May 09th, 2026

Favorite Films of the 2020 Decade (2020 - 2025)

Certified Free of Propaganda

There aren’t a lot of good movies in the 2020 decade. Blame this and that. We are past the current decade halfway point, so let us look back at the good films worth watching. Only Oppenheimer falls in or near the masterpiece territory, and we have fifteen more films to offer. Most importantly these films are TRUE ENTERTAINMENT, as opposed to the current Hollywood trend of spewing leftist propaganda on the big screen before a shrinking audience. We should all enjoy the few movies still made for grown-ups and cinema lovers while we can. These 16 films are listed in order of when I watched them – streamed (or DVD) at home, seen on an overseas flight, and a couple on IMAX. ​

House of Gucci 2021 is a highly entertaining combination of comedy and tragedy, tracing the decline of the Gucci fashion empire. Lady Gaga brilliantly portrays Patrizia Gucci, née Reggiani, who marries Maurizio Gucci, scion of the Gucci family business. The cast is stacked with talent, but House of Gucci is Lady Gaga’s film. She perfectly projects one of the most sexy, charismatic femme fatales in movie history. 

Rebecca 2020 is a romance with a dark twist. A Netflix original, the movie delivers stunning visuals with gorgeous cinematography and lavish production design that is miles ahead of the old B&W1940s version. The acting is first rate with a delightful Lily James as Mrs. DeWinter and Kristin Scott Thomas earning widespread praise for her mesmerizing performance as the icy Mrs. Danvers. This cinematic return to the creepy Manderley estate is expertly portrayed by Director Ben Wheatley.

​Being the Ricardos 2021 drama
This show brought back nostalgic memories of watching early TV programs on our boxy, cathode-ray-tube TV set filled with clusters of glowing electronic vacuum tubes and transistors. The 1950’s TVs were not reliable, and people were on a first name basis with their TV repairman. The I Love Lucy show was one of the staples because of its broad appeal and physical comedy – simple and perfectly mindless entertainment. This Amazon Studio production (free streaming with Amazon Prime) is a behind-the-scenes look at the real life characters with a focus on Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Being the Ricardos just worked; from the great acting job by Nicole Kidman, to rapid-fire dialogue, to the vintage wardrobes.

The Dig 2021 drama, history
After browsing titles on Netflix, I landed on this film mostly because HouseClark favorite actress, Lily James, is in the cast, and I was running out of patience. I was also pleased to discover veteran actor Ralph Fiennes was playing the lead.  Having known nothing else about the film (I usually skip trailers these days), I hit the “stream it” tab. The Dig is a low–key, interesting gem of a film about the arcane subject of archeology. Ralph Fiennes’s portrayal of archeologist Basil Brown is one of his very best performances. The real-life story set in 1930’s England is told with finesse. I'm not particularly well-versed in archaeology, and I didn't know anything about the Sutton Hoo discovery before watching this film. I think that might be the case for many other viewers, but the good thing about The Dig is that it's primarily a character-driven drama, and one that uses emotional intrigue to bring you closer to the story at hand and allow you to appreciate its importance.
As we learned from watching Indiana Jones movies, a story about digging for buried treasure is certain to include some dramatic scenes with “the guy that shows up to steal the treasure for himself”. So if you are waiting for that element, you will not be disappointed. 

The Lost City 2022 comedy, romance, adventure    Sandra Bullock plays Loretta Sage, a best-selling romance author with no romance in her life. Only in the alternative universe of Hollywood would a beautiful, single lady like Loretta not be able to get a date on a Saturday night. Pretty Boy Channing Tatum is her longtime cover model, Alan. When she's kidnapped by Harry Potter Abigail Fairfax, Alan is inspired to play the hero role and vows to rescue her. Somehow these two unprepared urbanites find themselves on a swashbuckling, Indiana Jones-style quest for the treasure of the Lost City. Daniel Radcliffe played a villain role to perfection and looked like he was having a rascally fun time. The brilliant idea to include Brad Pitt as the lethal mercenary, Jack Trainer, adds plenty of action and humor to the story. The Lost City is totally ridiculous, but it's also funny, exciting and good-natured. 

Oppenheimer 2023 drama biopic As the title makes clear, this movie is about the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967), the American-born Jewish physicist who together with General Leslie Groves co-directed the Manhattan Project that created the first atomic bomb. Oppenheimer is not portrayed as a stainless hero or a martyr. He is the poster boy for a Flawed Genius. His life is complicated by several questionable choices in his private life – mostly having to do with women and politics. He could breeze through mind numbing math problems, nuclear physics and quantum mechanics, but stumbled about like a dilettante with his half-baked ideas on left-wing politics and selfish skirt chasing. Oppenheimer has a highly literate script with important ideas and powerful dramatic situations, striking visuals, and superb performances by a large cast. That said, I am not of fan of three hour movies, but I made an exception for Oppy. The film won a basket load of fully deserved Oscars. Enjoy on the biggest screen possible.  

Top Gun: Maverick 2022 drama action adventure After only 13 weeks in release, the film made a worldwide gross of $1.4B, by far the most commercially successful motion picture of 2022. What’s more, Top Gun made all this money without playing in China, and proved that Tom Cruise still has the Midas touch. The film is a blockbuster “crowd pleaser” due to sensational action scenes, emotional punch, humor, wit, romance and a touchstone to the warrior ethos. Top Gun is a true big screen cinematic experience (hint – IMAX) and is the best US Navy recruiting film since the original Top Gun in 1986. 

The Pale Blue Eye 2022 drama mystery crime  The main reasons to see this film is the strong acting by Christian Bale and a fun story co-starring a young Edgar Allen Poe, a cadet at the West Point Academy circa 1830. I was soon hooked by the Gothic, chilly atmosphere, great cinematography and quiet intensity. At the Academy, a cadet, named Fry, is discovered hanging from a tree. We find out that Fry is dead and his heart cut out. The extremely spooked overseers of the school, fearful of scandal that might strike a death blow to the academy hires Augustus Landor (Bale), a retired lawman, to investigate.  Landor enlists cadet Edgar Allan Poe to help follow the trail to the killer. As in the best mystery stories, we have several suspects, but no clear proof. And amazingly, the film's finale is a genuine hoot – so be prepared to have the rug pulled out from under you. 

The Lost King 2023 historical drama UK If you assumed a film about an amateur historian finding the remains of long-lost British king (Richard III) would be boring, you’d be wrong. This based-on-a-true story film is both compelling and endearing, perhaps because at its core it’s a story about a common person triumphing over the academic naysayers. When we meet the main character, Philippa (a delightful Sally Hawkins), she’s living in Edinburgh, raising her two sons with the help of her ex-husband. One evening, at a stage performance of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Philippa finds herself becoming obsessed with the last king of the 300+ year oldPlantagenet dynasty. She begins to research Richard’s life, going so far as to join the local Richard III Society. The more she learns, the more intrigued she becomes until Richard 3 (Harry Lloyd) begins to appear to her in visions. She decides to find the long lost remains of King Richard III. Can Philippa find the king’s remains and defy the experts? No spoilers.

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 comedy, music We loved this film. Will Ferrell (Lars) is a master at playing an intense, big, funny dufuss, and Rachel McAdams (Sigrit) is delightfully charming. Lars and Sigrit form a musical act and are determined to represent Iceland in the titular music contest. The film has a gentle and wholesome conservative message: True love between a man and woman >> Euro hedonism.
Stream on Netflix Jah-Jah-Ding-Dong!

No Hard Feelings 2023 is a welcome throwback to the sex-comedies of the 1980s & 1990s. Percy, a high school honor student, is preparing to venture off to college, and his parents have noticed Percy’s severe lack of social skills especially in regard to girls. The parents use social media to concoct a scheme to give Percy some quick immersion into the dating world, and they are willing to trade a slightly used Buick for a lady escort service. We enjoyed this funny movie very much and were impressed by the comedy talents of Jennifer Lawrence as Maddie. This is a coming of age story with Percy, a high school senior, and an older, more experienced woman (Maddie). They had great chemistry together. Jennifer Lawrence made the film what it is, yet in a very memorable scene, Percy playing the piano and singing Man-eater to Maddie in a crowded restaurant, really captures the essence of the film. Percy steps out of his comfort zone and broke through his wall of shyness, a touching moment for sure and it was expertly setup. Good dialogue, for example: Maddie: Do you want me to date him, or DATE him? Laird (Percy’s father): DATE him hard. Maddie: I’ll DATE his brains out. Laird: I think we have a deal. Would you like to see the Buick?  

Blackberry 2023  – is a docudrama about the rise and fall of the titular cell phone device. BlackBerry is set in Waterloo, Ontario where a small, hi-tech company called Research in Motion invented the device in 1996. The cast includes no big names; instead we have a troupe of very talented yet little known actors. This movie checks quite a few boxes. It’s a superb portrait of the clash between the entrepreneur founders and the sharky professional managers. It’s also a classic business movie about the “growing pains” that plague so many small companies with a bright and successful idea. Finally it is also a remarkable story about the harsh realities of rapid techno change that flushes out the business losers and rewards the winners. The movie is surprisingly tension-filled even though I knew how the ending would turn out. No spoilers.

A Haunting in Venice 2023 drama crime mystery  Kenneth Branagh, once again, plays detective Hercule Poirot in this spooky murder mystery loosely based on the lesser-known Agatha Christi tale, Halloween Party. The story is set in the beautiful, decaying city of Venice, Italy. It is 1947 and Hercule is in a post-war slump. He has lost interest in solving crimes, and only leaves his apartment to buy pastries. Into Hercule’s funk comes Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), a murder mystery writer and past associate. Ariadne is suffering from slumping book sales with three duds in a row. In an effort to revive her career, she asks Hercule to assist in her next project to expose Miss Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) a famous spiritualist as a fraud. The two somehow get invited to a séance led by Miss Reynolds on dark and stormy night in a spooky old palace. No spoilers 

The Taste of Things 2023 - is a romantic drama with plenty of cooking action in a busy kitchen.  The film stars Juliette Binoche as Eugénie, a very talented, private chef in an elegant French country estate in the late 1800s. The film is catnip for chefs and lovers of fine dining. We watch Eugénie create a string of culinary delights; the fresh food is braised, broiled, baked, blanched, poached and sautéed, then served up in banquet that is a feast for the eyes. Loaves of golden brown fresh-baked bread next to tubs of butter made my mouth water and sparked my appetite. The adult love story between Eugenie and Dodin, the owner of the estate, is natural and believable. This film should be heard in French, with English subtitles. 

Conclave 2024 – gives us an inside, behind-the-curtains view of the Vatican during the College of Cardinals' process of selecting a new Pope...filled with political in-fighting, twists, turns and a few surprises. This is a political thriller. With a bit of tweaking this sort of vaguely labyrinthine plotting goes on wherever there is a quest for power and control. The main actors - Fiennes, Tucci, Lithgow, and Rossellini deliver powerful performances, and the film is worth seeing for these alone. The script is well written and provides tension, momentum and intrigue. The settings equally play their part and add scale and gravitas and authenticity. Having said all the above, and without spoilers, the Oscar-bait ending was Ridiculous. Skip the last 10 minute shark jump and enjoy a good movie.

A Complete Unknown 2024 drama, bio-pic – is a rise-to-fame tale beginning with Bob Dylan’s arrival on a bus in 1961 NYC, and his almost instant embrace by Pete Seeger and the folk music scene dominated by Seeger. The movie omits Dylan’s background – he was born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, the son of American-born Russian Jews. He was raised in Duluth and Hibbing, Minnesota in a comfortable middle class family and was surrounded by a closed knit Jewish community. Back to NYC, Dylan settles in; gets a girlfriend (a Shiksa) and focuses on writing and playing music. In mid-1965 Dylan released “Like a Rolling Stone” and it became his first big hit. The musical poetry seemed to flow like magic from his pen. Hits like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Tangled up in Blue” followed and cemented Dylan’s status as a musical legend. Film critic Podhoretz writes, “In a genuinely brilliant performance, Timothée Chalamet captures Dylan’s combination of insolence, petulance, self-assurance, and hunger for authenticity without ever once trying to make the man even remotely endearing.” Well said. 

---

More Movie Articles