Month: December 2020

The Queen’s Gambit was an unexpected hit for Netflix with over “55 million households” watching the chess drama in its first four weeks of release. There likely won’t be a second season, nor should there be, but star Anya Taylor-Joy and co-creator Scott Frank are already working on their next project together: an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s 1932 novel, Laughter in the Dark. (“Laughter in the dark” also describes me every time Benny was on screen.)

While appearing on The Ringer‘s The Watch podcast, Frank said, “It’s a great book and it’s going to be a valentine to movies, I’m going to do it as a film noir. The book is more about art and paintings, but I’m going to make it more of a movie within a movie. It’s a really nasty, wonderful, little thriller.” Laughter in the Dark is about a middle-aged married art critic who becomes enamored with a 17-year-old girl, presumably played by Taylor-Joy; it’s a theme Nabokov would revisit decades later with his best-known work, Lolita.

Frank has twice been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Out of Sight and Logan), while Taylor-Joy deserved an Oscar nominated for her performance in The Witch, and might get one for Emma. Even a big, dumb chess idiot can say that this is an exciting pairing… as long as, again, they don’t make more The Queen’s Gambit. It’s good as is!

(Via IndieWire)

Miley Cyrus headlined last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and part of her time on the program was spent with a superfan named Paul Fino, who came away from the experience with some odd gifts.

Cyrus told Fino, “I hope you haven’t lived your life by doing everything that I do. It’s very controversial, some of those activities.” The two then faced off in a trivia game about Cyrus, in which neither of them performed all that well. Cyrus pulled out the win, though, but it was Fino who came away with the prize. Seemingly grabbing random items from around her home, Cyrus promised Fino a gift package that includes a used razor, a hairbrush, and a knife.

Elsewhere during the show, Cyrus sat down with Kimmel for an interview and revealed where her current mullet-inspired hairstyle came from, saying, “[My mother] said, ‘Well, I can cut your hair, but I only know how to do one hairstyle, and I’ve been doing this since 1992 for your dad and for your brothers,’ and all my mom can do is the mullet, so I had one option and I needed it.”

She also performed “Prisoner,” so watch clips from Cyrus’ appearance on Kimmel above and below.

It wasn’t easy to make a list of the best movies of 2020. It wasn’t easy for a lot of reasons. Start with the big one: Movie theaters have been pretty much closed since March, which made seeing them — and even releasing them — a struggle. A bunch of blockbusters have been bumped to next year. A fair amount of the most exciting Oscar contenders are not available to the vast majority of viewers yet, including the vast majority of our writers. Coming to a consensus was going to be hard. Ranking them in any order was going to be impossible.

So, we didn’t do that second thing. No rankings this year. What we did instead was try to create as inclusive a list as possible, with a wide selection of movies that people felt were important this year. It’s a pretty good list, which feels like a decent accomplishment considering only one film landed on all of our submissions. That will probably change as more of us have a chance to see more of the year’s movies, probably next year, but for now, it’s the best we’ve got.

Oh, and the one film on every list? It was the one about the guy who woke up every morning living the same day, again and again, seeing the same people and buildings and walls, just grinding through over and over and over in search of a way to break free. Art imitates life sometimes, and sometimes life imitates art.

Palm Springs

A lot of attempts at a Groundhog Day-type plot exist, but none of them are as absolutely charming as this Andy Samberg picture. It’s breezy and refreshing and also maneuvers through those obligatory existential twists in a way that doesn’t feel obligatory. And let’s face it — a lot of us wouldn’t mind (especially in 2020) being stuck in a time loop while attending a destination wedding right about now. That seems pretty relaxing. All one really needs to achieve a zen-like mindset in the loop is liquor and entertainment and the freedom to act as stupidly as possible without consequence because (you guessed it) everything gets erased anyway, right? Nothing matters, until it does, and that’s when the romance part of the story kicks in, and Sarah (Christina Milioti) ends up tearing Nyles’ blissful little mindset apart.

A romantic comedy that prioritizes comedy and then sneaks up on you with the romance? Give me all of it. And look, there’s nothing like the original Bill Murray flick, but Punxsutawney never had dinosaurs or a goat or a vengeful J.K. Simmons. — Kimberly Ricci

Minari

Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari strikes a special chord in these United States as immigrants have been weaponized by the current presidential administration. So it’s almost impossible not to think of that rhetoric while watching Minari, as we get an intimate look at a Korean family who (after some time in California working a job they hate) settle in rural Arkansas in the 1980s to make on their own growing crops on some somewhat sketchy farmland. What this movie does best is it invokes a sense of how brave anyone has to be to embark on a journey like this – to move halfway around the world, to a place where you don’t speak the language, and try to start growing crops. Steven Yeun brings a noble sensibility to Jacob, even if his dream does, at times, seem futile to both his family and the viewer. What sticks out the most are the “mundane” intricacies of just trying to make it from one day to the next – which is where Minari finds its strength. When something big does happen, it almost feels out of place compared with just the daily struggles. Jacob just wants what’s best for his family, even though his family doesn’t quite understand why he’s pushing this hard with little to no payoff. If a person works this hard, good things will happen, right? And, that, right there, is the crux of what we call the American dream, which Minari captures better than any other film this year. — Mike Ryan

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

You know what you’re going to get from a Charlie Kaufman film. Existential dread. Themes of identity. Mind-bending plot twists and sad, lonely men. And even though his latest, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, trades in all those expected motifs, there’s something disturbingly fascinating about this movie – animated decaying pigs, perpetually wet dogs, and all. Most of that has to do with the performances. Jessie Buckley, who’s having a hell of a year, is mesmerizing as a young woman meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time. Jesse Plemons, who’s quickly becoming cinema’s go-to villain, is equally captivating as said beau – a depressed, unfulfilled man dreaming up an alternate reality that comes crashing down over the course of the film. And then there’s Toni Collette and David Thewlis who play his parents (and the most hellish dinner mates we’ve seen on screen in a long while). But Kaufman’s love of twisting the truth and making us question the very nature of his storytelling also elevates the viewing experience here. You never truly know what the hell is going on, and that’s half the fun. — Jessica Toomer

Dick Johnson is Dead

In Dick Johnson Is Dead, documentary filmmaker Kirsten Johnson deals with her father’s recent dementia diagnosis and impending mortality by having him play himself in a series of death scenarios that she has imagined for him. The movie jumps between those scenes that they’ve filmed, and the documentary version of those scenes as they’re being filmed. Movies about death and dementia are often too sad or painful to sit through, but Johnson’s method of turning it all into an extended flight of fancy, living in the grey between fiction, fact, and possibility, actually gives us a language to discuss those awful things in ways that aren’t depressing. It ends up being not only not sad, but weirdly life-affirming. At times even hilarious, like during a staged funeral for Dick Johnson during which one of his genuinely grief-stricken friends plays for him what can only be described as a mournful kazoo dirge. It helps that Dick Johnson himself is a lovable old charmer. It’s a must-watch. Long live Dick Johnson! — Vince Mancini

Lovers Rock

Is Small Axe a movie or a TV show? That’s been the dominant discussion around director Steve McQueen’s Amazon Prime Video blank check when, really, we should be talking about the film (it’s a movie!) series’ (it’s a TV show?) finest installment, Lovers Rock. The 70-minute whatever takes place over the course of one exuberant night, as a young woman named Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) from a God-fearing family attends a reggae-soundtracked blues party in a West London house. Away from the music, bad things happen. Sexual violence, racism, religious guilt. But when Martha is on the dance floor, she allows herself to let loose, especially when the DJ plays “Silly Games” by Janet Kay. She may have even met someone she didn’t know she was looking for, but now can’t imagine living without. Lovers Rock is a euphoric tribute to the power of communal music and dance. It will stay with you like a song you don’t mind being stuck in your head. — Josh Kurp

The Invisible Man

Is Leigh Whannell the best pulp director workingthe best pulp director working? Whereas most directors as good as Whannell want to make us think, Leigh Whannell is content to merely make us shit our pants. In Whannell’s The Invisible Man, the umpteenth Hollywood take on the Invisible Man, the title character is, just as in Paul Verhoeven’s Hollow Man (2000), again a villain rather than a hero. But whereas the central question Hollow Man posed was “what would you do if you didn’t have to look yourself in the mirror every morning?” The Invisible Man asks “what would your psychotic ex do if he didn’t have to look himself in the face every morning?” — Vince Mancini

Extraction

This is not an exaggeration or a brag: I’ve watched Commando more times than any other movie. As twisted as it sounds, it’s a feel-good film for me. You can thank my (very cool) dad for plopping this thing into the VCR during school breaks to keep us entertained, which made Arnold Schwarzenegger kind-of my babysitter (one who slaughtered an entire army without reloading his guns) back in the day. This admission probably also tells you too much about my formative years, but damn, I truly miss watching action scenes that aren’t in service of distractingly complicated plots and flashy camera work that can slide into shaky-cam territory. What I’m trying to say is this: I really don’t need my ass-kicking with a side of nuance or nausea.

Well, Extraction manages to feel reminiscent of not only Commando but many other 1980s action pictures, too. That includes Lethal Weapon, especially because Chris Hemsworth’s character is very much a Martin Riggs-esque, swaggery, damaged dude who is actually named Tyler Rake (an amazing fight-guy name), but he can fight like Arnold, and the whole movie feels like a throwback to a cinematic world where it’s alright to appreciate a real-shoot-and-punch-and-explode-’em-up type of joint where everything flows almost too beautifully. It’s like watching a Hemsworth pull off the sweatiest, most grueling ballet moves of all time. The runtime does go a bit long, admittedly; 90 minutes would have been enough (to shave off some of that backstory) to let that Hemsworth charisma shine while leaving open some intrigue for a future franchise. I still think this is a fine throwback, and I’m here for a leaner and meaner sequel. — Kimberly Ricci

One Night in Miami

Based on Kemp Powers’ play (who also wrote the screenplay), it’s almost too good to be true that Regina King’s One Night in Miami is based on a real-life event. Now, we don’t know the actual particulars of what happened that night down to the details, but putting Muhammed Ali (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) all in the same room together, hanging out right after Ali beat Sonny Liston, seems like some sort of Justice League of historical figures fan fiction. Set in 1964, all four men have differing views about what their roles are in the civil rights movement, or if they have any defined role at all. Add in some skepticism against Malcolm X and what his motives might be in recruiting someone like Ali, it leads to a fascinating dialogue between these four historical heavyweights. One Night in Miami is a masterstroke by King on how to direct actors. A phenomenal film. — Mike Ryan

The Trial of the Chicago 7

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is very much an Aaron Sorkin movie, which makes sense because it was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. Your appreciation of it probably had as much to do with that as it did with anything else: the story, the acting, any of it. Personally, I like a good Sorkin courtroom scene, with all its desk-banging and idealistic speechifying and mind-changing, so I enjoyed his take on real-life events surrounding the riots outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It helped that he had actors who went for it. Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong as press-savvy/hungry counterculture activists Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin? Going for it. Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Black Panther leader Bobby Seale? Going for it. Eddie Redmayne as the more mainstream political figure Tom Hayden? I mean, you know Eddie Redmayne is going for it. The end result is an extremely watchable movie about events that resonate today, with lots of snappy dialogue and Frank Langella as a cranky judge and, hey, I almost forgot Michael Keaton is in this movie, too. That counts for something, too. The Trial of the Chicago 7 isn’t an arthouse darling or flash of directorial brilliance, but it is a good movie that tells a good story and features good actors doing good work. That might sound like a backhanded compliment but I promise it is not. The Trial of the Chicago 7 was a good movie. Making good movies is hard. It’s on the list. — Brian Grubb

Nomadland

Of all the films to come out in 2020, nothing has stuck with me quite like Nomadland. Chloé Zhao’s haunting, gorgeous film about a woman named Fern (Francis McDormand) who works odd jobs here and there, but is having a hard time finding steady work, so she travels around from one place to another, staying at community van parks and often running into the same cast of characters. This is a stunningly gorgeous film that harkens back to some of Malick’s most beautiful shots. People buy 4K televisions and usually talk about the big-budget superhero movie or whatever huge blockbuster that looks wonderful in this format. Honestly, it’s movies like Nomadland that these televisions were built for. Even not being able to watch in a theater, if you have the right television Zhao’s film makes a viewer feel like they are right there, every step of the way with Fern. It’s a stunning display of direction and cinematography (by Joshua James Richards) that just cements Zhao’s standing as one of the best directors working today. Nomadland would be my personal pick for the best film of 2020. — Mike Ryan

First Cow

The majority of movies about male friendships involve casino heists or muscular handshakes. I love those as much as the next guy-being-dude, but it’s refreshing when a movie like First Cow comes along. The relationship between Cookie (played by John Magaro), a 19th century cook who breaks away from the Oregon fur trappers who relentlessly bully him, and King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant on the run, is one of tenderness; there’s a platonic affection between the two men, who get into business together to make oily cakes. First Cow is a subtle rebuke to movies like The Revenant, an unrelentingly grim movie about MANLY MEN. Through Cookie and King-Lu, director and writer Kelly Reichardt shows a different kind of manhood, one of necessary kindness in order to survive in a harsh world. It’s right there in the opening text: “The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.” Also, the titular cow? A very good cow. — Josh Kurp

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Is Borat 2 as funny as the first? In terms of total laugh volume, probably not. Yet it’s arguably a much greater achievement to have pulled off a social experiment in a country that already feels like we’ve been living in a social experiment. In this installment, Sacha Baron Cohen spends nearly the entire film double disguised, as Borat disguised as a series of other characters, from “Philip Drummond III” (at a debutante ball) to “Country Steve,” at a rightwing rally. Borat’s fame leaves his daughter, Tutar, to carry the film, and it’s not too much to say that Maria Bakalova deserves an Academy Award nomination for the performance. Lots of people can make-believe, but let’s see Meryl Streep expose a fake period-soaked crotch in a roomful of dozens of horrified southerners. Sacha Baron Cohen makes acting legitimately dangerous, which is why it’s so hard to turn away (for those of us who can bear to watch in the first place, that is). In the midst of all that, this time around Cohen has created a legitimately compelling arc between these two preposterous characters. Oh, and then there was that scene in which they lured Rudy Giuliani to an underage (as far as he knew) girl’s hotel room to “tuck in his shirt.” It’s only because Rudy Giuliani has found new and entertaining ways to hilariously fall on his face twice a week since then that this wasn’t the craziest news story of the year. — Vince Mancini

King of Staten Island

I have to admit, when I first heard the basic concept for The King of Staten Island — Pete Davidson playing the son of a deceased firefighter who lives with his mom on Staten Island — I didn’t find it all that compelling. It sounded like Pete would be basically playing himself in a movie and I wasn’t sure that that was something I’d care for. (I was a bit Pete Davidson-ed out at the time, to be honest, what with all the stuff about him in the gossip rags and whatnot.) But then I learned more about the film and thought, “Okay, I’ll keep an open mind and give this a shot.” And then I saw it back in May or June and it was the first thing I’d watched since the pandemic started that I was able to truly get lost in and forget about the world for a couple of hours. It was simply a beautiful movie. I was not expecting to cry watching a Pete Davidson movie, but I did (twice), in addition to laughing out loud multiple times. His and Bill Burr’s performances are nothing short of tremendous. Again, it’s just a beautiful movie, and a really touching, moving love letter to Staten Island — one of the last parts of New York City that still feels like an older version of New York City — and to firefighters everywhere. — Brett Michael Dykes

Da Five Bloods

Spike Lee’s been doing some of his best work in the past few years. Maybe that’s because the subject material of so many of his films doubles as a needed reminder of how our shared history seems doomed to repeat itself. In this outing he’s shedding light on yet another murky bit of the past: The Black experience filtered through the lens of the Vietnam War. A group of veteran talents (Delroy Lindo chief among them) and promising newcomers (Lovecraft Country breakout Jonathan Majors) play a squad of close-knit vets, returning to the country to retrieve the remains of their fallen comrade (Chadwick Boseman) and the buried treasure they left behind. There’s a bit of B-movie adventure to this that keeps it entertaining, but the way Lee rounds out his storytelling, drawing threads from the past to very real issues we’re facing in the present, is what makes it awards-contender material. The fact that this is one of the last films Boseman made before his tragic passing this year? Well, that just makes it an all-the-more-emotional watch. — Jessica Toomer

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Never Rarely Sometimes Always was primed to be an indie breakthrough hit when it was released in theaters in March, boosted by strong reviews and a prestigious Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize win at the Berlin International Film Festival. Unfortunately, something else happened in March and director Eliza Hittman’s film was shuffled to video on-demand. You may not have been in the mood to watch a depressing-sounding drama about abortion then, but there’s no excuse now. Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a stunning film about the frustrating obstacles that women, especially teenagers, face when they require an abortion. After failing to self-induce a miscarriage, 17-year-old Autumn, played with remarkable introspection by Sidney Flanigan, travels from her home state of Pennsylvania to New York City to have the procedure, accompanied by her cousin, Skylar (Talia Ryder). Autumn’s journey isn’t easy, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (the title comes from a series of questions that Sidney is asked during her Planned Parenthood appointment) isn’t always an easy watch. But it’s a journey worth taking. — Josh Kurp

If you thought Rudy Giuliani catching COVID is going to stop him from being the comedy gift that keeps on giving, guess again. Trevor Noah went to town on the scandal-plagued lawyer during Monday night’s The Daily Social Distancing Show where he called Giuliani the “least surprising victim yet” of the pandemic.

“I mean, this dude was going all over the country refusing to wear a mask. What do you expect? If I go around licking car windshields, I can’t be shocked if I get bird flu,” Noah quipped. “Or if I go around drinking at bars until 3 a.m., I can’t be surprised when I go home with yo mama!”

Noah called Giuliani’s diagnosis a “terrifying development” because “we didn’t even think that dead guys could get corona.” The late night host also made sure to highlight the now viral moment where an unmasked Giuiliani asks a woman to remove her mask during a hearing in Michigan last week, and she wisely refuses. Excellent call, lady.

But it wasn’t all jokes about Rudy inevitably catching COVID. Noah couldn’t resist having fun with Giuliani farting during the same Michigan hearing where he also introduced the world to Melissa Carone. “It sounded like his butt was demanding a recount of his lunch. Although, to be fair, that fart is no worse than any of the other legal arguments Trump’s team has made so far.”

Noah ended the segment by noting that the fart could be part of a diabolical legal strategy to get the election overturned. Just let Trump be president forever, and the smell will stop. It’s that easy, folks.

(Via The Daily Show with Trevor Noah)

Without the allure of arena tours and blockbuster ticket sales, pop albums landed a little differently in 2020. They were gentler, more intimate, more open, and, occasionally, even wild. From the outrageous mania of Halsey’s incredible body of work on Manic — a prelude to how crazy the rest of the year would get — to the dancefloor ecstasy of Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, and even the sleek, star-making charisma of Dua Lipa, here are the best pop albums of the year.

20. Benee — Hey U X

Benee has not had the average rise to fame. After her hit song “Supalonely” went viral on TikTok, the New Zealand singer experienced her global breakout during a pandemic. Even still, the young singer was able to successfully maintain the momentum for her debut album, Hey U X, which blends exuberant beats heard on her previous EPs with more earnest lyricism. The result, both playful and heart-wrenching, proves that Benee can turn even the biggest obstacles into fuel for success.–Carolyn Droke

19. Shawn Mendes — Wonder

Shawn Mendes has been breaking records since the beginning of his career. All three of his previous albums debuted at No. 1, and at 23 he’s one of the youngest artists to ever achieve that. On his fourth record, Wonder, Mendes is a devoted and attentive partner, having fallen madly in love with fellow pop star Camila Cabello. While this makes for a slightly more saccharine song cycle than he’s released in the past, Shawn’s vivid songwriting is full of glancing emotional phrases and tender moments. The perfect pop album if you’ve just fallen in love, and can’t get over the allure of another person.—Caitlin White

18. The Chicks — Gaslighter

After an extremely long hiatus, fourteen years to be exact, Natalie Maines and co. are back and funnier, sharper, and more vulnerable than ever on Gaslighter. As the album unfolds, it becomes clear why it took so long: the group’s leader, Maines, has been betrayed by the love of her life, and though the subject is painful, it makes for a rich array of songs that tackle marriage and manipulation (“Gaslighter”), a return to the art of the crush (“Texas Man”), and breakup songs that sting with the trio’s fondness for exacting details (“Tights On My Boat”). A fine return to form, and let’s hope the next installment doesn’t take fourteen more years.—C.W.

17. Lady Gaga — Chromatica

Chromatica did something Gaga fans have been wanting her to do for at least two album cycles — get back to the dancefloor. Overstuffed with poignant house bangers like “911” and glittering anthems like the Ariana Grande-featuring “Rain On Me,” this album reminded fans that even after years of piano ballads and rock/country left turns, Gaga has not forgotten or moved beyond her time as a full-blown pop star. In fact, she’s never been better.—C.W.

16. BTS — Map Of The Soul:7

If somebody told you that BTS is the biggest band in the world, it would take some real thinking to form an argument against that claim. The South Korean group cemented themselves as an international pop force thanks to Map Of The Soul: 7, which is even more of a feat considering that you need to speak Korean to know what they’re even saying.—Derrick Rossignol

15. Gus Dapperton — Orca

Following a particularly tumultuous time on the road promoting his debut album, Gus Dapperton decided it was time to prioritize his physical and mental health. The shift is apparent in Dapperton’s sophomore album Orca, where he trades in fuzzy instrumentals in favor of more defined tones. He also gets personal in his lyrics, singing about the difficulties of healing while airy beats melt under his far-reaching vocals for an impactful collection of songs.–C.D.

14. Dominic Fike — What Could Possibly Go Wrong

Fike is an up-and-comer, but on his debut album, he managed to be a stylistic chameleon and sounded confident while doing it, which isn’t easy for any artist, especially a young one. As Uproxx’s Caitlin White noted, “For an artist who is just starting to get his bearings, Fike has settled into the pocket of his sound immediately.”—D.R.

13. Conan Gray — Kid Krow

Busting right out of the gate with his debut album, Kid Krow, Conan Gray has already amassed an enormous fan base from years of sharing his life and talents online. The self-made pop star was discovered by the music industry when his homage to small town life “Idle Town” went viral. Now, he’s had plenty more massive hits like the careening clapback “Maniac” and the longing ballad “Heather.” Kid Krow establishes Gray as a fully-formed artist who is well on his way to conquering the pop world.—C.W.

12. Halsey — Manic

Grammy nominations or not, Halsey’s Manic is one of the best, most versatile, and fascinating pop records of the year. Fearlessly pivoting from the beat-driven melancholia of single “Without Me” to the surprising hip-hop-inflected country on “You Should Be Sad,” guests as disparate as Suga of BTS and Alanis Morissette prove that Ashley Nicolette Frangipane is at her best when she’s embracing every single one of her wildly eclectic impulses.—C.W.

11. Empress Of — I’m Your Empress Of

Though it unfortunately got lost in the shuffle of an America on the brink of shutdown due to the pandemic, I’m Your Empress Of will live on in the discography of Lorely Rodriguez as her most mesmerizing, comprehensive work to date. Meticulously constructing dancefloor bangers out of her own misery, a late-night soundtrack that sparkles with tears and uncertainty, this third full-length assures Empress Of’s place among pop royalty for years to come.—C.W.

10. Dorian Electra — My Agenda

Cementing their spot among pop boundary-pushers, Dorian Electra’s My Agenda is a wild ride through the darkest corners of the internet. The hyperpop artist is known for subverting normalized aspects of our culture, and that’s exactly what they do on their sophomore effort. The record explores problematic internet communities through tongue-in-cheek lyrics, disruptive beats, jarring synths, and distorted vocals.–C.D.

9. Blackpink — The Album

Blackpink in your area. Even when global quarantines rendered this infamous tagline necessarily false, Blackpink still encroached on new territory all year. With their boisterous debut, unceremoniously dubbed The Album, this Korean girl group became the highest-charting act of their kind with a Selena Gomez assist on “Ice Cream” and seven other tracks that wield aggression like it’s a necessary accessory for rising pop stars. Why should they be sweet when hostile sounds this inviting?–C.W.

8. Rina Sawayama — Sawayama

If you don’t know the name, you will soon. Rina Sawayama was born in Japan but grew up in London, bringing the best of both worlds into her global pop sound. This year’s self-titled debut Sawayama manages to include a nod to practically every sonic era of pop, with standouts like “Commes Des Garcon” leaning heavy into house. Incorporating commentary on everything from sexism to friendship to chosen family, Rina is on her way up. You can come along or watch her rise, up to you.–C.W.

7. Selena Gomez — Rare

In the months before the world fell apart, Selena sang to us about her rebirth. Rare is a declaration of independence from an artist who has been entangled in codependence and dealing with the pressures of fame since she was a young girl. Coming into her adulthood necessarily meant facing down those two demons, and she does it with idiosyncratic lyrics, outstanding vocal performances, and earworm hooks. It’s the closest step to an absolute classic album that Selena has ever taken.–C.W.

6. Bad Bunny — YHLQMDLG

It hasn’t taken long for Bad Bunny to become an international superstar. While his ascent has been aided by collaborations with established English-language stars (Cardi B and Drake), he stuck to his roots this time around by working with Spanish-language artists. It paid off, too: YHLQMDLG debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard and was therefore the highest-charting all-Spanish album ever.–D.R.

5. Charli XCX –How I’m Feeling Now

At the onset of the pandemic, Charli XCX set out to do something unheard of — writing, recording, and producing an entire album in just two months. To make her vision into a reality, the singer leaned on social media as a crowdsourcing tool for collaboration. Fans were able to help Charli select beats, lyrics, and even single art for her music. The result, How I’m Feeling Now, offers a unique snapshot of how we were all truly feeling in quarantine, coated with Charli’s signature beat drops and mechanical samples.–C.D.

4. Ariana Grande — Positions

Perhaps “Positions” felt like a curveball when it arrived out of nowhere in late October, but contextualized within the glowy, loved-up feel of the rest of the album, it’s a hell of a lead single. Horny, giggly, and still slightly terrified, Ariana is back with a whole new set of slow jams and casual bops that build on each other until her thesis becomes crystal clear on the massive final track “POV.” All relationships work best when they bolster self-love, and if she’s finally gotten there, bring on the romance.–C.W.

3. Harry Styles — Fine Line

Swooping in during the final weeks of 2019 to deliver a gut-wrenching, beautifully rendered pop classic, Harry Styles is sitting pretty on his Fine Line momentum even a whole calendar year later. Without a much-anticipated world tour, the songs from this era have still resonated all year, from the glorious smack of “Watermelon Sugar” to the shimmering title track and gentler love songs. Whenever he gets back on the road, Harry will properly flesh out his brilliant second record, building in golden moments where we haven’t even anticipated them yet.–C.W.

2. Dua Lipa — Future Nostalgia

With astonishing grace, Dua Lipa makes becoming a top-tier pop star look easy. Some artists fret over a second record, whether it will be well-received, whether it will be as good as their debut, Dua simply buckles down and produces more flawless, disco-flecked pop without worrying about the details. Future Nostalgia is a classic, sleek pop record with bubbly emotion that never overflows, making her a buttoned-up star in a messy era. As if that wasn’t enough, she came floating back in the fall with a reimagined, remixed alternative record that hails the heritage of all the disco and house she called on before. She’s already learned the most important lesson — no one can properly herald the future of pop without nostalgia for the past.–C.W.

1. Taylor Swift — Folklore

There are many reasons why Folklore deserves to be Album Of The Year, the most basic of which is that it’s a towering collection of songs by one of the generation’s most important voices, that sits comfortably among the best work she’s ever created. “The Last Great American Dynasty” proves she’s as adept at storytelling as ever, “Exile” offers up Taylor Swift as the ultimate collaborator (both vocally with Bon Iver and in the songwriting sense with Vernon and not-so-secret guest writer Joe Alwyn), and “Betty” reminds that genre walls are made to be burned down, with Swift still able to find as much success in the country world as she does on the Hot 100.

But Folklore also represents something particular about this year. Conceived entirely in quarantine, Swift was experiencing something that many were, with more time to create, learn, and grow. But she didn’t just get really into banana bread like the rest of us, she reached out to some of her favorite musicians and found the acceptance and grace to get firmly out of her comfort zone in unprecedented circumstances, creating something that couldn’t happen in any other time. Folklore isn’t a concession that her more overt pop gestures were somehow flawed, it’s just further example of Swift’s range, as she sounds as much at home working with Aaron Dessner of The National as she has in the past with Max Martin. But the lasting effect, how for a moment in the summer all the pain and anguish and anxiety of the world dissipated briefly and music fans took to social media to share in this glorious surprise — it can’t really be measured how much this album meant, and how it altered the cultural landscape. When we look back at this year’s 50 best albums, and the many more that aren’t on the list, that’s probably what matters most — how they helped us all survive.–Philip Cosores

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Howard Stern famously once said that “I was so completely f*cked up” before settling into his current satellite radio groove, and it sure looks like that groove won’t even end for him until… retirement time? Maybe. Stern’s currently 66 years old, and he’s been at Sirius XM for fifteen years. He’s now extending his tenure by re-upping his SiriusXM contract, which is a transaction that should take him all the way to 70 years old and beyond. One can’t sniff at that kind of job security, especially in a world that’s on fire.

Hollywood Reporter reveals that Stern signed onto another five years before his current five-year deal ends at the end of December, and yes, Robin Quivers is sticking around, too. There’s no word on how she’s faring, but he could be pulling in $120 million per year. That’s a bonkers sum to behold, and it sure sounds like Stern has zero complaints whatsoever, as he relayed on Tuesday morning:

“Fifteen years ago, I joined SiriusXM, a fledgling group of broadcasters. I had been in a toxic relationship with terrestrial radio. And no matter how well I treated the medium, no matter how successful I made them, they abused me. Going to SiriusXM liberated me. I felt like Tina Turner freeing myself from Ike.”

Stern’s presence certainly helped volley the satellite radio business to where they’re at now, and yep, pretty much every new car is equipped for SiriusXM these days, so it sounds like things are working out for the “fledgling group of broadcasters.” Stern’s also thrilled about working from home, and he can’t wait to see what he’ll have to say about “Metamucil crackers and stepmom porn.” Yes, that’s probably coming. Stern also paid tribute to his crew and Quivers, while joking that they’re “[l]ike Sonny and Cher, Captain and Tennille, Charles Manson and Squeaky Fromme… Robin, will you accept my rose and dare I say, should you forgo your individual room, will you join me in the fantasy suite?” If that $120 million annual figure is correct, he’ll be able to buy all the suites.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Billie Eilish has likely landed a track or two on music fans’ year-end favorite songs lists, but what’s on her own list of 2020’s top tracks? She actually laid out her rankings in a recent interview with Australian radio station Triple J, and her top pick didn’t exactly take the world by storm this year: “At The Door” by The Strokes.

Eilish said of the track, “I wish I could put this whole album [The New Abnormal] as my first choice. It’s been my favorite album in many years. There is something about The Strokes, I don’t know what it is, man. I love ‘At The Door,’ I love the melodies, I love the lyrics, I love everything about it. The Strokes hit a nerve.”

“At The Door” was the lead single from The New Abnormal, released back in February. It failed to appear on any Billboard charts (while fellow album tracks “Bad Decisions” and “The Adults Are Talking” at least found their way onto the Alternative Airplay chart) but is part of the core of The Strokes’ strong comeback album.

Beyond “At The Door,” Eilish’s list also includes James Blake’s “Are You Even Real?,” Phoebe Bridgers’ “Savior Complex,” Cyn’s “Drinks,” Drake’s “Time Flies,” Dominic Fike’s “Chicken Tenders,” Tekno’s “Kata,” Bruno Major’s “To Let A Good Thing Die,” and Jorja Smith’s “By Any Means.”

Netflix and Charlie Brooker haven’t been churning out episodes of its twisty, sci-fi series lately, last giving us three less-than-stellar episodes in the summer of 2019. Brooker is currently working on a mockumentary of the year 2020 narrated by Hugh Grant, so don’t expect any new episodes anytime soon, either, although there have been a number of imitators to come along in the wake of Black Mirror’s success. There have been great ones (Years and Years on HBO), decent ones (Upload on Amazon Prime), and bad ones (Weird City on YouTube Premium). Meanwhile, Jordan Peele’s uneven Twilight Zone feels more like a pale imitation of Black Mirror than it does the original Twilight Zone, to which Black Mirror owes a great deal of its own success.

The latest Black Mirror-esque show to come along, Soulmates, is not just one of the best of the bunch, but the one most similar in tone and spirit to Black Mirror. That’s, in part, because it comes from creator and writer Will Bridges, who wrote a couple of memorable episodes of Black Mirror, most notably USS Callister. Bridges’ writing partner and co-creator on Soulmates is Brett Goldstein, a writer on one of the best shows of 2020, Ted Lasso, on which Goldstein also plays aging soccer player Roy Kent.

The wrinkle in Soulmates, and what makes it different from Black Mirror is that it takes a futuristic concept, and instead of building one episode around it, the AMC series creates 6 different anthology episodes (with different characters) around the same premise. Set 15 years into the future, that premise entails an algorithm that can pair anyone with their “soulmate” with 100 percent accuracy. The idea sounds like something out of the “Hang the DJ” episode of Black Mirror, but Soulmates smartly comes at the premise from a number of different angles.

In the first episode, for instance, Nikki (Succession’s Sarah Snook) and Franklin (High Fidelity’s Kingsley Ben-Adir) are a happily married couple who seem to have it all, but can’t help but be tempted by the Soulmates algorithm. Paired with their soulmate, could their life be even better? Should they risk a great marriage for an even better one?

In “The Lovers,” Alison (Sonya Cassidy) takes advantage of the algorithm in order to trick the happily married David (David Costabile) into a torrid affair, but her motivations may not be pure. In “Layover,” Mateo (Bill Skarsgård) falls in love with Jonah (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) while he’s searching for his soulmate in an unfamiliar country; Charlie Heaton and Malin Akerman star in “Break on Through,” which is about a cult devoted to those whose “soulmates” are dead; and in “The Ballad of Caitlin Jones,” a character played by Betsy Brandt wonders why she’s been paired with a murderer. It turns out, however, that the algorithm knows her better than she does.

What’s interesting about Soulmates is that there is nothing faulty about the algorithm. The people who are matched are each others’ soulmates, but the series asks the simple question: Does being with the person that you love the most make you the happiest? The answers are usually surprising. The series, which has been renewed for a second season already, boasts a stellar cast, strong writing, and a tone that could easily be confused with Black Mirror. While Soulmates — like most anthology series — has some episodes that are better than others, of the first six episodes, there’s really only one less the stellar episode of that bunch (that’s “Little Adventures,” for those who might want to skip it). The series is definitely worth checking out.

‘Soulmates’ is available on AMC on Demand, AMC+ or AMC Premiere.

Today, December 8, is the one-year anniversary of the death of Juice WRLD, aka the most-streamed US artist on Spotify this year. A posthumous single with Benny Blanco dropped a few days ago, on what would have been his 22nd birthday, and now there’s another new Juice track. To mark the tragic occasion, The Kid Laroi shared a song he and Juice made together, “Reminds Me Of You.”

As Laroi notes, the song is based on Kim Petras’ “Reminds Me,” and Juice sings on the emotional track, “Fightin’ for my heart and baby, I never lose / No, I can’t get high, ’cause it reminds me of you / If you ever needed me, girl, I was flyin’ to you / Told you that I loved you, girl, I wasn’t lyin’ to you.”

In a message from this summer, Laroi paid tribute to Juice, writing in an Instagram post, “before we even met you were my favourite artist, and I still think everyday how cool it was that I got to b damn near family with my idol. you took me all over the world on a f*cking private jet and showed me a whole different side of life that not many people get to see. from all the months you let me live at your crib, to all the nights I spent watching and learning from you in the studio, to all the concerts and tours I got to witness.. I got to learn from a real life legend. it’s not even in my character to write long ass sh*t like this but f*ck it our song [‘Go’] is about to come out and I just wanna say how much I wish you were here with me to enjoy this sh*t. we all love and miss you back here.”

Listen to “Reminds Me Of You” above.

Rudy Giuliani joined Donald Trump’s legal team in April 2018, but he didn’t come into his own as a ooze-leaking, fart-emitting, bumbling idiot until the 2020 presidential election (the collusion stuff seems so quant now). During Monday’s episode of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert fired off a list of Rudy’s many triumphs since early November.

“So, for just a partial list of Rudy’s achievements since the election: He’s lost 48 lawsuits, he melted on camera, he farted in court, he got COVID, and he shut down a state legislature. The only thing more embarrassing would be if he married his own cousin. He what?!” Colbert joked (to be fair, Regina Peruggi is Rudy’s second cousin). That leaves out the Four Seasons Total Landscaping debacle, asking a witness to remove her mask while she was sitting next to him, and asking Trump for a “preemptive pardon,” a normal thing for an innocent person to do. At least he brought the wild wine lady into our lives.

Rudy was a hot topic on The Daily Show, too, where host Trevor Noah said that the former-NYC mayor only has “himself to blame for this. I mean, this dude was going all over the country refusing to wear a mask. What do you expect? If I go around licking car windshields, I can’t be shocked if I get bird flu. Or if I go around drinking at bars until 3 a.m., I can’t be surprised when I go home with yo mama!” Watch the clip below.