Best Movies Of 2020? We'll See.
Went through some "best of 2020" lists and here's what I think.
List activity
49 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
25 titles
- DirectorEmerald FennellStarsCarey MulliganBo BurnhamAlison BrieNothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be - she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.
- DirectorShaka KingStarsLaKeith StanfieldDaniel KaluuyaJesse PlemonsOffered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDavid ByrneJacqueline AcevedoGustavo Di DalvaSpike Lee documents the former Talking Heads frontman's brilliant, timely 2019 Broadway show, based on his recent album and tour of the same name.
- DirectorMax BarbakowStarsAndy SambergCristin MiliotiJ.K. SimmonsStuck in a time loop, two wedding guests develop a budding romance while living the same day over and over again.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenMagnus MillangFour high-school teachers consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives.
- DirectorThomas KailStarsLin-Manuel MirandaPhillipa SooLeslie Odom Jr.The real life of one of America's foremost founding fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Captured live on Broadway from the Richard Rodgers Theater with the original Broadway cast.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMeryl StreepGemma ChanDianne WiestA famous author goes on a cruise trip with her friends and nephew in an effort to find fun and happiness while she comes to terms with her troubled past.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsBill MurrayRashida JonesMarlon WayansA young mother reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York.
- DirectorRadha BlankStarsRadha BlankPeter KimOswin BenjaminRadha is a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, who is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. Reinventing herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime, she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theater in order to find her true voice.Netflix
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsTom HanksHelena ZengelTom AstorA Civil War veteran agrees to deliver a girl taken by the Kiowa people years ago to her aunt and uncle against her will. They travel hundreds of miles and face grave dangers as they search for a place that either can call home.
- DirectorDarius MarderStarsRiz AhmedOlivia CookePaul RaciA heavy metal drummer's life is turned upside down when he begins to lose his hearing and he must confront a future filled with silence.Amazon Prime
- DirectorNinian DoffStarsLewis GribbenRian GordonViraj JunejaAn anarchic, hip-hop inspired comedy that follows four city boys on a wilderness trek as they try to escape a mysterious huntsman.Amazon Prime
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsJohn David WashingtonRobert PattinsonElizabeth DebickiArmed with only the word "Tenet," and fighting for the survival of the entire world, CIA operative, The Protagonist, journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a global mission that unfolds beyond real time.
- DirectorLawrence Michael LevineStarsAubrey PlazaChristopher AbbottSarah GadonA filmmaker at a creative impasse seeks solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.
- DirectorJuliano DornellesKleber Mendonça FilhoStarsBárbara ColenThomas AquinoSilvero PereiraAfter the death of her grandmother, Teresa comes home to her matriarchal village in a near-future Brazil to find a succession of sinister events that mobilizes all of its residents.For about the first third of the movie, it looks like it's going to be fascinating. Sadly, it doesn't live up to its promise, turning into a combination of several different movie tropes. Supposedly remarkably political, those elements are far from complex. Critics seem to be entranced by the mash-up elements of the film and users generally agree, but I felt like I was descending into B-movie hell as Bacurau slowly reached its Tarantino-on-valium conclusion.
- DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsFrances McDormandDavid StrathairnLinda MayA woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.If there is any joy in living a mobile, "house-less" life, this movie has sucked out that feeling by deciding to concentrate on sadness, loneliness and death. Overlong and depressing, there are some beautiful moments towards the end of the film that partially make up for the gloom, but I think I'll check out the book this is based on to see if it presents a more balanced look at the nomadic lifestyle.
- DirectorGeorge C. WolfeStarsViola DavisChadwick BosemanGlynn TurmanTensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927.Very stagey, not much you haven't seen before, and melodramatic ending that appears tacked on. Viola Davis comes off best as Ma, who won't take any shit from the opportunistic white music producers. Chadwick Boseman contributes a great performance but his character is arrogant and unlikeable.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDelroy LindoJonathan MajorsClarke PetersFour black veterans battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Viet Nam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
- DirectorAaron SorkinStarsEddie RedmayneAlex SharpSacha Baron CohenThe story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
- DirectorSasie SealyStarsTsai ChinHsiao-Yuan HaMichael TowSet in New York City's Chinatown, an ornery, chain-smoking Chinese grandma goes all in at the casino, landing herself on the wrong side of luck - and in the middle of a gang war.This would probably not make any of the "Best Movies of 2020" lists if it weren't for the excellent performance by Tsai Chin as Grandma Wong. It's a fun movie, though, and there aren't many of those being made these days. The plot is fairly routine and it drags a bit for such a short film, but I enjoyed and would recommend it.
- DirectorAndrew PattersonStarsSierra McCormickJake HorowitzGail CronauerOne night in New Mexico, in the late 1950s, a switchboard operator and radio DJ discover a strange audio frequency which could change the future forever.
- DirectorPete DocterKemp PowersStarsJamie FoxxTina FeyGraham NortonJoe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.A little too highbrow and scary for children. The message is muddled for adults and there's no resolution for the two main characters. Music's good though.
- DirectorKris PearnCory EvansRob LodermeierStarsWill ForteMaya RudolphAlessia CaraConvinced they'd be better off raising themselves, the Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation. The siblings then embark on their own high-flying adventure to find the true meaning of family.Not too many archly themed animated movies coming out these days, or ever. My rating is a reluctant 7 as the parents are suitably obnoxious (to the point in which their children really do want to kill them) but rarely funny. The kids, the cats and the nanny carry the movie along through the rough patches and there is enough wit here amongst the "misses" to warrant a viewing.
- DirectorAlan YangStarsTzi MaChristine KoHong-Chi LeeIn this multigenerational drama, a Taiwanese factory worker leaves his homeland to seek opportunity in America, where he struggles to find connection while balancing family and new-found responsibilities.Low key drama about one man's decision to forego his own happiness to benefit his family, only to have it backfire and effectively destroy his life and future relationships with his wife and daughter. Not likely to be on many top-ten lists for 2020, but an effective look at how a lack of communication and the result of wrong choices can lead to a lifetime of suffering. The movie is enhanced by a muted resolution that avoids the "happy ending" trope.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsGary OldmanAmanda SeyfriedLily Collins1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941).Well done, but somehow lightweight, telling of Mankiewicz' writing of "Citizen Kane" along with his rivalry with William Randolph Hearst. Oddly, Olson Welles is a secondary character in a film about the movie that defined his career. Amanda Seyfried stands out as Marion Davies and Oldman does a fine job playing the title role.