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
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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