Welcome to September, ladies and gentlemen. With the summer coming to and end, the fall almost upon us, and the COVID-19 pandemic still very much impacting the industry, much is still up in the air. Such is life with the coronavirus holding up much of the film industry. As fitting this weird year, not much has changed since July when I looked at the best of the first half of the year. Mostly, this just means the best is (hopefully) still to come here. We shall see, but just keep in mind that the midpoint of 2020 has been somewhat of a holding pattern, for obvious reasons. Let’s get right down to it. Below you’ll find my top ten of the year so far, along with my awards for the first two thirds of 2020. Here you go folks, and enjoy: 10. Crshd 9. The Outpost 8. Buffaloed 7. Da 5 Bloods 6. The Invisible Man 5. Banana Split 4. Palm Springs 3. The King of Staten Island 2. The Way Back 1. Never Rarely Sometimes Always Honorable Mentions: All Together Now, Asia, Boys State, Come as You Are, Endings, Beginnings, Hooking Up, i’m thinking of ending things, Impractical Jokers: The Movie, Irresistible, and Onward Special Citations: Bad Education (Technically a TV Movie since HBO picked up and released it on the small screen, but would have made my top ten, otherwise) and Hamilton (not quite sure how to qualify this one, so it goes here) Here also are my top ten performances of the year so far: 10. Cristin Milioti in Palm Springs 9. Hannah Marks in Banana Split 8. Andy Samberg in Palm Springs 7. Zoey Deutch in Buffaloed 6. Pete Davidson in The King of Staten Island 5. Shailene Woodley in Endings, Beginnings 4. Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man 3. Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods 2. Sidney Flanigan in Never Rarely Sometimes Always 1. Ben Affleck in The Way Back Honorable Mention: Chadwick Boseman (Da 5 Bloods), Jessie Buckley (i’m thinking of ending things), Bill Burr (The King of Staten Island), Rose Byrne (Irresistible), Sabrina Carpenter (The Short History of the Long Road), Billy Crystal (Standing Up, Falling Down), Jesse Eisenberg (Resistance), Elle Fanning (All The Bright Places), Julia Garner (The Assistant), Judy Greer (Buffaloed), Aldis Hodge (The Invisible Man), Zora Howard (Premature), Caleb Landry Jones (The Outpost), Zoe Kazan (The Kindness of Strangers), Liana […]