I'd like to say that.
The reality is, as I twiddled away my final full year of college and waited on my post-academic future to arrive, I was bored. Like really bored. Although 2019 was a solid year, it is both very top and bottom heavy.
In fact, the ten A+'s is the lowest in CGI Fridays history, falling short of 2018's 12 and then 2012's 14 highest achieving scores.
On the other end, 11 movies earned a D- or F, surpassing 2018's seven and threatening 2016's disappointing 12 films of a D- or F score.
89. Annabelle Comes Home; F
After two Annabelle movies already, again with me disagreeing with the masses, New Line Cinema decided to triple up (down?) on their hot Conjuring spin-off. It's a prequel to the sequel and I mean this as much as I've ever said it about a movie...it is pointless. But again...the people disagree.
88. Tabernacle 101; F
Even for a low budget independent film, Tabernacle 101 needs a 101 course in acting.
87. 3022; F
By the time you have even a remote idea of what's going on, it's too late.
86. The Curse of La Llorona; F
If Thanos's curse is knowledge, and Iron Man's is Thanos, then mine is this movie.
85. Captive State; D-
There are some good ideas at work here. That's it.
84. Ad Astra; D-
When the credits rolled, I asked my friend "what the heck just happened?" and the gentlemen next to us kindly said to him, "son, don't even try."
83. Feedback; D-
Excited to see perpetual side character Eddie Marsan in a leading role, but despite his work, it's an unorganized movie with an intriguing but thin premise.
85. Captive State; D-
There are some good ideas at work here. That's it.
84. Ad Astra; D-
When the credits rolled, I asked my friend "what the heck just happened?" and the gentlemen next to us kindly said to him, "son, don't even try."
83. Feedback; D-
Excited to see perpetual side character Eddie Marsan in a leading role, but despite his work, it's an unorganized movie with an intriguing but thin premise.
82. Synchronic; D-
Time travel is always confusing, and Synchronic makes very little effort to make sense of things. Even Anthony Mackie asks the audience several times what the heck is going on.
81. Godzilla: King of the Monsters; D-
I go into every movie optimistic, and the 2014 predecessor (B+) left reason for such, but trailers for the Godzilla sequel (before the long-awaited monster mash in 2020) looked bleak. The movie is dumb, loud, lazy and a waste of parts.
80. Velvet Buzzsaw; D-
A Netflix reunion for Nightcrawler (A+ in 2014) director Tony Gilroy and star Jake Gyllenhaal, I liked this movie as much as I like red velvet cake.
79. Gemini Man; D-
Ang Lee's experimental film looks pretty awesome and the action doesn't disappoint. But without anything else to attach to, it's just a visually impressive mess.
78. The Current War: Director's Cut; D
I admittedly am not all that interested in the history of electricity but an incredibly talented cast nevertheless caught my attention. Director's cut or not, The Current War does a poor job of making history interesting.
77. Motherless Brooklyn; D
The directing debut from Edward Norton, he stars as a detective with Tourettes Syndrome. His character is worth following but the movie doesn't ever go anywhere. It just feels like an homage to classic noir crime shows, not an actual movie.
76. Reign of the Supermen; D
The DC Animated Universe is hit or miss and the two-part adaptation from the landmark Superman comic is exactly that. Part one, 2018's The Death of Superman (A+), is everything good about DC animation. Part two, as seen here, is everything bad.
75. Uncut Gems; D
After Good Time in 2017 (A-), the news that the Safdie Brothers would be teaming up with the GOAT Adam Sandler was very welcome news indeed. It goes for not as Uncut Gems commits my number one cinema sin: it has no story. No point. Intentionally obnoxious is a productive subversion if you make up for it with some sort of character arc. Uncut Gems does not.
74. Cold Pursuit; D+
A rare Liam Neeson miss for yours truly, not to mention his unfortunate interview promoting the film, Cold Pursuit mildly succeeds as dark comedy but fails elsewhere.
73. Crawl; D+
I'm all for survival thriller/horrors and Crawl resonates as a hurricane disaster film. But it soon becomes the campy, ridiculous gator film that I feared.
72. The Aeronauts; D+
Amazon's historical balloon expedition film starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones sends them skyward yet seems to travel nowhere.
I go into every movie optimistic, and the 2014 predecessor (B+) left reason for such, but trailers for the Godzilla sequel (before the long-awaited monster mash in 2020) looked bleak. The movie is dumb, loud, lazy and a waste of parts.
80. Velvet Buzzsaw; D-
A Netflix reunion for Nightcrawler (A+ in 2014) director Tony Gilroy and star Jake Gyllenhaal, I liked this movie as much as I like red velvet cake.
79. Gemini Man; D-
Ang Lee's experimental film looks pretty awesome and the action doesn't disappoint. But without anything else to attach to, it's just a visually impressive mess.
78. The Current War: Director's Cut; D
I admittedly am not all that interested in the history of electricity but an incredibly talented cast nevertheless caught my attention. Director's cut or not, The Current War does a poor job of making history interesting.
77. Motherless Brooklyn; D
The directing debut from Edward Norton, he stars as a detective with Tourettes Syndrome. His character is worth following but the movie doesn't ever go anywhere. It just feels like an homage to classic noir crime shows, not an actual movie.
76. Reign of the Supermen; D
The DC Animated Universe is hit or miss and the two-part adaptation from the landmark Superman comic is exactly that. Part one, 2018's The Death of Superman (A+), is everything good about DC animation. Part two, as seen here, is everything bad.
After Good Time in 2017 (A-), the news that the Safdie Brothers would be teaming up with the GOAT Adam Sandler was very welcome news indeed. It goes for not as Uncut Gems commits my number one cinema sin: it has no story. No point. Intentionally obnoxious is a productive subversion if you make up for it with some sort of character arc. Uncut Gems does not.
74. Cold Pursuit; D+
A rare Liam Neeson miss for yours truly, not to mention his unfortunate interview promoting the film, Cold Pursuit mildly succeeds as dark comedy but fails elsewhere.
73. Crawl; D+
I'm all for survival thriller/horrors and Crawl resonates as a hurricane disaster film. But it soon becomes the campy, ridiculous gator film that I feared.
72. The Aeronauts; D+
Amazon's historical balloon expedition film starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones sends them skyward yet seems to travel nowhere.
71. The Vigil; D+
A horror movie -or any film- with a Jewish identity is rare. The Vigil has some scary moments but they don't compensate for an abrupt, unsatisfying ending.
70. Haunt; C-
Like Crawl, and really like any horror/thriller/slasher, directors love to come back to camp. (But not this horror camp.) It's hard not to as I imagine filming tense situations is easier on everyone if drama is not a priority. Haunt has serious promise and some scares to boot, but never takes advantage of contemporary haunted house opportunities.
69. The Good Liar; C-
A cinematic vehicle starring two elder stars is not usual and neither is the ending of The Good Liar. An overly convoluted and farfetched story wastes characteristically great performances from Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren.
68. Toy Story 4; C-
I found Toy Story 4 massively disappointing. Currently, TS1, 2 and 3 currently rank 57th, 70th and 91st on my all-time Infinity List. To say the series is beloved by yours truly would be an accurate statement. However, TS4 had an uninteresting story and while I'm all in favor of strong female characters, doing it at the expense and making idiots of the male characters (like Woody and Buzz) is not the way to do it.
67. X-Men: Dark Phoenix; C-
What's so bittersweet about Dark Phoenix are the scattered moments of extreme promise. For example, the movie's closing shot is a heartfelt callback to an earlier X-Men movie. The reboot to Fox's X-franchise started oh so promising in 2011, got even stronger in 2014, but then fell off the wayside with the final two installments. It's a waste of potential and thankfully the mutants are going back to Marvel.
66. Dumbo; C-
The original Dumbo is an all-time favorite of mine and elephants are my favorite animal. I used to collect toy elephants. Now you know. Anyway, Tim Burton's 2019 version, more remake than reboot, has some triumphant scenes and Dumbo himself looks great. The racist crows are thankfully axed but Burton insists on making this Dumbo a depressing, scattered tale.
65. Midway; C
It looked like a Michael Bay movie. Which is basically what Roland Emmerich did with 2016's Independence Day sequel (F in 2016). The action certainly fits the bill, but as predicted the characters are thinly written while spouting rejected comic book dialogue.
64. Detective Pikachu; C
Speaking of childhood, I always got (and still get) called Ash Ketchum. It was somehow an insult there for a while when Pokemon was momentarily uncool, but I've always loved it. The Pokemon universe is incredible but the movies have been notoriously bad. I loved Pokemon: The First Movie as a kid (Mew is my favorite) but man it did not hold up on a rewatch.
Ryan Reynolds is great as Pika Pika but the movie, even if deliciously designed, is a bore and the twist ending makes no sense.
63. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; C
Like the X-Men franchise, a great tragedy of Disney's first Star Wars trilogy is that they successfully completed the hardest part, the beginning, and then it went to Hel. The first of the trilogy (Episode 7, A+ in 2015) is fantastic. Unfortunately, Episode 8 is not only a letdown of a film, it accomplished nothing and moved the story nowhere. J.J. Abrams was brought back to pick up the pieces and the decision to bring back Palpatine only furthers the new movie's continued destruction of Star Wars lore.
Also, how do you so terribly waste an actor like Oscar Isaac? Ironically, the X-Men franchise did the exact same thing.
62. Dark Waters; C+
Life activist Mark Ruffalo goes all out in a movie about the law that actually has a lot of legal jargon. My lawyer friend loved it. I liked it enough, but its attention to detail worked in reverse on me.
70. Haunt; C-
Like Crawl, and really like any horror/thriller/slasher, directors love to come back to camp. (But not this horror camp.) It's hard not to as I imagine filming tense situations is easier on everyone if drama is not a priority. Haunt has serious promise and some scares to boot, but never takes advantage of contemporary haunted house opportunities.
69. The Good Liar; C-
A cinematic vehicle starring two elder stars is not usual and neither is the ending of The Good Liar. An overly convoluted and farfetched story wastes characteristically great performances from Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren.
68. Toy Story 4; C-
I found Toy Story 4 massively disappointing. Currently, TS1, 2 and 3 currently rank 57th, 70th and 91st on my all-time Infinity List. To say the series is beloved by yours truly would be an accurate statement. However, TS4 had an uninteresting story and while I'm all in favor of strong female characters, doing it at the expense and making idiots of the male characters (like Woody and Buzz) is not the way to do it.
67. X-Men: Dark Phoenix; C-
What's so bittersweet about Dark Phoenix are the scattered moments of extreme promise. For example, the movie's closing shot is a heartfelt callback to an earlier X-Men movie. The reboot to Fox's X-franchise started oh so promising in 2011, got even stronger in 2014, but then fell off the wayside with the final two installments. It's a waste of potential and thankfully the mutants are going back to Marvel.
66. Dumbo; C-
The original Dumbo is an all-time favorite of mine and elephants are my favorite animal. I used to collect toy elephants. Now you know. Anyway, Tim Burton's 2019 version, more remake than reboot, has some triumphant scenes and Dumbo himself looks great. The racist crows are thankfully axed but Burton insists on making this Dumbo a depressing, scattered tale.
65. Midway; C
It looked like a Michael Bay movie. Which is basically what Roland Emmerich did with 2016's Independence Day sequel (F in 2016). The action certainly fits the bill, but as predicted the characters are thinly written while spouting rejected comic book dialogue.
64. Detective Pikachu; C
Speaking of childhood, I always got (and still get) called Ash Ketchum. It was somehow an insult there for a while when Pokemon was momentarily uncool, but I've always loved it. The Pokemon universe is incredible but the movies have been notoriously bad. I loved Pokemon: The First Movie as a kid (Mew is my favorite) but man it did not hold up on a rewatch.
Ryan Reynolds is great as Pika Pika but the movie, even if deliciously designed, is a bore and the twist ending makes no sense.
63. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; C
Like the X-Men franchise, a great tragedy of Disney's first Star Wars trilogy is that they successfully completed the hardest part, the beginning, and then it went to Hel. The first of the trilogy (Episode 7, A+ in 2015) is fantastic. Unfortunately, Episode 8 is not only a letdown of a film, it accomplished nothing and moved the story nowhere. J.J. Abrams was brought back to pick up the pieces and the decision to bring back Palpatine only furthers the new movie's continued destruction of Star Wars lore.
Also, how do you so terribly waste an actor like Oscar Isaac? Ironically, the X-Men franchise did the exact same thing.
Life activist Mark Ruffalo goes all out in a movie about the law that actually has a lot of legal jargon. My lawyer friend loved it. I liked it enough, but its attention to detail worked in reverse on me.
61. Wrinkles the Clown; C+
It's an interesting story for sure, about an unidentified Florida man who dresses up as a clown to film pranks and gags. Wrinkles became a social media legend without trying, and the movie shows how kids ran with that, taking the focus off Wrinkles and instead serving as a cautionary tale about bad parenting and a generation who know way too much.
60. Pet Sematary; C+
A Stephen King adaptation starring Jason Clarke? Yes. The scares are great and save the movie from a lower score because the script is buried six feet under.
59. Don't Let Go; C+
As a sci-fi geek I couldn't help my intrigue with this time traveling murder mystery starring the immensely likable David Oyelowo. Time travel is notoriously hard to write and even that 2019 Marvel film (coming up) had its issues, but the central performances and a good finale keep you from...letting go. (I'm allowed a certain amount of these.)
58. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; C+
Quentin Tarantino is without a doubt one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. With OUaTiH (if that's even correct), he takes his long-form, talky, retro approach and for me, went a bit too far in all three aspects. It's not my favorite work of his, but I went home after, watched Inglourious Basterds and forgave him.
57. Harriet; B-
The remarkable true story and a powerhouse performance from the talented Cynthia Erivo aren't enough to keep Harriet from feeling like a made-for-TV production that could and should have been better about one of history's greatest moments.
56. Escape Room; B-
January releases tend to purposely fly under the radar and Escape Room seemed like one of those once-promising concepts buried in the movie calendar's blind spot. It's a fine thriller but nothing more.
55. It Chapter 2; B-
The highly anticipated back end of 2017's Chapter 1 (A+), which ended up being not only a great scary movie, but one of the best coming-of-age films about youngsters I've ever seen. The young cast comprises roughly 2/5 of Chapter 2 and their part saves the movie.
26. Alita: Battle Angel; A
An A+ in world-building, an A- or B+ in storytelling, and an A+ for action and visuals. The James Cameron production has a lot of ambition and faithfully goes all out in portraying the fictional (maybe) 26th century. It looks beautiful and is so much fun to live in. I'm hopeful for a sequel if for nothing else than to go back to this world.
24. Knives Out; A
Rian Johnson almost destroyed my love of film in 2017. Almost. I'll never forgive him for The Last Jedi but I'd be a hypocrite if I dismissed a movie because of another. Plus, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis and literally (figuratively) a million Hollywood stars in a murder mystery? Yes, please.
23. Brian Banks; A
At times, the true story can seem preachy and it doesn't really shy from that stance. But you're rooting for Aldis Hodge and his likable performance the minute you see him. It's sad, it's relevant, and it's sad that it's relevant. But seriously relevant that it's sad.
22. Honey Boy; A
Shia LaBeouf had a re-breakout year with Honey Boy and Peanut Butter Falcon. It seems to have flown under the radar but if you're reading this please take a hearty recommendation to view both motion pictures. In Honey Boy, LaBeouf portrays his own father while a first-time breaking out star Noah Jupe plays a younger version of Shia. It's scary that parents really act like this but optimistically shows the power of a child's belief in things to change.
21. Booksmart; A
Directed by Olivia Wilde, Booksmart is a faithful tale of two high school girls doing high school things. Just like Good Boys, albeit years younger, writing young people is hard. It's done extremely well here and is a win for female representation in movies, though its box office was underwhelming and, since it's 2019, affected by controversy.
20. Dolemite Is My Name; A
I gotta hand it to Netflix. As the "streaming wars" truly begin with Disney+ and Apple TV+ launching and HBO Max on the way, Netflix boldly increased its price but have backed it up with a ton of content. Dolemite is reminiscent of 2017's The Disaster Artist (A+) and Eddie Murphy shows for the trillionth time that he is one of the greatest comedic actors ever.
19. Shazam!; A
I was apprehensive about the playful tone Lights Out (A+ in 2016) director David F. Sandberg took with DC's Shazam!, but Zack Snyder had beaten the dread horse into the ground with three dour superhero movies in the shared universe so far. Casting Zachary Levi (shoutout Fandral) and Asher (!) Angel as both halves of Billy Batson with the inclusions of Mark Strong and Djimon Hounsou were trusty decisions.
It's constantly hokey and never becomes the emotionally impactful film I always hope for, but it's fun and funny from beginning to mostly end -the last act gets pretty silly and incorporates an element from the Shazam comics I had hoped to see omitted- and overall is a step in the right direction for DC's storied Justice League core.
18. Between Two Ferns: The Movie; A
Zach Galifianakis is one of the most brilliant comedic talents of this era, and the movie based on his Funny or Die internet show had every right to follow in its fellow small-to-big screen jumpers' unnecessary footsteps. But BTF: TM wastes none of its brisk 80-ish minute runtime trying to do anything we didn't want and serves as a hilarious "behind the scenes" look at one of the funniest bits going in entertainment today.
17. Ready or Not; A
Ready or Not and 2013's You're Next (A+) are basically sisters and both movies combine two genres that I love: horror and whodunit. I'm usually too weak to handle slashers but it's done very tastefully in Ready or Not. Despite all the murderous mayhem, you laugh and smile and root like crazy for Margot Robbie's basically sister Samara Weaving.
16. Marriage Story; A
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are scary good and scary human in a scary movie about scary humans. Marriage Story is another huge success from Netflix and though it tends to take one side of the divorce story more than the other, its appeal is largely in giving both sides of a nasty situation a voice.
15. The Lion King (2019); A
After his live action makeover of The Jungle Book in 2016 (A), Jon Favreau took on an even bigger Disney property next. For the most part, he nailed it. The CGI animals are hauntingly life-like and easy to take for granted. The reboot changes up some minor plot details and adds more dialogue that isn't always on point, but the role expansion for Billy Eichner's Timon and Seth Rogen's Pumbaa is the highlight of the movie.
We're all hesitant to our childhood memories being duplicated, but 2019's version of Disney's greatest tale is a beautiful ride. Hakuna Matata.
14. 1917; A
It's always a publicity risk for a movie to tout some sort of innovative filmmaking technique in their promotion. 1917's claim to hopeful fame was that it would be cut together to look like one shot. One shot takes are hard enough and one shot movies like Birdman (A+ in 2014) even harder, but director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, A+ in 2012) and his team are up to the task in 1917.
On top of a shining achievement in cinematography, it's one of the better war movies I've seen.
13. The Peanut Butter Falcon; A
Even though stars Shia LaBeouf and Zack Gottsagen were presenters at the 2020 Oscars (Gottsagen the first with Down Syndrome to do so), the movie they both acted the heck out of was completely snubbed. Why that matters most is people flock to see Oscar contenders in January and February and The Peanut Butter Falcon deserved more exposure.
It's obviously a curious title but I promise you it has nothing to do with anything you might think it has anything to do with.
12. Brightburn; A
If Joker is an Elseworlds tale, Brightburn is straight alternate universe. Produced by James Gunn and headlined by his Slither star Elizabeth Banks, Gunn brings his horror roots to the superhero genre, and to the biggest superhero of them all. To use Marvel's alternate world term, What if Superman arrived on Earth and didn't have a rosy, Smallville childhood?
I have a friend who does not do gore but qualifies Brightburn as an awesome movie in spite of some very graphic scenes. If you can't handle those, look away. But don't!
11. Joker; A
Speaking of, Joker is (in my opinion...obviously) DC's best movie sinceThe Dark Knight Rises. Unshackled by the studio hivemind and narrative necessities, Todd Phillips (of Hangover fame) and Joaquin Phoenix go all out in the highest grossing "R" rated film of all time.
While extremely important, the mental illness themes lack subtlety and blur the lines of sickness and violence a little, and the inclusion and characterization of Thomas Wayne wasn't my favorite. But Joaquin "Dark" Phoenix (see #60 and then answer: get it?) gives a remarkable performance that is both its own wild creation as well as honoring of the work Heath Ledger did over a decade ago.
It's dark, it's depressing, and though it's set in 1981, it's a painfully accurate representation of the world today. And even though it's a superhero movie, it's not a blockbuster or whatever so the Oscar goes to...
10. Murder Mystery; A+
Maybe it's my undying fidelity to Adam Sandler and my adoration for Jennifer Anniston, but I absolutely loved this movie. Sandler's Netflix deal has bore a lot of bad fruit, but Murder Mystery is a deliciously fun ode to the played out genre. It's very silly fun, filled with hilarious performances (John Kani!) and fulfills its comedic destiny as 90-ish minutes of pure enjoyment.
60. Pet Sematary; C+
A Stephen King adaptation starring Jason Clarke? Yes. The scares are great and save the movie from a lower score because the script is buried six feet under.
59. Don't Let Go; C+
As a sci-fi geek I couldn't help my intrigue with this time traveling murder mystery starring the immensely likable David Oyelowo. Time travel is notoriously hard to write and even that 2019 Marvel film (coming up) had its issues, but the central performances and a good finale keep you from...letting go. (I'm allowed a certain amount of these.)
58. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; C+
Quentin Tarantino is without a doubt one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. With OUaTiH (if that's even correct), he takes his long-form, talky, retro approach and for me, went a bit too far in all three aspects. It's not my favorite work of his, but I went home after, watched Inglourious Basterds and forgave him.
57. Harriet; B-
The remarkable true story and a powerhouse performance from the talented Cynthia Erivo aren't enough to keep Harriet from feeling like a made-for-TV production that could and should have been better about one of history's greatest moments.
56. Escape Room; B-
January releases tend to purposely fly under the radar and Escape Room seemed like one of those once-promising concepts buried in the movie calendar's blind spot. It's a fine thriller but nothing more.
55. It Chapter 2; B-
The highly anticipated back end of 2017's Chapter 1 (A+), which ended up being not only a great scary movie, but one of the best coming-of-age films about youngsters I've ever seen. The young cast comprises roughly 2/5 of Chapter 2 and their part saves the movie.
The grown-up cast is played without inspiration from talented actors like James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader and others. Director Andrés Muschietti had a great opportunity to refine Stephen King's repetitive narrative from the books. Instead, the story is basically rehashed as it pertains to Pennywise and the first part serves best to stand on its own.
Basically, this movie is growing up: The kids rock, the adults sulk.
54. Bottom of the 9th; B-
A passion project from power couple Joe Manganiello and Sofía Vergara, it's easy to get me to watch a baseball movie. Manganiello produces and stars and he and his real-life wife elevate the movie to a quality it otherwise does not achieve in its baseball ambitions.
53. I See You; B-
A plot device in movies I find risky is stopping at the midway point, going backwards and then bringing the viewer back up to that point with new characters. I See You has flaws in its story and pacing, but the payoff prevails with help from an excellent score from first-time composer William Arcane.
52. Batman: Hush; B
The DC animated universe is starting to worry me. The sad state of its live action universe aside, DC's animated collection is historically strong but has produced some whiffs in the last few years. Reign of the Supermen was flat-out juvenile while Hush is merely solid. Based on a comic that I personally find overrated, overstuffed with characters and light on story, the movie is not at fault for an adaptation. My big problem -and big worry with DC's newer animated films- is the prevailing pattern of immature writing.
51. The Report; B
Like The Aeronauts, The Report was straight to Amazon, wish isn't like saying straight-to-DVD because Amazon is literally making these movies and DVD's are dying. Adam Driver had a busy holiday season with this, Marriage Story and whatever he was doing as Kylo Ren. The Report is yet another look at a very corrupt world and it's good, but heavy on bureaucratic procedure.
50. The Art of Self-Defense; B
Dark comedy films walk the tightrope of being grimly funny or sometimes plain stupid. There are many moments of both in this Jesse Eisenberg film. The themes are relevant and toxic masculinity is not-so-subtly tackled, but the story has a fair amount of holes and head-scratchers to really send a valuable message.
49. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark; B
SStTitD is the third Stephen King adaptation of 2019 and I thought it the best of the three. It's not all that scary and nostalgically fills its cast with idiot teenagers, but it's not a bad date night movie. (I saw it alone.)
48. Richard Jewell; B
Clint Eastwood might live forever. Just be prepared for that. Hopefully he keeps making movies but I'd rather get Gran Torino or Mystic River level Eastwood.
47. Ma; B
Had high, high hopes for Octavia Spencer's Ma but it never gets out of its own way. Every chance it has to be something new and creative, it settles for above average. Still, Spencer owns it per usual.
46. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; B
Speaking of great actors, Tom Hanks is without a doubt the best thing in this Mr. Rogers movie that's not really about Mr. Rogers. The focus is instead on Matthew Rhys's character. Anytime Hanks is on screen the movie glows but he's just not around all that often.
45. My Days of Mercy; B+
Movies about gay and lesbian relationships are obviously few but the past couple years have given us some good films like this and 2018 provided a pair with Boy Erased and Love, Simon. I see the struggle for gay rights mirroring civil rights struggles and, to inject a rare political and/or societal take, I believe anti-gay people to be just as bad as racists. Anywhoozles...
44. 21 Bridges; B+
Extremely entertaining and performances by Chadwick Boseman and Stephan James elevate 21 Bridges above some narrative issues, including a bit of an anti-climactic ending. The first big movie from the Russo Brothers' AGBO production company is a moderate victory.
43. Yesterday; B+
Very proud of my dad for going to two movies with me in 2019. One was Yesterday and Danny Boyle's (28 Days Later) newest film is a creative adventure with great Beatles tunes.
42. Happy Death Day 2U; B+
Sequels are always risky, especially when the plot doesn't really lend itself to serial storytelling. I was happy to be wrong about another Happy Death Day and while it teeters a bit under its own ambitions, it's just as fun as the first.
41. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound; B+
Documentaries are always hard to grade and this one isn't for everybody. Film buffs or entertainment historians will dig it and I love the spotlight being shined on sound crews from the beginning of movie time. I also love that George Lucas and Star Wars are once again trophied as one of the pioneers in the industry.
40. Zombieland: Double Tap; B+
I'll compare it to another sequel, last year's Sicario: Day of the Soldado (B+), in the sense that it is great until the final act when it becomes truly brainless.
39. Us; B+
Jordan Peele's follow-up to the legendary Get Out (A+ in 2017) looked great and the trailers featuring "I Got 5 on It" made it look even greater. Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke are amazing in their duplicate roles, as are the kids, and the movie has you gripped until the end. But, even in a sci-fi fantasy world, the ending doesn't really add up.
54. Bottom of the 9th; B-
A passion project from power couple Joe Manganiello and Sofía Vergara, it's easy to get me to watch a baseball movie. Manganiello produces and stars and he and his real-life wife elevate the movie to a quality it otherwise does not achieve in its baseball ambitions.
53. I See You; B-
A plot device in movies I find risky is stopping at the midway point, going backwards and then bringing the viewer back up to that point with new characters. I See You has flaws in its story and pacing, but the payoff prevails with help from an excellent score from first-time composer William Arcane.
52. Batman: Hush; B
The DC animated universe is starting to worry me. The sad state of its live action universe aside, DC's animated collection is historically strong but has produced some whiffs in the last few years. Reign of the Supermen was flat-out juvenile while Hush is merely solid. Based on a comic that I personally find overrated, overstuffed with characters and light on story, the movie is not at fault for an adaptation. My big problem -and big worry with DC's newer animated films- is the prevailing pattern of immature writing.
51. The Report; B
Like The Aeronauts, The Report was straight to Amazon, wish isn't like saying straight-to-DVD because Amazon is literally making these movies and DVD's are dying. Adam Driver had a busy holiday season with this, Marriage Story and whatever he was doing as Kylo Ren. The Report is yet another look at a very corrupt world and it's good, but heavy on bureaucratic procedure.
50. The Art of Self-Defense; B
Dark comedy films walk the tightrope of being grimly funny or sometimes plain stupid. There are many moments of both in this Jesse Eisenberg film. The themes are relevant and toxic masculinity is not-so-subtly tackled, but the story has a fair amount of holes and head-scratchers to really send a valuable message.
49. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark; B
SStTitD is the third Stephen King adaptation of 2019 and I thought it the best of the three. It's not all that scary and nostalgically fills its cast with idiot teenagers, but it's not a bad date night movie. (I saw it alone.)
48. Richard Jewell; B
Clint Eastwood might live forever. Just be prepared for that. Hopefully he keeps making movies but I'd rather get Gran Torino or Mystic River level Eastwood.
47. Ma; B
Had high, high hopes for Octavia Spencer's Ma but it never gets out of its own way. Every chance it has to be something new and creative, it settles for above average. Still, Spencer owns it per usual.
46. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood; B
Speaking of great actors, Tom Hanks is without a doubt the best thing in this Mr. Rogers movie that's not really about Mr. Rogers. The focus is instead on Matthew Rhys's character. Anytime Hanks is on screen the movie glows but he's just not around all that often.
45. My Days of Mercy; B+
Movies about gay and lesbian relationships are obviously few but the past couple years have given us some good films like this and 2018 provided a pair with Boy Erased and Love, Simon. I see the struggle for gay rights mirroring civil rights struggles and, to inject a rare political and/or societal take, I believe anti-gay people to be just as bad as racists. Anywhoozles...
44. 21 Bridges; B+
Extremely entertaining and performances by Chadwick Boseman and Stephan James elevate 21 Bridges above some narrative issues, including a bit of an anti-climactic ending. The first big movie from the Russo Brothers' AGBO production company is a moderate victory.
43. Yesterday; B+
Very proud of my dad for going to two movies with me in 2019. One was Yesterday and Danny Boyle's (28 Days Later) newest film is a creative adventure with great Beatles tunes.
42. Happy Death Day 2U; B+
Sequels are always risky, especially when the plot doesn't really lend itself to serial storytelling. I was happy to be wrong about another Happy Death Day and while it teeters a bit under its own ambitions, it's just as fun as the first.
41. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound; B+
Documentaries are always hard to grade and this one isn't for everybody. Film buffs or entertainment historians will dig it and I love the spotlight being shined on sound crews from the beginning of movie time. I also love that George Lucas and Star Wars are once again trophied as one of the pioneers in the industry.
40. Zombieland: Double Tap; B+
I'll compare it to another sequel, last year's Sicario: Day of the Soldado (B+), in the sense that it is great until the final act when it becomes truly brainless.
39. Us; B+
Jordan Peele's follow-up to the legendary Get Out (A+ in 2017) looked great and the trailers featuring "I Got 5 on It" made it look even greater. Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke are amazing in their duplicate roles, as are the kids, and the movie has you gripped until the end. But, even in a sci-fi fantasy world, the ending doesn't really add up.
38. Eli; A-
The story gets a little cray-cray and subtlety isn't Eli's biggest strength, but Eli himself, played by Charlie Shotwell, is impressive. As are the scares, which is still the most important thing in a scary movie.
37. Queen & Slim; A-
It runs a little long but rides the strength of its leading cast members Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, and obviously the topical point of the movie is very real.
36. Parasite; A-
I really liked Parasite. I really did. I just think if the exact same film were made in english, it would merely be considered a successful thriller and not a worldwide Oscar darling. I know that makes me racist, sexist, left-handed and probably the color purple, but I think its huge success is disingenuously buoyed by Americans getting a kick out of Koreans.
35. I'm Not Here; A-
It's a slow burn and as a certified pessimist, I love movies that just fill you with dread and sadness. You won't leave this one with a smile and the end hits you like a ton of bricks. J.K. Simmons and Sebastian Stan quietly deliver impressive performances.
34. Rocketman; A-
It seems like Taron Egerton has been preparing to play Elton John for years. Sir Elton was nearly involved on the first Kingsman (A+ in 2015), Egerton sang "I'm Still Standing" in 2016's Sing and then the pop rock legend did indeed get involved (and play a huge part) in the Kingsman sequel (A+ in 2017).
Finally, Rocketman came around with Elton handpicking Egerton to play him in a loose biopic directed by Dexter Fletcher. Who in turn directed Eddie the Eagle (A+ in 2016) with Egerton and producer Matthew Vaughn, who in double turn directed both Kingsman films and produced Rocketman. Marv productions baby.
(This was the other movie my dad went to!)
33. Just Mercy; A-
In a sensible world, all things civil rights and the subjugation of Black people and minorities as a whole is something I truly wouldn't believe humanity capable of. But our world is crazy and racism didn't stop in the 1980s and hasn't stopped today. Just Mercy is a true story worth telling, but more importantly a true story worth knowing. Jamie Foxx shows yet again why he's one of my favorites and Tim Blake Nelson proves his versatile acting chops for the again'th time, not to mention Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson.
32. Triple Frontier; A-
I applaud Netflix, Amazon and non-theatrical movies for one thing if nothing else: they take a lot of chances. Without ridiculous story input from financially supporting production companies, the films can remain independent in many aspects. This includes writing, and these next three films on the list all happen to be Netflix movies with writing that doesn't follow a traditional plot structure.
For example, Triple Frontier's climax seems to happen early on in the movie. That could have backfired but the characters become the focus after the story seems to have concluded.
31. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil; A-
The Zac Efron-Ted Bundy movie is more a character piece than an honest telling of Bundy's past. It may have benefited from a more focused plot, but I like that it was given a platform to be what it wanted to be. (And was originally a theatrical release.)
30. The Red Sea Diving Resort; A-
If Red Sea Diving Resort bends the facts, it does so with integrity and remains a valuable history lesson wrapped in a movie. Or maybe I just can't see past the excitement of Chris Evans playing a Jew. I found the movie very tense, heroic, and a particular dinner scene is a nail-biter.
29. Freaks; A-
My 2020 CGI Fridays Oscar "Sleeper Hit" of the year, Freaks stars Emile Hirsch (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, A+ in 2016) and an ever-stern Bruce Dern. It's part post-apocalyptic, part X-Men and right up my alley. Even for a movie where characters can basically bend space and time, it pushes the limits of its own established believability. But it looks and sounds great for as shoestring as a budget gets.
28. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum; A-
The first two John Wick movies currently rank 28th and 45th on my Infinity List list, a clear indication of my admiration for the series. Chapter 3 is the first to achieve blockbuster status and I can't help but feel like it hurt the writing. It starts just as crazy as the first two films, with absurd action you have never seen in another movie and Keanu Reeves kicking just as much tushy as before, but becomes all set up in the back half.
I get it. Sort of. There was probably going to be a fourth one no matter what and stretching a franchise is commonplace. But when you stretch it out, please do not compromise the story of the existing movie. John Wick 3 was compromised. Also, old Bond-style exposition spouting villains are no longer welcome.
27. Ford v Ferrari; A
I don't care about cars. I'm not a car guy. Ford v Ferrari (v corporate Ford) has some incredibly detailed and impressive car racing scenes. Those are super difficult to shoot and I applaud everyone involved. But what I took from FvF(vF) was the clash of classes between low-rung workers and big wig idiots. And mostly I enjoyed the father-son relationship between Christian Bale and rising star Noah Jupe.
37. Queen & Slim; A-
It runs a little long but rides the strength of its leading cast members Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, and obviously the topical point of the movie is very real.
36. Parasite; A-
I really liked Parasite. I really did. I just think if the exact same film were made in english, it would merely be considered a successful thriller and not a worldwide Oscar darling. I know that makes me racist, sexist, left-handed and probably the color purple, but I think its huge success is disingenuously buoyed by Americans getting a kick out of Koreans.
35. I'm Not Here; A-
It's a slow burn and as a certified pessimist, I love movies that just fill you with dread and sadness. You won't leave this one with a smile and the end hits you like a ton of bricks. J.K. Simmons and Sebastian Stan quietly deliver impressive performances.
34. Rocketman; A-
It seems like Taron Egerton has been preparing to play Elton John for years. Sir Elton was nearly involved on the first Kingsman (A+ in 2015), Egerton sang "I'm Still Standing" in 2016's Sing and then the pop rock legend did indeed get involved (and play a huge part) in the Kingsman sequel (A+ in 2017).
Finally, Rocketman came around with Elton handpicking Egerton to play him in a loose biopic directed by Dexter Fletcher. Who in turn directed Eddie the Eagle (A+ in 2016) with Egerton and producer Matthew Vaughn, who in double turn directed both Kingsman films and produced Rocketman. Marv productions baby.
(This was the other movie my dad went to!)
In a sensible world, all things civil rights and the subjugation of Black people and minorities as a whole is something I truly wouldn't believe humanity capable of. But our world is crazy and racism didn't stop in the 1980s and hasn't stopped today. Just Mercy is a true story worth telling, but more importantly a true story worth knowing. Jamie Foxx shows yet again why he's one of my favorites and Tim Blake Nelson proves his versatile acting chops for the again'th time, not to mention Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson.
32. Triple Frontier; A-
I applaud Netflix, Amazon and non-theatrical movies for one thing if nothing else: they take a lot of chances. Without ridiculous story input from financially supporting production companies, the films can remain independent in many aspects. This includes writing, and these next three films on the list all happen to be Netflix movies with writing that doesn't follow a traditional plot structure.
For example, Triple Frontier's climax seems to happen early on in the movie. That could have backfired but the characters become the focus after the story seems to have concluded.
31. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil; A-
The Zac Efron-Ted Bundy movie is more a character piece than an honest telling of Bundy's past. It may have benefited from a more focused plot, but I like that it was given a platform to be what it wanted to be. (And was originally a theatrical release.)
30. The Red Sea Diving Resort; A-
If Red Sea Diving Resort bends the facts, it does so with integrity and remains a valuable history lesson wrapped in a movie. Or maybe I just can't see past the excitement of Chris Evans playing a Jew. I found the movie very tense, heroic, and a particular dinner scene is a nail-biter.
29. Freaks; A-
My 2020 CGI Fridays Oscar "Sleeper Hit" of the year, Freaks stars Emile Hirsch (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, A+ in 2016) and an ever-stern Bruce Dern. It's part post-apocalyptic, part X-Men and right up my alley. Even for a movie where characters can basically bend space and time, it pushes the limits of its own established believability. But it looks and sounds great for as shoestring as a budget gets.
28. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum; A-
The first two John Wick movies currently rank 28th and 45th on my Infinity List list, a clear indication of my admiration for the series. Chapter 3 is the first to achieve blockbuster status and I can't help but feel like it hurt the writing. It starts just as crazy as the first two films, with absurd action you have never seen in another movie and Keanu Reeves kicking just as much tushy as before, but becomes all set up in the back half.
I get it. Sort of. There was probably going to be a fourth one no matter what and stretching a franchise is commonplace. But when you stretch it out, please do not compromise the story of the existing movie. John Wick 3 was compromised. Also, old Bond-style exposition spouting villains are no longer welcome.
27. Ford v Ferrari; A
I don't care about cars. I'm not a car guy. Ford v Ferrari (v corporate Ford) has some incredibly detailed and impressive car racing scenes. Those are super difficult to shoot and I applaud everyone involved. But what I took from FvF(vF) was the clash of classes between low-rung workers and big wig idiots. And mostly I enjoyed the father-son relationship between Christian Bale and rising star Noah Jupe.
26. Alita: Battle Angel; A
An A+ in world-building, an A- or B+ in storytelling, and an A+ for action and visuals. The James Cameron production has a lot of ambition and faithfully goes all out in portraying the fictional (maybe) 26th century. It looks beautiful and is so much fun to live in. I'm hopeful for a sequel if for nothing else than to go back to this world.
25. I Am Mother; A
As I watched yet another impressive Netflix production, the parallel's between I Am Mother and 10 Cloverfield Lane started stacking up. An underground bunker beneath a world ended with a cast of just two to three impressive characters, two of those three possessing loyalties you question at every turn. The similarities ended up being for better and worse, with an ending just like 10CL that paled to the overall product.
24. Knives Out; A
Rian Johnson almost destroyed my love of film in 2017. Almost. I'll never forgive him for The Last Jedi but I'd be a hypocrite if I dismissed a movie because of another. Plus, Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis and literally (figuratively) a million Hollywood stars in a murder mystery? Yes, please.
23. Brian Banks; A
At times, the true story can seem preachy and it doesn't really shy from that stance. But you're rooting for Aldis Hodge and his likable performance the minute you see him. It's sad, it's relevant, and it's sad that it's relevant. But seriously relevant that it's sad.
22. Honey Boy; A
Shia LaBeouf had a re-breakout year with Honey Boy and Peanut Butter Falcon. It seems to have flown under the radar but if you're reading this please take a hearty recommendation to view both motion pictures. In Honey Boy, LaBeouf portrays his own father while a first-time breaking out star Noah Jupe plays a younger version of Shia. It's scary that parents really act like this but optimistically shows the power of a child's belief in things to change.
21. Booksmart; A
Directed by Olivia Wilde, Booksmart is a faithful tale of two high school girls doing high school things. Just like Good Boys, albeit years younger, writing young people is hard. It's done extremely well here and is a win for female representation in movies, though its box office was underwhelming and, since it's 2019, affected by controversy.
20. Dolemite Is My Name; A
I gotta hand it to Netflix. As the "streaming wars" truly begin with Disney+ and Apple TV+ launching and HBO Max on the way, Netflix boldly increased its price but have backed it up with a ton of content. Dolemite is reminiscent of 2017's The Disaster Artist (A+) and Eddie Murphy shows for the trillionth time that he is one of the greatest comedic actors ever.
19. Shazam!; A
I was apprehensive about the playful tone Lights Out (A+ in 2016) director David F. Sandberg took with DC's Shazam!, but Zack Snyder had beaten the dread horse into the ground with three dour superhero movies in the shared universe so far. Casting Zachary Levi (shoutout Fandral) and Asher (!) Angel as both halves of Billy Batson with the inclusions of Mark Strong and Djimon Hounsou were trusty decisions.
It's constantly hokey and never becomes the emotionally impactful film I always hope for, but it's fun and funny from beginning to mostly end -the last act gets pretty silly and incorporates an element from the Shazam comics I had hoped to see omitted- and overall is a step in the right direction for DC's storied Justice League core.
18. Between Two Ferns: The Movie; A
Zach Galifianakis is one of the most brilliant comedic talents of this era, and the movie based on his Funny or Die internet show had every right to follow in its fellow small-to-big screen jumpers' unnecessary footsteps. But BTF: TM wastes none of its brisk 80-ish minute runtime trying to do anything we didn't want and serves as a hilarious "behind the scenes" look at one of the funniest bits going in entertainment today.
17. Ready or Not; A
Ready or Not and 2013's You're Next (A+) are basically sisters and both movies combine two genres that I love: horror and whodunit. I'm usually too weak to handle slashers but it's done very tastefully in Ready or Not. Despite all the murderous mayhem, you laugh and smile and root like crazy for Margot Robbie's basically sister Samara Weaving.
16. Marriage Story; A
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are scary good and scary human in a scary movie about scary humans. Marriage Story is another huge success from Netflix and though it tends to take one side of the divorce story more than the other, its appeal is largely in giving both sides of a nasty situation a voice.
15. The Lion King (2019); A
After his live action makeover of The Jungle Book in 2016 (A), Jon Favreau took on an even bigger Disney property next. For the most part, he nailed it. The CGI animals are hauntingly life-like and easy to take for granted. The reboot changes up some minor plot details and adds more dialogue that isn't always on point, but the role expansion for Billy Eichner's Timon and Seth Rogen's Pumbaa is the highlight of the movie.
We're all hesitant to our childhood memories being duplicated, but 2019's version of Disney's greatest tale is a beautiful ride. Hakuna Matata.
14. 1917; A
It's always a publicity risk for a movie to tout some sort of innovative filmmaking technique in their promotion. 1917's claim to hopeful fame was that it would be cut together to look like one shot. One shot takes are hard enough and one shot movies like Birdman (A+ in 2014) even harder, but director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, A+ in 2012) and his team are up to the task in 1917.
On top of a shining achievement in cinematography, it's one of the better war movies I've seen.
13. The Peanut Butter Falcon; A
Even though stars Shia LaBeouf and Zack Gottsagen were presenters at the 2020 Oscars (Gottsagen the first with Down Syndrome to do so), the movie they both acted the heck out of was completely snubbed. Why that matters most is people flock to see Oscar contenders in January and February and The Peanut Butter Falcon deserved more exposure.
It's obviously a curious title but I promise you it has nothing to do with anything you might think it has anything to do with.
12. Brightburn; A
If Joker is an Elseworlds tale, Brightburn is straight alternate universe. Produced by James Gunn and headlined by his Slither star Elizabeth Banks, Gunn brings his horror roots to the superhero genre, and to the biggest superhero of them all. To use Marvel's alternate world term, What if Superman arrived on Earth and didn't have a rosy, Smallville childhood?
I have a friend who does not do gore but qualifies Brightburn as an awesome movie in spite of some very graphic scenes. If you can't handle those, look away. But don't!
11. Joker; A
Speaking of, Joker is (in my opinion...obviously) DC's best movie sinceThe Dark Knight Rises. Unshackled by the studio hivemind and narrative necessities, Todd Phillips (of Hangover fame) and Joaquin Phoenix go all out in the highest grossing "R" rated film of all time.
While extremely important, the mental illness themes lack subtlety and blur the lines of sickness and violence a little, and the inclusion and characterization of Thomas Wayne wasn't my favorite. But Joaquin "Dark" Phoenix (see #60 and then answer: get it?) gives a remarkable performance that is both its own wild creation as well as honoring of the work Heath Ledger did over a decade ago.
It's dark, it's depressing, and though it's set in 1981, it's a painfully accurate representation of the world today. And even though it's a superhero movie, it's not a blockbuster or whatever so the Oscar goes to...
10. Murder Mystery; A+
Maybe it's my undying fidelity to Adam Sandler and my adoration for Jennifer Anniston, but I absolutely loved this movie. Sandler's Netflix deal has bore a lot of bad fruit, but Murder Mystery is a deliciously fun ode to the played out genre. It's very silly fun, filled with hilarious performances (John Kani!) and fulfills its comedic destiny as 90-ish minutes of pure enjoyment.
9. Bad Education; A+
The prime reason I dread labeling and ranking movies is that there are always films you miss. Especially nowadays, with release schedules experiencing all sorts of international inconsistencies. Anyway, I somehow completely missed Hugh Jackman's Bad Education upon release. I finally saw it and, as a future teacher, it tickled me pink.
The story is nothing too adventurous, recounting the true story of huge corruption at a Long Island school. However, director Cory Finley does a masterful job of coloring all characters with multiple dimensions and creating doubt and mystery where many films would provide none.
8. The King; A+
From producers Joel Edgerton and Brad Pitt among others, Edgerton also co-wrote and starred in yet another Netflix hit. I'm a history buff and hopeful future history teacher, though more interested in the modern World War era, butThe King is truly epic.
It's a visual tribute to 15th century times and focuses on a young King Henry V, played by the impressive Timothée Chalamet, who is forced into inheriting his estranged father's throne. That role belongs to Ben Mendelsohn and the cast is loaded with personal favorites like he, Edgerton and Robert Pattinson.
The movie is an uneasy experience and like 1917 is a loyal representation of war. A final battle scene is one of the best of its kind.
7. Jojo Rabbit; A+
Taika Waititi is batting 1.000. Since Boy in 2010 he's made hilarious hit after hit and his profile went nuclear in 2017 with a little Marvel project called Thor: Ragnarok (A+ in 2017). Jojo Rabbit, as I've had to clarify to multiple relatives, is in no way a love letter to Adolf Hitler. Underneath all the political text is a movie about the wonders of childhood innocence and the inexplicably juvenile world of adults. The Nazis are symbolic you see.
Waititi, per usual, appears in his own movie, this time around as the former dictator of Germany. He is hilarious, as are Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant and the rest of the senior ensemble. But the movie really shines with its two young stars, fellow Kingsman lover Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace, B in 2018). Those two and mama Scarlett Johansson round out an incredible cast in a movie worth just as much praise.
6. Good Boys; A+
Speaking of kids, they are hard to write for. Just as Taika did in Jojo with the titular character and friends, Good Boys writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg absolutely nailed the hyper-anxious life of a sixth-grader.
From the producing team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the film was marketed as another raunchy, dirty comedy with young kids finding themselves in a bunch of inappropriate adult situations. There's some of that, but it works. It's not off-putting and it's also not the focus.
The focus is instead on the three kids and their accurate growing pains, most prominently child star Jacob Tremblay (Room, A+ in 2015, Wonder, A+ in 2017), and they three are the best parts of a sixth-grader. It's hard being a kid - and a good boy - but it's easy to love this movie.
5. Hotel Mumbai; A+
Released domestically in 2019, Hotel Mumbai is a real-life horror movie about terrorism and a whole lot of death. Nearly 200 people died in the events of 2008 and the movie about it successfully captures the utter dread and terror that this situation would be. That, and it has a cast that make the events seem all the more real, led by the talented Dev Patel.
And with seemingly every tragic event, with numbing numbers of casualties, the powers that be handled the entire thing horribly. Just like 9/11, the lack of preparation for something like this is disappointing and important people of power fumbled the immediate aftermath. It's terrifying, extremely sad, and scariest of all true.
4. Screwball; A+
Grading documentaries is not an easy task but not all heroes wear capes. Spider-Man and Captain America don't. And neither do I. But I grade documentaries.
Screwball is what I like to call a theatrical documentary. It tells the insane true story of Alex Rodriguez's steroid operation, ensuing scandal and attempted cover-up, with a focus on Miami's supply king Tony Bosch, who actually volunteered to be a mouthpiece in the film.
He's nuts. The whole thing is nuts. Miami native and director Billy Corben has it all covered with a wink and he elevates it beyond traditional documentary exposition with hilarious reenactments by kids dressed as their adult counterparts.
3. Spider-Man: Far From Home; A+
Enter the MCU and yes, the three movies from Marvel Studios were my three favorite films for the year. It's the first MCU hat trick (2014 had two movies in the top spots) and deservedly so. The elite competition was lacking in 2019, but these really are my three favorite films of the year.
Far From Home had the unenviable task of following up Endgame, but avoided any box office fatigue and churned its way past the increasingly common billion dollar mark. The movie is loaded with little details, a ton of twists and turns on a large MCU scale, but like Homecoming, A+ in 2017), the best thing about these new Spidey movies is Tom Holland.
His close friends are just as funny this time around, if a little too involved in the final act, and some new faces are just there to joke around, but the global adventure is another feat in visual effects from Victoria Alonso and company.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a very fun and different Mysterio and has one of my favorite lines of the year: "People need to believe. And nowadays, they'll believe anything." I wish Nick Fury and Maria Hill (and SHIELD) had been utilized better but...
2. Captain Marvel; A+
At the start of the year, I would have predicted Captain Marvel as being a great film, but not better than the Spider-man sequel. I was optimistic because of Brie Larson (Room, A+ in 2015), Jude Law (a lot of stuff so let's go with Contagion, A+ in 2011) and co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Sugar, A+ in 2008).
As I've noted in my CGI Fridays MCU piece as well as my 2020 Oscars, one thing above all that impressed me about Captain Marvel was the script. It's heavily inspired from Kelly Sue Deconnick's terrific comic rebranding of the character in 2012 and takes the best elements from Carol Danvers' male predecessor's origin, her own, and the Kree-Skrull War, one of Marvel Comics more popular crossovers.
A lot of hands went in on a script that turned out to be one of my favorites in the MCU. It's an identity mystery at its core, but everything in the plot about the Kree, the Skrulls, the main and secondary characters -especially Fury, Hill and SHIELD- is executed in such a creative way that also adds a lot of depth to the entire universe.
Comic book stories have existed for a long time. Part of a cinematic adaptation's responsibility is to find fresh angles on the material. The team here did that perfectly.
1. Avengers: Endgame; A+
Movie 22 from Marvel Studios and the decade-in-the-making finale to the story arcs of the main Avengers. No pressure. The Russo Brothers finished their historic four movies in six years run, taking their place as some of Hollywood's most influential and important directors of all time.
I know many don't see it that way, and still consider superhero movies strictly popcorn flicks, but the level of character development, emotional investment, technical achievements, narrative accomplishments and so on and on in the MCU since 2008 is something you will never see again.
While Endgame audaciously tackles time travel, and opens thousands of potential cans of worms in doing so, it works. Time travel (and the accompanying Pym and Stark tech) weren't new concepts and audiences had been anticipating time travel as far back as 2015 when Ant-Man (A+) introduced the quantum realm.
It all came together so well and with so much care, the Marvel Studios team dedicated on getting it right just a year after tackling the Infinity War-sized Titan in the room. The third and fourth Avengers movies were filmed back-to-back in 2017, an incredible endeavor and one somehow successfully achieved in a movie climate where studios and creative heads have trouble putting a single film together.
I'm a huge nerd. And so very proud of it. But the MCU came along at a particularly opportunistic time in my life. I inherited the wonderful world Stan Lee and his team created and spent important formative years of my life anticipating the next movie in this universe. I came to see Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt and so many others as role models.
Casting is absolutely critical and with those names and countless more, Marvel found actors who not only brought their heart and soul to the big screen, but are genuinely good people. I know idolizing celebrities is a slippery slope, but the connection I've built to the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actors, film crews and everyone involved, has truly affected my life in one of its most positive ways.
To Mr. Kevin Feige, I know you aren't done, but thank you. For everything. I love you 3000.
From producers Joel Edgerton and Brad Pitt among others, Edgerton also co-wrote and starred in yet another Netflix hit. I'm a history buff and hopeful future history teacher, though more interested in the modern World War era, butThe King is truly epic.
It's a visual tribute to 15th century times and focuses on a young King Henry V, played by the impressive Timothée Chalamet, who is forced into inheriting his estranged father's throne. That role belongs to Ben Mendelsohn and the cast is loaded with personal favorites like he, Edgerton and Robert Pattinson.
The movie is an uneasy experience and like 1917 is a loyal representation of war. A final battle scene is one of the best of its kind.
7. Jojo Rabbit; A+
Taika Waititi is batting 1.000. Since Boy in 2010 he's made hilarious hit after hit and his profile went nuclear in 2017 with a little Marvel project called Thor: Ragnarok (A+ in 2017). Jojo Rabbit, as I've had to clarify to multiple relatives, is in no way a love letter to Adolf Hitler. Underneath all the political text is a movie about the wonders of childhood innocence and the inexplicably juvenile world of adults. The Nazis are symbolic you see.
Waititi, per usual, appears in his own movie, this time around as the former dictator of Germany. He is hilarious, as are Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant and the rest of the senior ensemble. But the movie really shines with its two young stars, fellow Kingsman lover Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace, B in 2018). Those two and mama Scarlett Johansson round out an incredible cast in a movie worth just as much praise.
6. Good Boys; A+
Speaking of kids, they are hard to write for. Just as Taika did in Jojo with the titular character and friends, Good Boys writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg absolutely nailed the hyper-anxious life of a sixth-grader.
From the producing team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the film was marketed as another raunchy, dirty comedy with young kids finding themselves in a bunch of inappropriate adult situations. There's some of that, but it works. It's not off-putting and it's also not the focus.
The focus is instead on the three kids and their accurate growing pains, most prominently child star Jacob Tremblay (Room, A+ in 2015, Wonder, A+ in 2017), and they three are the best parts of a sixth-grader. It's hard being a kid - and a good boy - but it's easy to love this movie.
5. Hotel Mumbai; A+
Released domestically in 2019, Hotel Mumbai is a real-life horror movie about terrorism and a whole lot of death. Nearly 200 people died in the events of 2008 and the movie about it successfully captures the utter dread and terror that this situation would be. That, and it has a cast that make the events seem all the more real, led by the talented Dev Patel.
And with seemingly every tragic event, with numbing numbers of casualties, the powers that be handled the entire thing horribly. Just like 9/11, the lack of preparation for something like this is disappointing and important people of power fumbled the immediate aftermath. It's terrifying, extremely sad, and scariest of all true.
4. Screwball; A+
Grading documentaries is not an easy task but not all heroes wear capes. Spider-Man and Captain America don't. And neither do I. But I grade documentaries.
Screwball is what I like to call a theatrical documentary. It tells the insane true story of Alex Rodriguez's steroid operation, ensuing scandal and attempted cover-up, with a focus on Miami's supply king Tony Bosch, who actually volunteered to be a mouthpiece in the film.
He's nuts. The whole thing is nuts. Miami native and director Billy Corben has it all covered with a wink and he elevates it beyond traditional documentary exposition with hilarious reenactments by kids dressed as their adult counterparts.
3. Spider-Man: Far From Home; A+
Enter the MCU and yes, the three movies from Marvel Studios were my three favorite films for the year. It's the first MCU hat trick (2014 had two movies in the top spots) and deservedly so. The elite competition was lacking in 2019, but these really are my three favorite films of the year.
Far From Home had the unenviable task of following up Endgame, but avoided any box office fatigue and churned its way past the increasingly common billion dollar mark. The movie is loaded with little details, a ton of twists and turns on a large MCU scale, but like Homecoming, A+ in 2017), the best thing about these new Spidey movies is Tom Holland.
His close friends are just as funny this time around, if a little too involved in the final act, and some new faces are just there to joke around, but the global adventure is another feat in visual effects from Victoria Alonso and company.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a very fun and different Mysterio and has one of my favorite lines of the year: "People need to believe. And nowadays, they'll believe anything." I wish Nick Fury and Maria Hill (and SHIELD) had been utilized better but...
2. Captain Marvel; A+
At the start of the year, I would have predicted Captain Marvel as being a great film, but not better than the Spider-man sequel. I was optimistic because of Brie Larson (Room, A+ in 2015), Jude Law (a lot of stuff so let's go with Contagion, A+ in 2011) and co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Sugar, A+ in 2008).
As I've noted in my CGI Fridays MCU piece as well as my 2020 Oscars, one thing above all that impressed me about Captain Marvel was the script. It's heavily inspired from Kelly Sue Deconnick's terrific comic rebranding of the character in 2012 and takes the best elements from Carol Danvers' male predecessor's origin, her own, and the Kree-Skrull War, one of Marvel Comics more popular crossovers.
A lot of hands went in on a script that turned out to be one of my favorites in the MCU. It's an identity mystery at its core, but everything in the plot about the Kree, the Skrulls, the main and secondary characters -especially Fury, Hill and SHIELD- is executed in such a creative way that also adds a lot of depth to the entire universe.
Comic book stories have existed for a long time. Part of a cinematic adaptation's responsibility is to find fresh angles on the material. The team here did that perfectly.
1. Avengers: Endgame; A+
Movie 22 from Marvel Studios and the decade-in-the-making finale to the story arcs of the main Avengers. No pressure. The Russo Brothers finished their historic four movies in six years run, taking their place as some of Hollywood's most influential and important directors of all time.
I know many don't see it that way, and still consider superhero movies strictly popcorn flicks, but the level of character development, emotional investment, technical achievements, narrative accomplishments and so on and on in the MCU since 2008 is something you will never see again.
While Endgame audaciously tackles time travel, and opens thousands of potential cans of worms in doing so, it works. Time travel (and the accompanying Pym and Stark tech) weren't new concepts and audiences had been anticipating time travel as far back as 2015 when Ant-Man (A+) introduced the quantum realm.
It all came together so well and with so much care, the Marvel Studios team dedicated on getting it right just a year after tackling the Infinity War-sized Titan in the room. The third and fourth Avengers movies were filmed back-to-back in 2017, an incredible endeavor and one somehow successfully achieved in a movie climate where studios and creative heads have trouble putting a single film together.
I'm a huge nerd. And so very proud of it. But the MCU came along at a particularly opportunistic time in my life. I inherited the wonderful world Stan Lee and his team created and spent important formative years of my life anticipating the next movie in this universe. I came to see Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt and so many others as role models.
Casting is absolutely critical and with those names and countless more, Marvel found actors who not only brought their heart and soul to the big screen, but are genuinely good people. I know idolizing celebrities is a slippery slope, but the connection I've built to the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actors, film crews and everyone involved, has truly affected my life in one of its most positive ways.
To Mr. Kevin Feige, I know you aren't done, but thank you. For everything. I love you 3000.
