2020: Year In Review
Movies
Numbers
Just like 2019, I had 117 entries on my Letterboxd, a few of them are mini-series and a couple of shorts. 220 hours watched. Averaging 9.8 movies per month or 2.2 movies per week. I went to the movies 6 times between January and March 6th, only Sorry We Missed You made it to the top 20.
2020: Favorite Movies
I missed the movie-going experience this year. Alone in the dark, comfortable recliner seat, great sound, and a big screen. A perfect 2h escape. For that reason, I became a bit less interested in movies this year and it wasn’t as many good releases as usual, for obvious reasons. (A lot of great TV shows instead).
But there were of course some good movies. Steve McQueen made an anthology for Amazon called Small Axe. The anthology consists of five films that tell distinct stories about the lives of West Indian immigrants in London during the 1960s and 1970s. I’ve only seen Lovers Rock so far, and it was easily my favorite movie this year. It clocks in at only 70 min and captures young love at a house party so perfectly, the music, bodies in motion, the tenderness, and how the camera lingers on.
Eliza Hittman follows up Beach Rats with an abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always. The sequence, where the title is taken from completely destroyed me. First-time actress Sidney Flanigan is a revelation.
Another Round has Thomas Vinterberg reuniting with the Danish cream of the crop actors for the first time since The Hunt (2012). Mads Mikkelsen is one level above everyone else in this and he’s channeling his inner Christopher Walken in the final scene. My favorite ending of a movie in 2020.
The 84-year-old veteran Ken Loach follows up his Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake with another movie on a similar theme Sorry We Missed You, depressing and bleak about the gig economy in the UK.
1. Lovers Rock (Directed by Steve McQueen)
2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman)
3. Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg)
4. Sorry We Missed You (Ken Loach)
5. Sound of Metal (Darius Marder)
6. First Cow (Kelly Reichardt)
7. Shithouse (Cooper Raiff)
8. A White, White Day (Hlynur Pálmason)
9. David Byrne’s American Utopia (Spike Lee)
10. Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell)
11. Bacurau (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles)
12. Babyteeth (Shannon Murphy)
13. The Nest (Sean Durkin)
14. Dick Johnson Is Dead (Kirsten Johnson)
15. Time (Garrett Bradley)
16. Beastie Boys Story (Spike Jonze)
17. Tenet (Christopher Nolan)
18. Saint Frances (Alex Thompson)
19. Bad Education (Cory Finley)
20. You Cannot Kill David Arquette (David Darg, Price James)
See my full and detailed Year In Review 2020 on Letterboxd
Honorable mentions
Nimic, Martin Margiela: In His Own Words, QT8: The First Eight, The Invisible Man.
Yet To Watch
Soul, Beanpole, Kajillionaire, Mangrove, Red, White and Blue, Education, The Trial of Chicago 7, Da 5 Bloods, Boys State, The Mole, Collective, The Whistlers, The Truth, About Endlessness, Saint Maud.
TV
Some really good tv shows this year, especially mini-series and documentaries.
I May Destroy You (HBO)
The Last Dance (ESPN)
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Normal People (Hulu)
Ted Lasso, S1 (Apple TV+)
The Investigation (SVT Play)
Björnstad / Beartown (HBO Europe)
Song Exploder, S1+2 (Netflix)
Music
2019: Top 50 Best Songs
1. Yves Tumor — Gospel For A New Century
2. Oneohtrix Point Never— I Don’t Love Me Anymore
3. Sorry—Right Round The Clock
4. Bleachers feat. Bruce Springsteen — Chinatown
5. The 1975— If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)
6. TOPS — I Feel Alive
7. Phoebe Bridgers — Kyoto
8. Darkstar — Wolf
9. Adrianne Lenker — anything
10. ANOHNI — It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
11. Arca — Time
12. Jacques Greene— Thaw
13. Kllo — Cursed
14. Tkay Maidza feat. Kari Faux — Don’t Call Again
15. Jay Som — A Thousand Words
16. Lykke Li — BRON
17. Empress Of— U Give It Up
18. Romy — Lifetime
19. Caribou — Never Come Back
20. Kelly Lee Owens — On
21. Tame Impala — It Might Be Time
22. Lady Gaga Feat. Ariana Grande — Rain On Me
23. Dua Lipa — Physical
24. Charli XCX — claws
25. Baxter Dury — I’m Not Your Dog
26. Bartees Strange — Mustang
27. The Lemon Twigs — Moon
28. Destroyer —It Just Didn’t Happen
29. The Chicks — Gaslighter
30. Håkan Hellström — Tillsammans I Mörker
31. shame — Water In The Well
32. Wolf Parade — Under Glass
33. Midwife — Anyone Can Play Guitar
34. Alice Boman — Heart On Fire
35. Soccer Mommy —Drive
36. Grimes — Delete Forever
37. Waxahatchee — Fire
38. Perfume Genius — Describe
39. Troye Sivan —Rager Teenager!
40. Phoenix — Identical
41. The Avalanches feat. Cola Boyy, Mick Jones — We Go On
42. The Weeknd — Blinding Lights
43. Car Seat Headrest — Can’t Cool Me Down
44. The Radio Dept. — You Fear The Wrong Thing Baby
45. Dua Saleh — umbrellar
46. Porridge Radio — Give/Take
47. Hinds —Spanish Bombs
48. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever — She’s There
49. Dehd — Loner
50. Jessy Lanza — Lick In Heaven
Listen to the playlist 2020: The 50 Best Songs (Spotify)
2020: Best Albums
Some of the albums I enjoyed the most in 2020. Yves Tumor and Darkstar stand out. In alphabetic order.
Darkstar — Civic Jams
Kllo — Maybe We Could
Oneohtrix Point Never — Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
Phoebe Bridgers — Punisher
Sorry — 1925
Spanish Love Songs — Brave Faces Everyone
TOPS — I Feel Alive
Yves Tumor — Heaven To A Tortured Mind
The A-List Rotation
Like previous years, I enjoy keeping my own manually managed A-List Rotation, of what I’m currently listening to. Primarily new music. 20 songs, when a new song is added. The oldest song is archived.
Listen to the playslist: 2020: The A-List Rotation
Concerts
Sadly no. I can’t remember a year when I didn’t see a band play live and, it doesn’t look like there will be any concerts in 2021 either.
I had tickets between March-May to see Lower Dens, Young Guv, Tops, Waxahatchee, Yves Tumor, Ariel Pink, Alice Boman. All of course canceled due to COVID-19.
The Year In Review Archive
2019: Year In Review
2018: Year In Review
2017: Year In Review
2016: Year In Review
Follow me at
Twitter: @joakimjansson
Letterboxd: @joakimjansson
Instagram: @joakimjansson
Instagram: @museumdepartment
Spotify: @sanscolour
Work: Sans Colour
