Year 12 Wrap-up / Year 13 Preview

Well, Movie Year 12 has ended, regulation play concluded on Christmas Eve, and we're almost at the point where one year gives way to the next, and in many ways, other transitions are happening, too (or have just happened, or are expected to happen).  Fall gave way to winter, Orange Julius Caesar will give way to Joe Cool Biden (barring an overly-telegraphed and ill-advised coup attempt of some kind) and staying home for Christmas gives way to staying home on New Year's Eve.  And Entertainment Weekly's "Pandemic Binge TV Guide" is replaced by their "Entertainers of the Year" issue.  (Whaddaya know, one of their top entertainer picks also is tied for most appearances in my countdown - but more on that in a bit.)

Let's get the stats out of the way. I forgot to post the format totals for both November AND December, so here goes: 

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER: 

6 Movies watched on cable (saved to DVD): Under the Skin, The Perfect Score, One for the Money, Seraphim Falls, Bad Santa 2, Instant Family
1 Movies watched on cable (not saved): Jojo Rabbit
4 watched on Netflix: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas, Klaus, A Very Murray Christmas

1 watched on HBO MAX: Dead Man
12 TOTAL

FOR ALL OF 2020:

Cable (saved to DVD): 115
Cable (not saved): 52
Netflix: 47

Amazon Prime: 22
iTunes: 18

Hulu: 16

Academy screeners: 13

Tubi: 7

Disney+: 6

On a random site: 3

HBO MAX: 1
In theaters: 0
On commercial DVD: 0

YouTube: 0
300 TOTAL

My reliance on cable is remarkably consistent, those numbers are almost the same as last year's.  Netflix is down a bit, but Amazon Prime is up a bit, and my use of Academy screeners got cut almost in half, largely due to no longer working at the job where I had access to them.  Yep, that checks.  My use of Hulu is up, and Tubi and Disney Plus made a difference for the first time, sorry YouTube.  And I did not go to the theaters at ALL in 2020, largely because they've been closed since March.  Thankfully there were enough streaming services to pick up the slack and make my linking process possible. (These stats, by the way, just reflect where the films were available to me at the time of viewing, if a film was only available on Hulu when I watched it, and then later ran on cable and was dubbed to DVD, I kept the listing on Hulu, because going back to change the stats after the fact seemed like a form of madness.)

Honestly, I don't know what format changes may occur in 2021 - the industry is in a state of flux, as it were.  We still don't know when theaters will open, so some of 2020's movies, like "Mulan", "Wonder Woman 1984", and "Bill and Ted Face the Music" went straight to On Demand cable, iTunes, HBO Max and/or Disney Plus.  But most of this happened AFTER I drew up my schedule, and I re-arranged a full chain that I was happy with, so I'm just going to have to work in those films (plus "Tenet", "The New Mutants" and a host of others) into next year's schedule as best as I can.  My problems in not getting to see those films are really inconsequential when placed against the death toll in this country, so by no means am I complaining.  So far I've been relatively safe, mostly healthy and willing to give up time spent with others to remain in my bubble, except for three days a week at the office, and an occasional road trip upstate or to Long Island.  More time at home is fine, besides, they know me there. 

It wasn't just the Year of the Pandemic, it was the Year of Constant Re-scheduling, and the Year of Rebuilding My Chain Because Movie Theaters Continued to Not Re-open.  But hey, more time spent at home also meant more time researching cast lists so that I could find new paths when that happened.  And happened again.  Then by not being asked to return to one of my jobs, I lost my connection to a pile of Academy screeners, forcing me to work even harder to find new connections.  But I got it done, there was one constant, linked chain from my January 1 film ("Whale Rider") to my Dec. 24 film ("A Very Murray Christmas").  So there's that, in the middle of one very challenging, terrible, incredibly stressful year, one thing went very, very right, I had a "perfect" chain for the second year in a row.  So I had to rebuild my romance chain twice and my horror film chain three times, and rebuild the section in between six times - who's counting? 

More and more people were working at home, quarantined at home, and forced to cancel all kinds of social events, even holiday parties.  Millions of people became house-bound, and turned to binge-watching TV shows and catching up on movies to stay entertained.  Welcome to my world, everyone, I've been doing exactly that and being anti-social for over a decade now, so in staying home to try to remain healthy, I feel like maybe I had a leg up on everyone else.  But I'm afraid that obsessively linking 300 movies together by actor didn't become the hot new social trend that I'd hoped it would. 

I also had to try my best to keep my chain seasonally appropriate, beyond just Valentine's Day and Halloween-themed months.  I also had movies appropriate for Mother's Day, Father's Day, the Fourth of July and Back-to-school in September - and I managed to end the year with THREE Christmas movies.  OK, so I watched both "Cold Pursuit" and "Midsommar" in April, something had to give somewhere - but I did watch "The Good Liar" on April Fools Day.  I also took a pass on Easter this time, but managed to work in FOUR movies with Nazis and/or Adolf Hitler right around 4/20.  That took some real high-level linking.  

Let's also recall that for me it was The Year of the Weird Movie (even more so than usual), The Year I Finally Watched the Twilight Films, and The Year There Were Three Films Whose Title Began With "Once Upon a Time in..."  Yeah, that's a fairly odd coincidence - also there was an actor who appeared in two of those three movies.  

Now, normally I'd go into a lengthy breakdown of each category, complete with what I may have learned from each topic - BUT, I somehow find myself here, on December 30, with only two days left to complete my wrap-up.  So there's simply no time to analyze anything now, it's too late - how did this happen, with so much (allegedly) spare time on my hands?  Well, here's the thing - I lost three weeks to running a Kickstarter campaign, which was successful, so there's that.  After that, and getting my Christmas cards and holiday mix CDs mailed out, I had five days left until Christmas, and four Christmas movies to watch.  Christmas Day was then spent making a holiday lasagna, thereby starting a new family pandemic-forced tradition, plus also I was trying to finish the 2nd season of "Happy" before watching my Christmas movies.  A few days off to relax, and there goes my time to properly analyze the year.  

Also, a few days ago, I noticed some mistakes in my running tally of actor appearances - I'd short-changed Bob Dylan by one documentary, and after that I wasn't COMPLETELY sure that I'd caught all the actors who appeared in at least three films this year, so I devised a whole new way of tabulating them with a spreadsheet, and that took a couple days to put together, and then I compared it against the text-based list I'd been keeping all year, resolved any and all discrepancies between the two lists, and now I'm absolutely sure I got it right.  But now I'm three days closer to Jan. 1 than I was before, and still haven't started the full-year recap.  

So, bottom line, there's no time for a full recap.  All I think I can do is break those 300 films down into some basic categories and list them - and I have to be OK with that.  Anyway, I've already given up my thoughts on all of these films and what I learned from them - so if you're intrigued by the list, you can just go back and read all my reviews.  Why should I sum everything up?  Wow, the pressure's off me now, what a relief.

First, here are the top-rated films I watched this year, based on my intentionally un-scientific rating scale from 1 to 10. These films all scored an "8", which was the highest rating I gave out in 2020:  

"Onward"

"The Gentlemen"

"The Last Waltz"

"Jumanji: The Next Level"

Lots and lots of 7's this year, and I think the vast majority of films were in the 5-7 range, which actually made for a pretty positive year, a net gain overall even.  Scoring my lowest rating of "2" this year were:

"The Angry Birds Movie 2"

"Tarzan & Jane"

"The Con Is On"

"Drunk Parents"

"The Beach Bum"

"Swiss Army Man"

I think you can probably tell from this - I've reached the point where I will watch JUST about anything.  I can try to excuse myself by saying in some cases I watched a film just for linking purposes, but honestly, I'll watch anything if I'm curious about it.  I was intrigued about "Swiss Army Man", but I just knew in my heart it was going to be terrible.  

TOPICS/CATEGORIES -

FEBRUARY ROMANCES:

In many ways, this is the engine that drives the bus - I put together my February romance chain first, and this tells me where I need to be on Feb. 1 - my January 1 movie is only locked in as my "Point A" once I'm sure that I can get from there to "Point B", the start of the romance chain.  This year's February romances were: 

"I Love You, Daddy", "Laggies", "Save the Date", "Lemon", "Love Happens", "Private Life", "Some Kind of Wonderful", "Grace of My Heart", "You, Me and Dupree", "Long Shot", "Happy Endings", "Paris, Je t'Aime", "Mermaids", "Professor Marston & The Wonder Women", "Frank and Cindy", "Dreamland" (2016), "Playing it Cool", "Before We Go", "What's Your Number?", "Overboard" (2018), "How to Be a Latin Lover", "Going the Distance", "Waiting...", "Still Waiting...", "The Ugly Truth", "The Bounty Hunter", "She's Funny That Way", and "How Do You Know"

(I know, I know, two of those films are really about waiters working in a restaurant, but I needed them in there to make the chain possible.  Anyway, a couple of characters in those films were in relationships, so it still kind of counts.)

MARCH MARRIAGE MADNESS: 

The romance chain ran a little long this year - by 16 films, in fact.  This technique allowed me to have a Perfect Year in 2019, so I figured I'd try it again - and it worked again!  But I pitted these 16 films against each other in a bracket-like format, narrowing them down to the best 8, then the Final Four, then two and finally crowned a champion - and I didn't copy this format from any other March Tournament that usually takes place, I swear.  Anyway, the films were:

"Just Like Heaven", "Home Again", "Set It Up", "Just a Kiss", "Rent", "Opening Night", "In Good Company", "A Good Woman", "Marriage Story", "Book Club", "The Proposal", "Definitely, Maybe", "Dean", "Darling Companion", "Morning Glory" and "Life As a House".  I think I had to DQ a couple films because they weren't about marriage at all - and the bracket winner turned out to be "Marriage Story".

FILMS ABOUT ROMANCE THAT WERE ALSO HORROR MOVIES (OF A SORT)

The 5 Twilight films, duh.  Hey, they weren't really my cup of tea, but since I found a way to work them into my chain, I figured what the heck - and they were all available on Hulu, so if not now, then when?  (I think I also recorded them off On Demand, just to have copies in my archive, but if I hadn't done that, it would have been OK.  I certainly have no future plans to watch them again.)

SERIOUS HORROR MOVIES: 

When October rolled around, after watching the "Twilight" saga, this year's films really brought the scary: "It: Chapter Two", "Doctor Sleep" and "The Dark Tower", all Stephen King adaptations.  Then there was "The Woman in Black", "Suspiria" (2018) and "Replicas".  Let's throw "Horns" and "Only Lovers Left Alive" into that mix as well, and for my purposes, "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil". 

NOT-SO-SERIOUS HORROR MOVIES: 

A spoonful of sugar makes the horror film go down, and all that.  Maybe "The Cabin in the Woods" was right on that line between scary and silly, the premise alone probably places it squarely into the "Don't take this too seriously" category.  Also mixing comedy with horror were "Zombieland: Double Tap", "The Dead Don't Die", "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween", "The House with a Clock in its Walls", and "What We Do in the Shadows".  I also counted "Jumanji: The Next Level" as a comedy-horror mash-up (kids trapped in a video-game, it is a sort of nightmare scenario) and then there's "Swiss Army Man", which I couldn't take seriously at all - not because it's funny, just because it was laughably terrible. 

SCI-FI, FANTASY AND/OR ALIEN INVASION MOVIES:

"Sunshine", "Mortal Engines", "Pacific Rim: Uprising", "The Kid Who Would Be King", "Men in Black: International", "Ad Astra", "Shorts", "Seventh Son", "Time Lapse", "Sphere", "Captive State", "Gemini Man", "Under the Skin", "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", 

DC COMICS/SUPERHERO FILMS:

For the first year I can remember, Marvel/Disney was NOT a player in this category.  "Black Widow" and "The New Mutants" kept getting re-scheduled and re-re-scheduled, so I couldn't make them part of the mix - and I was caught up on my Marvel movies!  So, I turned to DC movies instead, the two live-action features I missed in 2019, and the one from 2020 that made it to cable by October.  I also had a bunch of animated DC movies on the list, and made a whole DC week out of it in January.  

"Joker", "All-Star Superman", "Superman: Unbound", "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker", "Batman: The Killing Joke", "Superman: Braniac Attacks", "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "Shazam!", "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay", "Birds of Prey" - also "Professor Marston & The Wonder Women", which was about the personal life of the writer who created the "Wonder Woman" character.  Again, I couldn't work in "Wonder Woman 1984" because the release date kept changing, but I'm working on that now. 

ANIMATED/DISNEY FILMS (NON-SUPERHERO):

"The Nut Job", "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature", "Leap!", "Ferdinand", "The Willoughbys", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Frozen II", "Aladdin (2019)", "Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins", "Tarzan & Jane", "The Secret Life of Pets 2", "Lady and the Tramp (2019)", "Spies in Disguise", "The Addams Family (2019)"

LITERARY CLASSICS & FILMS ABOUT AUTHORS: 

"The Borrowers" (two versions, released in 1997 and 2011), "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story", "Tolkien", "The Kid Who Would Be King" (loose adaptation of King Arthur stories), "A Good Woman" (based on "Lady Windemere's Fan" by Oscar Wilde), "The Professor and the Madman" (about the men who compiled the OED),  "Little Women" (2019)", "Breakfast of Champions" (based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut), "Aladdin" (2019), "Tarzan & Jane" (loosely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs novels), "The Girl in the Spider's Web" (continuation of the story from "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"), "Motherless Brooklyn" (based on the 1999 novel by Jonathan Lethem), "The Last Thing He Wanted" (based on the novel by Joan Didion), "Sphere" (based on a novel by Michael Crichton), "Wonderstruck" (based on the 2011 novel by Brian Selznick), "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" (based on the 2012 novel by Maria Semple), "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" (based on a French comic book series), "The Wife" (based on the 2003 novel by Meg Wolitzer), "The Circle" (based on a novel by Dave Eggers), three films based on Stephen King novels, and five films based on the four "Twilight" books.  Oh, and "Whale Rider", based on the 1987 novel by Witi Ihimaera.

MUSICAL & NON-MUSICAL BIOPICS/BASED ON A TRUE STORY

"The Young Victoria" (Queen Victoria), "The Wizard of Lies" (Bernie Madoff), "The Catcher Was a Spy" (Moe Berg), "You Don't Know Jack" (Jack Kevorkian), "Phil Spector", "On the Basis of Sex" (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), "Elvis & Nixon", "Rocketman" (Elton John), "The Upside", "Richard Jewell", "The Aeronauts" (James Glashier), "The Duchess" (based on Georgiana Cavendish), "The King" (based on Henry V, via Shakespeare), "Motherless Brooklyn" (based on Robert Moses), "Dolemite Is My Name" (Rudy Ray Moore), "Greed" (loosely based on mogul Philip Green), "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" (Fred Rogers), "Lucy in the Sky" (based on Lisa Nowak), 

MOTHER'S DAY FILMS: 

"The Chumscrubber", "The Blind Side", "Motherhood", "We Don't Belong Here", "Other People", "Wine Country"

FATHER'S DAY FILMS: 

"Beautiful Boy", "Father Figures", "Wonder", "The Family Man", "House of D", "World's Greatest Dad", "Fathers' Day", "Onward", "Fathers & Daughters"

SPORTS FILMS: 

"Hands of Stone" (boxing), "The Catcher Was a Spy" (baseball), "How Do You Know" (baseball), "Uncut Gems" (basketball, gambling), "The Blind Side" (football), "Ford v Ferrari" (auto racing), "The Aeronauts" (hot-air ballooning), "Fighting with My Family" (wrestling), "Serenity" (umm, sport fishing?), "Hot Rod" (motorbike stunts), "Lay the Favorite" (sports gambling), "The Gambler" (even more gambling)

REVISIONIST WESTERNS: 

"The Ballad of Lefty Brown", "The Kid", "Seraphim Falls", "Dead Man"

WAR/GLOBAL POLITICS/SPIES, HITMEN & TERRORISTS: 

"1917", "The Catcher Was a Spy", "Eye in the Sky", "The Debt", "The Take", "Beasts of No Nation", "Richard Jewell", "The Report", "Angel Has Fallen", "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum", "The Constant Gardener", "The Girl in the Spider's Web", "The 15:17 to Paris", "Lord of War", "Proof of Life", "State of Play", "The Last Thing He Wanted", "7500", "The Laundromat", "The Equalizer 2", "Death Wish" (2018), "Blood Diamond", "Extraction"

NOT-SO-SERIOUS FILMS ABOUT SPIES & HITMEN:

"Killers", "Johnny English Strikes Again", "The Spy Who Dumped Me", "Code Name: The Cleaner", "Smokin' Aces", "Smokin Aces 2: Assassins' Ball", "Charlie's Angels" (2019)

FILMS ABOUT HITLER AND/OR NAZIS:

"The Debt", "The Reader", "Look Who's Back", "Downfall", "The Boys from Brazil", "Jojo Rabbit".  

LEGAL DRAMAS:

"The Lincoln Lawyer", "On the Basis of Sex", "Just Mercy"

SERIOUS CRIME/HEIST FILMS, LIKE MOBS, MURDER AND ARMED ROBBERY:

"Smilla's Sense of Snow", "The Irishman", "Stand Up Guys", "Once Upon a Time in America", "Heist" (2015), "Stockholm", "Hotel Artemis", "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", "The Good Liar", "The House That Jack Built", "Hard Rain", "The Kitchen", "Den of Thieves", "River's Edge", "Motherless Brooklyn", "The Trust", "The Next Three Days", "Faster", "The Gentlemen", "Frailty", "The Lookout", "Bad Boys for Life", 

NOT-SO-SERIOUS CRIME/HEIST FILMS:

"The Nut Job", "Hustlers", "Bad Times at the El Royale", "Murder Mystery", "Cold Pursuit", "Knives Out", "Fool's Gold", "The Con Is On", "Supercon", "Once Upon a Time in Venice", "Killing Hasselhoff", "Cookie's Fortune", "Stuber", "Drunk Parents", "The Perfect Score", "One for the Money"

BACK-TO-SCHOOL FILMS:

Grade school/junior high: "Good Boys", "Wonder", "House of D", "13 Going on 30", "Matinee", "Thirteen"

High school: "Some Kind of Wonderful", "The Blind Side", "The Chumscrubber", "Booksmart", "Love, Simon", "River's Edge", "Drillbit Taylor", "World's Greatest Dad", "Brick", "The New Guy", "Bad Education", "The Perfect Score" and the "Twilight" films 

College: "Liberal Arts", "Midsommar" (I know, it's not really the right category for this, but "Midsommar" is kind of about college students on break...)

THE BUSINESS OF SHOW BUSINESS

"Grace of My Heart", "Opening Night", "Morning Glory", "Late Night", "Bombshell", "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", "Obvious Child", "The Last Laugh (2019)", "Straight Outta Compton", "The Other Side of the Wind", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Dolemite Is My Name", "Matinee", "Fyre Fraud", "Fyre", "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood", "Please Stand By", "Hearts Beat Loud", "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga"

DOCUMENTARIES/ROCK MUSIC:

"Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story", "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band", "The Last Waltz", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Shine a Light", "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Hitsville: the Making of Motown", "Whitney", "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas".  Oddly, in addition to "Hitsville: the Making of Motown", there were also two other documentaries centered on the unique acoustic properties and histories of particular sound recording studios: "Sound City" and "Muscle Shoals". 

BLACK LIVES MATTER: 

"Selma", "Straight Outta Compton" - I know, that second one's not exactly "Malcolm X" or "The Color Purple", but these two films aired for free on demand around the time of the BLM protests, and I happened to be stuck in a linking jam, but realized that dropping these films in on a moment's notice would get me out of that jam, and very easily back to the chain that I had planned, in a minimum of steps.  These two films fit in, amazingly, right between "Knives Out" and "Love, Simon" thanks to Lakeith Stanfield and Alexandra Shipp, so I pivoted quickly to make my chain more relevant to the headlines in early June:  

QUEER LIVES MATTER, TOO, WHILE I'M AT IT: 

"Rent", "Love, Simon", "Call Me By Your Name", "A Single Man", "The Dresser (1983)" - probably, plus "Chuck & Buck"

SEQUELS, PREQUELS, REMAKES, REBOOTS:

"The Borrowers" (2011) (remake), "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature" (sequel), "Joker" (prequel?), "Pacific Rim: Uprising" (sequel), "Still Waiting..." (sequel), "Overboard" (2018) (remake), "Tomb Raider" (reboot), "Men in Black: International" (sequel), "Johnny English Strikes Again" (sequel), "Little Women" (2019) (remake), "Angel Has Fallen" (sequel), "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" (sequel), "The Angry Birds Movie 2" (sequel), "Frozen II" (sequel), "Aladdin" (2019) (remake), "Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins" (prequel), "Tarzan & Jane" (sequel), "The Secret Life of Pets 2" (sequel), "The Girl in the Spider's Web" (sequel), "Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball" (sequel), "Lady and the Tramp" (2019) (remake), "Charlie's Angels" (2019) (reboot), "The Equalizer 2" (sequel), "Death Wish" (2018) (reboot), "Bad Boys for Life" (sequel), "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" (sequel AND reboot), 4 "Twilight" sequels, "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" (sequel), "Birds of Prey" (sequel), "Doctor Sleep" (sequel), "Zombieland: Double Tap" (sequel), "Suspiria" (2018) (remake), "The Addams Family" (2018) (reboot?), "It: Chapter Two" (sequel), "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" (sequel), "Jumanji: The Next Level" (sequel), "Bad Santa 2" (sequel)

RANDOM DRAMAS: 

These don't really seem to fit anywhere else, they're just basic, random dramas or dramedies - but I'm running out of time, the end of the year is fast approaching, so I'm just going to lump them all here: 

"The Sense of an Ending", "Everybody's Fine", "The Leisure Seeker", "The Tree of Life", "The Mountain Between Us", "45 Years", "A Serious Man", "Phantom Thread", "Are You Here", "The Company Men", "In America", "The Beach Bum", "The Wilde Wedding", "Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her", "Tallulah", "Hunt for the Wilderpeople".  Other than the fact that they involved some pretty messed-up people, there's no real connection here, sorry....

THE REALLY WEIRD STUFF:

I remember over and over referring to 2020 as the Year of the Weird Movie - it's strange that I can watch a movie like "Men in Black: International" or "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", with all kinds of weird aliens and exotic species and think nothing of it, but then along comes "Midsommar" and I think, "Wow, now THAT'S a weird movie."  I guess when you start the year with a film about a Maori girl riding a whale, then a movie about astronauts trying to re-start the sun, all bets are off. 

Sometimes it's a bit hard to know where the line is any more - is a movie "weird" because it has a messed-up timeline, or no discernable story structure?  Or weird because after watching it, it's impossible to determine WHY somebody felt it was important to make THIS movie in THIS exact way?  Anyway, this is what I found weird in 2020, for various reasons, but again, my meter might be different than yours: 

"Whale Rider", "Sunshine", "Mortal Engines", "Lemon", "The Tree of Life", "Elvis & Nixon", "Look Who's Back", "The House that Jack Built", "Midsommar", "Breakfast of Champions", "The Chumscrubber", "The Willoughbys", "Phantom Thread", "Are You Here", "The Other Side of the Wind", "Shorts", "The Beach Bum", "Time Lapse", "Hunt for the Wilderpeople", "Jojo Rabbit" and "Under the Skin".

(I realize that some of these films qualify as "quirky" rather than "weird", plus I'm exempting horror films, because many of them are weird by definition - certainly "The Cabin in the Woods", "Horns", "Swiss Army Man" and anything with vampires, werewolves or zombies could qualify here...)

MOVIES I FINALLY WATCHED THAT I'D BEEN (ACTIVELY?) AVOIDING FOR A LONG TIME (or were constantly being rescheduled due to unavailability or technical difficulties):

"Some Kind of Wonderful", "Mermaids", "Rent", "Life as a House", "The Blind Side", "Code Name: The Cleaner", "The Dresser (1983)", "Chuck & Buck", "Call Me by Your Name", "The Family Man", "The Last Waltz", "Matinee", "Thirteen", "The Circle", "Dead Man", "Bad Santa 2"

DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT ON JIM JARMUSCH:

I caught up in 2020 with three of his films that I hadn't seen: "The Dead Don't Die", "Only Lovers Left Alive", and "Dead Man".  So at this point there isn't much Jarmusch that I haven't seen - just a few, but one of them I may follow up with next year.  Last year I seemed to have a propensity for Noah Baumbach films - and in January, I'm really going to go for it and watch many Ingmar Bergman films. 

CHRISTMAS MOVIES, FINALLY:

"Bad Santa 2", "Instant Family", "Klaus" and "A Very Murray Christmas" ended my year. 

Now, what I'm sure almost nobody has been waiting for, a breakdown of actor appearances, with a minimum of 3.  Where the "Twilight" films are concerned, I'm going to do what I did last year for "The Hunger Games", if an actor was in all of the films in that series, or 3 or 4 of them, I'll just say "3 Twilight films" instead of breaking it all down, it's just easier.  If you really want to know which actors appeared in which films in that series, just go watch them.

What's the secret to somebody making this list?  Well, they just have to appear many times - appearing in a documentary counts, even if that involves the use of archive footage.  The IMDB often doesn't count that as a credit, but I do.  (But the IMDB also counts the use of an Elton John song as an "appearance" by Elton John, and I don't.).  Voice-work counts, too, even archival sound - like, say, the voice of Walter Cronkite announcing that JFK has been shot, or men have walked on the moon.  

The people who have the advantage here include character actors, people who work frequently voicing characters in animated films, historical figures like U.S. presidents or other heads of state, prominent musical acts (footage of the Beatles is used in nearly every rock music doc) and then there are news anchors and late night talk show hosts - all of those people tend to turn up again and again, sometimes more often than prominent actors - Tom Cruise, for example, was M.I.A. this year - even perennial favorite Nicole Kidman was only in 1 film, I think. 

Multiple Appearances + Cameos for 2020:

10 Appearances:

Maya Rudolph - "The Nut Job", "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature", "We Don't Belong Here", "Wine Country", "Chuck & Buck", "The Willoughbys", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Booksmart", "Whitney", "A Very Murray Christmas"
Ringo Starr - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Sound City", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"

This makes sense, Maya Rudolph was also chosen as one of EW's "Entertainers of the Year", because she can simply do it all - she's a quadruple threat, appearing in dramas, comedys, animated films and musicals.  Singing in "A Very Murray Christmas", my last film of the year, forced a tie with a BEATLE!  So she's the prom queen to Ringo's king - of course Ringo's in all the archive footage of the Fab Four used in documentaries, but he also lives in L.A. and has time on his hands, so he made himself available for interviews in "Echo in the Canyon" and he played drums in "The Last Waltz", then THAT footage was used in the other documentaries about The Band.  This put him one film ahead of George Harrison, and two films ahead of Lennon & McCartney. (McCartney held the top spot two years ago, during my really deep dive into rock docs.)

9 Appearances:
George Harrison - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Sound City", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"

Matthew McConaughey - "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Serenity" (2019), "The Beach Bum", "Fool's Gold", "The Gentlemen", "The Lincoln Lawyer", "Frailty", "Fyre Fraud", "The Dark Tower"

8 Appearances:
Robert De Niro - "The Irishman", "Hands of Stone", "Everybody's Fine", "The Wizard of Lies", "Once Upon a Time in America", "Heist", "Joker", "Drillbit Taylor"
John Lennon - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Sound City", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"

Paul McCartney - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Sound City", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"
Owen Wilson - "You, Me and Dupree", "She's Funny That Way", "How Do You Know", "Breakfast of Champions", "Are You Here", "Father Figures", "Wonder", "Drillbit Taylor"

7 Appearances:
Glenn Close - "The Chumscrubber", "Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins", "Father Figures", "Cookie's Fortune", "The Wife", "The Wilde Wedding", "Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her"

Bob Dylan - "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story", "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Muscle Shoals"
John Goodman - "The Borrowers" (1997), "You Don't Know Jack", "Captive State", "The Gambler", "Matinee", "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", "Once Upon a Time in Venice"
Tara Strong - "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker", "Batman: The Killing Joke", "Superman: Brainiac Attacks", "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "Tarzan & Jane", "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay", "The Secret Life of Pets 2"
Bruce Willis - "Breakfast of Champions", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Motherless Brooklyn",   "Shine a Light", "Death Wish", "Lay the Favorite", "Once Upon a Time in Venice"
Neil Young - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Sound City", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"

6 Appearances:
Eric Clapton - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky"

Chris Evans - "Sunshine", "Playing It Cool", "Before We Go", "What's Your Number?", "Knives Out", "The Perfect Score"

Peter Facinelli - "The Wilde Wedding", all 5 "Twilight" films

Ashley Greene - "Bombshell", all 5 "Twilight" films
Jon Hamm - "Bad Times at the El Royale", "Richard Jewell", "The Report", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "A Single Man", "Lucy in the Sky"
Djimon Hounsou - "Shazam!", "In America", "Blood Diamond", "Seventh Son", "Charlie's Angels" (2019), "Serenity" (2019)

Allison Janney - "Bombshell", "The Chumscrubber", "Bad Education", "Liberal Arts", "Tallulah", "The Addams Family"

Scarlett Johansson - "In Good Company", "A Good Woman", "Marriage Story", "Jojo Rabbit", "Under the Skin", "The Perfect Score"
Helen Mirren - "Phil Spector", "The Good Liar", "The Leisure Seeker", "Eye in the Sky", "The Debt", "State of Play"
Richard Nixon - "Stockholm", "Bad Times at the El Royale", "Bombshell", "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon"

Robert Pattinson - "The King", all 5 "Twilight" films

Elizabeth Reaser - "Liberal Arts", all 5 "Twilight" films

Nikki Reed - "Thirteen", all 5 "Twilight" films

Stephen Root - "Superman: Unbound", "Bombshell", "On the Basis of Sex", "Selma", "Drillbit Taylor", "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot"

Kristen Stewart - "Charlie's Angels" (2019), all 5 "Twilight" films
Mark Strong - "Sunshine", "The Young Victoria", "Shazam!", "Stockholm", "1917", "The Catcher Was a Spy"

5 Appearances:
Ben Affleck - "State of Play", "The Last Thing He Wanted", "The Company Men", "Smokin' Aces", "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot"

Peter Bogdanovich - "She's Funny That Way", "Are You Here", "The Other Side of the Wind", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead", "It: Chapter Two"

Billy Burke - all 5 "Twilight" films
Bobby Cannavale - "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature", "The Irishman", "Happy Endings", "Ferdinand", "Motherless Brooklyn"
Dick Cavett - "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Shine a Light"

Sarah Clarke - "Happy Endings", "Thirteen", 3 "Twilight" films
Bill Clinton - "Definitely, Maybe", "Richard Jewell", "Blood Diamond", "Shine a Light", "Whitney"
Maddie Corman - "Private Life", "Some Kind of Wonderful", "Morning Glory", "Tallulah", "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"
Idris Elba - "Pacific Rim: Uprising", "The Take", "Beasts of No Nation", "The Mountain Between Us", "The Dark Tower"

Alice Eve - "Before We Go", "Bombshell", "The Con Is On", "Please Stand By", "Replicas"

Dakota Fanning - "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", "Please Stand By", 3 "Twilight" films

Isla Fisher - "Definitely, Maybe", "The Beach Bum", "The Lookout", "Hot Rod", "Greed"
Will Forte - "She's Funny That Way", "The Willoughbys", "Booksmart", "Good Boys", "The Laundromat"
Bruno Ganz - "The Reader", "Look Who's Back", "Downfall", "The Boys from Brazil", "The House That Jack Built"

Judy Greer - "Lemon", "Love Happens", "The 15:17 to Paris", "Where'd You Go, Bernadette", "13 Going on 30"

Kevin Hart - "The Upside", "The Secret Life of Pets 2", "Drillbit Taylor", "Fool's Gold", "Jumanji: The Next Level"

Katherine Heigl - "The Nut Job", "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature", "Killers", "The Ugly Truth", "One for the Money"
Chris Hemsworth - "Bad Times at the El Royale", "Men in Black: International", "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot", "Extraction", "The Cabin in the Woods"

John F. Kennedy - "The Irishman", "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Muscle Shoals", "A Single Man", "Matinee"
Tom Kemp - "Mermaids", "Professor Marston & the Wonder Women", "You Don't Know Jack", "Little Women", "The Company Men"

Taylor Lautner - all 5 "Twilight" films

Kellan Lutz - all 5 "Twilight" films
Roger McGuinn - "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story", "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name"
Kate McKinnon - "Bombshell", "Leap!", "Ferdinand", "The Spy Who Dumped Me", "Fyre Fraud"
Joni Mitchell - "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz", "David Crosby: Remember My Name"

Liam Neeson - "The Nut Job", "Men in Black: International", "Cold Pursuit", "The Next Three Days", "Seraphim Falls"
Barack Obama - "The Report", "The Laundromat", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown", "Fyre Fraud"
Al Pacino - "The Irishman", "Stand Up Guys", "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", "You Don't Know Jack", "Phil Spector"
Steve Park - "Morning Glory", "Phil Spector", "A Serious Man", "State of Play", "The Gambler"

Jackson Rathbone - all 5 "Twilight" films

Ronald Reagan - "Hands of Stone", "Bombshell", "Straight Outta Compton", "The Last Thing He Wanted", "Whitney"

Ryan Reynolds - "Waiting...", "The Proposal", "Definitely, Maybe", "The Last Laugh", "Smokin' Aces"

Jason Schwartzman - "Dreamland", "Wine Country", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Klaus", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Michael Sheen - "Home Again", "Blood Diamond", 3 "Twilight" films
Lakeith Stanfield - "Uncut Gems", "The Girl in the Spider's Web", "Knives Out", "Selma", "Straight Outta Compton"

Fred Tatasciore - "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature", "All-Star Superman", "Batman: The Killing Joke", "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "Shazam!"
Tom Wilkinson - "Smilla's Sense of Snow", "The Catcher Was a Spy", "A Good Woman", "The Debt", "Selma"

4 Appearances:

Michael Adamthwaite - "Cold Pursuit", "Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball", "The Twilight Saga: New Moon", "Horns"

Joe Anderson - "Love Happens", "The Ballad of Lefty Brown", "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2", "Horns"
Jennifer Aniston - "Love Happens", "The Bounty Hunter", "She's Funny That Way", "Murder Mystery"
Will Arnett - "The Nut Job", "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature", "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "Hot Rod"

Kathy Bates - "On the Basis of Sex", "The Blind Side", "Richard Jewell", "Bad Santa 2"

Charlie Bewley - 4 "Twilight" films

Gil Birmingham - 4 "Twilight" films
Jim Broadbent - "The Young Victoria", "Smilla's Sense of Snow", "The Sense of an Ending", "The Borrowers" (1997)
Tom Brokaw - "The Wizard of Lies", "Definitely, Maybe", "Richard Jewell", "Straight Outta Compton"

Gerard Butler - "The Ugly Truth", "The Bounty Hunter", "Den of Thieves", "Angel Has Fallen"
Nicolas Cage - "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "The Trust", "Lord of War", "The Family Man"
Timothée Chalamet - "Little Women", "Call Me by Your Name", "The King", "Beautiful Boy"

Justin Chon - 4 "Twilight" films

Frances Conroy - "Joker", "All-Star Superman", "Superman: Unbound", "Love Happens"
Steve Coogan - "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story", "Happy Endings", "The Professor and the Madman", "Greed"
David Crosby - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Echo in the Canyon", "David Crosby: Remember My Name"
Russell Crowe - "Fathers & Daughters", "Proof of Life", "The Next Three Days", "State of Play"

Daniel Cudmore - 4 "Twilight" films
Willem Dafoe - "Paris Je t'Aime", "The House That Jack Built", "Motherless Brooklyn", "The Last Thing He Wanted"
Rick Danko - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"

Rhys Darby - "Killing Hasselhoff", "Jumanji: The Next Level", "What We Do in the Shadows", "Hunt for the Wilderpeople"
Charlie Day - "Pacific Rim: Uprising", "Hotel Artemis", "I Love You Daddy", "Going the Distance"
Laura Dern - "Happy Endings", "Marriage Story", "Cold Pursuit", "Little Women"
Kaitlyn Dever - "Laggies", "We Don't Belong Here", "Beautiful Boy", "Booksmart"
Taye Diggs - "Set It Up", "Just a Kiss", "Rent", "Opening Night"

Adam Driver - "Marriage Story", "You Don't Know Jack", "The Report", "The Dead Don't Die"
Mike Epps - "Faster", "Dolemite Is My Name", "Supercon", "Death Wish"

Ralph Fiennes - "The Reader", "The Duchess", "The Constant Gardener", "The Chumscrubber"

Kenneth Fok - "Tomb Raider", "Eye in the Sky", "Serenity" (2019), "The Dark Tower"
Stephen Fry - "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story", "The Borrowers" (2011), "The Con Is On", "Greed"

Edi Gathegi - "The Last Thing He Wanted", 3 "Twilight" films
Paul Giamatti - "The Catcher Was a Spy", "Private Life", "Straight Outta Compton", "Fyre Fraud"

Karen Gillan - "Spies in Disguise", "Stuber", "The Circle", "Jumanji: The Next Level"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - "Knives Out", "Brick", "7500", "The Lookout"

Maggie Grace - "Faster", "Supercon", 2 "Twilight" films

Tiffany Haddish - "The Kitchen", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "The Secret Life of Pets 2", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"

Bill Hader - "You, Me and Dupree", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Hot Rod", "It: Chapter Two"
Ethan Hawke - "Stockholm", "Lord of War", "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", "The Kid"
Ronnie Hawkins - "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"

Christopher Heyerdahl - "Stockholm", 3 "Twilight" films

Adolf Hitler - "Professor Marston & the Wonder Women", "The House That Jack Built", "What We Do in the Shadows", "Jojo Rabbit"
Dennis Hopper - "The Other Side of the Wind", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead", "River's Edge", "David Crosby: Remember My Name"
Jayne Houdyshell - "Everybody's Fine", "The Bounty Hunter", "Morning Glory", "Little Women"
Garth Hudson - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"
Danny Huston - "You Don't Know Jack", "Angel Has Fallen", "The Constant Gardener", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead"
O'Shea Jackson Jr. - "Long Shot",  "Just Mercy", "Den of Thieves", "Straight Outta Compton"

Mick Jagger - "Shine a Light", "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Muscle Shoals", "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas"

Julia Jones - "Cold Pursuit", 3 "Twilight" films

Rashida Jones - "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Spies in Disguise", "Klaus", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Anna Kendrick - 4 "Twilight" films
Richard Kind - "Bombshell", "Obvious Child", "The Last Laugh", "A Serious Man"
Martin Luther King Jr. - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown", "Muscle Shoals"
Kevin Kline - "Definitely, Maybe", "Dean", "Darling Companion", "Life as a House"

Keira Knightley - "The Borrowers" (2011), "Laggies", "The Duchess", "Greed"

Tinsel Korey - "The Lookout", 3 "Twilight" films
Brie Larson - "Just Mercy", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "13 Going on 30", "The Gambler"

Domenick Lombardozzi - "The Irishman", "How Do You Know", "Cold Pursuit", "The Gambler"
Justin Long - "Going the Distance", "Waiting...", "Still Waiting...", "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot"

Matt Malloy - "The Bounty Hunter", "Morning Glory", "Phil Spector", "Cookie's Fortune"
Richard Manuel - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"

Margo Martindale - "Paris, Je t'Aime", "The Kitchen", "Proof of Life", "Instant Family"
Adrian Martinez - "Morning Glory", "Lady and the Tramp" (2019), "In America", "Once Upon a Time in Venice"
Richard McCabe - "1917", "Eye in the Sky", "The Duchess", "The Constant Gardener"
Idina Menzel - "Just a Kiss", "Rent", "Uncut Gems", "Frozen II"

Stephen Merchant - "Good Boys", "Fighting with My Family", "The Girl in the Spider's Web", "Jojo Rabbit"
Ritchie Montgomery - "Heist", "Elvis & Nixon", "The Last Laugh", "Lay the Favorite"
Julianne Moore - "Seventh Son", "A Single Man", "Wonderstruck", "Cookie's Fortune"

Chloe Grace Moretz - "I Love You, Daddy", "Laggies", "Suspiria", "The Addams Family"
Niecy Nash - "The Proposal", "Code Name: The Cleaner", "Selma", "Cookie's Fortune"
Patton Oswalt - "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "The Secret Life of Pets 2", "The Circle", "Please Stand By"

Chris Parnell - "The Last Laugh", "Hot Rod", "The Laundromat", "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween"

Brad Pitt - "Ad Astra", "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", "The Tree of Life", "Drillbit Taylor"
Robert Pralgo - "The Leisure Seeker", "The Blind Side", "The 15:17 to Paris", "Father Figures"

Keanu Reeves - "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum", "River's Edge", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Replicas"

Rob Riggle - "Killers", "How to Be a Latin Lover", "Going the Distance", "Opening Night"
Robbie Robertson - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"

Sam Rockwell - "Everybody's Fine", "Laggies", "Richard Jewell", "Jojo Rabbit"

Martin Scorsese - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz", "Shine a Light"

Christian Serratos - 4 "Twilight" films
Molly Shannon - "Private Life", "We Don't Belong Here", "Other People", "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot"

Will Smith - "Aladdin" (2019), "Bad Boys for Life", "Gemini Man", "Spies in Disguise"

Snoop Dogg - "Straight Outta Compton", "Dolemite Is My Name", "The Beach Bum", "The Addams Family"

Chaske Spencer - 4 "Twilight" films

Octavia Spencer - "Onward", "Fathers & Daughters", "Bad Santa 2", "Instant Family"
Mary Steenburgen - "Book Club", "The Proposal", "Dean", "Life as a House"

Jason Sudeikis - "Going the Distance", "The Bounty Hunter", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Booksmart"
Donald Sutherland - "Ad Astra", "The Leisure Seeker", "Lord of War", "Fool's Gold"

Tilda Swinton - "Uncut Gems", "The Dead Don't Die", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "Suspiria"

Charlize Theron - "Long Shot", "Bombshell", "The Addams Family", "A Very Murray Christmas"
Justin Theroux - "Joker", "The Spy Who Dumped Me", "On the Basis of Sex", "Lady and the Tramp" (2019)
Tessa Thompson - "Men in Black: International", "Selma", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Lady and the Tramp" (2019)

Billy Bob Thornton - "Faster", "Dead Man", "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas", "Bad Santa 2"
James Urbaniak - "You Don't Know Jack", "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay", "Wonderstruck", "Where'd You Go, Bernadette"

Muddy Waters - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz", "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas"

Michael Welch - 4 "Twilight" films
Shea Whigham - "Joker", "The Catcher Was a Spy", "Bad Times at the El Royale", "The Lincoln Lawyer"
Benedict Wong - "Sunshine", "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story", "Lady and the Tramp" (2019), "Gemini Man"

3 Appearances:
Katie Aselton - "Book Club", "Bombshell", "Father Figures"

Awkwafina - "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Jumanji: The Next Level"

Kathy Baker - "13 Going on 30", "The Ballad of Lefty Brown", "Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her"

Elizabeth Banks - "Definitely, Maybe", "The Next Three Days", "Charlie's Angels" (2019)
Dave Bautista - "Heist", "Hotel Artemis", "Stuber"

Kristen Bell - "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "How to Be a Latin Lover", "Frozen II"

Robert Patrick Benedict - "Waiting...", "Still Waiting...", "State of Play"

Jack Black - "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween", "The House with a Clock in its Walls", "Jumanji: The Next Level"

Jamie Campbell Bower - 3 "Twilight" films

Robert Walker Branchaud - "The Leisure Seeker", "Father Figures", "Lady and the Tramp" (2019)

Cameron Bright - 3 "Twilight" films

Sterling K. Brown - "Hotel Artemis", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Frozen II"

Tituss Burgess - "Set It Up", "Dolemite Is My Name", "The Addams Family"

Steve Buscemi - "Paris, Je t'Aime", "The Dead Don't Die", "Dead Man"

Fabian Busch - "The Reader", "Look Who's Back", "Downfall"

P.J. Byrne - "Home Again", "Bombshell", "The 15:17 to Paris"
Rose Byrne - "Sunshine", "I Love You, Daddy", "Instant Family"

Colleen Camp - "She's Funny That Way", "In Good Company", "The House with a Clock in its Walls"

Johnny Cash - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Sound City"

Michael Cera - "Lemon", "How to Be a Latin Lover", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Jessica Chastain - "The Debt", "The Tree of Life", "It: Chapter Two"

James Ciccone - "The Irishman", "Joker", "The Kitchen"

George Clooney - "Morning Glory", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Stephen Colbert - "The Wizard of Lies", "The Last Laugh", "Fyre Fraud"

Toni Collette - "Knives Out", "Please Stand By", "Hearts Beat Loud"

Common - "The Kitchen", "Selma", "Smokin' Aces"

Maurice Compte - "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", "Den of Thieves", "Once Upon a Time in Venice"

Chris Cooper - "Little Women", "The Company Men", "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

Kevin Costner - "Drillbit Taylor", "The Company Men", "Whitney"

Steve Coulter - "The Wizard of Lies",  "Just Mercy", "The 15:17 to Paris"

Tom Courtenay - "The Dresser", "The Aeronauts", "45 Years"

Kendrick Cross - "Richard Jewell", "Father Figures", "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween"
Cliff Curtis - "Whale Rider", "Sunshine", "Doctor Sleep"

Jeff Daniels - "The Catcher Was a Spy", "State of Play", "The Lookout"

Pete Davidson - "Set It Up", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Fyre Fraud"

Rosario Dawson - "Rent", "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot", "Zombieland: Double Tap"

Johnny Depp - "Fyre Fraud", "Dead Man", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Eugenio Derbez - "Overboard" (2018), "How to Be a Latin Lover", "The Angry Birds Movie 2"

Neil Diamond - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"

Matt Dillon - "Grace of My Heart", "You, Me and Dupree", "The House That Jack Built"

John DiMaggio - "All-Star Superman", "Batman: The Killing Joke", "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies"

Peter Dinklage - "Just a Kiss", "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"

Tate Donovan - "Elvis & Nixon", "The Upside", "Rocketman"

Illeana Douglas - "Grace of My Heart", "She's Funny That Way", "The New Guy"

Mike Douglas - "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"

Minnie Driver - "Motherhood", "Hard Rain", "The Wilde Wedding"

Wayne Duvall - "Hard Rain", "The Kitchen", "Richard Jewell"

Anna Faris - "What's Your Number?", "Overboard" (2018), "Waiting..."

Rebecca Ferguson - "The Kid Who Would Be King", "Men in Black: International", "Doctor Sleep"

Will Ferrell - "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga", "Drunk Parents"

Colin Firth - "1917", "Greed", "A Single Man"

Tommy Flanagan - "Smokin' Aces", "Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball", "The Ballad of Lefty Brown"

Jane Fonda - "Book Club", "Fathers & Daughters", "Whitney"

Peter Fonda - "Grace of My Heart", "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "The Ballad of Lefty Brown"

Aretha Franklin - "Hitsville: The Making of Motown", "Whitney", "Muscle Shoals"

Ron Funches - "Fyre", "Once Upon a Time in Venice", "Killing Hasselhoff"

Massi Furlan - "Murder Mystery", "Bad Boys for Life", "Jumanji: The Next Level"

Jim Gaffigan - "Going the Distance", "13 Going on 30", "Drunk Parents"

Jerry Garcia - "David Crosby: Remember My Name", "Sound City", "Fyre Fraud"

Jeff Garlin - "Laggies", "Lemon", "The Bounty Hunter"

Marvin Gaye - "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown", "Whitney"

Crispin Glover - "The Con Is On", "River's Edge", "Dead Man"

Matthew Goode - "The Sense of an Ending", "The Lookout", "A Single Man"

Kiowa Gordon - 3 "Twilight" films

Topher Grace - "Playing It Cool", "Opening Night", "In Good Company"

Bill Graham - "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"

Jack Dylan Grazer - "Shazam!", "Beautiful Boy", "It: Chapter Two"

Bruce Greenwood - "Fathers' Day", "Fathers & Daughters", "Doctor Sleep"

Kathryn Hahn - "Private Life", "She's Funny That Way", "How Do You Know"

Tony Hale - "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Love, Simon", "The 15:17 to Paris"

Charles Halford - "Bad Times at the El Royale", "Darling Companion", "The Laundromat"

Mark Hamill - "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker", "Batman: The Killing Joke", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead"

Tom Hanks - "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood", "The Circle", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Levon Helm - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "The Last Waltz"

Jimi Hendrix - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "Muscle Shoals", "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas"

Lance Henriksen - "Superman: Brainiac Attacks", "Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins", "Dead Man"

Paul Herman - "The Irishman", "Once Upon a Time in America", "Fathers' Day"

Ciaran Hinds - "The Debt", "Frozen II", "The Woman in Black"

Douglas Hodge - "Joker", "The Report", "Gemini Man"

Siobhan Fallon Hogan - "Private Life", "The Bounty Hunter", "The House That Jack Built"

Lester Holt - "Bombshell", "The Laundromat", "Whitney"

Tyson Houseman - 3 "Twilight" films

Howlin' Wolf - "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band", "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas"

Gabriel Iglesias - "The Nut Job", "The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature", "Ferdinand"

Denitra Isler - "The Leisure Seeker", "Just Mercy", "Lady and the Tramp" (2019)

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson - "Morning Glory", "Den of Thieves", "Straight Outta Compton"

Michael Jackson - "Hitsville: The Making of Motown", "Whitney", "13 Going on 30"

Oliver Jackson-Cohen - "What's Your Number?", "Going the Distance", "Faster"

Sakina Jaffrey - "Definitely, Maybe", "Late Night", "The Equalizer 2"

Sondra James - "Joker", "What's Your Number?", "Going the Distance"

Richard Jenkins - "Darling Companion", "Liberal Arts", "The Cabin in the Woods"

Lucinda Jenney - "Grace of My Heart", "We Don't Belong Here", "Matinee"

Peter Jennings - "Straight Outta Compton", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead", "Whitney"

Ken Jeong - "Lady and the Tramp" (2019), "Killing Hasselhoff", "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween"

Johannes Haukur Johannesson - "The Good Liar", "Where'd You Go, Bernadette", "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga"

Dwayne Johnson - "Fighting with My Family", "Faster", "Jumanji: The Next Level"

Amin Joseph - "Time Lapse", "The Gambler", "Stuber"

Diane Keaton - "Book Club", "Darling Companion", "Morning Glory"

David Koechner - "Waiting...", "Still Waiting...", "Drillbit Taylor"

Lisa Kudrow - "Long Shot", "Happy Endings", "Booksmart"

Amy Landecker - "Dreamland", "Bombshell", "A Serious Man"

Lauren Lapkus - "Opening Night", "Are You Here", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"

Adam LeFevre - "The Bounty Hunter", "House of D", "Fool's Gold"

Nels Lennarson - "Cold Pursuit", "The Cabin in the Woods", "Horns"

David Letterman - "The Wizard of Lies", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie", "Whitney"

Tracy Letts - "Little Women", "Ford v Ferrari", "Elvis & Nixon"

Lil Yachty - "Teen Titans GO! to the Movies", "Long Shot", "Fyre Fraud"

John Carroll Lynch - "Love Happens", "Private Life", "Lay the Favorite"

Richard Madden - "1917", "Rocketman", "The Take"

Bill Maher - "The Wizard of Lies", "Late Night", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"

John Malkovich - "I Love You, Daddy", "Supercon", "The Wilde Wedding"

Leslie Mann - "Drillbit Taylor", "Shorts", "Motherless Brooklyn"

Jaeden Martell - "Playing It Cool", "Knives Out", "It: Chapter Two"

Rachel McAdams - "Morning Glory", "State of Play", "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga"

Danny McBride - "The Angry Birds Movie 2", "Drillbit Taylor", "Hot Rod"

Fred Melamed - "Lemon", "The Spy Who Dumped Me", "A Serious Man"

Alex Meraz - 3 "Twilight" films

Thomas Middleditch - "Once Upon a Time in Venice", "Replicas", "Zombieland: Double Tap"

Bill Murrray - "Zombieland: Double Tap", "The Dead Don't Die", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Kathrine Narducci - "The Irishman", "The Wizard of Lies", "Bad Education"

Craig T. Nelson - "Book Club", "The Proposal", "The Company Men"

Tim Blake Nelson - "The Report", "Just Mercy", "Angel Has Fallen"

Jack Nicholson - "How Do You Know", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead", "David Crosby: Remember My Name"

Nick Nolte - "Paris, Je t'Aime", "Angel Has Fallen", "Breakfast of Champions"

Bob Odenkirk - "Long Shot", "Little Women", "Dolemite Is My Name"

Nick Offerman - "Bad Times at the El Royale", "Hearts Beat Loud", "Lucy in the Sky"

Denis O'Hare - "Private Life", "The Proposal", "Late Night"

Olafur Darri Olafsson - "The Spy Who Dumped Me", "Murder Mystery", "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga"

Matt O'Leary - "Frailty", "Time Lapse", "Brick"

Yoko Ono - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky", "The U.S. vs. John Lennon"

Ahna O'Reilly - "She's Funny That Way", "Bombshell", "Elvis & Nixon"

Genevieve O'Reilly - "The Young Victoria", "Tolkien", "The Kid Who Would Be King"

David Paymer - "Lemon", "In Good Company", "Where'd You Go, Bernadette"

Bronson Pelletier - 3 "Twilight" films

Rosie Perez - "The Last Thing He Wanted", "Birds of Prey", "The Dead Don't Die"

Wendell Pierce - "Selma", "Lay the Favorite", "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"

Maryann Plunkett - "Little Women", "The Company Men", "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

Amy Poehler - "Wine Country", "Are You Here", "A Very Murray Christmas"

Chris Pratt - "What's Your Number?", "Onward", "The Kid"

Florence Pugh - "Little Women", "Midsommar", "Fighting with My Family"

Zachary Quinto - "Hotel Artemis", "What's Your Number?", "Tallulah"

Daniel Radcliffe - "Horns", "The Woman in Black", "Swiss Army Man"

Charlotte Rampling - "The Sense of an Ending", "45 Years", "The Duchess"

James Ransone - "The Next Three Days", "Captive State", "It: Chapter Two"

Usher Raymond - "Killers", "Hustlers", "Hands of Stone"

Retta - "Other People", "Good Boys", "Father Figures"

Alex Rice - 3 "Twilight" films

Keith Richards - "Shine a Light", "Muscle Shoals", "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas"

Margot Robbie - "Bombshell", "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood", "Birds of Prey"

Mel Rodriguez - "Overboard" (2018), "Onward", "The Last Thing He Wanted"

Valente Rodriguez - "The Ugly Truth", "The New Guy", "Instant Family"

Paul Rudd - "The Catcher Was a Spy", "How Do You Know", "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"

Morley Safer - "The Wizard of Lies", "Morning Glory", "Fyre Fraud"

Ashton Sanders - "Straight Outta Compton", "The Equalizer 2", "Captive State"

Bob Schieffer - "Morning Glory", "Straight Outta Compton", "State of Play"

Ben Schwartz - "Everybody's Fine", "How to Be a Latin Lover", "Fyre Fraud"

Reid Scott - "Home Again", "Dean", "Late Night"

David Shae - "Richard Jewell", "Bad Boys for Life", "Gemini Man"

Shanina Shaik - "Fyre Fraud", "Fyre", "Greed"

Michael Shannon - "She's Funny That Way", "Elvis & Nixon", "Knives Out"

Cybill Shepherd - "She's Funny That Way", "The Other Side of the Wind", "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead"

Jeremy Sisto - "Ferdinand", "Frozen II", "Thirteen"

Jenny Slate - "Hotel Artemis", "The Secret Life of Pets 2", "Obvious Child"

Christian Slater - "Hard Rain", "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay", "The Wife"

Calilee Spaeny - "Bad Times at the El Royale", "Pacific Rim: Uprising", "On the Basis of Sex"

Annie Starke - "We Don't Belong Here", "Father Figures",  "The Wife"

Martin Starr - "Save the Date", "Lemon", "Playing It Cool"

Maury Sterling - "Batman: The Killing Joke", "Smokin' Aces", "Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball"

Booboo Stewart - 3 "Twilight" films

Patrick Stewart - "The Kid Who Would Be King", "Charlie's Angels" (2019), "The Wilde Wedding"

Sharon Stone - "The Laundromat", "Sphere", "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story"

Jeremy Strong - "Selma", "Serenity" (2019), "The Gentlemen"

Emma Thompson - "Men in Black: International", "Johnny English Strikes Again", "Late Night"

Uma Thurman - "The House That Jack Built", "The Con Is On", "Motherhood"

Jacob Tremblay - "Good Boys", "Wonder", "Doctor Sleep"

Donald Trump - "Bombshell", "The Leisure Seeker", "Fyre Fraud"

Alanna Ubach - "Waiting...", "Still Waiting...", "Bombshell"

Taika Waititi - "What We Do in the Shadows", "Hunt for the Wilderpeople", "Jojo Rabbit"

Harriet Walter - "The Young Victoria", "The Sense of an Ending", "Rocketman"

Barbara Walters - "Mermaids", "You Don't Know Jack", "Whitney"

Sharon Washington - "Joker", "On the Basis of Sex", "The Kitchen"

Frank Welker - "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker", "Aladdin" (2019), "Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins"

Welker White - "The Irishman", "Morning Glory", "Bad Education"

Robin Williams - "House of D", "World's Greatest Dad", "Fathers' Day"

Joe Williamson - "Ford v Ferrari", "Please Stand By", "Lucy in the Sky"

Oprah Winfrey - "Selma", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown", "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

Katheryn Winnick - "Stand Up Guys", "Killers", "The Dark Tower"

Mary Elizabeth Winstead - "Gemini Man", "Swiss Army Man", "Birds of Prey"

Reese Witherspoon - "How Do You Know", "Just Like Heaven", "Home Again"

Stevie Wonder - "The U.S. vs. John Lennon", "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"

Ali Wong - "Father Figures", "Onward", "Birds of Prey"

Ronnie Wood - "Down in the Flood: Bob Dylan, the Band & the Basement Tapes", "The Last Waltz", "Shine a Light"

Anton Yelchin - "We Don't Belong Here", "House of D", "Only Lovers Left Alive"

In other rivalries, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson had 6 appearances each, beating Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Reynolds (both with 5) in a year where most of the other Marvel actors didn't even place (wherefore art though, Robert Downey Jr.?).  Scarlett would have been helped by "Black Widow" being released, but it didn't happen.  Owen Wilson's 8 films beat Luke Wilson's 2, Robert De Niro's 8 over Jack Nicholson's 3, Glenn Close's 7 films over Meryl Streep's 2, and Richard Nixon was the top-appearing U.S. President with 6 appearances (JFK, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama all with 5, Trump had 3, Jimmy Carter 2, George H.W. Bush 2, George W. Bush 2, Gerald Ford 2 and LBJ & Joe Biden just 1)

And, somehow, two prominent Icelandic character actors Johannes Haukur Johannesson and Olafur Darri Olafsson made the list, proving once and for all that they are not the same person - and I'm betting that now their intense rivalry will continue.  But only three films each for Richard Jenkins and Michael Shannon?  Yeah, it was definitely an unusual year. 

How many people can carry over from one movie to the next?  I'm always happy when I find that two actors carry over, and then if there are three, I'm ecstatic.  So imagine how I felt when 12 or 13 people carried over from one documentary about Bob Dylan and/or the Band to the next?  And then when I got to the "Twilight" films, there were 19 actors in the first film who carried over to the second - and 27 actors from "Eclipse" who carried over to "Breaking Dawn, Part 1"!  Ah, but earlier in the year I'd watched the lost Orson Welles film "The Other Side of the Wind", followed by a "making of" documentary called "They'll Love Me When I'm Dead" - I counted at least 28 actors from the film who carried over to the documentary - that could be some kind of record for me.  

I also stand atop the mountain of 300 films I watched in 2020, proud of what I've accomplished, but also realizing that there is an equally tall mountain to scale just ahead - and I've got to start getting ready.  I know what my first movie of 2021 will be, but after Jan. 15 there are TWO paths that will get me to the start of February's romance chain, and I've got to figure out how to choose one over the other, a daunting task.  The right choice could ensure that I can have another perfectly-linked chain next year, and the wrong choice could force my linking to become impossible halfway through the year.  Or maybe, since I dodged and weaved all during 2020 and rebuilt my path many times, I just need to flip a coin and pick one over the other at random. 

That's 2020, all of it wrapped up like a burrito - but 2021, aka Movie Year 13, starts (gulp) tomorrow, and I just don't know if I'm ready - I've barely recovered from Movie Year 12.  2020 was, well, A LOT and we all hope that next year will be better, in so many ways.  I've got an interesting starting point for 2021, and I'll have my annual dedication to someone who left this mortal coil during 2020, and that's going to tie in with my January films, I promise.  Now I've got to go find my DVDs for the first half of January of Year 13. 

A Very Murray Christmas

Year 12, Day 359 - 12/24/20 - Movie #3,700

BEFORE: OK, last film of the year, so there's a lot of set-up I've got to do here.  But first, a look at what I'm also binge-ing right before Christmas.  FOX ran two episodes of a short-lived show called "The Moodys" this past Sunday, but not the other four, which is a questionable programming choice AND probably a warning sign as well.  Six episodes ran in December 2019, and I'm guessing nobody watched it, because there were no more after that.  BUT, it's about a messed-up family in the days leading up to Christmas, and it's got Denis Leary and Jay Baruchel in it, so I tracked down the rest of the episodes on Hulu.  I watched two last night and I'll probably finish off the series tonight.  It's just OK, it's no comedic "This Is Us", for sure, but now I'm 2/3 done with it so I might as well put it out of my misery, and it's seasonally appropriate.

Also last night, after midnight I watched a 3-part mini-series version of "A Christmas Carol" on FX.  This took 3 1/2 hours to watch, so I crashed around 4 a.m., but I'm usually down for any version of Dickens' classic short story (especially "Scrooge" with Albert Finney). Man, this one was DARK - I think the BBC produced this one and FX bought the U.S. rights and aired it in December 2019.  It's peppered with modern-day curse words, and feels more like a Gothic horror film than a Christmas tale - and as you might imagine, in order to turn a short story into a 3 1/2 hour miniseries they had to add a lot of stuff, mostly in the "Christmas Past" section.  In this version, young Ebenezer has to stay at boarding school during Christmas break, not because his abusive father doesn't want him to come home, but because his abusive father worked out a deal for Ebenezer to get free tuition, provided the headmaster gets to molest him over the holidays.  OK, maybe that explains why Scrooge doesn't care to celebrate Christmas.  Then, as an adult, Scrooge agrees to pay for Tiny Tim's operation provided that Mrs. Cratchit comes to his house on Christmas in an "Indecent Proposal" sort of situation.  That's messed up.  He doesn't force himself on Bob Crachit's wife, but he COULD have, and just the fact that she came over to his house and undressed meant that he proved his point about how low people are willing to degrade themselves for money.  What a dick move.

I may watch a couple other versions of "A Christmas Carol" later today, since it is Christmas Eve, and after my 300th film for the year, I'm closing up the Movie Year workshop once again until January 1.  But the main lessons we need to take away from ANY version of Dickens' classic tale are that we need to look back fondly on the good moments of the past, learn from the mistakes of that past, take comfort in the presence of others in the here and now, and if necessary, make changes in our actions and our attitude in order to make the future better.  All of that strikes a chord, perhaps now more than ever.  

But for right now, it's a time for celebration - not in the usual way, as normally I would be driving up to Massachusetts today, stopping at a Connecticut casino for a buffet lunch, playing the slots for a bit, and then arriving at my parents' house for a feast of Chinese food, followed by a Christmas Day full of roast turkey, unwrapping presents and shared desserts.  Absolutely none of that is possible this year, but we've tentatively planned to go visit my parents in late January, so Christmas isn't really cancelled, just postponed.  Today we brought two boxes of COVID emergency meals that were mistakenly left on our front porch over to a community food drop-off, because we're not exactly short on food in the house, and tomorrow we'll cook a Christmas lasagna and try to have a good time.  

Both Rashida Jones AND Jason Schwartzman carry over from "Klaus".  And quite a few of today's stars are making their third appearance for the year, so they'll all qualify for my year-end wrap-up, which I probably should start working on, because there will be a LOT to cover.  Starting with the fact that the chain went unbroken again, from "Whale Rider" on January 1 to today, there were NO BREAKS in the chain, for the second year in a row!  I might be getting good at this linking thing, after all. 

FOLLOW-UP TO: "Always at the Carlyle" (Movie #3,349)

THE PLOT: Bill Murray worries that no one will show up for his TV show due to a terrible snowstorm in New York City. 

AFTER: OK, first I have to have a small internal debate about whether this constitutes a "movie".  What is a movie, exactly?  Netflix refers to this as a "holiday special", but it's not a TV special, or is it?  It's airing on my TV, does that make it a TV show instead of a movie?  I've watched very short movies before, like under an hour, and counted those as movies, so what should I do?  Generally the only hard and fast rule is that TV series and TV mini-series are not allowed here - certainly I didn't count the 3-hour "A Christmas Carol" because that was a 3-part mini-series, even if the episodes were all edited together to resemble a very long film.  BUT I counted the 1990 two-part mini-series "It" as one movie.  So I just don't know.  But Wikipedia lists this as "a 2015 American Christmas musical comedy film", so I'm going to stand behind that - this is a movie.  A short movie, but a movie.  

It's also very easy to think of this as some kind of extension to "Lost in Translation", since it's directed by Sofia Coppola and centers on Bill Murray hanging around in a hotel, feeling depressed and disconnected from society.  But it's not set in Tokyo, it's good old NYC on Christmas Eve, and the hotel is the infamous Carlyle, as portrayed in the documentary I watched last year with its own little celebrity-based subculture.  Bill's scheduled to perform a holiday show in the famous Bemelman's Bar that will be simulcast on TV via satellite, only a terrible blizzard has shut down the city, so there are no subways, no buses, no trains, and most importantly, no fans coming to the show.  Is it really a Christmas show with no audience?  The show's producers think so, they can just run footage of celebrities attending other events, and they believe that the TV audience won't be able to tell the difference.  So that's the plan, the show must go on, except that two minutes in to the broadcast, a power outage shuts everything down.  

This may have been filmed in 2015, but doesn't that sound a lot like 2020?  It's almost a perfect metaphor for the pandemic - so many things have gone wrong this year, and that's terrible, but sometimes there's a tiny silver lining to a disaster, and it means that the pressure's off.  You're stuck at home for weeks on end, and if you still have a job maybe you've figured out a way to work from home.  There's less pressure to dress up, taking showers or getting haircuts becomes somewhat optional, and forget job-hunting, because nobody's hiring right now anyway.  Circle the wagons, hunker down, put on something comfortable and start binge-ing "Game of Thrones" or "The Queen's Gambit" and don't leave the house until 70% of random strangers have been vaccinated - so, when is that, April? May? JUNE?

Back to Bill Murray - the forced cancellation of the Christmas special means that he gets to hang out at the Carlyle until the snowstorm is over, and thankfully he's got musical director Paul Shaffer (this was shortly after Letterman's CBS show folded) and a bunch of celebrity guests with him.  PLUS the chefs at the Carlyle are concerned that the food might spoil without refrigeration, so they're down to cook it all, just to be on the safe side, PLUS there's a well-stocked bar, PLUS there's wedding cake from a celebration that went south.  The point here is that when all seems lost, and there's tragedy taking place all around you, one thing you can do is just take stock of what you've got on hand, and celebrate anyway.  Why not?  The band still played while the Titanic sank, and I'm sure some doomed society types were drinking cocktails the whole time. 

And so this movie is proud to present to you - 

BILL MURRAY'S TIPS FOR SURVIVING CHRISTMAS EVE (during a city-crippling snowstorm, however tips also applicable to a pandemic, contested election season and/or zombie apocalypse):

1. DRINK. This is super-important, I can't stress this enough.  It's early in the day still, so I'm on mulled cider and I'm about to have my first coffee, but I plan to transition to eggnog (the kind with rum in it, and I may add some extra) before dinner-time, and then I've got one bottle left of Heartland Brewery's Old Red Nose Ale, 2017 vintage, down in the basement beer fridge.  I may just have to crack that one open tonight, or perhaps tomorrow.  I bought three bottles last December after dining at their 34th St. brewpub, only to find out on my way out the door that the restaurant would be closing within weeks, and the city-wide chain was reducing from its former glory of four locations to just one in Times Square.  It seemed like a horrible business decision to me at the time, but considering that almost ALL NYC restaurants shut down in April, in retrospect I'm wondering if Heartland Brewery didn't make the right move.  It's almost like they had a crystal ball and foresaw the collapse of the restaurant industry.  

Anyway, get your drink on now, umm, unless you're an alcoholic or a tee-totaller, in which case this is probably not the best time to backslide.  But if you're a drinking person like I am, you'd best get on top of this.  In a few hours you could pass out like Bill Murray, and then you can have a vision of being in your own high-concept holiday special, singing duets with George Clooney and Miley Cyrus.  

2. SING - Holiday music has played a big part in my life these last few decades.  I started with a mix-tape in 1991, that first one had all the classics, as I define them, from Leon Redbone's "Frosty the Snowman" to Stevie Nicks's "Silent Night", Whitney Houston's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and Bob Seger's "The Little Drummer Boy".  Every year there was a different theme, from jazz to soul to novelty songs, or 70's acts, 80's acts, a cappella groups.  One year it was only songs from former "American Idol" contestants, but mostly I've see-sawed back and forth between classic rock and alternative acts as the theme, because that's just where I've found the most material that speaks to me.  Initially these went out to just a few friends and family members, but then I began giving them to current and former co-workers, ex-college roommates and then amicable postal clerks if I had some left over.  

This year's mix was a real challenge - what was even appropriate?  And I wondered if people would even WANT me to mail them out this year, or if people would even be in the holiday mood this time around.  If ever there's a year to take a pass or call a mulligan or opt out of the "usual" holiday routine, this is probably it.  But then I thought I COULD put something together, maybe choose the right songs and make a nod to the pandemic in a fashion, without addressing it directly.  I heard Train's song "Shake Up Christmas" and thought, "Man, that's just GOT to be my opener."  I spent about a week in October listening to potential tracks (I'll admit, mostly songs that didn't make the cut two years ago...) and it came together rather quickly after that.  Some alt-acts are my top producers, as I bought holiday albums about a decade ago from Sister Hazel, Reverend Horton Heat and Relient K, and I STILL find songs on them that I haven't used and are just right on point for my purposes. I found tracks from a couple of edgier albums from Weezer and Bad Religion that really lit the mix up, then it was just a matter of filling in some of the gaps.

It didn't feel like the right time for "Deck the Halls" or "Jingle Bell Rock", or even "Winter Wonderland" - they just felt too HAPPY, but I thought "Sleigh Ride" and "Let it Snow" could work.  I always have a "nativity" section with "Silent Night", "O Holy Night" and then whatever else I can find that fits in with those, like Sixpence None the Richer's "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and Bad Religion's "What Child Is This?"  Instead of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", I included Relient K's "Santa Claus is Thumbing to Town", in which the elves burn down Santa's workshop and the sleigh's broken, so he has to hitchhike all around the world in just one night - that seemed like 2020 in a nutshell to me.  After that, it was just a matter of finding versions of "Silver Bells" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" that seemed to fit, and I was nearly done. (I noticed that lyrics like "I'll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams" took on a new meaning when viewed through the eyes of the pandemic and travel bans.)

Umm, except for two things, one song that my wife felt was much too slow and depressing, and Pilate's cover of "Fairytale of New York", a song first recorded by The Pogues.  It's got some salty language in it, spoken by a husband and wife as characters from the 1940's (?) having an argument on Christmas.  The wife sings, "You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap, lousy faggot" and of course, these days we all try to be more sensitive, so this language tends to spark some controversy.  I do send my CD out to friends, some of whom have kids, so although I hate censorship, I figured it was better to err on the side of caution.  And I can't go to everyone's house to explain that the singers are playing characters from a less enlightened time, so therefore the offensive words are being used perhaps ironically, plus the BBC doesn't censor these words when they play the song, so although I COULD defend the use of offensive language, I didn't have the proper labels available before mailing.  So that song was out.  A last-minute re-listen of Sia's Christmas album, purchased two years ago, supplied two substitute songs, and then I was comfortable with the mix.  Check my Twitter feed (@Honky275) and scroll back to Dec. 1 if you want to hear all of this year's songs presented in advent calendar format.  

Bill Murray & company also perform the song "Fairytale of New York", with the lead vocals bouncing between him, Jenny Lewis and David Johansen.  Notably, they skipped the verse with the potentially offensive words, which is one way to get around the problem, only I can't edit the songs for my mix.  I'm guessing this was at the request of Mr. Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter) as some of his best friends are probably scumbags and/or maggots.  But I digress.  They also included the duet "Baby, It's Cold Outside", but remember, this was filmed in 2015, which was a year or two before this song got banned from the airwaves for being just a bit too rapey.  I think the #metoo movement essentially killed this song, right? 

3. HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY - and it certainly helps if you've got a suite at the Carlyle, and Mr. Paul Shaffer is on hand when you get snowed in.  He probably knows absolutely everybody.  Also, the failed wedding at the hotel means that there's both a singing bride (Rashida Jones) and a singing, drumming groom (Jason Schwartzman) mucking about, plus a house lounge singer (Maya Rudolph) and a bartender (Johansen) to help keep things festive.  It's also quite convenient that singer Jenny Lewis moonlights as a waitress, and that the entirety of the Carlyle's restaurant staff is comprised of the band Phoenix, and they all brought their instruments with them to work - they must have had a gig later.  Phoenix performs "Alone on Christmas Day", and I think I may have to consider that song for inclusion on a future X-mas mix.  

4. TAKE IT ALL IN STRIDE - again, make the best of it, wherever you are and whatever you have on hand.  I spent a few days by myself, post-Christmas, in New York one year when trying to fly between Boston and Cleveland for New Year's Day.  The snow was so bad that I couldn't get to Cleveland, the plane had to land in New York and even after taking a bus from LaGuardia to JFK, I couldn't get out of town.  Most passengers were then stranded in an unfamiliar city and had to hunker down at an airport hotel, but I just went back to my apartment in Brooklyn and decided to try again in a couple days.  My wife (at the time) was already in Cleveland, I just had to call and revise the timetable.  I think that's the way it went down, it was so long ago... It's the holidays, and things are going to go right and things are going to go wrong, just relax and try to have a good time, and hopefully next year all our troubles will be miles away.  Yeah, right.

Think about the good times you had in Christmas Past - all those years where you could travel, and visit family, and the gift exchanges, and those giant holiday meals.  Those all still happened, you can look at photos from previous years, which I think I'll do tonight. Every Christmas back to 2005 is posted on my Flickr account, so maybe some reminiscing is in order.  I also remember that in 2014 (?) my BFF Andy scored a couple tickets to the last "Late Show with David Letterman" Christmas show, which meant that we saw, LIVE, the last time that Jay Thomas knocked a meatball off a Christmas tree with a football, Paul Shaffer did his impression of Cher singing "O Holy Night" on her own Christmas special, and most importantly, Darlene Love performed "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on stage - with extra horns, a string section and plenty of back-up singers.  That was one for the books.  

5. DISPENSE SAGE ADVICE - Murray's been divorced twice, and been in several long-running feuds, so I'm not sure he's the best person to write a relationship guide.  But here he manages to re-unite the Bride and the Groom, by asking them to recall the exact moment, the feeling, when they first knew they were in love with each other.  Then just SING that to the other person and re-connect.  OK, whatever works, but many people find that couples counseling is also productive.  But hey, what else can you expect from America's most eccentric part-time character actor?  

I've also heard that Murray does not have a manager or an agent, and only works when he wants to, since he doesn't have to.  Getting in touch with him to hire him is also a process shrouded in mystery, apparently you have to dial a personal phone number and leave a voice-mail, but then how do you GET that number, if he doesn't have an agent?  Then I think you have to take a ferry up the Hudson, and set off a flare gun at a particular point between Dobbs Ferry and Tarrytown, and just hope that he sees the signal and responds.  Or you could just be Jim Jarmusch, but I think that sounds even harder to do, honestly.  

Well, that's it for regulation play in the Year of Our Lord 2020.  I didn't even get to all the Bill Murray films on my list, like "City of Ember", "The Limits of Control", "On the Rocks" and a documentary called "Bill Murray Stories", which might have given some more insight into this enigmatic man.  But hey, there's always next year.  I'll start on my year-end wrap-up post very soon, to further celebrate this very weird, very messed-up, very inconvenient and terrible and barely survivable year, and then a new season will begin on January 1, right here.  In the meantime, stay safe, don't travel, circle the wagons, start drinking heavily, and have a very Murray Christmas, a safe New Year's, a joyful Toyotathon, a merry Chrysler-mas and a happy Honda-kkah.  (Jesus, car companies, nobody's supposed to be driving anywhere, read the room, already, will ya?)

Also starring Bill Murray (last seen in "The Dead Don't Die"), Michael Cera (last seen in "How to Be a Latin Lover"), George Clooney (last seen in "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"), Miley Cyrus (last seen in "The Night Before"), Dimitri Dimitrov (last seen in "She's Funny That way"), David Johansen (last seen in "Always at the Carlyle), Jenny Lewis, Amy Poehler (last seen in "Are You Here"), Chris Rock (last seen in "Dolemite Is My name"), Maya Rudolph (last seen in "Whitney"), Paul Shaffer (last seen in "David Crosby: Remember My Name"), Julie White (last seen in "Adult Beginners") and the band Phoenix, with archive footage of Johnny Depp (last seen in "Dead Man"), Tom Hanks (last seen in "The Circle"), Ben Kingsley (last seen in "The Wackness"), Paul McCartney (last seen in "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"), Charlize Theron (last heard in "The Addams Family"), Rita Wilson (last seen in "The Chumscrubber").

RATING: 6 out of 10 martinis mixed on the piano

Klaus

Year 12, Day 358 - 12/23/20 - Movie #3,699

BEFORE: If you look back almost 300 films ago, the last film I watched in 2019 was the 2017 CGI version of "The Grinch", and if I had a regret after watching that movie, it was that I realized too late that I could have linked from there to "Klaus".  Now, 300 films in a year is my arbitrary limit, sure, but if I had noticed the connection (Rashida Jones) between the two films earlier, I could have cut some middle film from a set of three somewhere in November or perhaps early December, and made room for "Klaus".  It didn't happen, it was too late, so I'm making up for it now.  What could have been film #3,300 at the end of 2019 is now film #3,699 at the end of 2020.  

That's fine, there are plenty of films that I managed to get to in 2020 that were rescheduled from 2019, just as there will be films watched in 2021 that I couldn't find room for in 2020, like "Hellboy", "New Mutants", "Bill and Ted Face the Music" and "Wonder Woman 1984".  Much of THAT next year will be fallout from the pandemic, of course, but some no doubt will be because I just plain ran out of slots.  Now, I'm also determined not to make the same mistake this year that I did last year, so please note that tomorrow's Christmas film was a last-minute addition, and like "Klaus", it sort of snuck up on me - I somehow forgot to include its cast list in my notes, so I very nearly omitted it.  But not quite, because in November I noticed the error, and I was in time to drop one film, let's say "A Million Little Pieces", in order to make room.  More on that tomorrow, but there is a certain symmetry, or perhaps rhythm, to my process. 

For now, Joan Cusack carries over from the tail end of "Instant Family".  

THE PLOT: When Smeerensburg's new postman, Jesper, befriends toymaker Klaus, their gifts melt an age-old feud and deliver a sleigh full of holiday traditions.  

AFTER: If you think about it, they really do sort of update the whole Santa Claus story every decade or so - many storytellers have taken it on, and some add to the story, while others detract.  If you go WAY back to the real Saint Nicholas and see how far removed that guy is from the fat guy in the red suit that talks to kids in shopping malls, you'll see what I mean.  To be fair, nobody really wrote anything about Saint Nicholas until hundreds of years after he died (same goes for Jesus, really) so it's honestly a blank slate.  He supposedly calmed a storm at sea, chopped down a tree possessed by a demon, spent some time in prison, and one legend even says he resurrected three children who had been chopped into pieces by a butcher.  But he was also known for his generosity, giving all his parents' wealth to the poor when they died and paying the dowries for unmarried women in order to prevent them from turning to prostitution - he would throw the coins through the window in the middle of the night, see?  He'd also put coins in shoes that were left out for him, a practice still celebrated on his feast day, December 6.

But then the legend of St. Nicholas got filtered through Dutch traditions, where he became known as Sinterklaas, depicted as an older bishop with white hair and a long beard, wearing a red bishop's robe.  He still arrives in the Netherlands on December 6 by boat, from his summer home in Spain (I swear, I'm not making this up, check Wiki if you don't believe me).  There's a big parade and some adults dress up like Sinterklaas's helper, Zwarte Piet ("Black Pete"") and they wear blackface to look like this Moor character, and they spank the naughty children in the crown with birch rods and the good children get chocolate coins thrown at them VERY HARD.  It all seems very racist, and straight out of the Middle Ages, but it still takes place today - again, Google "Zwarte Piet", I swear this is true.  

Eventually the Dutch settled in America ("even Old New York was once New Amsterdam") and some of the Dutch traditions came to America, and Sinterklaas slowly evolved into what we now know as Santa Claus, despite a push from Protestants to move the focus of Christmas away from the saint-based celebrations and back to the Christ child and the nativity.  Sinterklaas still persisted after the Revolutionary War in the Hudson Valley, and some attribute Washington Irving with a story in 1812 that had St. Nicholas soaring over treetops in a flying wagon.  By 1823 Clement Clarke Moore had published "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (aka "The Night Before Christmas") in the Sentinel in Troy, NY and many of the details of Santa's annual visit were firmly established.  That poem still holds up, once you explain to your kids what a nightcap, kerchief and sash are.  Illustrator Thomas Nast and "Wizard of Oz" author L. Frank Baum later weighed in with more details about Santa's look and daily routine.

From there, you can see how the depiction of Santa's workshop at the North Pole started to mirror American culture - after Henry Ford popularized the assembly line to make cars, it only made sense that elves would work on their own assembly line under Santa's guidance to make toys.  And while Coca-Cola didn't invent the concept, their ads in the 1930's certainly helped create Santa's image and mystique.  Songs like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry in 1949, and those Rankin-Bass stop-motion TV specials in the 1960's all kept adding details to Santa's story.  The big one I remember from when I was a kid was "The Year Without a Santa Claus", which threw Heat Meiser and Snow Meiser into the mix, plus Rudolph's own special added Yukon Cornelius, Hermey the elf and all those Misfit Toys...

Fast-forward a few more decades, and more modern depictions of Santa Claus probably have him using super-computers to maintain a giant database for that nice/naughty list, or using e-mail to take toy requests from kids.  But then there's "Klaus", which takes a giant step backwards, going back to a new origin story for Santa Klaus, but also at the same time moving forwards, because this story seems quite modern, even though it's set in the past.  The lead character is Jesper, who is a postman, so that sort of sets it squarely in the 1800's, I think.  Jesper's been stationed on a remote Northern island called Smeerensburg, where everyone's so caught up in a decades-old feud between two families that nobody takes the time to write letters to each other, the kids don't even go to school so the local teacher has to work as a fishmonger instead.  But Jesper is under orders from his father to post and process at least 6,000 letters, or he'll be cut off from the family fortune.  

When Jesper finds an old woodsman living way outside the main city, and he finds that the man has a gift for carving toys, he comes up with the idea to have the local kids write letters to Mr. Klaus, requesting specific toys.  Klaus insists on delivering them in person so he can see how happy the kids become upon getting a present, but since Jesper is skinnier than him, he throws Jesper up in the air and down the chimney to deliver the toys.  And when he reaches the home of the local bully, Jesper comes up with the idea of putting coal in the bully's stocking, to encourage better behavior in the future.  

But this update for the Santa story feels sort of reverse-engineered somehow, like the screenwriter knew where he wanted it to end, and then worked it back to have a completely different beginning.  I do like that most of the connection to religion has been removed here, instead Klaus is guided by the principle of paying it forward, that if you perform acts of kindness, they'll spark others. And time spent feuding is time wasted, which I think certainly resonates in our two-party political system.  The two feuding families here are united by their war on Klaus, and if you think about it, this is what SHOULD have happened when Democrats and Republicans were presented with a common enemy, the coronavirus, only that's not how it shook down, now, is it?  

There is great sadness in Klaus' back-story, he had a wife named Lydia and they were planning for children that never came, then Lydia got sick, and, well...you know.  There's another bit at the end that your kids might not be ready for, because Klaus is just a regular human, too - or is he?  Did he perhaps achieve mythical status that kept him alive much longer than a regular person?  I did think that it was very clever that Jesper basically created the legend of Santa Claus in order to sell stamps, which rings a little close to reality, where he was created to sell Coca-Cola and, well, everything else we all give each other for Christmas.  If Santa Claus didn't already exist, somebody would have had to create him to save the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter every year. (Voltaire once said something similar about God, but I'm paraphrasing here.)

I didn't really follow some of the stuff with the Sami people, who speak a different language than the other characters.  But I'm going to go easy on today's film because the director, Sergio Pablos, was very nice to our Kickstarter campaign.  No naughty list for him this year.  The look of the film is a major selling point, at a time when nearly everything is CGI, it's great to see a studio say, "Well, it doesn't HAVE to be that way, what if animation could look more organic and traditional, hand-crafted even" - which of course, seems very appropriate for a story set back in the late 1800's or perhaps early 1900's.  

Well, there's just one film left to watch in 2020, so I'm going to go get to it.  What will it be?  HINT: It's a Christmas film, and two actors carry over from this one to that one.

Also starring the voices of Jason Schwartzman (last seen in "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"), Rashida Jones (last heard in "Spies in Disguise"), J.K. Simmons (last seen in "Father Figures"), Will Sasso (last seen in "Killing Hasselhoff"), Norm MacDonald (last seen in "The Ridiculous 6"), Sergio Pablos, Neda Margrethe Labba, Reiulf Aleksandersen, Sara Margrethe Oksai, Kendall Joy Hall, and cameos from Sam McMurray (last seen in "Jenny's Wedding"), Dwight Schultz (last heard in "Batman: Under the Red Hood")

RATING: 7 out of 10 bird feeders