Top 10 Movies of 2020: Specifically 2020 Edition

It’s the end of the year and that means end of the year lists. Of course, this is the end of 2020 which, it goes without saying, though I’ll say it anyway, was a weird, miserable year. Many of the movies that were supposed to be released in 2020 had their release dates moved to next year. Movie theaters were shuttered across the country, some indefinitely, some permanently. What strange, new, possibly bleak future awaits the entire industry is subject to whenever we manage to extricate ourselves from this unrelenting pandemic. I watched 2020 movies, sure, many of them, if not as many of them as I would have in any other year. I liked some of them a lot. But now, as my inbox is flooded with year-end screeners, I feel, frankly speaking, burned out on streaming and just burned out in general, less inclined to watch new movies than ever. A typical year end list through this lens feels not so much impossible as something closer to a lie, not the kind of list to match the mood. Perhaps if this was another blog, another publication, subjected to an editor’s exacting standards, we’d have to play by the hoary rules. As it is, this blog answers to no one but itself. Here, in alphabetical order, are the best movies I watched in 2020. 

Top 10 Movies of 2020: Specifically 2020 Edition

The August Virgin (2020)

In evoking the languid atmosphere of a few hot August weeks in Madrid, director Jonás Trueba, who co-wrote with his star Itsaso Arana, equates Finding Yourself with an earthly miracle. 

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020)

The Ross Brothers’ not-really-a-documentary documentary reimagines the edge of the earth of ancient times as the last 24 hours of a Las Vegas dive bar, or something. 

Dark Waters (2019)

I want more Diane Lane Goes To Pretty Places movies, certainly, I have not been shy in professing that, but do you know what I really want? I really want more movies like “Dark Waters,” pop filmmaking with a serious auteurist bent. 

The Edge of Democracy (2019)

Less a documentary, really, than a personal essay, Petra Costa brilliantly, sorrowfully suggests democracy is less a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives, than an impossible dream always waiting to come true. 

Infinite Disco (2020)

Let’s be real, I was probably never happier all 2020 than I was during Kylie Minogue’s livestream concert in early November to promote her new album “Disco.” 

Last of the Mohicans (1992)

In my single experience, your favorite movie just pops that much more during a pandemic. 

Monterey Pop (1968)

With live music effectively canceled in 2020, I rejoiced in going back to Monterey Pop. Turns out Janis Joplin singing “Ball & Chain” was the prototype for Ally singing “Shallow.” 

Roman Holiday (1953)

Entertaining and affecting, affecting and entertaining, two Movie Stars acting and two actors being Movie Stars, director William Wyler utilizing an impeccably crafted screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter and John Dighton to visually tell the story, yeah, I’m pretty sure “Roman Holiday” is the perfect movie.

Tokyo Olympiad (1965)

I’ll think about the Olympian eating a sandwich at the Olympics during his Olympic event for the rest of my life.

The Vast of the Night (2020)

Evokes the simultaneous terror and wonder in simply listening and looking up.