It’s time for our annual Christmas/New Year special, when we look back at the films released over the course of the year. Although of course things are slightly different this time around, since so few movies actually made it to the cinema. Still, it’s a chance for us to recall some of the good (and very very bad) films we’ve watched on streaming, as well as to talk for absolutely ages about the state of the Star Wars universe. And as Ian says at the end, please buy his wife’s book!
New Year Special: 2020 in Review
101 Films You Should Have Seen 
I’m one of those people who neither loves nor hates Last Jedi. It’s just slightly more interesting than the reheated mediocrity of Force Awakens. Rogue One is the one Disney Star Wars movie I actually like, actually ranking as my 3rd favorite in the franchise overall. It’s the first one that really counts as a “war movie”, even while they all have “Wars” in the title and it’s about a military conflict. I still haven’t seen Rise of Skywalker or Solo. I just didn’t feel the need to see either in theaters, and the former at least doesn’t seem to be available to rent on DVD.
The Conjuring has stumbled into a successful “cinematic universe”, even if it’s much lower profile and entirely reliant on jump-scares.
I didn’t think Neil Marshall’s Hellboy was nearly as bad as people said, but it’s also not especially good. The bloated mythology aspect weighs down the fun horror angle. I should note that I was never a fan of Del Toro’s Hellboy, and in fact I only saw part of the first film before I just got annoyed with it and stopped watching.
Since you mentioned both Parasite & Joker, I’ll link Robin Hanson’s comparison of the two films and their respective reactions from critics. I don’t think Joker is actually the same plot as Taxi Driver, because Travis Bickle isn’t really mistreated by anyone. Joker was very much an imitation of early Scorsese in the guise of a comic book movie, and since there aren’t enough adult dramas around these days I was happy to get it.
First Class was overrated and saddled the series with Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique as Xavier’s adopted sister(!) for some reason, even as she clearly wanted nothing to do with the franchise she was contractually bound to. Days of Future Past was better, blending together the earlier cast/timeline of X-Men with the new one in a classic storyline from the comics.
I hated Rian Johnson’s Brick, disliked Looper, was indifferent to Last Jedi, and the monotonic progression continued with his one genuinely good movie in Knives Out. Here’s hoping that streak continues, and he makes something great.