10 Great 2020s Movies You Probably Haven’t Seen

Even though the decade is only halfway complete, the 2020s have already proven to be a decade filled to the brim with high-quality achievements in filmmaking. Ranging from massive blockbuster successes like Barbie and Avatar: The Way of Water to critically acclaimed darlings like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Anora, the decade has no shortage of exceptional films. The rise of streaming services and digital storefronts has made it so that more movies are being released now than ever before, which, while it certainly has its benefits, means that it’s impossible for audiences to watch every great new movie being released.

Many great films are overlooked for a variety of reasons, whether it be a lack of marketing, having to compete with a more prominent release, or simply not garnering interest from wider audiences. However, while many audiences didn’t flock to these films in the same way that they did major blockbusters or critically acclaimed masterpieces, the 2020s are still home to many great movies that are simply waiting to be discovered.

10

‘Universal Language’ (2024)

Directed by Matthew Rankin

One of the most often overlooked and underappreciated venues of film creation and experimentation is that of French Canadian filmmaking, often featuring a distinct flair and charm that gives them an edge over traditional Canadian films. This distinct allure and energy are prominently shown off in Universal Langage, a surrealist comedy that excels through its notions of disorientation and catching the audience off-guard, both in terms of comedy and emotion.

The film follows the quaint, ordinary lives of an array of different people living in a small town whose culture is a blend of Winnipeg and Tehran. It blends an array of seemingly unrelated stories together, including a young girl attempting to retrieve a dollar bill frozen in a block of ice and a Winnipeg tour guide leading a confused and disoriented group. These stories each find a way to connect with each other by the end, yet it’s the overarching charm and quaintness that helps make it one of the 2020s’ most underrated comedies.

9

‘Brian and Charles’ (2022)

Directed by Jim Archer

A comedy that finds great success through its usage of blunt and dry humor, Brian and Charles tells a simple yet hilarious story of a blossoming friendship between an awkward, lonesome man and the robot he created. Charles proves to be one of the zaniest and goofiest robotic companions imaginable, though, as being 7 ft tall, made from a washing machine, and using a hilarious text-to-speech voice makes him a joy to watch on-screen.

Brian and Charles finds great success despite its minuscule budget thanks to the great comedic chemistry between its titular duo, playing up the chaotic antics of its characters and the wild fun of companionship. David Earl’s performance as Brian especially finds the perfect mixture of social awkwardness and gleeful joy towards the world that it’s difficult not to fall in love with the character’s signature charms. While its style of humor may not be for everyone, it’s certain to be a great time for people on the same comedic wavelength.

8

‘Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.’ (2022)

Directed by Adamma Ebo

Taking a darkly comedic twist to the rise of megachurches and their massive scandals, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is one of the most distinct and original dramedies of the decade so far. The mockumentary follows Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) and her dedicated pastor husband, Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), fighting to rebuild their church’s congregation in the aftermath of a massive scandal. However, as the date of their grand reopening looms closer and closer, Trinitie begins to reevaluate her life and connection with her husband.

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. brings a distinctly different allure to the mockumentary genre that helps set itself apart as one of the best mockumentaries out there. It has a lot of the same wild humor and exceptionally entertaining caricatures that help make the genre so successful, yet it is able to delve into deeper, more dramatic material that complements the comedy and provides a compelling and emotional message by its end. Regina Hall especially gives an exceptional performance, balancing comedy and emotional pain perfectly to make for one of her best cinematic outings to date.

7

‘Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey’ (2020)

Directed by David E. Talbert

Holiday movies are such an ingrained and long-lasting genre of filmmaking that it can be difficult to strike new ground and find an original story that still manages to be compelling and full of holiday spirit. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey proves to be one of the most original and refreshing holiday experiences in years, blending together catchy musical numbers with top-of-the-line production design and a steampunk aesthetic to make for a charmingly sweet time.

The film follows a once-legendary toymaker known as Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker) going on a journey with his granddaughter to help make use of an invention that he attempted to create decades ago. Nearly every aspect of the film comes together to create a joyous and high-flying festive experience, from the top-of-the-line visuals to the highly creative interpretation of the original world that it creates. Especially compared to the wide array of other Christmas movies that Netflix has released, Jingle Jangle stands high above them as one of the best holiday movies of recent memory.

6

‘The Colors Within’ (2024)

Directed by Naoko Yamada

A deeply wholesome and feel-good anime movie directed by Naoko Yamada, the director of A Silent Voice and K-On!, The Colors Within tells a simple yet deeply effective story of friendship and the ability of music to bring people together. The film follows high school student Totsuko, who has the ability to see the ‘colors’ of the people around her, seeing them for their truest and brightest selves. In order to get closer to a girl who gives off a deeply beautiful color, she begins to form a band with her and another quiet music enthusiast, despite Totsuko not playing an instrument herself.

The G-rated anime film doesn’t hold back when it comes to telling a warm and soothing story of friendship and connection, with its deeply likable characters elevating its simple and low-stakes story. Director Naoko Yamada has always been effective at bringing to life emotional coming-of-age stories, with The Colors Within fully amplifying the director’s strengths in both coming-of-age anime and music-driven anime. Much like A Silent Voice before it, the film will slowly but surely gather its audience as one of the most underrated anime movies.

5

‘Emergency’ (2022)

Directed by Carey Williams

Initially setting itself up to be a classic college-age coming-of-age story before delving into some deeply traumatic yet painfully relevant material and concepts, Emergency seamlessly makes the best out of both its comedy and thriller attributes. The film follows a trio of college students who have their planned night of partying put to a sudden halt when they end up discovering an unconscious teen girl in their living room. They find themselves weighing the pros and cons of calling the police while the girl’s sister and her friends are searching for her.

While the film initially starts with the setup and styling of a classic college comedy, it slowly but surely delves into highly relevant social commentary, made all the more effective by the likable characters and goofy antics up until this point. Nearly all the performances are spot on in making its dramatic shifts work so well, where the true gravitas and weight of what was previously a comedic tone turns the entire film into one of tension and dread.

4

‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ (2024)

Directed by Francis Gallupi

The Last Stop in Yuma County is a brilliantly well-made black comedy chamber piece that evokes the same manic mixture of chaos and awkward humor as a Coen Brothers film. The film follows an array of various quirky characters, including a traveling knife salesman and a kindhearted waitress, all in the center of a high-stakes hostage situation while stranded at a gas station in the middle of Yuma County. It becomes a tension-filled waiting game as they await a gas truck to replenish the station with gas, as more and more people flood into the diner, unaware of the hostage situation taking place.

The Last Stop in Yuma County plays out like a dangerously cathartic snowball effect, with the ongoing situation growing more and more nerve-wracking and comedic until it reaches an uncontainable boiling point. Even when it appears as if the film has released all its energy and the chaos is over, it finds new ways to implement painfully hilarious black comedy into the mix. It makes for what was easily one of the best crime movies of 2024, but was overall severely underwatched compared to other crime movies of the entire decade.

3

‘Between the Temples’ (2024)

Directed by Nathan Silver

While relationship comedies are often most celebrated for their feel-good energy and approachable sense of humor, Between the Temples instead amplifies its painfully awkward characters and situations to make for an exceptional cringe comedy. The film follows a grief-stricken cantor going through a crisis of faith, suddenly having his world completely upended when he reconnects with his grade school music teacher as his new Bat Mitzvah student. They soon forge an undeniable connection with one another, despite the clear difficulties.

While its sense of humor certainly won’t align with everyone, when Between the Temples is at its best, it’s some of the most effective cringe comedy seen in a film in years. It all comes ahead in a gloriously awkward dinner sequence in the final act that is good enough on its own to be worth watching the entire film, genuinely being one of the funniest comedic sequences of the decade. Both Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane give their all in terms of bringing to life these fulfilling and miscreant characters and their strange story of unexpected love.

2

‘Barber Westchester’ (2021)

Directed by Jonni Peppers

One of the biggest positives that the digital era of filmmaking and the lowered barrier to entry for creating independent films in general has been the massive influx of singular visionaries creating their own unrestrained works of art. This is most prominently seen in the beautifully stylistic world of animation, with few independent animated films feeling as relevant to the modern day and culture as Jonni Peppers‘ Barber Westchester. The film succeeds greatly as not only a singular cinematic experience, but also a piece of the larger sprawling story told across nearly a decade of Peppers’ work known as “The Blindfold”.

The film follows the titular Barber Westchester, who, after getting an internship at Nasa, their entire world flips upside-down after learning that space is fake and everything they knew was a lie. The film is brimming with personality and charm, with each frame of animation being able to seamlessly fluctuate between quaint and comedic to unnerving and disturbing to fit the mood of each scene. It’s an underrated animated masterpiece that could only have been accomplished in the modern era of independent filmmaking, and is certainly worth seeking out to any and all fans of independent animation.

1

‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ (2020)

Directed by Jasmila Žbanić

Even as foreign cinema continues to see a rise in popularity with films like Parasite and The Zone of Interest making massive waves across the world, there are still a great selection of foreign films that are overlooked by general audiences. One of the most egregiously overlooked foreign films of recent memory is that of Quo Vadis, Aida?, a bleak Bosnian war film that tells a story of tension and heightened fear surrounding the Srebrenica massacre. While the film received widespread praise and even an Academy Award nomination for Best International Film, its massive heights of emotional storytelling are still widely unseen by many.

The film does much more than simply show a vicious atrocity with shocking imagery, but slowly builds up to the painful tragedy through the eyes and perspective of a UN translator attempting to hold things together. Her journey is one of pain and incalculable stakes, as her own family is at risk, and even despite everyone having the best interests at heart, there are constant communication issues that are seemingly forcing everyone into the worst outcome possible. It’s far from an easy watch, yet it’s a cinematic experience that is sure to stick with you long after the credits have ended.

NEXT: The Most Underrated Movies of 2020, Ranked