While events in 2020 has effected the film industry in a big way, we still managed to see the release of many interesting films. A lot of big blockbusters may have been delayed to 2021 and 2022, it paved the way for a lot of the independent releases to take centre stage on various streaming services.
It must have been a tough decision for several studios to sacrifice a possible theatrical release, to instead showcase it via the option of streaming.
Even with the lack of visits to the cinema, I have still managed to see a good amount of new releases. I have certainly seen a few films that if it wasn't for the pandemic, I would never have seen.
Also, my annual visit to the Leeds International Film Festival still saw me experience many of the top awards contenders albeit from home rather at the actual venues.
There have been many great films released in 2020 and it was a tough call to decide which would make my top 10. There are awards contenders, unexpected surprises and many film documentaries. The latter has certainly shone this year and capitalised on the lack of many mainstream releases.
Below is my ranking of all 2020 films that I have seen along with a short review for each of my top 10:
132) The Witches
130) Four Kids And It
129) Artemis Fowl
128) The Lovebirds
1) The Father - When an elderly man refuses assistance from everyone around him, his doubt begins to grow so much that he is questioning his own thoughts.
127) Scoob!
126) Kill It And Leave This Town
125) Antebellum
124) Shirley
123) Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula
122) Earwig And The Witch
121) Rebecca
120) The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two
119) Bill & Ted Face The Music
10) Alien On Stage - A thoroughly enjoyable and hilarious documentary with a strong feel-good vibe.
9) Worth - A powerful human drama that shows you the tough fallout for the victims of 9/11.
8) Whirlybird - Quite an astonishing documentary that has slick editing some of the insightful archive footage that many people watching it will be aware of.
7) Josee, The Tiger And The Fish - A heartfelt and emotional romantic drama that has all of your typical ingredients of a successful Japanese anime.
6) Palm Springs - A highly enjoyable fantasy comedy, that sees two wedding guests develop a romance whilst stuck in a time loop.
5) Feels Good Man - A captivating, creative and almost haunting film documentary that shows how dangerous a creation can be.
4) The Trial Of The Chicago 7 - My high expectations were met in this Aaron Sorkin directed and written courtroom drama about a group of protestors on trial after being charged with inciting riots.
3) The Social Dilemma - A haunting film documentary that shows the manipulation and impact social media has made on recent major events.
2) The Invisible Man - A mystery horror that surprised me in several ways. Director and writer Leigh Whannell transformed this classic horror story into a portrayal of domestic abuse.
118) The New Mutants
117) The Trouble With Nature
116) Valentina
115) Muse: Simulation Theory
114) Black Is King
114) Black Is King
113) Blithe Spirit
112) Save Yourselves!
111) Birds Of Prey
110) Capone
109) Final Account
108) Minamata
107) Kajillionaire
106) Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga
105) Mulan
104) The Secret Garden
103) The Call Of The Wild
102) Black Beauty
101) Caveat
100) Enola Holmes
99) Project Power
98) The One And Only Ivan
97) Mogul Mowgli
96) The Courier
95) Slalom
94) The Night House
93) Relic
92) The Mole Agent
91) Possessor
90) Freaky
89) The Duke
88) Gretel & Hansel
87) The Old Guard
86) The Accused: Damned Or Devoted?
85) The High Note
84) Finding The Way Back
83) Psycho Goreman
82) I Am Greta
81) Tenet
80) Misbehaviour
79) Welcome To Chechnya
78) American Pickle
77) In My Own Time: A Portrait Of Karen Dalton
76) The Hunt
75) Sonic The Hedgehog
74) Onward
73) Kubrick By Kubrick
73) Kubrick By Kubrick
72) Da 5 Bloods
71) The Devil All The Time
70) Wonder Woman 1984
69) Greenland
68) Dream Horse
67) New Order
66) Love And Monsters
65) Uncle Frank
64) News Of The World
63) Hillbilly Elegy
62) The Croods: A New Age
61) David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet
60) Supernova
59) Greyhound
58) The Call
57) Dear Comrades
56) Ammonite
55) I'm Thinking Of Ending Things
54) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
53) Dick Johnson Is Dead
52) On The Rocks
51) The Sun
50) Irresistible
49) A Whisker Away
49) A Whisker Away
48) The Half Of It
47) My Darling Vivian
46) Emma.
45) Limbo
44) Herself
43) After Love
42) The Nest
41) The Whaler Boy
40) One Night In Miami
39) The Dissident
38) Happiest Season
37) His House
36) The Forty-Year-Old Version
35) Minari
34) Quo Vadis, Aida?
33) And Tomorrow The Entire World
32) The Things We Say, The Things We Do
31) The Reason I Jump
30) Another Round
29) The King Of Staten Island
28) Mank
27) Flint
26) Soul
25) Nomadland
24) Assassins
23) A Quiet Place Part II
22) Finding Jack Charlton
21) Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train
20) Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
19) Pieces Of A Woman
18) The Painter And The Thief
17) 76 Days
16) Promising Young Woman
15) MLK/FBI
14) Sofite
13) Never Rarely Sometimes Always
12) The Banker
11) Wolfwalkers
It sees an amateur dramatic society filled with a group of bus drivers from Dorset gained a cult following with their production of 'Alien'.
A wonderful uplifting story that makes it all the better for it being 100% true.
It's quite the compelling watch and really makes you think about situation you never even realised took place.
The strength of the human aspect of this story is enough to rate it this high.
The story of the two central people has enough strength that the shock of the events they are covering gives us a second half that suddenly elevates to places that I was not expecting.
A chance meeting between a student and young wheelchair bound girl forms an unlikely bond. I will admit, there are moments of typical romantic tropes. But the richness of the characters and the gorgeous animation make all of this highly engaging and you can't help but get wrapped up in it all.
The strength of the writing and the characters enhances a now familiar concept and gives us a memorable viewing experience that will please many demographics.
I will never get tired of watching this.
The story as well as accompanying animation gripped me from start to finish. But what made it have that special edge, is that it never detracted from the central subject. I think this could appeal many types of audiences than initially thought.
If you know the strength Sorkin's writing, then this is another vintage display with the script.
Plus performances by a strong ensemble cast gives us several memorable characters.
One-sided it may be. But there is so much well portrayed truth in this feature that for me will make this the definitive version of any film portraying how the dark side of social media works.
The arthouse vibe it gives off as well as clever cinematography and a strong performance by Elizabeth Moss gives us something that had no right to be this good.
Director Florian Zeller's vision of dementia is incredibly effective. So much so, that it feels more like a horror.
Anthony Hopkins is phenomenal as the lead and the support by Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss and Rufus Sewell elevates the story beautifully.
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