2020 Movies
2020, the Start of COVID-19
It's hard to explain just what the impact of COVID-19 was on Cinema. On the one hand, having all of the cinemas closed for six months and then reopening to very restricted numbers and conditions meant that a lot of film that were supposed to hit the big screen simply didn't. Many were rescheduled to 2021 and some were released to TV and streaming services instead. On the plus side, we all got to spend a lot more time at home, which meant that we had time to watch more movies and TV.
My Top Picks
1917 - This was not a film that I was very keen to see. I guess I was expecting a generic "War Film" and I've seen a lot. I think that the thing that made 1917 great for me was the way the whole film was made to feel like a single cut. It was recorded in bursts of 8 minutes but it feels so "constantly connected". Of course, the story, visuals and acting was pretty good too, so that helped.
Resistance - Unexpectedly good. This film changed the way I viewed Marcel Marceau. Wow.
Invisible Man, The - This was simply quite a lot of fun.
Come Play - A horror film with a difference. Despite the autistic character having virtually every symptom under the sun, this was still quite a good film.
Greyhound - This turned out to be a great watch.
Wonder Woman 1984 - A great film and much better than the first Wonder Woman film. Unfortunately, competition this year was fierce.
Borat Subsequent MovieFilm - This was a great film and provided a lot of much needed comedy to 2020. The only issue with the sequel is that the first exposed the problematic underbelly of the US while the second came out when everything was already exposed, thus diminishing its impact.
Love and Monsters - Silly and Fun
Bad Boys for Life - It was quite refreshing to see a 90s style action flick on the big screen again. Well written, amusing, fun.
My Spy - Not brilliant but funny enough
Onward - I enjoyed this a whole lot more than I expected.
Notable Mentions ("Surprise" Films)
1917 - While the subject matter was pretty much as expected, the cinematography was something different altogether.
Invisible Man, The - Now this is how you do a remake. Wow.
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn - This was so much better than Suicide Squad. It was a lot of fun and although the marketing was truly terrible, the film itself was great.
Old Ways, The - This was kind of like, if the Spanish had made the Exorcist. It was a very different and interesting, textured possession film.
12 Hour Shift - This was unexpected.
1BR - The new-house version of Rosemary's Baby.
Dark and the Wicked, The - A delicious sense of dread permeates this film.
Godmothered - This was just unexpectedly funny. More than just a kids film after all.
Summerland - An unexpectedly good historic film.
American Pickle - For what looked like a bit of a slapstick comedy, this had a whole lot of heart.
Onward - A cartoon with a lot of heart.
Very Excellent Mr Dundee, The - I wasn't terribly invested in seeing this but it turned out to be a lot funnier than expected.
Christmas Chronicles 2, The - While this wasn't the best film ever, it was a welcome breath of fresh air to an otherwise stale year.
His House - A surprisingly layered horror film.
Love and Monsters - Just fun.
King of Staten Island - The poster (and the first 30 minutes of this film) put me off. The main character was so unlikeable. In the end however, it told a great story without becoming saccharine.
Greyhound - I wasn't keen on watching this, thinking that it would be another Tom Hanks war drama, which it was. The CGI was in some ways a letdown but in other ways it made the film a whole lot more exciting.
Emma - I was expecting a dense and dull film but despite all the trappings it was light and funny.
Letters to Satan Clause - Much funnier than expected.
The Biggest Disappointments
Baba Yaga Terror of the Dark Forest (Yaga. Koshmar tyomnogo lesa) (2020) - The first half was great and the second half was terrible.
Underwater - So much promise (and a good start too). It ended up being very predictable and derivative.
Tenet - There was a good film in there somewhere. What they needed to do was chop it in half and throw the entire second half away. Then add more sensible action and a lot more humour - oh and make the main hero James Bond.
Dolittle - The creature effects were good but overly familiar. The animals felt like they were recycled from a dozen different films including Lion King and Night at the Museum. The acting was uninspired and the humour felt very forced. It wasn't a remake that we needed but if we had to have it, they could have worked a little harder to deliver something with some gravitas.
Over the Moon
All the films I've seen at the Cinemas in 2020
Films from 2020 that I saw on the "small screen"
Auschwitz: Untold in Colour
Baba Yaga Terror of the Dark Forest (Yaga. Koshmar tyomnogo lesa) (2020)
Batman: Death in the Family
Bill & Ted Face the Music
Birds of Prey
Borat Subsequent MovieFilm
Christmas Chronicles 2, The
Croods: A New Age, The
Curse of the Blind Dead
Dark and the Wicked
Deep Blue Sea 3
Fantasy Island
Fat Man
Godmothered
Greenland
Gretel & Hansel
Honest Thief
Jen Fulwiler - The Naughty Corner
King of Staten Island
Lego Star Wars Holiday Special
Love Sarah
Monster Hunter
My Spy
New Mutants
Old Ways, The
Over the Moon
Penguin Bloom
Run
Scare Me
Scoob!
Shadow in the Cloud
South Park Pandemic Special
Summerland
Superman: Red Son
Tenet
Witches, The
Wolfwalkers
What's Left to See from 2020
The boldfaced titles are the ones I'm most interested in;
* Denotes titles I've acquired but haven't gotten around to watching yet.
25 Years of Innocence *
Agent Hamilton *
Amulet *
Antebellum *
Anything for Jackson *
Army of One *
Artemis Fowl *
Assistant *
Axcellerator *
Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting *
Bad Nun, Deadly Vows *
Bad Therapy *
Bad Trip*
Banging Lanie *
Because the Night *
Black Lake *
Blythe Spirit *
Bloodshot *
Blythe Spirit
Boy Called Christmas, A
Boys from County Hell *
Brahms: The Boy II *
Breach (aka Anti-Life) *
Bright Hill Road *
Broken Hearts Gallery *
Bulbul *
Cadaver (Kadaver) *
Call of the Wild, The
Capone *
Captive *
Caveat *
Coma (Koma) *
Come Away *
Cosmoball *
Craft Legacy, The *
Cupid *
Curse of Audrey Earnshaw *
Curse of Aurore *
Dara of Jasenovac *
Day they Dropped the Bomb *
Dead Voices *
Dear Comrades *
Death to 2020 *
Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons *
Devil in the Room *
Downhill *
Dragonheart 4: Vengeance *
Dream Horse
Drought *
Dr Seuss: The Musical *
Dummy *
Earwig and the Witch *
Edge of Extinction (aka The Brink) *
Eight Hundred, The *
Empty Man, The *
Enemy Lines *
Envelop(e) *
Exorcism at 60,000 Feet *
Eyes, The (Doi Mat Am Duong) *
Falling *
Fatale *
Father, The
Flood *
Freaky *
Gentlemen, The *
Goodbye Honey *
Goodbye Soviet Union *
Grudge, The *
Happiest Season *
Happy Halloween Scooby Doo *
Happy Little Bunnies *
Held *
Herself *
Honeydew *
Host *
Human Hibachi *
I Still Believe*
Impractical Jokers: The Movie
Intelligence *
Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud *
Jailbreak Pact *
Justice League Dark - Apokolips War *
Kid Detective *
Killer Rising *
Konga TNT *
La Contessa *
Last Thing He Wanted, The *
Legend of the Five *
Lego DC Shazam *
Let Him Go *
Like a Boss *
Little Fish *
Lola on the Pea *
Lodge, The *
Lost Husband *
Lost Treasure of Jesse James *
Lovebirds, The
Mank *
Miraculous World - New York United Heroez *
Mirage *
Misbehaviour *
Monsters of Man *
Mulan *
My First Summer *
Nest, The *
Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always *
News of the World
Nightmare Awakes *
Nocturne *
Noise in the Middle *
Occupation Rainfall *
One and Only Ivan, The *
Palm Springs *
Paper Spiders *
Party of Five *
Personal History of David Copperfield, The
Photograph, The *
Pipeline *
Possessor *
Project Power *
Promising Young Woman *
Psycho Goreman *
Pungo: A Witch's Tale *
Rams *
Reap *
Rebirth *
Relic *
Rent-a-Pal *
Rental *
Reunion *
Rhythm Section, The *
Run Hide Fight *
Running Naked *
Sacrifice *
Saint Maud
Salisbury Poisonings *
Scary House *
Scorn *
Scream Test *
Secret Garden, The *
Shadowed *
Silencing *
Six Minutes to Midnight *
Skull: The Mask *
Skylines *
Sleepless Beauty *
Sonic the Hedgehog *
Spell *
Spree *
Sputnik *
Stay out of the Fking Attic *
Stillwater
Superman: Man of Tomorrow *
Survive the Night *
Think Like a Dog *
Timecrafters: The Treasure of Pirates Cove *
Trail of Ashes *
Train to Busan 2 (aka Peninsula) *
Trial of the Chicago 7, The (NF)
Tremors 7 Shrieker Island
Trolls 2: Trolls World Tour *
Turning, The
Uncle Peckerhead *
Undergods *
Utopia Falls *
Violet *
War with Grandpa, The *
We can be Heroes *
Way Back, The *
Wendy *
Werewolf in England *
Whitewall *
Widow *
Wolf of Snow Hollow
Working Girls (Filles de Joie) *
You should have left *
Zog and the Flying Doctors *