 Netflix, 2021. As stiff and robotic as the cyborg he portrays, Anthony Mackie is not able to save "Outside the Wire" from itself.
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 Warner Bros. Pictures, 2020. to Gal Gadot is back in what is clearly the most highly-anticipated film of 2020. Much of that anticipation built during the pandemic, when "Wonder Woman 1984" found itself delayed from its original June 5th release date, to August 14th, then to October 2nd, and finally landing on Christmas Day. It was the last and only superhero movie still standing, as other films such as "Black Widow" were pushed off of the 2020 calendar completely.
Even its Christmas Day release was in jeopardy, with many expecting that it would move yet again with COVID cases continuing to climb across the country. But that's when Warner Bros. made the bold move to not only keep "Wonder Woman 1984" in theaters, but to simultaneously release it on HBO Max, a move that has since shaken up the entire movie industry. Well, it pains me to report that we should be careful what we wish for. While many might be thrilled just for the chance to watch a superhero movie on the big-screen once again, I sure wish there was a better one for us to experience. "Wonder Woman 1984" is a mess of a film - several steps worse than the 2017 effort - and dare I say one of the worst movies of 2020.  Screen Gems, 2020. "Monster Hunter" has a plot and characters only a video game from the early 2000s could respect. This is a movie so stupid, that by the time the talking cat pirate shows up, you won't even think twice.
 Universal Pictures, 2020. Paul Greengrass does not make dull movies. Call any film in his filmography what you want - from his three "Bourne" films to "22 July" to "Green Zone" to "United 93" to you name it - but they are full of action and drive. "News of the World" definitely fits into the Greengrass film canon, with a stellar performance by Tom Hanks leading the way. But while Greengrass's latest effort is far from dull, it's also a bit too hollow to rank among his best work.
 Pixar/Disney, 2020. The audience has come to expect more from Pixar than your average animated movie. And once again, Pixar delivers.
 Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation, 2020. "The Croods: A New Age," I guess, is harmless fun...that is, unless you decide to go see this in theaters with your family during a global pandemic. It's the follow-up to the 2013 film that no one really asked for, but one that had been kicked around in Hollywood for nearly 7 years before landing at our feet just in time for Thanksgiving (rumor has it, "The Croods: A New Age" will debut on streaming platforms in mid-December but as of now this has not been confirmed).
 Apple TV+, 2020. You don't quite realize how "soft" and watered-down animated films in America have become over the years, until you see a film from overseas. Cartoon Saloon and Mélusine Productions (an Ireland-Luxembourg-France co-production) brings us the original Apple TV+ film, "Wolfwalkers," a film that is definitely family-friendly but that doesn't shy away from more mature themes.
Plus, it's an absolute stunning visual achievement.  Netflix, 2020. Millie Bobby Brown owes a great deal to Netflix, and vice versa. As the break-out star of the hit "Stranger Things," the sixteen-year-old actress is now branching out into feature films...and as the young, adventurous "Enola Holmes," she might have just landed smack-dab in the middle of what could be a very popular movie franchise-in-the-making for the streaming service that helped catapult her career.
 Disney+, 2020. Disney's live-action re-make, "Mulan," was supposed to hit theaters back in March...but, you know.
After several delays, it became increasingly apparent that "Mulan" was never make it to the big-screen at all. Instead, putting it on the Disney+ streaming service seemed like a gamble that Disney was ultimately willing to take. For the hefty cost of $29.99, you can finally watch this new version of "Mulan," if you also happen to be a Disney+ subscriber...or you can wait until December when it will supposedly be available on the service for free. Side-stepping whether or not this version of "Mulan" is worth $30, I do think that this film would have looked dazzling on the big-screen, even though it still holds its own at home.  Orion, 2020. While their motto of "be excellent to each other" couldn't come at a better time for our country, Bill & Ted's latest adventure/journey/romp is so awful, so painful and so inexplicable, it only makes sense that it is being released in 2020.
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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