Newsman’s Best of 2020: Movies, Music, & TV

Illustration by Eric Lechpammer.

Movies

Soul (Eric Lechpammer)

Pixar creates yet another wonderfully weird and nostalgically sentimental animated adventure with Soul. Soul follows the life of Joe Gardner (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle school jazz band teacher and struggling pianist who receives the opportunity to perform alongside a celebrated musician. His journey takes an unexpected turn after falling down a manhole to arrive at “The Great Before,” a theoretical realm where souls are shaped before being born on Earth. Here he runs into the rambunctious 22 (voiced by Tina Fey), a soul who initially refuses to be born. As Joe struggles to get back to his Earth body in time for his performance, 22 reluctantly tags along. What ensues is an endearing, emotional, and humorous journey encompassing the path to discovery of one’s passion, and the meaning of life’s purpose. In addition to the heartwarming and clever writing, the film’s impact is supplemented by the phenomenal animation and astounding jazz score. All of these qualities and more make Soul worthy to sit among the Pixar hall of animated classics. 

I Am Greta (Finn Scully)

I Am Greta is a documentary directed by Nathan Grossman, which follows Greta Thunberg as she and millions of other students push for environmental change. The progression of the film is the key element that makes this movie great to watch. It starts with Greta sitting alone for days outside the Swedish parliament, protesting the way that they have been handling the environmental crisis. The story then develops as Greta’s mission gains momentum, showing how she and her family react to all this attention. The filmmaking is relatively low tech, with mostly iPhone and GoPro as the sources of footage. The emotions and feelings that we see in Greta throughout the film make the audience continue watching. Many films are interesting for viewers because of how the characters in the films develop, but I would argue that for this film, the most interesting part is how little Greta changes. The core of who she is unaffected by either the admiration or the hatred she receives from people. No matter how famous Greta becomes, she always puts the environmental movement ahead of herself, despite the many personal challenges that she feels as a champion for what she sees as an urgent and upsetting environmental situation.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Lauren Detmold)

This film is yet another daring endeavor by Sacha Baron Cohen. It provides a hilarious take on parts of American society, and the lengths that Baron Cohen goes to get parts of the film shot, make the situations even more clear. The fact that none of the interviews and rallies were staged makes us see even more about our society. While this film does look at the Covid Pandemic, it manages to add a humorous aspect to that. I was recommended this by a friend and would recommend this strongly to others as well. 

Albums

Blu & Exile - Miles (Eric Lechpammer)

Amounting to twenty tracks, the hip-hop odyssey Miles by California rapper and producer duo Blu & Exile achieves a rare accomplishment of remaining vibrant, passionate, and entertaining the entire way through its nearly 100-minute duration – and thrives because of it. The album is guided by captivating rap verses from Blu (Johnson Barnes III), where he meditates on his lifelong love of music, his African-American heritage, the hardships which he faced growing up in impoverished neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and his career struggles caused by the music industry. The pristine jazz-influenced production (the album title itself being an homage to legendary jazz musician Miles Davis) from producer Exile (Aleksander Manfredi) keeps the album feeling fresh and exciting with each track and serves as a perfect platform for Blu to expand upon these topics, creating a perfect blend of sonic variety and thematic cohesion. All together, Miles serves as an excellent, detailed reflection of life’s most sentimental moments, from honoring those before us to facing the future with confidence. 

The Strokes - The New Abnormal (Eric Lechpammer)

After a series of critically divisive releases following up some stellar break-out records, New York City-based rock quintet The Strokes return with a series of timely, oddly nostalgic tunes on The New Abnormal. Something about The New Abnormal embraces the ethos of 2020 as a whole, as if taking the world’s emotional exhaustion and expressing those downcast emotions in a series of low-tempo alternative jams. That isn’t to say that the album isn’t interesting. Long-time fans of the group will appreciate tracks like The Adults are Talking and Bad Decisions, which hearken back to the band’s early releases. Julian Casablancas and company show that they aren’t afraid to take risks on cuts like At The Door, which rides on a mesmerizing, somewhat ominous synth-driven melody, or the cathartic outro Ode to the Mets. To put it plainly, The New Abnormal hits hard with its relatable, nostalgic sentiment, and may unexpectedly leave a melody or guitar groove stuck in your head long after your first listen.

TV Shows

The Mandalorian Season 2 (Eric Lechpammer)

In 2019, Disney gifted both die-hard and casual Star Wars fans alike with the critically acclaimed first season of The Mandalorian. The introduction of brand new characters and plot points centered around the titular masked renegade and internet-favorite “Baby Yoda” set in familiar Star Wars settings gave the series a certain freshness and charm, which had arguably been absent from the sequel trilogy of films. Season two expands upon the foundations set from season one, as we explore the development of the two central characters as they face monstrous creatures, flee the sinister Galactic Empire, and uncover more of each other’s pasts. Additionally, all-time fan-favorite characters come to center stage, and serve as the subjects for some earth-shattering plot twists – of which there are many. The masterfully crafted story is complimented by equally astounding sets and cinematography, which firmly plant the viewer in the fantastical world, whether it be through rolling desert planet dunes or imperial army fortresses. Season two is an overall astonishing experience that I thoroughly recommend to any fan of sci-fi and storytelling. 

Das Boat Season 2 (Paul Simko)

The six-episode, second season of MeatEater’s official fishing series premiered in late 2020 and was released fully before the end of the year. Released, that is, on YouTube, to be clear. Although perhaps a bit niche, the content is enjoyable universally, whether an old, salty fisherman or somebody mildly interested in outdoor pursuits. The premise was the same as season one: an old fishing boat with little more to offer than buoyancy and memories is revitalized as it is passed between anglers, each taking the boat to new places to fish for different species in different ways. As it is passed from one set of fishermen to the next, each has a day to make any modifications they see fit. In this way, the boat is improved and adapts to the various conditions it is put through. Each episode follows a general process, starting in a garage where craftsmanship is applied to the boat. Then follows the fishing, where viewers are treated to interesting and exciting scenes of knowledge and prowess exhibited in different skill sets, almost always resulting in catches that put fish in the boat and hence meat on the table. Each leg of the journey caps off with the boat trading hands, and most often, a fish fry preceding. Those interested in fishing will find all the elements of a good fishing trip present in each episode. A vessel tailored to the needs of the angler, wetted lines and often screaming reels, fishing stories throughout, and the pop and sizzle of fillets in hot oil. Settle in and enjoy the journey as Das Boat takes you to new places for new fishes, a journey that, while improvised and at times accordingly sketchy, is heartily satisfying and congenial in its way of covering all the points of a good fishing trip while being new and exciting.

Queen's Gambit (Lauren Detmold)

I watched this late last year and was immediately impressed by how the show brought chess into a perspective that allowed broader audiences to understand it, while also not significantly simplifying it. This series portrays a young chess prodigy, Beth Harmon(Anya Taylor-Joy), who learns chess from the janitor at the orphanage where she lives. Throughout the series, we see the effect that chess has on Harmon and the people around her. This series has already won many awards, including “Best Television Limited Series” and “Excellence in Period Television” for the impressive costuming in the show. As well, Taylor-Joy won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Limited Series.