Part One | Part Two | Part Three
We're occassionally surveying the films of 2020 that are already streaming, whether they're great, terrible or anywhere inbetween in case you're looking to get caught up on the film year before December/January's "year in review" style media mania. We're freezing them at the 20th minute and 20th second just for streaming roulette kicks. How many of these twelve 2020 pictures have you seen?
-What are we getting?
-Uh... nothing good.
UNDERWATER (William Eubank, US)
20th Century Fox. Original release date: January 10th. Streaming on HBOMax
KStew's dialogue right there is suddenly how I'm feeling about the cinema of 2020. I know I know we're supposed to be saying it was rich. Well, I was feeling like it was rich until I started drafting up the annual Film Bitch Awards and realized it was a wasteland once I removed all the festival titles that don't have distribution in 2020. Still have to get through another 20 pictures though and if half of them are wonderful the problem will be solved? I promise that I'm not just in a grumpy mood though the following text might suggest otherwise as I had an entirely lovely Thanksgiving. How about you?
They were actually hillbilly royalty because my pawpaw was related to the guy who started the Hatfield-McCoy feud.
HILLBILLY ELEGY (Ron Howard, US)
Netflix. Original release date November 24th. Streaming on Netflix.
Dear readers, I meant to review this -- should I still or has the window passed? P.S. I hated it. And, no, not because it's about characters who probably would have voted for T***p. Anyway we discussed this on the Podcast.
A boat party? That would be fun.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA (David Dobkin, US)
Netflix. Original release date: June 26th. Streaming on Netflix
One of my most unpopular opinions this year: I thought this was close to laugh-free and one of the year's worst. From a pacing level in particular it's a disaster. Did you know that it's over two hours long? Unforgiveable with this material. It makes the same points and jokes dozens upon dozens of times (you could cut out a full 30 minutes and it would still be the exact same movie which one should never be able to say about an entire feature length film!) Like, how are we 20 minutes and 20 seconds into the movie at this screencap and we still have about 10 minutes left of what is essentially the prologue? Everyone loves Rachel McAdams in it but even she is merely serviceable (if, as ever, adorable). All that said the costumes are fun and Dan Stevens is an unqualified blast.
Breach!
THE OLD GUARD (Gina Prince-Blythewood, US)
Netflix. Original release date: July 10th. Streaming on Netflix
Another movie that had lots of fans that I personally was all ... *shrugs* Pros: high quality in terms of representation: multiple countries, races, sexualities. Physically beautiful cast. Charlize Theron forever obviously. Cons: Most if not quite all of the action sequences felt enormously pedestrian. Storytelling wise it risked coming across as an elaborate series pilot (which is fine if you're a series pilot) more than it attempted being a completely engaging single feature.
You must study so I can ask you in code.
THE MOLE AGENT (Maite Alberdi, Chile)
Cinereach. Original release date: August 28th. Streaming on Hulu
Chile's Oscar Submission. Keep hearing this one is good. Will try to carve out time.
You know what I was thinking about the other day?
HAPPIEST SEASON (Clea DuVall, US)
Hulu. Original release date: November 25th. Streaming on Hulu
Eurocheese just reviewed this for us here and loved it. As befits the unexpected theme of Part four of this 20:20 for 2020 streaming snapshot mini-series... I did not like it very much. Many good actors but not much in the way of characters for them to play. While I do not subscribe to the feeling that "likeability" is an innate positive for film characters, it is in innate positive for this particular genre (romantic comedy). In short I couldn't find one character to root for aside from Jane (the film's co-writer Mary Holland) and the ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend (Aubrey Plaza and Jake McDorman). And when your three most sympathetic characters are all peripheral you have a problem. Harper (Mackenzie Davis) made me so angry in every scene and Abby (Kristen Stewart) was such a doormat. In short this movie gave me anxiety!
-And you are...?
-Bruce
UNCLE FRANK (Alan Ball, US)
Amazon Studios. Original release date: November 25th. Streaming on Amazon Prime
Contrarian corner continues. Christopher didn't like this one in his review here but I very much enjoyed it. It is quite broad at all times around the periphery but the center works (the opposite problem of Happiest Season actually). Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis are wonderful. It was also a nice surprise to see Cole Doman again. He plays the teenage version of Frank in flashbacks and some of you might remember him as the lead in the lovely gay indie Henry Gamble's Birthday Party.
[alarm clock ringing]
RUN (Aneesh Chaganty, US)
Lionsgate. Original release date: November 20th. Streaming on Hulu
Previously reviewed here by Abe. I haven't yet watched this one. Have you?
We're in no hurry. The car is charging.
I AM GRETA (Nathan Grossman, Sweden)
Hulu. Original release date: November 13th. Streaming on Hulu
This was one of Sweden's finalists for their Oscar nomination this year but they went with Charter.
-Did you make a new friend?
-There was no avoiding it.
WHAT WE WANTED (Ulrikee Kofler, Austria)
Netflix. Original release date: November 11th. Streaming on Netflix.
Austria's Oscar submission. The plot sounds a bit similar to the Angelina Jolie / Brad Pitt movie By the Sea.
[Rustling through garbage]
DEERSKIN (Quentin Dupieux, France)
Greenwich Entertainment. Original release date: May 1st. Streaming on HBO Max
Reviewed right here. The director Quentin Dupieux is fairly prolific, and has a devout cult following already as far as we can tell. His new film Mandibules got a mini rave right here from Venice, too.
Prepare my ride
DOLITTLE (Stephen Gaghan, US)
Universal. Original release date: January 17th. Streaming on HBOMax
Remember when movie theaters were still open and Hollywood was doing business as usual like releasing big dumb CGI blockbusters into theaters? This was one of the last one of those when business was usual.