211 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2020 (Page 10)

Find the best movies and show to watch from the year 2020. These handpicked recommendations are highly-rated by viewers and critics.

Read also:

136. P-Valley, 2022

Written proudly in the Mississippi vernacular, P-Valley tells a story of sex, trauma, and ambition in a totally unembellished way. There's something decidedly un-Hollywood about it, both in the way it embraces its Black and Southern roots and in how it portrays stripping as the athletic feat it truly is. So even if the show deals with adult subject matter it's never lurid or exploitative, and it becomes a series just as much about the craft of exotic dancing and hip hop as it is about money and struggle. Even the more unwieldy parts of the series's storytelling help add up to an authentic portrait, bathed in gorgeous night club colors and crisp Southern images.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Actor: Brandee Evans, Elarica Johnson, Harriett D. Foy, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Parker Sawyers, Shannon Thornton

Read also:

137. Love & Anarchy, 2022

Love & Anarchy is a raunchy and poignant series that mainly follows Sofie (Ida Engvoll ), a middle-aged consultant whose steady, predictable life is forever changed when she befriends the office temp, Max (Björn Mosten).

Sofie and Max take turns daring each other to do unconventional things in public, from walking backward at work to role paying at a function, and what begins as a thrill-seeking exploit soon evolves into a serious relationship that has them and their colleagues questioning their bigger ambitions and desires in life.

With each only eight episodes per season, each of which runs at more or less 30 minutes, Love & Anarchy is a sure-fire easy and worthwhile binge.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Björn Kjellman, Björn Mosten, Carla Sehn, Gizem Erdogan, Ida Engvoll, Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Reine Brynolfsson

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

138. Little Big Women, 2020

This sensitive and elegantly crafted melodrama recognizes that a death in the family doesn't have to lead to the same expressions of mourning we expect from movies; there might not be any real sadness at all. But when different family members come together again and bring their own personal conflicts with them, suddenly everyone else's little griefs fill the space, and the road to recovery becomes even messier. Little Big Women understands all this with an understated touch and brilliant, naturalistic performances from its cast. It makes for a loving tribute to the generations of tough and complicated women who often hold a family together.

Genre: Drama, Family, Romance

Actor: Buffy Chen, Chang Han, Chen Shu-fang, Chen Yan-Fei, Chia-Kuei Chen, Ding Ning, Grace Chen Shu-Fang, Han Chang, Honduras, Hsieh Ying Shiuan, Hsieh Ying-xuan, Janine Chang, Lung Shao-Hua, Sara Yu, Siu Wa Lung, Sun Ke-Fang, Vivian Hsu, Weber Yang

Director: Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu, Joseph Hsu

Rating: N/A

Read also:

139. Here We Go, 2024

It’s always nice to be able to identify with a group of people on television, but it’s especially entertaining when they’re a hilarious bunch. That’s what the Jessops are, at once relatable and ridiculous, mundane and misfortune-prone. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and somehow their troubles worsen anytime they try to fix them or keep a straight face. It sounds strange, but in a TV landscape of bleak comedies and cynical dramas, it’s refreshing and validating to watch the average middle-class family struggle with the same problems we’re having, whether that’s figuring out a good career or trying to reignite the spark of a marriage. That we see all this unfold through the handheld lens of Sam, the youngest of the family, adds a layer of intimacy and charm that makes Here We Go an imminently comforting watch.Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Aidan Cheng, Alison Steadman, Freya Parks, Jim Howick, Jude Collie, Katherine Parkinson, Mica Ricketts, Tom Basden, Tori Allen-Martin
Director: Will Sinclair
Rating: NR

Read also:

140. Gunda, 2021

Gunda offers an empathetic look at the lives of farm animals with its minimalist approach to the nature doc. Director Victor Kossakosvsky films without a sentimental score or voice-over narration, and shoots in a sparse yet striking black and white. This decision gives the film an intimacy often missing from more traditional modes.

We watch a sow named Gunda, her piglets, and a few other animals through their daily routines. Long natural sequences allow the viewer to sink into the zen of the animals’ natural rhythms. The result is an astounding and bittersweet film that hints at the brutalities of factory farming without ever stepping foot in a slaughterhouse.

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Director: Viktor Kossakovsky

Read also:

141. Dead to Me, 2022

Whoever paired Christina Applegate with Linda Cardellini should be given a raise. As the inadvertent crime duo Jen and Judy, the actresses are magnetic—their chemistry simply radiates through the screen. Whether they’re solving a crime or attempting to incite one, you can’t help but root for them. As long as they’re on screen interacting, everything else—the basic mystery, the predictable twists—is forgivable.

Aside from the irresistible pairing, Dead to Me is also very watchable for its precise and sympathetic take on grief and womanhood. Both Jen and Judy have had to suffer through immense loss, and the series reminds us through their different reactions that there is no one way to grieve. They're also middle-aged women, a fact that the series handles in a refreshingly deft manner. In lesser hands, this could have been trivialized or sensationalized, but under the helm of showrunner Liz Feldman, it's a simple matter of fact that ingrains itself in every moment.

Dead to Me is both heartwarming and gut-busting, a darkly comic series buoyed by strong performances and principles.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama

Actor: Christina Applegate, Edward Asner, James Marsden, Linda Cardellini, Luke Roessler, Max Jenkins, Sam McCarthy

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

142. Dating Amber, 2020

This lovely comedy-romance from Ireland is about a closeted gay teen and his lesbian schoolmate who pretend to be in a relationship to avoid being bullied at their school.

This premise makes Dating Amber an original story in a genre in which that's increasingly rare. This is added to the setting, in 1995 rural Ireland, which is executed to gorgeous perfection in everything from the clothes to the music.

Dating Amber ends up being more coming-of-age than a comedy-romance. It's a tale of friendship and self-acceptance.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Adam Carolan, Ally Ni Chiarain, Anastasia Blake, Andrew Bennett, Arian Nik, Art Campion, Barry Ward, Corey Millar, Emma Willis, Eva O'Connor, Evan O'Connor, Fionn O'Shea, Fionn O'Shea, Ian O'Reilly, Ian O'Reilly, Jonny Woo, Karl Rice, Lauryn Canny, Lola Petticrew, Peter Campion, Sharon Horgan, Shauna Higgins, Simone Kirby, Tara Flynn

Director: David Freyne

Read also:

143. City Hall, 2020

From the sheer size of Frederick Wiseman's documentaries (both in length and scope), it should be clear that his goal isn't necessarily to have us retain every piece of information he gives us in all of this film's board meetings and press conferences. This is a film interested in the macro view of how a city works, and Wiseman's attention to detail even in his old age (he's 94 at the time of writing this) is truly inspiring for any aspiring documentarian. City Hall doesn't necessarily tell us anything we might not already know about the coordination between a local government unit and its constituents and citizens, but Wiseman gets us to think of the grand design of it all—which is both wondrous and horrifying to behold.Genre: Documentary
Actor: Marty Walsh
Director: Frederick Wiseman

Read also:

144. Bull, 2020

Bull is a gritty and haunting drama featuring a phenomenal performance by Rob Morgan as a bullfighter. In a poor Houston suburb, he plays an aging and lonely black man doing everything he can to survive. He brushes off unrelenting racism, rides even when it's life-threatening and raises chickens to sell them. His next-door neighbor is a grandmother taking care of her daughter's kids while the daughter is in jail. One day one of these grandaughters harms the chickens and vandalizes Abe's house, prompting them to clash.Genre: Drama
Actor: Amber Havard, Rob Morgan, Sarah Albright, Troy Hogan, Yolonda Ross
Director: Annie Silverstein

Read also:

145. Beautiful Something Left Behind, 2021

Although (or because) it lacks structure and specific insights into death from the perspective of children, Beautiful Something Left Behind emphasizes what it believes is the more important thing to keep in mind when talking to kids. One cannot impose an adult's perspective on the way children choose to process their feelings, but one can and should be able to provide a protected space for those kids to speak freely. It's an incredibly kind film, one that fully believes that young people are already fully formed "characters" whose ignorance about the world isn't seen as a flaw nor as innocence to be romanticized.

Genre: Documentary

Director: Katrine Philp

Read also:

146. Be Water, 2020

As the face of kung fu, a sports documentary on Bruce Lee is practically expected for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. So many of them have been produced since the actor’s death in 1973. However, in Be Water, director Bao Nguyen captures the icon not through his works, but through his philosophy. Starting with his first screen test, the camera rarely strays from him, keeping us hooked on his magnetic presence even during voice-overs of interviews from his friends and family. This, mixed with readings of letters he’s written, reveals a man whose self-discipline and attitude power through obstacles against him. The film only diverts its attention to identifying those obstacles, but it only better proves the actor’s strength. In martial arts and in film, Be Water respects Lee as a force of nature– the rare force that broke barriers and bridged the gap between East and West.

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Actor: Angela Mao Ying, Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Dan Inosanto, David Carradine, Diana Lee Inosanto, Fred Weintraub, Jay Sebring, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Linda Lee Cadwell, Muhammad Ali, Nancy Kwan, Paul M. Heller, Raymond Chow Man-Wai, Rudolf Nureyev, Shannon Lee, Tony Liu, William Dozier

Director: Bao Nguyen

Read also:

147. After Life, 2022

In After Life, Ricky Gervais plays a kind-hearted journalist who turns dark after his wife passes away. Her parting gift to him is a video manual on how to deal with life. But his pessimism and annoyance with people keep delaying him from watching it. Worst of all, a new recruit at the newspaper is assigned to work with him. Her determined personality not only further delays him from dealing with his sadness, but gives him the platform to be even darker and more pessimistic. After Life is a mix of dark humor, straightforward drama, and tragedy. It’s a difficult story packaged in the easiest and most digestible TV form. The episodes are quick, have clear arcs and plot; and yet, you won’t be able to shake the feeling that you’re watching something much deeper than a Ricky Gervais comedy.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Ashley Jensen, David Bradley, David Earl, Diane Morgan, Jo Hartley, Joe Wilkinson, Kerry Godliman, Mandeep Dhillon, Penelope Wilton, Ricky Gervais, Roisin Conaty, Tom Basden, Tommy Finnegan, Tony Way

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

148. You Cannot Kill David Arquette, 2020

For the longest time, it was always about how wrestling was affected by David Arquette; this documentary finally turns it around and asks how Arquette was affected by pro wrestling. We get interviews from his family that mostly look down on his silly wrestling phase; and from established wrestling personalities that, despite dated fan perceptions, welcome him at every turn. We really get in the weeds of Arquette’s motivations, anxieties, and training for a comeback tour on the indies. The audio levels may be a little erratic, but the intangible rawness combined with its polished nature make this a very fitting film for the wild man.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: André Roussimoff, Aurelian Smith Jr., Bill Goldberg, Billy Corgan, Booker Huffman, Booker Huffman, Jr., Brett Giehl, Brian Yandrisovitz, Brian Zachary Pillman, Chris Jericho, Chris Klucsarits, Coco Arquette, Conan O'Brien, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, David Penzer, Dusty Rhodes, Elizabeth Hulette, Ellen DeGeneres, Eric Bischoff, George Murdoch, Harvey Levin, Hulk Hogan, Jack Perry, James Ellsworth Morris, Jay Leno, Jeffrey Jarrett, Jerome Saganovich, Jerome Young, Jerry Lawler, Jim Cornette, Jim Fullington, Joe Rogan, Joseph Ryan Meehan, Julian Micevski, Karen Yu, Ken Anderson, Kevin Nash, Kurt Russell, Lewis Arquette, Luke Perry, Mark LoMonaco, Maxwell Friedman, Michael Lee Alfonso, Mick Foley, Monty Sopp, Mr. T, Nathan Blauvelt, Nicholas W. Wilson, Noah Nelms, Oprah Winfrey, Page Falkinburg Jr., Patricia Arquette, Randy Poffo, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Richmond Arquette, Rob Strauss, Rosanna Arquette, Scott Colton, Scott Hall, Timothy Moura, Tony Schiavone, Vince Russo, Virgil Runnels, Wendy Williams

Director: David Darg, Price James

Rating: R

Read also:

149. Trial by Media, 2020

It’s a great concept because the influence of the media does create a lot of complications and sensationalism with regard to trials. It’s hard to say whether people and court cases are exploited by the media, or if it’s the reverse. Of course, the law is the law, but stupid TV is stupid. The series does a great job presenting a spectrum of truth, as the power of influence — of mass branding and storytelling — has to count for something. This is a parade of high profile cases where the court of public opinion has set people free, for better or for worse, in stories where the good guys and bad guys oscillate and merge.

Genre: Crime, Documentary

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

150. The Vow, 2020

This HBO docuseries is about NXIVM, a multi-million dollar personal development coaching company whose leader was arrested for sex and human trafficking, branding his followers, and other serious crimes. New levels of insanity unwrap at every episode in a smart and engaging way: the show follows the progression of the story as it happened and makes you wait for its biggest revelations. It becomes a come-for-something-stay-for-something-else kind of deal, since even without the sex cult angle, the show dissects the manipulation tactics that led many successful people to be part of the organization, and later on to recruit others like them.

Genre: Documentary

Read also:

1 … 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15