Thread by @SamuelAAdams, this wasn't anyone's best year for anything, but I wrote a few [...]

this wasn't anyone's best year for anything, but I wrote a few I can look at and say, like a contestant on the Great British Bake-Off, "I'm happy with that."

this look at the Holy Trinity of John Cusack movies—Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blanke, and High Fidelity—is one of those pieces it feels like I've been working on since I was 16 https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/john-cusack-movies-high-fidelity-say-anything-grosse-pointe-blank.html

Rewatching the Holy Trinity of John Cusack Movies Made Me Glad They’re Over

Say Anything, Grosse Pointe Blank, and High Fidelity tell the coming-of-age story of a man who never grew up.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/john-cusack-movies-high-fidelity-say-anything-grosse-pointe-blank.html

the ending of Mrs America gave me a chance to talk about about Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, one of my favorite movies of all time https://slate.com/culture/2020/05/mrs-america-finale-jeanne-dielman-homage-ending-meaning.html

Mrs. America’s Final Shot Has a Hidden Meaning

The miniseries ends with an unlikely homage.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/05/mrs-america-finale-jeanne-dielman-homage-ending-meaning.html

and on the subject of Mrs America, I talked to Sarah Paulson about her spotlight episode (she is, not shockingly, a delight) https://slate.com/culture/2020/05/mrs-america-sarah-paulson-interview-episode-8-houston.html

Sarah Paulson on Playing a Housewife Who—Well, We Won’t Spoil It

Mrs. America’s latest episode takes an unexpected turn.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/05/mrs-america-sarah-paulson-interview-episode-8-houston.html

experts? I talked to them, too, like the Good Place's in-house philosophers: https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/the-good-place-finale-ending-explained-philosopher-cameos-analysis.html

The Two Philosophers Who Cameoed in the Good Place Finale on What They Made of Its Ending

Plus: whether Ted Danson is really as nice as everyone says.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/the-good-place-finale-ending-explained-philosopher-cameos-analysis.html

the astrophysicist who helped craft the time-travel mechanics of Palm Springs (and had some sharp things to say on-screen scientists in general) https://slate.com/culture/2020/07/palm-springs-movie-ending-explained-theoretical-physicist-interview.html

Palm Springs’ Theoretical Physicist on the Science Behind the Movie’s Twists

A spoiler-filled interview with Clifford Johnson, who consulted on (and cameos in) the new movie.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/07/palm-springs-movie-ending-explained-theoretical-physicist-interview.html

and Scott Z Burns, the writer of Contagion, a movie that lots of people were watching for a reason I can't seem to recall https://slate.com/culture/2020/03/contagion-movie-coronavirus-interview-screenwriter-scott-z-burns.html

Contagion’s Screenwriter on Watching His Movie Go Viral

The coronavirus pandemic is better—and worse—than the one he imagined.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/03/contagion-movie-coronavirus-interview-screenwriter-scott-z-burns.html

speaking of the pandemic, it functioned, as @meganamram wrote, like a blacklight in a motel room, highlighting places where society has gone to rot. E.g cultural institutions begging patrons for $$ while the government let less-famous counterparts starve https://slate.com/culture/2020/10/strand-bookstore-music-venues-theaters-covid.html

The Strand Shouldn’t Have to Beg Us Not to Die

Society has given up on cultural institutions during the pandemic. Only the ones that plead loud enough have a shot.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/10/strand-bookstore-music-venues-theaters-covid.html

the COVID variant of disaster capitalism also gave Hollywood a chance to cut out movie theaters for good, and the future that portends is pretty damn bleak https://slate.com/culture/2020/11/wonder-woman-1984-movie-theaters-dying-streaming-sucks.html

We Have Glimpsed Our Streaming Future, and It Sucks

It’s not just the magic of sitting in a darkened theater that’s been whisked away.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/11/wonder-woman-1984-movie-theaters-dying-streaming-sucks.html

finally some reviews, of movies that needed support in a year where they got little

She Dies Tomorrow https://slate.com/culture/2020/07/she-dies-tomorrow-movie-review-amy-seimetz-meaning.html

World of Tomorrow, Episode 3 https://slate.com/culture/2020/10/world-of-tomorrow-episode-three-don-hertzfeldt-review.html

Wolfwalkers https://slate.com/culture/2020/11/wolfwalkers-movie-review-best-animated-movie-2020.html

Wolfwalkers Is the Best Animated Movie of the Year So Far

The latest from Cartoon Saloon blends Irish history, werewolves, and the magic of hand-drawn animation.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/07/she-dies-tomorrow-movie-review-amy-seimetz-meaning.html

and because it wouldn't be 2020 without something that's just terrible, here's an in-depth look at the music video career of Joe Exotic.

Thanks for reading. https://slate.com/culture/2020/03/netflixs-tiger-king-joe-exotics-music-isnt-even-by-joe-exotic.html

The Music of the Tiger King Isn’t Even by the Tiger King

The story of Joe Exotic’s songs is so strange that even Netflix’s five-hour documentary doesn’t have room for it.

https://slate.com/culture/2020/03/netflixs-tiger-king-joe-exotics-music-isnt-even-by-joe-exotic.html

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