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Things I’m watching in 2020

This year, I’m committing to writing a bitesize review for every film or TV series I watch! I’ll be releasing the reviews in a twitter thread but I’m also gonna be adding them here, updating this post throughout the year.

Aaaaaand if I’m really into or hate something, this means I can add more details here!

Cats

The thing with Cats was, I had heard all the bad things, yet I was compelled to go see it for myself to answer the question: is it really as bad as they say?

And the answer is YES

Reading Cats reviews is actually now just hilarious and probably the best art to come out of the movie.

For All Mankind

For All Mankind is original content released on Apple TV, and follows an ambitious storyline which imagines that USA loses the race to launch a man to the moon to Russia. The first episode centres around NASA, both astronauts and administration, and later episodes introduce other characters and storylines.

I watched this super early on in the year (January lol), but I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended the year with this being one of the best things I watched in 2020. Yes, I thought it was that good!

I’m a massive space geek so I found the detailed production design and space visuals really impressive. They didn’t skimp on the details – for example, utilising real NASA jargon – which I really enjoyed. For all the science, it was also an incredibly emotional and human-centred series. There were multiple scenes where I cried throughout and parts of the storyline have stayed with me for days after.

The only reason this series scored a 9/10 instead of full marks was a couple of subplots involving minor characters that I felt were a little unnecessary. But this is a really small nitpick.

Now I’m gonna go and rewatch it 🤩

Little Women

Ah this film was so great. I loved Little Women when I was younger, but I couldn’t quite remember the plot or characters properly. This adaptation was a great plunge back into the Little Women world.

The standout performance for me was Florence Pugh, who I am so pleased has been recognised with an Oscar nom. Her version of Amy made me realise how ‘Amy’ I am (I always wanted to be Jo when I was growing up) and the interplay between her and Saoirse Ronan (who was inevitably amazing as well) was electric.

For me, the film only got an 8/10 rather than anything more because of a couple of casting choices that I wasn’t completely sure on. First was Timothee Chalamet, who to me just looked like a teenage boy throughout, and I didn’t think he and Jo worked as a pair. The second was more minor but who cast SAUL GOODMAN from Breaking Bad as the dad? No way lol.

1917

1917 has had a lot of hype leading into Awards season, and I couldn’t wait to see it – even though its a war movie, and thats not typically my thing.

The reason I was so hyped to see it was due to a video that I saw that showed the amazingness that went into shooting this movie, and I couldn’t wait to see more!

Well, I wasn’t disappointed!

The film is shot as though its all one shot, and this is done exceptionally well. It makes the entire thing feel immersive, and you really go on a journey with the main characters from the get go.

The only thing that could’ve made this film better was more Benedict Cumberbatch 🤣

The Rhythm Section

This is the last time I go into a film without knowing ANYTHING about it. From the title alone, I thought this was something to do with music, and I was expecting some sort of upbeat movie, maybe about a high school band that triumphs against some low-level adversity.

Instead, the film opens in a dingy flat in Morocco, with a crazy looking Blake Lively doing something weird (tryna be vague to be as spoiler-free as possible).

This film was truly bad and I stand by my 2/10 score. The plot was bad, confused and completely improbable, and a genuine waste of time. The only mildly entertaining thing about this movie was the array of absolutely terrible wigs that Blake Lively was forced to wear 🤣

Birds of Prey

I had semi-high hopes for this movie, having enjoyed Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn before. Unfortunately, aside from Margot Robbie’s characterisation, the film fell flat for me:

Parasite

A very well-deserved win at the Oscars. No matter what The Orange One might think.

I feel very lucky that I had no idea about what the plot of Parasite was before I watched it, and I feel like this is the premium way to experience it. So I won’t be sharing any details of the plot here just in case someone hasn’t seen it yet.

All I will I say is that it is incredibly gripping, funny, sad and a thought-provoking reflection on a society where different classes of people must exist in the same space and how they survive.

Special shout-outs to the acting, the music and the production design.

The Invisible Man

I unexpectedly really enjoyed this movie – the last movie I watched before the pandemic shut down all the cinemas 😢

Elisabeth Moss continues to impress me with her acting range – I genuinely feel like she is severely underrated as an actress – and her performance really carried this entire movie, a good thing seeing as she was onscreen about 99% of the time acting against AN INVISIBLE MAN!

The film also managed to pack a lot of suspense and shocks into it, without coming across as obvious or tacky.

The only reason it gets a 7/10 is because I think the film could have really benefitted from more from the Invisible Man’s perspective – I wanted to *see* him outside of other people’s gazes so we could understand more about him.

However, if I would have known this was the last time I’d be in a cinema for a while, I probably wouldn’t have been so nitpicky 🤣

See

See is a sci-fi drama on Apple TV, that hooked me in from its first 5 minutes!

Aside from its thoughtful and expansive world-building chops, it showcased some really good performances. I particularly loved Sylvia Houeks as Queen Kane 😍

You also can’t go wrong with a bit of Jason Momoa..!

By Yael

Hi, I'm Yael - pronounced Yah-Elle! Born in Brazil, live in North London, but my heart belongs anywhere tropical! I own a tiny stationery company called Little Goat Supplies, and I spend all my spare time dreaming of prints and colours! My other loves include eating good steaks, tasting rum cocktails and finding good skincare products!

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