Top 10 Best Movies of 2020

Following this year’s worst-movie list, here are my Top 10 Best Movies of 2020 that I have watched and compiled over the last 12 months.

10. The Vast of Night

Andrew Patterson’s feature-length debut may have been a low-budget sci-fi movie (costing less than US$1 million). But this Amazon Prime Video’s The Vast of Night succeeds in offering a cerebral sci-fi approach that leans heavily on atmosphere and dialogues than special effects. For the latter, the movie deserves praise for its sharp and snappy dialogues, coupled with Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz’s impressive performances. It also helps that Patterson knows a thing or two about making use of his limited resources to generate enough dread and suspense (the long phone call sequence comes to mind). Then, there’s the unforgettable long transition sequence shot in a seemingly unbroken take while the overall 1950s retro vibe successfully captured the look and feel of an old-school sci-fi movie. (Read my full review here)

9.  His House

Blending a timely social drama related to racism, xenophobia and refugee crisis with supernatural-horror tropes, Remi Weekes’ feature-length debut (serving both as a writer and director) in Netflix’s His House also benefits from great performances all around (particularly Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku). The movie may rely on jump scares every now and then. But they are all well-earned that feels genuinely frightening rather than resulting in a cheap scare tactic. (Read my full review here)

8. Palm Springs

The Groundhog Day-like concept is clearly nothing new in Hulu’s rom-com Palm Springs. But both feature-length newcomers — director Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara — manage to overcome its familiarity with whip-smart dialogues and a story that is both funny and surprisingly poignant. Also worth mentioning here is the memorable pair of Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as two unfortunate wedding guests stuck in a time loop.

7. Run

Aneesh Chaganty did it again in Run, which shows he’s no flash in the pan following his well-crafted Searching two years ago. His new movie, which instantly recalled Rob Reiner’s memorable work of Misery (1990), is blessed with Chaganty’s taut direction as well as Sarah Paulson and Kiera Allen’s engaging performances. The latter happens to be a real-life disabled person and wheelchair user herself. And although she may have been a newcomer, she proves to be a talented actress after all. Kudos also go to Chaganty for making good use of Allen and her character Chloe’s disabilities to generate some palpable tensions, notably the suspenseful rooftop scene. (Read my full review here)

6. Possessor

Brandon Cronenberg certainly made his dad (David Cronenberg) proud with his sophomore effort, Possessor — a thought-provoking mix of sci-fi thriller and body horror about a top-level assassin (Andrea Riseborough’s Tasya Vos) inhabit other human target’s bodies using a brain-implant technology. Cronenberg doesn’t shy away from its graphic depiction of blood and violence — a result that makes Possessor all the more visceral cinematic experience worth checking out.

5. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

A well-acted chamber drama that takes place mostly in a recording studio, Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom features among the two best performances of the year: Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman. The former delivers a commanding presence as Ma Rainey while the latter gives his all as Ma Rainey’s trumpet player, Levee. Boseman’s final screen role happens to be one of the finest acting performances ever seen in his short-lived career and even plays his own trumpet. Although the movie tends to feel stagey, George C. Wolfe’s overall direction manages to bring out the best in his solid ensemble cast apart from the aforementioned two actors and a lively script adapted from August Wilson’s play of the same name. (Read my full review here)

4. The Invisible Man

Universal has tried and failed to revive their classic horror-film library for the modern generation seen in 2014’s Dracula Untold and 2017’s The Mummy, particularly from the creative point-of-view. Then along came The Invisible Man, which sees writer-director Leigh Whannell successfully blends Alfred Hitchcock-style psychological horror thriller with a feminist spin. It was undoubtedly a refreshing change of pace that focuses on the victim’s perspective than the titular character, with Elisabeth Moss’ sympathetic lead being a scene-stealer here. Whannell, in turn, effectively turns Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s antagonist role into a sociopathic domestic abuser rather than the usual mad-scientist type. (Read my full review here)

3. Soul

Beyond its typically family-friendly vibe in Pixar’s latest animated feature Soul lies a thoughtful drama about the meaning of life and fulfilling’s one dream. Blessed with Pete Docter’s sure-handed direction (the same filmmaker who gave us some of Pixar’s classics including 2009’s Up and 2015’s Inside Out) alongside co-director Kemp Powers, Soul also includes first-rate voice talents, notably Jamie Foxx as the jazz pianist Joe and Tina Fey as the soul 22. Likewise, the visuals are a winner here, alternating between the vibrant in-between world of The Great Before and the gorgeous New York city landscape.

2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

The title of Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always actually refers to the Planned Parenthood’s multiple-choice questionnaire, which in turn, happens to be the most compelling moment in the movie. It was a scene shot like a documentary, where the teen protagonist (Sidney Flanigan’s Autumn) has to answer the social worker’s (real-life counsellor Kelly Chapman) list of questions. What makes Never Rarely Sometimes Always an emotional gut-punch of a movie is Hittman’s matter-of-fact approach about teen pregnancy and abortion. And she does so without making them preachy but rather presented her movie in a more effective, minimalist style. The movie also features newcomer Sidney Flanigan’s tour de force performance as the unfortunate teenage girl attempting to get an abortion.

1. Da 5 Bloods

One of Spike Lee’s best movies in over a decade since 1999’s Summer of Sam, the veteran director combines an eclectic mix of war-film tropes with buddy comedy and The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948)-like adventure genre. The timely Da 5 Bloods also features a terrific ensemble, notably Delroy Lindo’s career-best performance to date as the outspoken Paul and the late Chadwick Boseman’s memorable supporting turn as “Stormin'” Norman Earl Holloway. Lee’s vibrant direction packs enough punch to offset the movie’s erratic pace, proving that he still has what it takes to make a compelling piece of cinema. (Read my full review here)