The Best Movies of 2020! The Gentlemen, Tenet and More!

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a special year. Yeah, special. That's the ticket! Given all that happened, it was inevitable that the year in movies would suffer somewhat, as all of the most anticipated movies have been pushed into 2021. That left us with a whole lot of PVOD movies and streaming, but you know what? There were still some great movies. Above, you'll find my personal 10 favorite movies of the year, but I also wanted to include our other two theatrical critics, who wound up having significantly different takes on the year in film from my own:

Chris Bumbray's Top 10

Sound of Metal
Nomadland
Tenet
Mank
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Synchronic
Palm Springs
Possessor
The Invisible Man
The Gentlemen

JimmyO's Top 10:

Promising Young Woman: Writer/director Emerald Fennell has given us a wicked treat to end the year, with the brilliant Promising Young Woman. Carey Mulligan gives an exceptional performance as a young woman dealing with past trauma who decides that vengeance may the one thing that satisfies her after her previous experience and loss. From it's sublime opening to the unexpected final act, this is a sharp and beautifully written, directed, and acted feature. Easily my favorite of the year, Promising Young Woman is unforgettable.
Love and Monsters: Who knew a fun flick with a B-movie premise would be so utterly satisfying. Love and Monsters features one of the best performances of the year courtesy of Dylan O'Brien's exceptional work, it also presents an impressive amount of heart and soul in the guise of an apocalyptic monster movie. Shockingly sweet and unusually deep, this flick is a joy to watch, and Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, and Ariana Greenblatt all add impressive support to this Michael Matthews directed feature.
Nomadland: There's no doubt that Frances McDormand is a ridiculously talented performer. However, her work in the intensely powerful Nomadland is unnervingly honest and heartfelt. Chloe Zhao has crafted a beautiful and unfiltered examination of homelessness without resorting to sentimentality and forced emotion. This is a wonderful film that feels especially relevant in these difficult times.
The Invisible Man: After his excellent feature Upgrade, it's not terribly shocking that writer/director Leigh Whannell knows how to tell a great story in a unique way. Yet this modern telling of The Invisible Man is far beyond what I'd have ever expected. The use of sound and space is riveting, and the lead performance by Elisabeth Moss only makes us care all the more about her nightmarish situation. It also features one of the best horror moments ever put on-screen when Moss and her sister have dinner in a crowded restaurant. There's nothing invisible about it, Whannell is one of the most talented voices in genre today.
Sound of Metal: Speaking of sound design, you won't find a better example of it than in this year's fantastic feature Sound of Metal, written and directed by Darius Marder. And yes, we have another amazing performance courtesy of Riz Ahmed as a drummer in a rock band dealing with both addiction and the loss of his hearing. Much like Nomadland, this excellent film deals with the heartbreak of the situation in a real and honest way. While this may be difficult to watch at times, it's easily one of the most profound and moving portraits of the year.
Beastie Boys Story: I've always had an appreciation for music biographies, yet rarely are they as satisfyingly open and personal as the wonderful Beastie Boys Story. Presented as a stage show experience, Mike Diamond and Adam Horowitz bring their engaging presence to the stage as they discuss the success of the band, and of course the loss of a dear friend. Whether you like the band or not, director Spike Jonze captures the essence of the iconic Beastie Boys and made a music documentary for the ages.
Possessor Uncut: Brandon Cronenberg may be exploring body horror like his father, but Possessor Uncut is uniquely his own. This tale of a secret organization of assassins is bloody, brutal yet still very character-driven thanks to a great script and the excellent work from Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Sean Bean. If you haven't seen it, don't let anybody give away its secrets before you dive in, Possessor is one of the best examples of sci-fi horror from the past few years, and I expect great things from Mr. Cronenberg in the future.
Aviva: Writer/director Boaz Yakin has crafted his most ambitious film yet. While the filmmaker never settles to one style of storytelling, I'd never have expected a modern tale of love, sex, and dance to work as well as it does here. While it could have been a simple love story, Mr. Yakin examines the romantic exploits by casting both a man and a woman each to play the two lead characters. This exceptional tale is deeply romantic, yet incredibly open about its sexuality and the complications between men and women, men and men, and women and women. This under the radar film is well worth seeking out.
The Trial of the Chicago 7: Whenever history is being made, it seems we get another story from another time that is relevant to the world we are living in now. Yet Aaron Sorkin's splendid courtroom drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 is one of the best examples of creating a fresh and intoxicating feature film about a true tale, and it also offers up a brilliant ensemble that includes Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen III, and much more. Available on Netflix, this is well worth investing your time in.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always: While I had to narrow down a list of 20 terrific films, Never Rarely Sometimes Always continues to remain in my memory. This intensely personal tale of a young girl traveling to New York to seek medical help with her pregnancy is brutally honest, but without sacrificing its power by overplaying the bittersweet nature of the situation. Impressively directed by Eliza Hittman, this is a terrific feature with a star-making performance from its leading lady Sidney Flanigan.

Matt Rooney's Top 10:

Minari: A perfect film about the immigrant experience that truly needs to be seen by everyone. This semi-biographical film from Lee Isaac Chung depicts the life of a Korean family as they try to make life work in a remote Arkansas town. Wondrous in its simple approach, funny, emotionally challenging, filled with awards-worthy work from Steven Yeun and Youn Yuh-jung, and – despite what the Hollywood Foreign Press Association says – the most American film you’ll see all year, depicting the very real struggles that come with trying to life the American Dream.
Nomadland: Going back to the rural landscapes she brilliantly captured in The Rider, Chloe Zhao proves herself one of the best new directors around with Nomadland. Frances McDormand is incredible as Fern, one of many across America who have taken to vans and mobile homes to live on the road. Beautifully shot to capture the majesty of the often overlooked American heartland, Zhao masterfully captures the heart of soul of the nomadic lifestyle, crafting an absorbing ode to the quest for true freedom.
The Personal History of David Copperfield: Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin) proves once again he’s the reigning master of the ensemble comedy with The Personal History of David Copperfield A big heart, top-notch costumes and period-set production design, and every ounce of the sharp wit and outstanding acting (particularly some career best by Dev Patel) that define Iannucci’s past work makes this one of the most joyful experiences I’ve had with a movie all year.
Wolfwalkers: An unexpected surprise bounding out of the woods and into all of our hearts, Wolfwalkers is the animated feat of the year. Arresting hand-drawn animation matched with a wonderful, mythic story, this charming, heart-warming, complex tale of friendship overcoming intolerance filled with some impeccable voice-acting has so much to love coursing through every frame.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a mesmerizing adaptation of the classic August Wilson work, featuring my favorite performance from a leading man this year from the late Chadwick Boseman. Right alongside an equally compelling Viola Davis, George C. Wolfe’s superb adaptation captures the energy of the play by honing-in on the electric performances and music, never diluting the sheer power of the Wilson’s words and characters that have been so perfectly brought to life.
The Invisible Man: I had hoped The Invisible Man starring Elisabeth Moss and directed by Leigh Whannell would be good, but never did I think it would have any right to be this good. Whannell puts an exciting, timely spin on the classic Universal monster story that manages to be terrifying, shocking and downright genius – led by some outstanding work by Moss.
Palm Springs: With the “time loop” sub-genre becoming more popular across the media landscape, PALM SPRINGS manages to make the device its own with a hilarious and sweet examination of two people trapped together in an endless repeat of the same day. The heart and soul rests in Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti’s characters and the existential challenges that come with living, dying and repeating – and their hysterical performances and tender chemistry make it all the more compulsively watchable.
Promising Young Woman: With her directorial debut, Promising Young Woman, director Emerald Fennell is not f**king around. There’s so much complexity to Fennell’s examination of consent, misogyny and revenge across Cassie’s (Carey Mulligan) mission confronting “nice guys” to go over in a small paragraph. All you need to know is that Fennell makes her mark with a gorgeous, funny, unflinching debut that finds Mulligan turning in some of her very best work among a sea of incredible work in what surely go down as one of the most unforgettable movies of 2020.
Sound of Metal: The story of a hard-rock drummer, Ruben, rapidly losing his hearing, Riz Ahmed is at an entirely new level as he commands every second in what is one of the best performances from a leading man all year. He seamlessly captures Ruben’s road to acceptance through anger, resentment, doubt, and ultimately humility, all while the story shines an honest light on the deaf community.
Small Axe: Lover’s Rock: Steve McQueen leaned into darker themes in movies like 12 Years a Slave, Widows and more, but his work on Lover’s Rock is all about the love; the love of West Indian food, reggae music and, captured most unforgettably with some amazing cinematography, the love between Black men and women on the dance floor, in the halls and all the way into the wee hours of the morning.