At the end of 2019 I decided to do two things:
1. keep track of every film I saw in 2020.
2. make a point of watching older films.
The pandemic + lockdown + the lack of new releases added up to make #2 way, way easier. Of the 122 films I watched, only 19 were released in 2020 (Now for my shameful, noteworthy admission: before 2020, I had seen LESS THAN 20 films released before 1975. I KNOW.)
With all that in mind, here are the 10 best movies I saw in 2020:
#10. PALM SPRINGS (2020)
The only 2020 movie in my top 10. It’s inventive, hilarious, surprising. It’s sweet, emotional, and short (90 minutes). A Groundhog’s Day for a new generation.
#9. HIGH FLYING BIRD (2019)
An astonishingly-written sports film from super-scribe Tarell Alvin McCraney. I put off seeing this for no good reason, and was blown away by nearly every sentence. Plus, it features one of 2019’s great, most overlooked performances by André Holland.
#8. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
For YEARS I asked people that knew and loved me if I should see this — George Lucas’s debut — and they were all like: it’s okay, no rush. DO THESE PEOPLE SECRETLY HATE ME?!? I was honestly wowed and thrilled by every aspect of it.
#7. THE LONG GOODBYE (1973)
The casual violence towards women in ’70s film SHOCKED me, and it comes out swinging here. I couldn’t take my eyes off Elliott Gould, but the only terrible thing about this…
