverage for the Vancouver International Film Festival, this film wasn’t even on my radar until my friend Taylor at Drink In The Movies informed me about it. What I experienced was exceptional. Black Bear is a mystifying thriller that drops its three main characters in an isolated cabin and allows some of the most socially awkward scenarios ensue. The result is a psychologically horrific display of incredible storytelling and character deconstruction. The mental anguish these characters put each other through reaches extraordinary fever pitch levels and constantly leave viewers guessing where the story is going to go. For its unpredictability and its fantastic casting, and riveting conversations, Black Bear is the movie I’ll remember most from 2020.
READ MY REVIEW | WATCH MY INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR LAWRENCE MICHAEL LEVINE
Available for rent
Honorable Mentions
Film festivals made it convenient for me this year to check out some of the best movies in 2020 cinema. But without wide distribution for many of these films, it’s hard to rank movies on a top ten list that most people didn’t have access too. So, for honorable mentions, here are some of the movies I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing this year that you should keep an eye out for in 2021:
The Father
Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman are phenomenal actors, and their talents are on full display here in The Father. But what makes this movie so moving is in how it tells its story. Anthony Hopkins plays an elderly man in denial of the onset of dementia that is occurring, so confusion sets in when events that seem to happen in succession to him conflict with the reality that the rest of the people he associates with are living in. Rather than just telling his story, The Father puts audiences in his shoes to experience his confusion and frustration first hand, and the result is absolutely heartbreaking to experience, but incredible to appreciate. Although it originally had a December 2020 release date, The Father is now slated to release on February 26, 2021.
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The Oak Room
If you haven’t noticed yet, quality storytelling is a major theme in the movies I loved this year, and The Oak Room absolutely belongs in that category of greatness this year. This was a Fantasia 2020 selection that totally surprised me, weaving one story into another in a twisted tale of twisted tales. And my favorite part as a bartender myself, the majority of the film takes place at the rail in a bar. With no slated release date yet, it’s not certain when the general public will get access to this movie, but in my opinion, it can’t be soon enough.
READ MY REVIEW | WATCH MY INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR CODY CALAHAN AND ACTOR RJ MITTE
Lapsis
As mentioned in my top ten, low-key sci-fi storytelling is so attractive to me, and I’d file Lapsis under that classification. The story builds an interesting world around contract workers cabling communications wires to hubs in a forest. When a middleaged man desperate for extra funds finds a shady way to involve himself in this millennial oriented tech-meets-the-wilderness kind of work, he begins to learn the consequences of cutting corners in this unexpectedly cutthroat business. It’s a fascinating story and it boasts a charismatic cast that keep the film entertaining. Overtly indie but definitively sci-fi, it’s hard to say what platform Lapsis would thrive on. But this film, which made its way through many film festivals including Fantasia 2020 where I saw it, VIFF 2020, and Nightstream 2020, wherever it lands in 2021 will be where you should head to watch it.
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Race to Alaska
Living in the Pacific Northwest means being around some of the coolest outdoor oriented activities. So naturally, this would be the perfect place to host a marathon sailing race, and the way that it’s documented in Race to Alaska captures the exact spirit of the race, the region, and the people bold enough to embark on the daunting journey. Race to Alaska collects footage and experience of racers over multiple years of the race, and the result is highly inspirational. I watched Race to Alaska at VIFF 2020, and it was one of the most pleasant surprises at the festival. You might be able to find a regional screening at the beginning of 2021, but I highly recommend it whenever it reaches VOD, especially if you love the PNW life as much as I do.
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Bloody Hell
Horror comedy can be a really tough blend to pull off, but Bloody Hell has a very charismatic lead and an entertainingly bizarre premise that keeps this movie fresh. Ben O’Toole plays a man kidnapped by an odd family. He also plays his witty subconscious, and the comedy between the two personalities is fantastic. This is a movie I had the pleasure of checking out during Nightstream 2020, and it was one of my favorite selected features there. When Bloody Hell comes out domestically on January 14th and you’re needing a good gory laugh, it’s certainly worth a watch.
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2019 Films Released In 2020
Some films earn the majority of their buzz in their film festival circles and limited release screenings right before the end of the year, making them highly celebrated films in a year that most audiences can’t experience them. Here’s a quick shout out to late 2019/early 2020 standouts that are now available to watch:
Parasite
Winner of 4 Academy Awards this year including BEST PICTURE, Parasite is the global phenomenon from Korean director Bong Joon-ho that should not be missed. You can read my review here to see why it’s so good. Domestically, it’s now available on Hulu to subscribers, and if you haven’t gotten around to it, watching Parasite should be an early 2021 goal for you.
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Portrait of a Lady On Fire
Another foreign language film that made waves at the end of 2019 and into 2020 was Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I myself raved about this French film after watching it at VIFF 2019and have since watched it multiple times. The film is such a sensory experience, from the meticulous ASMR-like sound design to the emotional chemistry between the two incredible leads - one of which (Noémie Merlant) went on to deliver another solid performance in a film festival darling this year, Jumbo. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is now available to watch on Hulu for subscribers.
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Free for Hulu subscribers
And Then We Danced
After missing this Georgian romance drama at VIFF 2019, I finally got around to watching it at the end of 2020, and boy am I sad I missed this one on the big screen. The romantic tension between the two lead characters is enticing enough, but the forbidden love aspect of the film only heightens the dramatic suspense of wanting to act on their emotional connection. Plus, the dancing is exquisite, and you think the film is riveting, just wait until that final scene with that last performance.
Free for Amazon Prime members
1917
It was heartbreaking not to include 1917 on my top ten list for this year. What this film accomplishes in terms of filmmaking is nothing short of extraordinary. Fortunately, this film had it’s wide release well before pandemic restrictions went into place, so it’s reached most interested audiences already. But, allow this entry to be a reminder that 1917 is always worth another watch.
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Free for Showtime subscribers
And Finally, The Film In 2020 That I Most Regret Missing…
Synchronic
I’ve been waiting for Synchronic for what seems like FOREVER. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are fantastic sci-fi storytellers, and they seem to just be getting better and better at their craft with each movie they make. Unfortunately, Synchronic released in theaters at a time when restrictions had most screens closed in my region, so I did not get the chance to see it this year. Fortunately, the film releases on VOD on January 26th, and I’m very much looking forward to finally watching it in 2021.