Consider this a travel journal full of wonders, escapes, thrills, wisdom, and revelation. These are the films that blessed and challenged me most in 2020. Most of them are easily accessible now and you can enjoy them and share them. Take your time and explore.

In this episode of the Looking Closer podcast, filmmaker Chad Hartigan talks about his new sci-fi love story "Little Fish," its focus on the power of memory, and what it was like to make a pandemic-focused movie just in time for a real pandemic.

The countdown continues! Having listed my Honorable Mentions, I move on to my list of 35 favorite recordings from 2020. This post counts down #35–#21.

Every year for decades I've posted annual lists of favorite albums here. I'm taking things up a notch, with a longer list and more links to specific tracks than ever before. Here's Part One of three posts on my favorite recordings of 2020. Put on your headphones and make some discoveries!

In David Fincher's much-anticipated epic about the origins of Citizen Kane, its political context, and its troubled screenwriter, so much artistry is spent on ambitious and extravagant scenes. But there's no magic happening here.

Cinephile Glen Grunau offers a remarkable list of 100 "contemplative films" that will reward those who seek them out. Also: Grunau posts some insights on Peter Jackson's innovative WWI documentary.

Thanksgiving leftovers!Listen in on a conversation between Alissa Wilkinson, Sam Thielman, and Jeffrey Overstreet as they celebrate the greatest feast ever filmed.

Here is a new episode of the Looking Closer podcast, featuring my first impressions of Wolfwalkers, and then my conversation about it with Dr. Lindsay Marshall.