Sometimes a great film tanks at the box office…but that doesn't make it any less great. Today
we're presenting some of the most underrated films of 2020 so far. Don't let these future
cult classics fly under your radar! Also, some mild spoilers ahead, so proceed with
caution.
Guns Akimbo is a gory black comedy with one hell of a premise: Daniel Radcliffe plays
Miles, a mild-mannered geek who finds himself forced into a gladiator match. Did we mention
the guns screwed into his hands? Because we meant to.
"Can you help me? I have guns bolted to my hands."
Packed with over-the-top action sequences and juvenile humor, Guns Akimbo certainly
doesn't take itself too seriously. If you're looking for mindless entertainment with plenty
of action and lots of laughs, Guns Akimbo might just blow you away.
Actress Alison Brie, best known for her performance in Community, really gets a chance to show
off her acting chops in Horse Girl. It's a film she co-wrote using her own family's history
of mental illness as a framework.
When we first meet Sarah, played by Brie, the film feels light and funny. She definitely
seems a bit socially awkward, and she's strangely fixated on a local horse.
"I just haven't been sleeping very well."
"That's too bad."
"Yeah I've been having like really weird dreams."
As the film progresses, things take a decidedly dark turn. We learn that Sarah suffers from
wild delusions. She's a passionate student of conspiracy theories, believes she may be
a time traveler, and rants about alien abductions. Horse Girl is an empathetic look at mental
illness, through the lens of a character who feels achingly real.
Ordinary Love is an unusually affecting film. The story revolves around Tom and Joan, a
couple in their sixties played by Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville. Their lives instantly
become more complicated when Joan finds a lump on one of her breasts.
"What's going to happen if I've got cancer?"
"There's no point in thinking like that."
We follow the couple through Joan's treatment, and watch as their relationship is put to
the ultimate test. It's definitely not an easy watch, but Neeson and Manville both turn
in powerhouse performances.
The psychological thriller Swallow has a deeply bizarre premise. Haley Bennett plays Hunter,
a young woman who recently married into a wealthy family. For some strange reason, she
suddenly finds herself obsessed with swallowing inanimate objects. Cut off from the rest of
the world in her husband's well-appointed home, Hunter first caves to her odd compulsion
by swallowing a marble.
As the story progresses, we come to understand more and more about Hunter's strange habit.
Swallow can be a difficult film to watch, but it's a bold and powerful movie that's
unlike anything you've seen before.
Think you've seen enough Nicolas Cage films? Think again. The freaky sci-fi horror film
Color Out of Space is one hell of a movie. Based on a 1927 short story by H.P. Lovecraft,
the film follows a loving family that's just moved to an idyllic home in Massachusetts.
Things start getting interesting when a meteorite crashes nearby.
Needless to say, both humans and animals undergo some horrific physical transformations over
the course of the film. Cage's over-the-top style is actually perfectly suited to this
macabre tale of mayhem and madness.
"Do you believe me now?"
"I don't know what I believe anymore."
"AHHHHH!!"
If you're looking for a genre exercise that dials the intensity up to 11, you'll definitely
want to give this film a shot.
Birds of Prey was the first big budget superhero movie of 2020, but it didn't exactly set the
world on fire. Margot Robbie reprises her role from the 2016 film Suicide Squad, once
again playing the unpredictable Harley Quinn. Sadly, Birds of Prey failed to rake in the
kind of dough that studios expect to make from comic book adaptations. It didn't exactly
flop, but it certainly didn't bring in Marvel money, either.
Wondering what Birds of Prey is about? After splitting up with the Joker, Harley decides
to make her own way in the world. Needless to say, things get gritty when the rest of
Gotham learns she's no longer protected by the Clown Prince of Crime. Expect lots of
explosions.
"Psychologically speaking, vengeance rarely brings the catharsis we hope for."
"Yeah."
"Are we ready?"
Though it struggled at the box office, Birds of Prey is really quite an action-packed thrill
ride. It'd be a shame to miss this one!
In VFW, Stephen Lang plays Fred, a Vietnam vet who holds court with his buddies at the
run-down VFW hall. Meanwhile, the teens and tweens of Fred's town have been seduced by
a deadly new drug called Hype, which transforms users into punk rock mutants.
Before long, the assembled veterans are battling the oncoming horde with everything they've
got. If you're looking for a self-consciouslyaware, goofy gorefest, VFW should be just the ticket.
Don't be fooled by how the trailer looks. Saint Frances is an extremely unconventional
comedy. Kelly O'Sullivan plays Bridget, a 34-year-old woman who really doesn't know
what she wants to do with her life. She soon hires herself out as a nanny...not because
of any personal affinity for children, but because she desperately needs work. Soon enough,
she becomes the caretaker for young Frances, played by Ramona Edith-Williams. The experience
forces Bridget to mature…and perhaps even teaches her a few things along the way.
Sounds like a light comedy, right? Well, the screenplay, which O'Sullivan wrote, bravely
tackles some rather sensitive subject matter...with an honesty you rarely see on the big screen.
It's definitely worth a look.
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