So…umm…2020 was…something.

I’m sure you don’t need me to reiterate just what an all-round shitshow this year has been, so I won’t go there, but for any cinema lover (or even the casual cinema-goer), 2020 has been an especially trying one. With cinemas the world over slowly closing, then opening, then closing their doors again, it has been a desperate year for the theatrical experience, one that has seen multiplexes and independents alike teetering in the edge of collapse as Hollywood scrabbled around to prevent their own obliteration.

But what of the films themselves? The one’s that made it through unscathed, anyway. Well, with the usual blockbusters and franchises almost non-existent from March onwards, the films that crept through the cracks of 2020 have been an admirably diverse collection of stories, many of which would usually find themselves downed out by all the mega budget noise.

With streaming services stepping in to offer a socially distant viewing option in the absence of cinemas, there’s little doubt that the events of this past year have altered the film industry forever, yet one thing’s for sure – cinema will always find a way to survive and thrive.

Whether enjoyed at an actual theatre or while curled up on the sofa, this feels like the ideal moment to pause and celebrate the films we love and the movies that got us through these tough times.

So here we are then. This is my top 10 films of 2020…

Suggesting big things in the future for first time director Andrew Patterson, The Vast of Night is an ambitious, high-concept effort that may lack originality, yet teems with energy and visual flair. Making the most of the film’s limited budget, Patterson weaves a dreamlike sci-fi tale that beautifully evokes its period setting while offering something utterly new. Not all the visual tricks pay off, but when they do, they combine to whisk you away on an eerie, compelling, and thoroughly engrossing ride that looks destined to be a future cult sci-fi classic.

Read my review: Mesmerising lo-fi sci-fi

Where to watch it: Amazon Prime

Through director Bassam Tariq’s inspired, uncompromising visuals, and a powerful, career-defining performance from Riz Ahmed, Mogul Mowgli is a beautifully rendered and thematically rich tale of identity, loss, pride, and generational trauma. Far more than the against-the-odds, awards-friendly disability drama it first appears, Mogul Mowgli is an emotionally raw, but painfully heartfelt, tribute to the often-unseen truths of the British-Asian experience.

Read my review: Riz Ahmed owns the stage

Where to watch it: BFI Player

Framed by two blistering performances from Viola Davis and the late, great Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom overcomes its inherent staginess to become a searing comment on race and a loving ode to both an unsung blues legend and Black culture at large. While there’s no getting away from the film’s tragic circumstances and the painful finality of Chadwick’s performance, you can be rest assured that he has left us on a perfect note.

Read my review: No bum notes here

Where to watch it: Netflix

The inherent problem with Universal’s collection of classic monsters is that they so often encourage the studio to overblow things, rather than dig down into what their characters truly represent. By paring things down, director Leigh Whannell has not only breathed new life into a century-old character but given his story an ingenious twist that ensures an impact and relevance well beyond the reach of many blockbusters. Led by Elizabeth Moss’ extraordinary performance, The Invisible Man is a devastating triumph of minimalist storytelling that takes the true horrors of domestic abuse and weaves them into a genuinely gripping, terrifying tale that must be seen to be believed.

Read my review: A haunting dissection of domestic abuse

Where to watch it: available to rent and buy from all good online retailers

Bolstered by Spike Lee’s patented boisterous energy and a bulldozing, Oscar-worthy performance from Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods comes out all guns blazing in an all-out assault on racism, politics, family trauma, and the lingering consequences of the Vietnam War on Black America. Packed full of rage, scope, genres, and wild filmmaking ideas, Da 5 Bloods is not only one of Spike’s most ambitious efforts to date, it may just be his finest.

Read my review: A blazing, vital Spike Lee joint for these turbulent times

Where to watch it: Netflix

Part Inside Out, part Coco, part jazz Fantasia freak-out, 100% Pixar – Soul sees the legendary studio in peak-existential form, as it breaks down weighty, meaning of life subject matter into an immensely enjoyable, easily relatable, and emotionally engaging all-ages story. As magnificent to ponder as it is to behold, Soul rides high on a wave of ethereal wonder that takes us to the Great Beyond and back, yet keeps itself grounded in the life, culture, and distinct character of a very real-world New York. In a year where persistent gloom appears determined to snuff out our collective spark, Soul may be precisely what we need to reignite it.

Read my review: Pixar soup for the soul

Where to watch it: Disney+

The second film in Steve McQueen’s ground-breaking five-part Small Axe series, Lovers Rock is not so much watched as it is felt. While the first Small Axe film – Mangrove – was a blisteringly told real-life story of police brutality and the power of direct action, Lovers Rock suggests that the pursuit of personal freedom can be just as radical.

As McQueen’s camera ducks and dives its way through an early-80s West London ‘blues party’, we’re offered an intimate and intoxicating portrait of young Black Brits – unwelcome at white-owned music venues at the time – carving out their own identity and entertainment, full of good times, good food, and slow jams. More a mood than anything else, Lovers Rock is a hypnotic, immersive piece of filmmaking that slowly lures you in with its enthralling energy. An ode to youth, identity, love, and sweaty house parties. Oh…and the soundtrack is banging.

Shout outs to the rest of the excellent Small Axe series – Mangrove, Red, White and Blue, Alex Wheatle, and Education.

Where to watch it: BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime

Blending stunning animation, an infectious sense of adventure, pertinent themes, and even a history lesson, Wolfwalkers is yet another high-water mark for its creators. Finally showing signs of breaking out of their ‘Irish Studio Ghibli’ bubble, Cartoon Saloon have conjured up a dazzling, transformative Celtic-infused adventure of wild geometric spectacle, infinite charm, and ethereal beauty.

Read my review: An enchanting Irish masterpiece

Where to watch it: Apple TV+

With authenticity and honesty to spare, Rocks is a superbly crafted piece of modern social drama that rejects cliché to offer an empathetic look at its youthful subjects. Bolstered by the raw talents of its breakout star Bukky Bakray, Rocks is a heart-breaking and heart-warming portrait of teenage resilience and a beautifully composed ode to mates, love, loss, and London.

Read my review: Love, life, loss and London

Where to watch it: Netflix UK

Let’s be honest, Parasite’s ground-breaking multi-Academy Award win back in February was pretty much the last truly great thing that has happened in 2020, and the image of director Bong Joon-ho toying with his Oscar statuettes on the red carpet has been what’s kept me warm for the rest of this cold, dark year.

Although his recent flirtations with Hollywood have proved fruitful, it’s great to see Bong Joon-ho returning to his roots and to the kind of quirky, small scale tales that he built his reputation on. Both accessible and idiosyncratic, Parasite holds a broad appeal while talking very specifically to the director’s home country. As an indefinable, thematically dense piece of social satire, Parasite takes the universal theme of class divide that Joon-ho broached in Snowpiercer and runs with it in new and exciting directions, boring into your very core and staying there.

Read my review: Beautiful, brutal class warfare

Where to watch it: Amazon Prime

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to brighter days in 2021