Honestly, it's been a slow year with movies. It's been difficult just to drag myself to the movies these days just because it's further away than I'm used to. But there also haven't been many movie I've wanted to see.
On the other hand, that led to me having a small pool to pull from and more to say about said movies.
For starters, the movies I saw in theaters...
only 8? Wow.
The fact that I had to put the "review" tag on several of the entries I forgot... I don't want to say that I lost my passion for movies, but it isn't as intense as it used to be. Hopefully it's like the climate and it goes through cycles.
- Lego Movie 2
- Captain Marvel
- Avengers: Endgame
- Aladdin
- Lion King
- Addams Family
- Frozen 2
- Star Wars Episode IX
Of all these movies, Star Wars was probably the best overall. I'm not saying this just because it was the most recent either. It was very well-rounded between story and characters and it did a beloved franchise justice in its final moments.
Between the two Disney remakes, I liked Lion King better than Aladdin by a mile. It adhered to the plot a lot more, but it also added more to the story. I gotta give them kudos also for making stronger female characters actually work in the movie without it coming off as pandering. I think in real life, hyenas are matriarchal, so making Shenzi the true alpha was a great move. For me, the biggest highlight of Aladdin was Will Smith as The Genie. He wasn't Robin Williams, but he did the role the best he could while taking what preceded his version into account.
Frozen 2, I'd probably put in 2nd overall... just because I'm a huge fan of the characters and I hate for the movie to end because it's such a fun ride. What brings it down is the music. There was no "Let It Go" showstopper. The next best song was "Lost in the Woods" by Kristoff... but that's just me geeking out as an 80's fan cuz it was SO 80's pop ballad.
The Lego Movie and Captain Marvel are in similar leagues in that it took a while for me to really get into the movies. Once I knew what was going on, it got a lot more enjoyable. (I actually forgot I saw Captain Marvel this year... kinda shows how little of an impact it made). I will say that their tribute to Stan Lee was great.
Endgame was the biggest cinematic event of the year and it more than lived up to the hype. But it's such a damn long movie... not to mention I'm still in a funk after the ending. Unless something else comes up, the next time I'm seeing RDJ in anything will be the upcoming Dolittle remake. The homage to the series and the references to past movies was great as was all the story arcs and how they resolved. It just sucked that that had to be the one way that Thanos would lose... I know I said dozens of times that Tony should hung up the suit, but I'm still uneasy about the whole "preparing a lamb for slaughter" thing that was the whole Marvel franchise. Also kinda annoyed that Captain America could not let go what happened and had to initiate the whole time travel thing... why is he more deserving of a happy ending? ...I could be here all night, so I'm just gonna stop.
Addams Family is somewhere in the middle. It took a little time for me to sync up with what was going on, but once I did, I was in... except for maybe the creepy big brother/social media mob mentality angle they went with. Hit a little close to home. It was kinda cool, though, to see two movies featuring Oscar Isaac this year. He's been good in everything I'd seen him in, but he doesn't always do the types of movies I enjoy.
As for other movies... I have my Word doc where I keep track of all the movies I'd seen and it's closing in on 1500... but since 2011, I'd been keeping track by year of the movies I'd sat through.
The total count for this was 39 movies. I have it organized in the two column system and I didn't even get into the 2nd column this year... actually, I didn't last year either and I saw 10 more movies this year than last.
There was some meh movies, but there were a lot of standouts, which will go into two categories:
1) Movies I'd wanted to see for a long time and finally got the opportunity
2) Copy/paste the above, except they were more recent
In the same span for maybe a week, I saw Roman Holiday, Clue and Harold & Maude. All were very interesting to watch and I was into them from start to finish.
Roman Holiday, I already reviewed here, but it bears repeating... they don't make them like this anymore. Classic old Hollywood with classic actors. And it was the one time I'd seen a movie where a secret is being kept and it doesn't completely derail the movie when it comes out.
Clue was fascinating... kinda silly in places, especially when Tim Curry is hopping from room to room, summing up the events of the movie. Plus the alternate endings. But I'm glad I finally got to see it.
Harold & Maude, I don't remember what inspired me to put it on my list of movies to see, but it was even more fascinating. Just the idea of this relationship between a confused young man and an old lady and they really seem to understand each other. It also had this dark sense of humor about it I couldn't help but appreciate. And to read that "If You Wanna Sing Out" was written FOR this movie by Cat Stevens. I'd only heard it previously in "Charlie Bartlett" where it suits the movie really well. But he had a few songs he wrote for the movie... it was like what Simon & Garfunkel did for The Graduate... I was gonna say that this movie came out first, but The Graduate actually predated it by 4 years. Regarding that device, though, H&M did it a lot better because the music didn't overtake the plot of the movie. Other than a few classic lines here and there, the only thing I remember about The Graduate is the same 3 S&G songs playing as Dustin Hoffman is wandering around trying to figure out his life.
Before getting into the second category, I'll throw out some randoms.
Home Again
Reese Witherspoon moves back in with her mom while she's trying to figure out a separation and she meets three nice young men and they all develop an interesting friendship. It was a Nancy Meyers movie, so it was giving me all the warm and fuzzies and realism that I get from movies like The Intern and The Holiday. It was a really pleasant watch.
Goodbye, Christopher Robin
After seeing Ewan McGregor playing an older Christopher Robin, I wanted to see this as well. Although I'd been meaning to see this for a while. Domnhall Gleeson (who was in the Star Wars movie) played a great A.A. Milne. And it was interesting to see how celebrity didn't quite work for the real Christopher Robin. Seeing how the stories came about and their impact on others. (At the same time, I wanted to erase Margot Robbie from the movie... all she did was moan about motherhood... it's not something that suits everybody, but it's like they didn't care about giving her anything meaningful to say)
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
This was a documentary more than a movie, really... I hadn't seen the Tom Hanks version yet, but I do know I really enjoyed this. I don't remember much about seeing Mr. Rogers myself, but seeing how great an impact he had was amazing. Talk about warm & fuzzies...
Welcome to Marwen
I can't believe that this movie got so much hate from the critics... what an incredible story and the imagination of how everything was brought to life. It really makes you think about how people who suffer from PTSD, military or not, deal with it. This guy definitely found a method that worked for him.
Night School
Maybe not the best movie... but it's by far the best Kevin Hart movie I'd ever seen. The dude's hilarious, but every time he does a movie, it always seems like it doesn't do him justice. It's just way over the top or goes for stupid humor. (I sat through two Ride Along movies and half of The Wedding Ringer). But his character's story arc was fraught with laughs and also had a lot of heart (I'm sorry, that pun is unavoidable). He goes to the titular school to get his GED and Tiffany Haddish is his teacher. She helps him circumvent his dyslexia and the other characters are interesting. Some quirkier than others and a bit over the top, but by the end, it was nice how everything came together.
Now for the 2nd category...
I'll first throw in Black Panther. Other than Spiderman, Ant-Man, and Edward Norton's Hulk movie, this was the only other time I didn't run off to a theater to see a movie.
But I figured that I had to find out if it was worth all the hype, especially with all the Oscar buzz happening... it was! The writing was really innovative, telling a good story while including a lot of thought-provoking commentary.
Bohemian Rhapsody, I didn't get to a theater for because "A Star is Born" came out the same day. But we got it on DVD as soon as my dad saw it on an airplane. We'd seen it at least 5 times since... great music, great story and acting... and those last 15 minutes at Live AID... dang!!
Isle of Dogs, I'd wanted to see since it was released in theaters because it has that Wes Anderson "Fantastic Mr. Fox" look to it. The story wasn't quite as compelling, but it was an interesting watch all the same. Worth the wait.
Zootopia will get its own post at some point. That's a promise. I'm not sure what made me decide to watch it when it was Family Channel one day (commercials and all)... but I'm pretty sure the fact Prince namedropped it had a teeny bit to do with it. (I thought I read somewhere that he loved it, but after seeing the movie, it turns out he never got to see it... he had just expressed his desire to see it).
But I immediately fell in love with Judy Hopps (played by Snow White herself, Ginnifer Goodwin). Her optimism is infectious. I think her co-star, Nick, also won my heart because he has an interesting back story. It's also one of those movies that defies convention in more ways than one. The fact that I couldn't help but nickname a fox Pokémon in my playthrough of Sword Nick (short for its actual name, Nickit)... it made a major impact. So much that I had to put it on my Christmas list.
The Hate U Give, I heard was really good, but dang that's one of those thought-provoking movies that stay with you after the credits roll. The starring actress was Rue from the Hunger Games, but she really showed her range. Hank from "Grimm" was her dad and her uncle is played by someone from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (not exactly playing a nice guy in this case).
But it helped me get good perspective on the Black Lives Matter narrative. I'll admit that I'm more liable to side with cops in these situations because I have them in my family. But it's unfortunate how the relationship between the black community and law enforcement means that kids need to be instructed on what to do if they get pulled over. The other aspect is how opinions can quickly change. The protagonist's best friend, played Sabrina Carpenter (Maya from "Girl Meets World") goes from "we're going to stage a protest at school to support this shooting victim" to crying foul when the cop involved in the shooting receiving death threats. As if protesting is only ok if it's the popular thing to do.
Yeah, it's some pretty heavy stuff. The most important thing about handling these situations is to get every perspective before making snap judgements. Unfortunately with the media, only one perspective gets shown.
While on the black perspective, Green Book... omg, this movie was AMAZING. Mahershala Ali really deserved that Oscar for this because he is so compelling on screen. Watching him was like watching Sidney Poitier in "To Sir, With Love" (so far, my only Sidney Poitier movie)... his attention to detail and the way he carried himself just compelled you watch every second he was on screen.
Donald Shirley was like a modern day Beethoven when he played piano... he might even be better... incredible talent. He wanted to take his tour into the south during the 60's, but he needed a chauffer and bodyguard to take care of things for him. The relationship between him and Tony was really something else. It took a little while for them to understand one another, but they became life-long friends.
But the things he had to deal with on this journey and how he dealt with them... that was something else. He didn't settle for second class treatment and always carried himself with a sense of decorum. But he was also a gentleman, much more than his white bodyguard was. One compelling scene is where he talks about how white people ask him to play because it makes them feel cultured, but once he leaves, they'll laugh behind his back cuz he's just another black man to them (he used a more colorful word I'm never going to write down). The superficiality of things was frustrating. And the fact how his manners and decorum makes him dissimilar from his own people, so it's almost like he doesn't fit in anywhere.
On a lighter note, though, the scenes where Shirley was teaching Tony how to write proper letters to his wife, coming from the school of Cyrano de Bergerac... those were a lot of fun.
I still don't understand why people were complaining that this was the Best Picture Oscar winner... it was far more enjoyable and informative than most other Best Picture winners. They're usually too dramatic or too long for me to get into.
Alita: Battle Angel
This was the first in-flight movie I'd seen for myself in a long time... but that's because I hadn't flown much over the last several years. I'm not familiar with the source material, but just the look of it fascinated me, so when I saw that it was one of the movies available coming home from Seattle, I gave it a shot. And it was such a cool movie to see. The animation combines live action and animation, but the lines almost blur between the two... except people like Christoph Waltz are obviously actors. Alita is also a really cool character. The only drawback about the movie I can think of... it's just a little too long towards the end and it's also a cliffhanger that may never be resolved on screen. But the fact James Cameron was one of the producers, I knew it was gonna be something special.
And it looks like they could do have plans to do more. But considering how long this took to be make (JC was waiting for technology to catch up with his vision) and the fact the Avatar sequels still haven't come out... it might be a while.
Overall, there've been a lot of good movies this year.
Not many, but the ones I did see... 9 times out of 10, it was worth the ride 8-)
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