It’s crazy to look at this list and realize that I didn’t see a single one of my Top 10 in a theater. In fact, you’ll have to dig pretty far into my Honorable Mentions to find one that I did (looking at you, Palm Springs at the Rose Bowl Drive-In). So here it is, my favorites of 2020, the “year without blockbusters,” which, by the sheer number of movies I had competing for these spots can show you, was not a year without quality films.
Honorable Mentions: Nomadland, Mank, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hamilton, The Last Dance, Palm Springs, Blow the Man Down, Bloody Noses Empty Pockets
10. Small Axe: Lover’s Rock: A seventy minute house party from start to finish and I absolutely adored it. The second installment in Steve McQueen’s incredible Small Axe film series is also easily the best (note: all five films can stand alone.) And much like a house party, this film lives and breathes on its soundtrack and completely delivers. I had never heard Janet Kay’s “Silly Games” before this movie but I immediately added it to a number of playlists after seeing it used here, in one of the unrivaled best scenes of the year.
9. The Kid Detective: You had to know that if an under-the-radar comedy neo-neo-noir came out, it would be on this list. Well, here it is. A really vibrant and clever half-twist on detective tropes, this film is a near perfect mix of original noir material and nods to those that came before it. Adam Brody mades an excellent P.I., washed up before his time. Good music, fun gags, and a plot that kept me guessing. Criminally under-seen.
8. The Vast of Night: A terrific love-letter to classic sci-fi, set in the 50s, but made in the age of podcasting. With a clever Twilight Zone-like framing device, this movie tells a simple tale of a switchboard operator and a local radio station DJ who investigate some “other-worldly” noises that keep popping up on their sound waves. Quirky, fun dialogue, strong storytelling, and an excellent long take that emphasizes just how small a town we’re dealing with.
7. Da 5 Bloods: One of two Spike Lee movies released this year and *spoiler-alert* the first of two Spike Lee movies to make this list. After 50+ years of Vietnam movies made from a purely white American perspective (many of which I do love,) it’s great to finally have one showcasing the Black American, and to a lesser extent the Vietnamese, point of view. It’s a heavy weight to bear but Lee balances the politics with a sometimes wacky, sprawling treasure hunt reminiscent of old Hollywood adventure movies. It now also serves as a strange tribute to Chadwick Boseman, having a young version of his character interact with the older selves of his soldiers, a reminder that both his character and the late, great actor himself are no longer with us. And speaking of actors that absolutely deserved more Oscar attention, Delroy Lindo poured everything into that speech and gives an undeniably award-worthy performance here.
6. David Byrne’s American Utopia: Oh, to be David Byrne and have two of America’s finest filmmakers make two of the finest concert films ever about your shows. While Jonathan Demme’s “Stop Making Sense” is a stone cold classic, Spike Lee’s take on Byrne’s pre-Covid Broadway show doesn’t fall too far behind. Of course the music is spectacular. A great mix of Talking Heads classics and newer solo work, which includes a very surprising cover of Janelle Monae’s “Hell You Talmbout” that floored me. You get some gems of wisdom from Byrne as well, as he pauses between songs to drop anecdotes and philosophy.
5. Never Rarely Sometimes Always: I’m a little ashamed to say that this was a bit of an eye-opening movie for me in terms of what getting an abortion actually entails. The storytelling is seemingly simple, but quite exquisite. Same goes for the photography, unassuming and quietly beautiful. This is low key both a great Pennsylvania movie and a great New York City movie. Capped with terrific, raw performances from Flanigan and Ryder, this movie is anchored in a strong, earnest friendship. And let’s not forget a titular scene that can just break you.
4. First Cow: A quiet, anti-western about non-traditional masculinity in the frontier of the Northwest. Interested yet? You should be. The lead actors, John Magaro and Orion Lee are delightful as a cook and a Chinese immigrant, doing business together selling pastries (deliciously described “oily cakes”) that they can make only because they steal the milk from a local leader’s cow. The only cow for miles. Their blossoming friendship is heartwarming and you can feel the mud and moisture through director Kelly Reichardt’s naturalistic style. If she keeps making westerns, I’ll keep watching them.
3. Sound of Metal: In another world, both Riz Ahmed and Paul Raci could have won Oscars for their performances here. By tying our main character’s hearing loss to his past and current struggles with addiction was a masterstroke of storytelling. The anger, the frustration, the helplessness, the empathy all on display here have made this one of the emotional films of 2020. The final scene between the two aforementioned actors is easily one of the best scenes of the year. And to think, all this praise and I haven’t even mentioned the top-tier, widely evocative sound design.
2. I’m Thinking of Ending Things: Like any good Charlie Kaufman script, this is about loneliness, misery, and failure and it comments on these things with thoughtfulness and dark wit. The core four here (Plemons, Buckley, Thewlis, Collette) are all fantastic, adding the perfect amounts of uneasiness and insidiousness that would come with the fractured memories of someone contemplating suicide. Intriguingly bizarre, fascinatingly executed, and dense with deep-cut references to art and criticism. I love all Kaufman’s surreal storytelling elements and as much as he wants to push away the audience, they only draw me further in. Oh, and there’s a hilarious pot-shot at Robert Zemeckis. What more could you ask for?
1. Dick Johnson is Dead: Kirsten Johnson’s second feature and I’m already a super-fan of her style of incredibly personal documentaries. Here, she sets out to get her titular father on camera before his mind deteriorates into dementia. Together, father and daughter grapple with mortality in a very unique way: by acting out every scenario in which Dick Johnson may die, from the quietly dignified to the most violent Looney Tunes-esque situations. Trust me, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be absolutely touched by this portrait of family, life, and loss. No spoilers, but the funeral scene is among my shortlist of best scenes of the year.
