Stop me if you’ve heard this before: 2020 — what a year!
Movies offer an escape from dire times but even the cinemas weren’t immune from the coronavirus. I know this intimately: I watch more than a hundred new films each year and I’m a filmmaker in my life outside journalism, too.
Amid all of the upheavals, including the shuttering of most theaters and the deferral of blockbusters to 2021, there are so, so many signs of hope.
For one, films are still being made: I directed two short films this year and worked on the sets of several others, working primarily outdoors with small crews all wearing masks and socially distanced. Industrywide, streaming services are bringing an increasingly diverse array of movies straight to your living room.
Just two examples: Pixar’s latest, Soul, and the would-be superhero blockbuster Wonder Woman 1984 opened Friday on Disney+ and HBO Max, respectively.
Here’s a look back at my favorite films of 2020 and how you can watch them: Right now. From the comfort and safety of your couch.
20. THE OUTPOST (U.S., dir. Rod Lurie) Netflix
Love war films? Love westerns? Love stand-offs? The Outpost, a pulse-pounding true story of the Battle of Kamdesh during the war in Afghanistan, was primed for a theatrical release earlier this year — and certainly deserved one. It’s among the most thrilling films of the year. You should watch it on the biggest screen possible with the sound cranked way up.
19. COLOR OUT OF SPACE (U.S., dir. Richard Stanley) Shudder
Nicolas Cage. Tommy Chong. Aliens.
Need I say more?
18. SOUND OF METAL (U.S., dir. Darius Marder) Amazon Prime
There’s a moment early on in Sound of Metal in which Riz Ahmed’s drummer, midway through a show, suddenly loses his hearing. The sound mix puts you in his head, experiencing the disorienting jumble of sounds and pulses as he tries to go on. It’s one of the most inventive uses of sound this year in a film that, once it sets in, will be hard for you to shake.
17. RED, WHITE AND BLUE (U.K., dir. Steve McQueen) Amazon Prime
Is Red, White and Blue a film if it never screened in a theater?
That’s one of the existential questions facing the movie industry this year. This fall, Amazon Prime released this film along with four others by director Steve McQueen (of 12 Years a Slave) as part of a series called “Small Axe.” This film, about one of the first black police officers in London, and the others will compete for Emmys, not Oscars, but collectively and individually they represent the best and most cinematic storytelling of the year. In my mind, such labels as “film” or “television” are moot in a year when virtually all movies are being seen on TV.
16. I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (U.S., dir. Charlie Kaufman) Netflix
Netflix gave Charlie Kaufman, the low-key genius behind Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a sprawling canvas for this sometimes confounding and slightly deranged film about the accrued regrets of a lifetime. Bless them!
15. THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION (U.S., dir. Radha Blank) Netflix
One of the funniest films of 2020, about the foibles of a pushing-40 playwright/rapper doing the best she can in hard times. Its brutal honesty is its greatest strength.
14. LA LLORONA (Guatemala, dir. Jayro Bustamante) Shudder
Not to be confused with last year’s The Curse of La Llorona, a far less ambitious horror flick, La Llorona is the story of a central American dictator literally being haunted by his crimes. It ain’t subtle but it’s effective.
13. MANGROVE (U.K., dir. Steve McQueen) Amazon Prime
It’s difficult not to compare Mangrove with the other film about activists on trial for exercising free speech. Aaron Sorkin’s perfectly fine Trial of the Chicago 7 is available on Netflix. If you can only watch one, though, make it Mangrove. McQueen, who grew up in the neighborhood in question, captures a sense of place and time beautifully. This courtroom drama is so much more than a recounting of history, it’s a revolutionary act on its own.
12. TIME (U.S., dir. Garrett Bradley) Amazon Prime
Time is a fairly straightforward documentary tracing one woman’s decades-long effort to free her husband from prison. The people are so compelling, and the material so affecting, that filmmaker Garrett Bradley doesn’t need to do much editorializing.
11. BIRDS OF PREY (U.S., dir. Cathy Yan) HBO Max
Consider this a superhero flick for people who don’t like superhero flicks. Not that I have anything against brooding men in tights but, c’mon fellas, stop trying to out-Christopher Nolan Christopher Nolan. Few films this year filled me with as much unalloyed joy as this candy-colored fantasia of a put-upon Harley Quinn doing her best not to be a hero.
10. CORPUS CHRISTI (Poland, dir. Jan Komasa) Criterion Channel
In America, Corpus Christi would be Adam Sandler flick. Just listen to the premise: A ne’er-do-well, through a simple misunderstanding, becomes the parish priest of a small town. Don’t get me wrong. This Polish film is often funny and even a bit surreal but director Jan Komasa takes this high-concept plot to some poignant and unexpected places.
9. THE ASSISTANT (U.S., dir. Kitty Green) Hulu
Anyone who’s seen the Netflix show “Ozark” already knows what Julia Garner is capable of. But the actress is a revelation in this slow-burn thriller about an assistant’s gradual awakening to the monstrous things happening behind her boss’ closed door.
8. MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (U.S., dir. George C. Wolfe) Netflix
August Wilson. Viola Davis. Chadwick Boseman.
I was in the bag for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom more than a year ago when this stage adaptation was first announced. But director George C. Wolfe finds clever ways to open the play up and to harness the raw power of his talented cast that made it well worth the wait. The only disappointment is that we won’t get to see Boseman on the big screen again.
7. COLLECTIVE (Romania, dir. Alexander Nanau) Rental
The most suspenseful film of 2020 is actually a documentary. Collective originally set out to uncover the corruption that contributed to a fatal nightclub fire. Along the way, though, the film’s subjects stumble upon something much deeper and more troubling...
6. THE WILD GOOSE LAKE (China, dir. Diao Yinan) Tubi
The Wild Goose Lake, the story of small-time criminals and corrupt police in a seedy little resort town, is a Scorsese plot shot through with the Coen Brothers’ sense of humor. In a year when neither of those directors had anything on the schedule, I was grateful for this wicked romp.
5. PALM SPRINGS (U.S., dir. Max Barbakow) Hulu
Few films feel as of their time, albeit accidentally, as Palm Springs. If my social media feeds are any indication, there’s a good chance you’ve already seen it. Y’know, sometimes popular things truly are great.
4. BEANPOLE (Russia, dir. Kantemir Balagov) Rental
Just in case you thought I turned in my “film snob” card with that last pick, here’s a grindingly bleak film about a Leningrad nurse living the best she can with severe PTSD during World War II. It’s a deeply empathetic film that’s stuck with me all year.
3. PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (France, dir. Céline Sciamma) Hulu
Back in normal times, the vagaries of the release schedule are such that this masterful French love story from 2019 was set to screen in Harrisburg in 2020. Then coronavirus came along. Luckily, you can fall breathlessly in love with its scenic vistas and sensitive performances from home.
2. FIRST COW (U.S., dir. Kelly Reichardt) Rental
Friendship, as important as it is in our day to day lives, is seldom explored at the cinema. Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow is the story of two friends who find a creative — and potentially dangerous — way to make a living. Its warmth and good humor is kind of perfect for this time of year.
1. LOVERS ROCK (U.K., dir. Steve McQueen) Amazon Prime
When I finished Lovers Rock, I went right back and watched it all over again. A week later, I went back for more. This 68-minute-long master class in visual storytelling creates just the vibe I needed in 2020: a house party full of great music and warm bodies. We may not be able to gather this way in real life right now but we can relive the experience through our screens. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of the cinema.
Happy viewing and happy holidays!
Wallace McKelvey may be reached at wmckelvey@pennlive.com. Follow him on Twitter @wjmckelvey. Find PennLive on Facebook.
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