2020 Best Movies (seen and some on watchlist)
was expecting this year to have no good movies. Was so shit in general. But surprisingly there was a good supply and even a 10/10 so here are those recommendations. Really good year for documentaries. maybe you see one and experience less pain knowing 2020 is almost over and there were *some* good movies to keep you from ending it all like me :)
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- DirectorCharlie KaufmanStarsJesse PlemonsJessie BuckleyToni ColletteFull of misgivings, a young woman travels with her new boyfriend to his parents' secluded farm. Upon arriving, she comes to question everything she thought she knew about him, and herself.10/10, Fantastic; see it twice.
- DirectorArthur JonesStarsMatt FurieAiyana UdesenChris SullivanArtist Matt Furie, creator of the comic character Pepe the Frog, begins an uphill battle to take back his iconic cartoon image from those who used it for their own purposes.high9/10
- StarsJohn WilsonKyle MacLachlanNiko NelsonAn anxious New Yorker attempts to give everyday advice while dealing with his own personal issues.9/10 Hilarious and poetic, like nathan for you (which is also amazing) but has much more introspection. I think I like this even more too
- DirectorKornél MundruczóStarsVanessa KirbyShia LaBeoufEllen BurstynWhen a young mother's home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.9/10
- DirectorLance OppenheimStarsDennis DeanLynn HenryAnne KincerBehind the gates of a palm tree-lined fantasyland, four residents of America's largest retirement community, The Villages, FL, strive to find solace and meaning.9/10
- DirectorAlastair FothergillJonathan HughesKeith ScholeyStarsDavid AttenboroughMax HughesOne man has seen more of the natural world than any other. This unique feature documentary is his witness statement.low9/10, important and eye-opening
- StarsNaomi AckieGary BeadleKhali BestSmall Axe is based on the real-life experiences of London's West Indian community between 1969 and 1982.9/10
- DirectorJóhann JóhannssonStarsTilda SwintonTwo billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Almost all that is left in the world are lone and surreal monuments, beaming their message into the wilderness.low9-high8/10, SCI FI IS MY HIGH GUY
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenMagnus MillangFour high-school teachers consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives.low9-high8/10
- DirectorJasmila ZbanicStarsJasna DjuricicIzudin BajrovicBoris LerAida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp.high8/10, gut-retching and beautiful, tense and well acted
- DirectorEmma SeligmanStarsRachel SennottDanny DeferrariFred MelamedAt a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student runs into her sugar daddy and ex girlfriend.high8/10, great comedy/drama; very reminiscent of Krisha
- DirectorAntonio CamposStarsBill SkarsgårdTom HollandBanks RepetaSinister characters converge around a young man devoted to protecting those he loves in a postwar backwoods town teeming with corruption and brutality.high8/10, great thriller. awesome acting and very subtle directing. Small unnecessary moments, takes a bit before any setups come or are established and some of the acting from the extras was cheesy but other than that, it was a pretty entertaining film. On second watch the first part was more better with knowing what to expect and has some moments that add double meanings. Brutal, dramatic, well shot and has amazing music. Not for everyone but check it out if you love violent art pieces that dive into faith warts and all
- DirectorBarbora ChalupováVít KlusákStarsSabina DlouháAnezka PithartováTereza TezkáTwo documentarians exploring the world of online sexual abuse of children succeed in turning an experiment into an act of social intervention.high8/10
- DirectorWerner HerzogClive OppenheimerStarsWerner HerzogClive OppenheimerSimon SchafferA documentary from Werner Herzog about meteors and comets and their influence on ancient religions and other cultural and physical impacts they've had on Earth.8/10
- DirectorTomm MooreRoss StewartStarsHonor KneafseyEva WhittakerSean BeanA young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.8/10
- DirectorMohammad RasoulofStarsBaran RasoulofZhila ShahiMahtab ServatiThe four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats.8/10
- DirectorFlorian ZellerStarsAnthony HopkinsOlivia ColmanMark GatissA man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.8/10
- DirectorDarius MarderStarsRiz AhmedOlivia CookePaul RaciA heavy metal drummer's life is turned upside down when he begins to lose his hearing and he must confront a future filled with silence.low8/10, the attention to detail for the sound design and acting were phenomenal. good color palette and cinematography. I liked the characters immensely and the story was solid.
- DirectorPatrick SammonBennett SingerStarsHarry AdamsonGary AlinderIrving Bieber"Cured" takes viewers inside the campaign that led to a pivotal yet largely unknown moment in the struggle for LGBT equality: the American Psychiatric Association's 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. Combining eyewitness testimony with newly unearthed archival footage, the film reveals how a small group of impassioned activists achieved this unexpected victory.7/10
- DirectorJoão Paulo Miranda MariaStarsAntonio PitangaAna Flavia CavalcantiSam LouwyckCristovam, a native from the brazilian hinterland, works in a milk factory in a former Austrian colony in Brazil. He feels lonely, ostracized by cultural and ethnic differences. One day, he discovers an abandoned house filled with objects that remind him of his origins. He slowly settles in this house. Curiously, more objects start to appear without explanation, as if the place was "alive".high7/10
- DirectorMichelle LatimerStarsAlethea Arnaquq-BarilNyla InnuksukThomas KingThis searing adaptation of Thomas King's bestselling book explores the cultural colonization of Indigenous peoples in North America.solid7/10, QUATER INDIAN LET'S GO
- DirectorCho Kyung-hunStarsMoon Nam-sookYe-ji comes across mysterious water that enables her to lose weight and reshape her appearance. She finds her life is more in danger the more she desires to be beautiful.high6-low7/10
- DirectorSuzanne LindonStarsSuzanne LindonArnaud ValoisFrédéric PierrotA 16 year old girl, bored with her own age group, becomes involved with an older man at a theater she passes.solid6/10
- DirectorMichael DweckGregory KershawStarsPiero BottoSergio CaudaMaria CicciùDeep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a handful of men, seventy or eighty years old, hunt for the rare and expensive white Alba truffle-which to date has resisted all of modern science's efforts at cultivation.high7/10
- DirectorWeixi ChenHao WuAnonymousRaw and intimate, this documentary captures the struggles of patients and frontline medical professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan.high7/10
- DirectorMichel FrancoStarsNaian González NorvindEligio MeléndezMónica Del CarmenA lavish high-society wedding unexpectedly turns into a class struggle that leads to a violent coup.7/10
- DirectorTim MielantsStarsKevin JanssensPierre BokmaAriane Van VlietA bereaved nudist campsite handyman finds himself on an existential quest as he attempts to recover his missing favorite hammer.7/10
- DirectorMarc Martínez JordánStarsEnric AuquerKarina KolokolchykovaSònia Masuda MoraA Fox-dressed man breaks the space time limits with only one goal: to spend some time with his wife. But below this recreational act there's a far more complex and ambitious plan.7/10
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsTadanobu AsanoTakuro AtsukiMickey CurtisThe story centers on a group of young people who travel back in time when they are in a movie theater just before closing time. They witness deaths during the closing days of Japan's feudal times and on the battlefront in China before they are sent to Hiroshima just before the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of the city.7/10
- DirectorBen HozieStarsPeter VackJulia FoxKeith PoulsonJack is an internet gambler living in NYC who becomes fixated on Scarlet - a cam girl from San Francisco. His obsession reaches a boiling point when fantasy materializes in reality and Jack sees Scarlet on a rainy Chinatown street.7/10
- DirectorMinoru KawasakiStarsYûya AsatoHide FukumotoKei GrantYuta, a young master at the Tsukiji Fish Market, accidentally drops his meal of mixed seafood into the Sumida River. Some time afterwards a gigantic mutated squid monster arises from the depths and begins to wreak havoc upon an awe-stricken Tokyo. Attempts by the Japan Self-Defense Forces to stop the creature prove futile. As it seems things couldn't get any worse an enormous mutant octopus monster emerges from the deep and heads into a clash of the titans with the gargantuan squid. As a last ditch effort, the government forms the "Seafood Monster Attack Team (SMAT)" and an all-new plan of attack is immediately put into action. But just as the tide appears to be turning in humanity's favor, a colossal crab monster appears, joining in the Monster Seafood Wars and plunging the world into culinary chaos.high6/10
- DirectorUpamanyu BhattacharyyaKalp SanghviIn a version of Kolkata, India rendered unliveable by sea level rise, things take a dark turn when a family of climate change refugees are ambushed by a tiger on the flooded streets.high7/10
- DirectorJennifer AbbottJoel BakanStarsAnjali AppaduraiChris BarrettHeidi BoghosianExposes how companies are desperately rebranding as socially responsible - and how that threatens democratic freedoms.low7/10
- DirectorJerry RothwellStarsDonna BudwayEmma BudwayJeremy DearBased on the book by Naoki Higashida, this immersive film explores the experiences of non-speaking autistic people around the world.
- DirectorJason WolinerStarsSacha Baron CohenMaria BakalovaTom HanksBorat returns to America from Kazakhstan to America, this time to reveal more about the American culture, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the political elections.low8/10
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsGary OldmanAmanda SeyfriedLily Collins1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941).solidtohigh7/10, slightly more different than finchers other work but overall solid and memorable. The use of filming in black and white to mimic the time period it takes place in wasn't just for show and had meaning. It had great framing as usual and movement of the camera was pretty fluid; along with the same attention to detail with the sound design, it helped me being immersed in that time period. The directing is what you'd come to expect from a well vetted veteran of his craft. The first half though I think is kind of sluggish but as it progressed it got more entertaining. The acting was exceptional from gary oldmen and was mesmerizing and filled with charisma even though he's quite a dick. The same can be said about Tom Burke who played Orson Welles. The story was fascinating to watch when things really started going just like The Devil All the Time too. Some faults I have with the film are of the convenient kind and would be spoilers. But I think this deserves at least to be on this list for it's achievements alone
- DirectorJim CummingsStarsJim CummingsRiki LindhomeRobert ForsterTerror grips a small mountain town as bodies are discovered after each full moon. Losing sleep, raising a teenage daughter, and caring for his ailing father, officer Marshall struggles to remind himself there's no such thing as werewolves.7/10, slightly more cartoonish than thunder road but was a nice addition to this directors work. Nice pace and tone, acting was pretty great, well shot and the special effects were authentic too (although a couple shots in the light were less convincing). The props/costumes and set were generally nice as well. Overall very enjoyable but has some hiccups. Check out Thunder Road too if you like this; that's an amazing film from the same director
- DirectorBryan FogelStarsJamal KhashoggiOmar AbdulazizIrfan FidanWhen Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to a murder and expose a global cover up.
- DirectorBenjamin ReeStarsKarl Bertil-NordlandBarbora KysilkovaØystein SteneAn artist befriends the thief who stole her paintings. She becomes his closest ally when he is severely hurt in a car crash and needs full time care, even if her paintings are not found. But then the tables turn.8/10, very moving and sentimental
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsTilda SwintonAgustín AlmodóvarMiguel AlmodóvarA woman watches time passing next to the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up, but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn't understand that his master has abandoned him. Two living beings facing abandonment.
- DirectorJoel HaverStarsJoel HaverAnnalisa NoelHannah MonsourJoel attempts to find a romantic connection while in the development of his next film, all the while dealing with his health and other personal issues.high8/10, youtubes own Joel Haver makes great youtube videos, animation and now movies. Being free on there I suggest checking it out though I might have warn it deals a lot with cringe drama/introspection and if you can't handle that then maybe try another movie but I loved it. Very honest and real. Very sad. Amazing actor and actresses. A great blend of real life and art. The ending is a gut-punch so expect that. Really excited to see what he does next.
- DirectorJack StauberStarsJack StauberA curious girl investigates the cries she hears coming from a forbidden house across the street.10/10, not a movie but with how many things we go through, it feels like one.
- DirectorEvan MorganStarsKaitlyn Chalmers-RizzatoAdam BrodyKaleb HornA once-celebrated kid detective, now 32, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity; until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.
- DirectorPete DocterKemp PowersStarsJamie FoxxTina FeyGraham NortonJoe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.solid6/10
- DirectorJudd ApatowStarsPete DavidsonBel PowleyRicky VelezScott has been a case of arrested development since his firefighter dad died. He spends his days smoking weed and dreaming of being a tattoo artist until events force him to grapple with his grief and take his first steps forward in life.
- DirectorMax BarbakowStarsAndy SambergCristin MiliotiJ.K. SimmonsStuck in a time loop, two wedding guests develop a budding romance while living the same day over and over again.