Top 10 Movies of 2020 (So Far)

Top 10 Movies of 2020 (So Far)

   I am doing this list now because we have passed the mid way point for the year and are nearing towards award season. The time of the year when movie studios tend to release their prized movie of the calendar year. Movie studios generally hold off on releasing the movies they are going to push for awards for the fall into the winter so that they will be fresh on voters minds. While I expect a lot of these movies on this list to fall further down as the year continues, I just wanted to highlight some of the most fun and thrilling movies we have been blessed to be able to watch thus far. While we have been without the theater experience for close to 5 months now, we have had no shortage of movies to watch, you just have to know where to look.

    

     While we have been dearly missing the big blockbuster films like Black Widow, James Bond, and Tenet, 2020 has been the year of thriller / horror movies (for better or worse). Horror / Thriller movies are generally a much cheaper investment than other genres so studios are not holding on to them and are releasing them on streaming platforms and VOD. This is lucky for those of us still stuck at home and are in desperation for new movie content. 2020 has been an amazing opportunity for streaming platforms to capitalize on our boredom and some have really stepped it up in the quality of movies they are snatching up (Hulu and Amazon) meanwhile others are just throwing a bunch at the wall and hoping one sticks (Netflix).

    For those who have not read any of my blogs before (new site, welcome please like, comment and share) I include each movie's IMDb Score. IMDb is a good outside source to show if a movie has been well received by fans. IMDb Score is based on fans finding the movie on their site or app and rating the movie 1-10, this is a much better scale to go off of than just seeing the pass fail system by critics of sites like Rotten Tomatoes. IMDb is not without fault of course, Comedies and horror movies always tend to be on the lower side because they are some of the most subjective films to rate. If not stated in the blurb specifically about each movie on where to find it, the movie is only available to purchase or for rent on demand.

                                  

10. The Lodge (IMDb Score: 6.0/10)

    Riley Keough does an incredible job playing Grace, a cult survivor who has started a new life with Richard Hall (Richard Armitage), and is in the very difficult situation of trying to connect and take care of her soon to be husband's two children. The children Mia and Aiden Hall (played by Lia McHugh and Jaeden Martell respectively) are dealing with their mother (Spoilers) just committing suicide and are blaming Grace's relationship with their father for it. Grace and the two kids are left alone at the family's lodge stuck there while their father has to be away for work. What unfolds is a thrilling fall into madness with more twists and turns but is highlighted by Riley Keough's dread filled amazing performance. This movie is available on Hulu.

                                 

9. An American Pickle (IMDb Score: 5.8/10)

    Comedy is obviously very subjective but I thoroughly enjoyed Seth Rogan's most recent foray into the genre. This is not your typical Seth Rogan makes a movie about weed and other dugs comedy. It is not as laugh out loud funny as his 2019 movie "Longshot" but this time out Seth Rogan brought a much better performance playing both Herschel and Ben Greenbaum. This movie is HBO Max's first attempt at an original movie made strictly for their new platform. Sarah Snook (playing Sarah Greenbaum) is sadly slightly wasted in her role, and many Succession fans were probably hoping to see much more screen time for her but her character is not in the main timeline and focus. Seth Rogan plays both great grandfather and great grandson in this dramatic comedy, where GGF Herschel gets trapped and pickled in 1920 and wakes up a hundred years later and meets up with his only surviving relative GGS Ben. The pair develop a rivalry and compete against each other with business and ideology. This comedy has familial and religious notes about the two of them learning to accept one another. Only available on HBO Max.

                                

8. Big Time Adolescence (IMDb Score: 7.0/10)

    This dramatic comedy was written and directed by Jason Orley, I wrote about it previously on my other site but I will quickly rehash some of my favorite bits. Griffin Gluck plays high school sophomore Monroe who has grown up the past few years becoming best friends with college drop out Pete Davidson's Zeke. Pete Davidson has had a very strong year in movies so far between this and another film coming up shortly. This coming of age story has hilarious and tender moments showing while we may love some of our closest friends, they might not be what is best for us and their influence on our life can be very detrimental. This movie is available on Hulu.

                               

7. Guns Akimbo (IMDb Score: 6.3/10)

    Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe stars as Miles, an internet troll who took his hateful bullying online speech to the wrong website and is forced into a sadistic online fight club murder live show. Yes I realize that was a weird sentence, but that is what it is and needs to be explained as such, yell at me in the comments about it. This movie is filled with way over the top action and imagery that feels like a video game in the best kind of way. It understandably has many flaws but was such a fun romp it soared up high on my list. This movie is also a giant underdog as it was supposed to originally come out a year or so ago but was hit many times with production and distribution issues but finally found its home on Amazon Prime.

                               

6. The Invisible Man (IMDb Score: 7.1/10)

    Elizabeth Moss gave the best acting performance of the year thus far in this new twist on the classic universal monster movie. Elizabeth Moss plays Cecilia Kass a woman desperately trying to escape her abusive controlling ex who is haunting and hunting her from beyond the grave. I always do my best to never reveal any major plot points and spoilers so I am not going to dive too much into this, all I can say is if you are a fan of thriller / horror movies (yet not filled with gore like the Saw franchise) you will more than likely fall in love with this movie. I did not see it coming how much I fell in love with this movie.

                                  

5. The King of Staten Island (IMDb Score: 7.1)

    This is Pete Davidson's other great movie I was referencing, big surprise I know. This movie had a pretty substantial media push for good reason as it is by the king of modern comedy movies Judd Apatow writing and directing this semi biographical movie of Pete Davidson's life. In interviews this has been described as basically how Pete feels his life might have turned out if he never found comedy. It follows his character Scott Carlin whose life has kind of just been floundering around ever since his father died as a firefighter. Marisa Tomei plays his mother Margie Carlin, while stand up comedian star Bill Burr plays Ray Bishop. Their developing relationship puts a strain on the trio as Scott deals with his deep seated issues mourning his father using it as a crutch to not move on with his life.

                                    

4. 7500 (IMDb Score: 6.3/10)

    Welcome back Joseph Gordon-Levitt! After not staring in a movie since 2016 the incredible actor comes storming in with this emotional performance as Tobias Ellis an American pilot co-piloting a flight traveling from Berlin to Paris when terrorists try to take over the plane. This intense thrill ride is shot entirely from inside the cockpit of an airplane and engulfs you with long emotional takes, with claustrophobia tension and helplessness building as the movie goes along. "7500" is the flight code for when there is an attempt to hijack a plane. During hijackings pilots are not allowed to let anyone into the cockpit for any reason until they are able to safely land the plane as soon as possible. In interviews Joseph Gordon-Levitt said director Patrick Vollrath would let the camera roll for 20, 30, or even 40 minutes or so at a time to  really help pull out the best from him and makes the film feel very alive and hopeless at times. This movie is available on Amazon Prime.

                                    

3. The Vast of Night (IMDb Score: 6.7/10)

    If you love Twilight Zone and just old school alien mystery movies you need to add this movie to your list right now. This sci-fi mystery film set in the 1950's and follows Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz's characters Fay and Everett as they uncover a mysterious radio signal one night and are searching to uncover what the strange noise was. As a fair waring this movie is akin to early sci-fi mystery movies so do not expect some giant spectacle such as Aliens but a movie that is an incredibly written mystery to watch unfold about this 1950's small town. Available on Amazon Prime.

                                   

2. The Gentlemen (IMDb Score: 7.9/10)

    Typically January and February are the months out of the year where movie studios like to dump their lost causes of movies that they have. The beginning of the year is typically not a period of time where people go out to the theaters in droves. This movie is one of the few exceptions. The Gentlemen is a wonderful new and exciting crime drama with many hilarious moments. If you are a fan of Guy Ritchie's unique style of movies (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)  this movie might find its way into being one of your favorites. This has a star studded cast across the board, Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell and Henry Golding.  Alright so Matthew McConaughey plays Michael Person, England's largest marijuana kingpin who is looking to retire early. With multiple suitors looking to buy him out and news corporations hiring private detectives to try to tear him down for petty reasons this strongly acted great piece of storytelling will have you on the edge of your seat yearning to know what comes next.

                                  

1. Palm Springs (IMDb Score: 7.5/10)

    I was very interested in this movie after seeing teases for it as the next movie that dives into the genre of Groundhog's Day movies, but Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti changed what I thought was just going to be an average funny movie into my favorite film of the year so far. Andy Samberg plays Nyles, a tag along wedding guest who we come to find out has been stuck in an endless time loop for years, decades, if not longer. During one of these time loops he and Cristin Milioti's character Sarah hit it off and she accidently follows him too far and gets stuck with him in the time loop. There were many ways for this movie to be very unoriginal and boring but it makes its own twists and turns changing the way we look at time loops in this hilarious fantasy comedy. This movie is on Hulu, stop what you are doing right now, go watch it, then come back and tell me how much you loved it. This movie is on Hulu, stop what you are doing right now, go watch it, then come back and tell me how much you loved it. This movie is on Hulu, stop what you are doing right now, go watch it, then come back and tell me how much you loved it.

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Please come find me on twitter @HaroldLStokes and comes yell at me and ask me why your favorite of the year so far did not make the list or just come chat about movies and football!