FULL LIST OF CRITICS POLLED Close to 100 critics submitted their picks for the fifth annual poll of this kind. Votes were spread out among critics. Participants included leading critics from IndieWire, Variety, USA Today, The A.V. Club, Forbes, and Rolling Stone. Critics were asked to submit a list of up to 10 films (some could only come up with 5), unranked, released between January 1st and June 30th, that they thought were the cinematic highlights of the year thus far. With a lack of theatrical films, many opted for “Bad Education,” which was picked up last September at the Toronto International Film Festival and aired on HBO in late April. Despite not having a U.S. release date, nor a distributor to its name, Roman Polanski’s Venice-winning “An Officer and A Spy” was mentioned in 4 lists. Of note, despite making it clear that only movies released up to June 30th would be eligible, that didn’t stop some critics from including on their lists July releases, “Hamilton” and “Palm Springs,” both of which would have probably cracked the top 10 if this poll were conducted a few weeks later. Jordan Peele had won the 2017 and 2020 mid-year polls with, respectively, “Get Out” and “Us.” In previous years, Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed” won the 2018 poll.

  1. Da 5 Bloods (49 votes)2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (44)3. The Invisible Man (40)4. Bad Education (31)5. The Assistant (31)6. First Cow (31)7. Bacurau (29)8. Vast of Night (27) 9. Shirley (26)10. Emma (16)
  2. Beanpole (12) 12. Sorry We Missed You (12)13. Vitalina Varela (11)14. The King of Staten Island (11)15. Swallow (11)16. Driveways (10) 17. Crip Camp (10)18. Wild Goose Lake (10)19. Babyteeth (9)20. The Lodge (9)
  3. Birds of Prey (8)22. True History of the Kelly Gang (8) 23. Palm Springs (7)24. Onward (7)25. Fourteen (7) 26. Saint Frances (6)27. Hamilton (6)28. Blow the Man Down (6)29. Zombi Child (6)30. Tigertail (6)31. Color Out of Space (6)32. On the Record (6)33. The Painter and the Thief (6)34. The Half of It (6)35. The Way Back (5)36. Rewind (5)37. The Whistlers (5)38. The Traitor (5) Contribute Hire me

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