Austin360’s favorite 25 movies of 2020: What and where to watch – austin360

Eric Webb|Austin 360

A secret love affairin a post-Soviet country. Lives stolen by the prison system. Charlize Theron beating people up.

Oh, they still made movies this year. We might not have been in the theater to see all of them, but film fans didn't suffer too much. And for those of us watching more movies than ever at home interminably, at home it was a real comfort to have these stories to escape through.

Here are my favorite new films of 2020. Disclaimers: I absolutely missed some great flicks, and this list is limited to films that received a release ofsome sort this year.

25. Shirley

Josephine Deckers Shirley isnt a literary biopic, really. It turns its subject, author Shirley Jackson of The Lottery fame, into the kind of gothic menace that could haunt one of her stories. Elisabeth Moss plays Jackson as a pain-stricken snarl on legs, set loose into a midcentury tale of horror and erotic thrills. The mood: best described as sick, yellow and hot. The crackling desire between Moss and co-star Odessa Young as the authors live-in assistant:spellbinding.

(Shirley is streaming on Hulu and is available on demand elsewhere.)

Related: This Pride Month, take a scenic tour of queer movies

24. Sound of Metal

Yes, the concept is irresistibly melodramatic: a hardcore rock drummer loses his hearing. Yes, the filmmaking is just on the novel side of gimmicky: stretches of sound from his point of view, whether silent or plagued by the tinny strangeness of a cochlear implant. But Darius Marders Sound of Metal thunders, thanks to its undeniable lead performances from Riz Ahmed, as the drummer forced to reckon with reality, and Olivia Cooke, as his bandmate and girlfriend. In her fearful eyes during a crucial scene at a rehab facility, she sees athousand futures die, and you mourn, too.

(Sound of Metal is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.)

23. Monsoon

Scooters swarm and ladies sift through lotuses as you peer down from an invisible ceiling. Lithe, barely lit bodies twist in humid rooms. Writer-director Hong Khaous Monsoon, about a man (Henry Golding) returning to his native Vietnam to spread his parents ashes, was generous with its visual pleasures. It also was a story about being just on the other side of where you used to belong.

(Monsoon is available on demand.)

Our review: Henry Golding goes home again in delicate drama Monsoon

22. The Old Guard

Charlize Theron could mop the floor with Tom Cruise. In director Gina Prince-Bythewoods adaptation of Greg Ruckas comic book Rucka also wrote the screenplay the artist formerly known as Furiosa imbues an immortal general with the brawny soul to match afew millennia of life. But credits due, too, to Prince Bythewood and Rucka, who give this thrill-ride smash-'em-up real philosophical heft. This year, the weight of survivingwas worth sitting with.

(The Old Guard is now streaming on Netflix.)

21. The Forty-Year-Old Version

For anyone whos ever felt like they got started too late, Radha Blanks got something to say. The playwright came bursting onto the scene with a charm-bomb debut writing, directing, producing and starring in a semi-autobiographical love letter to late(r)-stage reinvention. Filmed in 35 mm black and white, The Forty-Year-Old Version feels like a quintessential New York City tale, and Blank herself feels like the cool new person you met at a party whom you actually intend to textlater.

(The 40-Year-Old Version is streaming on Netflix.)

20. Onward

Might just be a soft spot for me Onward was the last movie I saw in person with friends before the pandemic but Ive been surprised to see such little love for Pixars fantasy road trip flick. Is it the best Pixar film? No. (I think that might be WALL-E? Ask me again tomorrow.) But this character-driven adventure about family and the potential within still got my tear ducts flowing almost 10 times. I did count, but its been a few minutes since March.

("Onward" is streaming on Disney+ and is available on demand elsewhere.)

19. Martin Eden

The word sumptuous was invented for Pietro Marcellos Martin Eden, a grand and gutsy adaptation of the Jack London novel. The setting shifts to Naples, so its juicy eye candy, and thats not mentioning handsome brute Luca Marinelli as the hero. You need a sponge to sop up the color saturation of its shorelines and gardens. With the time period subtly fractured into a puzzle, its that much easier to connect the films passionate ruminationon class and political morality to our own era.

(Martin Eden is in theaters and virtual cinemas, including AFS and Violet Crown.)

18. Circus of Books

An unassuming married couple with kids maketheir living running a porno shop? This is no quirky indie dramedy; its a documentary about Karen and Barry Mason, longtime proprietors of Los Angeles' Circus of Books. Their daughter Rachel Mason directs a weird, heartfelt trip through the history of smut, the plight of mom-and-pop businesses and the lives of one average American family.

(Circus of Books is streaming on Netflix.)

17. Freaky

I, too, am shocked that a teen body-swap slasher starring Vince Vaughn was one of the most gleefully unhinged and thought-provoking horror movies in recent memory, but 2020 has given us all a few jump scares. Vaughns absolutely unwinking in his commitment to playing a teenage girl in the body of a 65 serial killer. As the other half of the swap, Kathryn Newton brings stabby star power. And the gore, snark and oozing gender subtext? My bloody hands were tied.

(Freaky is in theaters and is available on demand.)

16. The Half of It

Netflixs bench of YArom-coms is often full of empty calories. Writer-director Alice Wus high schoolswooner is no such thing. Set in a sleepy Pacific Northwest town, The Half of It gives voice to the kids for whom coming of age isnt so simple as giddy crushes and a buffet of college applications. The films Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis, so open-hearted you want to hug your TV) wrestles with sexuality and parenting her own parent, with Wus script smartly bending teen rom-com tropes and a Cyrano de Bergerac plot to her will.

(The Half of It is streaming on Netflix.)

15. The Twentieth Century

I know not a lick aboutCanadian politics, except that Justin Trudeau appears to use mousse instead of pomade, but somehow I dont think that historical fidelity was the goal of Matthew Rankins maple-drenched mass hallucination. Ostensibly the story of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie Kings rise to power, its really a bat out of cable access hell and a blizzard of satire, fascism, feats of strength, prophecies, drag and a climaxing cactus. O (my stars and garters what is happening) Canada!

(The Twentieth Century is available through virtual cinemas like AFS and also on demand.)

14. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

Margot Robbie balletically beating people up with a baseball bat! Mary Elizabeth Winstead punching a thug in the face as they hurtle down a funhouse slide! Mobster Ewan McGregor playing not for the cheap seatsbut for the parking lot attendants! A very cinematically significant hair tie! We didnt get many superhero blockbusters in 2020, but thank badness we got Birds of Prey, easily one of DC Comics best film adaptations yet.

(Birds of Prey is streaming on HBO Max and is available on demand elsewhere.)

Our review: Joker who? Harley Quinn and Birds of Prey might be DCs best yet

13. Boys State

There have been a couple horror movies on this list already, but this documentary begs the question see where its going? I bet you see where its going What if were in the horror movie? The Austin-filmed Boys State, about the annual mock government exercise in the state capital, is a grotesque but kind ofinspiring examination of the mess Americas made for its young men.By the end, theres no denying that boys will be boys, and thats bone-chilling.

(Boys State is streaming on Apple TV+.)

12. Palm Springs

Max Barbakows Palm Springs lucked out, in some ways, to hit Hulu in 2020, our year of perpetual routine. It's the story of two unlucky souls at adesert wedding (Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti) trapped in a perpetual time loop. The film builds onpredecessors like Groundhog Day and Russian Doll, with a taste more of unhinged cosmic hocus-pocus. Samberg and Milioti had the most winning rom-com chemistry of the year. And I appreciated a film that helped me make a little peace, no matter how tenuous at times, with monotony.

(Palm Springs is streaming on Hulu.)

11. Emma

It was Anya Taylor-Joys year, and we were just watching it. Chess saga The Queens Gambit made her a true star, and she was inarguably the best part of the cursed, middling New Mutants. But Emma, Autumn de Wildes snappy and stylish Jane Austen adaptation, was my favorite use of Taylor-Joysimpossibly expressive eyes. Even if you dont go in for Victorian sitting room chucklers much I dont this film was one of the brightest spots of those early, uncertain pandemic days.

(Emma is streaming on HBO Max and is available on digital and home media.)

Related: Autumn de Wilde made Emma a time-travel escape for dark times

10. Extra Ordinary

As Irish as binge-watching Derry Girls with the Cranberries playing in the background and a glass of whiskey in your hand. This kind-hearted horror farce directed by Michael Ahern and Enda Loughman (with a script from Loughman) goes full gonzo, telling the story of a kind driving instructor and reluctant medium (Maeve Higgins) drawn into a sinister Satanic plot to sacrifice a teen girl in her Irish village. Oh, and Will Forte plays the villainous rock singer behind this dark ritual. From its cozy exorcisms to its ribald climax, Extra Ordinary leftnothing on the table (or sacrificial altar, as the case may be).

(Extra Ordinary is streaming on Showtime and isavailable on demand elsewhere.)

9. Da 5 Bloods

They dont get much more operaticthan Spike Lees Vietnam veterans tale. With a terrifyingand irresistible performance from Delroy Lindo and a supporting turn from Chadwick Boseman thats only become more remarkable since the actors death, this is a classic adventure yarn,set against vibrant jungle scenery and pulsing with as much revolutionary spirit as youd require from a Spike Lee joint. Da 5 Bloods tackles reparations, PTSD and the immorality of war, and even if it feels fit to burst sometimes, its worth all 156 minutes.

(Da 5 Bloods is streaming on Netflix.)

8. Promising Young Woman

From its opening shot of doughy male torsos writhing to Charli XCXs female gaze anthem Boys, this wry, unrelenting, dazzling film from writer-director Emerald Fennell subverts its pop references with wicked, righteous glee. Following a modern-day Greek Fury on a hunt to make predators pay (Carey Mulligan, in complete control), Promising Young Woman is a pulpy revenge thriller, a wickedly smart trauma story and a rom-com dipped in pitch-black tar. Its squirm-inducing, unforgiving and an utter blast.

(Promising Young Woman is in theaters.)

Our review: A 'Promising Young Woman' hunts predators

7. What the Constitution Means to Me

How is it going for me this year? I cried watching a filmed production of a one-woman show about the U.S. Constitution! Brought to the screen this year by director Marielle Heller, What the Constitution Means to Me starts as a gleeful, high school forensics-style presentation by playwright and performer Heidi Schreck and then mutates, sometimes distressingly, into a reckoning of how little our oft-fetishized founding document protects women and immigrants. Searing but never pedantic, its a map to a more perfect union.

(What the Constitution Means to Me is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.)

6. Minari

Lee Isaac Chungs semi-autobiographical drama about a Korean family trying to make it as farmers in 1980s Arkansas is both modest and concerned with nothing smaller than the American Dream. As patriarch Jacob, Steven Yeun anchors a hope to create life both from the ground and for his family in every heartbeat of the film. But Alan Kim and Youn Yuh-jung steal "Minari"as an unforgettable grandson-grandma duo.

(After screenings at film festivals and limited virtual screenings, Minari is slated for wider release in February.)

5. Yes, God, Yes

I dont always go in for cringe comedies Hulus Pen15, by all accounts a masterwork, makes me want to die but Karen Maines 2000-set film cuts right to the bone. Which, coincidentally, is exactly what its heroine wishes she could do. Yes, God, Yes" follows Catholic school girl Alice (Natalia Dyer of Stranger Things) as her developing sexuality meets the repressive, hilariously hypocritical world of Christian youth retreats. From embarrassing AOL chats to triggering arm hair to sterling turns from Timothy Simons and Donna Lynne Champlain, Yes, God, Yes is a real scream.

(Yes, God, Yes is streaming on Netflix and is available on demand elsewhere.)

4. Nomadland

A tour-de-force Frances McDormand performance and contemplative, compassionate direction from ChloZhao keep Nomadland in your mind long after you watch it. Zhao also wrote the screenplay, based on a 2017 nonfiction book about Americans left behind after the Great Recession. McDormands haunted Fern travels the West in a van, piecing together a life. The premise sounds bleak the scenes of a weathered Fern trying to figure out her next move in the middle of gorgeous, unforgiving, snow-bitten emptiness do fit that bill. And Nomadland provokes questions, like: Is an Oscar-winning actress doing blue-collar cosplay among real-life nomads in the cast condescending? But discomfort is part of this journey. As runaway capitalism continues to benefit fewer and actively disenfranchise more, Zhaos empathetic film hits different.

(After screenings at film festivals and limited virtual screenings, Nomadland is slated for U.S. release in February.)

3. Dick Johnson Is Dead

Death was never far from our minds this year, so what a fortune to have Dick Johnson Is Dead give us a hand to hold. Theres nothing like this film: Director Kirsten Johnson shares her relationship with father Dick, a genial man who palpably adores his daughter, as he nears the end of his life and retreats into the fog of dementia. In between, Kirsten films Dick dying in a series of fantastical fictitious scenarios. A sly comedy and a documentary in one, Dick Johnson Is Dead demystifies the end of life with humor and warmth. What an act of generosity.

(Dick Johnson is Dead is streaming on Netflix.)

2. Time

In inky, glowing black and white, documentary filmmaker Garrett Bradley condenses lifetimesinto an hour and a half. Lyrical, gutting and persuasive, Time is the ballad of Fox Rich, a Black woman who turns the full force of her days toward getting her husband, Rob, out of prison over the course of 20 years. In the meantime (and often seen through seamlessly integrated home video), the hands of the clock carry her family along in a slow, steady whirl. Americas poorly named justice system, as Bradleys film lays bare, often commits far greater crimes than its victims do. And it does so without a shred of humanity. Time is an elegy for those stolen lives.

(Time is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.)

1. And Then We Danced

Small people fear anything that breaks the shape they know. This Georgian-Swedish romance insists upon that freedom, with every staggering step and gratifying glance between its leads. In And Then We Danced,sweet, sensitive Merab (dancer Levan Gelbakhiani in his screen debut)struggles to fit into the calcified machismo his culture demands, even in its art. There is no sex in Georgian dance, hes told. The game of masculinity comes much easier to handsome newcomer Irakli (Bachi Valishvili). But eventually, in the immortal words of Gloria Estefan, the rhythm is gonna get ya. For Irakli, Merab and the sexiest dance scene ever committed to film (to the seductive, narcotic sea of Robyns song Honey), that lesson is thrilling and devastating to learn.

Our review: We Love This So Much: And Then We Danced and The Red Shoes

Screenings of Levan Akins movie were met with violent homophobic protests in Georgia, which only speaks to the power of thestory. As the defiant, hold-the-air-in-your-throat final scene of And Then We Danced would answer such hardened hate: Holding onto your softness takes more power than any strongman could imagine.

(And Then We Danced is streaming on Amazon Prime Video and is available on demand elsewhere.)

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Austin360's favorite 25 movies of 2020: What and where to watch - austin360