ICYMI Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
Since it's crunch time to complete viewing before all the awards shows hit we've been surveying the films of 2020 that are already streaming for free (provided you have the services of courses), whether they're great, terrible or anywhere inbetween. Maybe you're looking to get caught up? We've been freezing films at the 20th minute and 20th second just for gimmicky time-stamped streaming roulette kicks. How many of these twenty 2020 pictures have you seen?
Next up one of my favourites, soul number 102,2010,121,415
SOUL (Pete Docter & Kemp Powers, US)
Disney/Pixar. Original release date: December 25th. Streaming on Disney+
Didn't you love the design of the "Jerries" in Pixar's latest? It's so distinct visually. If only they had taken the genderlessness further and applied it to not just the names but the linework.
There's an implant. They put it in your shit. It's like... okay, It'll come back. It's fine, Lou. It's like 40 grand... 80 grand, whatever.
SOUND OF METAL (Darius Marder, US)
Amazon. Original release date: Dec 4th. Streaming on Amazon Prime
Tempted to write a whole piece on this screenplay. Riz Ahmed is naturally the main (brilliant) attraction but Marder is not getting enough credit for this movie. And it's a narrative feature debut! Also Olivia Cooke is wonderful in this as "Lou" the singer/girlfriend whose life abruptly shifts once her boyfriend loses his hearing.
Go gentle on this one. All eyes are on us.
AVA (Tate Taylor, US)
Vertical Entertainment. Original release date: Sept 25th. Streaming on Netflix
Action thrillers are required to have at least five POV shots through surveillance cameras. (This is a reunion for Tate & Jessica after The Help.)
[deep breathing]
PIECES OF A WOMAN (Kornél Mundruczó, Hungary/UK)
Netflix. Original release date: Dec 30th. Streaming on Netflix.
Matt recently reviewed this and while I agree with most of his criticisms, I found the film fairly sticky. Weeks later, still thinking about it, and not just for Kirby's performance. It has something of a seventies feel to it, if you ask me. Perhaps because the only visible drama is the complex drama of just living life with all its messiness and feelings and human interaction.
This is the favourite spot for both serial killers and kissers. Come come.
DIL BECHARA (Mukesh Chhabra, India)
HotStar. Original Release date: July 24th. Streaming on HotStar
This is the most voted-on Bollywood movie of 2020 over at IMDb. It's a remake of that Ansel Elgort / Shailene Woodley romantic dramedy Fault in Our Stars.
[crowd noises]
SORRY WE MISSED YOU (Ken Loach, UK)
Kino Lorber. Original release date: March 6th. Streaming on Criterion Channel
Still haven't screened this one. So much to catch up on. It has the disadvantage of arriving into the criticial discussion in the US the year after its Cannes/BAFTA run.
I am blessed with two daughters. I will fight.
MULAN (Niki Caro, US)
Disney. Original release date: Sept 4th. Streaming on Disney Plus
20 minutes and 20 seconds into the movie we reach the plot-kick off moment, Mulan is all grown up now (out of focus in the background her hair a mess after a botched matchmaker meeting) and her ailing father clearly won't last a day at war unless she dons boy drag to take his place.
[a woman screams in the distance]
MANK (David Fincher, US)
Netflix. Original release date: December 4th. Streaming on Netflix.
True story. While screening this movie for the first time I let out such a startled burst of laughter at this moment. Mank (Gary Oldman) has just staggered out of a building, drunk, and a woman screaming theatrically is essentially the underscore. It was so unexpected but so oddly funny, as if some wise offscreen woman was terrified at what a mess he was. We're about to meet Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried, brilliant), the screaming woman. Fincher movies always have such brilliant sound editing and mixing. They really do. Just listen the next time you're rewatching one.
-There's a guy. In Denmark. He's a leather worker
-NO!
SHE DIES TOMORROW (Amy Seimetz, US)
Neon. Original release date: Aug 7th. Streaming on Hulu
You may have hard through the grapevine that Jane Adams is wonderful in this trippy psychological horror film. You heard correctly. On the other hand, when isn't she wonderful? Enormously underappreciated she is.
La la la la la la la 🎵
VALLEY GIRL (Rachel Lee Goldenberg, US)
MGM/UA. Original release date: May 8th. Streaming on Amazon Prime
Never heard a peep from anyone about this remake / musical. Did you see it? Have you seen the 80s original?
One of them fellas of the gals he was messin' with got fixed on him wrong and Eliza killed him. And laughed about it!
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM (George C Wolfe, US)
Netflix. Original release date: Dec 18th. Streaming on Netflix.
Reaction shots of characters listening to another character's dialogue can be lazy and annoying in movies in that they're often deployed solely as mandatory film grammar without actually a thought as to when they should be deployed to add something. But here it's a treat to frequently watch Levee both listening and not listening to his bandmates bantering. He's very much in his own world / head / dreams even when he's listening. Such a fine performance from Chadwick Boseman.
[chewing / laughing]
GRETEL & HANSEL (Oz Perkins, US/Canada/Ireland)
United Artists. Original release date: Jan 31st. Streaming on HBOMax
Ummm, those mushrooms might be hallucinogenic, Gretel. Drink lots of water.
-Want me to wake you?
-No, let me sleep
HOPE GAP (William Nicholson, UK)
Roadside Attractions. Original release date: May 8th. Streaming on Hulu.
The Bening. Josh O'Connor. Bill Nighy.
[no dialogue]
THE CALL OF THE WILD (Chris Sanders, US)
20th Century Studios. Original release date: Feb 21st. Streaming on HBOMax
Still don't quite get the use of CGI dogs in movies when dogs are domesticated, not wild, animals. Also they clearly love training, performing, and hanging out with humans.
[scary music]
#ALIVE (Il Cho, South Korea)
Netflix. Original release date: Sept 8th. Streaming on Netflix.
This is quite a little corker of a lowbudget zombie flick starring Yoo Ah-in from Burning. Recommended. It all takes place in one apartment building and mostly in one apartment. P.S. He's not going to like what he sees behind the fridge! Tangent: Creepy fridges always make me think of Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream? (What do you think of when you see refridgerators in movies?)
NO HARD FEELINGS (Faraz Shariat, Germany)
M-Appeal / TLA Releasing. Original release date: February through October at festivals. Streaming on Dekkoo.
So ummm. The image at the 20:20 mark is NSFW (whoops) so rather than posting it directly in keeping with this screenshotgame I am embedding the trailer. The image isn't representative of the movie at all even though it is the titular scene (that title - ugh!). Sadly this movie didn't get much of a profile or a mainstream distribution deal out of its short festival run -- despite the Teddy Award win at Berlin -- and it deserved one. It's very good so ignore the title and watch it if you get a chance. It's a debut from the clearly very talented Faraz Shariat who has made a thoughtful rich but succinct movie about the queer refugee experience.
Oh, I'm so sorry. My phone is buzzing. I apologize.
LIKE A BOSS (Miguel Arteta, US)
Paramount. Original release date: Jan 10th. Streaming on Hulu
Haddish. Byrne. Hayek. The actresses are appealing but reviews were not.
Hey Jake can you...
WONDER WOMAN 1984 (Patty Jenkins, US)
Warner Bros. Original release date: Dec 25th. Streaming on HBOMax
Kristen Wiig's clumsy, nervous, friendless Barbara is clearly modeled on Michelle Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle (Batman Returns) and we appreciate the homage. But let's talk about something far more random: Jake is kind of a dick! But get this. This dick who ignores Barbara until she gets Cheetah hot is played by an Emmy winner. That's Kelvin Yu who has several Emmy noms and a win under his belt for producing Bob's Burgers! He's an actor/writer/producer. Hollywood careers are often so multi-hyphenately winding, aren't they?
[Jazz music playing]
SYLVIES' LOVE (Eugene Ashe, US)
Amazon. Original release date: Dec 23rd. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
Tessa Thompson's face and these costumes... ❤️
Make sure they're happy. I just don't know what's going on with them. I tried last night...
LET THEM ALL TALK (Steven Soderbergh, US)
Warner Bros / HBO. Original release date: Dec 10th. Streaming on HBOMax.
So I wasn't the biggest fan of Soderbergh's loosey-goosey improv comedy about estranged friends on a cruise ship. The meandering dialogue was one of the reasons... give me a well crafted written quip or line, any day. That said, I kind of maybe / possibly / sometimes loved Streep in it (?!) Maybe I'm a sucker for Streep playing off-putting characters who aren't "villains" and maybe that's because it's the one thread in her career -- see also Ricki and the Flash, A Cry in the Dark, Ironweed, Manhattan -- where people don't think to overpraise her probably because the characters aren't loveable! And then the performances end up kind of slightly underappreciated which is pretty rare for Meryl.
Thoughts?