52 Movies Challenge — 2020

After a hiatus from wrting and downtick in my movie watching I wanted to churn out some content spurned off previous articles. More than anything it is to document some of what I watched in a given period of time, while also continually providing recommendations to people looking for them.

This idea spawned of my collaborator Chris, where in 2019 the two of us watched 52 movies from each of the past 52 years, in order, across a mix of directors, genre, language, and style.

I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, and the obvious lens it provided into the trajectory that movies and Hollywood has taken in the last fifty years. My movie watching pace stayed relatively high, but for whatever reason, even amidst a pandemic and more time that any of us were used to, I didn’t redo the challenge. I decided to go back and see how close I was to organically achieving the feat of watching a movie from each of the past 52 years (though not in order of course). Turns out I was pretty darn close.

The only years I missed were 1970, 1972, 1976. Other than that, chalk. I still published a Top 50 I watched in 2020, which contains strong overlap here. And unlike the exercise in 2019, instead of my pre-planned diverse list of movies, I typically opted to lean towards “better” movies when given the choice in a year where I’d seen multiple. Chris and I also wrote superlatives for 2019, and we will see how that goes, or as I scroll through the movie list, what inspires me and jogs my memory of my experience with it.

The Top 10

• The Last Picture Show (1971) (dir. Peter Bogdanovich)
• California Split (1974) (dir. Robert Altman)
• My Dinner with Andre (1981) (dir. Louis Malle)
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) (dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Spirited Away (2001) (dir. Hayao Miyazaki)
• Joshy (2016) (dir. Jeff Baena)
• Palm Springs (2020) (dir. Max Barbakow)

The first seven movies listed here were on my top ten for the year, along with three movies pre-1969. If i had to add three more from the list below to round out this list (no director repeats), they would be:

• Before Sunset (2004) (dir. Richard Linklater)
• Memories of Murder (2003) (dir. Bong Joon-Ho)
• sex, lies and videotape (1989) (dir. Steven Soderbergh)

Here is year by year list, on my Letterboxd page. Below is the complete list.

— Years missing: 1970, 1972, 1976

Looking back, there are very few of these movies I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending. It’s great seeing what movies stuck, what I’m still thinking about, what I remember, and what I want to rewatch.

By year:

• 2020 — Palm Springs
• 2019 — Portrait of a Lady on Fire
• 2018 — The Favourite

2017 — Only the Brave

Still on Netflix, and made by director Joseph Kasinski of Top Gun: Maverick, Only the Brave hit me like a ton of bricks. A well-constructed and fleshed out cast, with some of the best physical actors of today, get ready for some tears, becaues they will sneak up on you. In a post-#defundthepolice world, and after having recently watched Backdraft, I am here to push more good firefighting movies.

• 2016 — Joshy
• 2015 — Spectre
• 2014 — It Follows

2013 — The Wind Rises

I truly am splitting hairs when picking between my favourite Miyazaki movie. Probably the most rooted in reality of any of his movies, The Wind Rises is one of the most serene, romantic movies, with emotional resonance and beauty you didn’t realize animation is capable of. It’s dreamlike, but without the eery qualities of many other Miyazaki dream states. Moreover, the historic elements in it providing an underseen Japanese perspective of WW2, are thought provoking, to put it mildly.

• 2012 — Seven Psychopaths
• 2011 — From Up On Poppy Hill
• 2010 — Senna
• 2009 — The Proposal
• 2008 — Ponyo

2007 — Funny Games

A shot-for- shot remake of the 1997 film of the same name, Natalie and I threw this on the TV on a whim, and were immediately surprised at how quickly it caught our attention. Not far off the heels of seeing Midsommar, Funny Games similarly operates primarily on a bright beautiful day inside a family’s cottage. I had not seen much of Naomi Watt’s work until recently, but after seeing a few films, I am continually impressed by her. The selling point for me is the dynamic of the two boys. They are charming, creepy, and highly unpredictable, but not in a way that feels fabricated for the sake of plot or shock.

• 2006 — The Host
• 2005 — Lord of War
• 2004 — Before Sunset

2003 — Memories of Murder

After seeing Parasite and needing to quickly watch every Bong Joon-Ho film I could get my hands on, I must admit that I was slightly underwhelmed at certain moments. I thought The Host was well done, but can’t say that Okja or Snowpiercer really clicked for me. Memories of Murder is everything I could have hoped for and more. It is right in the vein of dark crime and mystery investigative thrillers, like Zodiac, Seven, Silence of the Lambs, and Prisoners, to name a few classics. If those movies are up your alley, don’t get bogged down by the subtitles.

• 2002— 25th Hour
• 2001 — Spirited Away
• 2000 — High Fidelity
• 1999 — Any Given Sunday
• 1998 — The Thin Red Line
• 1997 — Starship Troopers

1996 — White Squall

The only way to describe White Squall is Dead Poet’s Society on a boat. I myself am not the biggest DPS fan, but the appeal of a bunch of young men fighting and learning together, amidst the beautiful back drop of their ship and ocean, is not a tough sell. Jeff Bridges is fantastic as the classical tough but loving ship captain. To sound like a broken record, it is these mid-budget movies that we are still starved for.

• 1995 — Living in Oblivion
• 1994 — Three Colors: Red

1993 — The Age of Innocence

Another relatively forgotten Scorcese flick, The Age of Innocence portrays Daniel Day-Lewis in 1870s New York City, and the never-ceasing story of courtship, love, and marriage that so many period pieces dutifully tell. DDL is fantastic as usual. Both Michelle Pfeifer Winona Ryder have what I would call modern sensibilities, and operate extermely well in costume. That ntoe becomes even more fascinating with the benefit of hindsight with Gangs of New York, where Cameron Diaz’s modernity is probably the biggest weakness of the movie. Credit to Pfeifer and Ryder, and on top of that, it is fun seeing Scorcese up to his usual tricks in such a different New York environment.

• 1992 — The Last of the Mohicans
• 1991 — The Addams Famly

1990 — Total Recall

Not totally sold on the “campy but good!” hype of Total Recall on the first viewing. A fortunate by-product of my procrastination, I recently rewatched Total Recall, and fully “got it.” The practical effects, the world building, the genuine mystery to the story. Intentional or not, I’m earnest in my praise that Arnold’s manic nature and poor acting contribute to a better sense of confusion that adds to the mania of the story.

• 1989 — sex,lies, and videotape
• 1988 — The Last Temptation of Christ
• 1987 — Moonstruck
• 1986 — The Fly

1985 — Ran

One of the last true modern “epics”, Ran is an adaptation of King Lear by Akira Kurosawa. The colours, the painted vista bakcgrounds. It’s a long movie, but not difficult to keep attention at the spectacle.

• 1984 — Stop Making Sense
• 1983 — Christine
• 1982 — Diner
• 1981 — My Dinner With Andre
• 1980 — Caddyshack
• 1979 — Lupin the 3rd: The Count of Cagliostro

1978 — The Silent Partner

One of my favourite seventies actors, in a crime-mystery thriller at Christmas in Toronto? What’s not to love? Why is this not playing on CBC every weekend in December? A still under-watched movie, do yourself a favour and see if you can find somewhere to watch.

• 1977 — Eraserhead
• 1976
• 1975 — Three Days of the Condor
• 1974 — California Split*

1973 — The Long Goodbye

Much like Spirited Away and The Wind Rises, I’m almost frustrated for burning two top tier Robert Altman movies back to back with California Split and The Long Goodbye. The LA noir and subsequent 90s neo-noir genres are long and storied, and I find The Long Goodybe to be right beside Chinatown as the premier noirs of the 70s. The Long Goodbye has notes of comedy amidst is fast paced plot, versus the more self-serious tone of Chinatown. Both work perfectly. I’m a sucker for both Nicholson and Elliot Gould. This desperately needs a rewatch for me at this point, and I can’t wait to revisit the smal notes I didn’t even know I loved the first time now that I know the plot going in.

• 1972
• 1971 — The Last Picture Show*
• 1970
• 1969 — On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

There is really no rhyme or reason to the movies I wrote about above. There are many more I could speak on, and many more that I liked but warrant a rewatch for me to recall what stood out specifically.

More and more I am founding it a struggle to balance the thrill and wondrous curiosity gained during a first time viewing, versus the payoff off a secondary watch that rewards noticing the small details rather than a following of the basic plot. There is no right answer of course.

Anyways, more to come soon on this adapted challenge. Regardless of how good the movies are, how many from each of the past 52 I’ve seen, the interest of what the evolution of film as a whole looks like never ceases to amaze me.

The full list, without writing.

• 2020 — Palm Springs
• 2019 — Portrait of a Lady on Fire
• 2018 — The Favourite
• 2017 — Only the Brave
• 2016 — Joshy
• 2015 — Spectre
• 2014 — It Follows
• 2013 — The Wind Rises
• 2012 — Seven Psychopaths
• 2011 — From Up On Poppy Hill
• 2010 — Senna
• 2009 — The Proposal
• 2008 — Ponyo
• 2007 — Funny Games
• 2006 — The Host
• 2005 — Lord of War
• 2004 — Before Sunset
• 2003 — Memories of Murder
• 2002 — 25th Hour
• 2001 — Spirited Away
• 2000 — High Fidelity
• 1999 — Any Given Sunday
• 1998 — The Thin Red Line
• 1997 — Starship Troopers
• 1996 — White Squall
• 1995 — Living in Oblivion
• 1994 — Three Colors: Red
• 1993 — The Age of Innocence
• 1992 — The Last of the Mohicans
• 1991 — The Addams Famly
• 1990 — Total Recall
• 1989 — sex,lies, and videotape
• 1988 — The Last Temptation of Christ
• 1987 — Moonstruck
• 1986 — The Fly
• 1985 — Ran
• 1984 — Stop Making Sense
• 1983 — Christine
• 1982 — Diner
• 1981 — My Dinner With Andre
• 1980 — Caddyshack
• 1979 — Lupin the 3rd: The Count of Cagliostro
• 1978 — The Silent Partner
• 1977 — Eraserhead
• 1976
• 1975 — Three Days of the Condor
• 1974 — California Split*
• 1973 — The Long Goodbye
• 1972
• 1971 — The Last Picture Show*
• 1970
• 1969 — On Her Majesty’s Secret Service