Thomas Storai 
Thomas shares his top 20 movies of 2020
2020 has been a weird and difficult year for everyone including the release of movies. Some movies we were expecting this year have been delayed to next year, some have been released later than expected and others have been released on streaming platforms. Despite the circumstances, 2020 has brought us a lot of great movies, so here’s my top 20:
20 – Uncle Frank
Uncle Frank is a deeply touching and heartfelt movie with a beautiful message of acceptance. It balances nicely between its moments of humor and joy with its more stirring moments, mostly present in the second half, it’s perfectly paced. Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, and Peter Macdissi deliver solid and powerful performances.
19 – A Whisker Away
A Whisker Away is a delightful movie with a wonderful animation in which we discover a new fantasy world. The story deals with deeper and complex themes beautifully and movingly.
18 – Words on Bathroom Walls
Words on Bathroom Walls deals with the subject of mental illness sensitively and insightfully with a lot of honesty. Charlie Plummer delivers an exceptional performance, surrounded by a great cast!
17 – The King of Staten Island
The King Of Staten Island is funny but also very touching. It deals with some of Pete Davidson’s problems and you can feel he has put a lot of heart in this movie both with the writing and acting, he delivers a great performance and he’s surrounded by a fantastic ensemble cast. It tackles very interesting themes like how hard it is to move on and get your shit together, it just feels sincere. It’s Judd Apatow’s best work in years!
16 – The New Mutants
The New Mutants is a scary and thrilling movie with a character-driven story featuring compelling and complex characters played by a great cast. It’s The Breakfast Club meets the superhero genre, it doesn’t get any better than this! It also features a beautiful same-sex love story, it was about time we got LGBTQ+ representation like this in the comic book film genre!
15 – Hamilton
This filmed version of Hamilton allows everyone to discover this outstanding musical! Lin-Manuel Miranda is a master of his craft, he brings catchy and dynamic songs. It’s an excellent cast but I have to say Jonathan Groff is a scene-stealer!
14 – Made in Italy
Made in Italy is a beautiful movie that sends us to Tuscany, capturing the splendor of Italy. This movie is at the same time a dramedy and a romance, bringing emotions and laughs. It’s a stirring story about mourning, moving on but also about a father-son relationship. Liam Neeson is an actor with a lot of talent but who too often keeps himself in repetitive action films, so it’s good that in this one he gets to show us the range of his acting skills side by side with his real-life son Michael Richardson, who surely has a nice career ahead of him. We knew James D’Arcy’s acting talents, now he gets to show us he’s also a good screenwriter and director.
13 – The Midnight Sky
The Midnight Sky is a gripping movie that focuses on its characters. It explores human connections in all their complexities, while also bringing hope in the middle of a doomed world. It is George Clooney’s most ambitious directorial work and also his best. A phenomenal cast with strong performances lead by Clooney and Felicity Jones. This movie has incredible visuals, The Volume is truly the future of filmmaking! As usual, Alexandre Desplat delivers a beautiful score!
12 – The Gentlemen
The Gentlemen is a crazy movie, it entertains with a sophisticated story, it’s a Guy Ritchie movie! An excellent cast especially Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell who is simply hilarious!
11 – Soul
Disney Pixar’s Soul is an inspired and inspiring movie trying to shine a light on the meaning of life. There’s a lot of truth and wisdom in this movie. It’s a beautiful life lesson. And also a wonder to watch visually! In 2020, Pixar gave us its two best movies – Soul and Onward! (Read our review).
10 – Spontaneous
Spontaneous is one crazy dark comedy, quite explosive literally! It’s very funny and also moving at times. It’s a refreshing and thrilling take on a teen romance. Katherine Langford and Charlie Plummer are so good in this!
9 – The Half of It
The Half Of It is smart and refreshing, it’s not your usual coming-of-age movie and that’s what is so great about it. Alice Wu gives us an emotionally complex and sincere story that explores sexuality, friendship, identity, and love. The cast delivers endearing performances, and you can feel they’ve put a lot of heart into this movie! Surely one of 2020’s best movies. We need more movies like this.
8 – The Devil All The Time
The Devil All the Time is a dark and gritty movie showcasing an intense descent into darkness for its characters in Southern America. It’s a fascinating story. The cast is simply stellar and elevates an already great movie! Tom Holland delivers one of his best performances, he’s mesmerizing. Sebastian Stan and Robert Pattinson also deliver intense performances. Incredible work has been done on the accents!
7 – Mulan
Mulan is a real success, it’s a movie that’s different from its animated predecessor, the best Disney live-action remake since Beauty and the Beast! You can feel the inspiration from Chinese movies in the action scenes, it’s spectacular! Mulan is a visual marvel with an awesome cast. Liu Yifei is amazing as Mulan.
6 – Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn)
Birds Of Prey is a great movie, totally crazy in its style as well as in its narration. Margot Robbie once again brilliantly plays Harley Quinn. Montoya, Canary, Cain, and Huntress all have their time to shine on the screen, I already love these characters, excellent casting! Ewan McGregor as Black Mask is simply perfect. The songs chosen for the film fit with the universe of the movie and its atmosphere. Beautiful cinematography. Cathy Yan delivers a superb action movie! (Read our review)
5 – Onward
Onward is PIXAR’s best movie. It’s a really beautiful family adventure with a touching story of brotherhood. It’s set in an inventive universe with rich world-building and magnificent visuals.
4 – Tenet
Tenet is a spectacular movie with a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time! Christopher Nolan delivers another masterpiece, this time about time-bending, a mind-blowing concept that Nolan masters perfectly. John David Washington and Robert Pattinson are brilliant in this! (Read our review).
3 – Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 is the superhero movie we need right now, it’s full of hope. Patty Jenkins delivered an amazing sequel! In terms of tone and style, it really felt like the Donner Superman movies, which focused on the story and its characters. Gal Gadot is simply marvelous as Wonder Woman once again, she IS Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine have natural on-screen chemistry. They have some poignant scenes! Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig are scene stealers. Both play compelling villains with fleshed-out stories, it makes the characters more interesting. Hans Zimmer made a wonderful score, I love it! And the end credit scenes made me smile. (Read our review)
2 – Weathering With You
Makoto Shinkai is truly the new Hayao Miyazaki. This man is a genius of Japanese animation. He always brings a poetic and lyric touch to his movies and Weathering With You is no exception. It is a wonderful and charming movie with compelling characters and breathtaking visuals. A masterpiece. And the soundtrack is magnificent!
1 – Jojo Rabbit
Jojo Rabbit is a smart and bold anti-hate satire with humor that Taika Waititi perfectly masters, he also delivers a ridiculously memorable performance. It’s a movie that brilliantly goes from serious to absurd and from comedy to tragedy. Roman Griffin Davis delivers a touching performance, supported by a formidable cast. This is a remarkably poignant movie, a must-see!
Finally, I want to mention the Director’s Cut of Doctor Sleep. Although the movie was released last year, 2020 gave us the home video release with this director’s cut including an additional 30 min. It’s a masterpiece! You can read my review here. You can also read my top 20 movies from last year.
What are your top movies of 2020? Leave us a comment below.
The Future of the Force. The future of pop culture writing.
Collectables Editor at Future Of The Force.
Star Wars and Marvel specialist, anime expert
