Best of 2020
An unexpected line-up for a strange year...
2020 was a weird year to live through, especially with it closing cinemas down and effectively changing my usual balance between movies and gaming without warning. As a result, I saw far fewer new movies than I would've done, but I did manage to get into double figures for games completed, which is the first time I've done that in a long, long time. As for my picks of the best movie, game and TV show I got through this year? Not what I ever could've imagined they'd be...
Best Movie: Emma.
It might be the fact that I got to see Emma. in a cinema that won it top spot overall, although The Invisible Man certainly ran it close. Out of the 2020 new releases I saw for the first time at home, The Personal History of David Copperfield came out top there, but I don't think it would've won even if I had seen it on the big screen thanks to what I felt was a wobbly first half.
Ultimately, Emma. won out for what I believe is an award-worthy performance from Anya-Taylor Joy as the title character; a brilliantly subtle comedic supporting performance from Bill Nighy; and the fact that it combined humour with drama so well, with plenty of character moments and allowing everyone of them to display emotional depth.
Best Game: Microsoft Flight Simulator
As I said in the review, I'm not entirely sure you can count it as a game, but it's so good that it simply has to go here. It's a true next-gen experience in every sense, going further than anything released on the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles in how advances in technology can push these experiences further than imagined before - the fact it looks next-gen too is just a bonus.
Best TV Show: The Good Place | Season Four
Or, more accurately, the series finale, "Whenever You're Ready", which I genuinely believe to be one of the greatest endings to a TV show ever made, lifting up what was the weakest season of the show to deliver a strong ending to a great series. I'm not entirely sure you could call it a happy ending in the the traditional sense, more like a 'peace and contentment' ending.
To be fair, that really does fit The Good Place as a whole, so it seems appropriate, although having to say goodbye to these characters is hard after growing to love them over four seasons, especially how they each depart the series. How this show didn't win more awards is beyond me, with that double-length finale deserving plenty on its own.
To finish with, I'll also look ahead to what I'm most anticipating in 2021:
Movies: I have to admit that I'm most looking forward to the return of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Chloe Zhao's Eternals the one that intrigues me most, even if it ends up having to be watched on Disney+. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Taskmaster is depicted in Black Widow. Setting up Thunderbolts maybe?
Games: No Series X or PS5 yet means I'm not really looking at what's coming up for them just yet, so it's a couple of smaller PC titles that I'm most interested in, 12 Minutes and Fights in Tight Spaces - I've actually played a demo of the latter and loved it, so definitely looking forward to the full game.
TV: Much like the movies, it's the MCU that wins out here too, with Marvel Studios turning their attention to the small screen in their quest for total media dominance. WandaVision looks fantastic from the trailers, plus a whole ton of others following soon after - 2021 could be the most Marvel-packed year of them all.
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