Lindsey's December 2020 Media Diary

Netflix

Good riddance, 2020! But first, a recap of everything I watched in the final month of this wretched year:

Movies

Happiest Season (2020, dir. Clea DuVall)

The family is absolutely deranged. No WASPy family would treat a guest so horribly, it just doesn't make sense! They'd be perfectly nice and then complain about their guest behind closed doors like a normal family! But it's also a cute movie and when we have so few options for LGBTQ+ holiday fare, it's better than nothing. 

Godmothered (2020, dir. Sharon Maguire)

This movie was really sweet! Like Elf meets Enchanted, which are both movies I adore.

The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two (2020)

Finally got around to watching Kurt Russel's cool guy take on Santa Claus. The first movie was way darker than I was expecting for a kid-centric Christmas movie, not limited to but including: grand theft auto, gangs, and Silvio from The Sopranos (no really, I'm serious). The second one was 100% made for kids and spent way too much time on the weird elves.

The Prom (2020, dir. Ryan Murphy)

I had a lot of problems with this movie, but it also featured Nicole Kidman doing Fosse moves and "zazz". It's fun, just not great.

Let Them All Talk (2020, dir. Steven Soderbergh)

The second Meryl movie in 2 nights, this is by far the superior film. I always enjoy Soderbergh's movies, even when they aren't completely successful because he's always game to try something new. I found this film to be a really compelling portrait of how friendships grow and shift over a lifetime, and between Meryl, Candice Bergen, and Dianne Wiest, these are three phenomenal actresses working together to tell a fascinating story. Plus, leave it to Soderbergh to make a cruise ship look glamorous and appealing even in 2020.

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020, dir. Patty Jenkins)

I feel like the discourse has been done to death at this point, so I'll just say I had a fine time watching this and feel like people would have been more receptive had they watched WW84 on the big screen. Also, I now 100% understand why Gal Gadot thought that "Imagine" video would cure the world.

The Greatest Showman (2017, dir. Michael Gracey)

I caught this on cable while at home for the Christmas break. It's fine. I like the songs.

Soul (2020, dir. Pete Docter)

Soul was absolutely beautiful, with Pixar's most mesmerizing animation to date (both the wonderfully realistic real world scenes and the innovatively stylized Great Before/Great Beyond visualizations), a killer score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (they're neck and neck with Nicholas Britell as my favorite composers right now) and a powerful story to match. Some odd story choices kept me from falling completely in love with this movie, and I'm very surprised to tell you that I did not cry during this movie, but it was a lovely story with a poignant message for our time.

TV Shows

The Expanse (seasons 3 - 5)

I really think this is the closest thing to Game of Thrones right now and it's a shame that more people aren't watching The Expanse. The current fifth season has been a real level up in terms of both budget (the show switched from SyFy to Amazon after the third season) and dramatic tension, with 5x04 being one of the best singular episodes of television I've seen all year.

The Flight Attendant (season 1)

This HBO Max series was such a surprising hit, but it was so much fun. Also, after the overwhelming success of our Flight Attendant Instagram post, I think I have no choice but to become a full time Kaley Cuoco stan.

Ted Lasso (season 1)

After Steph continually bugged me about watching this show, I finally took a look to see what all the Ted Lasso hype was about, and I'm pleased to tell you that the hype is very much deserved.

Derry Girls (seasons 1 and 2)

Why did I not watch this show sooner? Honestly one of the funniest things I've seen in such a long time, I'm just sad there aren't more episodes!

Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (season 1)

I do love Rob McElhenney and this AppleTV+ series got good reviews when it premiered last year, so after watching Ted Lasso I figured I'd check it out. It's both absolutely hilarious and has the ability to tell poignant stories; the stand-alone "Dark Quiet Death" is an emotional journey (starring another White Rice fave, Jake Johnson) and the quarantine episode made me straight-up bawl.

Bridgerton (season 1)

It's Pride and Prejudice meets Gossip Girl with no content guidelines, aka the horny Regency show that dreams are made of. The costumes are dazzling, the Duke is swoon-worthy, and the string covers of modern pop songs are bops. If you're a sucker for romance and society tales, what are you waiting for? Bridgerton was made for you!