This year began with the one-two punch of "Mean Girls" (had to rewatch cuz the year began on a Wednesday and we wear pink on Wednesdays) and "Tommy" (a rock opera by The Who that was 99.9% singing) and ended where 7 of my last 11 new movies were Hallmark movies. The last two were definitely better than a lot of the previous ones.
My total this year was only 66 movies. It feels like nowadays it's an achievement if I get to the 2nd column of my Word document where I'm listing all the movies I'd seen in my life.
(The culmative total, in case you're curious, is 1770. And my idea of a movie is anything over 60 minutes).
Of those 66,
4 were in theaters (gotta do better next year...)
7 were Hallmark movies
5 were on Apple+
14 were on TCM
For the theater movies, Freakier Friday was definitely my favorite.
But for theatrical experiences, the one with the Minecraft Movie will be one of my all-time most memorable. It was just a blast being in a full theater where everyone seemed to be on the ball except the three of us and the enthusiasm was positively infectious.
I don't watch anything Hallmark before December, just as a personal rule. I did make one teeny exception and watch the reality series "Finding Mr. Christmas." It was so fun and wholesome and all of the guys that were auditioning to be the next actor on the channel were good looking.
Gabe was a dark horse, for sure. My mom and I definitely didn't pick him to win, but clearly he had something about him that they liked. And to his credit, he was the one of the few bright spots in a pretty dismal movie. The parents in "A Make or Break Christmas" were just way too over the top with their passive-aggressive drama. It's no wonder our female lead was so uptight about her decorations being perfect for their arrival.
Angel was my favorite (mainly cuz he had an accent and I'd probably cast him myself if one of my stories became a movie/series...) and Rustin was definitely the typical rugged handsome you'd expect from Hallmark. Although in the reunion show, he came back clean-shaven and we almost didn't recognize him.
But for the rest of Hallmark, I enjoyed the Bills love story more than the Chiefs. I saw it first but I just preferred the story. Plus, we had a nice cameo from Damar Hamlin who got to shine along with some of the other players not named Josh Allen.
"Oy to the World" and "Christmas by Starlight" gave me all the feelings I expect from a Hallmark movie. Fun and wholesome with all kinds of Christmas decor. I knew the two actors in "Oy" from different show (Brooke was in Royal Pains and Jake, I first saw in The Zack Files in the early 2000's) and they were cute together.
And while "Christmas by Starlight" wasn't the most realistic plot (what Hallmark movie, though?), it gave me the warm & fuzzy escapism I needed yesterday when some things hadn't gone perfect. I'm not sure how much of its production was done during 2020 with all the guidelines in place but I guess it was similar to Ted Lasso in the sense that it was a nice movie/series where everything magically works out and the drama is kept mostly to a minimum.
For Apple+, all but one I checked out for the actors starring in them.
We'd just recently watched Ocean's 11 so the first featured actors from that movie.
George Clooney and Brad Pitt reunite for "Wolfs," where they're fixers hired to clean up a crime scene in the hotel room of a VIP and hilarity ensues as the plot thickens. They're competitors but the same banter and chemistry was still there.
Matt Damon and Casey Affleck were in "The Instigators". I don't remember as much about the plot now. They were part of a heist and the money was connected to a politician running for re-election. Matt Damon says multiple times how he owes a very specific amount of money and that's his motivation for taking part. And Casey Affleck... oh boy... he has a thing for gas leaks and explosions and it's done to hilarious effect.
"Fountain of Youth," I had saved up since seeing the trailer. It had Jim from The Office with Natalie Portman and they're siblings who are hired by an eccentric billionaire to find the titular place. It kinda felt like a lesser National Treasure movie. The plot twist once they actually find the plot is a good one but otherwise, I was disappointed.
I was also a bit disappointed with "All of You" with Roy Kent himself, Brett Goldstein as the romantic lead. He was good in it but the plot was just ok. It's a will they/won't they love story with him and his best friend. The plot ran chronologically, but it was hard to know how much time had passed from one scene to the next. The plot also led with a new brand of technology where people actually find their soulmate and that's how she found the guy she's married to... but then the technology is never explained. There's just a comment or two about how their friends found their soulmates and they stopped hanging out. Then when they did hook up, she claims he took advantage of her because she was feeling vulnerable. She seemed like a willing participant at the time.
By far, the best of the movies was Oscar-winner "CODA."
That might've been from a year we were boycotting the Oscars. I know it won best picture and one of the supporting actors won.
Ruby is the only person in her family who can hear and she works as part of their fishing business as a boatman and interpreter. Through the movie, she starts to pursue music, including auditioning for the Berklee School of Music in Boston. (One of the bands I followed in the 2000's graduated from there).
I can see this movie being a really good representation of the deaf community and shining a spotlight on some of their struggles. Plus a lot of the humor that comes from being hearing impaired is hilarious. But I can understand the criticisms. Particularly how they fall into some difficulties because Ruby isn't there to intepret or how they're portrayed as outsiders within their fishing community.
Man, though... her audition singing "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell while signing so her family can follow along... I was balling my eyes out. It was so moving.
The actor playing her dad won an Oscar for supporting, but I also think her teacher (who encouraged her to sing the lead duet in choir and helped her get the audition spot) should've won something. He's rough around the edges at times but another great movie teacher.
For TCM, it was a mixed bag.
"Tommy" and "Election," I already wrote posts on. Definitely an oddball way to start the year.
"Bandwagon" was so-so. The musical numbers weren't exactly cohesive. The standout is easily the murder mystery scene, which inspired Michael Jackson to do "Smooth Criminal." Thriller is Thriller, but "Smooth Criminal" is my favorite. The Lean... forget about it. So cool!
"Top Hat," I saw a few days ago. I liked it a lot more than my last Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie. It didn't have a "Continental" number that meandered for 10 minutes, thankfully. The misunderstanding where she thinks he's married to her best friend and won't give him the time of day is a bit ridiculous and takes up nearly all of the plot. But when the two of them dance together, I can see why they're so beloved.
"Come September"-- the whole movie, Rock Hudson just wants to be alone with his girlfriend in his villa. But because his butler runs it as a hotel when he's out of town, they never get to be alone. I get that it's the plot of the movie and there's meant to be obstacles for the protagonist, but OMG! I was so frustrated for him.
Also, it has Sandra Dee (who I didn't know was an actual person...) and Bobby Darin.
"The Coal Miner's Daughter"- Sissy Spacek definitely deserved all her accolades for this role. I was a little put-off at first, though. Getting married as a teenager is one thing, but it being to a much older guy and he forces her into consummating their marriage on the first night.
It's a little bizarre reading about it after and how Loretta Lynn may have taken creative liberties with the age she was married by shaving off a year or two. But it was cool that she was involved in the casting process. Very few musicians get that priviledge because they're usually long gone when these movies are made.
After all these years, my sister and I finally got to see "The Sound of Music" because they finally put it on TCM where there are no commercials.
I think I recognized all but one of the songs from pop culture references so that was kinda cool. Julie Andrews is great as always. That moment where Christopher Plummer hears his children sing for the first time and you can see his cold heart begin to thaw in real time... wow.
But as one would expect, it's all fun and games until the Nazis show up. I knew this about the plot already, but the juxtaposition... whoa... the last half hour or so felt like a completely different movie. It was bizarre.
A couple other movies I'd wanted to see for years and finally did this year:
We're a couple years away from the year of "Terminator II" so it's a little unsettling. Especially with AI being so prominent in the news and stock market this year.
I couldn't help but think of when this movie originally came out and how shocked people would be when they find out Arnold Schwartzenager is the good guy in this movie. The moment that's revealed, that thought just occured to me, all the minds it blew because of how unexpected it was.
"RoboCop"- I don't remember whether or not I saw it ages ago or just one or two scenes. But I enjoyed this one. The plot twist in the last 10 minutes where a loophole is found to take out the bad guy- I was floored. So good.
But "Sunset Boulevard" might be one of my favorites this year, if not all time. The 3rd act had some moments that didn't really make a lot of sense. But the lead actress playing Norma Desmond, it's no wonder this role has been done and re-done so many times.
Coming into it as someone who'd seen "Chaplin" and knows how difficult it was for some people to make the transition to talkies, it was another interesting piece of that puzzle. And the fact she not only lives in her own fantasies, but they're reinforced by those around her... it's hard not to find it fascinating.
Remaining highlights:
Maybe it's just because she was in "Twilight," but I can't help but tune in when Anna Kendrick is in some random movie.
I saw her in two this year. "Happy Christmas" is ok. She was a bit of a hot mess, which is a bit different from her typical roles.
But "Table 19"... it was so fun and quirky I had to see it again with my folks. Basically, it takes place at wedding where she's a former maid of honor who'd been banished to the table of losers. The nanny of the bride played by June Squibb. Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson play a couple who own a diner and connected to his family through it. There's Zero from The Grand Budapest Hotel and his mother makes him attend because he's more likely to get laid there than at prom. (Okay... weird...) And there's Stephen Merchant who plays a cousin of the family who did jail time for stealing money... the kicker is what the money wound up going to.
Plus it had a good soundtrack played live by the wedding band.
As far as indie movies go, I absolutely recommend this one.
"Nebraska" was also a bit of an oddball but Bruce Dern and June Squibb were both really good in it.
"Sleeping with Other People" I saw around the time I was binging Ted Lasso and Jason Sudekis was great in this as well. I don't remember much of the plot other than him meeting his love interest at a sex addicts' meeting. I wrote that it was predictable but I really enjoyed the two of them together.
"Set it Off"- the movie itself was so-so. A group of black women who'd been undermined in their lives pull off a series of heists.
My absolute favorite part is that Queen Latifah would be the getaway driver, but without fail, she'd steal someone's car, toss out all of their CDs out the window and put on her own soundtrack. So fun!
"Frost/Nixon"- I like watching these types of movies with my dad. Based on true story political thrillers that he knows enough about where he does commentary while we watch.
"The Substance"- I think I can speak for my folks when I say that it's worth seeing but not more than once.
Demi Moore definitely deservd her accolades for this movie. It was a really fascinating concept- creating a younger body so she can maintain relevence. But when that younger body develops a mind of her own, watch out. It takes a really CRAZY twist in the 3rd act where dozens of commenters online have said "ok, the director just decided to borrow from 'Carrie'."
I'd seen Scary Movie dozens of times, but I never saw "Scream".
I'm not the biggest horror fan, but I actually enjoyed this one. Firstly because I kinda knew the plot and secondly because the killer isn't a ghost or immortal killer like Michael Meyers, Freddie or Jason. I knew most of the plot from Scary Movie, but there were still plenty of surprises. Good surprises.
Neve Campbell, I knew as the voice of Kiara in the Lion King sequel, so it was nice getting to see her in a live action role. Never had the opportunity before.
In Memorium
Early on, we lost sports broadcasting legend Bob Uecker. Ted Lasso made me want to revisit Major League because the premise felt very similar and Bob played himself in the movie. I missed out on his heyday and my folks were definitely fans. I mean, who wouldn't be, right?
Also in sports, George Foreman the boxer/grillmaster and Dick Button, the first man to repeat as Olympic figure skating champion, a feat not repeated until Yuzuru Hanyu in the 2014 and 2018 Olympics. (I only experienced him as a commentator in an old Olympic clip where he described my favorite Russian figure skater's "Godfather" program as "jumps and arm movements"
We have the tragic bookends of Gene Hackman and his wife being found dead in their home and Carl Reiner and his wife found murdered (by their son :shudder: )
Michelle Tratchenberg, I'm still reeling a bit from... I think I revisited Harriet the Spy sometime this year, but not sure if it was before or after her passing. I still haven't revisited Ice Princess but that'll be a slight tearjerker once I do. Probably some time around next year's winter Olympics.
The other passing that hit hardest was Val Kilmer. Whether he's Ice-Man or Bruce Wayne, he will be sorely missed.
A couple I didn't hear about until doing the research for this: Watson of Watson & Crick DNA fame and Bill Moyers (RDJ mentioned Campbell and Moyers in a 2003 Charlie Rose interview where they talked a lot of deep topics).
Jane Goodall, the famed chimpanzee researcher
Armani the fashion icon
Diane Keaton- I missed out on seeing The Family Stone this year but the next time I do, it'll definitely hit different
Anne Burrell- we watch a lot of Food Network in this house. Her death particularly devestating for my sister who saw many seasons of her show "Worst Cooks in America"
Robert Redford- I need to see a few more of his movies, including "The Natural"
Sophia Kinsella, who wrote the "Confessions of a Shopaholic" series, died of brain cancer a week or two ago when I currently reading one of her books. I still need to read the original after seeing the movie.
Then in music, there were three major losses.
Sly Stone (of The Family Stone) fame... without him, there wouldn't be Prince. Plain and simple.
Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys
And Ozzy Osbourne
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