Sunday, February 9, 2020

2019 Cinema & Stadium Film Year-in-Review


2019 Cinema & Stadium Film Year-in-Review

I am always excited for this annual opportunity to look back at the previous calendar year in film.  Writing this post allows me to experience these movies again - not just by looking back at my review from the first time around, but trying to call back the way I felt when I saw them.  The passage of time often results in surprises in what stands out in my memory, and I usually have at least a small shift in my overall opinion.  Through almost the entire first half of the year, I was worried that this might be one of the weakest in which I've been doing these reviews.  Fortunately, the second half picked up significantly.  Action/adventure and drama seem to make up an ever-increasing portion of the films I see; partly, few comedies caught my attention and certain other genres (looking at you, horror) may be growing in popularity but I am steering resolutely clear of them.

As a reminder, I count only films that were released in theaters near me (i.e., rural area) in 2019 so you'll find some films here that were in last year's Oscars.  The format of my year-in-review is the same as always, celebrating the good, the bad, and everything in between:
  • Top 10 films of the year!
  • Most underrated/overrated films
  • Most surprising/disappointing films
  • Worst film of the year
  • List of other films I saw (with links to my reviews)
  • Second chance: films I saw on Netflix
Please do also check out my Oscar-style awards for 2019 post here, and all of the films listed below are linked so you can jump to my full reviews if/when you're interested.  Enjoy!


Top 10 Films of 2019

10. (tie) Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (Directed by Quentin Tarantino; starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie)

With his unique and mesmerizing writing and directing, promising premises, and reliable star performances, Tarantino nearly guarantees a slot in my top ten lists.  This is one of his more laid back titles, particularly compared to Basterds, Django, or even the tamer Hateful Eight.  Instead, the auteur indulges in his obvious love for the art and its production, here set in late 60s LA.  It's meandering, but the atmosphere is enjoyable and well-shot, with plenty of standout and hilarious scenes, too (Pitt's stunt guy vs. Bruce Lee; DiCaprio's acting foibles and monologues/dialogues).  With a great part for Leo and a foreboding historical setup that gets turned upside down, this is another winner.

10. (tie) Toy Story 4 (Directed by Josh Cooley; starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Tony Hale, Annie Potts, et. al.)

I admit, I approached this one warily, having felt this legendary Pixar saga concluded in its third outing.  But it turns out there was plenty more joy and even a few new twists to be found in this beloved world.  Yes, the overall sense of wonder from toys on a rescue adventure has lost some of its luster, and several plot mechanics, particularly the "villain", are somewhat recycled.  Still, some new plastic injects needed vitality, via self-destructive newcomer Forky (Hale) and bold, rebellious old friend Bo Peep (Potts).  The action eventually kicks into a good rhythm, with of course plenty of laughs; and the predictable ending is passed over in favor of a bittersweet yet hopeful one.

9.  Brittany Runs a Marathon (Directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo; starring Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar)

This isn't the kind of drama that usually gets either my attention or even a spot in my theater, but luckily it got both.  Easily could have been a cliched yawn-fest, but this story of an overweight girl working to turn her life around with the help of both old and unexpected friends is done with great care and skill.  Bell neither begs for sympathy nor pushes you away with obnoxious crudeness.  Instead, she is one of the most real human beings I've seen in a film for a long time; her setbacks are understandable, and her progress well earned.  You can find yourself in her, like it or not.  A snappy script keeps it all humming, and her social world is varied and fascinating.  Give this gem a try.

8.  Joker (Directed by Todd Phillips; starring Joaquin Phoenix, Robert de Niro, Zazie Beetz)

One of the most polarizing films in years, I found this engrossing and well done, though I get the concerns.  Superheroes, beware: this is a dark, dark film.  However, Phoenix is incredible as Arthur, a mentally disturbed man with a heap of other problems besides.  His creepy, uncontrollable laughing tic and growing list of grievances against a world that has no patience for him build the tension of his inevitable fate as the Joker villain.  Still, it's the too-ordinary acts and facts of the meaner parts of our world that trigger his downfall.  I personally found this an interesting origin story and commentary on the perils, ultimately, of a world with simply too little love.  Proceed with caution, but it's worth it.

7.  Knives Out (Directed by Rian Johnson; starring Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, et al.)

One of the most fun films of the year, this whodunnit toys with a familiar formula in clever ways.  First of all, the lead is not the "CSI: KFC" version of Poirot, played with relish by Daniel Craig.  Instead it is the quiet, sweet family nurse who gives the audience a surrogate with whom to feel each twist of the plot deep in the gut (hopefully, viewers will not literally wretch like their heroine).  Family secrets get spilled early, but are of little help; the quaint town and proud family are not just any but very much set in our present.  It's funny - thanks largely to a scene-stealing Chris Evans - and has a nice balance of leading clues yet an unfathomable solution.  Even better watching it twice.

6.  Fighting With My Family (Directed by Stephen Merchant; starring Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn)

Sports movies are much less entertaining to me than the real thing, and wrestling itself even less so; somehow, though, this film clicked with me like few other this year.  Written and directed by comedy vet Stephen Merchant, this based-on-a-true story has its share of chuckles but it draws breath from its quirky, rough but lovable family and the unremitting young woman at its center.  The wrestling itself is actually kind of interesting, too, particularly the contrast in the two systems Pugh's contender must bridge to succeed.  Vaughn is a good, cranky mentor here, and her family, from wild but adoring parents to her closely connected brother, are great, too.  Didn't even need the Rock!

5.  Marriage Story (Directed by Noah Baumbach; starring Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern)

I debated whether or not to include this Netflix-only movie, but it's just too good to leave out.  Taking place during the end of a marriage, there is a constant tension, whether underlying or tangible.  But the film doesn't wallow in conflict; rather, it shows right off the bat why they loved each other in the first place and then explores how that bond broke down in spite of it.  Johansson and Driver are both spectacular here, two impressive actors who are better than ever.  Baumbach allows each extended showcases of their character by themselves, but the dynamic when they are together is something to behold.  It's also ultimately not a downer, so don't worry and just dive in to this great work.

4.  Ford v Ferrari (Directed by James Mangold; starring Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Caitriona Balfe)

A second sports movie in my top ten (!), this may not be the most original work but it is done to near perfection.  Ostensibly about Ford Motor Company's underdog effort to defeat the reigning race car champion Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it's really about the odd but brilliant couple of Bale and Damon's motorheads (if anything, critique of Ford and its arrogant heir piles up satisfyingly throughout).  The leads are like chocolate and peanut butter; Bale turns in another transformative performance as the wily, intense racer and Damon is just so damn likable and funnier than ever.  Oh, yeah, and it's got some awesome racing scenes, too.  This zooms by with an exhilarating flourish.

3.  Little Women (Directed by Greta Gerwig; starring Saiorse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Timothee Chalamet)

Here is the least likely of them all, a remake of a classic tale I wasn't even particularly familiar with.  The power of the story, the grace of the performers and the vision of the director swept me into this period piece with a modern feel.  The quartet of actors playing the March sisters developed an infectious bond, and frivolous scenes of their younger days create an abiding warmth.  Among her many contributions, Gerwig's decision to jump between this happy period and a more strained, difficult future is brilliant.  This keeps the level of intrigue high throughout, as you work out how both the plot and (more importantly) characters are evolving; yet it's done smoothly to avoid tonal whiplash.  Organically celebrating the bonds of sisterhood, it fits Gerwig's style perfectly.

2.  The Upside (Directed by Neil Burger; starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman)

This unsung drama, which seems to standout only through the oddness of its pair of leads, actually turned into the most well-rounded drama of the year for me.  A remake of a French hit, Hart's ex-convict and Cranston's rich quadriplegic find each other at their respective low points.  Lesser actors could have made this ugly, but the stars here are spectacular.  Hart impresses with his nuanced dramatic work, eschewing his usual comic routine, and Cranston easily inhabits his physically and emotionally frustrated philanthropist.  Both stars are naturally quite likable, but they aren't afraid to show their characters' prickliness, flaws and vulnerabilities.  And the chemistry they have is pure movie magic.  Kidman's assistant also deserves a nod, always in the midst of this burgeoning friendship that lifts them all up.  You'll hear Aretha's opera in your heart for days after.

1.  Avengers: Endgame (Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo; starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, et. al.)

Surprise, surprise, right?  I did write a massive blog post just last spring in which I reviewed every Marvel movie after first re-watching each of them.  But you can thus imagine just how high my expectations for the grand finale, Endgame, were.  And it met them, and then some.  It's clear that, given how spectacularly successful the Russo brothers had been with Captain America: Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel freed them to shape this finale however they wished.  And there was a lot that went against convention.  It has a three-plus hour running time, an eternity in today's tweeting, memeing culture.  It kills off the bad guy (sort of) in the first twenty minutes.  It has loads of references, some subtle and others not, to the earlier films.  It doesn't even have any significant action scenes for the first two hours!  But it works.  The film quickly dispatches with the easy solution to Thanos's "snapture", which killed half of all living beings (heroes included) at the end of Infinity War.  Instead, it focuses on resolving the characters themselves, particularly the "OG" - Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, and it both makes them work hard to get there and patiently takes its time to do so.  Time travel, while often an easy fallback gimmick, is a perfect tribute to some defining earlier adventures and clever springboard to fixing the problem at hand.  And right about when you start feeling antsy for some Hammer, Shield and Iron time, good ol' Grimace comes back to throw down the gauntlet in a bone-rattling, electrifying, exhilarating two-part final melee to end all melees.  Then after all of that, there's still time and energy for a denouement that matches LotR: Return of the King for the poignancy and power of its send off for some of our favorite characters.

So, yeah.  Avengers: Endgame SMASHES (TM-The Hulk) all comers for the title of Movie of 2019.  And, as an extension of its kin going back to 2008, probably my movie of the decade.

Honorable Mentions: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; Parasite; Spider-Man: Far From Home


Most Overrated Film of the Year:  Ad Astra (runner-up: Uncut Gems)
Honorable mention here goes to Green Book, which was an outrageous Best Picture winner choice, but at least better than the other two overall.  I could even see someone liking Uncut Gems, if they happened to enjoy movies with constant yelling and unpleasantness; it at least feels real, and is done effectively.  This is Adam Sandler's wheelhouse.  It's also not the spot I want to be in the theater.
Ad Astra definitely takes the s*** cake this year.  A faux-Serious sci-fi film featuring the most ridiculous and pretentious of Brad Pitt's performances this year, I'm not sure how so many critics were hoodwinked by this one.  Deadly go-karting with Moon Bandits?  Ambush face-eating space monkeys?  Indiana Jones-style stowaways on rocket ships?  What the hell?  If this comes up on your streaming service, skip past it with all due haste.

Most Underrated Film of the Year:  The Upside (runner-up: Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker)
Critics mostly got it right this year with the movies that were on the positive end.  Star Wars is a bit of a cheat, because I was also a bit disappointed by it and its Rotten Tomatoes score isn't that bad.  But it was still an incredibly entertaining film, and it got the important parts right (Rey and Kylo Ren).  Sure, I wish it was better, too... but that's a topic for another post.
The one significantly underrated film this year was The Upside, my #2 film of the year, with just a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score.  What?!?  "Preachy, manipulative, and frustratingly cliched" - no, no, and no.  I think they saw that this is a remake (critics tend to hate them), watched the trailer, and made assumptions.  See my summary above or full review for more details.  I'll note that audiences definitely agreed with me, with an 82% Audience Score, $108 million made overall in the dead of January, which was a ridiculously good 5x multiplier (indicating excellent word of mouth) on its opening weekend.  So there!

Most Disappointing Film of the Year:  A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (runner-up: The Lego Movie 2)
I saw quite a few sequels this year; it was kind of hard to avoid them, and many of them were follow-ups to excellent original films, perhaps none better than 2014's Lego Movie.  Not only was LM2 worse than almost all the other sequels this year, that difference in expectation was particularly crushing.  The writing was so much worse... even though it was the same guys! (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller).  Sigh... at least we'll always have the first to return to.
I hate saying this about a Mr. Rogers movie, but it's true.  With Tom Hanks (!) playing Fred, and a great new talent, Marielle Heller (2018's Can You Ever Forgive Me?) directing, this had tons of potential.  And there are glimpses of it, particularly when Hanks is onscreen.  But while I also approve of the decision to make Rogers a supporting character and use a surrogate as the lead, the main character and his story are a debacle.  Note to critics: this is where your "preachy, manipulative and frustratingly cliched" descriptors belong.  Just because this is a Mr. Rogers movie doesn't mean the audience can't handle complexity or subtlety.  Please try again.

Most Surprisingly Good Film of the Year:  Fighting With My Family (runner-up: Jumanji 2)
Again, not a lot of surprises in the positive direction (i.e. most just met or moderately exceeded expectations).  I wanted to give the Jumanji sequel a shot, primarily for the reasons listed for Lego Movie 2.  Also, it was a nice change of pace amidst Oscar contenders.  But this sequel was actually not just a cash grab after the original hit.  It helps that the core cast - Johnson, Hart, Gillan, and Black - all returned.  But they squeezed in enough laughs and new stuff to make it worth the trip.
Fighting With My Family was praised by critics (93% RT score), which is what drew me to it.  Frankly, I hadn't even heard of it before.  Then there's the deceptive advertising, prominently featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson despite his five minutes or so of screentime (good ones, granted).  Add my sports movie skepticism, and I wasn't expecting much.  Well, I think I've said all I need to about how good it is above, so I'll just refer you to its spot on my top 10 list.

Worst Film of the Year:  Hobbs & Shaw (runner-up: Ad Astra)
Honorable mention also gets the dubious distinction of Year's Worst Sequel: Men In Black: International.  At least it proved just how valuable and great Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were in the original (I liked MIB 3's new duo, too, but it just didn't work).
I only have myself to blame for seeing the movie that ended up in last for me.  I saw the original Fast and Furious movie and thought it was OK.  Then, the sequels started to get really popular, and I saw the fifth one; while there was Michael Bay-style sheer adrenaline, it was bad and I vowed to steer away from the franchise.  But for some reason, I saw another one (can't even remember which one), and it was even worse.  Now, I enjoy Dwayne Johnson, so for some reason I decided to give this spin off a try - hey, at least it doesn't have Vin Diesel!  It was better than the last FF movie I saw, but then I read about the franchise stars' ridiculous behind-the-scenes macho competition.  I say once more - never again!!!
I already wrote about Ad Astra above, nothing more to say!


Other Films I Saw in Theaters in 2019 (click for full reviews):



Netflix Summary:

Well, I didn't go back and watch much of anything at home that I missed in theaters.  Partly there were few flicks that I was dying to see that I didn't get to see in the theater; partly by the time they became available on streaming, I just wasn't interested any more.  We'll see how I feel in 2020.

  • Yesterday (B).  I had to see this at some point since I'm such a huge fan of The Beatles.  I was a bit nervous that it would be a poor film or - worse - insult the legacy of the best pop act of all time, but fortunately it was fine.  Not great, but it's at least original, and probably even more enjoyable for people who are more casual fans of the band.
  • Long Shot (???).  I only watched about half of this, and turned it off.  It wasn't bad, just very "meh".  Maybe I'll finish it some day... but probably not.

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I don't want to end my year-in-review blog post on a down note, so here's a brief wrap up.  I hope that you were able to enjoy some of the films in my top 10 already, and of course I highly recommend that you check at least a few more of them out if/when you get the chance.

Compared to 2019, my expectations for 2020 are quite modest.  Last year had the final chapters (well, final is a relative word here...) for three of my favorite fictional worlds:  the MCU, Game of Thrones (TV, but it became practically a cinematic experience), and the new Star Wars trilogy.  That ended up a mixed bag, to my overall disappointment, so here's hoping for great things from the new year.  Off the top of my head, I know I'm excited for a new James Bond, two interesting new MCU (the first in the new "saga") films, Wonder Woman (the best thing DC has going right now), two original Pixar projects, and - best of all? - a new Christopher Nolan film.

Come out to the theater when you can in 2020, and I hope you enjoy what you see!





* Source:  https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/23/arts/23avengers-hp-promo/23avengers-hp-promo-superJumbo-v3.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp

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