Top 100 Best Films Of 2020

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!!

Godzilla Vs Kong (2021) Movie Review.

The epic next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against one another – the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong – with humanity caught in the balance.

Now this is more what I am talking about, Godzilla Vs Kong is vastly superior to the previous film in the monsterverse Godzilla King Of The Monsters (when I first saw it I liked it but it does not hold up on a rewatch.) first off let’s talk about the action scenes, which I thought were so much better, I believe that’s mainly due to most of the action scenes taking place during the day rather then a stormy day or night like a lot of what King Of The Monsters was. Not only that but the scenes were just better filmed, felt more clean and looked like there was actual care, a lot of focus on what’s going on ect. I thought the human characters were actually a lot better, they were definitely not perfect. But there was a very noticeable improvement, Brian Tyree Henry I thought was a standout. While not every line he was given was very good he did a pretty decent job with the delivery, Millie Bobby Brown and Rebecca Hall I were also pretty decent again not every line was great but they still got the job done. Which does lead me to the writing, again it is a lot better than King Of The Monsters but there is a schlock that could have been either cut out altogether or changed up a bit. As far as the direction this is Adam Wingard’s best in awhile, it’s great to see Wingard still has it after the disappointing Blaire Witch sequel and the trainwreck Death Note. Godzilla Vs Kong felt like the old Wingard who directed fantastic films like You’re Next and The Guest! Wingard did a really great job when it came to build up, he built up each action scene really well and told a straightforward story as well. Godzilla Vs Kong is exactly what you expect it to be a monster film that is a ton of fun and at the same time it’s a great movie. Godzilla and King Kong are fantastic and look as incredible as ever, this is a blast of fun! I highly recommend giving this one a go!

8/10 B+

Chaos Walking (2021) Movie Review!

A dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each other’s thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise.

2021 is definitely not Doug Liman’s year, first there was LockedDown and now Chaos Walking. To be fair Chaos Walking has had many release dates in the past but was delayed for various reasons. The best way to describe Chaos Walking is that it’s another YA Sci-Fi adaption, it feels like a movie that should have came out years ago and it strangely feels very outdated. The only positives this movie has going for it is Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland, the performances were definitely not good at all but at least they tried with what they had. The huge problem with this movie is the waste of a good cast and some great ideas, the movie uses those ideas in the most bare bones way possible and doesn’t really bother with character development or try to develop these ideas. Instead it feels like a chore to sit through and doesn’t say or do anything interesting at all, some of the scenes in the movie you can easily tell they were reshoots which really shows a level of not caring at all. Doug Liman’s direction is terrible, there’s no style, no sense of trying to make the characters interesting and definitely no attempt to make this good either. I’m not sure what exactly happened to Liman (for god sake he directed Edge Of Tomorrow one of my favorite films of the 2010s) but good lord this feels like a huge step down from some of his other work. Then there’s the pacing…this felt way too long even though it was 109 minute long, the movie hits a wall after the first 20 minutes and gets slower and slower. I really don’t have much else to say Chaos Walking is another YA adaption that’s going to be easily forgotten, give this one a pass.

1/10 F

Most Anticipated Films Of April 2021!

March flew by pretty quickly! And was actually a pretty surprising month when it came to films! April has a smaller offering but I definitely feel like this will be a case of quantity over quality!! So let’s talk this month!

Now I have actually seen 3 of these movies already which are…

Jakobs Wife which is releasing on VOD April 16th, I recently have done a review on it so if you haven’t already check it out! It’s a refreshing take on the Vampire genre and Barbara Crampton is brilliant in it! Highly recommend it!

Best Summer Ever which is releasing on VOD April 27th is the movie Music wanted to be. As I said in my review it’s a huge win for representation and I seriously can’t wait for everyone to see this movie, it’s such a fun musical that puts a smile on your face. Definitely was one of the standouts from SXSW! I have a review out for this one as well so if you haven’t already check it out!

Finally there’s my most anticipated In The Earth which I’m very excited to see again! I saw it back in January during the Sundance Film Festival and this is one of the movies from Sundance I’ve wanted to watch again ever since! It’s a mix of many different types of films like Midsommar and Annihilation! Ben Wheatley goes back to his roots and it’s just incredible to see. I will definitely be making a second review that goes into more depth so be on the lookout for that! In The Earth releases in theaters April 16th!

Now let’s talk about some of the other films!

Shiva Baby I have been waiting to see forever now, I’ve heard so many great things about it and when I heard it got a release date I got very excited! I’ve heard it’s a powerful coming of age movie and that happens to be one of my favorite genres! The trailer is also incredible so count me in! Shiva Baby releases on VOD April 2nd

Concrete Cowboy is a Netflix film starring Idris Elba another movie I’ve been waiting to get a release date for a bit! It seems really promising! It releases On Netflix April 2nd

A few horror movies that are releasing into theaters are The Separation which is releasing either April 23rd or April 30th (so many sites are having conflicting dates) The Unholy which releases April 2nd!

Voyagers releases in theaters April 9th

Every Breath You Take releases on VOD April 2nd

Things Heard And Seen releases on Netflix April 30th along with The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines a movie that had almost forgotten about before I saw the new trailer with a release date. It looks like a very promising movie that I think can be great!

Boys From County Hell releases on April 22nd on Shudder

Finally we have Mortal Kombat which releases on HBO Max April 23rd! I have to say I was very shocked by the trailer and this might be another video game adaptation movie that doesn’t suck! The original Mortal Kombat movie is a guilty pleasure of mine that could definitely use improvements so I’m hoping that’s the case here! We got lucky with Sonic and Pokemon (Detective Pikachu) I’m hoping for the best with Mortal Kombat!

Boss Level and Lucky (2021) Movie Reviews!

A retired special forces officer is trapped in a never ending time loop on the day of his death.

The best way to describe to Boss Level is dumb fun, the acting overall is pretty decent Frank Grillo, Mel Gibson and Naomi Watts all do a very solid job in their roles. The action itself is well choreographed and gives plenty of detail, Boss Level is lacking when it comes writing as a lot of it feels way too on the nose towards the end. But the movie does capture how a lot of 80s and 90s action movies were pretty straightforward so it does a decent job of doing that. Boss Level definitely won’t break any new ground when it comes to the action genre, but it’s certainly not a bad attempt from director Joe Carnahan (director of The Grey)

6/10 C+

A suburban woman fights to be believed as she finds herself stalked by a threatening figure who returns to her house night after night. When she can’t get help from those around her, she is forced to take matters into her own hands.

I really don’t have much to say about Lucky, it’s an interesting take on the stalker film genre that’s become way too common. However the execution I felt was incredibly lacking, it doesn’t help that the acting wasn’t exactly that great. The writing once again had interesting ideas but like the premise of the movie was really lacking in terms of execution. The rest of the movie is just very forgettable, it’s the type of movie where after you finish watching it you will quickly forget about. It’s a shame too because I was pretty interested in this movie, missed opportunity.

4/10 D+

Sundance Review: In The Earth (2021)

As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run.

Ben Wheatley has always been one of my favorite directors, although his last film Rebecca was nowhere near as good as some of his other films. I still had a lot of hope for In The Earth mostly because it sounded like Wheatley was going back to his roots and luckily that’s what the film is. In The Earth is a hybrid of Midsommar and Annihilation and quite a remarkable one, Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia are huge standouts from the cast. Both give fantastic performances are very effective, the same can be said for the rest of the cast as well like Reece Shearsmith and Hayley Squires! The writing is really strong here, it feels very natural and leads you into the world the film is taking place in. The cinematography and visuals are absolutely stunning, combine that with the location of the film and you got yourself a beautiful film. In The Earth also has a very haunting and suspenseful atmosphere where at any given moment something could happen. The haunting atmosphere fits the film extremely well and adds so much to it, the direction from Ben Wheatley is absolutely incredible. Ben Wheatley is at his best when he directs films like In The Earth where he can add as much suspense as possible and make it as haunting as possible. In The Earth is such a beautifully haunting film that actually does get a bit disturbing towards the middle of the film, which both shocked and impressed me. I will definitely have a more in depth review when In The Earth officially releases because I seriously don’t want to accidentally spoil this movie. In The Earth is one of my favorite films so far this year, definitely check it out when it releases later this year!

10/10 A+

Little Fish (2021) Movie Review

A couple fights to hold their relationship together as a memory loss virus spreads and threatens to erase the history of their love and courtship.

Little Fish is how you do a pandemic movie, I was genuinely surprised of how much I liked this one. Olivia Cooke and Jack O’Connell both do a fantastic job in their roles and give very authentic performances as well. The chemistry between the two are really strong and feel like an actual relationship, the writing is also quite great something that Locked Down was missing was character development and character moments. Luckily Little Fish remembers that and puts in character development and a ton of character building moments. We take a look at what the characters are feeling and what their thoughts are about the pandemic. They are both trying to find each other which gets more and more powerful as the film goes on, especially at the end which did hit me pretty hard. Little Fish is also beautifully made and has a beautiful atmosphere as well, it gives the type of atmosphere and care that other pandemic movies should really follow. It’s also worth noting this is directed by Chad Hartigan who previously did Morris From America, overall Little Fish is about a couple finding themselves that leads to a beautifully written story. I highly recommend giving this one a watch!

9/10 A

Earwig And The Witch and Bliss (2021) Movie Reviews!

It follows an orphan girl, Earwig, who is adopted by a witch and comes home to a spooky house filled with mystery and magic.

I know there was a lot of criticism about Earwig and the Witch when the trailer first came out online, seeing that was 3D animated rather than Studio Ghibli’s traditional drawn animation was very surprising and felt out of the blue. Plus the movie itself did not look anywhere near as good as the other films, despite this I wanted to give it a try and see that maybe it could be decent….it wasn’t. The main issue here is hardly anything ever happens, the writing just does not have a whole lot of material. It’s the type of movie where someone clearly had a somewhat interesting idea but then decided to water it down quite a bit. It feels like a movie that needed more time to be worked on, the animation is not that great either. While it’s not as bad as some people said it was it’s definitely not inspiring at all. With a lot of Studio Ghibli’s films you feel magic in the film, through the characters and animation….you just don’t get that here at all, it feels like someone who spent like 15 minutes of watching a Studio Ghibli film idea of what a Studio Ghibli film is like. I completely understand they were trying to go for something different with this movie, but it heavily backfired pretty badly and it’s a shame too. There’s a few scenes here and there that work, I do find some of the film charming as well, but it’s really not enough to save this movie from being a disappointment. It’s a movie with absolutely no substance.

3/10 D-

A mind-bending love story following Greg who, after recently being divorced and then fired, meets the mysterious Isabel, a woman living on the streets and convinced that the polluted, broken world around them is a computer simulation.

I’m going to be completely honest here….I’m not exactly sure what Bliss was supposed to be. What I do know is this was a dreadful start for Amazon Prime Video’s original movies for this year. It’s absolutely no wonder this had nonexistent advertising, the only reason why I found out about this movie is because I occasionally check the “list of Amazon Prime Video Original Movies” Wikipedia page and saw it listed. Anyway the movie itself is dreadful, a lot of the movie feels like a bunch of different ideas from other movies blended into one gigantic mess. Owen Wilson feels completely out of place here, I’m all for Owen Wilson trying different things (heck I actually really liked No Escape) but this just does not work at all. Salma Hayek definitely tries her best but it’s just not enough to save this movie, this is most definitely one of her weaker roles. The script feels very empty with no direction and very little idea of what it wants to truly be, there isn’t any passion or anything showing that anyone cared about this movie at all. The best compliment I can give it is maybe some of the filming is okay but even then it’s not that great. Most of all Bliss just felt like release date fodder, my guess was this movie was just laying around somewhere and they had to release it eventually. Overall really not much else to be said here, it’s a terrible movie that I recommend skipping.

1/10 F

Psycho Goreman (2021)

After unearthing a gem that controls an evil monster looking to destroy the Universe, a young girl and her brother use it to make him do their bidding.

Steven Kostanski is quickly becoming a director to look out for, I really loved The Void and I thought Leprechaun Returns was a solid comeback for an overall bad franchise. Psycho Goreman takes elements from The Void and does something a lot different, imagine a Power Rangers like show but with gore and a monster as the main character….you have Psycho Goreman! It strangely works as well, there’s a lot to praise about the film! First off the designs of the monsters and the gore is incredible, it really brings you back to the 80s and it’s very much appreciated. They have great detail and the designs of the characters help describe them as well, the story is simplistic and goes toward the “what the hell am I watching?” route but in a good way, the film itself feels like a Saturday morning cartoon but in the best way possible. Matthew Ninaber does the voice for Psycho Goreman and he does a fantastic job, his voice combined with the character give really great results. The major flaw I do have with this movie is Mimi played by Nita-Josee Hanna she’s a truly annoying character and the lines given to her are just not that great. I get what the film was going for however since it does feel like a Saturday morning cartoon I’m guessing they were trying to go for having an annoying character like a lot of cartoons are meant to have. But that really does not translate well into live action, that’s only my guess of what I think they were trying to do but either way the character really does hold back the movie. The humor is also a hit or miss at times the movie is genuinely funny with some clever jokes and then other parts the jokes really don’t land quite as well. But overall Psycho Goreman is some of the most fun I’ve had with a film so far this year, it does have it’s flaws that do hold it back at times. But the film is definitely something I recommend checking out especially if you are looking for something really fun to watch.

7/10 B

Quick Reviews: Synchronic (2020) and Batman Soul Of The Dragon (2021)

Two New Orleans paramedics’ lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.

Synchronic is a very decent Sci-Fi Thriller that really shows some huge talent from Anthony Mackie and surprisingly Jamie Dornan as well as the rest of the cast! The direction from Justin Benson director of The Endless and Spring (both fantastic films) does a really great job of creating a very solid and thrilling atmosphere. Synchronic does take awhile to get going, but once the movie gets going it’s a very fun experience. The writing is a lot of fun with some great moments that build the atmosphere, while Synchronic might be weaker than The The Endless and Spring it’s still a solid movie that I recommend checking out.

7/10 B

In the 1970s, a missing teacher of martial arts is the subject of a quest by his devoted and brilliant but distant students, who include Batman.

Batman Soul Of The Dragon is the newest DC animated movie, I have a love and hate relationship with these movies. They either go in one or two ways either they are good or they are bad. Soul of the Dragon is pretty alright it has some decent action scenes and some pretty decent characters to back it up. The movie is heavily flawed however, the animation is really not that great. Especially when you compare it to a lot of the other DC animated movie’s animation this looks just terrible in comparison. My other huge issue is Batman is just sort of there, sure he does get involved in the story but he really doesn’t do much. I wouldn’t mind this that much if the villains were interesting…sadly they aren’t. They are the most generic villains you could think of, it’s a huge shame because I understand what the movie was trying to go for. Which was something very simple but unfortunately it doesn’t quite hit. Soul of the Dragon definitely is not a bad movie, it has a ton of fun moments and as I said some of the other characters are interesting this is just one of those DC animated movies that really does not standout all that much.

6/10 C+