Because time lost all meaning in 2020, going back to look back at the films pre-lockdown felt like being taken to another world. It was like something out of a time capsule, when going out to a theater to see Fantasy Island (ugh) was just something you would do, and you weren’t risking your life to do it.
One of the things I like best about these end-of-the-year wrap-ups is going back and reliving the year through the films I’ve seen in the order I saw them. Normally, it can be counted on that Nicolas Cage is in either the first or second movie of the year, but to my shock in 2020 the first was The Grudge reboot with Andrea Riseborough. And I thought, seriously, “There was a Grudge reboot this year?” It had fallen completely down the memory hole, probably because 2020 felt like it was five years long. But then I looked and saw that there were a bunch of movies that I straight up forgot happened this year.
These aren’t necessarily the worst movies of 2020, some of them are okay, actually. But they failed to make enough of an impression to be remembered with all of this other bullshit going on out here. And so here’s my list of films, with a couple of comments, that I completely forgot happened in 2020.
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The Grudge
If you had told me my first movie of 2020 would star Andrea Riseborough I wouldn’t have been surprised given how prolific she’s been lately, but I also would’ve thought it to be a good start to the year. Well, nah. This tired reboot/sequel nobody asked for is hopefully the end of this dead horror franchise, otherwise the next grudge will be with me.
Like a Boss
How could a comedy with Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne, and Salma Hayek be so damn ugly and unfunny? It takes a special talent, or a special lack of it.
Gretel & Hansel
I actually quite liked this female-forward take on the Brothers Grimm folk tale, with all of its creepy visuals, dark riffs on burgeoning womanhood, and a chilling lead performance by Sophia Lillis. A little slow, and maybe that’s why it was tough to recall, but now that it’s back in mind it might be worth a revisit.
The Last Thing He Wanted
This one actually does stink pretty bad, and should’ve been on my Worst Of list for sure. By far it was the most terrible thing at Sundance this year, when it had no business being so. I mean, it has Ben Affleck, Anne Hathaway, and was directed by Dee Rees. How does it go wrong? What was it even about? War, maybe? Conspiracy? I think somebody died or something? The fuck if I know.
Onward
Holy shit this WAS in 2020, wasn’t it? Swear to God I thought it was in 2019. This was not peak Pixar, to say the least, and its release was affected by the pandemic. I think Soul and the other superior animated movies that came out this year just flushed this one out of mind.
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Uncorked
Oh yeah. This was the “black folks drink wine, too” movie. I didn’t hate this, just didn’t care about it. Didn’t make me want to have a glass of rosé with my ribs, like they were hoping.
Bloodshot
Oh yeah, fuck off this was in 2020. This was like 2014, wasn’t it? Oh, that might’ve been The Last Witch Hunter. I can’t tell these forgettable satellite Vin Diesel action flicks apart from one another.
