Five years ago I wrote a post giving thanks for the better
things that the year 2015 delivered. I didn’t feel the need to write similar
posts in the years since, but given how utterly shitty 2020 has been, I thought
maybe it was time to do it once more. Focus on the positive, right? As always, I’m most grateful for the
health and happiness of my family and friends. With COVID-19 running rampant
still, that’s more of a blessing than ever. However I doubt many of you came
here to read about me being sappy. You came to read what I thought was worthy
of praise this year in world media so that you can either nod your head in
agreement or scoff at my complete lack of taste. I take both reactions as a
compliment since it means you took the time to read this post! Without further
ado...
It wasn’t long ago that I bad-mouthed television as a lower
form of entertainment, a medium I felt couldn’t hold a candle to film. Times
change. Even before the pandemic wiped out theatres this year, TV was
delivering fantastic stuff like Westworld,
Watchmen, Stranger Things, Narcos:
Mexico, Rick and Morty, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ozark, The Expanse,
The Mandalorian, Killing Eve, and Cobra Kai.
Now with almost all theatrical releases on hold, television in 2020 was the
undisputed champ. My favorite new shows were The Outsider and Lovecraft
Country on HBO but three other new shows on my Must Watch list - ZeroZeroZero on Amazon Prime, Raised by Wolves on HBO Max, and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels on
Showtime, prove great shows aren’t limited to just one or two networks.
Theatrical releases were minimal of course, but I did find a
few worth watching. Family films in the first quarter included Onward, Sonic the Hedgehog, and The
Call of the Wild, all of which were entertaining. My favorite film of the
year so far was actually released on Netflix rather than the big screen. The Old Guard delivered one the coolest
female bad asses ever in Charlize Theron’s Andromache and you can read more
about her and the film here. I haven’t gotten a chance to see what I think
might wind up being my ultimate favorite film of the year, director Christopher
Nolan’s Tenet. The idea of wearing a
mask for 2.5 hours in order to see it at the theater just doesn’t appeal to me but
it’s slated to hit Redbox as a rental in mid-December and I’ll be one of the
first in line to snag it.
As always, I’m behind on my reading. In fact the best book
I’ve read so far this year was published in 1939. Not exactly a new release! I’ve
been catching up on classic noir and absolutely loved The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. The books published in 2020 that
I’m most excited about include the novella collection If It Bleeds by Stephen King, Agency
by William Gibson, the continuation of the Avery Cates series in The Burning City by Jeff Somers, and a
horror anthology entitled Places We Fear
to Tread. The anthology includes stories by Gwendolyn Kiste, Sara
Tantlinger, and several more up-and-coming authors who grace my Twitter feed.
And finally my musical tastes still run toward classic rock
and 80s pop so the newly released 1973 outtakes “Criss Cross”, “Scarlet”, and
“All The Rage” by The Rolling Stones were my favorite surprises, but my kids
did help me branch out a bit too. New songs that force me to tap my feet
whether I want to or not include “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, “Say So” by
Doja Cat, and “Physical” by Dua Lipa.
Here’s to hoping 2021 is a better year for all of us, filled
with many more great films, shows, books, and music. Salud!
You are amazing!♡♡
ReplyDeleteI love you!