Top 20 Movies of 2019

Here's my Top 20 Movies of 2019 in chronological order:

1. GLASS:
James McAvoy is one of my absolute favorite actors. He stole the show as Kevin Wendall Crumb, and his multiple personalities. You felt as if he actually became these characters. Samuel L. Jackson was fantastic as the mastermind, Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass. His ability to control everything around him was amazing to watch, and IMO, this is easily one of his best, if not his, best character ever. Bruce Willis continued his vigilante persona of David Dunn in fine fashion. These three actors gave layered performances that exhibited both the positives and the negatives of their character. This was a a psychological movie that celebrated the mythos of comic books, as well as the overall effect comic books, and extraordinary people and events have on the world in general. I loved how it felt like I was picking up a comic book and reading through the pages seeing what would happen next. The color scheme was phenomenal. Each character has his own signature color. It gave even more presence to their overall personality. That scene in the pink room with Sarah Paulson was incredible to watch in terms of environment and dialogue. I loved the overall dialogue. I appeciated a lot of what happens in the third act. There's good connection with all three movies. The action sequences are awesome when they happen. This is a movie that looks more into the soul and personality of the characters than celebrating intense action sequences. It was an approach taken in Split and Unbreakable, and I thought it was apropos to use here as well. There's a lot going on here. I also loved seeing Anya Taylor-Joy back as Casey. I love her chemistry with James McAvoy a great deal. There's a great Beauty & The Beast type story with Casey & Kevin that is awesome to see. This movie is great in terms of performances, the scenes in the mental hospital watching Elijah spin his impressive web playing everybody off of each other, the action sequences, and overall plot development about heroes and villains, extraordinary people, and the aura of comic books really made me love this. 

2. ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL: 
Based on the manga series Gunnm, this movie runs full speed ahead in such an exciting manner with incredible visuals, good characters, and an incredible plot with so much interwoven within it! Rosa Salazar gives one of the best performances you'll find as Alita! She's a cyborg trying to find her identity and purpose in the world. The emotion she shows through each step of the movie feels natural. Even though she's a cyborg, she feels more than most humans. She's got an incredible heart (in more ways than one). She's an absolute bad ass! She's legitimately one of the most layered, well developed female characters that we haven't seen for a while. The visuals for the character add to the emotional depth provided by Salazar to complete the picture. I just love this character! There's great world building discussing the Sky Cities (particularly Zalam), Iron City, and even the underworld of these cities. There's many memorable scenes. Favorites of mine include; The collision in Kansas, the battles with Grewishka, and the motorball sequences. The chemistry with Rosa and Christoph Waltz (who takes on the role as an adoptive father) feels natural, and works well providing both dramatic and comedic moments. Waltz is a fantastic actor. His work in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained really cemented him as one of the premiere actors in the industry, and his performance here as Dr. Dyson Ido showed a man suffering from things in the past, but through Alita he's able to pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. Great work by Waltz! I also really liked the romantic subplot with Alita and Hugo. Rosa and Keean Johnson worked well together. It reminded me a little bit of Rachel & Rick Deckard's relationship in Blade Runner in some ways. These subplots help shape Alita into an even more well rounded character, showing what her purpose is, and more importantly, who she is! Also, the motif of sacrifice for one another was on full display in their relationship which is really what sold me on their subplot. James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez really did well creating this world and these characters in a live action setting. Two of my favorite people behind the camera really made something special here. Cameron is known for creating some of the strongest female characters in movie history, and along with Rodriguez, he did it again. Roberts film making style has always been impressive, and I liked seeing a lot of familiar faces from his project like Michelle Rodriguez who played She in Machete and Eiza Gonzalez who played Salamanca in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. This is a combination that hopefully gets to create more characters in this universe because the characters and story arcs are fascinating! I really liked Mahershala Ali's work as Vector/Nova! Ali's voice and demeanor shows that he knows how to play a hero and a villain. It shows versatility as an actor. The scene with Alita and Vector in his office was well done as it helped to create more tension for future installments if they choose to make them (which they definitely should). I love this movie for a phenomenal, breakthrough performance by Rosa Salazar as one of the coolest characters ever in Alita, a fantastic story with many layers in the past, present, and definitely the future, incredible action sequences demonstrating speed and artistic, athletic battle strategy. a solid supporting cast that help add layers to Alita, and the incredible film making combination of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez. 

3. US: 
What a thought provoking, intense, yet entertaining take on the horror genre. Jordan Peele has created some pretty good movies over the years, most notably, Get Out. The thing about Us is the movie starts mattering from the first frame of the television screen. To me, this movie was saying we are our own worst enemy, as well as every human being is capable of light and dark. The message is there throughout the movie. The scenes in this movie are off the page incredible! The home invasion scenes are fantastic! I think Lupita N'yongo's work here is phenomenal! She really had to put herself in two different mind frames to create her performance and she did an incredible job! It's easily one the best female performances of 2019! I think one of my favorite observances of this movie is watching Lupita's white outfit gradually attain more red in some way or another as the movie goes. The story intrigued me throughout. The cast was excellent. The action sequnces were intense. The initial home invasion scenes were great, but the big scene at Elisabeth Moss's family's house-WOW! That's good stuff right there! Also, there are some great twists here that absolutely make sense that definitely had me at the edge of my seat saying; YES! by the end of the movie! While some people may be squeamish at violence, I think it was used in an intelligent way here, and was necessary for the overall movie. Seriously, see this movie! Fantastic work!


4. SHAZAM:
When it comes to comics, I'm a DC fan! I've enjoyed all the DCEU movies thus far, and this just continues my appreciation for these movies! Shazam was a movie I went in expecting to like, but came out absolutely loving it! It's great when a movie exceeds your expectations! The movie combines magic, what the true meaning of family is, superhero tropes, and a solid dramatic story mixed with natural humor that balanced out the story. Essentially, this movie is split into two stories: the world and character of Shazam and Billy Baston's journey to find love and family! The movie explores the mystic nature of Shazam and what his power entails. Zachary Levi's performance as Shazam was perfectly cast! He was so fun in the role! His comedic timing was great, and his dramatic performance came off really well! I think this is one of the better perfomances in a superhero movie, especially when you take into account that he always has to keep his inner self as a 14-15 year old part of the role at all times, and he never missed a beat! His scenes testing his powers were hilarious, and watching him evolve into his full potential was an amazing thrill ride! Amazing work by Zachary Levi! I really can't stress it enough! His performance is why we go to the movies! He gives you escape into this fun world of fantasy and magic, but mixed in with the magnificence of the magic is a grounded story that carries the dramatic aspect of this movie! Asher Angel gave a great performance as Billy Baston! I'm familiar with his work on Andi Mack, where he gives another tremendous performance as Jonah Beck. Billy's on a journey of his own to find his family, and, luckily by the conclusion of this movie he finds it when he wasn't looking. His journey was emotional and gave a lot of heart to the movie, which is apropos since the movie is about finding one that is pure in heart! The dinner table scene towards the end of the movie shows that Billy finds where he belongs, and I definitely shed a tear at that, because we are on this journey with him, and hope he finds what he's looking for. One of the most entertaining aspects of this movie is Jack Dylan Grazer's performance as Freddy! He is absolutely hilarious at every turn of the movie! He provides some of the best lines of the movie, and we also feel for him based on things that are going on with him physically. At the same time, I think it's amazing that he is able to persevere through everything in his own way. His chemistry with both Zachary Levi and Asher Angel was fantastic! I felt like they were close friends based on how they interacted. His constant discussion of everything comics was entertaining, as well as helpful throughout the movie. I loved the whole magical elements of the seven kingdoms vs. the seven deadly sins story! The visual effects for the seven deadly sins was amazing! The board room where Mark Strong's Dr. Sivana reveals his dark half is such a visually amazing scene. At the same time, while he's seen as a villain, there are aspects of his character you can sympathize with. He does take things to a new levels, but, underneath all the envy, there's somebody just looking for acceptance, much like Billy was. The carnival scene was incredible! Everybody in the packed theater I saw this in started applauding when Billy reveals the true power of Shazam! Really awesome reveals, fun battle sequences, strong friendships coming together as one, well placed drama and comedy. It felt like a finale scene, which, IMO, DC is very good at! This is one of the most fun experiences I've ever had watching a movie! I loved the stories told throughout, the characters presented to us, the visuals, and of course, the power of Shazam! If you're a fan of comic books, and you like a perfect mix of drama and comedy, check this out! Shazam has something for everybody!

5. AVENGERS: ENDGAME:
What a ride! It was a fantastic conclusion to a decade of movies! I'm not a huge fan of the MCU, but I thought this movie was excellent all around! Time travel (very intriguing scenarios played out), epic fight sequences, overall strong character arcs, the darker tone throughout that was necessary for this storyline, Robert Downey, Jr giving a great, emotional farewell performance as Tony Stark, etc. really made this an amazing movie experience! It makes you appreciate the storytelling leading to the epic confrontation with Thanos and his dark army. This and Infinity War are combined as one big epic movie for me! I like them equally! I think both were well made, and along with Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2, Black Panther, Iron Man, and Captain America; The First Avenger these movies are the MCU's best work. Even if you're like me and aren't a big fan of the MCU, you can appreciate it as an incredible conclusion to ten years of storytelling that is definitely one of the better comic book movies out there!

6. JOHN WICK-CHAPTER 3:
What an excellent action movie with a really well layered story looking at the politics of The Continental and The Table! Keanu Reeves is fantastic as usual. I actually found him to be more impressive in Parabellum than in the previous installments. Some of these action sequences were so inventive in how he approached the kill. The library scene, the armory battle, the tag team shootout with Halle Berry's character: Sofia! The intensity was evident throughout the movie! The finale at The Continental was awesome! I liked the adjudicator as well. She's just trying to clean things up-doing her job! Don't get pissed at her! I never was! I get it! John fought through so many obstacles here on foot, horseback, motorcycle, etc. Really well done movie that sets up a fourth one perfectly! Maybe we can get Alex Winter in it as a former ally of John's to fight through his obstacles! With a new Bill & Ted coming out in 2020, it'd be great to see them work together one more time on this as well! Ian McShane's Winston is always my favorite part of these movies! He's such a great actor! Battle lines are drawn! Action will erupt again! This was the best John Wick movie thus far and one of the best action movies in recent memory!

7. ALADDIN:
While I had mixed feelings going into this live action adaptation, I came out really enjoying it! It paid enough homage to the animated movie, but sprinkled in enough originality that balanced things nicely! The songs are still here, and well done! Interestingly enough, my favorite song of the movie ended up being Jasmine's original song: Speechless! Fantastic song with powerful lyrics! I'm a big fan of Naomi Scott, as she previously played Kimberly Hart aka The Pink Ranger in the 2017 Power Rangers movie. She was fantastic as Princess Jasmine! She's an absolute goddess! She had the poise and grace we loved, but was also steadfast, strong, and true! Her ambitions were bigger, and she was a stronger character overall than she was in the animated movie! Naomi Scott made me love the Jasmine character more than I already did! It was a standout female performance in 2019 for me! She was on fire in every scene she was in! I absolutely loved her performance! Mena Massoud was pretty good as Aladdin overall! He had enough of the charm of the animated classic to make it work, and he was really likable overall on sheer performance. His chemistry with Naomi Scott was really good! Their scenes together were well done. They did a fantastic job with A Whole New World-one of the best Disney songs ever! Will Smith was actually fantastic as The Genie! He paid homage to Robin Williams for sure, but definitely put some of his own charisma into the mix to make the character his own! He definitely stole the show in a lot of scenes, and made me laugh more than a few times at his dialogue. Jasmine was easily my favorite part of this live action version! Naomi Scott and Will Smith stole the show! The ensemble cast all worked together to create a solid live action version of Aladdin! The magic of Aladdin was present throughout the whole movie! The sets and scenery were spellbinding! The Cave of Wonders looked phenomenal! The Genie's performance of Friend Like Me was impressive-filled with color and charisma! The Prince Ali segment was one of the most visually amazing scenes of 2019! It was a definite highlight of the movie-the spectrum of color and exuberance in this scene was out of this world! The Bollywood style was really cool! Jasmine's outfits were amazing-such beautifully sewn patterns and color schemes! Overall, Guy Ritchie really excelled at creating a live action version of Aladdin! All the scenes from the animated movie are here, mixed with a little bit from the actual Arabian Nights with some original thought went into creating a great movie experience! HOP A CARPET AND FLY TO ANOTHER ARABIAN NIGHT!!

8. ROCKETMAN:
What a fantastic movie looking at the personal and professional life of one of the most charismatic, exciting personalities in music: Elton John! Taron Egerton gave one of the best performances of 2019 as he stepped into the flamboyant outfits and dazzled audiences with his impeccable timing, incredible singing voice, and fantastic performance of dealing with substance abuse, feeling loved by his own family, and presenting a truly iconic figure in entertainment! Egerton really gave a memorable performance here in the therapy sessions, performing at the piano, or showing himself rising like a phoenix fighting through his obstacles! The soundtrack is amazing! Egerton deserves praise for his work here! He's been one of my favorites since his work in Kingsman! He has a refined gentleman quality about him, but he's also able to turn up the volume and show how charismatic he is! His work as Elton John here is his career defining performance thus far, and, I know he'll continue to give us great work like this! I'm so impressed at how well he was able to convey the message of how celebrity doesn't always equate to happiness!

9. YESTERDAY:
It's such a fantastic movie with so many elements to enjoy looking at alternate timelines, great music, and a solid love story! Hamish Patel is excellent as Jack Malik! He's down on his luck with his music, oblivious to things staring him in the face, etc. This was a great introduction to this actor who hopefully gets more leading roles down the line. Lily James is one of my favorite actresses going right now! I've liked all her performances I've seen her in from Baby Driver to Cinderella to Mamma Mia 2. She's also one of the most beautiful women in the entertainment industry! I felt the chemistry between Patel & James was really good! Many of their scenes felt like they knew each other and were good friends. The music is fantastic! The Beatles have a lot of the best songs in music, and they were covered here wonderfully! I loved the concert scenes! I live music aspect was really good with the hot crowd! I think it's such a feel good movie! Lily James & Hamish Patel steer the melodic nature of this movie in a soothing manner! The music flowed through the audience making us realize how important it is to have music in our lives! Without music, the world would be rather dull! Sit back and revel in the music of The Beatles, a great love story, and some interesting twists.

10. ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD:
Quentin Tarantino is my favorite director of all time, and it's always great to see what projects he creates. Watching his stories unfold on screen whether it's an original story or a historical fiction piece that shakes things up is exciting. He knows what he's doing with the camera. He knows how to write good stories. He is the only director where I've actually liked all of his movies. From Reservoir Dogs to this new installment, he has been able to keep me invested in his stories, and constantly impresses me. The story is essentially split into two big arcs. One arc revolves around the Hollywood film industry. The other revolves around the rise of Charles Manson's cult. Our two lead actors are important in terms of shaping both arcs. Leonardo DiCaprio is my favorite actor of all time! I thought his performance here as Rick Dalton was fantastic! He steals the show with his performance as an actor struggling to come to terms with his waning spotlight, but, at the same time puts his all into every role he has. He sells emotion and vulnerability so well as well as the different characters he has to shape for his roles. He is responsible for shaping the Hollywood film industry, and, much like the show Entourage we see how movies and television work. That fascinates me! I like getting a behind the scenes look of a movie, and Tarantino provides that here. Every scene DiCaprio is in is compelling to watch! Brad Pitt puts in his best performance in a while here as Cliff Booth! He's always been a good actor, but Tarantino brings out some of his best work for sure! He serves as Rick Dalton's stunt double, and, ultimately his best friend. He was fantastic here getting a landscape of what is going on, not only in Hollywood, but, ultimately what is going on in the second part of this story in Charles Manson's cult. Brad's silent approach at times is really good here, but when he has dialogue or actions scenes, he is absolutely on fire! Brad Pitt was simply great here by combining that cool charm, and bad ass nature throughout the movie! Combining the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with the grotesque and horrifying side of humanity created a perfect blend for this movie. At times, Tarantino would present this in the same scene, and that's impressive! The scenery even served as characters, because it gives an even more complex picture to what is going on. His ability to show light and dark in one scene in terms of mood, location, emotion, etc. was fantastic! The audience feels the emotion, whether it's positive or negative on a personal level. We are taking this journey with Rick and Cliff seeing their secrets, successes, and shortcomings! I love this movie for the fantastic script, phenomenal performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, a complex and intriguing look at two sides of Hollywood, a fun, quirky performance as Sharon Tate by the gorgeous Margot Robbie, performanes by Mikey Madison (she really sold the chaotic nature of cults really well-so fantastic as Sadie), and Margaret Qualley (really selling that hippie lifestyle), good cameos by Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Luke Perry, etc., a movie split into three distinct acts: Hollywood film industry, Charles Manson's cult, and the convergence of both of these storylines in one heck of an intense finale, and, for Quentin Tarantino constantly reminding me why I love movies so much!

11. READY OR NOT:
What an intense movie that was a surprise hit for me! I didn't know too much going in, but the trailers and tv spots were intriguing enough! If I had to describe it, it's an amalgam of The Purge (the first movie, not the convoluted, annoying sequels), House on Haunted Hill, and a more extreme version of Clue. What a breakthrough performance by Samara Weaving! She's the niece of Hugo Weaving (who is a favorite actor of mine), and she was absolutely incredible here! In many ways, she carried the movie on her shoulders! Samara is gorgeous, extremely charismatic, and so good on precision, timing, and overall personality! This girl has a bright future! Her work here as Grace was a standout performance of 2019! I'm looking forward to more from her! I also liked Adam Brody's performance as Danny! He did great contemplating whose side he's really on here, and it made for compelling moments. The family was absolutely insane, and the movie had it's fun making fun of the arrogance that wealthy people can definitely have. The dark humor content usually hits well! Watching Grace's journey of survival throughout the movie was incredible! You root for her the whole time and realize how much of a bad ass this character really is! There's a lot of the crimson liquid here, but, for the intensity of the movie it was needed! I also liked the motif of watching the color of the wedding dress change! Good symbolism there! This was definitely an intense movie, but with Samara Weaving's performance as Grace and the shenanigans that happen throughout, it was definitely worth it!

12. ABOMINABLE:
This is one of the best animated movies I've seen in a while! It was a movie celebrating Chinese culture, the meaning of home, dealing with grief, the importance of friendship, and, of course, magical adventures! The animation was spectacular! I loved the Yi character-she's trying to hold on to memories, but at the same time trying to find her place in the world. The animation for Everest was excellent! I loved watching his magical powers unfold on the screen! He kind of reminded me of a Mystic from The Dark Crystal in some ways! Jin and Pang were good side characters that grow over the course of the movie as well. Also, the soundtrack and musical score are pretty good! It was a heartfelt story where we watch Yi accept loss and find her whole again. This movie is just as good of a message for adults as it is for children! You can tell that Jill Culton put a lot of herself into this project. I definitely was tearing up throughout the movie! Yi's violin playing is beautiful throughout the movie! The magical animation really pulls you in! The story was fun to watch as we watch our characters go on their adventure. In some ways, it felt like The Wizard of Oz with Yi being Dororthy, Pang being The Scarecrow, Jin being the Tin Man, and, of course, Everest being the Cowardly Lion! Both quartets travel through exotic locations to get where they ultimately need to go. The different locations they travel to in Abominable are all unique, and you feel like you're looking at the real place, because of how good the animation is! Always remember: Lights will guide you home!

13. JUDY:
If you know me, you're aware that one of my favorite people ever in entertainment is Judy Garland! She was a charismatic, beautiful, sassy female that had an incredible singing voice, and has impressed me on screen in movies like The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me In St. Louis, & A Star Is Born! While Judy had a lot of negative things happen in her life time, I love the fact that she still always found a way to stand tall and rebel against these people showing everybody that she is a star, but also a human being worthy of love as we all should be! I think a fantastic song to represent what Judy Garland is all about is Cassie Steele's  aka Manuela "Manny" Santos song Life Is A Show from Degrassi! Listen to the lyrics and you'll immediately think of her! The movie was incredible! I was impressed with the presentation of the overall story. While there's some upsetting aspects of the story, you definitely sympathize with who Judy was! It always gets me fuming how people like Louie B. Mayer, her ex-husbands, and even her own mother treated her. I still love how she was always able to maintain her sassy attitude and put a spin on things to put it in her favor in one way or the other! Let's talk about Renee Zellweger! I thought this was the best performance of her career! She captured the charisma, charm, sassy, yet exuberant personality of Judy Garland so well! She commanded the screen every time she was on it! To me, it really felt like Judy was on the screen! In some camera shots, particularly some of the side close-up shots, she looked hauntingly like her. The ability to create the big doe eyes Garland had was impressive to see as well! I was absolutely impressed wtih her singing here! She sounded like her in so many instances the way she hit her notes! This was definitely Zellweger's movie! There's a great quote from The Wizard Of Oz at the end: "A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others." It's very evident that Judy Garland is an icon in every sense of the word! She's certainly loved by fans all over the world, both young and old. It was my mother who introduced me to The Wizard of Oz, and, Judy Garland as a whole at a young age! You can tell Judy is a movie I was definitely into, and felt deep emotion for it! I started tearing up big time at the end when she sings Over The Rainbow with the fans serenading her to finish it! What an incredible tour de force performance by Renee Zellweger celebrating an absolute icon in the world of entertainment: Judy Garland!

14. JOKER:
It's so tough to describe how good this movie truly is! I thought it was an incredible character study of a man named Arthur Fleck descending further into madness becoming the Clown Prince of Crime! There are so many instances in this movie where I feel you can actually sympathize with Arthur! Yes, he;s an absolute psychopath, but throughout the movie I feel he does have some good intentions. He wants the world to be nice, and he wants to make it better bringing laughter and joy to the world! While this eventually turns into utter chaos, which is calming and soothing for him, I still see where he's coming from in this movie! It's a study of society as well, mental illness, and questioning the role society plays in shaping characters like Arthur? Are we doing enough for them? Can we help more? There's definitely a lot to explore in terms of themes here. and that just makes this a better movie as a result. I love the slow burn to the third act! Each scene mattered to me! Todd Phillips impressed me here, completely baffling me that this is the same guy that did The Hangover series! The man created some art here! Let's talk about Joaquin Phoenix! This man commands the screen when he is on it! I don't think anybody can deny that he's a fantastic actor! He's definitely eccentric, but that's perfect for a movie like this! He knows how he wants to approach a character, and puts his mindset into it to create magic. We all loved Maximus in Gladiator, and while Russell Crowe gave probably his best performance here, it was Joaquin's Commodus that stole the show! Now, here he is as Arthur Fleck giving one of the best male performances in years! The only performances I liked as much in terms of male performances this year were Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood.  Joaquin put so much of himself into this performance, and it was just captivating, mesmerizing, enthralling, dramatic, and a dark comedic performance that beckons us to come and watch it! There's so many fantastic scenes here, interactions between Arthur and somebody he'll come to know quite well in years to come (really awesome scene-DC fans know what I'm talking about here), the Murray Franklin scene, the subway scene, the incredible riot scenes, etc. This is not just a great DC movie/comic book movie. It's a great film noir looking at those anti-heroes form the 1970's like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver and putting a new spin on it and presenting an incredible movie experience.

15. DOCTOR SLEEP:
This was an absolutely incredible thriller of a movie! The Shining is an iconic horror movie, and one that shows how to do horror in a brilliant, throught provoking way. Doctor Sleep continues that by adding layers to an established story, and weaving it all together in an impressive manner. For me, the show stealer was Rebecca Ferguson's Rose The Hat! Every shot displayed her charisma, solid acting, and raw beauty! She encapsulated so much mystery into her story. Living off the true essence of others displays her as an absolutely heinous, monstrous antagonist, but I absolutely loved her! I think many times an antagonist really shapes a movie, and Rose The Hat certainly does that here! It's probably my favorite performance of Ferguson's, and one of the standout female performances of 2019! Ewan McGregor was fantastic as Danny Torrance balancing who he is as an adult with who he was as a child. He found this great balance between light & dark in his performance, and I was thoroughly impressed by him! I felt like I was watching the words of Stephen King jump off the page with our two lead performances here! You understand where both protagonist and antagonist are coming from. You have two unique cults in a way with Danny's past from the Overlook Hotel and Rose's cult of the True Knot. Both are trying to survive in a "normal" world while dealing with their atypical personalities, and the world that has been shaped around them. especially in Danny, but also in Abra Stone with a solid performance by young actress Kyleigh Curran. What power this girl has! She is brave, bad ass, and smart! Curran made this girl jump off the screen with so much gusto that you feel this is a real person at times. Some of the sequences between Rose and Abra are some of the biggest highlights of the movie. In some instances, there's a little bit of Inception in their battles, and it's just amazing to watch. The design of the Overlook and the overall chills you feel  as you watch it come alive pull you right into the movie's pulse! The incredible color palette, haunting score, and appearances from some of our favorite Overlook guests will give you an incredible movie experience. From start to finish, this is one of the best movies you'll find in 2019 through the brilliant directing of Mike Flanagan who perfectly balanced the world of the movies and the books of The Shining universe so well through the understanding of the source material, his great interpretations, his homages to the past such as a particular interview scene with Danny mirroring one with Jack from The Shining, and the blue font in the credits to name a few, as well as memorable performances. This movie has fantastic storytelling, an intriguing plot, a love of cinema, and larger than life characters! Now, crank Midnight, The Stars & You and get lost in the music!

16. THE IRISHMAN:
What a movie! It has a long running time, but the storytelling and performances here were phenomenal! It's just really good across the board! Martin Scorsese is one of the best directors of all time! He always makes incredible movies with fantastic characters and big stories! The best part of the movie for me was Al Pacino's Jimmy Hoffa! What an electrifying performance! Pacino has always been one of my favorite actors! He had so much fire and charisma here in every scene! Robert DeNiro really excelled here as Frank Sheeran. Scorsese brings the best out of DeNiro, because his best performances are usually in Scorsese movies, IMO! His work in The Irishman shows that DeNiro is one of the better actors in the industry. His interactions with Pacino are fantastic dialogue scenes. His ability to navigate business and personal situations in this movie evoke strong emotions from the audience! It was so good to see Joe Pesci on the screen! It felt like he's still been acting extensively for the last decade. He retired from live action roles in 2010, and actually turned down the role of Russell Bufalino close to 50 times. His acting was great here showing he still has the timing and presence to pull off great performances! There's many incredible scenes as Scorsese pulls you right into the mobster era of the 1950's and 1960's as well as important parts of United States history! The mystery surrounding so many things like what happened to Jimmy Hoffa are intriguing, and this movie presents many different views on other things going on as well. The de-aging process for the lead actors was used very well. The actors looked natural with the lighting and the cinematography. I was enamored with the storytelling shaping these characters I was watching. The different feuds going on were intense. This is a movie that shows how good cinema still is. The performances of our three leads: Pacino, DeNiro, & Pesci are all fantastic. Their magnetic perosnalities and impeccable acting combined with painting walls and performing carpentry (I'm not actually talking about home improvement jobs here) and other fantastic scenes make this an unforgettable movie and one of the best of the year, IMO! It was so great seeing some of the best actors ever reuniting for perhaps their last great project together!

17. PARASITE:
Director and writer Bong Joo Won created a fantastic character study movie with important themes and commentary on the world. His visual look alone is so impressive! He created the upper class house set from scratch! His color palettes and scenery between the upper and lower class homes had so much attention to detail, and essentially made non-living objects become an underlying pulse to the whole movie! There are so many intriguing themes-the dynamics between rich and poor, class warfare itself, plans in life, a fantastic look at South Korean culture, and an excellent cast! All the actors are South Korean, and everybody delivers a stellar performance from start to finish! The story focuses on two families, their lives, interactions, and so much more in between! I love the dialogue-it's all subtitled, but you can follow the story very easily. The performances are really good! The charisma of the actors and actresses jumps off the screen at all times! There's good storytelling throughout! There's some really intense moments as well increasing the dramatic effect of the movie! My favorite performances were So-Dam Park's Kim Ki-Jung (such a smart, fun, cerebral character), Yeo-Jeong Ho's Park Yeon-Kyo (very high strung, stressed, but her energy and affection caring for her family is amazing), Woo Sik-Choi as Kim Ki-Woo (overall, he's the main character and ultimately is the barrier between both families), and Kang Ho-Sun as Kim Ki-Taek (the patriarch of one of the families). The women in this movie are absolutely gorgeous! The elegance of Asian women is amazing! The movie combines intense drama, well placed comedic moments, amazing family dynamics, good storytelling and writing, fantastic directing, and an incredible cast making these characters stand out in a big way! Parasite is why we got to the movies! It's thought provoking and will stay with you, because it's just that impressive! Very impactful! Very good cinema!

18. KNIVES OUT:
What a fantastic mystery movie! I had a Murder, She Wrote feel to it (which I've recently started watching, and I absolutely love it! Jessica Fletcher is one of the best television characters of all time). The movie had an all star cast throughout, and everybody did well in their roles. For me, Ana de Armas stole the show. What a fantastic lead performance by her! She was amazing in Blade Runner 2049, and she shows how amazing she is on screen here with her work as Marta Cabrera! It''s easily one of the best female performances of 2019, and, a big breakthrough performance for Ana! She navigated drama and comedy so well throughout here, and interacted well with her male co-stars. Chris Evans also gave a fantastic, charismatic performance as Ransom Drysdale. It's so refreshing to see him in something other than an MCU movie, because he can act and I'm glad he was able to go all out here! I do like his work as Steve Rogers/Captain America a great deal, but, it's nice to see him get out of that role and into something different for a change. I also really enjoyed Daniel Craig's performance as Benoit Blanc. He did well as the detective navigating through the family's story and a big mystery at hand surrounding patriarch, Harlan Thrombey (played brilliantly by Christopher Plummer). He did well with the Southern accent, and I loved his sleuthing skills. He was always one step ahead, and brilliantly deduces several key plot points. Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Colette, Don Johnson, and Michael Shannon were also fantastic in their roles. The movie weaves a great mystery web surrounding trust and family. Sitting back and watching everything unfold was so much fun! Different twists and turns lead to a fantastic conclusion! The movie entertains you from beginning to end. Knives Out weaves a solid narrative helmed by an excellent cast slicing out a delicious mystery to sink our teeth into. It was a surprise hit for me, and I think most people would be into this because of how fun mystery movies can be, and this one certainly is combining excellent drama and pretty good comedy-albeit at times dark humor making it a memorable, solid movie!

19. RICHARD JEWELL:
Excellent movie focusing on a man that was wrongfully accused of planting a pipe bomb during the 1996 summer Olympics! Clint Eastwood did a fantastic job directing this! Paul Walter Hauser gave a phenomenal standout performance as Richard Jewell! He really deserves some awards consideration for his work here. I was impressed with him from beginning to end. Hauser has a unique charisma that makes him excel in movies. He was great in I, Tonya as well, but this is his career making performance thus far! His monologue in the deposition was really well done! I think the rest of the cast especially Kathy Bates. Her plea to Bill Clinton has incredible raw emotion! I really don't think I've seen a bad Kathy Bates performance honestly, which says something about her acting ability, but she really commanded the camera as Bobbi Jewell when she had to. Sam Rockwell really impressed me here. He's not really a favorite of mine, but I loved his work here going to bat for Richard. This is so important to Richard and Rockwell's Watson Bryant as well. They both mean a lot to each other since they met. There's a close knit friendship there that you love watching throughout the movie! Rockwell was on top of his game here! I also liked Jon Hamm and Olivie Wilde's performances as well. Hamm represents the United States government-namely, the FBI, while Wilde represents the media/newspapers. It's a movie that also takes a look at how dangerous the media can be in terms of how they present news stories. I think that important message combined with fantastic performances make this an overall solid biopic. This has a good storyline with solid acting!

20. UNCUT GEMS:
This was phenomenal! The movie is intense from the first frame to the last frame! The tension just hits you! You get so caught up in everything going on! Adam Sandler's performance as Howard Ratner shows just how great of an actor he is! He's known primarily for comedy. but we've seen in the past in movies that he can pull out a fantastic dramatic role, and, IMO, this is his best dramatic performance to date! He certainly deserves to be in the Oscar race for his charismatic work in this movie! He is on fire 100% in every scene! He puts his all into everything going on around him! He's definitely a dirty, rotten scoundrel, but at the same time I just couldn't get enough of this character and this amazing performance! I was also really impressed with Julia Fox's performance as Julia! This is her first major role, and she was awesome! She's absolutely gorgeous, extremely sexy, an a solid actress! She can definitely be a force in Hollywood based on her incredible work here! She keeps up with Sandler, and at times steals scenes showing how great she already is! Julia Fox was my favorite part of the movie! However, Uncut Gems is Adam Sandler's piece de resistance of acting! This is very much his movie, and deserves so much praise for how great he is here! This is his hidden gem! Here he is taking high risks juggling his family, relationships, business, and himself! It was also great seeing Idina Menzel in this! She always gives a great performance! I mean we're talking about the original Elphaba from Wicked here! She really gave a great dramatic glimpse into Howard's home life! Sandler shared amazing scenes with everybody here from Lakeith Stanfield to Kevin Garnett to Idina Menzel to Julia Fox! This movie will make you anxious, but excited at the same time! Uncut Gems has two big standout performances between Sandler & Fox and a wild thrill ride of betting, as well as other crazy shenanigans. What an incredible movie!

Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood Review

I saw Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood on July 26, 2019! Quentin Tarantino is my favorite director of all time, and, it's always great to see what projects he creates. Watching his stories unfold on screen whether it's an original story or a historical fiction piece that shakes things up is exciting! He knows what he's doing with the camera. He knows how to write good stories. He is the only director where I've actually liked all of his movies. From Reservoir Dogs to this new installment, he has been able to keep me invested in his stories, and constantly impresses me.

The story is essentially split into two big arcs. One arc revolves around the Hollywood film industry. The other storyline revolves around the rise of Charles Manson's cult. Our two lead actors are important in terms of shaping both arcs. Leonardo DiCaprio is my favorite actor of all time! I thought his performance here as Rick Dalton was fantastic. He steals the show with his performance as an actor struggling to come to terms with his waning starlight, but, at the same time puts his all into every role he has. He sells emotion and vulnerability so well, as well as the different characters he has to shape for his roles. He is responsible for shaping the Hollywood film industry story, and, much like the show Entourage we see how movies and television shows work. That fascinates me. I like getting a behind the scenes look of a movie, and, Tarantino provides that here. Every scene DiCaprio is in is compelling to watch. I really hope he gets a Best Leading Actor nomination at the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Brad Pitt put in his best performance in a while here as Cliff Booth. He's always been a good actor, but, Tarantino brings out some of his best work for sure. He serves as Rick Dalton's stunt double, and, ultimately serves as his best friend.. He was fantastic here getting a landscape of what is going on, not only in Hollywood, but, ultimately in what is going on in terms of the second story of this movie in terms of the Charles Manson cult. Brad's silent approach at times is really good here, but when he has dialogue or action scenes, he is on absolute fire no matter if he's on set or navigating his way through life in the Hollywood hills. Brad certainly deserves a Best Supporting Actor nomination, although, he ultimately could be nominated for Best Leading Actor as well, since I would say him and DiCaprio had equal roles. Brad Pitt was simply great here by combining that cool charm, and bad ass nature throughout the movie.

Combining the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with the grotesque and horrifying side of humanity created a perfect blend for this movie. Tarantino showed both sides well. I loved how he would often present this within the same scene. The scenery even served as characters as well, because, it gives an even more complex picture as to what is going on. His ability to show light and dark in one scene in terms of mood, location, emotion, etc. was fantastic. The audience feels the emotion, whether it's positive or negative on a personal level. We are taking this journey with Rick and Cliff seeing their secrets, successes, and shortcomings.

I definitely give this movie a 5/5 for a fantastic script, phenomenal performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, a complex and intriguing look at two sides of Hollywood, a fun, quirky performance as Sharon Tate by the gorgeous Margot Robbie, performances by Mikey Madison (she really sold the chaotic nature of cults really well-so fantastic as Sadie) and Margaret Qualley (really good work here selling the hippie lifestyle) that stuck out for me,  good cameos by Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Luke Perry, etc., a movie split into three distinct acts: Hollywood film industry, the Charles Manson cult, and the convergence of both of these storylines in one heck of an intense finale, and, for Quentin Tarantino constantly reminding me why I love movies so much.

Shazam Review

I saw Shazam on April 6, 2019! When it comes to comics, I'm a DC fan! I've enjoyed all of the DCEU movies thus far, and this just continues my appreciation for these movies! Shazam is a movie that I went in expecting to like, but came out absolutely loving it! It's great when a movie exceeds your expectations. The movie combines magic, what the true meaning of family is, superhero tropes, and a solid dramatic story mixed with natural humor that balanced out the story! Essentially, this movie is split into two different stories: the world and character of Shazam and Billy Baston's journey to find love and family.

The movie explores the mystic nature of Shazam and what the power entails. Zachary Levi's performance as Shazam was so perfectly cast! He was so fun in the role! His comedic timing was great, and his dramatic performance really came off well! I think this is one of the better performances in a superhero movie, especially when you take into account that he always has to keep his inner self as a 14-15 year old teenager part of the role at all times, and he never missed a beat. His scenes testing his powers were hilarious, and, watching him evolve into his full potential was an incredible thrill ride. Amazing work by Zachary Levi! I really can't stress it enough-his performance is why we go to the movies. He gives you escape in this fun world of fantasy and magic, but mixed in with all of the magnificence of the magic is a grounded story that carries the dramatic aspect of this movie.

Asher Angel gave a great performance as Billy Baston. I'm familiar with Asher from Andi Mack, which is another show where he gives a tremendous performance as Jonah Beck. Billy's on a journey of his own to find his family, and, luckily by the conclusion of this movie, he finds it when he wasn't looking. His journey was emotional, and gave a lot of heart to the movie...which is apropos since this movie is about finding the one that is pure of heart.The dinner table scene towards the end of the movie shows that Billy finds where he belongs, and, I definitely shed a tear at it, because you are on this journey with him and hope he finds what he's looking for.

One of the most entertaining aspects of this movie is Jack Dylan Grazer's performance as Freddy. He is absolutely hilarious at every turn of this movie. He provides some of the best lines in the movie, and, we also feel for him based on things going on with him physically, but, I also think it's amazing how much he perseveres through everything in his own way. His chemistry with both Zachary Levi and Asher Angel was fantastic! I felt like they were close friends based on how well they interacted. His constant discussion of everything comics was fun, as well as helpful throughout the movie.

I loved the whole magical elements of the seven kingdoms against the seven deadly sins. The visual effects for the seven deadly sins was amazing. The board room scene where Mark Strong's Dr. Sivana reveals his dark half is such a visually amazing scene. At the same time, while he's seen as a villain, there are aspects of his character that you can sympathize with! He does take things to new levels, but, underneath all the envy, there's somebody just looking for acceptance, just like Billy was. The carnival scene was incredible. Everybody in the packed theater I was in started applauding when Billy reveals the true power of Shazam. Really awesome reveals, fun battle sequences, strong friendships coming together as one, well placed drama and comedy. It felt like a finale scene, which, IMO, DC is very good at, and this was definitely no exception.

Overall, this is one of the most fun experiences I had the movies! I loved the stories told throughout, the characters presented to us, the visuals, and of course, the power of Shazam! This is a definite 5/5, and along with Alita, is tied for my favorite movie of the year! I highly recommend this for fans of comic book movies, and anybody that likes that perfect mix of drama and comedy! This has something for everybody!

Fighting With My Family Review

I saw Fighting with my Family on February 23, 2019! I'm pretty sure I don't have to say it, but, I will anyway. This movie was absolutely incredible! I loved it!  If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of pro-wrestling, specifically women's wrestling. My favorite promotion of all time is Shimmer Women Athletes, which is an all women's wrestling promotion. It's in this promotion where I first saw a girl named Britani Knight compete as she teamed with her mother Saraya Knight, and they were managed by somebody that some of you may know currently as The Man, but we all know her as Becky Lynch. That was my first taste of this family from Norwich, England called the Knight Dynasty. This movie focuses on one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, regardless of gender: Paige. Paige is a solid wrestler-great in the ring, loaded with charisma, excellent mic skills, and IMO, a huge reason why WWE had a women's wrestling revolution in the promotion over the last few years. I also want to add that Sweet Saraya Knight (Paige's mother) is one of the most incredible female wrestlers I've ever seen. She's one of the best heels of all time. I had the privilege of seeing her compete as Shimmer Champion during Wrestlemania 29 weekend. Watching her go on a verbal tirade to the crowd is always a pleasure to watch. What a charismatic woman, and a fantastic in ring performer as well! This is a movie that's great for pro-wrestling as a whole, and great for promoting the importance and significance of women's wrestling showing equality in the industry.

Florence Pugh gave a fantastic performance as the girl growing up in a wrestling family. Pugh is a really good actress in general, but her work here captured the personality and overall demeanor of Paige really well. Watching her grow up in the business in Norwich with her family, and her trials and tribulations rising through the ranks in developmental exhibited great emotion. I found myself tearing up, because it's definitely not easy to become a pro-wrestler. It takes years of hard work, sacrifice, and tough training to get in the industry. People that scoff at the business have always bothered me.

I think The Rock did a fantastic job producing this providing insight from his own life growing up in a wrestling family. I am thankful that he saw the Knight Family documentary and saw a great story there. Let's face it: It's a tremendous story filled with a lot of heart. Stephen Merchant's directing was well done. He really took us inside the mind of our characters through the good times and the bad times, and created a really good sports drama out of it that can be appreciated by all.

I thought Lena Headey and Nick Frost were excellent as Saraya Knight and Ricky Knight respectively. They really knew their characters well. The voice and personality for each was on point. They are very protective of the business, the promotion they run in the UK, and of course, their love for their children. They do a lot to help their kids grow as young adults, as well as potential stars in wrestling. The family drama was presented really well, and I definitely felt for everybody. I think Jack Lowden should be commended for a phenomenal performance as Zak, Paige's brother. His performance created a lot of the deeper emotional aspects. I did like how they showed Paige and Zak were both struggling with the business in different ways at the same time. It was definitely a struggle for Paige to become the star she is. Zak struggles with being rejected by WWE, but also, finds his place eventually, which is amazing to see, and something you root for. Both succeed in their own ways, and I love cheering and crying happy tears for things like that. There's a great scene before Paige goes out for her big moment where Zak contacts her, and they talk about what's to come, and Zak pushes Paige and tells her she's ready, and that shows Zak's growth. It's a family affair, and we cheer our family on. We all make a difference, and Zak stresses that to her, just like Paige did for him earlier. It's really well performed drama that really takes you into the movie and you can't help but get lost in the moment. I love when a movie can do that, and in this case, Florence and Jack really did that with their characters from frame 1 up to the fade to black moment.

The in ring segments were excellent. The wrestling scenes were well choreographed. I liked that big NXT tag team showcase match. It was exciting to watch. Florence's look was on point, and her personality was on full display. The final scene focusing on Paige's big main roster debut was really fun to watch. It will always rank as one of my favorite moments in wrestling. I want to commend Thea Trinidad/Zelina Vega on a fantastic performance as AJ Lee. She had the voice and mannerisms down so well. It makes me want to see Zelina as champion immediately. When Paige hits that Paige Turner to get the win, it's such a cool moment showing that all the sacrifice and all the suffering was worth if for that moment of success. I vividly remember her promo where she says she's proud to be an outcast, and THIS IS MY HOUSE NOW!!! Showing her newly won title to her cheering family at home immediately makes you start tearing up. As a huge fan of pro-wrestling, and specifically women's wrestling, it was a perfect ending to a well made pro-wrestling movie. It's a definite 5/5 from me, and a movie that everybody can appreciate even if they're not a wrestling fan. It's a movie about overcoming adversity, and, if you don't like that, Sweet Saraya Knight will find you in a crowd and slap the taste out of your mouth.

Alita: Battle Angel Review

I saw Alita: Battle Angel on February 16, 2019! I have been excited for this movie since I saw the first trailer 8-9 months ago, and I can honestly say that I liked it even more than I expected to. It's been a while since I wrote a formal review, and I feel this is the movie to do another one for, because it deserves it. This is why I go to movies! Based on the manga series Gunnm, this movie runs full speed ahead in such an exciting manner with incredible visuals, good characters, and an incredible plot with so much interwoven within it.

Rosa Salazar gives one of the best performances I've seen in the last few years as Alita. She's a cyborg trying to find her identity and purpose in the world. The emotion she shows through each step of the movie feels natural. Even though she's a cyborg, she feels more than most humans. She's got an incredible heart (in more ways than one). She's an absolute bad ass. She's legitimately one of the most layered, well developed, overall great female characters that we haven't seen for a while in a movie. The visuals for the character add to the emotional depth provided by Salazar to complete the picture. I just love this character.

There's great world building discussing the Sky Cities (particularly, Zalem), Iron City, and even the underworld of these cities. There's many memorable scenes. Favorites of mine include: the Collision in Kansas, the battle with Grewishka, and the motorball sequences. The chemistry with Rosa and Christoph Waltz (who takes on the role as an adoptive father) feels natural, and works well, providing both dramatic and comedic moments. Waltz is a fantastic actor. His work in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained really cemented him as one of the premiere actors in the industry, and his performance here as Dr. Dyson Ido showed a man suffering from things in his  past, but, through Alita, he's able to pick up the pieces and move forward. Great work by Waltz!

I also really liked the romantic subplot with Alita and Hugo. Rosa and Keean Johnson worked well together. It reminded me a little bit of Rachel and Rick Deckard's  relationship in Blade Runner in some ways. These subplots help shape Alita into an even more well rounded character, showing what her purpose is and, most importantly, who she is. Also, the motif of sacrifice for one another was on full display in their relationship, which is really what sold me on their subplot.

James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez really did well creating this world and these characters for a live action environment. Two of my favorite people behind the camera really made something special here. Cameron is known for creating some of the strongest female characters in movie history, and, along with Rodriguez, he did it again. Robert's film making style has always been impressive, and I liked seeing a lot of familiar faces from his movies and shows, such as Michelle Rodriguez and Eiza Gonzalez, who played She in Machete and Salamanca in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series respectively. This is a combination that hopefully gets to create more movies in this universe, because it's such an intriguing story.

I really liked Mahershala Ali's work as well as Vector/Nova. Ali's voice and demeanor showed a man that knows how to play either the hero or the villain. It shows versatility as an actor, and it was fully on display here. Rosa's interaction as Alita with him were well done as well. That scene with them in his office was well done, and created tension for future installments if they choose to make them (which, they definitely should). Keep your eyes open for a cameo at the end of the movie! I think this cameo will fit in well in this world (just based on performance), and work to create even more intriguing possibilities between Alita and her battle with Zalem.

This movie is a definite 5/5 for incredible characters with a phenomenal performance by Rosa Salazar as the awesome Alita, a fantastic story with many layers in the past, present, and definitely future, incredible action sequences demonstrating speed, and artistic, athletic battle strategy, a solid supporting cast that help shape Alita, and, the incredible combination of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez creating something truly special for movie audiences everywhere!