2020 has been a rough year for many which is quite the understatement. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage much of the world, affecting the lives of the majority of the world’s population maybe for good. Staying at home more often than usual while social distancing and wearing masks, we consume media in much different ways. As a result, the film industry as we know it looks a lot different as less are watching films in movie theatres and instead choosing to watch films at home. This is a trend that does not look to be changing anytime soon so it’s up to the movie theatre industry and film studios to adapt to the changing times. While some of them already have, wherever the future leads remains to be seen. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of choices of movies to be had, perhaps just not in the way in which we are used to viewing them. They may have come in different forms but they were certainly just as good (or bad) as they’ve always been. What did I think? Check out my picks for the top 10 best and worst films of 2020 (along with information on how to watch them)
Best
10. The Invisible Man
One of the two big Elisabeth Moss films of 2020 (the other being Shirley), The Invisible Man saw Moss put through the ringer both physically and emotionally as she delivered a powerhouse performance as a damaged woman at the hands of her controlling boyfriend who may or may not have gone to great lengths to ensure he remained in control. Though a thrilling, roller coaster tale in its own right, the film’s technical mastery, be it editing or cinematography or sound design, also deserves praise in building that palpable suspense and tension. It also features one of the most shocking sequences in recent memory. (Now available to stream on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the United States)
9. 76 Days
It’s only fitting that the COVID-19 pandemic found a way onto one of these lists so here’s a film that tracked it from nearly the beginning. 76 Days, is a documentary named after the 76 day lockdown within the city of Wuhan, China, where the pandemic allegedly began. Featuring the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff struggling with essentially the start of the pandemic felt so real and stressful yet so gipping to watch as the film puts a camera to the chaos, letting it and the people speak for itself to great success. Perhaps the ongoing pandemic makes the film more impactful, that impact will surely remain long after this pandemic is finally resolved. (Now available in digital cinemas in the United States)
8. Pieces of a Woman
When it comes to Pieces of a Woman, the biggest takeaway is the stellar lead performance from Vanessa Kirby in what was an emotional powerhouse of a film. As a woman reeling from the tragic loss of a child, Kirby pulls the audiences in to her pain and mourning as she tries to move on and make sense out of what happened. This was a roller coaster of emotion as her journey snowballed into the lives of the loved ones around her. Meanwhile, a memorable long shot sequence at the beginning of the film and another powerful performance from Ellen Burstyn should put both actresses in the conversation come Oscar time. (Stream it on Netflix starting February 7th)
7. Charm City Kings
Part love letter to the city of Baltimore, part compelling coming-of-age story, Charm City Kings is a gripping tale whose subject matter won’t be for everyone (though adapting a documentary into a feature film is not easy) but nevertheless is sure to resonate with a lot of audiences. Led by a plethora of great performances including Jahi Di’Allo Winston and a surprising Meek Mill along with heart, the film was clearly made with care and is well worth it. (Now available to stream on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the United States)
6. Shithouse
Sh*thouse (or Shithouse let’s not kid ourselves) was perhaps the biggest surprise of the year for me. One of my recent catch up movies, this one brought upon boatloads of feelings upon me while watching. I’m not sure what it says about me but I was buying what it was selling as the story behind it and the raw and vulnerable performance from Cooper Raiff who was also the film’s editor, writer, director, and star was one that resonated with me. He is certainly an up-and-coming talent and a name worth keeping an eye on in the near future. (now available to rent or buy on iTunes in Canada or Amazon in the United States)
5. The King of Staten Island
The first of two feel-good movies in my top 5, The King of Staten Island sees Judd Apatow in top form while serving as a coming out party for SNL star Pete Davidson. The fact that he’s not a big thing already is a problem but that should no longer be the case now. Resting primarily on Davison’s shoulders, he certainly delivers a standout performance which propels the film past its arguably overlong running time resulting in a compelling dramedy full of heart. Meanwhile, Davison’s many hilarious exchanges with an impressive Bill Burr are more than worth the price of admission. (Now available to stream on Crave in Canada and DirecTV in the United States)
4. The Father
Anthony Hopkins is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors of this generation, delivering countless standout performances over countless decades. His extraordinary performance in The Father as a man ravaged by dementia is certainly worth the Oscar buzz that has followed him since the film’s debut at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and is one that is sure to join that pantheon of all time Hopkins performances. Meanwhile, Olivia Colman follows up her Oscar win with another standout performance, holding her own alongside Hopkins. The performances along with its sharp script, editing, and production design help to create a unforgettable emotional roller coaster. (check it out in theatres on February 26th)
3. Palm Springs
Scoring the largest acquisition by 69 cents following its debut at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Palm Springs is my new feel-good movie (and the second in my top 5). This comedy, boasting an original take on the time loop trope, is aided by a sharp script, a tight running time, not to mention the dynamite chemistry and comedic timing of Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti who are both fun to watch and absolutely hilarious together. Meanwhile, J.K. Simmons also delivers a fun performance in a limited supporting role. One cannot help but to have a fun time with this quick watch. (Now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in Canada and Hulu in the United States)
2. Nomadland
Now the first of two films about the American dream, Nomadland finds the beauty of the world and shows the power of the human spirit in spite of some truly unfortunate times for middle America. As a result of the 2008 recession and her own personal demons, Frances McDormand’s Fran gets in her van and starts to live a nomadic life while travelling across the American west. Featuring an emotional score and some of the best cinematography in recent memory, the film is a stellar character study lifted by McDormand’s powerful and understated performance as Fran that single-handedly carries the film’s tsunami of emotion. Check out this piece of art if you can. (check it out in theatres on February 19th)
1. Minari
Ever since seeing it at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Minari had me and has not let go. The second film about the American dream, this complex yet powerful family drama chronicles a Korean immigrant family’s pursuit of the American dream in 1980’s Arkansas. Wanting to make a new life in their new environment while not forgetting their roots, these contrasting ideologies played out on screen in a compelling yet beautiful way that is sure to resonate with many audiences. Featuring superb performances from Steven Yeun, Han Yeri, Alan Kim, and Yuh Jung Youn (as another addition in the adorable A24 Asian grandmother cinematic universe), beautiful cinematography, and an epic score, the film will grab you too. (check it out in theatres starting on February 12th)
Worst
10. The Grudge
Did we need another reboot of 2004’s The Grudge what was essentially a reboot of 2002’s Ju-on? This new film (which was also called The Grudge) is merely another, reliably-bad January dump that adds absolutely nothing new to the discourse while lazily stumbling across a dull, derivative, and downright stupid narrative that does nothing but waste audiences’ time. Despite some decent atmosphere and a committed performance from Andrea Riseborough, this film is a waste that has the gall to think that it could set up more films. This new series should just stop now. (Now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in Canada and Starz in the United States)
9. Brahms: The Boy II
Speaking of unnecessary sequels, 2016’s dreadful and unintentionally hilarious The Boy somehow got a sequel in the form of Brahms The Boy II that is unsurprisingly worse than the original by undoing what that film did and making something even more ridiculous while leaving the aforementioned creepy doll intact. The result was yet another derivative and utterly generic stupid horror film that checks off all the items on the stupid horror film checklist. Even bad films can have redeeming qualities but those were nonexistent here as the film was just dull though at least it will be done quickly. However, audiences will not get their 90 minutes back. (Now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in Canada and Showtime in the United States)
8. Antebellum
Antebellum was yet another example of overpromising and underdelivering. The first trailer set up what looked to be an intense thriller and a promising star vehicle for Janelle Monáe but without giving too much away, that definitely did not happen (which will be an understatement for those who’ve actually had the displeasure of seeing it) and I’m just going to leave it there. Considering what it could have been and who was starring (she wasn’t bad), it was just so disappointing. (Now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in Canada and Spectrum in the United States)
7. Artemis Fowl
The production of Artemis Fowl, based on the book series by Eoin Colfer was a tumultuous one to say the least, resulting in it being unceremoniously dumped on Disney+ in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as a means for Disney to essentially cut their loses (which is understandable). After having watched the film, it showed, being an incoherent and heavily edited, not to mention dull, mess that showed signs of the film it could have been. What seemed to be an attempted franchise-starter was just a mashup of themes, plots, and characters that didn’t amount to much in the end as the film will merely disappear amongst the other content on the platform. And what was Judi Dench’s accent? (Now available to stream on Disney+)
6. We Can Be Heroes
The most recent release to appear on either list, We Can Be Heroes is the latest film to come out of Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids universe (the original trilogy ended in 2003) and is a sequel to 2005’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. While the series undoubtedly still has fans, it arguably peaked 15 years ago and now is a much different time (i.e. people have since grown up) therefore its impact was nowhere near the same at least on me now. Now it just feels dated, utterly ridiculous, and obnoxiously cheesy but I concede that it may mean something different to others and that’s fine too. It’s just not my thing anymore. (Now available to stream on Netflix)
5. Max Cloud
Every once in a while, there are films that are intentionally bad as an artistic choice to make a point. As mentioned, bad films can have redeeming qualities and as far as Max Cloud was concerned, it was a faint curiosity of how worse it could get though that fact could be entertaining for some. Playing too much into its satire of 1990s and 1990s video game culture, the film is literally dated. Meanwhile, the plot is nonexistent at best, relying on painfully cringey quip-based dialog that gets old very fast. Maybe worth a watch out of curiosity, most should just leave it on the shelf. (Now available to steam on Spectrum in the United States)
4. The Jesus Rolls
Who would have thought that a spinoff based on a minor character from The Big Lebowski was a good idea? Unsurprisingly, the film does very little over the course of its 80+ minute running time, offering little to no likable characters, plot, or even humor along the way and making it an incredibly dull watch that will feel a lot longer than 80+ minutes. Giving audiences no reason to care for this obnoxiously unfunny adventure tied together by utterly painful dialog, this film is sure to get on audiences nerves assuming they haven’t already tuned it out. (Now available to stream on Crave in Canada and Showtime in the United States)
3. After We Collided
2019’s mediocre YA romance After apparently wasn’t edgy enough so its sequel gratuitously takes things up a notch, trading in a PG/PG-13 rating for a harder 14A/R. Suffice it to say that this film (and franchise) knows its audience and won’t be converting anyone at this point. This incoherent and overly-melodramatic, laughably-contrived follow up is sure to pretzel audiences if they haven’t already tuned out the plot. But at least it has good-looking people doing good-looking things, too bad they’re merely chemistry-less robots uttering bad dialog that will likely cause some swooning. Like it or not, this franchise is probably not going away unfortunately. (Now available to rent digitally in Canada and to stream on Netflix in the United States)
2. Tesla
My jaw dropped when I saw it back at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and it kind of still is thinking about it. While the film certainly tries to do something different, in the end, is an epic misfire that has to be seen to be believed. I like to think this was just Ethan Hawke’s revenge for us overlooking his terrific performance in 2018’s underrated First Reformed. This says it all. (Now available to stream on Netflix in Canada and Hulu in the United States)
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1. The War With Grandpa
What more can be said about this one than what has already been said? Let’s just say there’s a reason this one stayed on the shelf for 3+ years before being dumped in the middle of a pandemic. Despite everything else, at the end of the day, it’s just sad that the people behind this had to stoop this low. (Now available to rent digitally in Canada and the United States)
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
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