We’re now halfway through 2019 and despite the increasingly
frustrating actions of modern fandom that continue to paint the film fan
community in a negative light, the time has come for Rhode Island Movie
Corner’s annual Midyear Recap. For those who are new to this site, the title of
this post speaks for itself. Simply put, it’s just me going over every new film
that I’ve seen so far this year from worst to best… in other words, it’s
basically the equivalent of going through the annual rankings lists that I make
on the film fan website Letterboxd. As is always the case, these current
rankings are not officially set in stone, meaning that, for example, my current
pick for ‘worst of the year’ probably won’t still be what it is by year’s end
(I’ll be honest, though, my ‘best of the year’ will be… I’ll explain later…).
Still, the one major advantage that these ‘Midyear Recap’ posts provide is that
they’re the only posts that I do in a year (aside from the fan-based ‘Favorite
Films of Summer’ polls) that allow me to truly go over everything
that I’ve seen rather than just highlighting a select few. That, of course, is
what always happens with my ‘Best of the Year’ and ‘Worst of the Year’ lists,
which only focus on the 10 films (12 in the case of the ‘Best of’ lists) that I
list and a select few Honorable Mentions. Thus, without further ado, it’s time
to reflect upon the first six months of 2019 and the various films that have
hit theaters in that timespan. With that in mind, I welcome you, ladies and
gentlemen, to the 2019 installment of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s Midyear
Recap.
WORST OF THE YEAR
(SO FAR)
GODZILLA: KING
OF THE MONSTERS
I really wanted to like this film. As someone who ‘liked’
the 2014 American adaptation of Godzilla, I was hoping that this new
film would fix some of the issues that quite a few people had with its
predecessor. Namely, the hope was that it would give more screen-time to
Godzilla, especially after it was revealed that the film would also feature
several of his iconic monster co-stars, including Mothra, Rodan, and perhaps
his most famous adversary, King Ghidorah. And yet, at the end of the day, it
still feels like Godzilla’s playing more of a supporting role in his own
franchise. Like the previous film, King of the Monsters places a lot of
emphasis on its human characters, and while a lot of people harped on the 2014
film for doing this, at least that one didn’t have to juggle an extremely large
ensemble cast. And because of this, this film’s cast is wasted considerably despite
the best efforts of folks like Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, and Millie Bobby
Brown. At the very least, when the film does showcase Godzilla doing what he
does best (i.e. fighting other monsters), those parts are well-handled even if
these new Godzilla films could benefit greatly from having some more action
sequences that are set during the day. Ultimately, though, Godzilla: King of
the Monsters is a bit too serious for a film of this nature. Yes, the
previous Godzilla film was incredibly serious as well, but you can
arguably view that as director Gareth Edwards’ way of paying tribute to the original
Godzilla film from 1954.
Now admittedly, Godzilla:
King of the Monsters has been the only 2019 film that I’ve seen so far that
I ‘didn’t like’. Usually, the next category in this post would be the other films
that I wasn’t too big on, hence the category’s name, Other Notable ‘Stoinkers’.
And yes, as some of you might have guessed, I basically borrowed the ‘stoinker’
term from the popular film review series Schmoes Know. Thus, given my
current situation, I’m doing something a little different this year by creating
a new category that focuses on the films that I found to be just ‘okay’.
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
MEN IN BLACK:
INTERNATIONAL
Since I’m not someone who usually dings a film for being ‘unnecessary’
(since that term can practically be applied to any film and, to be perfectly
blunt, is starting to get a bit overused this year), that didn’t affect my views
on this year’s rather disastrous spin-off of the classic Men in Black franchise.
However, as I noted in my review for it, Men in Black: International endured
a generally hellish production due to frequent creative clashes between
director F. Gary Gray and producer Walter F. Parkes. Parkes reportedly ended up
winning this conflict and the film that was ultimately released in theaters was
his intended version of it rather than Gray’s, which would’ve been a lot timelier
with its narrative. Parkes’ cut, by comparison, ends up being a basic rehash of
the previous Men in Black films, from a twist reveal that surrounds its
primary McGuffin to a finale that’s set at a notable historic landmark. And because
it’s so intent on playing things ‘by the book’, the film rarely lives up to the
opportunities that it had to showcase how the world of Men in Black operates
outside of New York, hence the International in its title. At the very
least, the film does benefit from a solid pair of performances from Chris
Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as Agents H and M, respectively. The strong chemistry
that made them such a dynamic duo in Thor: Ragnarök is on full display here
and it also helps that they do end up providing a different dynamic when
compared to J and K from the original trilogy. Ultimately, though, this (plus a
scene-stealing turn from Kumail Nanjiani as a tiny alien named Pawny who joins
H and M on their adventures) isn’t exactly enough to prevent Men in Black:
International from being an underwhelming entry in this long-running
franchise. It’s not ‘terrible’, per se, but it goes without saying that it
could’ve been a heck of a lot better.
THE UPSIDE
After spending a few years plagued by distribution issues, The
Upside, an Americanized remake of 2011’s French hit The Intouchables,
finally hit theaters this past January. And while this does mean that the film
is exactly what you would expect from a January release, it still manages to be
a decent little crowd-pleaser. Like its source material, the film follows a
recently paroled man who ends up becoming the caretaker for a quadriplegic millionaire.
As such, what follows is your basic comedic misadventure about two incredibly
mismatched characters who, despite their differences, end up getting along and
help each other become better people in the process. And yet, despite its simplistic
narrative, the film does a decent enough job with its humor thanks in large
part to its excellent lead duo of Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston. These two have
excellent comedic chemistry, with Hart’s usual animated persona mixing greatly
with Cranston’s dry wit. At the same time, though, the film also has some very
effective emotional moments, and while we know that Cranston’s got plenty of
experience when it comes to dramatic material (Breaking Bad, anyone?), Hart
gets a prime chance to flex his own acting chops as well. Because of all this,
I can safely say that while The Upside isn’t really anything special, it’s
still an enjoyable dramedy that, if anything, is better than most of the films
that come out in January.
WORTHWHILE RECOMMENDATIONS
DUMBO
Dumbo is the very definition of a harmless family
flick… which is a statement that I’m sure some of you will find questionable
given that this is another one of Disney’s recent live-action remakes. Not only
that, it’s a remake of one of the studio’s earliest animated features directed
by a filmmaker who, despite having a very prestigious resume, has become a lot
more polarizing in recent years. Still, there are quite a few things to love
about this new rendition of the lovable elephant whose large ears allow him to
fly. Under the direction of Tim Burton, this film is yet another showcase of
his trademark visual style. In this instance, Burton eschews his traditional
gothic visuals for a heartfelt tribute to the classic Americana of yesteryear.
This is especially apparent from the film’s grand locales, including the lavish
theme park named Dreamland where most of the film’s second half takes place. Really,
this film’s only major shortcoming is that the new stuff that it adds to expand
upon the original film’s story is quite simplistic in terms of its execution.
Granted, the original Dumbo had a simplistic plot as well (after all, it
is literally only an hour long), but while the new film goes as far as to cover
every key moment of the animated film in just the first half-hour so that it
can delve into a new plot revolving around a corrupt business tycoon, the new
human characters don’t exactly get a lot to work with. However, for what it’s
worth, this film’s cast (which is primarily made up of Burton regulars like
Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and Michael Keaton) does do solid enough jobs with what
they’re given. As such, while I’m not saying that the new Dumbo is
better than its animated counterpart, it’s still a generally entertaining film
whose heart is very much in the right place.
POKEMON:
DETECTIVE PIKACHU
To reiterate a statement that I made in my review of this
film, I am genuinely impressed by everything that Pokémon: Detective Pikachu
has managed to accomplish. To date, it is the best-reviewed live-action film
based on a video game and the only one to boast a ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten
Tomatoes. Granted, its RT score is only in the high 60’s, but then again, most
films of this genre tend to have an RT score that’s 30% or lower. How did this
film manage to avoid that terrible fate? Well, simply put, it did so by
providing a very faithful take on its source material. In this instance, while
the film is an adaptation of a spin-off of the Pokémon series instead of
one of the main games, it is full of references and nods to the various other
facets of the franchise that are sure to delight those who are amongst its
devoted fanbase. And yet, at the same time, it also manages to appeal to those
who aren’t as familiar with Pokémon thanks to a story with solid emotional
depth via main protagonist Tim Goodman’s efforts to figure out what happened to
his father with the help of a talking Pikachu. While the film’s primary mystery
plot ends up yielding predictable results, the strong camaraderie between Tim
and Pikachu (played excellently by Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds,
respectively) is the heart of the film. Plus, this film also proves that Reynolds
isn’t just limited to Deadpool’s unabashedly raunchy style of humor, though
with that said, he does manage to throw in some jokes that go under the radar
for a film that’s primarily geared towards younger audiences. Ultimately,
though, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu proves to be a very fun time, and
while it’s far from perfect, it still deserves a lot of credit for all its
success despite being part of one of the unluckiest genres in all of film.
DARK PHOENIX
To start things off, yes, I did like Dark Phoenix,
the latest installment of the X-Men film franchise… that is also its
worst-reviewed entry to date. I’ve gone on record stating that I’m a huge fan
of the franchise’s First Class era as it was directly responsible for
making me a fan of X-Men. X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days
of Future Past are two of my favorite non-MCU superhero films of all-time
and I will still go on record saying that X-Men: Apocalypse was unfairly
overlooked by most of the internet. As for Dark Phoenix, though, while I
do think that it’s not even remotely as bad as its low RT score suggests, it
still could’ve been a lot better. As its title suggests, the film is an
adaptation of the popular Dark Phoenix Saga storyline from the comics in
which X-Men team member Jean Grey’s telepathic powers begin to corrupt her physically
and mentally. This storyline was previously adapted to, to put it lightly, ‘mixed’
results in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, and while this new film does
opt for a more faithful adaptation of its source material, it still doesn’t give
this plotline the emotional gravitas that it deserves. Simply put, the story of
Jean Grey going rogue is treated like your standard superhero/supervillain
conflict, and the addition of a woefully underdeveloped bunch of antagonists in
the alien race known as the D’Bari doesn’t help the matter. For what it’s
worth, though, longtime series writer Simon Kinberg makes a respectable directorial
debut thanks to his solid handling of the action sequences. And while many of
the newer additions to the franchise don’t get much to work with this time
around, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are still phenomenal as Xavier and
Magneto. Ultimately, though, that didn’t prevent this film from underperforming
with both critics and audiences, the latter of whom are clearly just waiting
for the series to get rebooted so that the X-Men can join the Marvel Cinematic
Universe.
GLASS
When I saw M. Night Shyamalan’s 2017 effort Split in
theaters, I hadn’t yet seen Unbreakable, which is quite arguably his
most popular directorial effort. Still, I was at least aware of it enough to
understand the film’s ending which, thanks to an unexpected Bruce Willis cameo,
connected it to the world of Unbreakable. And thus, we now find
ourselves with the finale of what has been referred to as the Eastrail 177 trilogy,
Glass… which, after two straight hits that helped redeem his career, effectively
put Shyamalan back in the same polarizing territory that he was in before
2015. As you might have guessed, this was mostly due to that trademark
Shyamalan twist ending which, in this case, pulled a major bait and switch by
teasing a potential clash between David Dunn and Kevin Wendell Crumb that
ultimately didn’t happen. A few other sources of contention amongst critics and
audiences were the big reveal regarding the intentions of new character Dr.
Ellie Staple, who was revealed to be a member of a secret organization that
hunts superpowered beings, and the extremely controversial ‘trivial’ death of
David Dunn. However, while I do agree that the ‘secret organization’ reveal really
could’ve been handled a lot better (namely, by having some actual set-up
instead of it just randomly coming out of nowhere), the rest of the film does manage
to be a solidly engaging finale to this unexpected trilogy.
Simply put, I at least understand what Shyamalan was going
for with this film. Instead of being a big-budget blockbuster like the MCU
films, Glass was intended to focus more on the psychological aspects of a
world of superpowered beings. That was very much the case with Unbreakable,
which presented a grounded take on a traditional superhero origin story, and
while Split was more of a thriller by comparison that didn’t reveal its
connection to Unbreakable until the very end, its psychological themes were
still in line with what we got from the first film. Thus, Glass is basically
a combination of the best elements of its two predecessors, limiting its
biggest action set-pieces to the beginning and end of the film while filling the
rest of the run-time with discussions about superhero behavior and character-driven
moments of pure emotional poignancy. And on that note, the film also benefits
greatly from the excellent trio of performances from the trilogy’s main leads. Bruce
Willis continues to get a lot of this trilogy’s biggest emotional moments as
David Dunn while Samuel L. Jackson fully revels in Elijah Price’s evolution into
a full-blown criminal mastermind. Ultimately, though, the biggest standout of
the bunch is James McAvoy who, just like in Split, fully commits (physically
and mentally) to the role of Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 24 distinct
personalities. And despite what I said before about the finale’s underdeveloped
‘secret organization’ twist, the film does sort of manage to bounce back from
this thanks to a second twist that reveals that Elijah AKA Mr. Glass one-upped this
organization and proved to the world that superheroes do exist. Thus, while I do
understand why this film has proven to be quite the polarizing affair, I
ultimately found myself amongst the crowd that did like it. I’m not saying that
it’s the ‘best’ of the trilogy (that honor would have to go to Unbreakable),
but I do think that it provides a fascinating conclusion to this story and the
overall arcs of the three main characters who have headlined it excellently.
ALITA: BATTLE
ANGEL
I got the chance to see Alita: Battle Angel early at
the special fan screening that writer/producer James Cameron had set up at the
end of January, and despite not having any experience with the original Battle
Angel manga by Yukito Kishiro, I found Cameron and director Robert
Rodriguez’s ambitious film adaptation to be quite solid. However, I do mean it
when I say that this film is very ‘ambitious’ as Cameron described it as being
an adaptation of the first four volumes of the manga. As such, it does often
feel like the film is trying to tackle more than it can handle in a two-hour
runtime. In other words, this is certainly one of those films that is hellbent
on setting up a sequel, and while I personally don’t mind some of the things
that it’s setting up, it also means that not every plotline for this film is
given the attention that it should. Still, for what it’s worth, Rodriguez and
Cameron certainly don’t skimp on the visuals, especially when it comes to
bringing the title character to life. Despite some initial skepticism over the
decision to give Alita large, anime-like eyes to honor the source material,
this design does ultimately work in the final product. It also helps that Rosa
Salazar does an excellent job in the title role, making Alita very sympathetic
and handling the character’s arc from innocent cyborg girl to badass warrior
very well. And while the rest of the cast doesn’t get as much solid material to
work with as her, she’s still backed by some solid supporting roles from the
likes of Christoph Waltz as Alita’s caretaker Dr. Ido and Ed Skrein as Zapan, a
cocky cyborg bounty hunter who constantly crosses paths with her. Ultimately,
though, it’s unclear right now if this will end up getting a sequel.
Apparently, it did manage to break even at the box-office, but at the same
time, this was one of those instances where it ended up getting saved by the
worldwide box-office as it wasn’t that big of a hit here in the U.S. As such, I
will note that while I am open to seeing where this franchise is going, right
now we can only wait and see if it does indeed continue.
(P.S. It also would’ve
been nice if this hadn’t become the film that misogynistic trolls
rallied behind to spite a different film… but I’ll get to that in a little bit…)
ROCKETMAN
The Elton John biopic Rocketman is the second musical
biopic revolving around a legendary musician from the U.K. in just two years that
director Dexter Fletcher was involved with. The other film, of course, was last
year’s Bohemian Rhapsody, even though that was an instance where Fletcher
only came in to finish it after the whole ‘Bryan Singer incident’ and
ultimately went uncredited for his work. But he takes full reign on Rocketman,
resulting in a film that those who felt underwhelmed by Bohemian Rhapsody will
probably find to be a lot better. Sure, like many of the other films in its
genre, Rocketman does abide by several of the usual musical biopic
tropes (e.g. a montage of drug/alcohol use that derails the main protagonist’s
career). However, thanks to both A.) a strong visual style that perfectly
honors Elton John’s knack for the eccentric flair, and B.) having a more honest
spin on both his highs and lows, Rocketman manages to be one of the
genre’s most authentic outings. But, of course, the biggest highlight of this
film is Taron Egerton, who does a phenomenal job in the title role of ‘the
Rocket Man’. We already knew that Egerton could do amazing renditions of Elton
John’s music after his standout performance of ‘I’m Still Standing’ in the 2016
animated film Sing. And while this film does lead to his excellent takes
on other classics like ‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, he also
fully succeeds in encapsulating Elton’s extravagant personality and, in the
case of the more emotional moments of the film, his inner turmoil. With all
this in mind (and at the risk of using an incredibly cheesy pun), Rocketman is
truly a rockin’ time to be had thanks to its pitch-perfect portrayal of one of
the most iconic figures of the music industry.
JOHN WICK:
CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM
As many have pointed out, the John Wick franchise is
practically the antithesis of all the issues that many have had with modern
action films. Rather than a bunch of action sequences that are full of quick
cuts and erratic camerawork, the action sequences in John Wick are wonderfully
shot and tightly edited to showcase their amazing fight choreography. That was
the case with the original John Wick from 2014 and its first sequel, Chapter
2, in 2017, and as you have might guessed, the franchise has now gone 3 for
3 thanks to its latest installment, Parabellum. Given that it takes
place immediately after the events of Chapter 2, the film puts John Wick
through some of his toughest challenges yet now that he’s been excommunicated from
the hitman community after he broke the Cardinal Rule and killed his target on
Continental Grounds. But as always, Keanu Reeves continues to shine as the
legendary ‘Baba Yaga’ thanks in large part to his full-on dedication to doing his
own stunts. And as usual, he’s backed by a solid supporting cast that includes series
regulars like Ian McShane and Lance Reddick and excellent newcomers like Halle
Berry and Mark Dacascos. Really, the only thing holding this film back when
compared to its predecessors is that there are times where it feels like the
plot’s being stretched a bit thin for a film that notably boasts the longest
run-time of any film in the series. Mind you, it’s still a very well-written
action film that naturally expands upon everything that we got from the previous
films, but at the same time, it can be argued that the first two films had tighter
scripts. Ultimately, though, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is
another wonderful addition to this awesome new franchise and one that is already
paving the way for a fourth film in 2021 that, given how great the last three
films were, will surely be another stellar action flick.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
It’s quite sad that Captain Marvel ended up becoming
one of those films that has practically defined the worst parts of modern
fandom even though it didn’t even remotely deserve any of the intense backlash
that it got. I mean, it’s truly saying something when the first female-led
installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ends up being the one to attract
this much controversy before its release. To be clear, I’m not referring to
the various bits of skepticism that were being thrown around due to the
advertising (which, to be perfectly blunt, I have no idea why this was happening,
but that’s another story…). Instead, I’m referring to when Brie Larson
commented on the need for greater diversity when it comes to film critics. Despite
this being a perfectly reasonable request that yours truly is very much
supportive of, this got misconstrued by the same misogynistic jackoffs who continue
to rage over Star Wars: The Last Jedi as ‘Oh, Brie Larson hates all white
men’. Thus, they proceeded to flood YouTube with clickbait garbage to the point
where, nowadays, looking up videos of anyone who’s deemed ‘dangerous’ in their
eyes (e.g. Rian Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy, heck, even J.J. Abrams) fully bombards
you with this dreck. They also tried to combat this film by showing support for
Alita: Battle Angel… which totally must’ve been successful given that Captain
Marvel out-grossed Alita in its entirety in just one weekend on its
way to becoming the MCU’s seventh billion-dollar grosser. Seriously, all this…
for a film that’s totally fine and another great addition to its legendary
franchise.
Now, for the record, I’m not saying that this is one of the
MCU’s ‘best’ installments. It does start on a rather slow note and the plot
itself is a far more straightforward affair when compared to some of the MCU’s
most recent outings. And while the big twist that reveals that the supposed
main villain Talos is only trying to protect a band of Skrull refugees is
solidly done (while also giving us one of Ben Mendelsohn’s best performances to
date as Talos), it ends up having a negative impact on the real villains,
Starforce, since their roles in the plot are quite limited. Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg
does get a pass, though, since the film properly establishes his role as a
mentor for Carol. And on that note, this film’s biggest selling point is Brie
Larson, who does a phenomenal job in the role of Carol Danvers. While some
apparently found her to be a bit too braggadocious, Larson perfectly encapsulates
Carol’s snarky attitude and hard-boiled tenacity to the point where her proper
evolution into becoming Captain Marvel results in one of the most satisfying ‘superhero
origin’ stories in recent memory. She also has a wonderful camaraderie with
Samuel L. Jackson, who’s great as always as Nick Fury in a film that even
manages to show us some of his backstory since it takes place in 1995 before he
became the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. With all this in mind, it goes without saying
that I implore you to not listen to the sexist dumbasses online when it comes
to this film as it’s another genuinely worthy addition to the MCU. While it may
not be my favorite MCU film, I will defend it come hell or high water.
US
After hitting it big with his directorial debut Get Out in
2017, Jordan Peele delivered yet another phenomenal horror flick this year with
Us and one of the best things about it is that it managed to be a much
different kind of horror film when compared to Get Out. While its plot
is a bit more streamlined when compared to Get Out, Us is
just as well-written in terms of its strong themes and layered characters.
Whereas Get Out was based around race relations, Us serves as a
commentary on the class system, and while it is a bit of a slow burn at first
before it gets to its biggest horror moments, it all leads to a very satisfying
payoff that even gives Peele a chance to flex his comedic talents at times thanks
to the characters’ witty banter. And because this is a film where the main
characters find themselves facing off against their feral doppelgangers,
everyone in the main cast does a phenomenal job handling the daunting task of
playing two radically different characters. It’s all brilliantly headlined by
Lupita Nyong’o as the protective mother Adelaide and her sinister counterpart Red
AKA the leader of these doppelgangers who are known as ‘the Tethered’. And then
there’s the brilliant final twist regarding a big secret about Adelaide and Red
that is excellently built up so that it makes complete logical sense. With all
this in mind, it’s easy to see why Jordan Peele has been regarded by many as
one of the top figures behind the horror genre’s recent renaissance. While some
say he’s the next Alfred Hitchcock, I’m in the camp who’d call him the next Rod
Serling. After all, we are talking about the same guy who just revived Serling’s
classic series The Twilight Zone a few months ago and one could easily
describe both Get Out and Us as Twilight Zone type stories.
TOP 5 OF 2019 (SO
FAR)
5. THE LEGO
MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
Over the past five years, we’ve witnessed a
great new franchise start to blossom in Warner Bros.’ LEGO franchise. It
all started, of course, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s masterpiece effort The
LEGO Movie in 2014 and was then followed by the one-two punch of the highly
entertaining LEGO Batman spin-off and the quite underrated adaptation of
LEGO Ninjago in 2017. But now we’ve returned to the world of the OG LEGO
Movie for the official sequel, and while Lord and Miller technically aren’t
the directors this time around, their influence is still felt throughout. The
LEGO Movie 2 easily surpasses the first film when it comes to its rapid-fire
humor and its cavalcade of brilliant fourth-wall gags. At the same time,
though, it also matches the original’s strong emotional poignancy while still
doing its own thing instead of just being a carbon-copy sequel. Whereas the first
film celebrated the imagination of LEGO’s massive fanbase, LEGO Movie
2 is a tribute to teamwork in times of severe miscommunication. It even
goes against the message of the first film’s iconic tune, ‘Everything is Awesome’,
by pointing out that this isn’t true but, at the same time, accepting that
there’s no such thing as perfection. And with the continually excellent
performances of the original’s ensemble cast (along with its stellar newcomers)
and that always terrific animation that pays tribute to the perpetual charm of
stop-motion, LEGO Movie 2 is yet another successful outing for this
awesome franchise. Thus, it’s quite a shame, then, that this film… didn’t do very
well at the box-office. It didn’t even break $200 million worldwide, and while
I won’t go into detail about it in this post, the argument that some are making
about why this happened just makes me mad because, simply put, this is one of
those films that doesn’t even remotely deserve to be so criminally overlooked.
4. ALADDIN
At the time of this post’s publication, Disney’s live-action
remake of Aladdin is very close to grossing over $1 billion worldwide,
and if you ask me, that’s a legitimately impressive feat for this film to
accomplish. Granted, it wouldn’t be the first of Disney’s recent live-action
remakes to do so since Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast have
both managed to reach this historic mark while The Jungle Book was this
close to making it. And yet, at the same time, you must remember that this
was quite arguably the most controversial of the bunch as it faced tons of scrutiny
before its release over everything from certain casting choices to the
widespread mockery that followed the first reveal of Will Smith in Genie’s traditional
blue form. Thus, I believe that this film’s financial success shows that while
it wasn’t exactly a hit with critics, it seems like quite a few of its biggest
skeptics were ultimately won over in the end. And as I’ve been saying repeatedly
over the years, it’s another example of why these Disney remakes aren’t the ‘blights
upon humanity’ that some say they are. No, I’m not saying that this new take on
Aladdin is better than the original, but thanks to some solid direction
from Guy Ritchie, it still manages to be a fun fantasy adventure complete with
a trio of excellent performances from its leads. Despite all odds, Will Smith
manages to overcome the pressure of having to follow in Robin Williams’ footsteps
to deliver a fun, new spin on the Genie. Meanwhile, Mena Massoud brings the
proper charisma to the role of Aladdin while also having wonderful chemistry
with Naomi Scott, who fully revels in Jasmine’s new characterization that
allows her to have a far more proactive role in the story. Because of all this,
the new Aladdin is another fun addition to Disney’s ever-growing line of
live-action remakes, and while I know damn well that I’m in the minority on
this, I always look forward to seeing these new spins on Disney’s animated
classics.
3. SHAZAM!
It’s truly nice to see that DC has finally started to get
back on track when it comes to its cinematic outings. Case in point, we have Shazam,
a film that, to some, may just seem like DC directly copying the successful formula
of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, when I say that Shazam is
easily the closest that DC has ever gotten to making an MCU film, I don’t mean
that only in the sense that it’s one of their most light-hearted outings to
date. Instead, it’s because I believe that DC has finally begun to understand everything
that has made the MCU the juggernaut that it is. Instead of just trying to be
darker than the generally light-hearted MCU films (though granted, this film does
get extremely dark in some places despite being geared towards younger
audiences), Shazam is a superhero film that places greater emphasis on
its story and characters rather than how much it tries to replicate iconic
imagery from the comics. The transformation of foster kid Billy Batson from a
self-seeking loner to a selfless hero who stays loyal to his friends and family
is handled excellently, and Asher Angel and Zachary Levi do phenomenal jobs as
Billy and his adult superhero self, respectively. They’re also backed by an
excellent supporting cast that includes It breakout star Jack Dylan
Grazer as Billy’s loyal foster brother/superhero enthusiast Freddy Freeman and
Mark Strong as quite arguably the DCEU’s best villain to date as the sinister
Dr. Sivana. Thus, as you might have guessed, all this makes Shazam my
new favorite installment of the DC Extended Universe. As I’ve said before,
this, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman are the kind of films that DC
should’ve been making from the beginning instead of the likes of Man of Steel,
Batman v Superman, and Justice League.
2. TOY STORY 4
It goes without saying that the internet didn’t exactly
react positively to the announcement that there would be a fourth Toy Story film
because, for many people, the series had already reached a perfect conclusion
with the third film back in 2010. And yet, against all odds, Pixar managed to
deliver yet another masterpiece with Toy Story 4. For starters, it’s
quite arguably up there with Toy Story 3 when it comes to being one of
the most emotional installments of the franchise, right down to its big
emotional gut-punch of an ending. Whereas Toy Story 3’s ending was more
about the conclusion of the toys’ relationship with their original owner Andy, Toy
Story 4 truly serves as the last hurrah for these beloved characters, and
it’s all backed by an excellent script that addresses the theme of finding one’s
purpose in life. Granted, some may be disappointed by the lack of screen-time for
several of the series’ main characters, but the film makes up for this thanks
to solid new bits of character development for Woody and Buzz, the welcome return
of Bo Peep in what is easily her largest role in these films to date, and
plenty of fun new characters. I mean, how can you go wrong with characters like
a handmade spork toy going through an existential crisis voiced by Tony Hale, an
overly eager pair of plush toys voiced by Key and Peele, and a badass Canadian
stuntman voiced by the equally badass Keanu Reeves? And because of all this, Toy
Story 4 is just the latest and greatest masterpiece from Pixar that once
again establishes why Toy Story is quite arguably the best animated
franchise around.
1. AVENGERS:
ENDGAME
I’m just going to level with you, folks… this will most
likely be my #1 at the end of the year. After all, the same situation occurred
last year after I saw Avengers: Infinity War; it may have only been
April, but it was immediately locked in as my favorite film of 2018. And as I always
say when it comes to these films, can you blame me? Avengers: Endgame is
a film that benevolently rewards its franchise’s devoted fanbase with what is
easily the most epic installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Infinity
War pulled off the most shocking finale in recent cinematic history, Endgame
deftly continues onward to show how the Avengers work to overcome their
biggest loss yet. It’s a film that is full of references to other installments
of the MCU, whether it’s through a surprise cameo or a pivotal callback to a
key moment from a previous film. It’s a film that boasts some of the most epic
imagery in franchise history right down to a final battle that’s simply
legendary. And just like Infinity War, it’s a film that’s one of the
most emotionally charged installments of a franchise that has always been known
for prioritizing strong character development over everything else. As such, it
goes without saying that if you’ve been a longtime fan of the MCU, the ending
of Endgame is guaranteed to break you because, above all else, it truly signifies
the end of an era. Obviously, this won’t be the end of the MCU as it will undoubtedly
continue to be the powerhouse franchise that it has been for the past decade.
But as for Endgame, it was exactly the ending that it needed to be for the
legendary run that Marvel Studios has now officially designated as ‘The Infinity
Saga’.
