My Top 10 Favorite Shows of 2020 + 1 Book

Welcome to the third and final part of the Year of Escapism retrospective. In this blog, we will going through some of my favorite shows, and I am really excited. While movies and games brought about their own interesting experiences, I have been anticipating talking about the shows on this list more than the other two.

But of course, make sure you check out part one and two before reading this. The link is here and here. 

With that said, the same rules apply. Any season of television counts towards the running of this list so long as it was my first time watching it in 2020. In other words, it is the only year review Top 10 where Ducktales and Madoka Magica could potentially be talked about in the same blog post. Although, knowing me, I could find a way to force a Ducktales reference into a Madoka Magica review. Maybe I will have to try that. 

Anyway, there is nothing else to add, so let's get started!

Number 10: Alone Together

I begin this list with a show that's on here not because it deserves to but because it is a show I found more interesting to talk about. Because really, I would have just put either Taskmaster or Middleditch and Swartz. They're funnier, more clever, and more worth watching than Alone Together. I understand Alone Together is a type of show that only I could like or sometimes tolerate. Consider it a guilty pleasure.

As a guilty pleasure, the guilt mainly stems from predictable sitcom writing and the performance by Benji Aflalo who plays one of the main characters on the show. The show aims to be a version of Seinfeld but in the shallowness social status hungry world of LA which in parts works well to differentiate it from other sitcoms. But God, does Benji Afialo do a horrible job portraying an unlikeable character. Granted, he has his moments throughout the show, but it is mainly just him standing stiffly spouting esoteric pop culture references, and it almost never lands. 

It is complete contrast to Esther Povitsky who plays opposite of Afialo, and she delivers her lines perfectly. She is what you watch the show for. Both characters aim do a variety of get famous quick schemes, but Povitsky has an innocence to her character that makes her come off more well meaning. 

I also appreciate a male-female friendship that doesn't involve any romantic or sexual tension. It's such a rarity in media. Even Seinfeld and Elaine, arguably the most mainstream male and female friendship, were characters that dated initially before becoming friends. Benji and Esther are simply a down to Earth friendship. And while it may not have been intentional, the friendship does so much to speak to the understated value of platonic relationships. It's no Me, Earl, and a Dying Girl, but I appreciate Alone Together giving another example of male-female platonic friendship in media. Therefore, it's number ten. 

Number 9: Sex, Explained 

Sex, Explained snuck in the beginning of the year. And yeah, this is certainly a niche as I watched due to my interest in sexuality and Janelle Monáe. However, I implore every layman, even if you think you know everything on and around the topic of sex, to watch this mini-series. You might learn something or possibly everything. 

This has been a great remedy for the horrible sex education seen in the U.S, specifically more Bible-Belt oriented states. This provides a nice comprehensive look into the process of sex from the twinkle in an eye of someone on the prowl of an attractive mate to childbirth. It shows sex as maturely as possible by showing the good, the bad, the gross, and the very gross. 

It's all engaging thanks to a twinge of levity and the buttery voice of Janelle Monáe. I hope teachers gravitate towards this series as a potential teaching tool. At the very least, if you are a young person faced with abstinence only sex education, I hope you come across this show. It will do you more good. 

Number 8: Mandalorian 

I can't think of a franchise more inconsistent in their quality than the Star Wars franchise. On one hand, you have ground breaking works like a New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Knights of the Old Republic, and Tartakovsky's Clone Wars. On the other hand, you have works that should be barely qualify as watchable such as the Star Wars prequels and Star Wars Holiday Special. 

But over the years, we have been seeing some middling Star Wars experiences. It started with Force Awakens before it was retroactively ruined by its sequels. Then we had Jedi: Fallen Order. And now, we have the Mandalorian. 

First off, I will say Mandalorian is on here purely on the basis of being comfort television. The first thing I thought of when I turned on Mandalorian was Firefly which is another comfort show of mine. You might as well call Mandalorian an unofficial Firefly sequel where there is a missing episode involving a dimensional explosion changing everything into Star Wars assets. 

But overall, Mandalorian is alright. It's fine. You know why it's fine? Because it isn't so sure of itself just because it has the Star Wars branding on it. 

I think Star Wars operates at its best when it isn’t so full of itself. Like it knows it’s Star Wars, so it acts in a way that is not as sincere which is my explanation for why so few Star Wars stories past Empire Strikes Back have been anything other than spectacular. Mandalorian isn't amazing but it is certainly in the right direction and more of what I wanted out of Star Wars 

And hey, after fifty attempts of Star Wars shoehorning cute shit, they finally got it somewhat right with the Child. 

Now I could nitpick Mandalorian to death if I had a magnifying glass (because I know there are things to nitpick). Overall I am glad Star Wars is Star Wars by not thinking Star Wars is Star Wars so Star Wars ends up being less Star Wars because Star Wars works better when Star Wars remembers that Star Wars is above all a sci fi fantasy and not just this cultural artifact that changed pop culture.

Number 7: Harley Quinn Show 

If one thing to say about DC is that while their movies are extremely hit and miss, their animated shows are usually quite good. A good comparison was last year's Birds of Prey and Harley Quinn. 

Since this is an entry about Harley Quinn, I will be brief with Birds of Prey. Birds of Prey is alright, but it demonstrates a key fact about the titular character. Harley Quinn doesn't work well in live action. The character originated in cartoons after all, and the elasticity and expressiveness Harley Quinn is known for doesn't quite work with a real human being. It's telling that Margot Robbie is the best live action portrayal we will probably ever get and she doesn't hold a candle to the animated counterparts. 

This leads to Harley Quinn which was a pleasant surprise for me in 2020. I knew I was going to like it once I started getting Mystery Incorporated flashbacks, and any show that reminds me of Mystery Incorporated is a keeper in my book. 

Harley Quinn stands out in a number of ways. It's a Batman show that has almost no Batman while still being engaging to watch which is something I can't say for Gotham. In fact, Batman is actually one of the more uninteresting parts of the show. It doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of Harley Quinn such situations of abuse and patriarchal work hierarchy but simultaneously makes it digestible so it doesn't break the tone of the show. And finally, it doesn't feel like a committee thinking product. It actually feels like it has some creative spark which I can't say for not only for most DC films but for some Marvel films as well.  

Harley Quinn is not perfect. Its later episodes make the characters more campy. One of the reasons why I like the earlier episodes is that while all the characters are funny, they are still threatening in the context of the world. However, in later episodes, specifically with Batman and Bane, their personalities become more flanderized making them hard to take seriously. And the writing is funny, but the dialogue does follow the same template that becomes noticeable very quickly. Similar to what I said about Raising Hope, once you catch the rhythm, a lot of the jokes become very predictable. Thankfully, that is saved a little bit by some good delivery from the voice actors. The ones that come to mind are Ron Funches as King Shark and Alan Tudyk as...well he plays a lot of characters. 

There is also a case of comic book bullshit, but I won't get into that because it would be spoilers. And if I am not going into spoilers, then that should be a sign that you should watch this show. I mean, it's on my Top 10 list. 

Number 6: Queen's Gambit

Queen's Gambit, like a lot of award-baity works, are like a teacher's pet. They may not stick out for their uniqueness. You get the sense they act the way they act because they want to impress Ms. Vickers. "What's that? Ms. Vickers is also a feminist? Well better be touting that Rosie outfit! Where's my 'burn the patriarchy' stickers?"

In some cases, the teacher's pet still manages to work very well. Acting performances seem to be astounding all around. Moses Ingram, Bill Camp, Harry Melling (who I just now found out played Dudley from Harry Potter), and especially Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon. There is literally too many great performances to count. I might as well copypasta the cast list from Wikipedia. I guess I should give more of a special mention to Taylor-Joy since I am getting the same vibe I got when Jennifer Lawrence started to become more prominent in the early 2010s. Hopefully unlike Lawrence, she stays relevant and interesting. So far, she has been great in everything I've seen with the Witch and now this. Even at her worst with New Mutants, she still manages to be the most engaging character on screen. 

And feminist jokes aside, the female gaze the show presents is solid. It's a bit on the nose but that's kind of the point. Here we have a woman just wanting to be good at chess is inconvenienced by 1960s sexism and woke journalists obsessed with her gender. In a way, the feminist angle should be a little annoying because Beth Harmon feels the same way. 

There are some nitpicks. The show doesn't do a great job explaining why certain chess moves are smart with unexplained chess theory jargon being used to measure a character's intelligence. There are sex scenes which are quite unnecessary for my asexual eyes. There are also a couple of episodes that drag on more than others. They're not deal breakers, but I did find myself on occasion during those episodes waving my hands to tell the show to wrap it up. 

Otherwise, the only real problem is the same problem I have with a lot of award-baity works. It's great but not one that'll stick with me. It's been a few weeks now since I've saw it, and I haven't really thought about it other than the few moments after I immediately finished it. It's the arty equivalent of the flavor of the week. That said, I hope that doesn't dissuade you from watching an overall solid mini-series. 

Number 5: Sex Education

According to my Netflix watch history, this was my first and possibly only binge of 2020. I don't normally binge watch shows. I didn't even binge number one on this list nor any of the other entries, so that should be an indicator of the quality of this show. 

Sex Education is the closest thing I have gotten to a Freaks and Geeks season 2 and it took an English showrunner to do it. It isn't afraid to tackle darker teen subject matter even if it mostly revolves around sexuality. And like Freaks and Geeks, it also isn't afraid to be really funny. And unlike say 13 Reasons Why, it actually succeeds in trying to be funny when it wants to be. 

Sex Education sports some knockout performances in the form of Emma Mackey and Gillian Anderson. As a side note, I felt nostalgic listening to Gillian Anderson though I have never seen X-Files. It took a Google search to find out that she was a voice in the English dub of Princess Mononoke, so that's where that enamored nostalgia comes from.

The only reason it's only number five is because season two left a lot to be desire. It unfortunately tries to retread the premise of the first season. It gives off an odor of sequelitis, and I feel the show is only to continue to be like this for the eventual season 3. But hey, Freaks and Geeks had only one good season too. I guess we will need a German showrunner to make a spiritual Freaks and Geeks season three. 

Number 4: Samurai Jack (Season 1)

I have already discussed this in my favorite movies of 2020 list, and I don't have much to add other than that the rest of the first season is pure Saturday morning cartoon bliss on top of its thematic depth. I guess I will use this time to talk about something else.

This year brought a resurgence of Saturday morning cartoons. I started using streaming services more frequently which has been a goldmine of wonderful cartoons both old and new. Netflix started streaming Avatar and Legend of Korra. Hulu rebooted Animaniacs which turned out pretty ok; it's still has the problem of focusing on characters besides the Warner Brothers but whatever. If you don't like it, you can watch the old one and leave the happier people alone. And finally, there is Disney Plus which since their launch in late 2019 has provided the easiest access to old school Disney cartoon shows that isn't digging up old VHSs or going on seedier websites. I hate to admit it, it was nice to watch shows like Ducktales (1987 & 2017), Goof Troop, Super Hero Squad, and Recess whenever I wanted to in 2020. If Disney as a company weren't so annoyingly horrible, I would be less ashamed to give Disney Plus praise, but I guess that is another blog for another time. You can read my Beauty and the Beast review if you want more of a Disney lashing. 

I guess going back to Samurai Jack. I'm glad they edited together the first three episodes into a movie so it could give a contrived reason to put in on the movie list. I guess Samurai Jack was another movie that saved it from being a Top nine, but I digress. Let's move on...

Number 1 (Book): Ágota Kristóf's The Notebook

So let me level with you. I wanted to recognize this book because I really loved it. However, I am not an active reader to put it politely. I haven't read enough books this year to warrant a Top 10 or even a Top 5. You can say I am jealous of people who have the ability to easily get absorbed in dozens of books year after year. So to compromise, I am going to talk about it here. I mean, it has chapters which are book equivalent to episodes. It's also my blog, and I can do whatever the hell I want. 

Anyway, Ágota Kristóf's The Notebook is very much unlike the Nicholas Sparks' the Notebook. Unlike the Sparks story of the same name where it is about love, love, and more love, Ágota Kristóf's the Notebook is hell on Earth as two kids survive a war torn Europe during WWII. I hate being the guy who will say "well there are starving children in Africa," but if you ever need a bit of perspective of life being far worse than it is right now, you might want to read this book. You can say this is the book equivalent to "there are starving children in Africa." 

Obviously this book is more than that. While this story is brutal in its content, it does this for the purpose of highlighting just how strong human tenacity can be. Life can suck. It can worse than the likes you can ever imagine, but it is still possible to persevere. That's the life lesson this book taught me in 2020. It helps that it sports great minimalist writing as well artful descriptions. If sexual deviancy and other horrible things portrayed in this book can be seen as artful. 

Number 3: Is It Possible To Get Every Star in SM64 Green Demon?

Yeah, I'm using the word "show" loosely. I probably watch YouTube more than actual television anyway, so I am surprised there aren't more Youtube shows on here. 

Anyway, Is It Possible To Get Every Star in SM64 Green Demon? comes from Youtuber/streamer/former speedrunner, Simpleflips.  

For those unfamiliar, the SM64 Green Demon is a video game challenge/mod done in the 1996 Super Mario 64. In this challenge, the player is chased by a 1-UP mushroom while they gather 8 red coins that are scattered throughout the stage. And if the 1-UP touches you, you die. Simpleflips takes this a step further by trying to complete every Mario 64 challenge with the Green Demon set up.

Now that I explained what the show is, why is it so high on the list? A part of me asked that question too. It's rather niche and simple in concept. And at its core, it is basically a let's play series. It wasn't until one episode that I realized I needed to recognize it on a best of list. That episode is Tick Tock Clock. 

Why is this series so high on the list? Well the Green Demon Challenge is a bloody difficult challenge and watching someone achieve such a feat is one of the most adrenaline pumping moments I witnessed this year. It is so exhilarating. I had to put it above the likes of Samurai Jack. Watching someone itch closer and closer to completing a challenge on Mario 64 Green Demon is so entertaining to watch and can at times be genuinely inspirational. You kind of have to see it to believe it. I don't know if it will excite you as much as me, especially if you aren't familiar with Mario 64, but I would say give the show a shot anyway. You might gain a new interest from it. 

The editing is also top notch. If Freeman's Mind didn't exist, I would hail this as my favorite let's play of all time. So as a consolation, I will rank it as number three on this list.

Number 2: Berserk (1997)

Warning: I am going to give vague spoilers of Berserk. And even though they are vague, I would still recommend skipping this entry if you haven't seen or read Berserk. You owe it to yourself to experience Berserk as blind as possible. 

I knew this anime was going to be placed on this list. It was a matter of where on the list. Ignoring the source material and judging purely the adaption, there were times where I considered ranking Berserk a bit lower. You do get the sense some sequences were either streamlined or missing needed context. And while I love the soundtrack, the opening theme stands out as an odd duck compared to the grit and majesty of the show's atmosphere. I also couldn't helped but be bothered by the show's use of medias res which takes the bite out of some of the tension throughout the runtime.

But similar to Simpleflips Green Demon Challenge, it took a particular episode to skyrocket it to another level. In this case, it was the last two episodes. 

Berserk's final two episodes feel like a misplaced thesis statement for the entire Berserk narrative. Throughout the show, you wonder what the point is. You get somewhat of the idea of the direction the show based on the circumstances of the main character Guts in the first episode. You know, at the very least, it is going to end unpleasantly, but I can guarantee no one going into the anime blind expected it to end THAT unpleasantly. The payoff the last two episodes hits like a semi-truck. I can't think of a non-horror narrative that excels so well at exuding horror since Twin Peaks. A horror that's so brutal that it seems the only way to confront it is through sheer will power from Guts. It's brings a feeling similar to Silent Hill 2 where in spite of how hopeless this world is, there is a weird comfort and emotional satisfaction that fans of Yahtzee Croshaw would describe as "fucking a burning dolphin." 

At its worst, Berserk (1997) feels like a really good advertisement for the manga. But at its best, Berserk (1997) on its own is very solid and nails a fantasy world very few have accomplished. You may not agree, but you will at least understand why Berserk is considered one of the greatest works of fiction by some. 

Honorable Mention: Star Trek TOS

I started watching Star Trek this year but stopped due to how daunting watching Star Trek is. That many episodes with each episode being an hour long. That is way too much of a commitment. 

 

That said, the episodes I did see were excellent. There is an old school comfort that I felt when I would watch Twilight Zone or Andy Griffith. I don't have much else to say since I saw only a handful of episodes, so I am putting it as an honorable mention.  I like to think I will get back on the Star Trek train soon. We will see. 

Another Honorable Mention: Chappelle Show

Chappelle Show would definitely be on the list in almost any end of the year Top 10 list. However, I haven't finish the show on Netflix before it got taken down, and I have already seen episodes in a previous year, so I couldn't count it. That being said, I want to use this opportunity not to talk about Chappelle Show but to talk about Dave Chappelle himself. 

Dave Chappelle has had a hell of a year. He was awarded the Mark Twain prize. He did an excellent spot on SNL. And finally, he released two of the most heart wrenching monologues in the form of Unforgiven and 8:46. Holy cow.

I mention how I never spent a day not thinking about Finding Frances in the last blog. Well there also hasn't been a day after thinking about Finding Frances that I then didn't think about Dave Chappelle. 

8:46 is one of most potent descriptions of racism in American in 2020; a time that once again put racism in the forefront of discussion, and I hope it stays that way until that problem is solved. 

Unforgiven gives a explanation why Chappelle Show is off Netflix and the injustices Chappelle faced personally working in the business. It's brutal. And while I am admittedly sad that Chappelle Show is off of Netflix, if I had a choice to sacrifice Chappelle Show or Dave Chappelle, I would choose Chappelle Show any day because Dave Chappelle has evolved far greater than the show that put him on the map. 

Dave Chappelle has evolved past the symbolism of the Mark Twain Prize. He is Mark Twain. A brilliant satirist that's fearless! I guarantee he will be remembered for centuries to come regardless if he gets paid for it. 

Ok, One More Honorable Mention: Chris Chan Documentary

So now let's talk about an autistic man. Like Star Trek TOS, I haven't finished the show. The show itself isn't even finished. He is still making episodes. Plus, as a documentary, it's not the most polished in telling a story. It tells the story in literal chronological order; it feels like its reading a list, so I didn't think it was good enough to make it on the list even if I had finished the show. It was better than this year's Tiger King, so I will give it that. 

However, Geno Samuel presents a respect and neutrality to the subject matter that I really admire. The Chris Chan story is one of the most interesting narratives the Internet has to offer and one that can easily sway into farcical comedy or misunderstood tragedy if given to the wrong hands. The thing is that Chris Chan's story is both, and the documentary presents it as such. 

And personally, seeing the life of Chris Chan has made me feel better about my life in the year of 2020. As one Youtube commenter put it, Chris Chan is sort of a dark mirror to all of us. Any guy can see one aspect of themselves in Chris Chan. It's both a cautionary tale of what happens when entitlement gets the better of you and a reassurance that you can never be as bad as Christina Weston Chandler.   

Number 1: School Rumble

Yeah that ramble on what my favorite things are sort of spoiled a couple of things on these lists. 

However, since that blog, I have now watched all of School Rumble. And yeah to put it simply, my opinion hasn't changed. In fact, watching all of School Rumble has reassured my decision that School Rumble is easily my favorite Japanese anime of all time. I suppose I can now use this opportunity to flesh out my thoughts a little more.

School Rumble is consistently refreshing. It has the Community style of variety where each episode exudes a gimmick that the characters entangle with. One episode will have a screwball chase sequence. Another episode will be a full out basketball drama. There is even a Community style paintball episode that's as funny as the aforementioned. If anything, since School Rumble released before Community, I should be describing Community as a School Rumble style of variety, but lets not get overwrought with genre labeling here. 

A thing I neglect to mention when I last talked about School Rumble was that while School Rumble is extremely wholesome, there are layers of sadness and heart as well. The main character Harima comes to mind as a particular example. A hopeless romantic who has to wrestle with the perception of being a delinquent and a hard ass. An admittedly cliché idea elevated by Hiroki Takahashi's performance and show's willingness to just have fun with the character. I think that latter point is why the show feels so effortless. You get the sense the show's writing is all play and trying to see what fun thing they can do next. And because of that, the idea of it being a cliché high school comedy falls way back in your mind. It's also why I didn't mind the rather rocky ending. While the story's conclusion can leave a lot to be desired, I didn't see the show that aims tie everything up in a neat bow. What is set out to do was be wholesome, pure, and funny, and it manage that feat perfectly. 

Putting School Rumble above Berserk is obviously unfair as comparing them would be impossible. This is not just apples and oranges. This is apples and bloody tiger meat. In another timeline, Berserk (1997) would probably be number one. However, to reiterate what I said in my previous blog, School Rumble is not my favorite for technical or narrative prowess but because it is a show that helped me through 2020. 2020 is the Year of Escapism. And when I think of escapism, I am going to think of School Rumble as the show that made me happy in even in the most challenging of times. To use a Yoko Taro analogy, School Rumble is the school crush that's not the most beautiful or interesting, but I liked anyway. School Rumble likely isn't the best show, but it is my favorite show I've seen in 2020. 

Ozark Season 1 Review

"A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as he protest inside the US Capitol in Washington, DC," January 6, 2021. SAUL LOEB, AFP via Getty Images

Watching Ozark in 2020 was one of the more timely watches I did that year. And on the day of Biden and Harris’s presidential inauguration on the day Trump supporters storm the Capitol Building, I can’t help but think about the people that resided in the Ozark again as well as my fellow hometown residents. I have since finished the first season and have some updated thoughts on both the Ozark and Trump supporters. If you want my 'initial' thoughts on the Ozark, click here. 

One of the reasons I think about Trump supporters, or anything besides the Ozark, is because the Ozark has a lot of downtime. It seems every episode has about thirty minutes of good content that I really like but about twenty minutes where I sit playing on my phone or writing on my laptop. Anything regarding the laundering was great. The girl of the trashier variety I described in my first impressions post surprisingly grew into one of my favorite characters in the show. I love Julia Garner as Ruth. She is so good that I had a brain blast the size that can level a city when I realized she stars in the excellent The Assistant. That girl has range.

All the female characters are amazing. I love Jordana Spiro as the owner of the Blue Cat and Marty’s first business partner in the Ozark. I wish the story would put more focus on her character. Then there is Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde and holy cow. I heard comparisons that Ozark as an equivalent to Breaking Bad to which I quickly scoffed at. However, one thing I will concede is that Laura Linney is one of the few elements of the Ozark that equals the similar aspects of Breaking Bad. In some ways, this lady tops Skyler due to how Wendy Byrde has more backstory and a more complex motivation to her actions. Oh she’s a bad bitch. She is very much like Skyler in that way, but she is more sympathetic in how she is portrayed.

I love the thirty minutes of good content. But then, there are the other twenty minutes.

The stuff with the FBI agent. The stuff with the Byrde children. It didn’t grab me. It’s fine, and I wouldn’t want to delete it because it plays into the whole flow of the show. That said, I ideally would have preferred a slimmer show that focuses on fewer characters. The cast, for me, is too ambitious right off the bat, and I am just bored by it.

I am so bored that I rather spend those twenty minutes doom-scrolling through social media, so I guess now is a good time to transition to what I actually want to talk about.

Let’s talk about Parler. The social media embraced by Trump supporters in times where they feel their voice is being silenced. On one hand, it is nice that the more degenerate side of Trump supporters are flocking towards one place instead of infecting places like Facebook and Twitter. On the other hand, I am aware this provides an even more secure echo chamber.

Cognitive dissonance (CD) is admittedly a difficult thing to handle. It is so difficult that there are said to be only three ways to process cognitive dissonance. You can change yourself to reflect the reality that contradicts your beliefs. You can add onto your belief system to better reflect the contradiction. You can reduce your attachment to your beliefs to mitigate cognitive dissonance.

The morbidly funny and undoubtedly tragic thing about the mental gymnastics of Trump supporters with this recent election and rather the entire time Trump has been on the political news cycle is that supporters are aware they are processing CD the second way but don’t seem to realize they are also doing it the third way as well.

Republicans are no longer the party of family and morals. Many pundits and editorials have revealed that fact. But with the recent election, many pundits and editorials are now revealing the new fact that Republicans are no longer the party of the Constitution either. They have “reduced their attachment” to the Constitution if you will. That photo at the beginning to me perfectly encapsulates these Trump supporters. They have devolved to the form of aloof apes you would see in a Tarzan film. If you are familiar with D.W Griffith's A Birth of a Nation and how African Americans acted like animals in the Capital, you would understand the poetic irony of these "law and order" specimens doing exactly that. 

It’s stuff like this that has made me, along with many others, cynical. This struggle against these people has been going on for four hundred years and running ever since we set foot on this country. From there, British loyalists turned into slave masters. Slave masters turned into segregationists. Segregationists turned into Trump supporters. The path to some kind of post-racial society feels nonexistent. It makes me want to give up.

In a few ways, I have. Recently, I stopped following the KCBD Facebook page as I gotten tired of Trump supporters saying the same tired spiel. Saying “who cares” to positive liberal stories as some childish way to diminish anything they consider their antagonist. Often times, they will just cry out false facts or dumbfounded war cries. In my least favorite times, they will say liberal hypocrisies are just as bad if not worse than theirs.

That mindset right there really sets me off. If you are a Trump supporter, I want you to read my lips: Comparing conservative sins to liberal sins is like comparing the crumbs of a giant to the crumbs of a mouse. We may have our own skeletons in our closet, but they aren’t comparable to the boneyard in your back garden.

You have demonstrated in the last eight years just how low you will sink to get what you want. You have proven no sin is a dealbreaker even if those sins are sexual relations with a minor, racist dog whistling, numerous and apparent financial crimes, and the many other things Trump and his allies have done that I don’t have the energy for. Your attitude towards this election is outrageous and is nowhere close to our cries to the 2016 election. Your conspiracy theories of election fraud has shown the whole world that you are hopeless. You turned into a child that can’t be reasoned with and our position has now turned into a status of a caretaker and not a coworker. 

But you somehow still say liberals are extreme?

Do you know why liberals aren’t extreme? We elected Biden for the primaries. We have shown in the two elections in a row that Democrats are way more centrist than they appear. Granted, it is slowly but surely going more left every election season. At some point, there is going to be a Sanders or a Sanders equivalent on a presidential ticket.

And while a part of me was nervous about a more extreme liberal becoming a presidential candidate due to the ravish push back they will get from conservatives, you have shown you will push back just about anyone. The way I see it now, I have no sympathies for people afraid of extreme progress. We have finally seen what the scared tiger of the Republican party will do when pushed into a corner, and it is pathetic!

I end this open letter with a word of inevitability. You have continually held us back for four hundred years, yet we managed to still do a lot. We have abolished slavery, ended segregation, and restored voting rights. Like the pace of technology, the pace of civil progress goes faster and faster. Your dated values will trickle away. Like horseback riding, it will be almost a novelty. It may have taken 400 years to get where we are today, but it is going to be an extremely shorter wait for what is to come.    

Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2020 + 1 Dishonorable Mention

Welcome back to part two of our Year of Escapism retrospective. This time, we are doing movies. 

If you missed part one, you can check it out here. I would highly suggest reading that first. 

If you think I am only doing movies that came out this year then you are surely mistaken, I am doing any movie that I happen to see this year except movies I have seen before. Even with that extension, I haven't seen that many movies I would consider great, so it was a stretch to make it to ten. 

In my opinion, the releases this year have been very underwhelming thanks to COVID-19 and the overall general decline of AAA filmmaking. In fact, to give you an idea of how bad, let me discuss one dishonorable mention:

Dishonorable Mention: Antebellum

I have seen a lot of bad movies this year. I saw A Thief in the Night, The Final Fantasy 7 movie, Glitter. I even saw Cats which was arguably worse than any movie I have seen this year. However, this bad movie is the one that stuck in my mind as the more miserable experience mainly for how it handles its subject matter. 

It has been a hot minute since I was really frustrated with a movie.

Usually, the films with political themes that I hate tend to be conservative trash like God's Not Dead, so it is nice to see something on the other side of the spectrum.

Antebellum, at its absolute best, is shallow and on the nose. At its worst, it completely missed the mark on how racism plays in a modern era.

What do we gain by comparing current racial problems to the atrocities of slavery? How can we have a slave plantation in modern America without immediately creating an unbelievable amount of plot holes that detract from the message of the film? And yeah that's a spoiler, and I don't care. You shouldn't see this film anyway.

Yes, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of racial justice. That doesn't mean we are at square one. This film is just a reminder that Get Out is so much smarter at handling this subject matter, and that Janelle Monáe deserves a lot better than this.

But with that out of the way, here are ten movies that are worth watching. Here we go!

Number 10: Lupin: The Castle of Cagliostro

God, I love Miyazaki adventure films. This and Laputa: Castle in the Sky make for a perfect double feature. And while I think Laputa is Miyazaki's best in terms of whimsical adventure, Castle of Cagliostro is pretty impressive especially considering this is Miyazaki's feature debut. Castle of Cagliostro has all the trimmings I expect from a good action adventure: good pacing, a likable protagonist, clever moments. These are things that can be taken for granted. But in an age of the DC Cinematic Universe and Michael Bay-esque schlock, these things are starting to become a luxury in big name films. 

And now having been introduced to Lupin the Third, I cannot wait to see the others in the franchise as well as the new one that came out last year which is what lead me to watch Castle of Cagliostro in the first place. 

Number 9: John Wick 3

This may be unpopular to say, but John Wick 3 may be my favorite out of the John Wick films. 

The way I see it, John Wick 1 had an excellent first half but an uninteresting second half. In John Wick 2, it is the other way around where the first half was boring but the second half was pretty good. John Wick 3 never had that half or even moment that felt dull or unengaging. It was most consistent among the John Wick films bringing the elements that I like in the franchise such as the fun world building and interesting set pieces. 

And, Hallie Berry gave a solid performance for the first time I think since Monster's Ball. She was great in this. 

Am I excited for John Wick 4? Well that depends. The way I see it if this series keeps churning out quality stuff, I wouldn't mind watching a few more of these movies. The ship will crash and burn someday. But for now, I will sit in comfort waiting for the next John Wick exploit. 

Number 8: Insomnia

Christopher Nolan can essentially be split into two eras, Pre-Inception and Post-Inception. 

An example of Post-Inception is this year's Tenet which is probably the most Post-Inception film so far. A film that is more gimmick than film. It has the illusion of having something to say while trying to recreate the artistic energy he had Pre-Inception. This leads into Insomnia which was a film I watched early in the year but retroactively became a palette cleanser for Tenet, funnily coincidental considering Tenet's subject matter.  

What separates Insomnia/other Pre-Inception films from the likes of Tenet and Interstellar are the characters. The thing about the great Nolan films is that they have really good characters. For example, in Insomnia, Robin Williams and Al Pacino are stand outs in their respective roles.

Robin Williams has such an eerie calmness to him. It has a Andy Griffith in A Face in the Crowd effect where a typically approachable celebrity plays a scary personality. It's effective and my favorite performance from Robin Williams aside from Good Will Hunting. 

As for Al Pacino, well he is Al Pacino. 

They feel like Nolan's precursors to how he would eventually portray The Joker and Batman. Both represent a set of values that then clash with one another, and it is so good. It is hard to say if this is my favorite Nolan film, but it is up there and stands as number eight on this list. 

 

Number 7: David Byrne's American Utopia 

Everyone is talking about Hamilton on Disney Plus and here is my hipster butt talking about David Byrne. If there is a person who can get away with being absolutely pretentious, one of those people would be David Byrne. I think his secret is that where most people see experimental art for the purposes of standing out or maybe to try to appear as some out-of-box genius, David Byrne merely seeks to be himself. There is a pure authentic self to his work. And that self is really weird and cool. 

I watched a lot of David Byrne within the last few years with True Stories and Stop Making Sense, and I think this may be my favorite thing of his. At the very least, this alone saved this list from being a Top Nine, and it is nice that it is a film that actually came out in 2020. The pleasantness and humor that David Byrne exudes in this concert film is too contagious. It made my really rough December bearable. Dare I say, it renewed my faith in humanity. 

Number 6: I Am Not Your Negro

On the other hand, there is art that in parts tests your faith in humanity. 

Ever since 2016, I struggled to watch films about racial struggles as they now make me extremely angry. The idea makes me sick that a society allowed so many atrocities towards a group of people simply because of their color, and that this is still a problem today. 

However, I make it a point to watch at least one film a year about racial injustice, and I Am Not Your Negro was this year's film. It was a hard watch but not as hard as I expected. I think it has to do greatly with James Baldwin's presence which has an unique comfort. It's a reassuring voice. One that reminds us that in stories the good guys win, and that can happen in real life if we try. 

I Am Not Your Negro is simple but effective and has a right to exist in the discussion of racism purely for bringing James Baldwin's unfinished project a sense of narrative closure. There is a dignity that wouldn't be there if given to the wrong hands, and I feel I Am Not Your Negro is James Baldwin at his most dignified even more than thirty years after his passing. 

It's a solid documentary and a required watch in today's world.  

Number 5: Robot and Frank

A large portion recommendations that I end up looking into come from passing references made by Youtubers while talking about something completely different. For some reason, those references stick with me. This is how I discovered certain favorites like the Zero Escape series and Sleeper. Robot and Frank was one of those passing recommendations, but it deserves so much more. 

Robot and Frank is a simple concept that would make writing loglines a breeze. It's a story where an old man exploits a helper robot's AI in order to help him steal things. And normally, this is the type of movie I would be hesitant in explaining the real premise for since the movie doesn't show its hand for a ways into the film. Certain movies benefit from going in not knowing the premise, and usually I like to preserve that surprise (number two of this list is a good example of that). However, Robot and Frank doesn't do the best job in doing that.  

However, with a little patience, Robot and Frank becomes a really solid comedy. At times, it has a lot of satirical jabs at millennial culture that are well placed and doesn't feel like it is coming from a naïve boomer. Overall, Robot and Frank is a simple but its simplicity doesn't hold it back from being one of the most engaging films I've watched this year. 

Number 4: Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie

The word "adult" in animation usually means that the animation will be more violent, more bawdy, or overall tries to be edgier than its friendly contemporaries. 

Samurai Jack from the word go is adult in the sense that it is so uncommitted to pander that it's somewhat alienating to parts of its audience. If kids really do have little attention spans, I am then curious how Samurai Jack became so successful in the first place aside from adults latching onto it. In the premiere movie for example, a good chunk is without dialogue. The show doesn't show its more cartoon personality until well into the movie, and the animation at times feels intentionally choppy. Not that these are bad things. In fact, this is what makes Samurai Jack so mesmerizing and iconic in the first place. It's just that I don't see how that could be appealing for the average viewer. 

Then again, I am likely underestimating the intelligence of the average viewer. Maybe Samurai Jack is just a slower pace, atmospheric, and minimalist show that just happens to connect with people. It did with me. 

One of the reasons it does is Samurai Jack himself. He is so likable and ties the themes of the show so perfectly. The main theme of temptation and how that corrupts this post apocalyptic world. A world that, in the first season alone, mistreats animals, keeps scientists from pursuing their curiosities, and shows the dangers of propaganda. 

I know I am going into the show at this point and not just the first three episodes (which were edited together into this movie), so I will stop for now. Samurai Jack is certainly a show I could revisit in a later blog once I finish the other seasons. Until then, it rests comfortably in this Top 10 list. 

Number 3: Three Colours: Blue

I have a hesitation watching films in the arthouse genre, because they can go one or two ways for me. Either I simply love them or hate them. Well hate is a strong word, more like disappointed. Three Colours: Blue is thankfully in the former category judging from the fact it is so high on this list. 

There are a lot of great films that tackle death and grief. Manchester by the Sea, Lake Mungo, and Up are wildly different films but manage to be great examples of this universal theme. It seems Three Colours: Blue is my favorite out of these mostly because it picks apart the little things about grief. It's not just sadness but a cacophony of emotions. It's not one thing that takes you out of that rut. It is a process of slowly picking up the tiny pieces of yourself. I will say this twice, once for this film and again in a later entry on this list, but I like stories that make you feel all the emotions at once, and this is one of them. I thought from the first ten minutes that Blue was going to be a depressing experience, so I was surprised ay the times I smiled during the moments of levity. 

This is an excellent film. I have yet to watch Red or White, but I am definitely wondering how the hell they compare. I guess we will see. 

Number 2: Parasite

Rarely do I go into movies with high expectations as hype has had a history with me in ruining things. I am looking at you Rogue One, and I imagine many of you this year are looking at Cyberpunk. 

Of course, there are two exceptions to this rule. The first was the amazing Mad Max Fury Road. The other was Parasite. 

Parasite was the movie darling of 2019, and I heard about it incessantly during award season and even among casual conversations in coffee shops. I watched Parasite at the beginning of 2020 and understood why. This is one of the best movies of the last decade, and I have no shame adding onto the hype. You can overhype this film all you want, you will still love it.

Jay Bauman of Red Letter Media said it best that Parasite has an almost universal appeal in its message and personality. It's funny, thrilling, and its commentary on classism will resonate with anyone. It's cinema at its most artful by not trying to be pretentious or sacrificing entertainment for the sake needless thematic points. At the end of the day, it is just a good movie about a poor Korean family. 

South Korea, for decades now, has been killing it with their filmmaking, and I feel Parasite is going to be for South Korea what Akira or Spirited Away was for Japanese anime. A film that will blow a giant hole in the barrier between mainstream audiences and South Korean films. We are going to feel the effects of this film for years to come. 

Number 1: Finding Frances

I mention this film in a previous blog talking about my new favorites. And since I watched Finding Frances this year, it is no surprise that Finding Frances will top this year's favorite movies list. I went into Finding Frances thinking it was just going to be another funny Nathan Fielder romp and a nice close to the excellent Nathan for You. I left Finding Frances with tears in my eye giving a worthless standing ovation to my laptop where I watched it. 

I said this is a TV episode so good it became one of my new favorite movies. It is feature length. But most importantly, it is self-contained. Unlike El Camino, you can jump straight into Finding Frances and still have an understanding of what is going on despite it being the last episode of a television show. Of course, it would be ideal if you watched Nathan for You to get a general feel of the tone. 

Once again, I like stories that make you feel all the emotions at once. Finding Frances has a stunning ability to make you laugh before making you go into an almost existential thought. Thoughts of romance and purpose ran through my mind all the while Nathan Fielder is doing some odd shit, and at no point does either of those two things clash with one another. I watched this episode early in the year and there has never been a day where I haven't thought about it. Yeah it technically isn't a movie. But of all the feature length experiences I had this year, this one was the most amazing.