Dear Readers,
I’ve made it a tradition to always post my top films of each year on Dec 31st , and more recently, to also break down my TV diet in an attempt to make sense of all my rabid media consumption. Except, unlike most people (without kids, I can only guess), 2020 actually saw a slight drop in the amount of films I watched (158 vs. 200+ last year, for example). But after the dark days of March and April, that mainly just has to do with less new movies being released.
Let’s not kid ourselves. 2020 was a bad year for movies. And my #1 pick is unapologetically political - the film itself no doubt earned a full extra star just based on the conditions it was seen. Because at the end of the day, I don’t think a true five-star film was released in 2020. First Cow was damn close, but in the end, I went with the film we already can’t separate from the year it was released - for better or worse. It’s the movie of 2020 - and it’s awesome.
Also - since we’re all still home with most movie theatres not planning to release new films for months, I’m also including how and where I saw each of these films. With just a couple subscriptions, you can watch 90% of this entire list.
Top 10 Films of 2020
- Tenet – Theatre
- First Cow – Rent on Apple TV $4.99
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Crave
- Borat Subsequent Moviefilm – Amazon Prime
- The Invisible Man – Crave
- Palm Springs – Amazon Prime
- The Outpost – Netflix
- Escape from Pretoria – Amazon Prime
- Possessor – Theatre
- Boys State – Amazon Prime
Better Than Necessary
The Happiest Season – Amazon Prime
Mulan – Disney+
The Way Back – Crave
Overrated By Everyone Else
Mank – Netflix
I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Netflix
Totally Under Control – Amazon Prime
Inexplicably Underseen
The Lovebirds – Netflix
Greyhound – Apple TV+
7500 – Amazon Prime
Foreign But Not Forgotten
The Platform – Netflix
Les Miserables – Crave
Unapologetically Awesome
The Informer – Netflix
Guns Akimbo – Amazon Prime
Extraction – Netflix
Satisfying Sequels
Wonder Woman 1984 – Rent $29.99
Bad Boys for Life – Amazon Prime
Didn’t Disappoint
Mangrove – Amazon Prime
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Netflix
The Sound of Metal – Theatre
Extra Special Indies
The Vast of Night – Amazon Prime
The Climb – Theatre
The Assistant – Crave
Time – Amazon Prime
Kick-Ass Canadian Films
Antigone – Crave
Blood Quantum – Crave
James vs His Future Self – Crave
The Twentieth Century – Crave
Jusqu’au déclin – Netflix
Wasted My Time Watching
Spencer Confidential – Netflix
Run This Town – Crave
The Rhythm Section – Amazon Prime
Hillbilly Elegy – Netflix
The Devil All the Time – Netflix
Downhill – Crave
Project Power – Netflix
This Year I Finally Saw (and Loved)
Boy (2010) – Amazon Prime
A Simple Plan (1998) – TV
My Cousin Vinny (1992) – TV
King of New York (1990) – Netflix
Clue (1985) – Amazon Prime
Gallipoli (1981) – Amazon Prime
Barry Lyndon (1975) – TV
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) – Netflix
Sunset Boulevard (1950) – TV
A Year Late to the Party (but Wow!)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire – Crave
Little Women – Amazon Prime
Richard Jewell – Crave
Shepherds and Butchers – Netflix
A Hidden Life – Crave
Danger Close – Amazon Prime
Best Quarantine-Themed/Stuck-At-Home Movies I Watched
Contagion
Five Feet Apart
Honey I Shrunk the Kids
Sunset Boulevard
Vivarium
The Platform
Palm Springs
Top 20 TV Series of 2020
- Industry – HBO
- ZeroZeroZero – Amazon Prime
- Insecure (Season 4) – HBO
- Narcos: Mexico (Season 2) – Netflix
- Ted Lasso – Apple TV+
- The Queen's Gambit – Netflix
- Ozark (Season 3) – Netflix
- Money Heist (Season 4) – Netflix
- Better Call Saul (Season 5) – AMC
- Dark (Season 3) – Netflix
- After Life (Season 2) – Netflix
- The Outsider – HBO
- Love Life – Crave
- Better Things (Season 4) – FX
- What We Do in the Shadows (Season 2) – FX
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 10) – HBO
- Never Have I Ever – Netflix
- The Mandalorian (Season 2) – Disney+
- P-Valley – Crave
- Normal People – CBC Gem
Top 5 - Unscripted
- Survivor (Season 40) – CBS
- Tiger King – Netflix
- Songland (Season 2) – NBC
- Cheer – Netflix
- The Last Dance – Netflix
Don't Regret, but Don’t Really Recommend
The Right Stuff – Disney+
Devs – FX
The Undoing – HBO
Messiah – Netflix
The Wilds – Amazon Prime
The Flight Attendant – Crave
Finished but Forgettable
Giri/Haji – Netflix
The Comey Rule – Showtime
The Trials of Gabriel Hernandez – Netflix
Feel Good – Netflix
Why Can't I Quit You?
Black Monday (Season 2) – Crave
Homeland (Season 8) – Showtime
Billions (Season 5) – Showtime
One-Episode-and-Done (I Did Quit You!)
Fortunate Son – CBC
Medical Police – Netflix
Avenue 5 – HBO
Picard – CBS (Crave)
Space Force – Netflix
Stuck in the Middle with You (Struggling to Get Through)
Lovecraft County – HBO
Raised by Wolves – HBO Max
I May Destroy You – HBO
The Good Lord Bird – Showtime (Crave)
Snowpiercer – Netflix
The Boys (Season 2) – Amazon Prime
Special Award for Decade-Old Danish TV Series that's Just the Best:
Borgen – Netflix
Sincerely,
Christopher
