This year was another Covid mess so a great time for watching movies and shows from a variety of streaming services. These are in no particular order, and this is just what I remember seeing this year! Some are linked to longer discussions, and I highlighted a few that are not to be missed! I was a trustee at the start of this year! How was that not years ago? But my time as a grad student required some more mindless stuff to keep me awake enough to read so many many textbooks.
Movies:
Past Lives - loved it! - excellent shots and characters - so beautiful
All the Light We Cannot See - good moral dilemma stuff in WWII
Astroid City - Wes Anderson - typical brilliant stuff -- right up my alley
The Holdovers - excellent characterizations - students and prof stuck at school for Christmas
Dream Scenario - Nick Cage in a nightmare scenario - really interesting concept
Anatomy of a Fall - trial of a mother accused of murder and how it affects her son
NYAD - enjoyable film on marathon swimming - it was inspiriting in the task and friendship
Stillwater - engaging, plot twisty
Leave the World Behind - not a fan because I didn't care about any of the characters
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - nostalgic and delightful short film
The Half of It - cute coming of age story
Oppenheimer - so compelling; went by quickly despite the length
Barbie - so close to being excellent; rocked the dance numbers, set design, and clothes
Air - about marketing Nike Air shoes, but it was actually pretty good
A Good Person - drug addiction, kinda dull
Cocaine Bear - surprisingly funny
The Policeman - lovely story
The Whale - excellent, beautiful film
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - nope - I hoped it would be nostalgic, but was just boring
Mother Night (1996) - very good Vonnegut film about a writer in WWII
Dead End (1937) - excellent - love the old ones
Point Break (1991) - finally saw it because of Hot Fuzz - light, enjoyable undercover cop stuff
Heat (1995) - excellent
The Swimmer (1968) - possibly even more disturbing now with the old school interactions
The Thing (1982) - classic horror
The Ritual - weird and scary!
Animation:
Carol and the End of the World - beautiful statement on denial
The House - weird, but excellent - like poetry - doesn't quite make sense, but has a profound effect
Archer last season - it's okay - nothing beats season 5
Puss in Boots The Last Wish - excellent - much better than expected
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - was so disappointing
Documentaries / True Stories:
The Meaning of Monty Python - some good old stories
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution - excellent template for activists today
tick, tick...BOOM! - really just for lovers of Rent
Painkiller - about the opioid crisis - very intriguing
How to Survive a Plague (2012) - poignant film about the AIDS crisis
Jury Duty - surprisingly good!
My Old School - intriguing story about one odd student back at school - with Alan Cumming
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time - very good
The Wisdom of Trauma - compelling, but lots of questionable conclusions
Shows and Mini-Series
Beef - fantastic exploration of conflict and connection between people
Sex Education, season 4 - still excellent - focused on disability this time
Yellowjackets - fun whodunit vibes and star studded with perfect old/young casting
Barry - excellent right to the very end
Succession - ditto
Killing It - entertaining bit on friendship and snake hunting
The Patient - a psychological thriller with Steve Carrell
New Girl (2011) - so much funnier that I expected it to be
Miracle Workers - lots of fun with Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi
Fisk - it's okay - light fare
Cunk on Earth - very funny and actually educational
Black Mirror: Season 6 - some good ones in the mix
Sweet Tooth - compelling enough to watch the whole thing, but it's geared to a younger audience
Heartstopper - cute coming of age
Veronica Mars - binged watched it all -- corny but good background for reading textbooks
Lessons in Chemistry - started well, but some odd episodes in the mix
The Morning Show - I'm totally sucked into everyone's relationships and issues
Home Economics - cute sibling rivalry with Topher Grace
Good Omens - loved it, but I love David Tennant too much to be objective
The Crowded Room - okay - with Tom Holland
The Other Two - cute bit about sibling rivalry in show business with Molly Shannon
Silo - future apocalyptic stuff with strong female lead
The Tourist - excellent - killer with amnesia
Fresh Meat - young people living together stuff -- watched it because of Jesse Armstrong
Party Down - season 3 - not quite as funny as previous seasons
Lucky Hank - quiet and sad, but with Bob Odenkirk
Bear - excellent 2nd season
The Last of Us - excellent
Back (2017) - like a weird sequel to Peep Show - Mitchell and Webb own a bar this time
Moon Knight -- compelling story well done
Mythic Quest - fun and sweet with Rob McElhenney - about a gaming company
Life on Mars (2006) - a cop time travels after an accident - fun random find
Shrinking - it's okay - light comedy with some heartfelt bits
I also went down a spiral of survival shows when my old wilderness guide was a finalist in one:
Alone, Win the Wilderness, Outlast - all made me want to be in the bush more often
Stand Up:
Ricky Gervais last two - I tried to ignore the most offensive bits, but it just wasn't funny
Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool - absolutely brilliant
Hannah Gadsby: Something Special - okay, not nearly as good as previous work
John Mulaney: Baby J - hilarious - and I look at the older stuff a little differently now
On My To-Watch List Still:
Beau if Afraid
Godzilla Minus One
The Eight Mountains
The Killer
The Green Knight
Extraordinary
Telemarketers
Poor Things
Dear Child
Maestro
Dream Scenario
Fallen Leaves
Godland
The Boy and the Heron - can't wait for this one!!
Snowfall
The Old Man
Monsters
You People
Fall of the House of Usher - keep trying, but hard to get into
Killers of the Flower Moon - a bit afraid to see it; it's all too real
Did I miss anything??
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