Trainwreck’d Society’s Top 50 Films of 2020 Part 2: 25 – 1 [Film]
December 30, 2020 1 Comment
Hello Folks! And welcome to this year’s Top 50 Films list for 2020. Needless to say, as it probably applies to most of you as well….I consumed ALOT of film content this year. In fact, by the time I realized that I was watching so many damn movies (about the time I wrapped up the majority of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as much as Disney+ would let me anyway) around May, I set 3 goals, 2 of which I came just shy of meeting: The goals were to watch 100 newly released films, 365 films I have never seen, and add 500 entries into my Letterboxd diary for 2020 (to include re-watches, comedy specials, short films, & mini-series such as Tiger King, which I still love).
As of this writing (December 29th) I managed to watch 110 newly released films, 307 films I have never seen, and have added 405 entries into my Letterboxd diary. And while these numbers may change by the end of the year, I have a feeling that I may not be about watch 58 movies in the mere 60 or so hours left in the year. Time doesn’t work in my favor on this one. But alas, I feel like I came pretty close at set of goals that took no real effort on my part and isn’t really worth mentioned. Except that this my site, and I will do as I please. So there you have it. 2020 sucked, but there was some pretty damn good viewing.
And for the task at hand, and the reason some (any?) of you are here, is that 2020 had some pretty amazing new releases. Now, I feel it is only right to clarify that while Trainwreck’d Society is prestigious for many (none?) reasons, we do not follow the traditions of the Oscars. Even pre-pandemic, I was shamefully not seeing many movies in theaters. The majority of my movie viewing is done via streaming services as well as digital screeners. Thus, alot of these films may have actually been made, and in some cases released in outside of the U.S. markets, the year prior or even earlier. In the case of 2020, one film literally goes all the way back to 2012 (what a year!).
The reason for this disclaimer is basically because of just that. 2020 was a year that we all (should have) stayed home and watched movies in the discomfort of our own house. Thus, there were several films released digitally that very well could have not even seen the light of day if the demand for streaming content and shit to watch in our own domiciles wasn’t in such demand. Thus, many of the films listed below were actually credited on sites such as IMDb as being released in 2019, or even later. I believe there is even a 2015 in there.
Alas, it doesn’t matter. Each of these wonderful hand-selected films received a release of some sort in 2020, and more importantly, they are all wonderful. I hope you dig the list as in the time it took to craft it all together, I could have probably watched another film, and would have had to do this whole thing over again.
So Folks, please enjoy Part 2 of Trainwreck’d Society’s Top 50 Films of 2020!
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25. The Last Blockbuster
Directed by Taylor Morden
Written by Zeke Kamm
Starring Doug Benson, Lauren Lapkus, Samm Levine
24. Da 5 Bloods
Directed by Spike Lee
Written by Spike Lee, Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, & Kevin Willmott
Starring Delroy Lindo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Clarke Peters
23. Up on the Glass
Directed by Kevin Del Principe
Written by Kevin Del Principe & Nikki Brown
Starring Nikki Brown, Chelsea Kurtz, Chase Fein
22. The Wall of Mexico
Directed by Zachary Cotter & Magdalena Zyzak
Written by Zachary Cotter
Starring Esai Morales, Marisol Sacramento, Carmela Zumbado
21. Una Great Movie
Directed by Jennifer Sharp
Written by Jennifer Sharp
Starring JoNell Kennedy, Numa Perrier, Melissa Pino
20. Quezon’s Game
Directed by Matthew E. Rosen
Written by Janice Y. Perez
Starring Raymond Bagatsing, David Bianco, Rachel Alejandro
19. A Private Dancer in Mom’s Kitchen!
Directed by Bill Briles
Written by Bill Briles
Starring Bill Briles, Aleta Doroudian
18. The Taste of Betel Nut
Directed by Hu Jia
Written by Hu Jia
Starring Bingrui Zhao, Yue Yue, Shen Shi Yu
17. My Hindu Friend
Directed by Hector Babenco
Written by Hector Babenco & Guilherme Moraes Quintella
Starring Willem Dafoe, Maria Fernanda Candido, Barbara Paz
16. The World Without You
Directed by Damon Shalit
Written by Dan Pulick
Starring P.J. Byrne, Radha Mitchell, Lyndie Greenwood
15. Same Boat
Directed by Chris Roberti
Written by Chris Roberti, Josh Itzkowitz, & Mark Leidner
Starring Chris Roberti, Leah Rudick, Katie Hartman
14. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Directed by Charlie Kaufman
Written by Charlie Kaufman
Starring Toni Collette, Jesse Plemmons, Jessie Buckley
13. Drive Me to the End
Directed by Richard Summers-Calvert
Written by Richard Summers-Calvert
Starring Richard Summers-Calvert, Kate Lister, Eve Kathryn Oliver
12. Flint: The Poisoning of an American City
Directed by David Barnhart
Written by David Barnhart
Starring the unjustifiably wronged people of Flint, Michigan
11. Inside the Rain
Directed by Aaron Fisher
Written by Aaron Fisher
Starring Aaron Fisher, Ellen Toland, Rosie Perez
10. Red Rover
Directed by Shane Belcourt
Written by Shane Belcourt & Duane Murray
Starring Kristian Bruun, Cara Gee, Meghan Heffern
9. Limbo
Directed by Mark Young
Written by Mark Young
Starring Richard Riehle, Lucian Charles Collier, Mandela Van Peebles
8. Soundtrack to Sixteen
Directed by Hilary Shakespeare
Written by Hilary Shakespeare & Anna-Elizabeth Shakespeare
Starring Scarlett Marshall, James Calloway, Jamal Hadjkura
7. Complacent
Directed by Steven R. Monroe
Written by Steven R. Monroe
Starring Cerina Vincent, Adrienne Barbeau, Kerri Green
6. Call Me Brother
Directed by David Howe
Written by Christina Parrish
Starring Christina Parrish, Andrew Dismukes, G-Su Paek
5. All Joking Aside
Directed by Shannon Kohli
Written by James Pickering
Starring Raylene Harewood, Brian Markinson, Burak Agan
4. Immortal
Directed by Jon Dabach, Tom Colley, Danny Isaacs, & Rob Margolies
Written by Jon Dabach
Starring Samm Levine, Jason Stuart, Robin Bartlett
3. Nobody Knows I’m Here
Directed by Gaspar Antillo
Written by Gaspar Antillo, Josefina Fernandez, & Enrique Videla
Starring Jorge Garcia, Millaray Lobos, Lukas Vergara
2. Escaping Freedom
Directed by Edd Blott
Written by Edd Blott & Patrick D. Green
Starring Patrick D. Green, Kelly Godell, Brian Adrian Koch
1. American Trial: The Eric Garner Story
Directed by Roee Messinger
Written by Roee Messinger
Starring Eric Garner, Esaw Garner, Anthony Altieri