I apologize this is pretty late between festivals and other stuff I’ve been delaying this for a bit. But here it is better late then never, I do want to clear up that I’ll be going back to a Top 60 Best and Worst when it comes time to do the 2021 lists. The only reason why I decided on doing a top 100 for 2020 was to give other films a chance to shine due to COVID-19. For 100-26 I won’t be talking about them at all except for maybe a few movies that just missed the top 25. For the Top 25 I’ll say a few things about them but nothing too crazy. With that said I hope you enjoy and hope this helps you find movies you want to watch.

So a few here that just barely missed the top 25.

Wolfwalkers is a fantastic animated film that really tells a beautiful story in great detail and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom gives arguably Chadwick Boseman’s best performance of his career!

The Lodge is definitely a strange but fantastic horror film, it released in early February of 2020 and I definitely feel a lot of people missed it. It’s a pretty interesting horror movie that keeps you guessing on what’s going to happen next definitely recommended. And Happiest Season I wanted to put in the Top 25 really badly but the competition in 2020 was really tough. It’s a fantastic film and as I said in my review I can definitely see it becoming a classic to watch during the holidays.

Now for the Top 25!

25. Miss Americana – This film was an early favorite of 2020 coming out in January and on Netflix. This is one of the few documentaries where you actually get to see a human side to an artist in this case Taylor Swift. Which she share’s pretty much everything with the audience, I absolutely admire the energy of this documentary Taylor is telling everyone who attacked or made stuff up about her that she’s not going to be pushed around anymore. You also actually start to feel for her as well seeing the media pretty much slander her, create false narratives that doesn’t exist and much more. Truly a fantastic documentary that I haven’t forgotten about

24. Time – This is a personal about Fox Rich fighting for the release of her husband, the documentary is power that’s honestly the best way to sum it up. It shows how much Fox loves her husband to the point where you feel the pain and sadness she’s going through, this is seriously a beautifully made documentary that will most definitely make you cry.

23. Hamilton – Not much to say here to be quite honest, before I saw the performance on Disney+ I actually had never seen Hamilton before but I always wanted to. So it was great opportunity when Disney+ had recording Hamilton, what’s even better is it makes you feel like you are right there in the theater.

22. Dick Johnson Is Dead – A fantastic idea that is executed perfectly, the documentary is effect due to Kristen and her father’s relationship it’s both hilarious and meaningful.

21. Relic – A very horrifying take on Dementia, Natalie Erika James absolutely knocks it out of the park in the director’s chair, she knows how to make interesting character development and how to make a film as haunting as possible. When you combine that with the atmosphere it’s truly horrifying!

20. Euphoria: Trouble Don’t Last Always – Again another one with not much to say, it’s a fantastic look at Rue and Ali’s characters. Both are going through several problems and they talk out, it’s a very realistic and emotional look at a conversation about drug addiction. Levinson does a fantastic job with the directing and the character development as I said before is fantastic.

19. Host – Host just sort of came out of nowhere and ended up being on a lot of people’s favorite films of 2020 lists and mine is no exception. I’m a huge fan of the social media horror/thriller movies, like Searching, Cam, Unfriended, The Den and a few others! Host ends up being one of the absolute best, it’s entirely on a Zoom call which ends up giving the film a much more realistic approach as well, the film itself is very atmospheric, haunting and just an overall a incredible ride that may only be 56 minutes long but it’s much more effective than a lot of Hollywood horror movies.

18. Shirley – 2020 was definitely Elisabeth Moss’s year when it came to film, She absolutely knocked it out of the park with her role in Shirley. It feels like a dreamlike horror of a fairytale, Josephine Decker’s direction feels like a fantasy come to life combined with beautiful cinematography and a hypnotic feel to the film. It’s truly a beautiful display of storytelling!

17. Bad Education – Cory Finley did a fantastic job with his previous film Thoroughbreds and he did a fantastic job here! Hugh Jackman and Alison Janney both do an incredible job, the film does a fantastic job of telling the story of the largest public school embezzlement in American history, the writing is flawless and leads to incredibly raw moments. Make sure to watch this one if you haven’t already!

16. The King Of Staten Island – Pete Davidson also had a strong year when it came to movies, first with Big Time Adolescent and then with King Of Staten Island. The best way to sum up King Of Staten Island is that everything about it is raw, the acting is raw, the writing is raw, the film is shot in this very raw style. The story is simple yet very interesting as well, it has that “showing the daily lives or life of a certain person or group of people” type feel. Truly a remarkable film!

15. One Night In Miami – The idea of having four different black icons (Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke) telling their thoughts on topics such as civil rights movement, the black community and much more makes a very interesting concept that results in a flawless execution. One Night In Miami gets even stronger when all four have a discussion with each other. Sharing their agreements, disagreements and topics they feel neutral on, it really explores who they are and what they ultimately think about the topic. The four sharing very different viewpoints and ideas is truly fascinating. Regina King knocks it out of the park with her direction as well!

14. Soul – One of Pixar’s strongest films, it hits you with all sorts of questions that you start to think about in a very deep way, Soul is definitely a very human movie about our choices, what we want to do in the future and so on. The storytelling is just that strong and magical truly masterful!

13. The Devil All The Time – “Some people are born just made to be buried” “It is our delusions that lead us to sin” those quotes really sum up how dark this film is, it’s truly an incredible film that looks at a small town and just how messed up pretty much everyone in the town is Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland are both fantastic as well as Sebastian Stan and Bill Skarsgard!! Truly a messed up film that I recommend!

12. Lovers Rock – 70 Minutes of some of the most beautiful scenes I’ve seen in a film of 2020, from the acting, to the writing to the absolute beautiful “Silly Games” scene it made me cry at least 3 different times Steve McQueen really did a fantastic job!

11. The Invisible Man – Leigh Whannell has proven he’s an Incredibly talented director after his previous film Upgrade there came Invisible Man which is truly an incredible horror film. Elisabeth Moss slays it in her role and truly gives a raw performance that is quite powerful! The film tackles PTSD In a very respectful manner as well which is again because Whannell set out to make this movie as good as possible. It’s haunting, surprising and truly one dark horror film that doesn’t hold back at all.

10. Possessor – kicking off the top 10 we have Possessor a disturbing horror film that Brandon Cronenberg did a wonderful job with. Between the brutal kills, the haunting atmosphere, the writing and acting being as realistic as possible and so much more Possessor really hits it out of the park when it comes to horror films that will definitely go on to be modern classics

9. Promising Young Woman – Carey Mulligan is fantastic in the leading role, Emerald Fennell’s realistic direction makes this film all the more powerful, the aesthetic of the film is just wonderful and the thrilling atmosphere really gives this film so much strength, the paths this film took were smart. It’s definitely not for everyone but for me it’s quite great!

8. I’m Thinking Of Ending Things – Definitely 2020’s “what the hell did I just watch?” Movie in the best way possible, it’s a very well acted film that really keeps you guessing of what’s real and what’s not. Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons and Toni Collette all do a fantastic job in their roles, Kaufman’s direction is masterful and the film itself is a one of a kind experience!

7. The Assistant – One of the most powerful films of 2020, it depicts sexual abuse In the work place in the most realistic way possible, Julia Garner does a fantastic job, the film also never ends up showing the boss which I still think is really clever of the film. Kitty Green does a great job of creating the mannerisms of the co-workers in the type of environment and so much more. It’s an incredible disturbing watch that I still think about.

6. The Father – I recently did a review for this one so I’ll just post a link to my review right here https://jeromereviews.home.blog/2021/04/06/the-father-2020-movie-review/

5. First Cow – it’s a film that says a lot while doing the smallest things. John Magaro and Orion Lee both hit it out of the park, both of them give raw performances combined with incredible writing truly makes them some of the best performances of the year. Just the discussions the both of them have with each other is fascinating to watch, it feels very grounded and it sticks with you as well. The friendship element I absolutely loved, the direction from Kelly Reichardt is very special she shows how realistic she wants this movie to be. She shows that showing the simplest things such as two characters having a simple discussion can be one of the strongest elements In a film, the music and the filming both are incredible. They both match the setting extremely well and give the viewer a feel of where it’s taking place.

4. Never Rarely Sometimes Always – This the type of film that just sticks with you, I’ve thought about this film constantly. The best word to describe the film is powerful, Sidney Flanigan gives one of the best performances of 2020 and truly does a perfect job, there are tons of scenes that ripped me to shreds truly an incredible film.

3. Minari – it’s the American Dream in a film, it’s everything that the dream stands for and Lee Isaac Chung showed just that on every single level.

2. Sound Of Metal – A film that makes you thankful for what you have, asks you what would happen if you woke up one day and lost something that is your happiness and it can slip away just like that. In this case it’s hearing which is important to a drummer, Riz Ahmed gives one of the most emotional and truly impactful roles.

1. Nomadland – Chloe Zhao really went and directed one of the most beautiful films out there, Nomadland takes the spot of number one because of how meaningful, beautiful, emotional and raw it really is. From the music, to the acting, writing, direction and so much more. It really does feel like you are on a trip with Fern. Nomadland is simply a masterpiece that is on a whole other level, it’s truly something you don’t see often at all in film. Chloe Zhao is truly Incredible and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

“One of the things I love most about this life is that there’s no final goodbye. You know, I’ve met hundreds of people out here and I don’t ever say a final goodbye. I always just say, “I’ll see you down the road.”

Thank you for your patience with this list! I hope you enjoyed!!