Top 12 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2019: #12-10 + Honorable Mentions

As you might recall, the intro to my ‘Top 12 Favorite Films of 2018’ list mainly consisted of some particularly critical statements on the current state of film fandom. Fueled in large part by the explosively divisive reaction to 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the internet quickly forgot the age-old rule of film (“Everything is subjective”) and devolved into a series of violent online feuds and unnecessarily cruel attacks against members of the film industry. Well, folks, I’m sorry to say that this only got WORSE in 2019 as practically every major film fandom there is got corrupted by some of the most toxic ‘fans’ (a term I use very loosely) that I’ve ever seen in the decade that I’ve spent as a film critic. As I’ve said plenty of times before, it’s perfectly okay if you find yourself in a situation where you didn’t quite like a film since film itself is a subjective medium. What I don’t understand, however, is why certain folks on the internet feel that the best way to express their views on the matter is to vehemently attack those responsible for making the films as if they’ve committed a crime against humanity or something. And sadly, you can see this toxic behavior practically anywhere you look online. For example, if you go on YouTube and type in a member of the film industry who’s deemed ‘problematic’ in the eyes of these ‘internet types’ (e.g. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson, etc.), you’ll find nothing but an endless array of their racist, misogynistic garbage flooding the top search results. It goes without saying that crap like this has made my job as a film critic a hell of a lot harder than it has ever been in the past and was one of the main reasons why I decided not to do a ‘Top 10 Worst of 2019’ list. Simply put, I just didn’t want to contribute to all that negativity. And yet, that won’t stop me from doing my annual retrospective on the year prior to give you all my Top 12 Favorite Films of 2019.

Why a Top 12 instead of the traditional Top 10? Well, as long-time readers know, this was mainly started as an inside joke to tie into the fact that I started this site in 2012. But in the years since, I’ve found that doing a Top 12 allows me to talk about even more of the great films that I see every year. But before we begin, I must do what I always do and lay down my ground rules for this annual list. First off, a fair warning for those who haven’t seen any of the films that I’ll be discussing as these posts will be filled to the brim with spoilers. In other words, the biggest moments in 2019’s biggest films will be addressed in full detail. Thus, if you haven’t seen some of the films that I’ll be talking about, don’t worry because I will be providing links to my spoiler-free reviews of them throughout these next few posts. Just look for the film posters as that’s where these links will be located. Secondly, as you could probably notice by the smaller number of posts that I’ve published in 2019, I don’t always have the time to go to the theater, which means that I haven’t seen every new noteworthy release. This explains why you won’t see films like this year’s Best Picture winner Parasite, the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems which garnered some major awards buzz for Adam Sandler, or the Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood on this list, just to name a few. To be clear, though, that’s only because I haven’t had the time to see them yet. With that in mind, I also need to point out the fact that this list will be almost entirely made up of sequels, remakes, and basically any film that falls into the ‘blockbuster’ category. I know that this probably won’t sit well with those who prefer indie films and films that offer more ‘original’ stories, but those just aren’t the films that I tend to go see regularly. Plus, let’s be frank, I’m not really in the mood to get mercilessly grilled for liking a film that some may describe as “an example of the film industry at its worst”.  

Finally, I can’t stress enough about what is probably the most important rule to remember of them all, especially nowadays… just be respectful of other folks’ opinions. I mean, seriously, I frequently find it hard to believe that, from an internet perspective, this is apparently nigh impossible to do. I know damn well that there will be folks out there who will disagree with some of the choices on my list, especially since I am including a few films that weren’t necessarily well-received. Likewise, there were a few films this year that were massive hits… but I admittedly wasn’t as big on them compared to others (e.g. Quentin Tarantino’s latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and the billion-dollar grossing phenomenon that was Joker). And yet, this doesn’t mean that I’m going to give people a hard time for liking or disliking a certain film because I understand that films will always fare differently with different people. Sadly, not everyone online shares that same sentiment, and while a lot of this tends to come from the obnoxious trolls that I mentioned earlier, you may be surprised to find that, sometimes, this can also come from those who aren’t racist misogynists. And as you might have guessed, I will certainly be addressing a lot of the questionable online behavior that I’ve seen over the past year during this list. Thus, with all that introductory information out of the way, it’s time to finally get this party started as I present Rhode Island Movie Corner’s Top 12 Favorite Films of 2019. Today’s post will be the first of four that will be published over the next few days that will be covering three films apiece. It all begins with Part 1, where we’ll be delving into films #12-10.  

As always, though, we start things off with my Honorable Mentions. For this year’s list, I have 6 films to name…

FAST AND FURIOUS PRESENTS – HOBBS AND SHAW

If my previous reviews of this franchise are any indication, I’ve been a consistent fan of the Fast and the Furious franchise, especially since its unexpected resurgence in 2011. Many will agree that one of the key factors to this was the introduction of Dwayne Johnson to the franchise’s ensemble cast as the no-nonsense DSS agent Luke Hobbs. And thanks to the introduction of Jason Statham’s imposing villain turned controversial anti-hero Deckard Shaw in Furious 7, Johnson soon found himself an excellent co-star to share the screen with, leading to the franchise’s first official spin-off, Hobbs and Shaw. Under the solid direction of David Leitch, who’s quickly becoming one of the best action directors in the business, Hobbs and Shaw continues to provide fans of the franchise with everything that it’s known for, especially when it comes to its trademark action sequences that constantly defy all logic. In fact, this film manages to take the series’ already ludicrous plots to a whole new level by introducing a sinister organization known as Eteon that’s represented by Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier who literally refers to himself as ‘Black Superman’. Although to be fair, it’s been a perpetual running gag at this point about how many predict that this series will probably go to space someday, so it’s arguably not that surprising that this spin-off is practically a superhero film. Nevertheless, Johnson and Statham once again prove why they’ve been such a dynamic duo in these films and are then backed by an equally strong female lead in Vanessa Kirby’s Hattie Shaw, Deckard’s sister. The film even does a better job than most of the other Fast and Furious films when it comes to conveying the franchise’s long-running theme of the importance of family. In short, yes, this is as mindless of an action blockbuster as you can get at this point, but when it comes to the behemoth of a franchise that it stems from, it goes without saying that you should already know exactly what you’re going to get going into it.

DOCTOR SLEEP

The first of two Stephen King adaptations that will be making an appearance on this list, Doctor Sleep is a follow-up to King’s 1977 classic The Shining. However, director Mike Flanagan’s adaptation is a film that respects both the novel that precedes its source material and director Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation of it, which still stands as one of the most iconic horror films of all-time despite being one of King’s most despised adaptations of his work. While the imagery that Flanagan relies on obviously stems from Kubrick’s film, he goes about this story of a now grown-up Danny Torrance overcoming the trauma of his time spent at the Overlook Hotel with the kind of emotional poignancy that King is known for. This extends all the way to the film’s finale, which notably deviates from King’s 2013 novel and instead opts for an ending that honors his version of The Shining. Whereas Kubrick’s film concluded with Jack Torrance freezing to death in the snow, King’s version ends with him sacrificing himself to destroy the Overlook. Thus, in this film, Dan ends up taking his father’s place when it comes to the task of ensuring that the horrors of the Overlook will never harm anyone again, even if it comes at the cost of his own life. And while the film’s finale somewhat devolves into one Shining callback after another (e.g. The Grady Twins, the bloody elevator, etc.), Flanagan’s direction is phenomenal throughout and Ewan McGregor is fantastic in the role of Dan Torrance. He’s then backed by an equally terrific pair of performances from newcomer Kyliegh Curran as young ‘Shining’ prodigy Abra and Rebecca Ferguson as the film’s sinister antagonist, Rose the Hat. Because of all this, Doctor Sleep is another prime example of why the horror genre has been in a state of resurgence these past few years thanks to incredibly well-made films such as this one.

JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL

If there’s one major advantage that Jumanji: The Next Level has over its predecessor, 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, it’s that it doesn’t have to deal with any of the awkward bits of set-up that came from that film. The early sequences of Welcome to the Jungle before the main characters were sucked into Jumanji were the weaker parts of that film due to their generally flat humor and the fact that the lead quartet of Spencer, Martha, Fridge, and Bethany hadn’t yet gotten the solid character development that they would come across while trapped in the game. Thus, since The Next Level does continue from where its predecessor left off, the main protagonists are a much more likable group this time around and the early scenes before they head back into Jumanji flow a lot better because of this. But, of course, the biggest highlight of these new Jumanji films is getting to see Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan taking on the personalities of those who inhabit their in-game avatars. And because the addition of new characters and the somewhat glitched status of the game means that they occasionally switch avatars, these four get to partake in some fun body swaps along the way. Highlights include the spot-on impressions of Danny DeVito from both Johnson and new addition Awkwafina as thief Ming Lightfoot and Fridge fully relishing in the chance to play as Gillan’s dance-fighting commando Ruby Roundhouse. And while The Next Level does admittedly rehash almost the exact same plot as its predecessor (right down to having a practically non-existent villain), it’s still a highly entertaining watch thanks to the phenomenal camaraderie of its main leads, top-notch humor, and excellent action sequences. Thus, I will argue that the third installment of this blossoming franchise is its best installment yet.

ROCKETMAN

As Youtuber Patrick (H) Willems points out in his video ‘The Broken Formula of Music Biopics’, the musical biopic genre often abides by the same narrative tropes, from montages of an artist’s success that don’t really delve into their creative process to their subject’s struggles with a drug addiction. And while the Elton John biopic Rocketman does delve into some of those familiar tropes, director Dexter Fletcher manages to make the most out of them. For starters, John’s lesser moments are emphasized just as much as his career’s many highlights, right down to the opening sequence where he goes into rehab and admits every single one of his addictions from drugs to his shopaholic tendencies. The film also covers his struggles with his identity as a gay man much better than 2018’s Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, allowing us to truly sympathize with him when things get rough (e.g. him trying to tell his mother, who admits that she already knew and suggests that he’s setting himself up for a lonely life). This helps to make the film’s ending where he finally begins to get his life back on track incredibly satisfying and can best be summed up by the fully cathartic moment where he sees a vision of his younger self who promptly asks, “When are you going to hug me?”. And through it all, Taron Egerton is utterly phenomenal in the title role as he perfectly conveys all that emotional depth while also delivering amazing covers of John’s iconic songs. Because of all this, Rocketman is easily one of the best films to come from the musical biopic genre thanks to its strong visual style that perfectly matches the extravagant stage presence of the one and only Elton John and a highly reverent take on everything that he went through to become one of the all-time greats.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM

This is notably the first instance where a John Wick film has appeared on this annual list. I didn’t see the first John Wick in theaters back in 2014 and while I did see its 2017 follow-up Chapter 2 in theaters, it just missed out on making my Honorable Mentions for that year’s list. That’s not the case with Chapter 3 – Parabellum, however, and I’m damn glad that I can finally devote a section of these lists to one of the best action franchises there is. Even at three films in, the John Wick films haven’t even remotely lost a beat when it comes to their amazing action sequences as director Chad Stahelski once again ensures that they’re all incredibly well-shot and brilliantly choreographed. Keanu Reeves is phenomenal as always in the title role while being backed by a great ensemble cast made up of series regulars like Ian McShane and Lance Reddick and newcomers like Halle Berry and Mark Dacascos. And while Chapter 3 may be a tad bit overlong for what is arguably the simplest plot of this series so far, with John Wick on the run from practically every member of the assassin underworld, that same sense of simplicity has also been a key factor to this series’ success. In fact, one of the things that impresses me the most about the John Wick films is how each installment naturally continues the story of the legendary Baba Yaga, with the second and third films continuing right where their immediate predecessors left off. And while I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one who initially thought that Parabellum was being set up to be the finale to this ‘trilogy’, the film ends on yet another exciting cliffhanger as John and the Bowery King prepare for war against the High Table. Sure enough, John Wick: Chapter 4 is now in the works for a 2021 release, and if it’s anything like the three films that came before it, don’t be surprised if it ends up landing a key spot on that year’s ‘Best of’ list.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

It’s really saying something about the current state of film fandom when Captain Marvel, the first female-led installment of the MCU, somehow became one of its most controversial installments for reasons that didn’t even have anything to do with the film itself. Instead, this all started when lead actress Brie Larson made some completely innocuous comments about the need for a more diversified collection of reporters and film critics. For some reason, the same misogynistic man-babies who got mad at Star Wars: The Last Jedi interpreted these comments as sexist, prompting a lot of that clickbait garbage that I mentioned back in the intro. Thankfully, though, this ultimately meant nothing in the long run as the film became the 7^th installment of the MCU to gross $1 billion worldwide, and rightfully so. Now to start things off, I will openly admit that while I do genuinely love this film, I don’t consider it to be one of the ‘best’ installments of the MCU. Like the first Ant-Man, it takes a little bit for the film to get going and its big twist in which the faction of Skrulls led by Talos are revealed to be peaceful refugees hiding from the sinister Kree Empire yields mixed results when it comes to its overall execution. On the one hand, it’s a neat idea to have a noble group of Skrulls in contrast to their traditionally villainous portrayals in the comics and Ben Mendelsohn is phenomenal in the role of Talos. However, this twist also ends up severely hindering the real villains of the film, Carol Danvers’ former Kree squad Starforce, since they barely get any screen-time beforehand. Their leader Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) does get a pass, however, since the film properly establishes a teacher-mentor relationship between him and Carol and their final conflict is truly a memorable one. Instead of a more traditional final brawl like we usually see in these films, Yon-Rogg declares that he’s proud of Carol’s personal growth and requests another one of their usual sparring matches… which concludes with Carol promptly knocking him on his ass with just one photon blast, indisputably confirming that she no longer has anything to prove to him.

On that note, Brie Larson does an excellent job in the title role of Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel. While I’m aware that some were thrown off by Carol’s overly snarky attitude, I’d argue that it’s very appropriate for a character who’s spent most of her life being told what to do. Because of this, her transformation into the MCU’s newest heroine is one of the most satisfying superhero origin stories in recent memory. Whether it’s the words of encouragement that she gets from her best friend Maria Rambeau or the montage where we see that she always got back up whenever she was knocked down, this is what ultimately provides the film with that trademark emotional poignancy that we’ve fully come to expect from the MCU. And for most of the film, she’s backed excellently by MCU mainstay Samuel L. Jackson in what is easily his most substantial role to date as Nick Fury. Since this film takes place in the mid-’90s before most of the other films in the MCU, Marvel Studios’ impressive de-aging technology is used to its fullest extent to de-age Jackson for an era before Fury became the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. This film even lets us see how Fury lost his left eye by means of arguably the film’s biggest standout, Goose the Cat AKA Goose the Flerken. And yes, I know that some found this reveal to be rather lame (especially given the line in Captain America: The Winter Soldier where Fury remarks that “the last time [he] trusted someone, [he] lost an eye…”), but if you ask me, it’s utterly hilarious (“MOTHERFLERKEN!!!”). In conclusion, like with the whole debacle that arose over Star Wars: The Last Jedi, I know that the faction of trolls who tried to ruin this film’s reputation is just a small part of our current online film fandom. Nevertheless, it’s incredibly frustrating that they continue to be such an infuriating nuisance online, which they once again proved in this instance by making Captain Marvel, through no fault of its own, a source of intense scandal.

And now we officially move on to the Top 12, which begins the same way that it did in 2017 with a horror film. As I’ve made it clear in the past, I’m admittedly not that big a fan of horror films. Despite this, however, these past few years have allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for the genre thanks to both James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca’s YouTube channel Dead Meat and, of course, the many great horror films that have come out over the past few years. This includes our #12 film, which is the latest directorial outing from one of the most exciting new filmmakers in the industry.

12. US

Us serves as the sophomore directorial effort of the one and only Jordan Peele after his 2017 smash hit Get Out, which went on to win the Oscar that year for Best Original Screenplay. However, I’ll admit that I didn’t go see it in theaters when it came out that March since that was before the point when I truly started to get into the horror genre. Ultimately, though, I did make sure to see it before that year’s Oscars, and like many others, I found it to be one of the best films of 2017. And because of this, I knew that there was no way that I was going to miss seeing Us in theaters because I knew that it would elicit an excellent theater-going experience, which it very much did. One particular moment that I still remember is when an audience member yelled “Get ‘em, M’Baku!”, in reference to lead actor Winston Duke’s breakout role in Black Panther, during the scene where the Wilson family is first attacked by their Tethered doppelgangers. As that moment suggests, Us clearly lived up to Get Out’s status as a premier film to see with a crowd, but when it comes to the films themselves, they couldn’t be any more different. Get Out, of course, was a psychological horror-thriller that focused on the ever so timely topic of modern-day racism. Us, by comparison, is a far more traditional type of horror film but is just as well-layered as Get Out was when it comes to its relevant themes. In this instance, Us revolves around the concept of class discrimination with the film’s main antagonists, the Tethered, being a vastly underprivileged group of clones who have been stuck in underground tunnels for many years after the government put an end to the failed experiment that had spawned them in the first place. As the film’s main antagonist Red later reveals, the Tethered were meant to be a means of controlling those who lived up above, with two different bodies sharing the same soul.

But while Us certainly delivers on the intense horror action that fans of this genre crave, it also gives Jordan Peele a chance to showcase the style of humor that he’s been well-known for his entire career. The Wilson family’s strong camaraderie ends up being the primary source of the film’s best humorous moments, including the big debate that they get into at one point over how many Tethered beings that they’ve killed. But, of course, the biggest aspect of this film is that each cast member plays both their main character and their Tethered doppelganger. It’s a complex undertaking, for sure, but thanks to the strong work from Peele and his crew, any scene where the characters directly share the screen with their Tethered doubles are well put-together and everyone is phenomenal in their dual roles. It’s all headlined by Lupita Nyong’o’s outstanding lead turn as main protagonist Adelaide and the Tethered’s sinister leader Red, which paves the way for one hell of a plot twist following the finale, in which Adelaide heads into the underground tunnels to confront Red after she kidnaps her son Jason. The final fight between these two is easily the best part of the film thanks to everything from the pitch-perfect editing and fight choreography to composer Michael Abels’ chilling use of the song “I Got 5 on It” by Luniz in his score. And after all that she and her family have been through throughout this film, Adelaide finally brings this nightmare to an end by killing Red and rescuing Jason. But as the Wilson family drives away from all the carnage on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, Adelaide then begins to reflect on the first time that she ever crossed paths with Red back in 1986.

When she was a little girl, Adelaide wandered into a deserted funhouse where she came across a girl who looked just like her. As we’re initially led to believe, this incident traumatized Adelaide so much that it left her silent for many years. But at the very end, we see what really happened when Adelaide ran into this doppelganger… who promptly choked her out, dragged her down to the underground tunnels, and took her place up in the real world. Yes, the Adelaide that we’ve been following this whole time was her Tethered while Red was the original Adelaide who had become the de facto leader of the Tethered and orchestrated their whole plot as a means of revenge. It’s a brilliant twist that, upon re-watch, was set up and teased perfectly, whether it’s the fact that Red’s the only Tethered who could speak (albeit in a raspy voice stemming from her injuries) or the various instances where Adelaide makes the same kind of animalistic grunts that the non-speaking Tethered make. It’s also impressive how this twist effectively makes Adelaide and Red both the protagonist and antagonist of their respective situations, with the former managing to become the first Tethered who successfully seized the chance to live a normal life even if it screws over the real Adelaide in the process. With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why Us was yet another Grade-A effort from Jordan Peele, whose sharp attention to detail when it comes to his scripts has yielded two of the most well-written horror films in recent memory.

At Number 11, we have the first animated film on this list with the latest installment of a truly delightful franchise. Sadly, though, it can also be described as a prime example of a film that, upon its release, was criminally overlooked for reasons that I find highly questionable.

11. THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

In 2014, Phil Lord and Chris Miller took a project that many figured would be nothing but a cynical cash-grab and turned it into a beautifully animated film that was both effortlessly funny and wholly heartwarming. That film was The LEGO Movie, which was the first official theatrically released film based on the beloved line of plastic construction toys. Three years later, the film got a spin-off centered on one of its most popular characters, Will Arnett’s LEGO Batman. And while The LEGO Batman Movie was far more humor-oriented (complete with an endless array of nods to practically every facet of the Dark Knight’s extensive lore), it still delivered the strong emotional poignancy that helped make its predecessor the masterpiece that it was. But that wasn’t the only LEGO film of 2017 as there was also The LEGO Ninjago Movie, an adaptation of the company’s widely popular Ninjago line. However, this one did not do as well with critics and audiences compared to the previous two films, and yet, while I’ll admit that I didn’t see it in theaters, I did end up liking it when I eventually saw it on digital. Granted, I wouldn’t call it the ‘best-written’ of these recent LEGO films, but it still had the series’ trademark sense of humor and the main plot of a son trying to reconnect with his father (who just so happens to be an evil warlord) paved the way for some hard-hitting emotional moments. But now we’ve finally returned to the side of the franchise that started it all with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, and while Lord and Miller weren’t the directors this time around, they were still heavily involved with the production as its producers and primary screenwriters.

The LEGO Movie 2 does an excellent job continuing the story of the LEGO universe as envisioned by a young boy named Finn who, at the end of the previous film, was told that his younger sister Bianca would soon be joining in on his playtime. Thus, in the LEGO world, invaders from the planet Duplo arrive and terrorize the city of Bricksburg, effectively turning it into a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic wasteland, Apocalypseburg. And if that wasn’t enough, the main characters soon find themselves kidnapped by General Sweet Mayhem on behalf of Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi of the Systar System, prompting Emmet to try and rescue them with the help of ‘galaxy defending, archeologist, cowboy, and raptor trainer’ Rex Dangervest. However, as Emmet and his girlfriend Lucy/Wyldstyle soon discover, the residents of the Systar System only want to establish a peaceful relationship with them (which is reflected in the real world by Bianca’s attempts to spend time with her brother) even if they weren’t exactly good at illustrating their peaceful intentions. Instead, it’s revealed that Rex is trying to cause the destruction of both their universes AKA ‘Armamageddon’, which is represented by Finn and Bianca’s mother reprimanding the two for their squabbling and forcing them to put away their toys. Rex is then revealed to be a future version of Emmet who became a cynical shell of his former self after being abandoned for years and vowed to change all that via a time travel machine made out of the DeLorean, Bill and Ted’s phone booth, the TARDIS, H.G. Wells’ Time Machine, “Whatever Skynet’s been using”, and the hot tub from Hot Tub Time Machine.

There’s a lot to unpack from all this, but the key thing to take from it is how Lord, Miller and director Mike Mitchell manage to craft a story that provides some nice contrast to what we saw from the original film. Specifically, they challenge the notion that people might’ve gotten from the first film’s catchy anthem ‘Everything is Awesome’ by showing that ‘Everything’s Not Awesome’ but that’s okay because it’s better to stick together through thick and thin. In other words, whereas the first film primarily served as a celebration of creativity, the second film honors the importance of togetherness in the face of toxic attitudes like the one that Rex maintains throughout the film. And through it all, The LEGO Movie 2 maintains everything that we’ve come to expect from this franchise. It boasts amazing animation that deftly honors the stop-motion animation style that has defined numerous LEGO fan films and the franchise’s trademark sense of humor continues to be strong throughout, whether it’s thanks to the cavalcade of fourth wall jokes or the film’s hilarious musical numbers. Yes, The LEGO Movie 2 features a full soundtrack of original songs from comedian/songwriter Jon Lajoie and they’re all excellent. There’s Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi’s opening number ‘Not Evil’, where she assures the gang that she’s totally not an evil queen despite the ‘super evil’ vibes that she’s giving off. She also headlines a hilarious duet with Batman, ‘Gotham City Guys’, where she tricks him into proposing to her by acting like she prefers guys like his long-time rival Superman, complete with references to every single live-action incarnation of Batman up to that point. And just like the first film, there’s a fully intentional earworm of a song that’s meant to rival ‘Everything is Awesome’ appropriately titled ‘Catchy Song’… and yes, it does indeed live up to that reputation by easily being a song that’s “going to get stuck inside your heaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!”

Any way you look at it, The LEGO Movie 2 is another masterpiece from this awesome franchise… so it’s sad, then, to know that it just didn’t do too well at the box-office. To be clear, the film did solidly with critics even if a lot of them felt that ‘it wasn’t as fresh as the first film’ which, as some of you might recall, is a recently trending bit of film criticism that I’m not a fan of. Simply put, just say that it’s not as good as its predecessor; don’t ding it just because it’s a sequel. Anyway, upon its release, the film barely managed to do better than The LEGO Ninjago Movie financially as it only grossed around $191 million worldwide, which is a far cry from what the original LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie pulled off several years prior. Many have attributed this to the idea of ‘franchise fatigue’… which, I won’t lie, kind of rubs me the wrong way because I really don’t see why this would be such a big deal in this instance. Superhero fatigue? Yes, it’s a concept that’s the absolute bane of my existence, but as much as I hate to say it, it’s a reasonable possibility given how prevalent the superhero genre has been this past decade. Star Wars fatigue? Again, I don’t buy it since it’s not like the recent films have flooded the market or anything, but given that Star Wars is quite arguably the biggest franchise there is, it’s perfectly understandable if some folks have found themselves overwhelmed by the yearly release schedule that they’ve been on recently. By comparison, there have only been four of these recent LEGO films since 2014, and apart from LEGO Batman and LEGO Ninjago both coming out in 2017, they’ve all been released a few years apart from each other.  

And if that wasn’t enough, this film’s overall underperformance effectively made it the last entry in the series to be produced by Warner Bros., who would end up relinquishing their distribution rights several months later. At this time, future LEGO films will be made by Universal, and while I’m sure that they will be just as great as the ones that we’ve gotten, I have the feeling that a major series overhaul is about to happen because of all this. Sure, there’s a second LEGO Batman film that’s reportedly in the works, but since Warner Bros. is behind all the big DC Comics projects on both the big and small screen, this could potentially end up being a bit of a problem from a legal perspective. There’s also that Billion Brick Race project that’s been in development for years now, but at this point, who even knows if that’s still a thing? At the very least, there may be a chance that Phil Lord and Chris Miller might still be involved with the franchise since they recently agreed to a production deal with Universal. Nevertheless, it’s completely unclear right now what’s going to happen to this franchise going forward. Now with all this said, I recognize that it’s necessary, sometimes, for certain franchises to take a break when they start to suffer from diminishing returns. Simply put, it’s a natural consequence of an always-evolving industry. But at the end of the day, I just don’t understand why the LEGO Movie franchise deserved such a tragic fate when there literally wasn’t anything wrong with it. Case in point, The LEGO Movie 2 is endearing to a fault and so well-written that it fully succeeds at being both a light-hearted comedy and a timely parable of optimism.

To start off this year’s Top 10, we have, admittedly, the only entry on this list that scored a Best Picture nomination at this year’s Oscars. And yet, it’s easy to see why given how this film more than delivers when it comes to its pure, kinetic thrills.

10. FORD V FERRARI

There’s a lot to love about director James Mangold’s dramatization of the long-standing feud between two of the most famous car manufacturers in the industry, specifically focusing on Ford’s historic victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966 that promptly brought an end to Ferrari’s six-year winning streak there. Thanks to Mangold’s excellent direction, the film boasts amazing racing sequences that are made even better by the fact that they were all done practically. However, the film also benefits greatly from strong pacing and editing, meaning that even with a hefty two-and-a-half-hour runtime, there’s never a dull moment. A lot of this is thanks to how the film effectively manages to be a thoroughly engaging ‘David and Goliath’ story on two different fronts. While it is primarily focused on Ford’s efforts to beat Ferrari at its own game, it’s also very much about the two men who made it all happen, car designer/engineer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles. These two men weren’t exactly in line with Ford’s squeaky-clean image (as seen by their many conflicts with Ford VP Leo Beebe that usually revolve around the decision to have Miles be one of their drivers at Le Mans), but they knew that the only way to beat Ferrari was to challenge that status quo. Their excellent camaraderie is on full display throughout, especially thanks to Matt Damon and Christian Bale’s outstanding turns as Shelby and Miles, respectively. Shelby’s dignified Southern charm and Miles’ brash British attitude provide an all-around fun dynamic that promptly builds to a finale that manages to go down a few routes that a lot of other films in its genre wouldn’t normally go.

Given that this is a film based on a true story, it goes without saying that the film ends exactly the way you’d think going in by showing Ford finally beating Ferrari at Le Mans. And yet, it’s not exactly a ‘happy ending’ because while Miles dominates most of the race, he’s pressured by the Ford higher-ups to slow down so that the other two Ford drivers can catch up to him and they can cross the finish line together. While this decision clearly angers our two main protagonists, Miles does end up managing to be a team player in this instance and eases up on his lead so that Ford can have their picture-perfect moment… which then results in one of the other Ford drivers being named the winner of the race on a technicality. Undeterred, Miles and Shelby begin to prepare for next year’s race… but this ends in tragedy when Miles is killed in a fiery car crash during a test drive. In another biopic, a moment like this would’ve been relegated to the closing bits of text that pop up on-screen before the credits. But in this case, the film continues from that moment, ultimately concluding with Shelby visiting Miles’ widow Mollie and her son Peter (who was there when his father died, making Miles’ death even more tragic) and giving the latter the wrench that Miles threw at him before the race seen at the beginning of the film. This final moment truly illustrates how James Mangold managed to find the emotionally poignant human element in this iconic focal point in the history of auto racing. And because of this, Ford v Ferrari manages to find that perfect balance between being a well-made drama that managed to attract some major attention at the Oscars this year and a highly-entertaining crowd-pleaser that doesn’t require a background in automobile racing to appreciate such an incredible film.

And that concludes Part 1 of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s Top 12 Favorite Films of 2019. Thanks for following along and be sure to check back in tomorrow for Part 2, where I’ll be delving into films #9-7.

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.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) review

In 1934, Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen renamed his toy company LEGO, a name that was derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning ‘play well’. In 1949, two years after they started producing plastic toys instead of wooden ones, LEGO would begin to develop what would end up becoming the company’s most famous product, interlocking bricks. And thus, over the next few decades, LEGO would quickly become one of the most iconic toy brands of all-time, allowing its customers to create all sorts of unique objects out of these plastic bricks. Over 650 billion LEGO pieces have been produced since 1958, and the company has developed a wide variety of themed sets ranging from original franchises like Bionicle and Ninjago to popular IPs such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Aside from the toys, LEGO has also expanded into other facets of media, including numerous video games and their own chain of theme parks a la Disney and Universal. It’s a different story, however, when it comes to films. Prior to 2014, almost all official LEGO films were direct-to-video releases, with most of them being based around the company’s now-discontinued Bionicle franchise. But then, in 2011, Warner Bros. announced that they would be making the first theatrically-released LEGO film, which would serve as the first project from the studio’s recently revived animated film division, Warner Animation Group. In the years leading up to its release, however, some were rather skeptical about how the film would turn out. Given the franchise’s worldwide success and appeal, many assumed that it would end up being nothing more than a massive cash grab and one big toy commercial. And then Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were announced as its directors.

Ever since they made their directorial debut in 2009, Lord and Miller have very much made a name for themselves as a duo who have managed to make excellent films out of seemingly disastrous concepts. Their exploits have ranged from directing two hilarious comedies based on a previously obscure 80’s television series to producing/writing what many now consider to be the best Spider-Man film of all-time. And sure enough, when The LEGO Movie hit theaters in February 2014, it was a smash hit with critics and audiences. The film grossed over $469 million worldwide and was widely praised for its gorgeous animation, witty dialogue, and emotionally poignant story that genuinely celebrated LEGO’s devoted fandom. Because of its success, several spin-offs were then announced, with two of them being released in 2017. One was a spin-off about the original film’s breakout star, Will Arnett’s hilarious take on Batman, and the other was an adaptation of LEGO’s popular Ninjago line. But now we return to the LEGO world that started it all with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. This time, however, Lord and Miller aren’t back to direct, though they are still involved as producers and the film’s primary screenwriters. It was originally reported that the film would serve as the directorial debut of Rob Schrab, who had previously directed episodes of the cult classic series Community. Ultimately, though, Schrab was replaced by veteran filmmaker Mike Mitchell, who’s no stranger to animation having previously directed Shrek Forever After and Trolls for DreamWorks. And even after half a decade and three whole LEGO films, that LEGO charm is still on full display.  

At the end of the original LEGO Movie, the citizens of the town of Bricksburg, led by the seemingly ordinary construction worker Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), banded together to stop the evil Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell) from destroying their world. Unfortunately, the city is then overrun with invaders from the planet Duplo, effectively turning it into a wasteland, Apocalypseburg. And yet, while everyone else in the city has embraced their new apocalyptic lifestyle, Emmet continues to remain upbeat despite his girlfriend Lucy AKA Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) wishing that he’d mature just like the rest of them. Things only manage to get worse when a new invader arrives in the form of the Duplo army’s leader, General Sweet Mayhem (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). Sweet Mayhem proceeds to capture Lucy, Batman (voiced by Will Arnett), 1980s astronaut Benny (voiced by Charlie Day), MetalBeard the Pirate (voiced by Nick Offerman), and Princess Unikitty (voiced by Alison Brie) and brings them to her homeworld, the Systar System. There, they meet the galaxy’s ruler, the shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), who seeks to marry one of them (which ends up being Batman) in what Lucy believes is a blatantly evil scheme. Meanwhile, back in Apocalypseburg, Emmet embarks on a journey to the Systar System himself to rescue his friends. Along the way, he ends up meeting the badass Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt), a galaxy-defending archaeologist/cowboy/raptor trainer who agrees to help him out while also showing him what it takes to truly be a hardened warrior.

As is the case with all these recent LEGO films, The LEGO Movie 2 boasts gorgeous animation provided by the Australian animation company Animal Logic. While technically a computer-animated film, the implementation of stop-motion animation aesthetics helps to give the film the same charm that can be found in the numerous LEGO fan films that have been made over the years. Plus, these animators deserve a lot of credit for their impressive attention to detail when creating a world that’s entirely made from LEGOs. This brilliant animation is then matched by the film’s equally terrific screenplay, which perfectly blends its heartfelt narrative with its riotous humor. Thanks to Lord and Miller’s excellent comedic sensibilities, this film arguably surpasses its predecessor when it comes to its sight gags, snappy dialogue, and hilarious cameos. But, of course, just like the first film, there’s also a lot of heart to this story thanks to its wonderful messages and themes. The original LEGO Movie served as a celebration of creative thinking and expanded upon its seemingly traditional ‘hero’s journey’ storyline to show that everyone is special in their own, unique way. The sequel then proceeds to take that even further by highlighting the importance of cooperation and seeing things from a different perspective, which is best exemplified through the expansion of the first film’s biggest plot twist that revealed that everything in the LEGO world was being manipulated by a human kid named Finn (Jadon Sand). Going off the first film’s ending, the sequel brings in Finn’s younger sister Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), which ends up affecting both their world and the LEGO world in interesting ways.

Almost all the major players from the first film’s cast return and are all great once again in their respective roles. It all starts, of course, with Chris Pratt, who continues to make Emmet one of the most endearing main protagonists in recent animation history. Emmet also benefits from having another solid character arc in this one based around the apparent necessity for him to grow up, which he mainly does through his interactions with Rex Dangervest AKA an amalgamation of Star-Lord, Owen Grady, and Faraday from The Magnificent Seven remake. Simply put, it’s a lot of fun to witness Chris Pratt playing these two roles that respectively represent his comedic roots and the charismatic leading man status that he holds today. Elizabeth Banks also gets a lot of great material to work with as well as Lucy/Wyldstyle, with the film continuing to follow the overall arc of cutting through her tough exterior (which, without spoiling anything, leads to a subtle yet very satisfying payoff at the end). And, of course, Will Arnett continues to be hilarious as LEGO Batman, even if he already had his big character arc in The LEGO Batman Movie. After that, there are the usual supporting players; Nick Offerman as MetalBeard, Alison Brie as Unikitty, Charlie Day as Benny (“SPACESHIP!!”), etc. They’re then joined by the big newcomers to this film, Tiffany Haddish as Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi and Stephanie Beatriz as General Sweet Mayhem. Haddish continues to prove why her star’s been on the rise these past few years and the film takes full advantage of her character’s shape-shifting abilities. And while Beatriz doesn’t necessarily get as much to work with as her co-stars, she works off Elizabeth Banks incredibly well in the scenes between Lucy and Mayhem.

So, can we just all agree that the LEGO Movie franchise is one of the best around? Thanks to the continued involvement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (even when they’re not directing), this series has delivered time and time again with films that boast gorgeous animation, fun characters, and excellent emotional poignancy. As such, I’m genuinely surprised that some are saying that The LEGO Movie 2 isn’t as good as the first film (it’s that damn ‘not as fresh’ argument that long-time readers know I’m not a big fan of). On the contrary, I’d say that it’s just as good as its predecessor. Is it the better of the two? Well, that one’s legitimately up for debate, but I’d argue that this one tops the original when it comes to its humor. Whatever the case may be, though, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is an absolute must-see. Even though it’s been years since I was in the big LEGO craze that defined my childhood (still waiting for that LEGO Bionicle film…), I’m still very much drawn to these films because they continue to do a wonderful job paying tribute to their fandom by matching their creativity with the LEGO brand. After all, one of the main lyrics to the original film’s classic tune ‘Everything is Awesome’ states that ‘everything is better when we stick together’. And sure enough, this film directly addresses the importance of unity while also providing some timely commentary on the dangers of toxic masculinity. In short, it’s yet another carefully constructed masterpiece (pun intended).

Rating: 5/5!