Usually around this time, I start getting ready for the year-end Video Vacuum Awards show. Even though the nominations don’t come out until the end of January, I start trying to watch as many Oscar-bait films as I can while playing catch-up on the movies I missed over the summer. As I was compiling my Top Ten Films of the Year (So Far) list, I was astounded to learn that I only legitimately liked SEVEN of those films on that list. I then started looking at my movie-watching list for the year and was shocked to discover I had only watched NINETEEN movies from 2020 all year. (For comparison purposes, I watched forty-four 2019 releases during 2019.) I was stunned when I learned I had only watched TWO movies in the theater all year (not counting the Fathom Events rerelease of King Kong). You want to know the last time I only saw two theatrical movies in a calendar year? 1982! When I was FOUR YEARS OLD! You want to know what those two movies were? E.T. and Rocky 3! You want to know what the two movies I saw in the theater this year were? Birds of fucking Prey and The Invisible fucking Man! How can that even be possible?
Oh yeah. Global pandemic. That’s right.
Folks, I was almost ready to scrap the whole awards show. Instead, I was going to do a mini-wrap-up of the 2019 movies I had seen in 2020 and call it a day.
However, I decided that if I did that, I’d be letting the virus win. I refuse to let a shitshow of a year ruin such a momentous occasion as The 14th Annual Video Vacuum Awards. Instead, I am going to plow forward and watch as many 2020 movies as I can until I beef up those movie-watching numbers, or at least have enough fodder to create actual award categories.
Time will tell how many new releases I will watch, but one thing is for sure: I will do my best to find films that showcase the best, brightest, and most talented performers, technicians, and filmmakers that are working in the business today; not only as a tribute to them, but to the artform to which they tireless sacrifice.
And with that, I am proud to proclaim the first film I will be watching under the new Hindsight is 2020 column will be… uh…
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