PROFESSOR'S PICKS: 5 Films I Missed in 2020

Given the peculiar nature of this year’s run of movies, neither a traditional “Best Films of 2020” nor a traditional “Most Anticipated Films of 2021” feel appropriate. Instead, I’m going to do something in between: A spotlight of movies that I was looking forward to in 2020 that have now been bumped into a 2021 release date. There are other films set to release in 2021 that I have on my radar (most of them simply premiering later in 2021 than originally planed), but here are five films that I missed this year in 2020.

This installment of Professor’s Picks is partway between a memorial and a forecast. Weep with me, celebrate with me, whichever jives with your inner truth. Anyways . . . five movies long eager to graduate from my list of anticipated movies.

1. A Quiet Place: Part II

~~March 20, 2020~~ ~~April 23, 2021~~ ~~September 17, 2021~~ May 28, 2021

Admittedly, I am kind of cheating with this one. The original March release date actually passed with little ceremony for me as I wasn’t yet on the Quiet Place train. I wouldn’t even see the original 2018 film until a few months into quarantine season. (What can I say? Horror films are a harder sell for me.) Eventually the universe corrected itself, and I found myself dying to see what happens next for the Abbot family.

This sequel takes place shortly after the events of the first film when the Abbot family must abandon the home that has kept them safe and brave the outside world. Krasinski, who returns to direct the sequel, has shared that where the first film was more a study of family, this sequel is interested in community and how far you will go to help your neighbor.

There’s a lot to be said about how A Quiet Place innovates many conventions and ideologies of the horror genre (hm, someone should write an essay about that . . .) and this follow-up has every opportunity to continue in that tradition.

2. In the Heights

~~June 26, 2020~~ June 11, 2021

My reverence for the musical genre is well-documented on this blog. It’s so rare that we see Hollywood spend their dollars on a musical (it’s even rarer to see one led by a minority cast), and just as often as not, the results range from passable to Cats.

I myself am familiar with the source musical mostly by reputation, having only listened to one song in fulness (I prefer to experience a soundtrack for the first time in its narrative context). But I understand In the Heights takes place in a New York district where opportunities are low but community is rich. This is a contrast to La La Land or most musicals where the setting is the red carpeted streets of LA. When the music doesn't come from the sparkle of Hollywood tinsel, it can only come from the story itself. From what we've seen so far, this offering seems to understand that. The trailer displayed an array of snapshots of a vibrant, kinetic, lyrical world where, indeed, the streets themselves are made of music. (Why aren't there more dance numbers in swimming pools?) Maybe Hollywood won’t drop the golden egg this time.

3. The Tomorrow War

~~December 25, 2020~~ July 23, 2021

The Tomorrow War was originally going to be Paramount gifting us a summer movie for Christmas, now it gets to be just a straight summer movie.

Originally titled "Ghost Draft," this blockbuster imagines a future war between mankind and an alien threat. So overwhelming is the invasion that the future enlists the help of the past, drawing in our main character (Chris Pratt, also a producer on this film) from our time to fight in this war. The cast is rounded out by a vast ensemble, enlisting Yvonne Strahovski, JK Simmons, Seychelle Gabriel, Keith Powers, and Mary Lynn Rajskub, among others.

As someone who wants the signature films of the 2020s to amount to more than just remakes and spin-offs of films of the 1990s, I try to take special interest whenever studios gamble on a non-franchise project. The medium’s creative-lifeblood obviously hinges on more than the returns of any single film, but in a post-coronavirus landscape where major studios like Warner Bros and Disney are actively shifting their model to favor streaming over theaters, the success of an original property like The Tomorrow War should be of special interest to all of us. Can Chris Pratt save the future of humanity? And theaters? We’ll have to wait until this summer to find out.

(EDIT: Okay, maybe I spoke too soon.)

4. BIOS

~~October 2, 2020~~ ~~April 16, 2021~~ August 13, 2021

First announced in October 2017, the film follows “a robot that lives on a post-apocalyptic earth. Built to protect the life of his dying creator’s beloved dog, it learns about love, friendship, and the meaning of human life.” Tom Hanks’ casting as the robot’s inventor was announced alongside the synopsis. The cast is rounded out by Caleb Landry-Jones as the robot with Skeet Ullrich, Samira Wiley, and others.

While few plot details have been revealed, the logline proves tantalizing. The desolation of a post-apocalyptic setting seems a stark contrast to the pathos inherent in a story about a robot learning to care for another living thing. I imagine the final product as something between Children of Men and The Art of Racing in the Rain. There are all sorts of directions the filmmakers could go with that, and I’m eager to see any of them.

5. Raya and the Last Dragon

~~November 25, 2020~~ March 5, 2021

I set my movie calendar by Disney and Pixar titles the way most audiences do with Marvel or Star Wars films, but in between the company’s conquest over the last few years their animated offerings have gotten lost in the shuffle. Walt Disney Animation Studios hasn’t released a non-franchise film since Moana back in 2016. (Imagine a four-year wait between Frozen and Big Hero 6.) Raya and the Last Dragon brings an end to that drought.

Drawing inspiration from southeast-Asian cultures, Raya and the Last Dragon tells the story of a young warrior (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) on a quest to find Sisu, the last dragon (voiced by Awkwafina), who holds the key to restoring peace to her divided kingdom.

Raya won’t be the studio’s next musical (audiences will have to wait until Disney’s November offering, Encanto, for that) but the genre does catch my interest. The movie has been billed as a kung-fu adventure film a la House of Flying Daggers set against a fantastical backdrop that animation so effortlessly provides. Disney’s marketing campaign has yet to start, but so far all signs point to Raya being Disney’s next animated champion.

One of the hardest things about 2020 for me has been the waiting. The waiting, the waiting, the waiting. We're not quite out of the woods yet, but we may only have to wait a little longer. Whatever we've missed out on these last several months, we can take some consolation that there are good times still to be had. Raise a glass to 2021.

--The Professor

Honorable Mentions: Jungle Cruise, Black Widow, West Side Story, The Batman, Death on the Nile, The Woman in the Window, Sound of Freedom

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