My Favorite Films of 2020

"I'm thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks, it lingers, it dominates. There's not much I can do about it, trust me. It doesn't go away. It's there whether I like it or not. It's there when I eat, when I go to bed. It's there when I sleep. It's there when I wake up. It's always there. Always."

Directed by Charlie Kaufman
Written by Charlie Kaufman
Music by Jay Wadley
Cinematography by Lukasz Zal
Editing by Robert Frazen

"So, when you run around totally wasted, throwing up in bushes and alleys, don't feel alone, because you're in great company."

Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
Written by Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm
Music by
Cinematography by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
Editing by Janus Billeskov Jansen and Anne Østerud

"I don't need any help from anyone. And I'm not going to leave my flat. All I want is for everyone to fuck off. Having said that... it's been a great pleasure. Au revoir. Toodle-oo."

Directed by Florian Zeller
Written by Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton
Music by Ludovico Einaudi
Cinematography by Ben Smithard
Editing by Yorgos Lamprinos

"You go ahead and do what you want. Even if I fail, I have to finish what I started."

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung
Written by Lee Isaac Chung
Music by Emile Mosseri
Cinematography by Lachlan Milne
Editing by Harry Yoon

"Ruben. As you know, everybody here shares in the belief that being deaf is not a handicap. Not something to fix. It's pretty important around here. All these kids... all of us, need to be reminded of it every day."

Directed by Darius Marder
Written by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder and Derek Cianfrance
Music by Nicolas Becker and Abraham Marder
Cinematography by Daniël Bouquet
Editing by Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

"You're not dead inside. But you're chubby. You're a chubby little salami."

Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen
Written by Anders Thomas Jensen and Nikolaj Arcel
Music by Jeppe Kaas
Cinematography by Kasper Tuxen
Editing by Anders Albjerg Kristiansen and Nicolaj Monberg

"I'll see you in the beginning, friend."

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Christopher Nolan
Music by Ludwig Göransson
Cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema
Editing by Jennifer Lame

"I felt everything I'll ever feel. So I'll never feel ever again."

Directed by Max Barbakow
Written by Max Barbakow and Andy Siara
Music by Matthew Compton
Cinematography by Quyen Tran
Editing by Andrew Dickler and Matt Friedman

"It's difficult to accept the difference between who you are in your head and who you are in the world."

Directed by Evan Morgan
Written by Evan Morgan
Music by Jay McCarrol
Cinematography by Mike McLaughlin
Editing by Curt Lobb

"The more music you have in the world, the fuller it is."

Directed by George C. Wolfe
Written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Music by Branford Marsalis
Cinematography by Tobias A. Schliessler
Editing by Andrew Mondshein

"You seem alright. You have a good heart. You'll do alright."

Directed by Guillaume Brac
Written by Guillaume Brac and Catherine Paillé
Music by
Cinematography by Alan Guichaoua
Editing by Héloïse Pelloquet

"It's every man's worst nightmare, getting accused of something like that."
"Can you guess what every woman's worst nightmare is?"

Directed by Emerald Fennell
Written by Emerald Fennell
Music by Anthony Willis
Cinematography by Benjamin Kracun
Editing by Frédéric Thoraval

"Just think, one day your wife is cleaning the cat litter and she gets a worm in her, and that worm ends up in her brain. The next thing that happens is she gets an idea in there, too. And it's hard to say whether that idea is really hers or it's just the worm."

Directed by Brandon Cronenberg
Written by Brandon Cronenberg
Music by Jim Williams
Cinematography by Karim Hussain
Editing by Matthew Hannam

"Legoland costs a fortune, but you get a lot for your money."

Directed by Michael Winterbottom
Written by
Music by
Cinematography by James Clarke
Editing by Marc Richardson

"When i returned to this city, my back never laid down again. Luanda teaches you how to sleep while sitting."

Directed by Fradique
Written by Fradique and Ery Claver
Music by Aline Frazão
Cinematography by Ery Claver
Editing by Zeno Monyak

"We fought in an immoral war that wasn't ours for rights we didn't have."

Directed by Spike Lee
Written by Spike Lee, Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo and Kevin Willmott
Music by Terence Blanchard
Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel
Editing by Adam Gough

"Give up on your dreams now while you're still young."

Directed by David Dobkin
Written by Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele
Music by Atli Örvarsson
Cinematography by Danny Cohen
Editing by Greg Hayden

"We have been so worried about seeming perfect, but maybe we don't even know what perfect is."

Directed by Clea DuVall
Written by Clea DuVall and Mary Holland
Music by Amie Doherty
Cinematography by John Guleserian
Editing by Melissa Bretherton

"I'm almost out of air!"

Directed by Joachim Hedén
Written by Joachim Hedén
Music by Patrick Kirst
Cinematography by Eric Börjeson and Anna Patarakina
Editing by Fredrik Morheden

"My daddy is the smartest person in the whole flat world!"

Directed by Jason Woliner
Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman and Lee Kern
Music by Erran Baron Cohen
Cinematography by Luke Geissbuhler
Editing by Craig Alpert, Michael Giambra and James Thomas

"That's right, we're not goin' to jail because of what we did, we're goin' to jail because of who we are!"

Directed by Aaron Sorkin
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Music by Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography by Phedon Papamichael
Editing by Alan Baumgarten

"Life is full of possibilities. You just need to know where to look. Don't miss out on the joys of life."

Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers
Written by Pete Docter, Mike Jones and Kemp Powers
Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Cinematography by Matt Aspbury and Ian Megibben
Editing by Kevin Nolting

"Hey, guys. What's up? It's Kurt here from Kurt's World."

Directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko
Written by Eugene Kotlyarenko and Gene McHugh
Music by James Ferraro and Maison Ware
Cinematography by Jeff Leeds Cohn
Editing by Benjamin Moses Smith

"I'm sorry... but I don't think you know what a really bad day is! But you'll fucking learn."

Directed by Derrick Borte
Written by Carl Ellsworth
Music by David Buckley
Cinematography by Brendan Galvin
Editing by Michael McCusker, Steve Mirkovich and Tim Mirkovich

"You're hoping if you spin the chamber enough times, you're going to catch a bullet."

Directed by Sam Hargrave
Written by Ande Parks, Joe and Anthony Russo
Music by Alex Belcher and Henry Jackman
Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel
Editing by Ruthie Aslan and Peter B. Ellis