It’s been a good year for movies. Despite some financial rough starts in this year’s first half, the box office rebounded a lot from July onwards. I managed to see more new movies this year than I did in 2020 (both 2021 releases and new to me movies), and while I didn’t quite get to my 2019 numbers, I did have a heck of a time going to the theater this year. So let’s dive into my top ten films of 2020.

Honorable Mentions

One Night in Miami

This film was originally the number one film on my 2021 list. However, because it released limitedly in September and December of 2020 before its 2021 wide release on Amazon Prime, I decided to keep it out of the full top ten. I still wanted to mention it though, because it is a movie that I hold in high regard.

Regina King’s directorial debut is adapted from a stage play of the same name. However, it is so dynamically directed that King makes its few sets with limited motion feel so alive as she moves the camera from one charismatic actor to the next. Eli Goree’s take on Cassius Clay is perhaps my favorite performance of the year and it is followed by fantastic takes on Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Browne. This movie is a really intense look at what it means to be a black man, to be an activist, and to stand for one’s convictions.

Cruella

This movie was way better than it had any right to be. While it’s far from perfect, it rounded out a really interesting character and depicted an IP-driven downward spiral far better than Joker did two years ago. Emma Stone gives a fantastic performance and this was really fun to watch.

Nobody

This movie was in my top ten for quite a while but got beaten out as we got into the latter three months of the year. However, it still has the best action sequences out of any film this year. Its long takes and brutal cuts make Nobody endlessly enjoyable.

Nightmare Alley

This is a movie that sits with you long after you leave the theater. It’s a dark noir remake that takes an old story and moves it into the modern world. Guillermo del Toro directed this beautifully and if not for the fact that it is shot in vivid color you’d think it came straight from a 1940s director reel.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

This movie is incredibly loud and stupid, and Andy Serkis leans fully into those two concepts. This movie has no other pretension other than to be a good time. It takes Venom and Eddie to a slightly deeper level, blows up a lot of things, and makes a menace out of Woody Harrelson. It is far from a perfect movie but it’s something that I wish Marvel would do more of tonally.

Top Ten

10. The Last Duel

We don’t get many epic films anymore. Movies with massive sets and scales like Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur are something of the past, so it’s really incredible to see something modern push that scale. The Last Duel feels like a truly cinematic epic and all three of its leads give fantastic, career best performances. In a lot of ways it mirrors a film later down the list, analyzing notions of chivalry and honor through a medieval lens and taking the simplicity of the lives of those characters as something that can still be applied to the complexities of modern society.

9. A Quiet Place Part II

A Quiet Place Part II further cements John Krasinski as a storytelling force to be reckoned with. This movie takes the world of the first film deeper and keeps the tension dialed up as well as its predecessor. It’s hard to do a sequel to a film that brought so many new ideas to the table, but this movie manages to bring those back along with so much more. Krasinski plays with the same toys but takes them to a bigger sandbox, allowing the story to progress organically forward as each character pursues what they feel they have to do to survive in a dangerous, soundless world.

8. Muppets Haunted Mansion

I debated putting this on the list because it is only about 45min long. However, my love of Muppets won over the defined length of what makes one thing a movie and another a TV special. Disney’s handling of the Muppets has been pretty hit or miss since they took over in the early 2000s and I’m happy to say that Muppets Haunted Mansion is irrevocably a hit. The film uses the Haunted Mansion ride setting to tell a really moving story about Gonzo’s fear of being left out while also paying tribute to the iconic ride and a lot of classic Muppet Show gags and sketches. This belongs up there with Jim Henson’s Muppet Trilogy and The Muppet Christmas Carol.

7. Free Guy

Every few years there comes a movie that I unabashedly love despite its flaws. Two years ago it was The Good Liar; in 2021, it is Free Guy. It’s nice to see a new idea get so much traction, especially in a pandemic box office. And while Free Guy may not be as complex as something like Matrix: Resurrections, it tells a really meaningful story through the lens of its digital world. It doesn’t add anything profoundly new to the conversation but the fact that it actually has something to say was really refreshing for me in the wake of a lot of disappointing blockbusters this year. It makes fun of a lot of things I like and I loved it for that.

6. Encanto

“I’ve been let down with a lot of 2021’s major offerings, and most franchise flicks I’ve sat down to have left me walking out of the theater going “okay”, but Encanto left me walking out going “wow”.”

Encanto instantly became one of my favorite Walt Disney Animation Studios films of the past decade, if not of all time. There is an inexplicable magic to this movie that I haven’t felt from a Disney film in quite some time. Encanto wears its heart on its sleeve and tells a really intricate story about the weight of responsibility and undue expectation. It has refreshingly small stakes and introduces some of Disney’s most tender moments between Mirabelle and the magical members of her family.

I also really like how this movie handles its diversity. Encanto takes place in a vaguely Columbian town and is peppered with objects, clothes, and people of that culture. However, this is a story that could have happened to any family; it just so happens that it is happening to this multi-ethnic family in this place. It normalizes the idea of racial and cultural diversity, and I don’t see it getting nearly enough credit for the deftness in which it does so.

5. West Side Story

I am not a fan of the original West Side Story film, so I wasn’t expecting much from this one. However, it quickly became obvious that I had underestimated Steven Spielberg. This was one of the most cinematic experiences I had at the movies all year. The lighting, the sound, the music; this movie is overflowing with movie magic and Spielberg showed up to play. Without diverting much from the original stage play or film adaptation, the king of blockbusters injected a whole new life into this film. Spielberg hones in on the modern implications of this story and takes it much further than the source material, keeping this fifty year old story relevant and refreshing. This movie is beautiful to look at, moving to hear, and a perfect example of why I love going to the movies.

4. Spencer

Claustrophobic is how I’d describe my reaction to this movie. I went into Spencer with little in the way of expectation and left delighted. This film humanizes Diana and highlights the disconnect between royal and commoner that the Princess embodied. It features a career best lead performance from Kristen Stewart, who often carries entire scenes by herself. This is perfect uncomfortable cinema, letting you as the audience member stew amidst the obscene pomp and expectation that is constantly grinding towards the ailing Lady Di.

3. Dune

I expected to like Dune but I never saw myself loving it. Yet walking out of the theater I knew that I had seen something special. I’ve been disappointed by nearly every major franchise/blockbuster this year and Dune was a refreshing and welcome exception to that trend. The sound design on this movie is brilliant and the way that Denis Villeneuve builds world and character through what you can hear diegetically is nothing short of amazing. Dune takes an incredibly dense novel and builds it into a really intense movie that delivers just as well on Part 1 as it promises to do for Part 2.

2. The Green Knight

The Green Knight is a movie that sticks with you. For weeks after I saw it in theaters I would find myself pondering a particular shot or sequence and coming away with new takes and interpretations. It’s an incredibly introspective look at what honor truly means and it’s delivered through an unbelievably imaginative interpretation of several Arthurian legends. It’s also one of the prettiest films to look at, with a very distinct visual style that balances marvelous sets and costumes with impeccable color grading.

1. Judas and the Black Messiah

This movie released so early in the year that I’m afraid it’ll get eclipsed come awards season. I grew up with the understanding that being a Black Panther was tantamount to terrorism. And while their actions can be extreme, as are most black or white political organizations, this movie gets to the heart of why these groups were necessary. It also gets to the heart of why the government considered them a threat and the steps it took to shut the party and its members down. This movie is a great illustration of the power of one person; how Fred Hampton lead a nation-shaping movement, and how Bill O’Neal brought it crashing down. This movie is really made incredible by Lakeith Stanfield’s performance as O’Neal; bringing a tormented reality to the character torn between self-preservation and social-preservation. This is another movie that really sticks with you and I hope to see it get the recognition it deserves despite an early 2021 release during the height of the pandemic.

Full Ranking:

To see my full rankings for every 2021 release I was able to see, check out this list below.

1-13: Great

14-24: Good

25-41: Okay

42-53: Bad