My Summer 2019 Wrap Up

Minute by minute the nights are becoming longer, overtaking the hours of daylight.  Thus the summer blockbuster season is coming to an end.  There are still some titles I want to see, chiefly one blockbuster (Angel Has Fallen) but I feel confident that it’s time to look back at the summer and give my thoughts on it.

There were fo films that really stood out for me this summer (Rocketman, Toy Story 4, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Yesterday) and a fifth (The Last Black Man in San Francisco) that caught me completely off guard.  Over all though the summer was pretty much unthrilling for me.  The two Marvel releases (Avengers: Endgame, Spiderman Far From Home) I enjoyed but didn’t love.  With regards to Endgame I had higher expectations and thought the film wasted bits of its three hour run time. 

Sequel syndrome definitely set in this summer.  John Wick 3, Men in Black: International, Annabelle Comes Home,Hobbs & Shaw, Shaft, Godzilla:King of the Monsters were all enjoyable but routine movie fair.  

I enjoyed Long Shot but thought it would be better served as part of next year’s summer schedule.  Other comedies I enjoyed were Stuber, Booksmart and The Dead Don’t Die.  I’m curious to rewatch them on dvd, to see how well they hold up.

Brightburn was fun and featured an interesting premise.  I fear it’ll get unnecessary sequels and that will water down the unique premise behind the film.

I wanted more out of Midsommar.  Overall I enjoyed the movie but left feeling like there was something missing.  I also thought it took too long to get to the main plot.  In a two and a half hour movie you run that risk.  The first half hour though could have been chopped down to six, seven minutes and improved the movie dramatically.  

Now for the bad news: the movies I did not like.  The list is topped by not one, but two, Disney remakes: Aladdin and The Lion King. The Octavia Spencer thriller Ma, did no thrill me.  I was bored with the movie pretty quickly. Dark Phoenix was a massively missed opportunity.

       Anyways fall will be here soon and the release constant release of awards contenders.  There have been two this summer that I think will compete at the Oscars (Rocketman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and that’s plenty in a season of sequels, remakes, and big blockbuster movies.  

I’ll see y’all at the movies!

A Fall Movie Preview

It’s early August, the days are slowly becoming shorter and soon the summer movie season will  soon come to end.  My summer wrap up will be the subject of another blog.  Right now I’m looking forward to the cooler remaining months of the year and what wonders will be released.

Let’s jump to the big release first, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.  I’m two sided about this one.  The biggest disappointment, beyond the mediocre trailer, is that J. J. Abrams is returning to the directors chair.  While enjoyable, The Force Awakens, was reheated leftovers.  It fun to watch but didn’t do a lot for me.  Rain Johnson’s The Last Jedi, however, was an incredible piece of work and has been the best of the latest Star Wars flicks.  I’m also a bit burnt out on this franchise.  After all this is the fifth film since 2015.  On the other hand it is Star Wars and excitement will set in.

Looking at other sci-fi releases, the Tommy Lee Jones and Brad Pitt team up, Ad Astra, looks intriguing.  

I’m a fan of Will Smith and am looking forward to seeing him team up with director Ang Lee in October’s Gemini Man.

Linda Hamilton is returning to the Terminator franchise and why wouldn’t I look forward to that?

Harriet and Ford V Ferrari both look like the Oscar bait that I am look forward to.  I’ll be there for both.  Plus the ensemble mystery/comedy Knives Out could be good as well.

Thanksgiving will also see the release of the action flick 21 Bridges.  YAY!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is also coming out.  I like Tom Hanks but he doesn’t nail Mr Rogers voice and that though me off.  I’ll still see it though.  What else am I going to do at the end of November? Thanksgiving?

Finally the WW1 flick 1917 is being released in December.  Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition, Skyfall) is a great director and it looks like he has crafted an interesting looking war film.