My 2020 Movie Year

At the beginning of 2020, I made a resolution to be more active in my viewing habits. No more letting SportsCenter play on loop or half watching a cable movie when I could instead watch it without interruptions or editing. My wife was pregnant at the time, resting a lot, and I found myself with time alone as I stood by, anticipating any ache or need. And so, I watched 39 movies in January 2020, focusing on prestige dramas from recent years that I had unintentionally missed. Along the way, a pandemic forced us to self isolate and so I leaned into my newfound habits. I picked up little movie projects for myself; ways to incorporate my time on the couch into pieces for Whisky Advocate. And so, I consumed a lot of Tarantino and Baumbach. I went back and watched all of the Piece Brosnan Bond flicks (cheesy but fun) and most of the Sean Connery ones (problematic but inspired).

In total, I watched 235 movies, no month ever topping that initial January rush. It has been comforting at times, to dedicate myself back towards this pursuit. I have a hard time unplugging from the news or forgetting what ever atrocity has most recently occurred and these movies not only took me to different places and times, they caused me to feel something other than pure anxiety and dread. I’d find myself considering Cloud Atlas or Tenet, reading responses to them, sometimes discussing them with friends.

I’m taking this resolution into 2021, and thus far, I’ve watched 14 movies in 9 days, some of which are for new projects I’ve created for myself. I am posting my 2020 movie diary here as a document to this past year mostly spent indoors. Bold indicates a repeat viewing. ^ indicates it was nominated for Best Picture, ^^ indicates that it won.

2020: A Movie Diary

Jan. 1: Hell or High Water (2017)^, Lady Bird (2017)^, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Jan. 2: Creed 2 (2018), Long Shot (2019)

Jan. 3: The Report (2019)

Jan. 4: Short Term 12 (2013), Frances Ha (2012), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)*

Jan. 5: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Jan. 6: Dunkirk (2017)^

Jan. 7: Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Jan. 8: Phantom Thread (2017)^

Jan. 9: 1917 (2019)*^

Jan. 10: 

Jan. 11: The Disaster Artist (2017), The Lion King (2019), Plus One (2019)

Jan. 12: I, Tonya (2017), Captain Fantastic (2016), Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Jan. 13: I Lost My Body (2019)

Jan. 14:

Jan. 15: The Shape of Water (2017)^^

Jan. 16:

Jan. 17: Parasite (2019)^^

Jan. 18: Missing Link (2019), Ex Machina (2015)

Jan. 19:

Jan. 20: Enemy (2013), Toy Story 4 (2019), The Souvenir (2019), The Gentlemen (2020)*

Jan. 21: 

Jan. 22: Venom (2018)

Jan. 23:

Jan. 24: Moonlight (2016)^^, If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Jan. 25: mid90s (2018), Manchester by the Sea (2016)^

Jan. 26: Bad Boy For Life (2020)*

Jan. 27: First Reformed (2018)

Jan. 28: Looper (2012)

Jan. 29: Room (2015)^

Jan. 30: Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Jan. 31:

Feb. 1: Magnolia (1999), mother! (2017)

Feb. 2:

Feb. 3:

Feb. 4:

Feb. 5:

Feb. 6:

Feb. 7: Jojo Rabbit (2019)^

Feb. 8:

Feb. 9: Punch Drunk Love (2002), Green Book (2018)^^, Honey Boy (2019)

Feb. 10: 

Feb. 11: 

Feb. 12: The Farewell (2019) 

Feb. 13: Murder Mystery (2019) 

Feb. 14: 

Feb. 15: Where’d You Go, Bernadette (2019), Gosford Park (2001)

Feb. 16: In Bruges (2008)

Feb. 17: King of New York (1990)

Feb. 18:

Feb. 19: 

Feb. 20: Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Feb. 21: 

Feb. 22: Under the Silver Lake (2019)

Feb. 23:

Feb. 24:

Feb. 25

Feb. 26: Den of Thieves (2018)

Feb. 27:

Feb. 28:

Feb. 29: 

Mar. 1: Haywire (2012), Match Point (2005)

Mar. 2: 

Mar. 3: Hard Eight (1996)

Mar. 4:

Mar. 5:

Mar. 6:

Mar. 7: Spencer Confidential (2020)

Mar. 8: The Gift (2015), Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Mar. 9: 

Mar. 10:

Mar. 11

Mar. 12: Frozen 2 (2019)

Mar. 13:

Mar. 14: Quantum of Solace (2008), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), Joker (2019)

Mar. 15: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Mar. 16: The End of the Tour (2015)

Mar. 17: 

Mar. 18:

Mar. 19: Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

Mar. 20: 

Mar. 21: Inglourious Basterds (2009) 

Mar. 22:

Mar. 23:

Mar. 24:

Mar. 25:

Mar. 26:

Mar. 27:

Mar. 28:

Mar. 29:

Mar. 30:

Mar. 31:

April 1:

April 2:

April 3: Onward (2020)

April 4: Good Boys (2019)

April 5: Doctor Sleep (2019)

April 6: 

April 7:

April 8:

April 9:

April 10:

April 11:

April 12: Out of Sight (1998), Raising Arizona (1987), Swingers (1996)

April 13: 

April 14:  

April 15:

April 16:

April 17: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2020)

April 18: Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (2019)^, Stuber (2019)

April 19: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), The Lighthouse (2019)

April 20: 

April 21: 

April 22:

April 23:

April 24: Men in Black: International (2019)

April 25: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

April 26: Interstellar (2014), Pain and Glory (2019)

April 27: 

April 28:

April 29:

April 30:

May 1:

May 2: Blackkklansman (2018)^, Michael Clayton (2007)^

May 3:

May 4:

May 5: Dog Days (2018)

May 6: 

May 7: Extraction (2020)

May 8: Unstoppable (2010), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)^

May 9: Serpico (1973), Django Unchained (2012)^

May 10: Contagion (2011)

May 11:

May 12: Pulp Fiction (1994)^

May 13: Zombieland: Double Tap (2019), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend (2020)

May 14: The Hustle (2019)

May 15: Greenberg (2010)

May 16: The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

May 17: Casino (1995), The Squid and the Whale (2005)

May 18: Taxi Driver (1976)^, The Virgin Suicides (1999)

May 19:

May 20:

May 21: Children of Men (2006), Snatch (2000)

May 22: The Lovebirds (2020), Being John Malkovich (1999)

May 23: Capote (2005)^

May 24: Mississippi Grind (2015)

May 25: Rocketman (2019)

May 26: Death Proof (2007) 

May 27: 1917 (2019)^, Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

May 28: Big Time Adolescence (2020)

May 29:

May 30: While We’re Young (2014)

May 31: She’s Gotta Have It (1986), School Daze (1988)

June 1: Sherlock Holmes (2009)

June 2: Kicking and Screaming (1995), Uncut Gems (2019)

June 3: Inside Man (2006)

June 4:

June 5: Just Mercy (2019)

June 6: Malcolm X (1992), Margot at the Wedding (2007), Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011)

June 7: Ready or Not (2019), The Bling Ring (2013)

June 8:

June 9: RocknRolla (2008)

June 10:

June 11: Highball (1997)

June 12: Half Nelson (2006), Knives Out (2019)

June 13: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

June 14: It’s Kind of a Funny Story (2010), Da 5 Bloods (2020)

June 15: Aladdin (2019)

June 16: Network (1976), Her Smell (2019)

June 17: Killing Them Softly (2012)

June 18: Away We Go (2009)

June 19: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)^

June 20: Ford v Ferrari (2019)^

June 21: Cape Fear (1991)

June 22:

June 23: 

June 24: Snake Eyes (1998)

June 25: Charlie’s Angels (2019)

June 26: Silence of the Lambs (1991)^^

June 27: Blood Simple (1984), Ricochet (1991)

June 28:

June 29: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

June 30:

July 1:

July 2: Searching (2018)

July 3: Hamilton (2020)

July 4:

July 5:

July 6:

July 7:

July 8:

July 9:

July 10: Palm Springs (2020)

July 11: The Old Guard (2020)

July 12:

July 13:

July 14: Defiance (2008), Desperados (2020)

July 15: Last Christmas (2019)

July 16:

July 17:

July 18: Mean Streets (1973), Revolver (2005)

July 19:

July 20:

July 21: True Grit (2010)^

July 22:

July 23:

July 24: The Assistant (2019)

July 25:

July 26:

July 27: Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010)

July 28:

July 29:

July 30:

July 31: Little Women (2019)^

Aug. 1: 

Aug. 2: 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Clear History (2013)

Aug. 3:

Aug. 4: After Hours (1985)

Aug. 5:

Aug. 6: Bad Grandpa (2003)

Aug. 7: An American Pickle (2020)

Aug. 8:

Aug. 9:

Aug. 10: Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979), Layer Cake (2004)

Aug. 11:

Aug. 12: Richard Jewell (2019)

Aug. 13: Mr. Jealousy (1997)

Aug. 14:

Aug. 15: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Aug. 16: Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Aug. 17:

Aug. 18: GoldenEye (1995)

Aug. 19:

Aug. 20: The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Aug. 21: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Aug. 22: Die Another Day (2002), The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Aug. 23:

Aug. 24:

Aug. 25: Waves (2019)

Aug. 26:

Aug. 27: Birds of Prey: Harley Quinn (2020)

Aug. 28:

Aug. 29: Project Power (2020)

Aug. 30:

Aug. 31: Beats, Rhymes, and Life (2011)

Sept. 1:

Sept. 2:

Sept. 3:

Sept. 4:

Sept. 5: Insomnia (2002), Dog Day Afternoon (1975)^

Sept. 6:

Sept. 7:

Sept. 8:

Sept. 9:

Sept. 10: Spectre (2015), 

Sept. 11: Somewhere (2010)

Sept. 12: I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020), 21 Bridges (2019)

Sept. 13:

Sept. 14:

Sept. 15:

Sept. 16:

Sept. 17:

Sept. 18:

Sept. 19:

Sept. 20:

Sept. 21:

Sept. 22:

Sept. 23:

Sept. 24:

Sept. 25:

Sept. 26:

Sept. 27:

Sept: 28: Schindler’s List (1992)^^, Munich (2005)^

Sept. 29:

Sept. 30: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Oct. 1:

Oct. 2:

Oct. 3:

Oct: 4

Oct. 5:

Oct. 6: The Way Back (2020)

Oct. 7: Isle of Dogs (2018)

Oct. 8:

Oct. 9:

Oct. 10: Enola Holmes (2020) 

Oct. 11: 

Oct. 12:

Oct. 13: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Oct. 14: Hubie Halloween (2020)

Oct. 15:

Oct. 16:

Oct. 17: Bill and Ted: Face the Music (2020), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Oct. 18:

Oct. 19:

Oct. 20:

Oct. 21:

Oct. 22:

Oct. 23: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020), Molly’s Game (2017)

Oct. 24:

Oct. 25:

Oct. 26:

Oct. 27: A Very Murray Christmas (2015)

Oct. 28:

Oct. 29: In the Name of the Father (1993)^

Oct. 30:

Oct. 31:

Nov. 1:

Nov. 2:

Nov. 3:

Nov. 4: From Russia With Love (1963), Marie Antoinette (2006)

Nov. 5:

Nov. 6:

Nov. 8:

Nov. 9:

Nov. 10: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)

Nov. 11:

Nov. 12: Se7en (1995)

Nov. 13:

Nov. 14:

Nov. 15:

Nov. 16:

Nov. 17:

Nov. 18:

Nov. 19:

Nov. 20:

Nov. 21:

Nov. 22:

Nov. 23: Gemini Man (2019)

Nov. 24: Thunderball (1965)

Nov. 25:

Nov. 26: Happiest Season (2020)

Nov. 27:

Nov. 28: Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Nov. 29: You Only Live Twice (1967)

Nov. 30: Hillbilly Elegy (2020), Diamonds are Forever (1971)

Dec. 1: Nightcrawler (2014)

Dec. 2: 

Dec. 3: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)^^, Peppermint (2018), Rushmore (1998)

Dec. 4: The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Dec. 5: Mank (2020), Godmothered (2020), Office Christmas Party (2016)

Dec. 6:

Dec. 7:

Dec. 8: Wonder Woman (2017), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Dec. 9:

Dec. 10:

Dec. 11:

Dec. 12: Cloud Atlas (2012)

Dec. 13: 

Dec. 14:

Dec. 15: City of God (2002)

Dec. 16: Live and Let Die (1973)

Dec. 17: 

Dec. 18:

Dec. 19:

Dec. 20:

Dec. 21:

Dec. 22: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020), The Invisible Man (2020)

Dec. 23:

Dec. 24: Steve Jobs (2015), The Dead Don’t Die (2019)

Dec. 25: Moneyball (2011)^, Soul (2020)

Dec. 26: The Sisters Brothers (2018), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Dec. 27:

Dec. 28: Guest House (2020)

Dec. 29: Tenet (2020)

Dec. 30:

Dec. 31: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)