Don't have an account? Death to 2020 is a 2020 British mockumentary by Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones under their Broke and Bones production company as a Netflix original production. But no, Death To 2020 is something that stands out on its own, with Laurence Fishburne narrating a recap of the year and its biggest events, without the … Billed as a documentary special, but at a quaint hour’s length to suggest more could be in store, “Death to 2020” is in serious trouble right from the credits. Ullman’s flat take on Her Majesty could be from any one of her other specials. Now there's an episode of Black Mirror. Hugh Grant’s history professor Tennyson Foss delivers a dry, primarily bigoted summary of the year’s events, but the actor’s (as usual) sniveling performance hardly seems invested in anything beyond a phoned-in cash grab from Netflix. Directed by Al Campbell, Alice Mathias. The 7 Best Movies New to Netflix in March 2021 Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Leslie Jones plays a behavioral psychologist whose brand is rage, but also provides the most sensible center for the movie. Death to 2020 is ultimately just more of the same painfully humorless noise that's made up most of the year. Death to 2020 just feels like a failure of imagination. ︎ Death to 2020 is on Netflix. Death to 2020 Review –. Kumail Nanjiani, meanwhile, is underused as an Elon Musk-like tech mogul who buries himself inside a mountain to avoid dealing with the reality of the year. Equally tired is Tracey Ullman’s embodiment of Queen Elizabeth, oblivious from her ivory tower of the world collapsing around her. It was so bad that I forgot some of the bad things that happened only to be reminded of them tonight. Good question. Which, honestly, in the context of this movie, good for him. and the Terms and Policies, The special features a series of fictional characters discussing US and UK events of 2020 including the COVID-19 pandemic and US presidential election.It was released on Netflix on 27 December 2020. Cristin Milioti is amusing but inevitably harping as Kathy, embodying the Karen stereotype of a “self-described regular soccer mom” who gets her news from YouTube videos and thinks the vaccine is a fabrication by Bill Gates to exact mind control on the population. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Too often it wasn't quite clever enough to raise much more than a half-smile at this already listless moment in a miserably uncertain year. The documentary film Death to 2020 is an ironic and critical review of all the unfortunate events of this 2020 that we are about to say goodbye to. Despite the strained charms of talking heads representing various pandemic viewpoints, played by Hugh Grant, Cristin Milioti, Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Jones, Lisa Kudrow, Tracey Ullman, and more, “Death to 2020” is profoundly unfunny. The Best Zombie Movies Ever Made Brooker, once, would have satirised a show like this. There is no better medicine than laughter, and that is what this special gives us. There's just not enough funny material for their performances to overcome the special's structural problems. Death to 2020 is now streaming on Netflix. Copyright © 2021 Penske Business Media, LLC. Also felt is a sort internal war on the level of the page as to why this project is being done at all. It goes down easily enough, at least, and there's arguably some value in just putting everything out there in one clear package... Really, though, it's hard to get past the word "necessary" for nearly all of this. While we may certainly all wish death to 2020, let's focus instead on wishing death to movies and TV specials centered around the pandemic that promise catharsis but hardly stir a shrug. “Death to 2020” tries to skirt partisanship as it sets out to skewer everyone on all sides of the political fence, including President Elect Joe Biden, with plenty of tired cracks about his age and personality as a benevolent “phantom.” These jokes are so… mid-2020. Death to 2020 says a farewell to the year in the best way possible, inviting each and every viewer to not only join in the experience but to walk out relieved, having experienced a unified catharsis. A year whose story couldn't be told until now, because it was still happening. They don’t succeed, because 2020 was so rough, it’s too soon for much of this to be funny, and the special never manages to convince that it should be. Death to 2020 Review. “Why the fuck would you want to do that?” Jackson’s Dash Brackett, reporter for the “New Yorkerly News,” asks. Death To 2020 It goes down easily enough, at least, and there’s arguably some value in just putting everything out there in one clear package. ‘Death to 2020’ Review: Netflix Mockumentary Special Is an Unfunny Recap of the Year from Hell "Death to 2020" proves Hollywood isn't ready to … All rights reserved. Twenty-twenty hindsight is said to be a wonderful thing; the joy of 2020 hindsight is something Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones are evidently counting on in their new Netflix ‘Original Comedy Event’. The year 2020 was so outrageous, that is seems only natural to end it with a hilarious Mockumentary on Netflix called Death To 2020. “Death to 2020” is now streaming on Netflix. It retells the still-fresh events of the past 12 months while piggybacking onto jokes already beaten to death a million times over on Twitter. Death to 2020 trailer Death to 2020 review: Charlie Brooker’s Netflix mockumentary is a complete mess One of the few things you can say for the show is … "Death to 2020" may not be one of Brooker's greatest, but it still has worthy moments that poke bitter fun at all the bitter events we're now going to reflect on. Netflix’ Death To 2020 is a hilarious, laugh out loud mockumentary which makes light of the grim year we all have endured. The credits list 18 writers. What we got in Death to 2020 was what some might call politely a salmagundi; what others might describe rudely as a mess. How many of them did it take to come up with the idea that Joe Biden is old? Instead, this star-studded mockumentary is more akin to the name-dropping, anti-clever parody of an Aaron Friedberg and Jason Seltzter film, like “Meet the Spartans” or “Disaster Movie.” You can’t help but laugh because or else, you will cry. It’s a recap of the year peppered with charmless commentary and stereotypes seemingly drudged up from the bowels of Twitter — and from times we’d much rather forget, like when “Tiger King” reigned supreme. It’s not certain anyone wants to be here. By Mama's Geeky on December 29, 2020 Movies. In fact, it’s easy to see that most of the “interviews” could be shot in less than a day, especially given COVID safety protocols, which contributes to making “Death to 2020” feel like HBO’s “Coastal Elites” all over again — an indulgent, actor’s exercise that’s seemingly unaware that nobody asked for this in the first place. By Aja Romano @ajaromano Dec 28, 2020, 6:30pm EST It’s also one that goes unaddressed. It's clear Brooker and Jones are out of their death, grasping at tattered comedic straws in their bid to make light of an awful year that could, quite easily, have been born from their Black Mirror world. You watch “Death to 2020,” “Black Mirror” creator Charlie Brooke and Annabel Jones’ mockumentary special now streaming on Netflix, with a blank stare. Digital Spy has launched its first-ever digital magazine with exclusive features, interviews, and videos. Check out the details in this parents guide review. Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, who are best known for their work on the series Black … Death to 2020 is a comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year that was -- and perhaps still is? As it is, though, Death to 2020 is a limp, unimaginative recap of a year that surely few viewers need help remembering. [Full Review in Spanish], Death to 2020 looks like an episode in a series. At least until 2021 is through, but “Death to 2020” certainly isn’t going to help us get there. ‘Death To 2020’ review: ‘Black Mirror’ creators’ high-gloss satire breaks down the year from hell Now we know what a '2020 Wipe' would look like if you threw lots of cash at it All rights reserved. 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Netflix’s goes all in on this topic with the mockumentary “Death to 2020," which comes from “Black Mirror” creator Charlie Brooker and collaborator Annabel Moss and offers little reflection, and even fewer laughs. Watch trailers & learn more. New Movies: Release Calendar for March 5, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films And yes, you still want to see more. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Death to 2020 is a generally hacky piece of recycled political satire and tired documentary parody reflecting on the year that was in a way that will feel fresh to you only if you've self-imposed a strict media blackout since February. Joe Keery, as with his “Spree” character from early this year, is dead-on as a millennial gig-economy worker who turns to YouTuber during the pandemic. mortality data that runs through June of last year, a trend that began before the … Death To 2020 Review: It’s Funny Because It’s True 1. Drug deaths also rose steeply in the first half of 2020, according to preliminary C.D.C. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. You feel for Grant, not given a single decent line, and several that make you want to slide under the sofa. As one of the most statistically “average person” in the world, Diane Morgan’s character develops multiple personalities to keep herself company during the pandemic. This is, it turns out, an excellent question. This Article is related to: Television and tagged Charlie Brooker, Death to 2020, Hugh Grant, Netflix, Samuel L. Jackson, TV Reviews. Sign up here. Christopher Nolan's Favorite Movies: 35 Films the Director Wants You to See. If you were to have told me a year ago what 2020 would hit us with, I would’ve laughed in your face. A TV comedy creating its script out of other people's Twitter jokes? Some of the casting choices are inspired, like Lisa Kudrow as a batty “nonofficial White House spokesperson,” probably hired to make whatever she wants out of the character. 'Death to 2020' review: Mockumentary from Black Mirror creators is a missed opportunity. Death to 2020’s most urgent 2020 commentary is that social media is ruining everything. “It is a huge disappointment,” the review said. A two-star review in The Telegraph called Death to 2020 a “disappointing rehash of tired jokes and predictable satire”. Related Brooker and Jones are best known for creating the acclaimed dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror, but Death to … There's an easy nature to all of Death to 2020 that makes it especially irritating. 2020 Films Ranked While this is billed as 'from the creators of Black Mirror,' it feels like more of a throwback to Charlie Brooker's earlier work Brass Eye. Related Take a look back at the mad glory of the year 2020 in this comedic retrospective. That’s because, by now, on December 27, most of us are war-torn and weary at the deflating end of a year from hell and, the last thing most of us want right now is a reflection of that year, writ in any form, echoed back to us. Cross an ABC year-in-review show, where they interview real comedians and experts, with an Office -style mockumentary, and you have the oddity that’s Death To 2020. New Movies: Release Calendar for March 5, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films, The 7 Best Movies New to Netflix in March 2021, Christopher Nolan's Favorite Movies: 35 Films the Director Wants You to See. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! Billed as a documentary special, but at a quaint hour’s length to suggest more could be in store, “Death to 2020” is in serious trouble right from the credits. … Given how the film doesn’t take anything seriously, it is hard to be grim about its shortcomings. Death to jokes about Peloton-riding soccer moms, please. Forgot your password? The 10 best TV shows of 2020, according to critic Robert Lloyd Samuel L. Jackson plays an exhausted journalist reflecting on a brutal year in “Death to 2020.” (Saeed Adyani / Netflix) While we may certainly all wish death to 2020, let’s focus instead on wishing death to movies and TV specials centered around the pandemic that promise catharsis but hardly stir a shrug. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. The documentary film Death to 2020 is an ironic and critical review of all the unfortunate events of this 2020 that we are about to say goodbye to. Weaving archival footage from the first half of 2020 that indisputably no one wants to relive in the first place, “Death to 2020” tilts from a focus on pandemic and Brexit to, inevitably, the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the Black Lives Matter movement of the summer. It's a nice potted summary of the year that reads almost everyone to filth, although this is about the third comedy 'year in review' I've seen so it had a little less impact as a result. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news!