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.

The Croods: A New Age

After surviving the end of the only world they knew, the Croods must find a new place to call home. They set off into uncharted waters, and soon enough, they come upon a haven that can provide for their needs. Unfortunately, there is a small problem: another family has already taken residence in the area. They are the Bettermans, and they have an intricately-made treehouse, effective farming, and many impressive inventions. It doesn't take long for the prehistoric to clash with the modern.

This is literally just more of the same from the original and the cartoon that Netflix did for a while.  The new characters don't really bring much and its the the original characters still carrying the movie that honestly just feels like a very delayed continuation.

I would not really recommend that anyone be rushing to see this.  It is not a must see by any means and even though its the only thing that has opened in theaters in what feels like forever- its not really worth the time or money.

Freaky

After swapping bodies with a deranged serial killer, a young girl in high school discovers she has less than 24 hours before the change becomes permanent.

Can't help but think that the only reason that this came out in theaters as a tongue in cheek serial killer movie is because of the studios not putting anything out there.  During regular times this might be a streaming services original movie release.  It was watchable with some gory moments with the girl and Vince Vaughn having some entertaining moments with their body switch performances.  But that was really it.  There is not a lot from this movie that will stay with you.

I would not really recommend people rushing to see this.  It's not really worth your time (or the risk to your health) at all.

Let Him Go

Following the loss of their son, retired sheriff George Blackledge (Kevin Costner) and his wife Margaret (Diane Lane) leave their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson. When they discover that he is in the clutches of a dangerous family living off the grid in the Dakotas, George and Margaret must fight for the survival of their family.

Not really sure why or how this as a major movie release with actors like Kevin Costner and Diane Lane in it.   This is at best a Law & Order type of television episode or a made for tv movie.   This was such a basic story that you are hooked by so minimally it feels like you are watching a documentary about what happened with legit actors.

I wouldn't recommend that anyone bother with this.  I pretty much forgot about it right after seeing it because of no connection made with the viewers at all.

Come Play

Based on Jacob Chase’s horror short "Larry." The short follows the story of a terrifying monster named Larry, who manifests through hi-tech devices, such as smartphones or tablets. The feature version will borrow this angle while centering the story on a troubled young boy who creates the monster from his own nightmares.

Another quiet "theater" release for October in 2020 . . . . . . . but might be one of the better ones.  This movie was very simple.  Didn't go over the top with gore or scares.  Didn't have tons of special effects.   They just did a good enough job of pulling you in and keeping you hooked to the story.  I was very pleasantly surprised by this one.

I would recommend people checking this out.  Its a pretty good thriller with good performances and doesn't go too over the top like most in this genre do now.

Sychronic

Mackie and Dornan will play two New Orleans paramedics whose lives are ripped apart after encountering a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.

This movie was kind of watchable based on the options that are available during the joyous year of 2020.  I have always been a fan of Anthony Mackie and that is probably the main reason why I was able to kind of enjoy this movie.  If you take him out of this it's pretty much just a jumbled mess.  

I would not really recommend people rushing to watch this.  It's a somewhat decent watch but pretty forgettable I'm sure 10 minutes after I write this.

Spell

A man crash lands in rural Appalachia and awakens in the attic of a traditional Hoodoo practitioner. He desperately tries to break free from her dark magic and save his family from a sinister ritual before the rise of the blood moon.

I really didn't think I would like this movie as much as I did.  It was like Misery meets Ma.  Loretta Devine was creepy as hell as the main baddie.  And Ghost (he might as well legally change his name) did a great job of selling the pain and the confusion about what was going on.   Even if you saw some of the twists coming it was still a very enjoyable watch.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out if they get a chance.  It was a very surprisingly good watch.

Honest Thief

They call him the In-and-Out-Bandit because meticulous thief Tom Carter (Liam Neeson) has stolen $9 million from small-town banks while managing to keep his identity a secret. But after he falls in love with the bubbly Annie (Kate Walsh), Tom decides to make a fresh start by coming clean about his criminal past, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.

Wow.  This was dull.  Like beyond the realm of dull.   Like how did I spend 90 minutes of my life on this kind of dull.  This would have been a lame made for tv movie.  Granted - Liam Nesson's Taken act has grown quite old but this movie was so non-suspenseful and lacking action that it actually made me miss that stuff.

I would not recommend anyone bother with this.  It's a complete an total waste of time.  It was trash even with a football game muted on the ipad.

The War With Grandpa

Peter is thrilled that Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves into Peter's room, forcing him upstairs into the creepy attic. And though he loves his grandpa he wants his room back - so he has no choice but to declare war. With the help of his friends, Peter devises outrageous plans to make Grandpa surrender the room. But Grandpa is tougher than he looks. Rather than give in, Grandpa plans to get even.

Was this movie 100% formula in every way?  Yes.  Was it a Dennis The Menace/Home Alone wannabe with Robert DeNiro?  Again - yes.  But was it a watchable family movie still?  Somehow . . . . . .  yes.   I'm not saying its a must watch by any means but I was okay watching it and not itching to turn it off and for this movie I would call that a success.

I would somewhat recommend families checking this out.  It is beyond predictable in every way but still was a somewhat decent watch.