TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2020 - PART 2

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual End-of-the-Year list where I’m counting down my Top 10 Favorite Films of 2020. Because of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film industry, which resulted in numerous films either getting pushed back to a later date or moved over to streaming services, I was forced to do a more traditional Top 10 for this year’s list rather than my usual Top 12. Ergo, whereas the second parts of my annual End-of-The-Year posts usually focus on films #9-7, today’s post will instead be covering the second half of this year’s list as we go through my Top 5 of 2020. Also, for those who didn’t check out yesterday’s post, which covered films #10-5 and my one Honorable Mention, just head to the link that’s provided below. And so, without further ado, let’s return to the list…

PART 1

Seeing how Part 1 ended with a Pixar film, it’s only fitting that Part 2… starts with a Pixar film. And yes, as you’ll soon find out, my favorite Pixar film from 2020 wasn’t the more critically acclaimed Soul. Instead, it was a film that will hopefully manage to overcome the terrible luck that it ended up having upon its release.

5. ONWARD

As I’ve stated plenty of times at this point, a whole bunch of films were royally screwed over by COVID-19, and I think it’s safe to say that one of the films that was affected by it the most was Pixar’s first 2020 release, Onward. Simply put, Onward hit theaters here in the U.S. on March 6^th… barely a week before the pandemic started forcing theaters to shut down indefinitely. Thus, it only managed to gross around $141.9 million worldwide which, under normal circumstances, would’ve made it a full-blown commercial flop since it had a budget that was around $175-200 million. After that, it was promptly moved to On-Demand services on March 20^th, just two weeks after it hit theaters, which then led to its debut on Disney+ on April 3^rd. However, it goes without saying that Onward’s struggles at the box-office weren’t really its fault; instead, it was just the unfortunate victim of some utterly bad timing. That said, though, there is a part of me that wonders how the film would’ve fared if it wasn’t hindered by the pandemic given its overall reception. Now to be clear, Onward wasn’t critically panned or anything; at the time that I’m writing this, it boasts an excellent 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, if you look at the site’s consensus statement on the film, one of the main points that it makes is that it wasn’t seen as one of Pixar’s best. Yes, this is yet another instance of what I’ve been saying numerous times over the years in that the expectations for Pixar films have become so monumental that any film of theirs that isn’t considered an outright masterpiece ends up being overlooked completely. And if you ask me, that’s a damn shame because I’d argue that Onward is another Pixar classic.

Onward takes place in a fantasy world occupied by classic mythical creatures; elves, centaurs, manticores, etc. The film’s opening sequence establishes that while this land was originally full of magic, a combination of technological advancements and the fact that magic proved to be a hard thing to master resulted in it becoming nearly obsolete, thus resulting in the fantasy equivalent of modern-day suburbia. And right off the bat, I can sort of see why some felt that the film didn’t really do much with the process of fully exploring its fantastical setting. Instead, it arguably plays second fiddle to the main plot to the point where some have argued that you could’ve told this same story without the fantasy elements and there wouldn’t have been much of a difference. Still, for what it’s worth, the world that this film creates is a genuinely fun one to explore even if it’s mostly just the traditional visual gag of a real-life object being given a fantasy overlay. Plus, due to the nature of the quest that the main protagonists go on, the film ends up featuring a lot of affectionate tributes to role-playing games, including, of course, Dungeons and Dragons. Now, full disclosure, I have ZERO experience with Dungeons and Dragons in any shape or form. But for those who are far more familiar with the iconic RPG than I am, I bet that you’ll love all the references that this film makes to it, including a climactic encounter with the most terrifying threat of them all… the Gelatinous Cube!

But above all, Onward is full of that great emotional poignancy that we’ve come to expect from Pixar films, which makes perfect sense since the main plot was directly inspired by the real-life experiences of its director, Dan Scanlon. Onward follows a pair of elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, who learn that, before he passed away, their dad had managed to come across the means to cast a ‘visitation spell’ that would allow them to resurrect him for a whole day. And since their dad died before Ian was born, this would allow him the chance to finally meet the father that he never got to know. As it turns out, Ian proves to be one of the rare folks who can properly wield magic; however, his initial attempt at casting the spell isn’t exactly successful as it only manages to bring back their dad’s lower half (which, to be fair, is a hilarious visual). And so, with only 24 hours before the spell wears off, Ian and Barley set out on a quest to find the Phoenix Gem that they need to properly complete it. Naturally, this journey helps the two somewhat distant brothers bond more, which results in a pivotal moment where Barley admits something that he never mentioned before. Earlier, Barley had told Ian that the three memories that he has of their dad were that he had a scratchy beard, a goofy laugh and that he used to play the drums on his feet. However, in the middle of their journey, Barley reveals that there’s a fourth memory that he has of their dad… and, unfortunately, it’s not a happy one. He reveals that when he was going to see their dad right before he passed away, the sight of him on life-support and in a state where he was far beyond recognition scared him so much that he couldn’t go in. And so, from that moment on, he vowed that he would never be scared ever again.

With that in mind, Onward’s ending is perfectly executed as the brothers do manage to complete the spell and bring their dad back to life… however, Barley ends up being the only one to be with him before the spell wears off while Ian protects the two of them from their final foe, a dragon made from the building materials of Ian’s high school. Despite Ian’s desire to officially meet his dad, he ultimately lets Barley have that experience since he recognizes that Barley was the one who had any sort of connection with him, thus letting him finally have the closure that he couldn’t get when their dad died. It’s a bittersweet ending, for sure, but at the same time, Ian realizes that he had already accomplished all the things that he wanted to do with his dad, such as playing catch, having a heart-to-heart conversation with him, and sharing his life with him… he accomplished all that with Barley. Simply put, Ian and Barley are another outstanding ‘Pixar lead duo’, especially thanks to the outstanding performances from Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, respectively. Plus, as I pointed out in my original review for this film, it’s kind of funny to note how Ian and Barley are basically the animated equivalent of Holland and Pratt’s roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man, Ian is the good-natured albeit socially awkward teenager with something to prove whereas Barley is a lovable rogue who, despite being regarded as a ‘screw-up’ by other folks, is simply haunted by the fact that he was unable to say goodbye to a loved one when they were on their deathbed, just like Star-Lord.

In conclusion, I’d just like to reiterate that me preferring Onward over Soul when it comes to Pixar’s 2020 slate is by no means meant to be a dig against the latter. As I noted in the last part, Soul is yet another beautifully poignant entry in Pixar’s prestigious filmography that will surely be the major front-runner for Best Animated Feature during this year’s awards season. At the end of the day, this all comes down to personal preference, and with that in mind, I’d argue that Onward manages to deliver a story that’s just as emotionally poignant as Soul’s, albeit through obviously different narratives. Whereas Soul delivered a wholly uplifting story that reminded us all of the joys of life, Onward produces a powerful story of brotherhood while simultaneously mixing it with a fun fantasy adventure that feels like it came straight from the iconic role-playing games that its premise was largely inspired by. In short, I genuinely hope that this film manages to gain more of an audience in the years to come after it was tragically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To go back to what I mentioned in the intro about the lofty expectations that the internet has towards Pixar films, I’m not one of those folks who strictly expects every Pixar film to be a, to quote my friend Kyle Ostrum, “15/10 masterpiece”. We’ve seen this before with underrated films like Brave, Monsters University, and The Good Dinosaur, and in a lot of ways, that’s exactly what happened this year with Onward. I mean, for the record, even I’ll admit that I don’t necessarily consider this to be the ‘best’ Pixar film ever made, but even if it’s not a ‘thought-provoking masterpiece’ like, say, Soul was, I don’t really see how that’s a bad thing.

Given all the… well, awful things that happened in 2020, I found myself leaning heavily towards crowd-pleaser films this past year which, for long-time visitors of this site, probably doesn’t sound that surprising since those are usually the films that I tend to watch. And if you ask me, my Number 4 pick of 2020 is a near-perfect representation of that mindset.

4. THE PROM

In my original review for this film, I said that it was sort of like the modern-day equivalent of the 1984 cult classic Footloose. I mean, if anything, both films do have generally similar plots in which the folks of a conservative-minded town enact something that negatively affects their teenage community. In the case of Footloose, we had a town that banned public dancing in the wake of a tragic accident that, in the eyes of the town council, was directly caused by reckless partying. As for The Prom, we have a story that was largely inspired by a real-life incident in Itawamba County, Mississippi when student Constance McMillen was banned from attending her high-school prom in 2010 because she was planning on going with her girlfriend. And in both films, these actions are then promptly challenged by outsiders to the community who slowly but surely manage to convince the townsfolk to start changing their ways. But whereas Footloose centered on a single high-school student, The Prom follows a quartet of self-absorbed Broadway stars who are mainly there in the hopes that it would give them some good PR. As such, it goes without saying that a lot of the humorous beats in this film poke fun at those celebrities who try a bit too hard to contribute to social causes. At the same time, though, the fact that these four Broadway stars eventually manage to overcome their egos and genuinely do whatever they can to give main protagonist Emma Nolan the prom that she deserves is a nice example of how there are still plenty of instances where celebrities’ charitable actions are legitimate.

Really, above all, The Prom is simply a well-meaning story that promotes love and acceptance, and when put under the direction of TV producing powerhouse Ryan Murphy, who’s been a major champion for greater diversity within the industry, you get an incredibly uplifting film adaptation of this hit Broadway show. Now, admittedly, I have not seen The Prom in its original form, so I can’t say anything about how effective this film was at adapting its source material. The most that I’ve heard from Broadway fans is that they felt that the humor flowed better in the show than it did in the film, but overall, it seems like the film was as faithful of an adaptation as it could possibly be. It also helps that The Prom sports an excellent soundtrack that, to reiterate a point that I find myself making a lot when it comes to musicals, is a great mix of catchy showstoppers and powerful emotional melodies. In the case of the former, you’ve got tunes like the big ensemble track ‘Tonight Belongs to You’ that closes out Act 1 in the show and the grand finale ‘It’s Time to Dance’ when the gang has successfully managed to hold an all-inclusive prom. And as for the latter, you’ve got ‘Dance with You’, the first duet between Emma and her girlfriend Alyssa, and Emma’s big ‘solo’ (even though she’s technically joined by the viewers of her video for the climax) ‘Unruly Heart’. The Prom also boasts an excellent cast headlined by both big-name stars like Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman and reliable supporting players like Keegan-Michael Key and Andrew Rannells. Ultimately, though, the biggest star of the show is newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma, who’s very much the heart of the film.  

However, there is one major elephant in the room when it comes to the film’s cast, and that is James Corden in the lead role of Broadway star Barry Glickman. Just like Emma, Barry is gay and has faced similar struggles when it comes to being accepted for who he is, especially from his parents. However, James Corden is not a gay man, and thus, received a lot of criticism for his performance, with many noting it to be a highly stereotypical portrayal of gay men. Now, like I said in my original review for this film, while I’m not ‘defending’ Corden’s casting in the role (it probably would’ve been more fitting for him to switch roles with Andrew Rannells, even if Rannells is an undeniable standout as Julliard alum Trent Oliver), I don’t think that he completely derails the film, either. Now, granted, there’s a very reasonable counterargument to that since Barry is arguably the most important character in the story after Emma and the major addition that the film makes to the plot is that it expands upon Barry’s strained relationship with his parents, culminating in a moment of reconciliation with his mother. However, at the end of the day, the rest of the film’s ensemble makes up for any shortcomings that stem from Corden, and like I said before, I’d argue that the film’s heart is ultimately in the right place. Sure, it may not have been entirely successful in its efforts to promote its universal themes, but overall, this utterly infectious musical is the very definition of an all-around crowd-pleaser.

At Number 3, we go from one musical to another with a film that isn’t a direct adaptation like The Prom was but did allow its viewers the rare opportunity of witnessing one of the most iconic Broadway musicals of all-time in the way that it was originally presented.

3. HAMILTON

Okay, so admittedly, I might be ‘cheating’ a bit when it comes to putting this film on the list given the nature of its production. Instead of being a direct adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap musical Hamilton, this was a filmed production of the show that was produced in 2016 before the departure of several members of the Original Broadway Cast. It was originally set for a theatrical release this year, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic which, as you might have guessed, thoroughly ravished the theater industry just as much as the film industry, it was decided to make it a Disney+ original and was released a year early during the Fourth of July weekend. With that in mind (also, let’s be real, most of the films on this list weren’t seen in theaters, anyway…), I think that it’s perfectly okay to include this on the list, and I wouldn’t be surprised if other folks have it on their ‘Best of the Year’ lists as well. Plus… I mean, come on, it’s Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece of a production that gives audiences an utterly unique spin on American history as presented from a modern perspective. Every song on the soundtrack is impeccably produced and the Original Broadway Cast is so perfectly assembled that those who are only in it for a few songs (e.g. Jonathan Groff as the hilariously over-the-top King George III) are just as phenomenal as the main leads; Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Christopher Jackson, Tony Award winners Leslie Odom Jr., Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Daveed Diggs, etc.

Simply put, this film served as a perfect reminder as to why Hamilton has become a staple of our current pop cultural zeitgeist. And thanks to its release, it allowed Hamilton fans the opportunity to do something that most of them had probably never done before… seeing the actual show. Yes, Hamilton has been somewhat notorious for being a show that is almost impossible to get tickets to; and so, because of this, I think it’s safe to say that before 2020, the most experience that Hamilton fans have ever had with the show itself was simply listening to the soundtrack. Now, for the record, that doesn’t mean that this film is meant to be the ‘best’ way to experience the show; if anything, it sort of reiterates why filmed productions of hit Broadway shows have been a rarity, for the most part, since there’s a good chance that they could hurt the show itself from a financial perspective. But in this instance, I think that most would agree that this release came at just at the right time since, at the time that I’m writing this, Broadway shows are, unfortunately, not set to reopen until June (and really, given the continuing devastation of COVID-19, that closure could go on even longer for all we know…). Thus, one could argue that, at the end of the day, the best thing that this film managed to accomplish is that it reminded audiences of the undeniable beauty of the world of theater by way of what is arguably the first show that comes to mind for most people when they think of Broadway shows.

As we near the end of the list, I should probably preface things by noting that these last two films have been some of the more controversial releases of 2020. Case in point, at Number 2, we have a film that has attracted a whole bunch of controversies that have ranged from politically charged scandals to the method in which it was initially released.

2. MULAN

Like all the other live-action Disney remakes that have come before it, the live-action remake of Mulan has faced a ton of scrutiny, but in this instance, it wasn’t necessarily due to the whole ‘Why remake a beloved animated feature?’ argument that’s always the first thing that’s brought up about these films. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a thing this time around, but in this instance, Mulan faced greater backlash over, ironically, the elements from its 1998 animated counterpart that it didn’t include. First, there was the fact that the film wasn’t going to do a live-action incarnation of Mulan’s love interest, Captain Li Shang, as the filmmakers felt that this would’ve been an awkward development in the age of the #MeToo movement. And then, it was reported that the film was also going to exclude Mulan’s main sidekick, Mushu the dragon. While Mushu may be an incredibly popular member of Disney’s long line of animated sidekicks, he wasn’t as big of a hit with Chinese audiences, who felt that it was a disrespectful portrayal of a creature that their culture holds in high regard. However, the biggest change that attracted a lot of blowback was the reveal that the film wasn’t going to feature any of the original film’s songs by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel. Sure, Christina Aguilera produced a new version of ‘Reflection’ and said song was also covered in Mandarin by lead actress Yifei Liu, but those only appeared in the credits. Aside from that, none of the songs from the animated film were included in the remake. No ‘Honor to Us All’, no ‘A Girl Worth Fighting For’, and yes, no ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’, a song that is easily one of the most popular Disney tunes of the past few decades. Instead, these songs were only referenced via lines of dialogue lifted straight from the lyrics and musical hints that were peppered throughout Harry Gregson-Williams’ score.

But if that wasn’t enough, Mulan has also been subject to some controversies of a political variety. In fact, there’s so much to unpack here that this film could literally spawn its own thesis on all the scandals that it’s faced. There’s a thing about lead actress Yifei Liu showing her support for Hong Kong police right in the middle of the recent Hong Kong protests. There’s a thing about parts of the film being shot in Xinjiang, a region in China that’s faced heavy scrutiny for its internment camps, which was only made worse by the fact that parts of Xinjiang’s government were listed in the credits. And there’s a thing about the fact that while this female-led story was directed by a female director, Niki Caro, she and some other key members of the production crew were not of Chinese descent. In other words, this film has attracted so much negative publicity that it even makes me nervous about placing it at this high a spot on the list because, for all I know, someone out there may end up using the fact that I liked this film against me somehow. However, given what I stated in the intro to this year’s list about my decision to not delve into too much detail about any of these films’ political controversies, let’s just say that this film is the prime example of why I ultimately went that route. As always, this doesn’t mean that I’m ignoring any of the issues that have arisen in the wake of this film’s release. Instead, it’s just a reminder that I’m not even remotely qualified when it comes to talking about politics.

So, with that out of the way and given the fact that I’ve liked all the other recent live-action remakes of Disney’s animated classics, it goes without saying that I loved this new take on Mulan. Despite being Niki Caro’s first major foray into the action genre, she handles all the action sequences incredibly well and the film, in general, boasts excellent cinematography. And as for all the parts from the animated film that the remake didn’t include such as Mushu and the songs… personally, I don’t think that this was that big of a loss. If anything, I understand why they were taken out as the filmmakers wanted to present a more grounded take on The Ballad of Hua Mulan. Now, granted, I’m well aware that this ‘grounded’ approach has been a recurring issue that folks have had with some of these recent remakes since they feel that it takes away many of the most memorable parts of these beloved stories (e.g. Jon Favreau’s The Lion King was dinged a lot for this very reason). That said, though, I also recognize that not all the elements of Disney’s animated classics translate well to live-action, and this remake of Mulan is arguably one of the best examples of how these remakes can work around that. For example, it may lack the original’s songs, but it doesn’t outright ignore them either thanks to the neat little nods to them that are peppered throughout the score. And while this Mulan may not have a wisecracking ancestral guardian to help her on her journey, it means that she’s able to play a greater role in her efforts to prove herself to her commanders and fellow soldiers, whereas in the original, it could be argued that Mushu was often the one who got her into most of those situations.

In other words, this new version of Mulan isn’t trying to be the classic Disney musical that its animated counterpart was. Instead, it’s a more traditional war flick, and in that sense, it does succeed in being that kind of film. Really, the only downside to this take on the story is that because of its overly serious tone (which, to be fair, is usually the case with war films), there aren’t many instances that would’ve allowed the film to include some much-needed moments of levity. And yes, I do think that something like this could’ve been accomplished without having to bring in a character like Mushu. Despite this, however, the live-action Mulan is still a beautifully crafted film that boasts a phenomenal cast headlined, of course, by Yifei Liu in the title role. Yifei’s experience in the action genre naturally results in her having no problems asserting herself as a badass action heroine in this film’s excellent set-pieces. At the same time, though, she also does a great job handling Mulan’s big emotional beats that were key in making her one of Disney’s most noteworthy heroines. Yifei is then backed by an equally excellent supporting cast that ranges from esteemed veterans like Tzi Ma as Mulan’s father Hua Zhou to promising newcomers like Yoson An as soldier Chen Honghui, who basically serves as the live-action equivalent of Shang even though the film doesn’t really try to develop any sort of romance between him and Mulan. Plus, it’s not every day where you have a film like this that features two of the most prominent action stars to ever grace the big-screen, Donnie Yen and Jet Li.

But if I were to note the one major advantage that this film has over its animated counterpart, it would be that it has stronger villains. When it comes to the original film, Hun leader Shan Yu wasn’t exactly one of Disney’s most memorable villains. As imposing as he looked, he was a rather one-note antagonist. Granted, I wouldn’t call this film’s main antagonist, Rouran leader Bori Khan, ‘that much’ of an improvement over Shan Yu, but overall, Jason Scott Lee does an excellent job in making Bori Khan an utterly ruthless and all-around imposing foe. Plus, unlike Shan Yu, Bori Khan has some notable stakes when it comes to his conquest of China since he seeks revenge against the Emperor for killing his father. However, the biggest standout of the entire film (even more so than Yifei Liu) is Gong Li as Xianniang, Bori Khan’s mysterious shape-shifting sorceress. For starters, the addition of a new female lead in this story helps give it a unique new narrative layer since Xianniang is very much Mulan’s foil. Like Mulan, she too has been undervalued for being a woman in a male-dominated society, which is primarily highlighted in the numerous instances where Bori Khan insists that he’s the one in charge and that she simply answers to him. But whereas Mulan is wholly loyal to her country, Xianniang remains adamant in her claim that life will never give them the respect that they deserve. Nevertheless, this ultimately results in a rather poignant climax to Xianniang’s character arc as she ends up sacrificing herself to save Mulan from one of Bori Khan’s attacks, having come to genuinely admire her bravery despite all the incredible odds that she had to overcome.  

In short, the live-action remake of Mulan was very much one of those films that I wanted to show my support to in any way that I could. Obviously, much of that process was by way of me being one of those who willingly paid the $30 ‘Premier Access’ price tag that was placed on it when it was announced that it would be making its debut on Disney+. While I do understand why some folks felt that it was too high a price for just a single film (especially given everything with COVID-19), I had no issue in paying for it since it was one of my most anticipated films of the year (and yes, I will be doing the same thing for Raya and the Last Dragon when it comes out next month as Disney+’s second ‘Premier Access’ release). But then, if that wasn’t enough, I also ‘double-dipped’ and bought the film on Blu-Ray when it was released several months later; not only that, but it was also the special Steelbook release from Best Buy… don’t worry, I also bought the Steelbook for the original film, which came out at the same time. In other words, as much as I know that I’m in the minority when it comes to liking this film, I think that it’s one of the best live-action Disney remakes to date. And with that in mind, while I do understand why some may have been disappointed by the lack of several of the animated film’s most notable elements… I also find some of this to be rather ironic given how remakes of films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King were derided for how similar they were to their animated counterparts. In other words, I’d argue that the live-action Mulan deserves credit for, at the very least, being willing to try something a little different instead of being a straightforward remake.

And at long last, we come to my favorite film of 2020. Now, for those who have been following this site for the past few years, you may recall that many of my recent #1 picks have been… predictable. In other words, my last three #1 picks were all MCU films (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017, Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, and Avengers: Endgame in 2019). Thus, with no new MCU film for the first time since 2009, that meant that a different film was going to take the top spot on this list. In fact, given the timetable of their releases, almost all the other films in this half of the list (apart from The Prom since it was released in December) were in the #1 spot at some point in time. Fittingly enough, this means that my favorite film of 2020 ended up being the last major release that I saw before the end of the year, and if you ask me, it’s a film that isn’t even remotely close to being the ‘total disaster’ that the internet claims it to be.

1. WONDER WOMAN 1984

Now, before I get into why I loved this film, I just want to note that the following entry isn’t meant to be a dig against anyone who wasn’t as big on it as I am. As always, I recognize that film is a subjective medium, and if you ask me, this is something that consistently needs to be stressed when it comes to the films of the DC Extended Universe. Case in point, as I’ve made it clear over the past few years, I’m also not one of those moronic DCEU diehards who gets so enraged whenever someone doesn’t like one of these films that they’d try to shut down Rotten Tomatoes or accuse critics of being ‘paid by Disney’ to badmouth the competition. But when it comes to Wonder Woman 1984’s overall reception, I must admit that I’m a bit baffled as to how one of the most anticipated films of 2020 ended up being one of the year’s most polarizing releases. To put this all into perspective, about a week before the film was set to make its simultaneous debut in theaters and on HBO Max, it was sporting a genuinely excellent rating on Rotten Tomatoes that was hovering around the high 80’s and low 90’s. In other words, by that point, it was shaping up to be one of the best-received entries of the DCEU alongside the first Wonder Woman and Shazam. But then, as the week went on, that high rating started to drop at a rapid pace, almost as if every new review for the film was on the ‘Rotten’ side of the RT review spectrum. Thus, at the time that I’m writing this, Wonder Woman 1984’s RT score now hovers around a different point; the threshold that could result in it dropping below 60%, thus giving it a ‘Rotten’ rating… and trust me, it’s been in that range a few times over the past few weeks.

Now, obviously, a film’s Rotten Tomatoes rating is in no way meant to be the definitive indicator of its quality, and if you ask me, Wonder Woman 1984 is a prime example of that. But what was it about this film that garnered all its mixed-to-negative reactions? Well, there seems to be a few varying reasons for this, but the one that we’re mainly going to be focusing on is the argument that it was ‘too light-hearted’. Basically, there were some who felt that, tonally, the film was way too light-hearted and that it should’ve followed the traditional narrative path that most sequels go through where they take on a darker and more serious tone. This line of criticism also applied to the film’s plot as well, which was criticized for being overly cliché since it largely relied on the classic trope of the hunt for a magical MacGuffin. However, I believe that these narrative and tonal routes were wholly intentional when it comes to what the film was trying to achieve. In other words, while the 1984 part of this film’s title may seem like an odd choice to the uninitiated when it comes to naming sequels, it’s a wholly accurate descriptor of what kind of film this is from an aesthetic perspective. Simply put, director Patty Jenkins did a fantastic job in recreating the look and feel of an 80’s film, from the extravagant costume designs to its grand, pulse-pounding score. And yes, in this instance, I’d argue that this also applies to the idea of doing a story that’s not overly complicated, has clear-cut heroes and villains, and, at the end of the day, still manages to deliver some exceptionally strong emotional beats. In fact, I’d even say that this back-to-basics approach is quite refreshing compared to some of the other DCEU films.

Wonder Woman 1984’s plot revolves around the discovery of an ancient artifact referred to as the ‘Dreamstone’ that can grant the most desired wish of its users. Initially unaware of what it can do, Diana and her new friend Barbara Ann Minerva end up utilizing the stone’s abilities, which results in the resurrection of Diana’s lover Steve Trevor, albeit in the body of another man, and Barbara gaining the same kind of strength and charisma that Diana possesses. It eventually gets taken by smooth-talking albeit struggling businessman Max Lord, who wishes to become the physical embodiment of the Dreamstone, thus giving him the power to grant anyone’s wish in exchange for whatever he wants from them in return. And as it turns out, that fittingly sums up the Dreamstone’s powers in general as Diana, Steve, and Barbara soon discover that it was created by Dolos, the god of lies, which means that for every wish that it grants, it also takes away the user’s greatest virtue. In Diana’s case, it is her godlike strength. In Barbara’s case, her newfound abilities come at the cost of her good-natured personality. And as for Max, his physical state keeps deteriorating every time that he grants someone’s wish. Yes, Wonder Woman 1984 utilizes the classic ‘Monkey’s Paw’ scenario where folks learn the hard way that their greatest wish will always come at a cost. As such, the final message that the film conveys is particularly powerful as it reminds us all that we shouldn’t let our deepest desires cloud our judgment… it’s unfortunate, then, that many of these themes were apparently viewed as ‘sappy’ by the film’s critics (I’ll get into why I’m rather concerned about that point later…).

Case in point, I’m aware that some apparently thought that the film’s messages were the opposite of wholesome because they championed the idea that the rich and powerful deserve everything that they want… which, to be perfectly frank, isn’t even remotely close to being an accurate description of this film’s premise. I’m guessing that this mostly has to do with the fact that the film’s main antagonist, Maxwell Lord, isn’t really ‘brought to justice’. After he finally renounces his wish to be the physical embodiment of the Dreamstone, he ends up reuniting with his son Alistair, who he had been neglecting over the course of the film, and willingly admits that he’s a flawed man, to which Alistair responds by stating that none of that matters and that he loves his dad regardless. But the thing is… this is very much the point of Max Lord’s character arc since he isn’t even close to being a traditional ‘villainous’ character. Instead, he’s just a misguided man who desperately seeks the kind of power that he’s never once had in his life. In a lot of ways, this also applies to Barbara, who starts out as a wholly good-natured friend of Diana’s but gradually evolves into a more cold-hearted person, culminating in her transformation into the ‘apex predator’ that is Cheetah. And sure, Cheetah’s final visual transformation may be a bit underwhelming (and no, internet, I’m not making any comparisons to Cats), but overall, WW84 boasts far superior villains compared to the first film, especially thanks to Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig’s excellent performances in their respective roles.

But let’s go back for a moment and address the process of how Wonder Woman’s lover Steve Trevor was brought back after his heroic sacrifice during the events of the first film. As noted earlier, the Dreamstone transforms a random stranger into Steve and it’s implied that Diana is the only one who sees him as Steve whereas everyone else sees the other guy. Overall, I think that this was a solid way of bringing Steve back to life without having to rely on some of the more traditional methods from the comics in which deceased characters are resurrected. In other words, I feel that bringing him back permanently would’ve cheapened the impact of his death in the first film and wouldn’t have allowed Diana the opportunity to finally move on with her life. And, of course, this all ties in nicely to the consequences of using the Dreamstone since Diana’s wish to have Steve back results in her losing her powers. This then results in what is easily the most emotional moment in the film as Steve convinces Diana to finally let him go so that she can properly save the world. Simply put, this is another great showcase of why Steve Trevor has been one of the best ‘love interests’ to appear in a superhero film since, in both Wonder Woman films, he’s shown to be completely willing to make the necessary sacrifices while doing so in a way that doesn’t result in him overshadowing Diana, the true main character of the film.  

(Also, on a quick side note, there’s one point of discussion that’s been repeatedly brought up when it comes to how the return of Steve was handled in terms of how it affects the guy whose body he inhabits, and to be perfectly blunt, I won’t be addressing it today because… well, it goes into a subject that I really don’t want to get into on this site…)

All in all, Wonder Woman 1984 is a delightfully entertaining film full of great action sequences and the same kind of strong character beats that were a major part of its predecessor, the latter of which being something that, as I’ve said plenty of times before, the early DCEU films weren’t quite able to accomplish. Not only that, but I also love some of the ways in which this film pays tribute to Wonder Woman’s extensive lore; for starters, they manage to pull off one of her most famous gadgets from the comics, her invisible jet, in a brilliantly executed manner. This occurs during a sequence where Diana and Steve head to Cairo to track down Max Lord by commandeering a plane from the Smithsonian’s collection. To avoid being detected by radar (which, of course, wasn’t a thing for pilots like Steve back in World War I, resulting in one of the best comedic bits in the film (“Well s***, Diana!”)), Diana successfully manages to cloak their plane in the same way that her father, Zeus, hid Themyscira from the rest of the world. There’s also the matter of the character Asteria, the most famous warrior in the history of the Amazon race. Throughout the film, we learn more about Asteria, who nobly sacrificed herself to save her people, and it is her golden armor that Diana uses in her final battle against Barbara and Max. However, in a mid-credit scene, we learn that Asteria is still alive and well… and is played by none other than Lynda Carter, the definitive Wonder Woman for many a generation thanks to her iconic turn as the character in the 1975 Wonder Woman TV series. Simply put, I just love it when films manage to do something like this, especially in this film’s case since it’s been established that Carter had to decline a cameo in the first film due to scheduling conflicts.

And so, with all that I’ve said about how much I love this film, I can’t stress enough how disappointing it is that, in many cases, it was derided (in a surprisingly hostile manner, I might add…) for many of the things that made it so great, such as its light-hearted tone and its powerful themes. I mean, if you even needed another reason as to why 2020 was such a terrible year, then just consider the fact that, apparently, being a ‘light-hearted’ superhero film is a ‘bad’ thing. And with that said, this brings me back to the point that I’ve mentioned time and time again… the continuously atrocious behavior of the DCEU’s diehard fans. Back in Part 1, I stated that I personally believe that the DCEU diehards couldn’t care less about either of the franchise’s 2020 releases (also, on a side note, did I forget to mention that they were both female-led, female-directed films?). In the case of Birds of Prey, it was largely due to them being inexplicably mad about its existence in a time before the official confirmation of the ‘Snyder Cut’. But in the case of Wonder Woman 1984, I’d say that it was because of… that’s right, its lighthearted tone. It is blatantly clear at this point that DCEU diehards despise the use of humor in superhero films with a burning passion. Don’t believe me? A few months back, some moron on Twitter announced that he was ‘re-editing’ Shazam to, you guessed it, remove its humor even though that was a key part of that film’s charm. But to be perfectly frank, that’s about as far as I’ll go for now when it comes to all the headaches that have been caused by the DCEU’s diehard fans. Instead, I’ll save my thoughts on the matter… for when I review Zack Snyder’s Justice League in March. And I’m just going to warn you now, DCEU diehards, when I do… I won’t be holding anything back…

And so, that concludes Rhode Island Movie Corner’s Top 10 Favorite Films of 2020. As always, I want to thank you all for joining me on this extensive journey through the cinematic highlights of a year that… didn’t really give us many opportunities for said highlights. But since I’ve already gone over how much 2020 sucked numerous times over the course of these last two posts, all we can do now is hope that 2021 will turn out a hell of a lot better in terms of both hopefully returning to the process of seeing films in theaters… and dealing with the ever-increasingly hostile parts of the film fan community. As always, to quote the legendary Roger Ebert, “I’ll see you at the movies!”.  

2020 Midyear Recap

Normally around this time of year, I produce a Midyear Recap where I go through every single film that I’ve seen in the first half of the year. It’s a Rhode Island Movie Corner tradition that I’ve thoroughly maintained ever since this blog’s inception in 2012. But as you might have guessed, there has been a major complication when it comes to this year’s installment of the Midyear Recap. Yes, thanks to that pesky coronavirus, theaters were forced to shut down until further notice, which means that many of the biggest films that were set to come out these past few months had to be either pushed back to later in the year (or next year, in some cases) or moved directly to On-Demand and Streaming services. Personally, I only managed to get four films in at the theater before this all went down, which isn’t even enough to do the ‘Top 5 of the Year (So Far)’ segment that always ends these posts. However, in the wake of all the nationwide closures back in March, I have since seen two more films thanks to the On-Demand/Streaming circuit, effectively allowing me to have a proper Top 5 of 2020 by the halfway point. And since I’m usually not one to buck away from the traditions that I’ve established for this site, I will still go ahead and deliver the 2020 edition of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual Midyear Recap. For those who are new to this site, the annual Midyear Recap is exactly what you think it is. In today’s post, I will be going through all the new films that I’ve seen in 2020, whether it was in a theater or at home, in the order of ‘least favorite’ to my current #1 of the year. And to be clear, I’m only counting the films that I’ve seen that came out this year. In other words, this isn’t going to be one of those cases where I go over everything that I’ve been watching while being in lockdown for the past few months since a lot of it consists of films and shows that had come out in years past. And so, without further ado, join me as I proudly present what will easily be the shortest installment to date of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual Midyear Recap.

ARTEMIS FOWL

Well, to start things off on a controversial note… yes, I did like this film. That said, though, I fully understand why a lot of people didn’t like it. Artemis Fowl will surely go down in history as one of the most infamous adaptations of a popular book series in recent memory as it makes a bunch of radical changes to the title character and combines story elements from the first two books in the series despite the fact that it does properly maintain the first installment’s premise. But like I said in my review of the film from a few weeks ago, I went into it without having read the book beforehand. I did attempt to read it back when I was younger, but for reasons that I can never explain, I wasn’t able to connect with it like I did with the likes of Harry Potter. However, I fully recognize that if I had read it, I probably would’ve taken greater issue with all these changes. In fact, this is the exact same situation that I was in when I first saw the film adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in 2010. At the time, it was a film that I was really looking forward to since I was a massive fan of the book series ever since I read the first one in my 8^th Grade English class. But while I didn’t necessarily ‘dislike’ the film when I finally saw it, all I could think about was how it was far from being the most faithful adaptation of its source material. Because of this, I’ll admit that I didn’t see its sequel, Sea of Monsters, when it came out in 2013; and yet, from what I can gather… I didn’t miss much. That one ended up being the last outing for the film franchise, effectively making it a failed attempt at an adaptation. Luckily for fans of the series, though, it has recently been announced that a TV series is being primed for Disney+ that has the potential to be a more faithful adaptation. In other words, it’s a lot like what happened with A Series of Unfortunate Events. Its 2004 feature film adaptation looked to be the start of a franchise that could rival the likes of Harry Potter, but those plans stalled out after just one film. But then, in 2017, it got a TV series adaptation on Netflix that was widely lauded for being a far more faithful take on the franchise, and because it ran for three seasons, it was able to do what the film couldn’t and see its story told to completion.

But anyway, back to Artemis Fowl. As noted earlier, the biggest deviations that the film makes from the books primarily revolve around the title character. In the books, Artemis Fowl II is a 12-year old ‘criminal mastermind’ who starts out as a more villainous character before he gradually transitions into being more of an ‘antihero’ in subsequent installments. The film, however, basically abolishes his ‘villainous’ traits to make him more of a traditional protagonist who, instead of looking to recoup his family’s fortune, is trying to rescue his father from a villain who didn’t appear in the first book. Naturally, this didn’t go over well with fans of the franchise, who promptly made it clear that the idea of having an antagonist as the main character of the series was never an issue for them and that all these changes robbed Artemis of the traits that made him interesting in the first place. Despite this, however, the film ends up faring a lot better when it comes to other aspects of its production. To be clear, I’m not saying it’s perfect (far from it, in fact…), but with a brisk 95-minute runtime and some fun production design to bring its fantasy world to life, it’s harmless, for the most part… you know, if you don’t take the story and character changes into account. Really, the only other thing that holds it back aside from its radical changes to the narrative is how it’s surprisingly lowkey when it comes to being a ‘franchise starter’. Sure, it maintains the idea of what author Eoin Colfer described as ‘Die Hard with fairies’, but it doesn’t spend as much time within the fantastical underground world of Haven City as it could’ve. And because of the negative reviews that it’s gotten and its fate as a Disney+ release, I think it’s safe to say that this won’t be eliciting a sequel that could make up for all this. But like I said before, perhaps this will end up being a case like Percy Jackson and A Series of Unfortunate Events where, sometime down the road, Artemis Fowl will end up getting a new adaptation that would give fans a far more faithful take on their beloved franchise.

And now, without further ado…

MY TOP 5 OF 2020 (SO FAR)

5. BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

So far, Bad Boys for Life has been one of the biggest hits of 2020’s film slate when it comes to how it has fared with critics and audiences. Even as the third installment of a franchise that has been around since 1995 and hasn’t had a mainline installment since 2003, it’s currently the highest-grossing film of the year with a worldwide total of $419.1 million. And in an unexpected turn of events, it’s also the best-reviewed installment of the franchise to date with a solid 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the first two Bad Boys films that were directed by Michael Bay were solid hits with audiences to the point where 2003’s Bad Boys II is genuinely considered by some to be one of the best action films of its time, they weren’t as successful with critics. But with Bad Boys for Life, critics felt that the directorial duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were able to take the brazenly chaotic escapades of Bay’s Bad Boys films and do something worthwhile with it, and sure enough, that’s exactly what they did. Overall, Bad Boys for Life strikes a solid balance when it comes to how Adil and Bilall maintain the general atmosphere of the series. While they certainly do their part to maintain that classic Michael Bay style through the film’s lavish cinematography and flashy action sequences, it isn’t as insanely over-the-top in its depiction of ‘Bayhem’ like Bad Boys II was. Instead, it’s more in line with the original Bad Boys from 1995, which was Bay’s directorial debut, and while it certainly showed signs of the figuratively and literally explosive style of directing that he would become known for, nowadays one could argue that, by Michael Bay standards, it’s one of his tamest films.

But perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Bad Boys for Life is how it managed to be its franchise’s best-written installment. Granted, this is still just as much of a generally mindless action flick as its predecessors, but the film deftly addresses the 17-year gap between it and the release of Bad Boys II. It does a wonderful job of emphasizing how Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett aren’t the young hotshots that they once were, especially when it comes to the former since the film quickly shatters the image of Mike’s seemingly invincible persona that thoroughly dominated the previous two films. And then, of course, there’s the big reveal that Armando, the young assassin that’s been hunting him and Marcus, is the son that he fathered with the film’s main antagonist, cartel leader Isabel. This and the subplot of Marcus turning to religion after Mike nearly dies from one of Armando’s assassination attempts helps give the film some truly unexpected bits of strong emotional poignancy. And through it all, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence properly maintain the strong camaraderie between them that made the previous films the enduring hits that they are. Because of all this, it’s quite easy to see why Bad Boys for Life ended up becoming one of this year’s biggest hits. Not only did it deliver on everything that fans of the franchise have wanted to see for years (especially since this film spent a considerably long time in development hell for various reasons), but it also managed to do the unexpected and show some genuine signs of maturity. And really, considering some of the shenanigans that Mike and Marcus got into in Bad Boys II, that’s saying a lot. As I’ve said before, the Bad Boys films are far from being my favorite action films of all-time, but I assure you that I had just as much fun with one of the best recent examples of an all-around crowd pleaser as everyone else.

4. SCOOB

Scoob was originally set to make its theatrical debut on May 15^th, but of course, that plan changed when the pandemic forced all the theaters to close. So instead, Warner Bros opted to do what Universal and DreamWorks did when they decided to have Trolls World Tour released on On-Demand the same day as its intended theatrical release date on April 10^th, which was also fully compromised by COVID-19. Thus, both films debuted with the ‘Theater at Home’ price tag of $19.99, and while I understand why some might find this to be a bit much for just a rental, I do feel that it’s a reasonable asking price given the circumstances. Plus, if there’s at least two people watching the film together, I’d argue that this is enough to justify what’s basically the equivalent of two theater tickets. The same method of pricing also ended up applying to films that were in theaters right when COVID-19 hit (e.g. The Invisible Man, Emma, and even an upcoming film on this list), which resulted in many of them opting to fast-track their debuts on On-Demand services. However, this practice has attracted some controversy from theater owners, especially after Universal announced that, because of how successful Trolls World Tour was on the streaming market, they were considering doing simultaneous theater and On-Demand releases for some of their other films down the road. In response, both AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas announced that they wouldn’t distribute any of the studio’s films that are released in that manner. And while that’s all I’ll say about this debate for now, I’ll also admit that Scoob, the newest take on the classic franchise that is Scooby-Doo, has been the only film forced to On-Demand services by COVID-19 that I’ve rented at the ‘Theater at Home’ price range.

One of the biggest selling points of this reboot of the Scooby-Doo franchise is how it looks to be the start of a potential cinematic universe that revolves around the classic characters of Hanna-Barbera Productions. And while I know that some people might groan at the prospect of another attempt at an MCU-style franchise, especially since most attempts at following the MCU formula haven’t even remotely come close to replicating Marvel Studios’ success, the idea of a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe is a genuinely exciting one. This is especially if you’re like me and your experience with the company’s properties is admittedly limited to the likes of The Flintstones and, of course, Scooby-Doo. As such, one of the best aspects of Scoob is how it spotlights some of Hanna-Barbera’s lesser-known characters like the Blue Falcon (or in this case, the Blue Falcon’s generally aimless son Brian who took up his father’s mantle in the wake of his retirement), Dynomutt the Dog Wonder, and Captain Caveman. Sure, this does sort of come at the expense of the film being a traditional Scooby-Doo adventure, especially since the Mystery Inc gang is split up for a good chunk of the runtime, but it makes up for this with some solid emotional depth through its handling of Shaggy and Scooby’s relationship. After all, as the film clearly points out, they’ve always been the heart of this franchise. And while I fully recognize why the decision to recast the voices of the Mystery Inc. gang (save for Frank Welker as Scooby) has led to quite a lot of backlash, the new voice cast does manage to do a solid job in their respective roles. Like I’ve said before, though, this doesn’t mean that I think that they should replace the series’ current voice cast. But overall, I had quite a lot of fun with Scoob. While it does have its fair share of modern references, it does a wonderful job of maintaining that classic Hanna-Barbera style from its wide array of Easter eggs to animation that perfectly reflects the franchise’s traditionally animated roots. All in all, it’s a delightful little family flick that will hopefully get the chance to spawn its proposed cinematic universe despite the COVID-19 based circumstances that led to it forgoing its theatrical release in favor of an On-Demand debut.

3. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

By this point last year, the first live-action film adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog was shaping up to be one of the biggest cinematic disasters in recent memory. When the film’s first trailer was released, literally the only thing that anyone talked about was how utterly mediocre the initial design for the title character was. This more humanoid version of Sonic quickly became a prime source of internet mockery in a manner quite similar to what happened when the first trailer for Cats hit or when the live-action Aladdin remake showcased its first look at Will Smith’s Genie in the character’s traditional blue form. And yet, in a genuinely unexpected turn of events, director Jeff Fowler announced that he and his team would take the criticisms of the design to heart and completely rework it. They even decided to delay the film to February of this year rather than its original November 2019 release date so that the VFX artists wouldn’t have to be forced to endure the dreaded crunch time that would’ve stemmed from such a severe deadline. Granted, it’s been reported that this happened regardless and the studio that worked on the visual effects ended up shutting down by the end of 2019, which resulted in the VFX artists who worked on the redesign getting laid off, but that’s another story for another time. When Sonic’s big redesign was officially shown off in the second trailer, the film’s online reputation did a complete 180 as fans reacted far more positively towards this version of the character. It certainly helped the film upon its release, where it managed to net over $306 million worldwide and stand toe-to-toe with last year’s Pokémon: Detective Pikachu as one of the rare positively received live-action adaptations of a popular video game. Sure, just like Detective Pikachu, the reviews weren’t ‘amazing’, per se, but both films certainly fared a lot better with critics than most of the other films that have come from what is quite arguably the film industry’s unluckiest subgenre. And in this instance, it’s easy to see why Sonic the Hedgehog managed to avoid the same fate as other films based on video games as it’s a solidly entertaining popcorn flick.

Now with that said, the film is admittedly rather basic in terms of its plot. In other words, it’s your standard fish-out-of-water/road-trip comedy that’s very straight-forward with its narrative/character arcs. Plus, fans of the franchise may be a bit disappointed with the fact that the film sees Sonic spend more time on Earth than he does on his home world of Green Hills, even though, to be fair, the concept of Sonic interacting with humans in the real world isn’t anything new for this series. Despite this, however, the film manages to work around this thanks to its easy-going atmosphere and it boasts some fun action sequences that do a nice job of utilizing Sonic’s super-speed abilities (and yes, this includes some slow-motion sequences a la the Quicksilver scenes from the recent X-Men films). And despite what I said before about the film’s inherently predictable nature, it does have a lot of heart to its proceedings thanks in large part to the strong bond that forms between Sonic and a local cop named Tom Wachowski that’s spurred by the former’s desire for friendship after years of isolation. As such, the film is very much bolstered by the phenomenal duo of Ben Schwartz, who proves to be a pitch-perfect voice for Sonic, and James Marsden, who makes the most out of his ‘best friend archetype who spends most of his time interacting with a CGI character’ role as Tom. And, of course, the one and only Jim Carrey is an undeniable standout in the role of Sonic’s arch-nemesis, Dr. Robotnik. All in all, it’s legitimately nice to see this film manage to overcome all the negative publicity that surrounded the original cinematic look for Sonic, especially since there was a good chance that this widely-maligned design could’ve easily derailed the film entirely had it not been redone. And because of how successful it managed to be at the box-office, a sequel was recently announced to be in the works, which makes perfect sense seeing how the film ends with a mid-credits scene where Sonic’s best friend Miles ‘Tails’ Prower arrives on Earth to look for him.

2. BIRDS OF PREY

The fact that Birds of Prey is one of the hardcore DCEU fandom’s most utterly despised films (despite being one of the franchise’s better-reviewed entries) is something that will always make me laugh. After all, like I’ve said plenty of times before, one of the reasons why the DCEU diehards have been one of the most toxic factions of modern film fandom is how they’re blindly loyal to the works of Zack Snyder to the point where they refuse to listen to anyone who dares to have a problem with his DCEU films even though they’re certainly far from perfect. Thus, when this film came out, the Snyder faithful grimaced at the idea of a film like this being made instead of something like Man of Steel 2 or the long-demanded release of the fabled ‘Snyder Cut’ of Justice League (which, of course, will finally happen next year). However, I do hope that this isn’t one of the reasons why Birds of Prey admittedly underperformed at the box-office. While it did manage to double its budget (which was around $82-100 million) with a worldwide total of $201.9 million, it didn’t reach the breakeven point of around $250-300 million. And to be clear, this isn’t necessarily one of those cases of a film whose theatrical release window was hindered by COVID-19 since it came out at least a full month before all this went down… although it did end up fast-tracking its On-Demand debut once the pandemic went into full effect. It could be argued that this may have had something to do with Birds of Prey being the DCEU’s first R-rated theatrical release (not counting the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman), but it’s still sad that this happened to a female-directed film that was primarily headlined by a female cast. In fact, to be perfectly blunt… it also speaks volumes about how the DCEU diehards can often have the same sexist tendencies as the haters of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Remember all those alt-right clickbait videos on YouTube that I’ve talked about recently? Yeah, Birds of Prey has gotten that terrible treatment too. Let’s just say that there’s a good reason why the completely unrelated (though thematically similar in a lot of ways) Harley Quinn animated series on DC Universe directly spoofed this kind of toxic behavior in the Season 2 episode ‘Batman’s Back Man’.

As for the film itself, I should probably start things off by addressing the elephant in the room. While the film is named after the superheroine group of the same name from the comics and does feature some of its most prominent members like Black Canary and Huntress, Birds of Prey is primarily a Harley Quinn story. It’s told almost entirely from her perspective and revolves around her efforts to rebuild her life after breaking off her relationship with the Joker while the titular squad doesn’t officially come together until the final act. I’m also aware that there’s been some controversy over the film’s portrayal of Cassandra Cain who, instead of being the martial-arts trained mute that she is in the comics (where she becomes Batgirl), is a street-smart pickpocket that Harley takes under her wing. Despite this, though, the film does an excellent job of maintaining the character-driven approach that the DCEU has thankfully been going with for their most recent outings. Even if it does come at the expense of proper set-up for the Birds of Prey, this film’s portrayal of Harley Quinn is superb, both in terms of how she’s written and how Margot Robbie finally gets the chance to assert herself as the definitive live-action incarnation of the character. And while they don’t get as much focus as they probably should’ve, the other female leads are great as well, especially Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, who gets a lot of the film’s best comedic moments thanks to all the playful jabs at her attempts at being a serious vigilante (who still gets to partake in many of the film’s best action beats). Plus, while we’re on the subject of action, did I forget to mention that, during the film’s reshoots, any action sequences that were filmed by the second unit were supervised by none other than John Wick’s Chad Stahelski? Basically, what I’m getting at is that this film’s got some great action sequences.

And so, in conclusion… yes, I’m part of the crowd that really liked this film. As such, I’m also disappointed that it didn’t do as well as it could’ve at the box-office, partially due to the growing problem of overly entitled toxic ‘fans’ (and yes, as always, the term ‘fans’ is used loosely here). To be clear, I’m not saying that it’s perfect, namely due to it being a bit unfocused at times because of the whole ‘it being more of a Harley Quinn film than a Birds of Prey film’ thing, but thanks to the solid direction from Cathy Yan, it manages to overcome this to be another solid outing for the post-Snyder era of the DCEU. If I were to rank this film amongst the other installments of the DCEU, I’d put it at Number 4, right behind the Grade-A trio of Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Shazam but still ahead of all the Zack Snyder DCEU films (plus Suicide Squad). Yes, as I pointed out a few weeks back when I discussed the announcement of the Snyder Cut’s long-awaited release, I’m not exactly as positive towards the Snyder-directed DCEU films as I was back then. And while the DCEU diehards will try to argue otherwise, Birds of Prey is simply yet another example of how the franchise has fared a lot better since it moved away from the overly dour atmosphere of Snyder’s films. The only real downside to all this is that the DCEU won’t be acknowledging the shared universe format as much going forward… though, really, that’s more on DC and Warner Bros for not realizing that perhaps rushing Justice League just so that they could match The Avengers wasn’t such a great idea. Whatever the case, though, while it may not be the most ideal interpretation of the team that it’s named after, Birds of Prey does, at least, show that there’s quite a lot of potential for them going forward.     

1. ONWARD

While it goes without saying that I’ll probably have a new #1 by the end of the year, my favorite release of the year so far has been Onward, the first of Pixar’s 2020 releases (barring any new COVID-19 related complications that could force the further delay of Pete Docter’s Soul, which is currently tapped for a November release). Onward serves as the sophomore directorial effort of Dan Scanlon, who had previously helmed the studio’s heavily underrated Monsters Inc prequel, 2013’s Monsters University. This time, however, Scanlon had the chance to do an original story that was inspired by the death of his father when he was younger and the strong relationship that he formed with his brother in the wake of their loss. This is effectively translated into a fantasy adventure set in modern suburbia where two elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, embark on a Dungeons and Dragons inspired quest to retrieve a powerful gem that they can use to bring their deceased father back to life for one day. While I’m personally not too familiar with D&D, those who are will surely be delighted by all the references that this film makes to it, including a scene where Ian and Barley are confronted by the most terrifying foe of all… the gelatinous cube! But of course, Onward also dutifully maintains the most definitive aspect of any great Pixar film by fully delivering on its emotional poignancy, especially when it comes to its ending. It’s probably one of the best examples of a bittersweet but ultimately happy ending as Ian willingly gives up the chance to properly meet his dad to protect him and Barley from a giant dragon just so that Barley can have one last moment with their dad after he had revealed that he was too scared to say goodbye to him when he was sick. And as for Ian, while he may not have gotten the chance to meet the father that he never knew, the journey that they went on ultimately helped him realize that Barley was the one who filled that void for him.

The strong brotherly bond between Ian and Barley is easily the best part of this film, and it’s all thanks to the phenomenal voice work from Tom Holland and Chris Pratt in their respective roles. And while the film’s focus on Ian and Barley’s quest means that the other characters in the film don’t exactly get as much to work with as they do, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer are just as great as Ian and Barley’s utterly dedicated mom Laurel and Corey the adventure-loving Manticore, respectively. All this and the fun fantasy world that it takes place in results in Onward being another top-notch outing from Pixar… even if some felt that it wasn’t exactly one of their ‘best’. Yeah, despite amassing an incredibly admirable 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a common point that’s been brought up in a lot of reviews for the film is that it isn’t quite up to par with some of Pixar’s most beloved outings. And yet, this only continues to prove the point that my pal Kyle Ostrum and I have been saying for years now about how Pixar films that aren’t considered an outright masterpiece tend to get overlooked because of the intense expectations that come with every new film that the studio releases. There’s also the matter of this film arguably being the biggest release hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which went into full effect just about a week into the film’s release, and because of this, it was forced to join the increasing number of films that had to fast-track their releases onto the On-Demand market. As such, I do hope that this film manages to gain some greater attention on the home video market because I genuinely think that it’s just as worthwhile as all the other Pixar classics. The fact that it only did about $103 million worldwide on a budget of around $175-200 million is simply due to it being forced to experience the unlucky break of being released at the worst possible time.

And that concludes the [severely truncated] 2020 edition of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual Midyear Recap. As always, thanks for following along even with everything that made this the shortest Midyear Recap that I’ve done to date. With that said, I should note that, despite what some may suggest, I’m genuinely optimistic that we’ll be able to return to the concept of going to see films at the theater sometime in the future. While it’s currently unclear as to when it’ll be safe to partake in this timeless pastime again, hopefully there’ll be enough time this year to see some of the biggest upcoming releases, and believe me, there’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to films that I strongly believe should be seen with a crowd in the theater. There’s the highly anticipated follow-up to one of the best installments of the DCEU, the MCU’s first installment of the post-Infinity Saga era, the epic live-action reimagining of one of the Disney Renaissance’s most underrated gems, and the long-awaited return of one of the most iconic duos to ever grace the big-screen… and yes, that’s just to name a select few. And personally, I’d hate to see the theater-going experience die out just because this pandemic forced us to stay at home for a few months. Thus, in conclusion, I’m only going to say one thing, folks… WEAR A DAMN MASK so that we can keep this pandemic from getting any worse.     

Onward (2020) review

What’s this? Two Pixar films in one year? And they’re both original stories? “Huzzah!”, the internet proclaimed. Yes, it’s safe to say that 2020 marks a new era for one of the most revered animation studios in the industry. For starters, it’s the first feature in the studio’s history to not involve one of its most prominent figures, John Lasseter, after he left the company in 2018 due to the various sexual misconduct allegations directed against him, with fellow Pixar mainstay Pete Docter now serving as the studio’s Chief Creative Officer. But the change that has excited the internet the most is that following the release of Toy Story 4 last year, Pixar announced that it would be their last ‘sequel’ film for the foreseeable future in favor of doing more original stories like the ones that made them famous in the first place. For fans of the studio, this was a very big deal given the arguably mixed run that Pixar has had over the past few years when it came to doing follow-ups to some of their most beloved works. Personally, though, I’ve loved most of the films that came out during that time, which means that the demand for Pixar to do more original stories wasn’t that big of a concern for me, especially given how the internet often has intense expectations for Pixar films either way. Nevertheless, here we are with the first Pixar film of 2020, Onward, which serves as the second feature-length directorial effort of Dan Scanlon. Since joining Pixar in 2001, Scanlon served as a storyboard artist for the first Cars and was the co-director of that film’s direct-to-DVD short, Mater and the Ghostlight. Scanlon would ultimately make his feature-length directorial debut with the company via Monsters University, the 2013 prequel to the studio’s 2001 masterpiece Monsters’ Inc. But as for Onward, Scanlon’s main source of inspiration for this suburban fantasy adventure was his own personal experiences of losing his father at a young age and the relationship that he formed with his older brother in the wake of that moment. And with that personal backstory in mind, it’s easy to see why Onward ends up being yet another classic (and devastatingly emotional) outing from Pixar. 

In the old days, the world was full of beings who could conjure powerful magic. However, these magical abilities proved to be incredibly difficult to learn, and in due time, this world of fantastical creatures began to rely more on technology instead, thus paving the way for a more modern lifestyle. In the present day in the town of New Mushroomton, a teenaged elf named Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Tom Holland) celebrates his 16^th birthday. During this time, Ian begins to wonder about what his father Wilden was like since he unfortunately passed away before he was born. And as luck would have it, his widowed mother Laurel (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) gives him and his older brother Barley (voiced by Chris Pratt) a gift from their father, which turns out to be a mythical wizard’s staff. Almost immediately, Barley, who’s a massive fan of fantasy role-playing games, deduces that their dad had studied magic and the brothers discover that he had collected a rare Phoenix gem that would allow them to cast a Visitation spell that would bring him back to life for one day. Ian soon discovers that he possesses the rare ability to conjure such magic, but unfortunately, his attempt to use the spell isn’t a complete success, resulting in only the lower half of their father’s body materializing into existence. And since the powers of the Phoenix gem that their father found were used up during this attempt, Ian and Barley head out on a quest to find a new gem in the next 24 hours so that they can complete the spell and reunite with the father that they never got the chance to know.

Onward certainly crafts a fun fantasy world that combines its cast of mythical creatures with the visual aesthetic of modern-day suburbia. However, for those fearing that this means that Pixar has just made a film that relied entirely on modern references like several of its competitors tend to do, that’s not even remotely the case here. Sure, you do have some characters using cell-phones here and there and other bits of modern technology, but moments like these never overtake the key narrative points of the story while still resulting in plenty of fun visual gags that are brought to life by Pixar’s always-stellar animation. Admittedly, I wouldn’t call this the ‘best-looking’ Pixar film to date, but since this is still Pixar we’re talking about, the animation is top-notch regardless. And given the nature of the plot in which the main characters are guided by Barley’s extensive knowledge of role-playing games, this film is filled with tons of references to the genre. While I’m personally not too familiar with the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and other popular fantasy RPG’s, those who are will surely love all the nods that this film contains and how, from what I can tell, it perfectly captures the spirit of these adventures. But, of course, Pixar also knows how to deliver on the emotional depth of their stories, and Onward is no exception. After all, this is a story in which two brothers are trying to bring their father back to life (even if it’s just for one day) that’s based heavily on writer/director Dan Scanlon’s own life. Thus, it goes without saying that Onward hits hard when it comes to its emotional beats.

Onward also happens to be quite special in the fact that it serves as an unexpected crossover between Spider-Man and Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord… all joking aside, it’s kind of funny how Tom Holland and Chris Pratt’s characters in this film end up mirroring their respective superhero roles in the MCU to a tee. Ian’s the socially awkward teenager with something to prove while Barley’s the boisterous rogue who, despite his goofy nature, has experienced quite a bit on an emotional level. With that in mind, Holland and Pratt do phenomenal jobs in their respective roles. The brotherly camaraderie between them is superb and just like they’ve done for years now over in the MCU, these two brilliantly handle all the film’s big emotional moments. Holland and Pratt are then backed nicely by the duo of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Ian and Barley’s mother Laurel and Octavia Spencer as Corey, a manticore who the brothers seek out given the significant role that her species often plays in fantasy RPG’s. And while the fact that the film focuses primarily on Ian and Barley means that Laurel and Corey admittedly don’t get that involved in the action until the climax, they also form a fun partner dynamic once the two of them meet up. Julia Louis-Dreyfus brings just as much heart to her role as Tom Holland and Chris Pratt do to theirs as a mom who’s fully dedicated to keeping her boys out of trouble while Octavia Spencer has a lot of fun with Corey’s arc of rediscovering her adventurous spirit after several years of being in an unfulfilling job as the owner of a local family restaurant.

As I’ve pointed out several times over the years, I’m not exactly part of the crowd who continues to have incredibly high expectations for Pixar films to the point where any Pixar film that isn’t an outright masterpiece ends up getting ignored. It’s a tragic fate that has, unfortunately, affected quite a few of the studio’s films over the years such as Brave, Monsters University and The Good Dinosaur. And while Onward technically hasn’t been a flop with critics and audiences (although that pesky coronavirus will certainly do a number on it at the box-office), I also wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up getting completely overshadowed by Soul, Pixar’s other 2020 release that will be coming out in June. It’d be quite the sad scenario if that did happen, though, since I would argue that Onward is another masterpiece from the legendary animation studio. Like many of Pixar’s classic outings, Onward is a delightful fantasy adventure that delivers an excellently written story full of highly endearing characters. The fantastical world that it creates is a lot of fun to explore and the main adventure that its heroes go on is so well-handled that you don’t need to be an expert in the lore of Dungeons and Dragons to appreciate it (although it would make the journey even more satisfying). But, of course, the best Pixar tradition that Onward dutifully maintains is its impeccable ability to tug at the heartstrings with a story that’s just as much about brotherhood as it is about two brothers hoping to get the chance to have a connection with the father that they never knew. Because of all this, it’s easy to see real growth in Dan Scanlon’s talents as a director and how he’s shaping up to be a major standout amongst Pixar’s next generation of filmmakers. And while I again recognize the fact that this film will undoubtedly be impacted by the global pandemic that we’re all dealing with right now, I also hope that it’s ultimately the main reason why since that’d be a much easier pill to swallow than the fact that this is another Pixar film that isn’t being regarded as a ‘15/10 masterpiece’.

Rating: 5/5!

Pixar films have almost always been accompanied by one of the studio’s shorts that precede the main feature… however, while I’ve been reviewing Pixar films on this site for the past 8 years now, I’ve realized that I don’t usually talk about the shorts that they’re paired with. The only instance where I have addressed one of them was in my review of Coco when I also reviewed Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, and that was just due to the unique situation of it being a Frozen short instead of something that came directly from Pixar. Thus, I’ve decided that starting now, every Pixar review that I do from this point on will conclude with a brief discussion about the short that accompanies it (if there is one). This new tradition begins with, of all things, a Simpsons short.

PLAYDATE WITH DESTINY

The most famous animated family in pop culture recently joined the Disney universe following Disney’s purchase of 20^th Century Fox (now 20^th Century Studios) last year. This fact is well-reflected in this short, as it opens with a shot of Mickey Mouse’s iconic silhouette… before being revealed to be an image of Homer Simpson holding two donuts and then cutting to a title card proclaiming that ‘Disney welcomes The Simpsons’. And at the end of the short, Mickey can be seen in the production logo for producer James L. Brooks’ company Gracie Films as one of the theater patrons. Anyway, Playdate with Destiny is the second theatrical short to come from The Simpsons; the first was The Longest Daycare, which ran with 2012’s Ice Age: Continental Drift. Both shorts revolve around the youngest member of the Simpsons family, Maggie, with this new short consisting of her meeting a boy named Hudson, the adventures that they go on together, and her efforts to see him again the next time she’s taken to the park, which becomes rather complicated when Homer’s the one taking her instead of Marge. Keeping in line with the fact that Maggie usually never speaks on the show, this short is almost entirely dialogue-free and instead opts for visual humor. And while there’s been plenty of debate over the years regarding the quality of a show that’s been on the air for three decades now, this is a genuinely cute little short that develops a whirlwind romance out of an innocuous playdate between two babies. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this is one of the best things to come out of The Simpsons (which, admittedly, I can’t say much about anyway since I haven’t watched a lot of it), but it’s still a pleasant watch nevertheless. And if that wasn’t enough, the events of this short will be addressed in an upcoming episode of the show that’s set to air on April 19^th.