The Best Movies of 2020

The best movies of 2020 that were alternatives to theater releases this year, including 'Tenet,' 'Miss Juneteenth,' 'Da 5 Bloods,' & more.

Dec 21, 2020
The Best Movies of 2020
Image via Complex
The Best Movies of 2020
Image via Complex

"Ranking the best movies," you're saying, "during a year when the theater industry was crippled by the pandemic? Why even bother?" It's something we've struggled with as a vertical all year—so much so that we relegated our midyear list to an episode of Watch Less. It doesn't help that putting these lists together is a frustrating act in its own right; still, quality work needs to be highlighted, and even if your favorite theater collected more cobwebs than popcorn purchases, movies did in fact come out this year, despite the circumstances.

For what it's worth, an examination of the best movies of 2020 is also a look at the alternative to a theater release. Of the films highlighted on this year's list, half premiered on a streaming service. Even in an era when there's stigma attached to the idea of a film dropping first on Netflix or Hulu, there have been some stellar exceptions to the stereotype. And in a year mostly devoid of tentpole releases or superhero fodder, 2020 has shown that there is room for some inventive thinking and art imitating life, and that there are some extremely talented new directors and visionaries out there.

From time-twisting action flicks and romcoms to ruminations on life in today's America to one of the more disturbing horror films we've seen in recent memory, here are the best movies of 2020.

10. 'Tenet'

JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON stars in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action epic TENET
Image via Warner Bros./Melinda Sue Gordon

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh

Produced by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Where to Watch: Prime Video

"Should Nolan have waited?" is the question that I've pondered ever since Christopher Nolan followed through with dropping Tenet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its release in theaters (or whatever theaters were actually open stateside) holds true to Nolan's desire for films to be released properly, and I won't front: I wish I'd seen Tenet in IMAX. Watching the Blu-ray on my 4K HDR TV (with soundbar) through my PlayStation 5 was hitting, but watching this one unfold on a massive screener would've been MONEY. Mind you, I get the complaints about this film; I just don't think I care. Your love for Tenet may depend on how much you like seeing the law(s?) of inversion unfold because there isn't much there aside from wrapping your head around the law(s?) of inversion. Actually, that's a lie: You have John David Washington getting his spy on, Robert Pattinson giving a lot of underrated humor, and Elizabeth Debicki adding what little depth to this film there is. I'm not sure it matters, though; JDW fighting [REDACTED] backward AND forwards? That whole opening sequence? Crashing a whole 747? I'm down for a big action flick in a year that's been, well, devoid of big action. I just make sure I don't think about what's actually going on too hard.

9. 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'

The Trial of the Chicago 7
Image via Netflix/Niko Tavernise

Director: Aaron Sorkin

Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Daniel Flaherty, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Eddie Redmayne, Noah Robbins, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong

Produced by: Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures, Marc Platt Productions, ShivHans Pictures

Where to Watch: Netflix

There's no way that Aaron Sorkin could have known what kind of year 2020 would be when it came to the Black Lives Matter movement or the numerous protests that have hit the country, but a film like The Trial of the Chicago 7—which brought the trial surrounding the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago to life—touches on a number of issues we've faced as a nation this year. The story of the trial and how these seven were grouped together was a prime example of the corrupt American judicial system, but this film is built on its performances. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Bobby Seale is as defiant as he needed to be; you kind of wish he was in the film more. Jeremy Strong shines in this ensemble, primarily because while he plays a middle-finger-to-the-man "yippie," he's also given a well-rounded story that hits on as many emotional beats as it does straight-up sarcastic energy. Eddie Redmayne gets to Eddie Redmayne throughout the two-hour runtime, and even Joseph Gordon-Levitt gets to show his range as the prosecutor who's there to do his job, even if he understands what's really going on.

Although not as shocking as it could have been—there have been a number of films that have done a better job of highlighting how fucked our system can be when it wants to eradicate someone—The Trial of the Chicago 7, for a courtroom drama, actually moves a lot quicker than you'd imagine. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for Sorkin to hop back in the director's chair.

8. 'Charm City Kings'

Charm City Kings Jahi Di'Allo Winston
Image via HBO Max

Director: Angel Manuel Soto

Starring: Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Meek Mill, Will Catlett, Teyonah Parris

Produced by: Overbrook Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Warner Max

Where to Watch: HBO Max

Every year, we need a good coming-of-age story. Taking place in Baltimore, Charm City Kings finds 14-year-old Mouse (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) enamored with bike culture, so much so that he'd ignore all concerns about ditching his friends, consorting with local gangs, breaking curfew, and everything that comes with those terrible decisions to get on. Even after hearing concerns from folks down that way about the accents used in the film, the story and its performances stand tall. Meek Mill specifically; rappers are usually expected to play some form of themselves, and with Meek's past experiences with the law, we know he is a bike lover. Playing Blax, we get to see him portraying the OG that he's becoming IRL; someone who's lived the fast life but understands that there is ultimately a better way, even if a knucklehead teen can't see that far... possibly until its too late. Unafraid to weave some difficult moments into this film, Angel Manuel Soto’s Charm City Kings shines when it digs deep into the lived experience of Black kids growing up in today's America.

7. 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Image via Amazon Prime Video

Director: Jason Woliner

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova

Produced by: Four by Two Films, Oak Springs Productions

Where to Watch: Prime Video

Props to Sacha Baron Cohen. Even though he retired the Borat character back in 2007, he made a return just when the country needed it: during the 2020 presidential election. While this sequel, which finds Borat on a mission to get Kazakhstan back in America's good graces by presenting a monkey to Donald Trump, may end up being super similar to 2006's Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, it's necessary. The last four years have been astonishing for anyone who thinks rationally, and having Borat's knack for getting people like Rudy Giuliani to expose themselves for the creeps that they are is entirely necessary. Thrusting their bullshit into the spotlight is key for many to see said bullshit for exactly what it is, and adding in a story about family into this cluster makes for a truly endearing take on what Sacha Baron Cohen's offered in the past.

6. 'Miss Juneteenth'

Nicole Beharie as Turquoise in MISS JUNETEENTH
Image via Vertical Entertainment

Director: Channing Godfrey Peoples

Starring: Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, Alexis Chikaeze

Produced by: Vertical Entertainment

Where to Watch: Prime Video

At a time when America was forced to undergo an examination its own ills, it was awesome to have Nicole Beharie's immaculate portrayal of Turquoise Jones, former Miss Juneteenth pageant winner, in this film. Single mothers usually have to put their entire family on their back to keep things afloat, and Beharie does this as the lead: Miss Juneteenth revolves around her, be it the humor in her trying to whip a hearse in the Texas heat or dealing with her daughter's father, who's in her life only to leave it again. It's a quiet character study, more subtle in its examination of what it can really be to survive in this country as a Black person—a Black mother specifically—and could help people understand our plight through story more effectively than statistics and raw data might. At the end of the day, there are real people trying to survive in this world. Miss Juneteenth brings that tale of survival to the screen in all of its struggle and beauty.

5. 'The Gentlemen'

The Gentlemen
Image via STXFilms

Director: Guy Ritchie

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Marsan, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant

Produced by: STXfilms

Where to Watch: Hulu

Guy Ritchie being in his entire bag is worth the price of admission. One of the few standouts to hit theaters ahead of the COVID pandemic, The Gentlemen is familiar: a bunch of chiefs trying to gain the ultimate score (in this case, the marijuana empire that Matthew McConaughey's character has been thriving off of). Yes, you've seen that before, but you stay for this cast. Hugh Grant's work as Fletcher alone makes this one of 2020's must-see performances, and coupling it with Colin Farrell as the OG of a band of British boxing misfits in loud AF tracksuits had me over the moon during an early screening. Speaking of style, Jeremy Strong, fresh off of another amazing season of Succession, kills it as the cowardly American looking to horn in on foreign dealings. You actually can't miss with practically anyone in this cast, and with dialogue this zany and a story this connected, it's one of 2020's most purely entertaining films.

4. 'Palm Springs'

Andy Samberg, 'Palm Springs'
Image via Christopher Willard/Hulu

Director: Max Barbakow

Starring: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, Peter Gallagher, J. K. Simmons

Produced by: Limelight Productions, Lonely Island Classics, Sun Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment

Where to Watch: Hulu

Coming out not too long after Netflix's Russian Doll put a spin on the now-familiar Groundhog Day/time-loop tale, one can understand why you might not want to check out Andy Samberg's Palm Springs off premise alone. You'd be playing yourself, though, as this rom-com about a man and a woman who end up spending many days learning about each other while locked in this loop is much better than you'd imagine. Part of that is kudos to Andy Samberg, who is kinda great as an asshole who happens upon a woman (played amazingly by Cristin Milioti) that he wants to meet-cute with for the rest of his life. It's not as easy as that, because life never is. But following these two down that time-looped rabbit hole gets better with every rewatch.

3. 'Da 5 Bloods'

Da 5 Bloods
Image via Netflix

Director: Spike Lee

Starring: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hauser, Jasper Pääkkönen, Jean Reno, Chadwick Boseman

Produced by: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Rahway Road, Lloyd Levin/Beatriz Levin Production

Where to Watch: Netflix

If BlacKkKlansman was the movie-loving world falling back into digging Spike Lee's joints, Da 5 Bloods was Spike restating why they never should have doubted him in the first place. Da 5 Bloods is an intriguing tale; a group of four Vietnam vets—one of which is magnificently played by Delroy Lindo, who deserves all of the awards—take a trip back to Vietnam to pay tribute to their fallen brother in arms (Chadwick Boseman, in one of his final theatrical performances) and find a stash of gold they hid. This story allows Spike to not only shoot gritty war scenes on film but also dive into the politics of today; Lindo's Paul is rocking a MAGA hat throughout the film and has choice words about everything going on. Adding the rising Jonathan Majors to the team as Paul's son only heightens the drama within the Bloods, highlighting one of the things Spike does best: giving superior actors a setting to work in, then getting out of their way. Da 5 Bloods is a film about the past and how it affects us today, but it also serves as a snapshot of today and our hopes for a better tomorrow.

2. 'Saint Maud'

Saint Maud
Image via A24

Director: Rose Glass

Starring: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle

Produced by: Escape Plan Productions, Film4 Productions, British Film Institute

Where to Watch: n/a

One of the last films I saw in a theater was Saint Maud, which was set to be released by A24 in the US way earlier this year. There have been a number of horror films to drop in 2020; hell, the horror genre hugely helped the severely-hit box office rake in money. Saint Maud only got a theatrical release in the UK, though, which is truly a shame given that it stands over any other horror film that dropped this year.

Saint Maud's trailer was chilling in and of itself—the scenes of Maud (Morfydd Clark) putting sharp objects into her shoes to then walk the streets in blood-soaked kicks was disturbing enough. Standing firm in her Roman Catholicism, Maud is a nurse who believes she needs to save her patient, Amanda, who has terminal cancer. The last thing Maud needs in this mental state is a toxic caregiver-patient relationship, but that's exactly what she gets. And what we end up with is a haunting tale, one where we see the main subject descend into madness. Even if you know how this tale is going to end, you'll sit in awe of the vision director Rose Glass brought to life.

Truth be told, I hate terms like "elevated horror"—it throws shade on a genre that ends up inspiring these kinds of films. That said, before COVID-19 shuttered theaters across the country, watching Saint Maud in a screening room was one of the best cinematic experiences I've had not just this year, but in some time. One can only hope that, stateside, we'll receive a home release so American audiences can be as creeped out as I was back before the pandemic changed everything.

1. 'Promising Young Woman'

Promising Young Woman
Image via Focus Features

Director: Emerald Fennell

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Connie Britton

Produced by: Focus Features

Where to Watch: n/a

In putting together these kinds of lists, one of my hard rules has been "the film has to at least have been released by the time this list comes out." An exception is being made this year, because A) look at the year we're having, and B) it's not my fault that Focus had to push the release of Promising Young Woman from April to Christmas Day. As a matter of fact, I've been envious of my homie who got to attend a screening of the film back in March! Why? Because this film houses one of the most shocking stories and performances I've seen all year.

For a society that's still trying to figure out how to deal with the #MeToo movement and all of its ramifications, it's interesting to note that tales that examine how society fosters this environment for men to treat women are starting to hit the silver screen. Another film, The Assistant, was released earlier this year; a quiet examination of how one woman realizes she's working for a Harvey Weinstein-type, The Assistant let a lot of the real trauma go unseen, and at times unheardbarely. You felt like a fly on the wall of one of these Hollywood production companies, getting just enough information to, say, go to a reporter with, but never enough to have a clear smoking gun. In Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell hands Carey Mulligan the gun, allowing her to pistol-whip a hole into said wall, and unload the entire clip into all of the shitheads in the room.

Mulligan steals the show as Cassie, a woman who sets out to right the wrongs done to her in the past. By day she works an odd job, but by night she's something of a Batwoman heroine, doling out justice to the creeps holding up the wall in the club, waiting to strike. The film is funnier than you'd expect it to be, given the subject matter, and a lot of that has to do with Mulligan's performance. It's a meaty role that delivers gut-punch after gut-punch as Cassie stays the course, even though she is aware that the path she's on could ruin her. Sure, at its core, Promising Young Woman is a revenge-thriller, but you almost need the moments of levity (even in its darkest forms) to help you soldier on with this tale.

There's a point late in the film where, while already fully understanding the course we're on, my mouth was left hanging open. I wasn't surprised at what was happening, mind you—I was just surprised that Fennell, Mulligan, and co. took the story there. It's commendable; so often with films, especially those that deal with the worst parts of humanity, harsh realities are glossed over, because, at the end of the day, this is all escapism. Promising Young Woman being a revenge-fantasy at heart helps; its refusal to shy away from the reality of Cassie's situation, in this day and age, is paramount. We need more films like this, for those who have survived this type of trauma as well as those who don't realize how they are a part of the problem.

MoviesBest Of 2020Features

Latest in Pop Culture