29. Ready or Not
D: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
**********
Not as fun as I thought it would be, and the fanatical "If you're not on our side, even your children deserve to die" theme rendered it contemptible. At least the score was good.
28. Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
D: J.J. Abrams
**********
An absolute mess.
27. Toy Story 4
D: Josh Cooley
**********
Not terrible, but borderline pointless. To paraphrase Steven Spielberg in regards to a similarly uncalled-for fourquel, "I thought we were done with this! That's why we closed on the shot of the clouds to mimic the first shot of the series!"
26. Ad Astra
D: James Gray
**********
Great visuals and atmosphere, but the hero's insane actions cost the movie my sympathy.
25. Hellboy
D: Neil Marshall
**********
It had a troubled production, and its messy nature certainly shows that. Poorly-executed action with cheap CG gore are used as a crutch. At least it had a cool cover of "Rock You Like a Hurricane."
24. The Irishman
D: Martin Scorsese
**********
Overly long, and random. Typical disinterested Scorsese fare with less competence.
23. Godzilla: King of the Monsters
D: Michael Dougherty
**********
Great visuals with the monsters, but resorting to formulaic plots with the humans dragged the movie down. I was disappointed by its treating the mother sympathetically after her moral event horizon, and her redemptive self-sacrifice at the end was just the absolute bare minimum required for me to forgive the movie for her arc. Nice to wait for the stinger to find out the next movie's monster is....Ghidorah.
22. Avengers: Endgame
D: Joe and Anthony Russo
**********
Despite all the hype, I found it kinda meh. Some poignant moments at the end.
21. The Irishman
D: Martin Scorsese
**********
Overly long and not very well-organized from a plot-structure standpoint.
20. Uncut Gems
D: Josh and Benny Safdie
**********
I'm not the biggest fan of loan shark plots, and this movie is a typical, competent example of this. Adam Sander is great in it. I wasn't shocked by the ending, because what did Howard expect after he screwed with his loan sharks that hard?
19. Fyre: The Greatest Festival That Never Happened
D: Chris Smith
**********
An engrossing documentary that makes it seem like nobody has ever screwed up as much as these people did. It does seem a little bit like a cash grab as it covers a non-controversial subject and has a competing documentary on the subject.
18. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
D: Chad Stahelski
**********
The action was good, but I didn't like as much as the last one. I think this may have been because I was sleep-deprived after a couple long days and was struggling to stay awake. Then again, my reluctance to fall asleep so I wouldn't have to inconvenience myself with a second trip the theatre might say something.
17. Shazam!
D: David F. Sandberg
**********
Okay, but I would have preferred earnest wonder over humor, and I think the title role was miscast.
16. Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus
D: Hae Young Jung, Young Kyun Park, Jhonen Vasquez
**********
Amusing at parts, but not as funny as I remember the show's being. Maybe I should double check that. I like the rendition of the theme song.
15. Captain Marvel
D: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
**********
Everybody in my camp really hated this movie, but I thought it was actually fun. Brie Larsen's actually pretty funny in a deadpan way.
14. Richard Jewell
D: Clint Eastwood
**********
Competent movie about sadly relevant subject matter.
13. Joker
D: Todd Phillips
********
It's a disturbing look at a broken man turning bad. One of the few movies that made me sympathetic for the psycho.
12. Midsommar
D: Ari Aster
**********
Good atmosphere and gore. Loses some points for pretty much having the same themes as The VVitch while being a buttload more exploitative.
11. Glass
10. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
D: Quentin Tarantino
**********
Not as fun as most of Tarantino's more recent movies, but one of the better films I've seen this year.
9. Klaus
D: Sergio Pablos, Carlos Martinez Lopez
**********
Story is not too much to write home about, but good night the animation is. Beautiful.
8. Missing Link
D: Chris Butler
**********
An entertaining and funny movie. While I lament that death of 2D Animation, at least Laika is keeping stop motion alive.
7. Velvet Buzzsaw
D: Dan Gilroy
**********
Seems a little perfunctory, but it has a clever and satisfying ending. I also disapprove of the curse not giving Morf an out after he sees the light.
6. The Lighthouse
D: Robert Eggers
**********
I little hard to pin down, but it's engaging, mysterious, and atmospheric.
5. Honey Boy
D: Alma Har'el
**********
An uncomfortably honest autobiography from Shia LaBeouf. My only complaint is the near-peso relationship the boy has with the teen neighbor.
4. Us
D: Jordan Peele
**********
Original and tense.
3. Parasite
D: Bong Joon-Ho
**********
A funny, tragic, and honest movie on class relations.
2. 1917
D: Sam Mendes
**********
A visually stunning war movie.
1. A Hidden Life
D: Terence Malick
**********
A movie about the underrated virtues of social and moral courage.
<< 2018 2020 >>
26. Ad Astra
D: James Gray
**********
Great visuals and atmosphere, but the hero's insane actions cost the movie my sympathy.
25. Hellboy
D: Neil Marshall
**********
It had a troubled production, and its messy nature certainly shows that. Poorly-executed action with cheap CG gore are used as a crutch. At least it had a cool cover of "Rock You Like a Hurricane."
24. The Irishman
D: Martin Scorsese
**********
Overly long, and random. Typical disinterested Scorsese fare with less competence.
23. Godzilla: King of the Monsters
D: Michael Dougherty
**********
Great visuals with the monsters, but resorting to formulaic plots with the humans dragged the movie down. I was disappointed by its treating the mother sympathetically after her moral event horizon, and her redemptive self-sacrifice at the end was just the absolute bare minimum required for me to forgive the movie for her arc. Nice to wait for the stinger to find out the next movie's monster is....Ghidorah.
22. Avengers: Endgame
D: Joe and Anthony Russo
**********
Despite all the hype, I found it kinda meh. Some poignant moments at the end.
21. The Irishman
D: Martin Scorsese
**********
Overly long and not very well-organized from a plot-structure standpoint.
20. Uncut Gems
D: Josh and Benny Safdie
**********
I'm not the biggest fan of loan shark plots, and this movie is a typical, competent example of this. Adam Sander is great in it. I wasn't shocked by the ending, because what did Howard expect after he screwed with his loan sharks that hard?
19. Fyre: The Greatest Festival That Never Happened
D: Chris Smith
**********
An engrossing documentary that makes it seem like nobody has ever screwed up as much as these people did. It does seem a little bit like a cash grab as it covers a non-controversial subject and has a competing documentary on the subject.
18. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
D: Chad Stahelski
**********
The action was good, but I didn't like as much as the last one. I think this may have been because I was sleep-deprived after a couple long days and was struggling to stay awake. Then again, my reluctance to fall asleep so I wouldn't have to inconvenience myself with a second trip the theatre might say something.
17. Shazam!
D: David F. Sandberg
**********
Okay, but I would have preferred earnest wonder over humor, and I think the title role was miscast.
16. Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus
D: Hae Young Jung, Young Kyun Park, Jhonen Vasquez
**********
Amusing at parts, but not as funny as I remember the show's being. Maybe I should double check that. I like the rendition of the theme song.
15. Captain Marvel
D: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
**********
Everybody in my camp really hated this movie, but I thought it was actually fun. Brie Larsen's actually pretty funny in a deadpan way.
14. Richard Jewell
D: Clint Eastwood
**********
Competent movie about sadly relevant subject matter.
13. Joker
D: Todd Phillips
********
It's a disturbing look at a broken man turning bad. One of the few movies that made me sympathetic for the psycho.
12. Midsommar
D: Ari Aster
**********
Good atmosphere and gore. Loses some points for pretty much having the same themes as The VVitch while being a buttload more exploitative.
11. Glass
D: M. Night Shyamalan
**********
An interesting movie, but not quite as satisfying as it
could have been. I don't think I like the way it ended.10. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
D: Quentin Tarantino
**********
Not as fun as most of Tarantino's more recent movies, but one of the better films I've seen this year.
9. Klaus
D: Sergio Pablos, Carlos Martinez Lopez
**********
Story is not too much to write home about, but good night the animation is. Beautiful.
8. Missing Link
D: Chris Butler
**********
An entertaining and funny movie. While I lament that death of 2D Animation, at least Laika is keeping stop motion alive.
7. Velvet Buzzsaw
D: Dan Gilroy
**********
Seems a little perfunctory, but it has a clever and satisfying ending. I also disapprove of the curse not giving Morf an out after he sees the light.
6. The Lighthouse
D: Robert Eggers
**********
I little hard to pin down, but it's engaging, mysterious, and atmospheric.
5. Honey Boy
D: Alma Har'el
**********
An uncomfortably honest autobiography from Shia LaBeouf. My only complaint is the near-peso relationship the boy has with the teen neighbor.
D: Jordan Peele
**********
Original and tense.
3. Parasite
D: Bong Joon-Ho
**********
A funny, tragic, and honest movie on class relations.
2. 1917
D: Sam Mendes
**********
A visually stunning war movie.
1. A Hidden Life
D: Terence Malick
**********
A movie about the underrated virtues of social and moral courage.
<< 2018 2020 >>
