TV and Movie Reviews - December 2020

Here are some short reviews of things I watched in December. My viewing pattern has been disrupted because my wife is spending a lot of time taking care of her mother, so I haven't been watching a lot of shows that I know she wants to see.

Movies

• Inception: I still think that this is Christopher Nolan's best movie and it held up well on a fourth watching. (Blu Ray)
• Neil Young - The First Decade: A British documentary that cover's Young's life and career up to the mid-1970s. There's some footage I haven't seen before. (Amazon Prime)
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Fifty by Four: This one is made by the same people who did the Neil Young documentary. Worth watching if you are a CSNY fan, but it's not essential watching. (Amazon Prime)
• The Midnight Sky: The only reason I can see that this movie got made was it must have been a vanity project of George Clooney, who stars in and directed it. Neither I nor my son could make any sense of it. (Netflix)

TV Shows

• Country Music: I've seen reviews that say that this is better than his Jazz documentary, but I don't agree. The first half was certainly interesting, but the material from the mid-1970s onward felt slight and rushed (PBS). 
• The Mandalorian, Season 2: This series is by far the best in the Star Wars universe. I hate to admit how much I enjoyed it. (Disney+)
• Star Trek Discovery, Season 3: I don't know why I watch this. I should go back and start rewatching TNG instead. (CBS All Access)
• The Crown, Season 4: I've watched the first two episodes, which I found incredibly depressing. Given how well I remember the history that the show recreates, I don't know if I'll continue watching it. (Netflix)
• Connected, Season 1: This documentary doesn't have the depth of James Burke's classic Connections series but does bring together some interesting ideas. I could have done without the flashy, ironic style though. (Netflix)
• The Expanse, Season 5: I'm only halfway through the season, but so far I think it's the best the show has done yet. The Expanse is now the best science fiction show of all time and it just keeps getting better. (Amazon Prime)
• High Score: A documentary about arcade, console, and computer gaming from the 1970s through the mid-1990s. The flashy style so typical of modern documentaries suits the material in this case. I enjoyed this despite not being much into gaming until Doom came out (which is covered in the final episode. (Netflix)
• I did get a PBS Passport, now that it is available in Canada, and when I can't find something else to watch, I've been binging on episodes of Antiques Roadshow. I'm fascinated by the strange things that people sometimes bring in for appraisal.