Book Rankings 2020

Now for something a little different... a complete ranking of the 49 books I read for the first time this year (did not include 3 old favorites I re-read).  

The Top Ten!
01. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
02. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
03. Columbine by Dave Cullen
04. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
05. The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson
06. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
07. Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
08. Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
09. Anna K by Jenny Lee
10. Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

So Good, So Good!
11. Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime and Obsession by Rachel Monroe
12. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 
13. Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson 
14. Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
15. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
16. Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
17. The Searcher by Tana French
18. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo 
19. Heavy by Kiese Laymon
20. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
21. Death In Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

Would Recommend
22. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
23. Foe by Iain Reid 
24. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
25. Thin Girls by Diana Clarke
26. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
27. Curious Toys by Elizabeth Hand
28. Act Like a Lady by Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin, Jac Vanek
29. Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar
30. Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
31. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
32. Malorie by Josh Malerman
33. The Last Book on the Left by Ben Kissel et. al. 
34. Movies (and Other Things) by Shea Serrano

A Mixed Bag
35. Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land
36. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
37. The Herd by Andrea Bartz
38. The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz
39. The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante 
40. The Furies by Katie Lowe
41. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Film That Terrified a Rattled Nation by Joseph Lanza
42. Let's Go Play at the Adams' by Mendal W. Johnson 
43. Chase Darkness With Me by Billy Jensen
44. Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky 

Stay Far Away!
45. Violet by Scott Thomas
46. The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
47. Tangerine by Christine Mangan
48. Party Girls Die in Pearls by Plum Sykes
49. Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan 

Complete List of Grades 2020

 Alphabetical, by grade...

A+

A

A-
Black Bear
Possessor

B+
Babyteeth
Emma.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Saint Frances

B
The Assistant
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
Swallow
True History of the Kelly Gang
The Way Back

B-
The High Note
The Lodge
Underwater

C+
First Cow
The Invisible Man
Showbiz Kids
Valley Girl
Yes, God, Yes

C
The Hunt
The Photograph

C-
Fear PHarm
How to Build a Girl
The Wretched
You Should Have Left

D+
Downhill
The Gentlemen
The King of Staten Island

D
Guns Akimbo
The Rhythm Section 

D-
The Turning

F
Birds of Prey
Fantasy Island

Top Ten Films of 2020

10. True History of the Kelly Gang
Starring - George MacKay, Essie Davis, Nicholas Hoult, Charlie Hunnam, Russell Crowe
Director - Justin Kurzel 
With sweeping, stunning visuals and a story about Australia's legendary rebel, True History of the Kelly Gang is a brutal, yet beautiful film.  It has a feel of anarchy surrounding it, and though it is a bit cliché from time to time, the gorgeous filmmaking and killer performances elevate it to something truly worthy of praise.  George MacKay (who broke out in a big way in 1917) carries the entire film on his back, giving a master class in acting.  Essie Davis is impressive (in one of two great performances this year), and Nicholas Hoult manages to somehow always be entertaining (and sexy!).  Violent, beautiful, sexy!  

09. The Assistant
Starring - Julia Garner
Director - Kitty Green
The plot may sound boring.  Let's follow around a pretty, young assistant.  We will watch her leave her house in the morning and watch her make coffee and watch her reheat food in the microwave.  But there is something lurking in the corners of this #metoo era movie.  It's subtle uneasiness that becomes more and more palpable as the movie goes on.  There are hints and rumors and whispered gossip... kind of like what these situations would be like in real life.  It's a quiet movie, but an important one. 

08. The Way Back
Starring - Ben Affleck
Director - Gavin O'Connor
Stop me if you think you've heard this one before - down on his luck, alcoholic, one time golden boy becomes unlikely mentor for struggling teenage sports team with one kid that could be a star, with a little luck and the right coach.  Yes, we've seen movies like The Way Back before, but we haven't seen a performance like the one Affleck gives.  It's real and it's raw and it hurts so much.  O'Connor elevates the material as well (what more do you expect from the guy that gave us the very Shakespearian Warrior?).  This could have been another cliché sports movie, another story of a drunken mess of a man, but it manages to find a new way to tell a familiar story.

07. Swallow
Starring - Haley Bennett, Austin Stowell, Elizabeth Marvel, Denis O'Hare
Director - Carlo Mirabella-Davis
Hunter has it all.  She has a successful, nice guy husband, a gorgeous new house, and a baby on the way.  Her life looks perfect (sort of your like your picture perfect Instagram friends).  But then she develops a disorder where she starts to eat inedible things - batteries, thumb tacks, you name it.  You can't take your eyes off of Bennett in this tale of a woman's struggle to gain control of her life.  It feels like a spiritual sequel to Rosemary's Baby.  

06. Emma. 
Starring - Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Mia Goth, Bill Nighy 
Director - Autumn de Wilde 
We've all seen Gwyneth Paltrow's turn as Emma in the 90s, and we've all seen Clueless which famously updated the story to make it SO VERY 90s, but this latest version of Emma is the feel good romance we didn't know we needed in this dreadful year.  It's colorful, it's fun, it feels fresh and modern.  It's beautiful to look at (those costumes are exquisite) and every character is cast perfectly.  It's comforting and charming and an absolute delight. 

05. Babyteeth 
Starring - Eliza Scanlen, Toby Wallace, Essie Davis, Ben Mendelsohn 
Director - Shannon Murphy
A simple love story about a dying teenage girl who falls in love with a boy her parents don't approve of (he is older, and a drug dealer, after all).  This movie is an emotional roller coaster that knocks you off your feet.  The performances are top notch and every moment feels weighted with such a heavy amount of raw sadness.  I could watch these actors play these roles forever. 

04. Saint Frances
Starring - Kelly O'Sullivan, Charin Alvarez, Ramona Edith Williams
Director - Alex Thompson 
Imagine if Hannah from Girls was actually not a completely terrible person and we wanted to root for her to get a happy ending?  O'Sullivan (who also wrote the script) plays a woman who makes a lot of really terrible decisions who ends up taking a job as a nanny to a 6 year old while her lesbian parents struggle with their relationship, post partum depression, their careers and a newborn.  Of course, O'Sullivan's Bridget starts off making every mistake you can imagine, but soon bonds with Frances (and one of her moms).  It's a movie that will have you smiling ear from ear.  Everyone in the movie is so likable, and you really want them all to have a happy ending.  For me, it's the feel good movie of the year.  And kudos, for talking about so many things concerning women that movies usually shy away from.  More movies like Saint Frances, please! 

03. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Starring - Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder
Director - Eliza Hittman 
I watched this movie months and months ago, but it's so quietly powerful that it has stayed with me throughout the year.  The story is simple - a 17 year old girl with an unwanted pregnancy travels with her cousin from rural Pennsylvania (shout out Shamokin!) to New York City to get an abortion.  That's it, that's the plot.  Nothing exciting happens.  There are no big plot twists or reveals.  This is just a very good movie, about a very real situation, with very great performances.  

02. Possessor 
Starring - Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Bean
Director - Brandon Cronenberg 
You know I'm excited that this is one of the most bleak movies of the year!  Possessor is a wild ride and a movie that is certainly not for everyone.  It follows Riseborough as an assassin who enters the mind of an unsuspecting host in order to kill someone close to them.  Her newest host is Abbott's Colin, who starts to struggle for control of his body, when he has to kill his girlfriend and her powerful father.  The plot alone is powerful, but Cronenberg (son of David, obviously!) manages to make this a visceral (violent, and very bloody) experience that is powerful to watch.  The performances are killer (this is one of two great performances from Abbott, who may be one of my new favorite actors) and that ending?  The best of the year. 

01. Black Bear
Starring - Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon
Director - Lawrence Michael Levine
First of all, I want to have sex with all three of the stars of this movie.  Second of all, I didn't know Aubrey Plaza had this sort of performance in her.  Third of all, as soon as I finished watching this mind fuck of a movie, I wanted to watch it again.  It's sexy and it's funny and it's ambitious and it's artistic and it's intriguing and it's just damn good.

Top Ten Best Performances of 2020

10. Julia Garner as Jane in The Assistant - The Assistant is not an exciting movie.  In fact, not much explicably happens as we follow Garner's put upon assistant throughout a day in her life working for a Harvey Weinstein-esque producer in New York City.  Still, her performance is so taut and controlled, it steadies the movie into becoming compulsively watchable, especially when it's unsettling nature creeps up on you. 

09. Mia Goth as Harriet Smith in Emma. - I've seen Mia Goth in a few different projects now, and she always seems to play someone who is a little strange or a little weird.  I honestly wasn't expecting this kind of performance from her - so pure and innocent, and full of joy.  She inhabits the naivety, childlike wonder and hopeless romanticism of Harriet so perfectly. 

08. Ben Affleck as Jack in The Way Back - As an alcoholic construction worker reeling from a phenomenal personal loss, Affleck is utter, heartbreaking perfection as the messed up Jack.  It's a performance that is so engrossing and so simply outstanding, that it often elevates the story, which is sort of formulaic, but with Affleck at the center, is never boring. 

07. Eliza Scanlen as Milla in Babyteeth - As far as I'm concerned, Scanlen is going to be a huge star.  How someone can go from playing evil Amma in Sharp Objects to sweet Beth in Little Women is beyond me, but now add in this layered and powerful performance as a dying teenager falling in love for the first time, and you are left with someone whose future is very bright.  I read a review where they referred to the movie as "delicate, but never precious" and I think that is an apt description of Scanlen's powerful performance as well.  

06. Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma in Emma. - Taylor-Joy has always seemed like she is of another time or place, so transferring her back to the time of Jane Austen seems like a perfect decision... and it is.  Though we've seen it before, this version of Emma seems absolutely modern, and Taylor-Joy is perfect as the haughty, tunnel vision matchmaker.  She is funny and clever and you just can't take your eyes off of her. 

05. Hayley Bennett as Hunter in Swallow - In a movie that feels like a spiritual successor to Rosemary's Baby, Bennett slays as Hunter, a newly married woman who starts eating inedible things.  Swallow may not sound like a good movie, but it happens to be an unsettling slow burn of a film, with Bennett further making a case for herself as one of the most exciting working actresses today.  

04. Elisabeth Moss as Cecelia in The Invisible Man - **Sigh**  Maybe one day Elisabeth Moss will find a movie that is as good as she is.  Because right now, her talent far outweighs any movie project she has ever been involved with.  She has a knack for choosing great TV roles on great TV shows (Mad Men, Top of the Lake, Handmaid's Tale), but the movies she has been in are below par.  However, she is always great in them, and that is the case here as well.  I found The Invisible Man to be merely average, but Moss is stunning, as usual.  If you want evidence, you only need to watch the first 10 minutes where she wordlessly escapes from an abusive relationship in the dead of night.  She is terrified but determined and resilient.  It's utter perfection.  

03. George MacKay as Ned Kelly in True History of the Kelly Gang - Remember when Marcia Gay Harden invented acting in The Mist?  Watching MacKay carry this movie on his back and act circles around everyone and be simultaneously sensitive and violent, brooding and emotive is sort of like that.  

02. Sidney Flanigan as Autumn in Never Rarely Sometimes Always - This is a movie and a performance that I keep coming back to.  I just can't get either out of my head.  As a 17 year old from rural Pennsylvania with an unwanted pregnancy, this slow and subtle movie follows Flanigan as she travels to New York City to get an abortion.  Her performance is so powerful, made even more so by how small it is.  There are no big emotional outbursts, no yelling, no screaming, no "meaty" actor scenes.  In fact, the most powerful scene is when Autumn has to answer a questionnaire administered by a clerk at the clinic.  The camera never leaves her face as she is asked progressively more excruciatingly intimate questions that she has to answer with either "never," "rarely," "sometimes," or "always."  It's one of the quietest scenes of the year, and one of the most unforgettable. 

01. Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon as Alison, Gabe and Blair in Black Bear - All the passive aggression and aggressive aggression, the bizarre love triangle argumentative spirit, the subtle sexiness, the manipulation and, just, general mind fuckery.  This trio gets all the mind blown, fire emojis.  

Worst Films 2020

2020 was a trash year, and had plenty of terrible films to match. 

 05. Guns Akimbo - What if we cast the kid from Harry Potter to play a computer nerd who finds himself inexplicably thrust into a violent online game turned real life battle in which he INEXPLICABLY has guns attached to his hands? Yes, this sounds like a fake movie. No, not once do they play Twenty One Pilots "Guns for Hands". I feel like maybe this could have been a really fun bad movie, if everyone involved realized they were making a bad movie. But there is a certain air of, "Oh, we are making a great movie here" vibes, which makes it a bad movie that isn't even fun. 

 04. The Rhythm Section - What if Serena from Gossip Girl had a really bad British accent and randomly decided to stop using heroin and train to be an assassin to avenge the death of her family in a plane crash that wasn't an accident because (enter convoluted plot here)? On the plus side, there is a really cool car chase scene near the end. On the bad side, literally everything else. 

 03. The Turning - What if we ripped off one of the greatest ghost stories ever written and cast that kid from Stranger Things in it? In, what I guess is supposed to be an homage to The Turn of the Screw, I'm way too good for this movie Mackenzie Davis plays a woman who becomes a live in governess to two children - one precocious and adorable and one freshly kicked out of boarding school (Finn Wolfhard, the aforementioned Stranger Things kid). Of course, lots of things that are supposed to be creepy happen, but none of them are really creepy at all. And, also, the end is just terrible. 

 02. Fantasy Island - What if we took a TV show no one under the age of 40 remembers but markets it as a horror movie for millennials? A group of contest winners go to a, ahem, fantasy island, where they are promised their greatest dreams can come true. Although, spoiler alert, the dreams become nightmares real quick. Lucy Hale is the biggest star in this movie, so that has to tell you something. On the plus side - Maggie Q wears a killer casual dress that I still think about on the regular. 

 01. Birds of Prey - What if we absolutely waste the talent of Margot Robbie by making this character completely annoying and unlikable? Harley Quinn was one of the better things about the abysmal Suicide Squad, a movie that was bad, but made money, so of course there has to be sequels and spin offs. Harley Quinn in a solo movie? Not so great. It's all style and no substance, with a quality that feels stitched together instead of cohesive. Sure, some of the individual scenes are kind of cool, but you can't make a good movie out of that. It felt very American Horror Story to me, in the sense that they always start off with one idea and then sort of throw anything and everything they can think of into a season until it's all just too much and none of it makes sense and it becomes a huge, annoying mess in the end.