CRITICS LISTS: The 2020s

Carlos Aguilar (RogerEbert)

Identifying Features
Wolfwalkers
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio
Past Lives
Close Your Eyes

Ethan Alter (Yahoo Movies)

Asteroid City
Hard Truths
Kajillionaire
The Matrix Resurrections
Occupied City

Jeffrey Anderson (San Francisco Examiner)

Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Tragedy of Macbeth
First Cow
Past Lives
The Fabelmans

David Ansen (Newsweek)

Beanpole
The Worst Person in the World
Benediction
Perfect Days
Green Border

Michael Atkinson (The Village Voice)

I’m Thinking About Ending Things
Drive My Car
Fairy Tale
The Zone of Interest
About Dry Grasses

Nicholas Bell (IONCINEMA)

The Beast
France
TÁR
Dau
Beginning

William Bibbiani (The Wrap)

Godzilla Minus One
I Saw the TV Glow
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Small Axe
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair

Alex Billington (First Showing)

La Chimera
Oppenheimer
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Decision to Leave
Nine Days

John Bleasdale (CineVue)

Oppenheiemer
The Zone of Interest
Athena
The Beatles: Get Back
Brian and Charles

Liz Braun (Toronto Sun)

Anatomy of A Fall
The Zone of Interest
The Girl With The Needle
Women Talking
Decision To Leave

Matt Brunson (Film Frenzy)

TÁR
Promising Young Woman
CODA
Poor Things
The Power of the Dog

Jim Brunzell (Freelance)

Past Lives
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
TÁR
The Beast
The Brutalist

Christopher Bumbray (Joblo)

The Sound of Metal
Oppenheimer
The Last Duel
Top Gun: Maverick
The Northman

Ben Cahlamer (Electric Bento)

Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Zone of Interest
Dune (Parts 1&2)
All of Us Strangers
The Holdovers

Jonathan Caouette (Filmmaker)

Close
Nomadland
I’m Thinking Of Ending Things
Skinamarink
The Substance

Erik Childress (eFilmCritic)

Barbie
The Green Knight
Oppenheimer
TÁR
West Side Story

Daryl Chin (Documents on Art & Cinema)

Paris Calligrammes
Marx Can Wait
Benediction
Drive My Car
Monster

Nick Clement (Variety)

Top Gun: Maverick
Blonde
Blackberry
Don't Look Up
Oppenheimer

Laura Clifford (Reeling Reviews)

Pacifiction
Quo Vadis, Aida?
TÁR
The Killing of Two Lovers
Hundreds of Beavers

Adam Cook (Freelance)

Killers of a Flower Moon
France
Showing Up
By the Stream
Chime

Tony Dayoub (Cinema ViewFinder)

The Banshees of Inisherin
The Green Knight
Minari
Nightmare Alley
Possessor

Peter DeBruge (Variety)

Inside Out 2
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
A Sun
TÁR

Steve Dollar (The Wall Street Journal)

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
De Humani Corporis Fabrica
Hello Dankness
Dahomey

Edward Douglas (The Weekend Warrior)

Promising Young Woman
Past Lives
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Taste of Things
The Power of the Dog

Michael Dunaway (Paste Magazine)

Minari
The Green Knight
Drive My Car
The Hand of God
Aftersun
Everything Everywhere All at Once

Steven Erickson (Film Comment)

I Saw the TV Glow
Pacifiction
Something in the Dirt
The Empty Man
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Max Evry (MovieMaker)

The Holdovers
The Vast of Night
Confess
Fletch
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Matt Fagerholm (RogerEbert)

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
Derek DelGaudio’s In & of Itself
Ghostlight
Happening
Lovers Rock

Jim Farmer (Festival Director, Out on Film)

The Worst Person in the World
Anatomy of A Fall
Promising Young Woman
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon

Steve Finkelstein (FB Film Forum)

The Hand of God
West Side Story
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
Past Lives
Another Round

Tyler Gibson (Freelance)

Licorice Pizza
The Fabelmans
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Anora

Jaky Goldberg (Les Inrockuptibles)

Memoria
The Fabelmans
Megalopolis
Furiosa
Anatomy of a fall

Bill Goodykoontz (The Arizona Republic)

Past Lives
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Oppenheimer
Summer of Soul
Beatie Boys Story

David Greven (University of South Carolina)

Promising Young Woman
Crimes of the Future
The Fabelmans
All of Us Strangers
The Zone of Interest

Matt Hoffman (Film School Rejects)

Afire
Both Sides of the Blade
The Beast
Deception
TÁR

Peter Howell (The Toronto Star)

Anora
Aftersun
NOPE
Oppenheimer
Perfect Days

Andrea Hudson (Freelance)

RRR
Parasite
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Promising Young Woman
Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Mark Johnson (Awards Daily)

Oppenheimer
Belfast
All Quiet on the Western Front
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Avatar: The Way of Water

Elisabeth Karlin (Film Essayist)

Decision to Leave
Drive My Car
Past Lives
Anatomy of a Fall
The Banshees of Inisherin

Robert Horton (Film Comment)

First Cow
What We See When We Look at the Sky
The Power of the Dog
TÁR
Fallen Leaves

Dave Karger (TCM)

Anatomy of a Fall
All of Us Strangers
The Banshees of Inisherin
Belfast
Sound of Metal

Larry Karazewski (Screenwriter)

The Worst Person in the World
Pearl
RRR
Barbie
Anora

Don Kaye (Den of Geek)

The Father
Belfast
TÁR
Poor Things
Dune: Part Two

Glenn Kenny (RogerEbert)

Vitalena Varena
She Dies Tomorrow
The Cathedral
Infinity Pool
Killers of the Flower Moon

Peter Keough (The Arts Fuse)

Petite Maman
The Power of the Dog
Perfect Days
Killers of the Flower Moon
First Cow

Harry Knowles (Aint it Cool News)

Everything Everywhere All at Once
RRR
Oppenheimer
Godzilla Minus One
Poor Things

Robert Koehler (Cinema Scope)

Bad Luck Banging, or Loony Porn
Drive My Car
Liberte
Trenque Lauquen
Vitalina Varela

Kevin Laforest (Extra Beurre)

Everything Everywhere All at Once
Top Gun: Maverick
Poor Things
Oppenheimer
I Saw the TV Glow

William Larochelle (Freelance)

Sound of Freedom
Everything, Everywhere All At Once
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
The Menu
Godzilla Minus One

Eric Lavallee (IONCINEMA)

Beginning
Memoria
TÁR
The Zone of Interest

Marcos Levy (Freelance)

Parasite
Dune: Part II
The Boy and the Heron
The Zone of Interest
The Banshees of Inisherin

Craig D. Lindsey (Nashville Scene)

Bloody Noses, Empty Pockets
Drive My Car
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Perfect Days
Conclave

Wesley Lovell (Cinema Sight)

Promising Young Woman
The Banshees of Inisherin
The Power of the Dog
Tick Tick Boom
She Said

Wade Major (NPR Los Angeles)

TÁR
The Holdovers
Air
Small Axe
Dune: Part Two

Eric Marchen (Rogers TV)

Aftersun
Drive My Car
TÁR
Time
The Zone of Interest

Philip Martin (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

The Banshees of Inisherin
Parasite
The Zone of Interest
Anatomy of A Fall
Aftersun

Steve Mears (Film Comment)

Benediction
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Drive My Car
May December
Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Myron Meisel (Film Comment)

Close Your Eyes
There is No Evil
Green Border
Devil Between the Legs
Dear Comrades!

Scott Mendelson (Puck)

Hundreds of Beavers
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Fabelmans
John Wick: Chapter 4
Malignant

Jared Mobarak (The Film Stage)

All of Us Strangers
Everything Everywhere All at Once
I Saw the TV Glow
Nine Days
Sound of Metal

Rafael Motomayor (IGN)

RRR
Oppenheimer
Banshees of Inisherin
Godzilla Minus One
The Boy and the Heron

Matt Neglia (Next Best Picture)

Oppenheimer
The Brutalist
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Father
Spencer

John Nolte (Breitbart)

Vengeance
TÁR
The Father
Nobody
Nomadland

Sheila O’Malley (RogerEbert)

Do Not Expect Much From the End of the World
Collective
No Bears
The Worst Person in the World
Dinner in America

Jason Osiason (Freelance)

The Worst Person in the World
Past Lives
Ambulance
Red Rocket
Licorice Pizza

Brian Owens (Artistic Director, Calgary Film Festival)

Aftersun
Anora
Drive My Car
The Worst Person in the World
The Zone of Interest

Van Papadopoulos (Cannes Classics)

Tenet
Nitram
The Zone of Interest
Cairo Conspiracy
Holy Spider
Rebel

Michael Patterson (Michael’s Telluride Blog)

The Power of the Dog
Nomadland
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Oppenheimer

Kyle Pinion (Screen Rex)

The Brutalist
Oppenheimer
Drive My Car
The Fabelmans
Licorice Pizza

Emanuele Rauco (Venice Film Festival)

RMN
Il Buco
Licorice Pizza
Pacifiction
Mad God

Mara Reinstein (US Weekly)

Barbie
Top Gun: Maverick
Oppenheimer
Promising Young Woman
Anora

Carrie Rickey (Philadelphia Inqurer)

Anatomy of a Fall
Maestro
Parallel Mothers

Nathaniel Rogers (The Film Experience)

And Then We Danced
The Fabelmans
Past Lives
The Power of the Dog
The Worst Person in the World

Ruben Rosario (Miamiartzine)

First Cow
Licorice Pizza
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Boy and the Heron
Perfect Days

Jordan Ruimy (World of Reel)

TÁR
Oppenheimer
The Power of the Dog
Anatomy of A Fall
Close Your Eyes

Hannah Saab (Digital Trends)

Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest
Dune: Part II
The Banshees of Inishering
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Dan Sallitt (Filmmaker)

The Disciple
El Planeta
Last Summer
The Adamant Girl
The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed

Christopher Schobert (The Buffalo News)

Crimes of the Future
Fallen Leaves
Licorice Pizza
Petite Maman
Red Rocket

Ian Schultz (Hyde Park Picture House)

Blonde
The Zone of Interest
Nightmare Alley
Poor Things
Strange Darling

Niles Schwartz (Slant Magazine)

The Beast
Killers of the Flower Moon
Drive My Car
Licorice Pizza
Blonde

Diego Semerene (Slant Magazine)

Our Body
Close
Joyland
Anatomy of a Fall
Fallen Leaves

Gene Seymour (Newsday)

Passing
One Night in Miami
Emily the Criminal
Godzilla Minus One
First Cow

Don Shanahan (Film Obsessive)

RRR
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Promising Young Woman
Origin
Barbie

Steven Shaviro (Sense of Cinema)

Everything Everywhere All at once
Nope
May December
Bloodsuckers
The Substance

Jason Shawan (Nashville Scene)

The Five Devils
Possessor
Aftersun
Beginning
My Undesirable Friends

Viguen Shirvanian (Culturopoing)

Licorice Pizza
Close Your Eyes
Anora
Memoria
The Fabelmans

Yael Shuv (Time Out Tel Aviv)

TÁR
Nomadland
Anatomy of a Fall
Poor Things
Promising Young Woman

Amie Simon (Freelance)

Titane
The Power of the Dog
Killers of the Flower Moon
Furiosa
The Substance

Jeff Sneider (The InSneider)

Sound of Metal
CODA
Top Gun: Maverick
Society of the Snow
The Rescue/The Painter and the Thief

Michael Sragow (Film Comment)

Martin Eden
Revoir Paris
Maestro
Kidnapped
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Tony Joe Stemme (Freelance)

Poor Things
Petite Maman
Drive My Car
Nomadland
The Worst Person in the World

David Sterritt (Christian Science Monitor)

Never Rarely Sometimes Always
The Father
The Zone of Interest
TÁR
All Quiet on the Western Front

Sasha Stone (Awards Daily)

Oppenheimer
The Killer
Top Gun: Maverick
The Substance
Vengeance

Herb Stratford (Tucson Film Festival)

Sound of Metal
Nomadland
After Young
Poor Things
Memoir of a Snail

Drew Taylor (The Wrap)

Licorice Pizza
The Boy and the Heron
Top Gun: Maverick
The Power of the Dog
Soul

Benjamin Tovias (Yedioth Ahronoth)

Oppenheimer
The Banshees of Inisherin
West Side Story
The Zone of Interest
Emilia Perez

Brian Truitt (USA Today)

All of Us Strangers
RRR
Spencer
The Father
One Night in Miami

Kent Turner (Film Forward)

Flee
Green Border
No Other Land
Sorry We Missed You
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Jeremy Urquhart (Collider)

Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Everything Everywhere All at Once
All Of Us Strangers

Daniel Waters (Screenwriter)

Drive My Car
TÁR
A White White Day
RRR
John Wick: Chapter 4

Max Weiss (Baltimore Magazine)

Conclave
Anora
TÁR
Anatomy of A Fall
Aftersun

Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere)

Anora
The Killer
Parallel Mothers
King Richard
Mangrove

Armond White (National Review)

Benediction
Straight Up
John Wick: Chapter 4
About Endlessness
All Of Us Strangers

Matthew David Wilder (Filmmaker)

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, and Three More
The United States of America
City Hall
The French Dispatch
Crimes of the Future

Norm Wilner (TIFF)

Aftersun
All of Us Strangers
Drive My Car
Portrait of A Lady on Fire
The Souvenir: Part II

Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby)

The Holdovers
Parasite
Oppenheimer
Barbie
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever