Supernova

A gay couple -- one a musician, the other a novelist -- embark on a road trip as dementia starts to take hold of one of them.

Wow!  This movie is beyond the realm of emotional watching this couple struggle through what they are dealing with and it features two of the best and most genuine performances I may have ever seen.   You felt like you were there with them as part of the relationship and completely forgot that these were people acting out the parts.   This movie should be shown for years in acting classes.

I completely recommend people checking this movie out.  Don't get me wrong - it is a very sad and tearjerking movie and for very good reason but acting like this should not be passed on.

The Mauritanian

Mohamedou Ould Salahi fights for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years.

This was a pretty decent watch.  The cast was great and all nailed their roles.  The depictions of the torture interrogations were beyond disturbing.  It was very eye opening to how things are when the curtain is pulled back.  Not that I remotely felt bad for this guy with all he was involved in but it was a decent watch regardless.

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  It was a pretty decent watch with not much out there anyway.

Land

A local hunter brings a grieving lawyer back from the brink of death after she retreats to the harsh wilderness of the Rockies.

Every year it seems there is always at least one movie that comes out that you know is a very well done and acted movie but it is ultimately a massive snooze fest even though you know that.  This would be that movie.  Its not that the movie was bad.  Like I said - I know that this was a well done movie but I just found myself not hooked by it in any way and was therefore completely bored.

I would only recommend this movie to fans of beautiful nature and living off the land.  Outside of those two things there really isn't much intriguing substance here.

Judas And The Black Messiah

Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.

Wow!   That movie was some powerful shit.  Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield continued their string of acting excellence in this.  And the pacing and laying out of this story was so well done.  You fully get hooked watching these people develop and go through their voyages.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this out.   It was a very well done movie on all fronts from beginning to end.

The Little Things

Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

This is a tough one to review.  It was a pretty good watch with the three actors all doing great jobs but it felt more like an episode of good tv than a feature movie.  Quite honestly - I am super confused as to why Denzel Washington and Jared Leto are even in this.  Like its really more of a "just there" or run of the mill January release that is kind of below both of these actors I would think.  Again - not that the movie is bad. It's definitely a better than average watch.  It's just not great and feels overall underwhelming based on the cast of the movie I guess.

I would still recommend people checking this out - especially in the comfort of your own home with the WB/HBO Max thing that they have going on for this year.   Just don't have super high expectations based on the cast or you will be let down.

The Marksman

Jim is a former Marine who lives a solitary life as a rancher along the Arizona-Mexican border. But his peaceful existence soon comes crashing down when he tries to protect a boy on the run from members of a vicious cartel.

I feel like at this point, Liam Nesson has a movie come out every January or September where he continues to showcase some of his special skills in the battle for good.   This movie is no different.  The special skill is his long distance shooting and he is protecting a child that crossed the border.   Just from reading that you pretty much have watched the movie and there is nothing unsurprising that happens whatsoever.

I wouldn't really recommend people bothering with this one.   It's just there and you can get Covid by going to see it so like why in the blue hell would you do that?

Nomadland

A woman embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything during the recession.

I honestly don't know if there is a better movie that could hit home more than this during 2020.  Like you can't help but watch this movie during this past year and identify in some way with what the main character is going through and trying to deal with.  Frances McDormand is a lock for another acting nomination for this movie and the movie itself will definitely be an oscars frontrunner across the board.   It told a great story with great acting and the direction completely hooks the viewer into this awesome character and very relevant drama.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.   It was great and is sure to be winning lots of 2020 awards.

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar

Lifelong friends Barb and Star embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they decide to leave their small Midwestern town for the first time ever.

This movie had ZERO business being as funny as it ended up being.   The random opening scene had me belly laughing at the randomness of it but then it fell flat for about 30 minutes.  I was about to fully stop paying attention when all of a sudden the jokes started landing and some of the most random lines had me completely beside myself.  It turned into like a female Austin Powers almost with innuendo jokes and silliness.  

I would actually recommend people checking this movie out.   Didn't remotely think I would be saying that at the start but I found myself laughing a lot more as the movie went on.

Wonder Woman 1984

Diana Prince lives quietly among mortals in the vibrant, sleek 1980s -- an era of excess driven by the pursuit of having it all. Though she's come into her full powers, she maintains a low profile by curating ancient artifacts, and only performing heroic acts incognito. But soon, Diana will have to muster all of her strength, wisdom and courage as she finds herself squaring off against Maxwell Lord and the Cheetah, a villainess who possesses superhuman strength and agility.

What in the blue hell was this?   This movie was pretty good for all of about 5 minutes.  The start of the movie where Diana is young and in training was great.   Unfortunately the other 2 hours and 25 minutes were total garbage.  Like seriously.  No point.  Massively overacting bad characters.  The lamest storyline reliant on making wishes that I think I've ever seen in a comic book or superhero movie.  And I guess that Warner Bros were the only ones that thought the effects from Cats were good last year because what the absolute f#@k with Cheetah in this?   

I would not recommend that anyone watch this.  Actually . . . . . . . . strike that.  This movie is so cheesy and bad that I actually think that everyone should check it out just so they can be as WTF as I am.

Soul

Joe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz -- and he's good. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.

Pixar really doesn't know how to make bad movies.   This was a movie about jazz music - which I have never been able to get into no matter how I tried - and spiritualism/souls - which I have always had heavy doubts about and what not.   Yet - they completely pulled me into both because they were both so important to the movie that they pretty much became side characters.   This was not one of the more mainstream Pixar movies and I am not sure how well it would have done at the box office but it was a very well written and thought provoking movie.  

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.   It was an amazing watch and although this year in movies is definitely effected by covid - this was undoubtedly one of the better movies of 2020.

News Of The World

Five years after the end of the Civil War, Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd crosses paths with a 10-year-old girl taken by the Kiowa people. Forced to return to her aunt and uncle, Kidd agrees to escort the child across the harsh and unforgiving plains of Texas. However, the long journey soon turns into a fight for survival as the traveling companions encounter danger at every turn -- both human and natural.

Westerns have never really been my thing so I tend to have no expectations for them.  There is just something about them that has made it really hard for them to hook me.  This one kind of did though.  It did a great job of kind of taking you there and feeling like you were in those times.  Tom Hanks is Tom Hanks and the story progression was good.  The only real knock that I'll make towards this movie was that I feel like it definitely didn't need to be as long as it was and that made it drag at points.   

I would recommend anyone that was interested in it.  It is definitely a decent watch.  Not a must see by any means but a decent watch.

Promising Young Woman

Nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be -- she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.

This was a surprisingly enjoyable watch.   This was supposed to come out back near when all the movies first starting getting postponed.  Carey Mulligan did a great and convincing job of being out for revenge on the typical guy and what they have put her and friends of her through.  The movie keeps going up in intensity and the twists towards the end were really well done.

I would definitely recommend people checking this bad boy out.  It was a surprisingly good watch.

Fatale

After a wild one-night stand, a successful sports agent watches his perfect life slowly disappear when he discovers the sexy and mysterious woman he risked everything for is a determined police detective who entangles him in her latest investigation. As he desperately tries to put the pieces together, he falls deeper into her trap, risking his family, his career, and even his life.

Here is another great example of what the hell is going on with movies in 2020.  This movie would have normally struggled as a January or September release in any other year.  It is a movie that has been done 7,000 times and is really much more of a Lifetime movie than a wide release in theaters during what would normally be the second busiest time of the year.  This one at least had some name actors but really not much else in terms of substance or story.

I would not really recommend anyone bothering with this.  There is very little hook to this movie and certainly no sexiness in a movie that is supposed to be about seduction and intrigue and what not.

Monster Hunter

A portal transports Lt. Artemis and an elite unit of soldiers to a strange world where powerful monsters rule with deadly ferocity. Faced with relentless danger, the team encounters a mysterious hunter who may be their only hope to find a way home.

This movie was kind of like if you combined Pacific Rim and Resident Evil.  If you are a huge fan of movies like that you might find this somewhat watchable.   For me - it was a 90 minute watch that I kind of forgot about like 10 minutes later.  

I would not really recommend anyone bothering with this.   It's just one of those kind of there movies when it really should have been more enjoyable considering the special effects and the basic watching of people avoiding and then hunting these monsters.

Half Brothers

Renato, a successful Mexican aviation executive, is shocked to discover he has an American half brother he never knew about -- the free-spirited Asher. The two very different half brothers are forced on a road trip together. masterminded by their ailing father, tracing the path he took as an immigrant from Mexico to America.

I don't know that there could be anything to better signal how crazy 2020 has been at movie theaters than the fact that this ended up being a December wide release and was a top 5 movie at the box office for it's first two weeks of release.  It's not that the movie is bad.  It's somewhat watchable . . . . . . . if you were to just randomly stumble upon it late one night on tv.  But for this to have been widely released in theaters is absolutely crazy.  

I would not really recommend people checking this out.  It's beyond formula, not really worth the time and ends up being a "just there" buddy comedy.  I can't believe that this movie is going to be on my blog.  2020 is something else.