1) Past Lives
Director-Celine Song
A fairly modern woman in Seoul who grows up with an ultra-traditional Korean male friend but through circumstances they are separated. She meets up with him after many years of separation and serves as his guide when he comes for a visit after she has gotten married. All their scenes together suggest unrealized passion and desire and she is torn between him and her modern American husband. The film may make you think about the choices you have made and how your life could have turned out differently if you had chosen another path. Director, Cindy Song’s beautifully nuanced screenplay is exceptional and she is the most promising new talent to emerge this year. In Korean with English subtitles and English. Streaming on You tube, Google play, Vudu, Viki and Apple TV.
 

2) Oppenheimer
Director-Christopher Nolan
Unforgettable and powerful epic biopic with an outstanding performance by Gillian Murphy (who bears no resemblance to his character in Peaky Blinders) is about a brilliant scientist who arguably saved the country during WW II who lives to see his name and rep besmirched. Robert Downey Jr. (finally finding a role worthy of his talent) is completely magnetic playing the villain, a great opportunistic cad and consummate evil politician. The film is also a great achievement in terms of acting, direction, and cinematography and many will no doubt watch it and study it for many years. But this beautiful cinematic artwork (which was released in an exclusive 70-millimeter deal) demands to be seen on a high-resolution big screen, and it would be a greatly diminished thing on the small screen. In any other year this would be the number one film. Streaming on You Tube, Google play, Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
 

3) Poor Things
Director-Yorgos Lanthimos
Fantasy oriented feminist film is kind is like an update on Bride of Frankenstein in which the doctor and Dr. Frankenstein figure are the same person. and places the female monster who is probably the most human character goes on a fascinating path to self-discovery. Also, the film, which contains some of the best acting, costumes and visually inventive cinematography (it is shot on 16-millimeter film on a 30-millimeter camera framing some shots that look like old pictures). Emma Stone works perfectly with Yorgos Lanthimos (they also worked together on The Favorite) in one of the best recurring director/actor teams in all of cinema, and she gives what may be her best performance. The film looks as good as Barbie and it is twice as smart and more understanding of human nature. A tasty delight from start to finish, this gloriously bawdy and odd hard to classify film with a steampunk setting lingers in your imagination like a vivid fever dream. At press time this was playing at theatres.
 

4) R.M.N.
Director-Cristian Mungiu
This bleak and downbeat drama about several immigrants that are persecuted by the nativists in Transylvania arrives at a universal truth that could not have been timelier now that a new wave of Venezuelan migrants is arriving in the US. Another winner from the best film maker to emerge from the Romanian New Wave, Chris Mingiu (see 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days) In Romanian with English subtitles. Streaming on You Tube, Google play, Vudu, Viki and Apple TV. Streaming on AMC, You tube, Sling, Google play, and Vudu.
 

5) Living
Director- Oliver Hermanus
Bill Nighy deservedly got a well-deserved best actor Oscar nom last year, but sadly few have seen this fine drama about a dying man who finds a purpose in his last days and it remains obscure. But this magnificently acted, character-driven drama does an excellent job of attacking the callousness of the corporate mindset, and it almost parodies government absurdity as well as Brazil or The Metamorphosis which it resembles. Streaming on Netflix, YouTube, Google play, Vudu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix.
 

6) Little Richard: I am Everything
Director-Lisa Cortes
Fine documentary captures the contradictory nature of one of rock’s greatest figures who alternated between periods of debauchery and ultra-right-wing religiosity. This also delves a bit more into his status as a gay icon than previous films that spotlighted him, and it includes some of the best rock music clips (including the classic clip from The Girl Can’t Help It) ever . It also shows he was not only one of rock’s earlier performers, but also one of its best. Available on DVD and streaming on MAX, YouTube, Google play, and Vudu.
 

7) Fallen Leaves
Director-Aki Kaurismäki
This deadpan Finnish film’s characters and setting are so different from what we see in American films it almost seems to take place on another planet. It’s all about a woman who was fired from her low-level grocery job for taking home expired food who goes on a date with a man fired from his job for drinking, but the piece of paper that she wrote her number on is lost in the wind. Whether they will and should pursue a relationship is the film’s central dilemma. The film does a convincing job at depicting the hopeless day-to-day existence in a terrible, economically challenged town, Helsinki, with has few job prospects and seems frozen in time. Although it starts out dreary the films ends up surprisingly warm hearted and with its classic film references (a zombie film is compared to Bresson) the film should appeal to cinema aficionados as well as romantics. This film has been included in this year’s Oscar shortlist for Best International Film. In Finnish with English subtitles. It is on this year’s list of Streaming on MUBI
 

8) The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin)
Director-Colm Bairéad
During a difficult period for her family a young girl must leave her mom to temporarily stay with her aunt and uncle. Initially the aunt is kindly and the uncle resents her. This slowly and perfectly builds to the most emotionally satisfying climax of the year. In Gaelic with English sub-tiles. Streaming on Amazon Prime, Paramount, YouTube, Sling, Philo GooglePlay, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.
 

9) Infinity Pool
Director-Brandon Cronenberg
In an elite resort in a faraway country a man accidentally runs someone over and is sentenced to death. To get around the verdict, the city executes his clone to save face in public, and people begin to purposely commit crimes so that they can be entertained by seeing their own clones killed. The young and underrated English actress, Mia Goth (who so far has been associated with genre films) of the "X" series, shows once again why she is one of the most impressive rising stars in Hollywood, and director Brandon Cronenberg shows he inherited some of his dad’s (Dave Cronenberg) talent. Streaming on Hulu, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Redbox and Amazon Prime.
 

10) My Year of Dicks
Director-Sara Gunnarsdottir
TMy Year with Dicks- A teen girl decides to lose her virginity and she meets a bunch of prospective lovers that fail to please her. Each entertaining vignette in this short film depicts a story of one of the males in a different animation style. Available online.
 

Honorable Mentions (#11-25)

11) Suzame, Elegant and emotionally resonant animated tale from Japan about a teen girl who accepts her role as a nature goddess in order prevents an earthquake which has its origins in a giant mystical worm. Dubbed in English or in Japanese with English sub-tiles. From Makoto Shinkai, the creator/director of the similar Weathering with You, and this one’s another winner. Streaming on Amazon Prime and Crunchyroll.

12) The Boy and his Heron,  A boy whose mom died during his birth travels to another realm with a talking heron to bring his mom (or a version of him) to this reality. This draws heavily from the early real life of the animation genius, Hayao Miyazaki. This was supposed to be his last film but now he might do some more. Dubbed or in Japanese with English sub-tiles. At press time this was playing at theatres

13) The Killer, Michael Fassbender does a magnificent job portraying a trained assassin who makes a crucial error in one of his hits. David Fincher’s film which is one of his best directorial efforts (and this is the guy who gave us the near classics, Fight Club, Zodiac, and Seven) is told in first person (like the Punisher War Zone comic) and takes us deep into the mind of an amoral killer plus shows us his bleak, dark world. Wonderful and riveting film was based on a French graphic novel. Streaming on Netflix.

14) Tori and Lokita This heart breaking and timely Belgium film depicts two poor orphan kids who work as low-level criminal and struggle to live in a daily basis. In French with English sub-titles

15) Blackberry, This excellent Social Network like fact-based drama depicts how some idealistic anti-social misfits helped by a ruthless business type ended up getting one of the best and most successful recent inventions off the ground. Streaming on AMC, YouTube, Slight TV, Amazon Prime, Google play, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.

16) Saltburn, Well acted and beautifully shot second film by actress/director Emerald (Promising Young Woman) Fennell concerns a poor young man is taken in by his rich friend’s family who mistreat him at the same time they help him. They are the most entertaining and eccentric wealthy families on this side of The Royal Tenenbaums and Rosamund Pike gives one of the best supporting performances of the year. Streaming on Amazon Prime.

17) Fremont, In this modestly budgeted but winning film, a young Afghan immigrant gets a job in a small Western town as a fortune writer for a Chinese restaurant. The small town here is so longingly and convincingly depicted that it is almost like a human character. The only familiar face (Jeremy Alan White from the Chicago based show, The Bear) has a very short but marvelous scene. Streaming on You tube, Google play, and Amazon Prime.

18) The Cow Who Sang into The Future, Weirdly wonderful Magical Realist film about a Chilean town in which cows sing songs (without moving their lips) in which they predict the future and the dead rise when they are needed to help the living. In Spanish with English sub-titles. Streaming on YouTube, Google play, Amazon Prime, Vudu, and MAX.

19) Showing Up, Kelly Reichardt (The Cow) teams up again with Michelle Williams who stars as a struggling artist with an eccentric family who probably is not good enough to become successful in her trade. In this first-rate example of slow cinema every little event takes on big significance. Streaming on Showtime, YouTube, Hulu, Fubo, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Paramount, and Vudu.

20) Polite Society, In this totally fresh genre blending tale a young girl who is an aspiring stunt women finds out some terrible things about her future mother-in-law so she tries to prevent her sister’s wedding. The year’s best surreal English Indian kung fu wedding comedy contains many of the year’s most creative fantasy action sequences, and it achieves much of what The Marvels and Ms. Marvel (although it wasn’t bad) tried to do much better. Streaming on Peacock.

21) Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Very effective Catholic coming of age film about a teen who struggles to fit in after in a new town her parents relocate. Based on the funny, touching young adult novel, this is like the best after school special but about you’ve never seen. Streaming on Starz, Hulu, YouTube, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Philo, Google Play and Vudu.

22) Anatomy of a Fall, Film is about a court case involving a woman who may or may not have killed her author husband. This film successfully violates many conventions of a court film and it includes a terrific performance by German actress. The film shows how negative everyday little scenes or situations from daily life could seem incriminating when taken out of context. Sandra Huller which may earn her an Oscar nod for best actress was also in the critically acclaimed possible Oscar nominees Zone of Interest. In French with English sub-titles. Streaming on YouTube, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Google Play.

23) Creator, Marvelous sci-fi action film is kind of like a reverse Terminator with America attacking benevolent Ai's in Asia (which also evokes the Viet Nam War). One of the smartest and timely genre films of the year features a fine performance by Denzel’s son Washington.

24) Maestro, Bradley Cooper gives a terrific performance as a brilliant bisexual conductor, Leonard Bernstein who has to deal with destructive sexual desires and his loyal wife’s illness. Top notch in every way but conventional and not particularly transgressive.

25) How to Destroy a Pipeline, Methodical and chilling tale of a bunch of young eco terrorists staging an event is top notch and it moves along nicely.