THE TOP 5

  1. Promising Young Woman

“A mind-blowing and brilliant masterpiece of moviemaking about a woman bent on revenge after her best friend is raped in college. Built on the foundation of a career-best performance by Carey Mulligan, this is the kind of thought-provoking and game-changing film that, by itself, warrants a semester-long class at film schools. It will leave you curled up in the fetal position, sure, but it’s as close to perfect as you can get. The best film of 2020.”

  1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

“Though it will be remembered as Chadwick Boseman’s final film, it should be instead remembered as the vehicle for his finest work, hands-down. Not only does he hold his own alongside the phenomenal Viola Davis, but Boseman also gives this film (chronicling a day-long 1930s recording session) the perfect amount of humanity, gravitas, and flat-out power. Don’t be surprised if both actors win Oscars in April. Phenomenal stuff.”

  1. Time 

“This poignant and superbly crafted documentary about one woman’s struggle against the justice system may just be the best thing I’ve seen all year. Creative and captivating, it’s as much a masterclass in storytelling as it is an eloquent and powerful voice for reform in this country.”

  1. Sound of Metal

“Riz Ahmed stars in a heartbreaking drama about a punk drummer who loses his hearing. At its core, it’s a fairly standard coming-to-grips flick, but Ahmed’s stellar performance turns it into something great, and writer-director Darius Marder and sound designer Nicolas Becker give us something wholly unique and well worth a watch. What A Quiet Place did for suspense films, Sound of Metal does for human drama.”

  1. Mank

“Director David Fincher (working from a script by his late father) paints a masterful portrait of the Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, as Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried lead the way in what may be the most perfectly “old Hollywood” movie ever made. It’s brilliant on every level (cinematography, production design, acting, directing) and deftly pushes the envelope of esotericism on its way to becoming as fantastic a biopic as you could hope for.”

THE REST

  1. Hamilton
  2. Soul
  3. Wolfwalkers
  4. Tenet
  5. Palm Springs
  6. Ammonite
  7. Uncle Frank
  8. Black is King
  9. Yes God Yes
  10. I’m Your Woman
  11. I Am Greta
  12. The Climb
  13. The Wolf of Snow Hollow
  14. Charm City Kings
  15. The Way I See It
  16. Howard
  17. The Outpost
  18. Sylvie’s Love
  19. Freaky
  20. The Trial of the Chicago 7
  21. News of the World
  22. The Last Blockbuster
  23. The Croods: A New Age
  24. Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions
  25. Run
  26. Let Him Go
  27. On the Rocks
  28. American Utopia
  29. Love and Monsters
  30. Spontaneous
  31. Kingdom of Silence
  32. Enola Holmes
  33. Unpregnant
  34. Mulan
  35. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
  36. Class Action Park
  37. Get Duked
  38. The Go-Go’s
  39. The Rental
  40. Greyhound
  41. The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
  42. The Prom
  43. Happiest Season
  44. Belushi
  45. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
  46. The Informer
  47. Holidate
  48. BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky
  49. The More You Ignore Me
  50. Save Yourselves!
  51. A Call to Spy
  52. The Devil All the Time
  53. The Argument
  54. Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story
  55. Made in Italy
  56. Summerland
  57. Radioactive
  58. The Sunlit Night
  59. The Old Guard
  60. Wonder Woman 1984
  61. The Midnight Sky
  62. Godmothered
  63. Over the Moon
  64. The Witches
  65. Clouds
  66. Dick Johnson is Dead
  67. Lost Girls and Love Hotels
  68. #Alive
  69. The Babysitter: Killer Queen
  70. Love, Guaranteed
  71. Bill & Ted Face the Music
  72. The Sleepover
  73. The Only and Only Ivan
  74. I Used to Go Here
  75. Dreamland
  76. The Devil Has a Name
  77. Ava
  78. Project Power
  79. Wild Mountain Thyme
  80. The Place of No Words
  81. Hubie Haloween
  82. Unhinged
  83. An American Pickle
  84. The Beach House

THE BOTTOM 5

  1. Hillbilly Elegy 

“It’s hard to think of a recent movie that seems more concerned about award nominations than this Oscar-bait family drama set in the white-trash hills of Kentucky… but don’t be fooled. Amy Adams and Glenn Close are phenomenal, sure, but the movie itself is an overwrought mess that tries way, way, WAY too hard to check all the right boxes. Bless your heart if you don’t feel like you’ve just been played for 2+ hours.”

  1. Operation Christmas Drop

“Netflix welcomes Christmas three weeks before Thanksgiving with this uneven Hallmark knockoff. Of course, the impossibly beautiful male and female leads hate each other at first, and of course, they wind up basking in the glow of each other’s love. The tropical setting is a nice escape, but it’s not hard to imagine that the real-life story that provided the backdrop is far more compelling and deserves far better than this schlock.

  1. Rebecca 

“The latest unnecessary and ill-advised remake of a classic is as forgettable as they come. The suspense is non-existent, and the filmmakers seem more intent on making every frame look like a spread from Vanity Fair. Skip it and watch the 1940 Hitchcock version instead. Or, better yet, read the book.”

  1. The Binge

“Sure, having a Morgan Freeman sound-alike narrate the proceedings is a nice touch, and a very clever musical-theater interlude shows what kind of brilliant the film could have been. None of it is enough to keep The Binge from crashing and burning in spectacular fashion, however. They may have been hoping for the next Superbad, but instead, we all just get something super bad.

  1. Desperados 

“The worst thing isn’t the scene with Wesley (Nasim Pedrad) touting masturbation to a nun, the bit where Desperados director LP (Lauren Palmigiano) has Wesley mark the passing of days by showing her birth control pills dwindling, or the bit where pedophilia is played for humor (involving a 12-year-old and a sex toy). It’s also not the out-of-nowhere plot that features Heather Graham as a lesbian shaman who seduces Anna Camp’s Brooke (just for laughs?), or even the fact that, despite all of this, Wesley doesn’t end the film sad and alone, as she so rightly should have. No, the worst thing about Desperados (and this is saying something) is that Wesley, at one point, gets slapped in the face by a frolicking dolphin’s erect penis. That actually happened. And if it isn’t clear by now, Desperados shouldn’t have.”