Thanks to the corona virus inspired shelter-in-place order that kept everyone locked at home from mid-March through my annual long December vacation, I saw a big increase in movie watching, with my highest total since 2008. I managed to watch 154 movies last year, easily surpassing the 100 movie plateau for the first time since 2011 and my third highest total of all time. It’s amazing what I can accomplish when I am home all day and don’t need to bother with pesky things like a commute. Or exercise.
Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I watched last year and what recollection, if any, I have of them. The films are listed in the order I saw them.
Sister Cities (2016)
Four sisters reunite following the somewhat suspicious passing of their mother.
Home Again (2017)
Reese Witherspoon takes on three boarders and finds her life change for the better.
It Chapter 2 (2019)
Now adults, the Losers Club returns to Derry to finish off Pennywise once and for all.
The Domestics (2018)
A young couple crosses a post-apocalyptic country looking for safety.
On The Basis Of Sex (2018)
A young Ruth Bader Ginsberg argues in front of the Supreme Court.
Colonia (2016)
A young woman searches for her kidnapped boyfriend.
Long Shot (2019)
A once-promising journalist hooks up, professionally and personally, with his former babysitter, who is running for president.
Overboard (2018)
The roles are reversed in this remake of the Kurt Russell/Goldie Hawn classic.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
Keanu Reeves returns for the third installment of this surprisingly entertaining series.
Midsommar (2019)
A group of college students heads to Sweden for a festival and some strange shit goes down.
Ricochet (1991)
A former cop, now the district attorney, is terrorized by a criminal he sent to prison years ago.
The Party’s Just Beginning (2018)
A woman deals with the stress of her friend’s suicide.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
A woman is stuck handcuffed to her bed after a night of kinky sex goes horribly awry.
The Haunting Of Sharon Tate (2019)
Quite possibly one of the worst films I have ever seen.
Horse Girl (2020)
A socially isolated woman finds her increasingly lucid dreams trickling into her waking life.
The Hustle (2019)
Two grifters decide it is easier to work together than to fight against each other.
Angel Has Fallen (2019)
Gerard Butler saves the president for the third time, though this time he is accused of being the attacker.
Tone-Deaf (2019)
A woman rents a country house for a weekend away, but finds her landlord might be a psychopath.
Under The Silver Lake (2019)
A disenchanted young man goes on a quest to find a woman he saw swimming in his apartment’s pool.
Polaroid (2019)
A haunted camera causes the death of anyone caught in its sights.
Shaft (2019)
3 generations of Shafts take to the streets.
Coherence (2014)
A group of friends gather for a dinner party and find themselves crossing into alternate universes.
Catfight (2017)
Two rival women keep fighting each other, putting one another in years long comas.
Deadcon (2019)
A ghost takes down social media influencers at a con celebrating them.
The Little Hours (2017)
A group of pagan witches infiltrates a nunnery.
Welcome Home (2018)
A couple spends a weekend in the Italian countryside to try and repair their relationship, but soon become victims of the homeowner’s sinister plans.
Saturday The 14th (1981)
A satirical look at the slasher film craze of the late 70s.
Abduction (2011)
A high schooler finds out his life is a lie when the CIA handlers he thought were his parents are killed and he’s forced to go on the run.
BlackKkKlansman (2018)
A black agent infiltrates the KKK over the phone, with a white agent impersonating him for face-to-face meetings.
Defending Your Life (1991)
Albert Brooks tries to understand the afterlife while falling in love with another recently deceased soul.
Upgrade (2018)
A techno-phobe allows himself to be implanted with nanobots in an attempt to take revenge on the gang that killed his wife.
Don’t Think Twice (2016)
An improv troupe starts to fracture when one of them starts to move on to bigger and better things.
Girl On The Third Floor (2019)
Another contender for worst movie of the year, though this one was filmed locally at a supposed haunted house in Frankfort.
Jay And Silent Bob Reboot (2019)
Kevin Smith tries, and mostly fails, to go home again.
American Ultra (2015)
A sleeper agent is triggered when the CIA decides to terminate his program.
Bewitched (2005)
Hijinks ensue when an actual witch is cast as the new Samantha in a remake of Bewitched.
Motel Hell (1980)
A farmer and his sister kidnap unsuspecting travelers and bury them alive create the “special meat” they are famous for.
Results (2015)
A wealthy client disrupts the lives of two personal trainers.
Frantic (1988)
Harrison Ford’s wife goes missing in Paris.
Swing Away (2017)
A professional golfer heads to Greece to reset herself after a tour meltdown.
Galveston (2018)
A dying hitman returns to his hometown to get some revenge.
When A Stranger Calls (1979)
A killer returns to torment the woman he attacked years ago when she was a babysitter.
My Days Of Mercy (2017)
A young woman, whose father is on death row, falls in love with a pro-death penalty protester.
Pooka Lives (2020)
A group of thirty-something friends create their own Creepypasta about Pooka for laughs, but are shocked when it goes viral and manifests murderous versions of the creature.
Knives Out (2019)
An eccentric detective tries to solve the murder of a millionaire.
I, Frankenstein (2014)
Frankenstein’s monster lives into the 21st century and stops scientists from recreating another like him.
A Ghost Story (2017)
A recently-deceased man returns as a ghost to reconnect with his grieving wife.
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019)
A jaded reporter is assigned to do a feature on Mr. Rogers and finds that the experience changes his life.
The Romantics (2010)
Close friends reunite for a wedding, but problems arise when the bride and the maid of honor are both in love with the groom.
The Nice Guys (2016)
A mismatched pair of detectives investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star in 1970s Los Angeles.