2019 Midyear Recap

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’.

And that concludes Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual Midyear Recap. As we say farewell to the first half of 2019, we now look ahead to the rest of the year’s exciting new releases. There’s the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, the second half of the Losers’ Club’s conflict with Pennywise the Clown, and the highly anticipated follow-up to a beloved modern classic from Disney Animation… and yes, that’s just to name a select few. Until then, thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal Top 5 Favorite Films from the first half of this year.