Best of 2019 - Films

Its been an interesting year for films. The year of 2019 brings the end of an era to some beloved franchises while also paving the way for brand new ones along with some stand out films along the way. We learnt that heroes can start from a young age, that the endgame really is the endgame, that some companies need more faith put into their projects and  no matter what happens, Disney will probably buy your a** one of these days. So let's look at my favourite films of the last year of the 2010s and as usual, this is not a ranked list but a general one of films that were first released this year which I think are great. Let's do this:

Also as many of these films have been well and truly released all over now, but ready for some spoilers.

Avengers: Endgame

So as many of you will have guessed, I haven't seen every film that was released this year so if your favourite isn't on here, its because I haven't seen it at the time of typing this post up. So with that out of the way, let's start by talking about the highest grossing film this year as well as the new all time highest grossing film. Ever since 2008, we have come to know and love such superheroes like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man and so many more. All of which existed in their own cinematic universe which is Stan Lee's third attempt at having a shared universe having already done one in the comics and another on the small screen. Until 2008, the most heroes we would have known about were Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Blade, Daredevil and Ghost Rider. So what has been an epic 11 years has finally come to an end in the quite appropriately titled Avengers: Endgame. A film that sees the survivors of the Snap working together to undo the damage Thanos made even though so many have made theories that there may be more to his goal than we come to realize. Anyway despite being the longest film of the MCU, it fits in so many well established storylines together in an attempt to bring closure to each one while giving some characters some open ended endings so that they can continue on through other films and Disney+ shows. Although confusing with the time travel nonsense, its a great film that unfortunately may make most films released after this one to never reach this magnitude of characters again in future. But it finishes the Infinity Saga well (although a certain Spider-Man film is the official end of this phase) and I look forward to seeing what the MCU has as their next big bad in the future.

Shazam!

Some will argue that DC don't release as many films as Marvel do every year, but you would actually be wrong about that. I mean sure they didn't have as many films in the big screen this year, but they made up for that with their many direct to home media films which are largely animated as well as their TV series that does really well at adapting huge events first seen in the comics. So now we come to Shazam! who wasn't originally a DC character to begin with, but has over the years been a key and unique hero in that its not a full grown adult but a boy in an adult body. Has flight and super strength like Superman, lightning powers like Static Shock and the mind of a troubled teenage boy like... well that's probably the only unique thing about him. Nevertheless, the film is a fun one with references to Batman and Superman and a major call back to the comics along with a beginning that almost looks like the beginning of The Lego Movie. So yeah all DC fans looking for a good time will get it right here.

Toy Story 4

I think the only good thing going for Toy Story 4 is that it brings closure to the lingering question of what ever happened to Bo Peep. It probably would have worked better as a short film rather than something feature length, but it does do a call back to the second film in that we see Woody conflicted over whether he wants to remain a toy of Bonnie or live the life of a lost toy like his long lost love that is Bo Peep. Of course there is also a call back to the first film in which all the toys get played with by Bonnie except for Woody who once again becomes a neglected toy. Only this time, he is OK with that when Forky enters the fray. Overall, it feels like an unnecessary film, but we get what we paid for as we get what may be the last film of the franchise. Plus Mr. Potato Head still gets a minor role despite Don Rickles no longer around which gives his role justice so there is that.

It: Chapter Two

Everyone loves the Stephen King novel and so of course we would eventually get a film adaptation of it. But unlike the miniseries that came before it, the film adaptation would be a two parter with the first part focused on the Losers Club as kids and the second on their adult lives. Plus with 2016 now having been and gone, this meant that there would be some accuracy to how that year played out unlike the miniseries. The second part is not perfect as it is longer, not as scary and some of the jumpscares take too long to be done even though we already know they are coming. Also some of the character development is abandoned especially towards those in relationships. But overall, it does what we expect it (no pun intended) to do which is to continue the story and end it on a satisfactory note. Even though some parts are confusing, but still a good film. Just not a perfect one.

The Irishman

What do you get when you put Martin Scorsese, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the same film? Well a pretty good gangster film actually. So much can be said about this film, but the most important thing is that these old fossils are not done yet with making great gangster films. With so many great films already under their belt, why not have another one and put it on Netflix of all things. The Irishman may not have the titular character sound Irish, but no one can really ignore the great performances that everyone brings to this film. Still wondering what ever happened to all the guns that got thrown into that river, but still a fantastic film worth watching if you like gangster films.

Captain Marvel

This film is anything but great. Its not the best to come from Marvel especially considering the timing of it as well as the backlash that Brie Larson has had since going for the role, but it does answer a few questions. The biggest one of all being what was the inspiration Nick Fury had in forming the Avengers and the most disappointing but funny one being how Nick Fury became partially sighted (and believe me its not as exciting as it sounds). But it has 90s nostalgia in it, we also find out where the Tesseract has been since Captain America: The First Avenger and also where Captain Marvel fits in to Avengers Endgame. Its not the film we were hoping it could be, but its got some good qualities about it even if people aren't too keen on the actress. Who knows, maybe people will let go of their anger and move on, but we shall see.

The Lion King

Putting all my negative comments aside about this film, there are some good things about this remake. While I still think the animals need to show more emotion (especially as that really is possible with many of them), the photo realistic CGI is actually pretty good. Everything looks quite real, but you can tell when things look a bit fake. I also really like the new versions of some of the songs. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" should really be sung at night while "Be Prepared" needs to be more dramatic if you're ever going to try and beat the Jeremy Irons/Jim Cummings one. But the other ones are pretty good. And honestly I am OK with the shot for shot that this film is largely going with because that's what many fans are wanting as well as some new stuff and anything that can be built upon that the original did jack s**t about. So yeah good fun for a new generation, but it does divide fans.

Rocketman

When I compare this to Bohemian Rhapsody, the one thing it does well compared to that film is that it has all the songs (even the new ones) tie into the plot rather than be sung as and when Elton John sang them. But while Bohemian Rhapsody disguised Rami Malek's voice so that it sounded like Freddy Mercury, here you know its Taron Egerton singing because the voice is not disguised in anyway. I guess Elton John was really impressed with his Kingsman: The Golden Circle co-star that he considered him for the role. More so when he heard him in character sing "I'm Still Standing" in Sing. So yeah I really like this one. It goes through Elton's life up to when he finally became and stayed sober all while having every well known and beloved song of his tie into the plot. Its really good and worth watching.

Aladdin

Some of the big problems that arose from the original film included the lack of character development for Jasmine and the ending for Genie which although great that he was set free, is that really what he wanted more than anything. So in this new take on the original film, its the same story but with the animals now all non-speaking and Jafar has been toned down from being someone overly dramatic to someone more sinister, arrogant and just someone acting as if he is meant to be like Kylo Ren from Star Wars. Will Smith does well as Genie and makes the character his own with Smith's style of rapping and a love story going for his character as well. Naomi Scott does well as Jasmine and she actually has more character development this time as we see her wanting to be the new sultan despite the sexist rule that no woman can be one. Aladdin as I said in the review feels like being a bit awkward while somehow wearing clothes that make me wonder if he is actually poor or just wants to cover his bare chest in contrast to the original one. Jafar is probably the biggest let down of them all because he is just not as fantastic or as dramatic as the original. Nevertheless, its a good film to be shown to a new generation and probably is the best Disney remake of the three we got this year.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

So after shuffling between distributors, DreamWorks Animation have finally settled with Universal buying them out. So here we are with their first film under Universal as well as the last one for How to Train Your Dragon. Every film gets better in terms of visuals and other things and now with this one, we get to explore the colourful world in which dragons can live and thrive without the risk of people wanting to hunt them down. Its an emotional one that sees Hiccup and the rest of Berk say goodbye to their dragons. But it ends on a happy note that sees Hiccup and Astrid get married, have children and reunite with Toothless and the other dragons. A great ending to what has been a great series of films and starts Universal's run of DreamWorks Animation films strong.

Dumbo

Out of the Disney remakes released this year that I have watched, Dumbo is the one that has very little things coming from the original. The music is there, the basic premise of the original is there, Dumbo himself is still treated like a freak initially and so forth. But none of the animals talk this time, more focus (aside from Dumbo of course) is on the humans and we get an actual villain rather than many of us thinking that the Ringmaster is the villain. On the whole, it feels more like a re-imagining of Dumbo rather than an actual almost shot for shot remake and its actually alright for what its meant to be. There is lots you can do on a film that is meant to be a remake of one of Disney's shortest animated films and sure enough, it is a much longer film than the original with every bit having some meaning to it rather than waiting too long for things to happen like in a Bay film. Great film for a new generation, that's for sure.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

Many will agree that this is not as fun or as awesome as the first film. But that's OK because it did something unusual for LEGO in general. The thing being the combination of the typically boys themes with the typically girls themes which has never happened before and even I didn't realise that the girly sets have a different type of minifigure to the more mainstream ones (although they call those ones minidolls). So ever since the Duplo aliens invaded (the sister in the real world), much of the LEGO universe has been turned into a Mad Max like wasteland where everyone has been forced to harden up. All except for Emmett who still believes that everything can still be awesome. But when a being known as General Mayhem appears, this being kidnaps Emmett's friends (the friends being the side characters from the first LEGO film) and Emmett sets out to save them. But as things play out, all the characters from the brother and sister universes, come to realise too late that someone has been manipulating them this whole time (but its not what you might thing it is) and set out to save Emmett before he gets broken by this someone. The film in comparison to the first one is more of a musical and less awesome, but still packs in plenty of jokes, plenty of self aware moments (aka breaking the fourth wall moments) and changes the characters' perception of things for the better. I'm sure all LEGO fans will still enjoy it despite being not as awesome as the first one. But otherwise, yeah its another great film for LEGO and I hope we get more soon.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

So around the time where Sonic's former nightmarish film design was shown, Warner Bros. gave us the first Pokemon film they have distributed ever since the original but confusing anime trilogy back in the 90s. What was most interesting is that this film is not like any of the films before it. Yes people, Pokemon has entered the live action world. But unlike Sonic, all the Pokemon actually look like there are supposed to look. I guess the really great thing here is that it brings something animated to a live action world where all the characters actually look like the characters we know and love rather than have a complete overhaul in the design. That is really what made Pokemon: Detective Pikachu work in that sense because that is really what fans wanted. But no one really wanted a film that was based on a video game that only just came out not too long ago and had a mixed reception. I mean I'm glad we got the film because it is good. But it came across as if GameFreak really want to sell the idea of Pikachu as a detective that like Meowth and most of the legendary Pokemon from the anime, can talk like us humans. Nevertheless, you get what you paid to see and despite the transition from anime to live action, it remains in continuity somehow which I guess if you are as familiar with the story like I am, is OK.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I still think the first Godzilla film in this cinematic universe is the best one of the two. This one is OK. It has good visuals, pretty good fighting scenes and some snarky humour from its mostly all star cast. But the story is overly complicated compared to its more simple predecessor which was all about giant monsters fighting and humans just trying to bring it to an end. Its complicated because yeah it is about who is the best monster of them all, but then brings about how the titular monster is this so called legend or chosen one who is destined to be king and let no monster stand in his way. With only Mothra and the Monarch organisation (and I guess some of the humans but not all of them) being his allies. For the film that is basically the penultimate film before he and King Kong fight it out (only this time its done by Hollywood), it could be better. But there is a lot of popcorn action, some emotional moments and some pretty epic battles. A better story may have made this a better film, but it is what it is.

Klaus 

We hardly get anything that is traditionally hand drawn animation any more due to the rise of full CGI films. Sure we still get some stop motion ones, some hybrid films and even motion capture films. But ever since the mid to late 00s, its all about that CGI over the style of animation that has been done for decades. So one of the animators to come from the Disney Renaissance decided to see if the old ways can still work by giving us probably the most original film about the origins of Christmas and it is really good. Has a bit of Romeo and Juliet in a subplot that revolves around the villains, but its otherwise a really good film that is well animated, full of heart and plenty of comedy. It does what it set out to do and shows that the old ways are still as good as the new ways, if not just a bit better. Check it out if you have Netflix because it is really good and worth your time.

Reign of the Supermen

I think for their second attempt at making a film on the Death of Superman, DC did pretty well on this two parter. But while the first one felt like a Justice League film centred on Superman, this one is in every way a Superman film with a very minimal appearance from the rest of the Justice League. So spoiler alert, Superman is dead and so the mantle is fought for by four new wannabes. One is a puppet of Lex Luthor, one is just some guy dressed in a metallic suit, one is an apparent security system set up by Superman in the event of his demise and the final one is someone acting like the real Superman, but has big plans for Earth that could see it fall to the hands of the first villain that this version of the Justice League fought early on in the series. It does well to continue the story while also showing us that others can be like Superman even if the odds are against them. Its a good second part and I hope that the end credits scene leads onto something good and worth waiting for.

Justice League VS The Fatal Five

You know its great that DC really want to keep their animated universe going after having finished on Cartoon Network's Toonami block (and later short lived channel here in the UK) so many years ago. It was such a great set of cartoons and I'm really glad that after Batman & Harley Quinn, we get one more around where the Justice League are. So with much of the Justice League disbanded following what went down with Darkseid in the Justice League Unlimited finale, the Trinity set out to recruit and train a new generation of heroes while taking on the titular Fatal Five who have come from the future to remake the universe into their own image. The animation is just as good as it was back in the day and the voice cast is great too. Lots of adult innuendos as well, but as the DCAU audience have all grown up (myself included), I guess you can allow those sorts of things. But yeah its a good film and hopefully there will be more along the way in the future set in this universe.

Teen Titans Go! VS Teen Titans

Well it was going to happen one day. So with Teen Titans Go! constantly poking fun at the cartoon that came before them, many of us knew that there would be a crossover of the two one day and honestly, its actually pretty good. While the Teen Titans Go! film may have been an unbearable watch for some, this is actually the better film. So when fighting the Gentleman Ghost, he accidentally releases Raven's inner demon which attracts the attention of Trigon from their universe who has partnered up with the Trigon of the old cartoon's universe to conquer the multiverse using the demonic power from both their Ravens. Of course both Titan teams don't like the idea and decide to try and stop them. What we get is a bizarre attempt at seeing all the Titan teams from across multiple forms of media battling the two Trigons who then merge to become a much more powerful being. Its a fun film that gives fans something that we have been craving for, for a very long time and is a more bearable watch than the cheesy Teen Titans Go! to the Movies. Give it a watch as you may be surprised with what you get.

Batman: Hush

When I heard that DC are making a film based on the Batman: Hush storyline, I was really looking forward to it. Seeing all of the rogue gallery in the same film alongside a mysterious villain all while Batman and Catwoman find love. It does differentiate itself from the comics (especially with what they do with Thomas Elliot and Riddler), but it keeps within the continuity of the New 52 cinematic universe and largely remains faithful to the comics. More so with the Superman fight and the fact that all or most of Batman's villains are in it. Its a good adaptation that quite appropriately got released at a time where we are in the midst of a milestone anniversary for Batman. But its not the only beloved Batman story to be adapted to screen that we got this year.

Batman VS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

So this is the other one. I guess one great thing about this film is that neither the Batman nor the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters are based on any particular version. Instead it gives us versions of the characters that are more in line with their comic book forms with some elements of their other media selves (i.e. Troy Baker as Batman having previously voiced him in the LEGO Batman games and Telltale's Batman series). Basic premise of Shredder teaming up with Ra's Al Ghul to create a formula to enact chaos across the world starting in Gotham. So of course our titular heroes along with the Bat Family must team up to stop them, but also coming into contact with Batman's other villains, the Foot Clan and the League of Assassins. Also we see how Batman takes on Shredder and Leonardo goes up against Ra's Al Ghul (both possibly due to them having a score to settle from much earlier on in the film). Good fun all around and very close to being like the story from the comics. Plus plenty of pizza to go around too.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

You know I think its because of Star Wars that lots of films from different franchises are now having the sub title "a [insert franchise name here] film or story" in their titles. This was also the case for El Camino which is the true finale to Breaking Bad as it shows us what happened to Jesse Pinkman following the show's finale along with some flashbacks to events that have never been seen until now. In the film, Jesse wants to start a new life, but has some scores to settle, some people to see and a ton of money that is rightfully his to find. We learn once and for all that Walter White is well and truly dead (despite theories claiming otherwise) which Jesse also finds out. He also learns about Saul Goodman disappearing to cover his tracks. But in the end, it ends with Jesse hoping for a new life without dwelling over the past. Its a great ending to the overall franchise (even though we are still getting more Better Call Saul episodes over the horizon) and Jesse's life as the partner to the drug kingpin that was Heisenberg. 9/10

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I won't talk too much about this one as I reviewed it yesterday. It really isn't too bad of a film for the franchise and sure maybe the fanbase isn't quite like it was before The Last Jedi. But I still saw it and I really enjoyed it even though it had some lingering problems like the long running time, the laws of physics being defied yet again and some other issues too. Still a good film though even if it had those as well as an Avengers: Endgame like climax so yeah go and see it. Don't let the fanbase put you off and be glad Disney are taking a break after this one.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

 The last of the MCU films this year gave us a big but probably not that surprising of a spoiler for Avengers: Endgame especially with the timing of the marketing and the fact that lots of people associated with Marvel Studios can't shut up about things (well unless you are Benedict Cumberbatch or Robert Downey Jr.). So the official end of Phase 3 as well as the Infinity Saga of the MCU, gives us another Spider-Man outing in which we get Mysterio (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) as the main villain as well as appearances from other well established MCU characters which of course was promised when this deal between Marvel and Sony first started and I'm sure it also applies to the new deal also. The film in which Peter Parker goes on a school trip to Europe and finds himself thrown into a fight against apparent elemental beings, is a good story to go on. Its not what many of us were expecting after such a huge film that came before it, but its got all the usual stuff like the MCU humour, some great action scenes and Peter coming to terms with what it takes to be a hero and being a nerdy schoolboy in love with one MJ. Not the overall best MCU or Spider-Man film especially after the fantastic Spider-Man: Far From Home. But still pretty good and it gave us one of the most shocking of credit scenes that will no doubt resolve itself in a future film. Plus in what I guess is in the place of a Stan Lee cameo (though the film is dedicated to him and Steve Ditko nonetheless) is the appearance of one of the best characters from the comics last seen in the Tobey McGuire films so there is that as well. 8/10

Deaths:

• Luke Perry (The Fifth Element)
• Peter Mayhew (Star Wars)