20. The World is Yours – A big, glossy, stylish French crime movie that keeps introducing a new colourful character every 15 or so minutes.

19. Revenge – First Blood meets, well, I Spit on Your Grave.

18. Green Book – This quasi-true story about an Italian bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) who chauffeurs a famous black pianist (Mahershala Ali) on a tour of the Deep South during the 60s is classic Hollywood filmmaking.

17. Vice – Adam McKay uses every trick in the book (this was problematic for some, but not for me) to tell the tale of the most powerful vice president in US history. The entire cast is remarkable, with Christian Bale (Dick Cheney), Amy Adams (Lynne Cheney), and Steve Carell (Donald Rumsfeld) being the standouts.

16. Shoplifters – This Japanese film about a group of misfits and scroungers who form an ersatz family is quietly devastating.

15. Bad Times at the El Royale – Thanks to Pulp Fiction, the multi-character mystery/crime movie whose narrative keeps doubling back on itself and switching points of view used to be done (rarely very well) a lot back in the mid-to-late 90s. Drew “Cabin in the Woods” Goddard breathes new life into this sub-genre and makes it entirely his own.

14. The Night Comes For Us – If you like the idea of seeing someone rip off their own damaged finger so they can continue fighting unhindered, then this absolutely nutso Indonesian action movie is for you.

13. First Man – Damien Chazelle’s third film is equal parts breath-takingly epic and quietly personal. It’s a worthy successor to 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Right Stuff.

12. Hearts Beat Loud – This simple, touching story about a dad who wants to form a band with his daughter warmed my heart from beginning to end. And the music is great, too.

11. Eighth Grade – There’s nary a misstep in Bo Burnham’s debut feature about an awkward girl (the spectacular Elsie Fisher) trying to navigate the perils of eighth grade.

10. Widows – I think this might be the most underrated movie of the year. I’m really surprised at how little recognition it received. With Michael Mann no longer making these kinds of movies (multi-character crime/heist films), I’m glad that someone else is.

9. Three Identical Strangers – Thankfully, I knew nothing about this documentary before watching it. From pretty much frame one, I was hooked, and I only became more entranced as it went along.

8. Hereditary – A lot of the so-called elevated horror films of late haven’t worked for me, but this one absolutely delivered. Ari Aster filled the obligatory slow-burn first act with more than enough creepy, weird moments to engage me, and then, wham, the first big twist happened and I was all in.

7. Free Solo – I think about this documentary all the time, for many different reasons, but mostly because of what was captured – the first successful rope-less/free solo climb of El Capitan – could have so easily gone the other way and been a total disaster.

6. First Reformed – Paul Schrader’s latest is an emotional, angry, hopeful, full-throttled scream.

5. Paddington 2 – This consistently inventive, ridiculously delightful movie practically glows with warmth and goodwill. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a big ol’ bear hug.

4. Leave No Trace – This is another movie I think about often, specifically because of how generous it is. Rather than forcing her characters into confined boxes, where they’re required to act a certain way in order to fulfill rote narrative conventions, writer/director Debra Granik gives everyone room to breathe and to act like individuals. If only real-life society was as understanding.

3. Ready Player One – I suspect that of all the movies on this top ten list, this will be one I end up re-watching the most. Similar to what Martin Scorsese did with The Wolf of Wall Street and George Miller did with Mad Max: Fury Road, 70+-year-old Steven Spielberg definitively demonstrates that he’s still got his mojo. Nobody does big-budget CG blockbusters better than him.

2. Annihilation – Frame for frame, I didn’t see a more imaginative, more unique, more thought-provoking movie all year.

1. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – By this point in their career, the only real surprise would be if the Coen brothers made a bad movie. I watched this again just the other night, and it was even better the second time around (as Coen brother movies usually are). As always, their craft is impeccable, the stories turn in ways you never expect, the unique characters are wonderfully drawn, and the dialogue – oh, the dialogue – is an absolute joy to hear.