2019 Retrospective

2019 was definitely any event movie year with the amount of big events, remakes, attempted revivals of old franchises, and weird independent films. It didn't have that much of a good start and took a while for it to find its footing in great movies. When it struck good, it was surprisingly strong; but when it stumbled, it was painful. From that year, I have watched and reviewed about 68 films, with 76% of them being positive critiques and 24% of them being negative. Here's my retrospective look on those features along with Top 10 rankings.

• Stan and Ollie (2018): Stan & Ollie is an underrated look back on a comedic duo that's strengthened by the charm/performances of its acting, respect for the hardships they faced, and a balanced tone fitting for a biopic. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The chemistry between John C Reilly and Steve Coogan. The leading performances. Respect for the time period. The balanced tone. 
• Cons: N/A
• Glass: Glass is an insulting conclusion in a trilogy due to the lack of investment in the bad writing, inconsistent acting, and a terrible ending, though has a few interesting moments and a decent first half. ⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: James McAvoy's performance. Nice moments of continuity with bringing back the 
• Cons: Disrespecting all 3 characters. The third act climax. The acting from Bruce Willis and Sarah Paulson. The action sequences. 
• The Kid Who Would Be King: The Kid Who Would Be King doesn't entice any excitement from its safe but phoned in script and tensionless conflict but has a couple memorable scenes and a few standout performances. ⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The performances of Angus Imrie and Louis Ashbourne Serkis. Respect for the King Arther mythology and the knights code. 
• Cons: Script being too safe and predictable. Tensionless conflict 
• The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part offers entertaining wackiness fans of the predecessor have come to expect with a great story, interesting themes, and a cheerful tone, despite suffering from consistency issues with the screenplay. ⭑⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: Chris Pratt's dual performance. The antics between Batman and Queen Watevra Wanabi. The dynamic between the brother and sister affecting the universe. The conflict with Lucy and Emmett.
• Cons: Inconsistent quality in the screenplay. Hit or miss comedy. 
• Alita: Battle Angel: Alita Battle Angel succeeds in providing fascinating world building, a solid protagonist, and entertaining action but falters with a crowded and rushed screenplay. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: Rosa Salazar's performance. The bond between Alita and Dr Ido. The action sequences. The world building.
• Cons: The love story. Sequel baiting. The performance of Keean Johnson. Wasting Jennifer Connelly and Mahershala Ali. 
• Isn't it Romantic: Isn't it Romantic is enjoyable experience that's strengthened by satirizing its genre, charismatic acting, fun dance numbers, an endearing message, and a good script. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: The performances of Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Liam Hemsworth. The heartfelt message. 
• Cons: Rebel Wilson's physical comedy. Not going deeper with the commentary.
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is an entertaining and satisfying conclusion to an epic trilogy with its solid story, heartfelt emotional investment, family friendly humor, and beautiful visuals ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4🍿
• Pros: The bond between Hiccup and Toothless. 
• Cons: Very weak antagonist. Jonah Hill's character being annoying.
• The Wandering Earth: The Wandering Earth provides impressive thrills for its genre with great environmental dangers to overcome, a simple but effective premise, and memorable character archetypes. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: Great thrills. Ignoring most cliches such as a romantic arc. 
• Cons: Lack of character development. 
• Arctic: Arctic is great survival tale that's carried by the quality of its visual storytelling, excellent main performance, and unforgiving nature of its environment. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: Visual storytelling. Mads Mikkelson's excellent performance. 
• Cons: Pacing issues. The injured pilot being used as a plot device.
• Happy Death Day 2U: Happy Death Day 2U is an entertaining sequel that delivers with charismatic lead performance, an ambitious concept risk, and light-hearted tone, but suffers from hit or miss humor and sloppy third act. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿
• Pros: Jessica Rothe's performance. 
• Cons: The third act. 
• Fighting with My Family: Fighting with My Family is a surprisingly entertaining sports biopic that's bolstered by a great witty script, great performances, emotional investment in the underdog, and love/respect for its sport. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4🍿
• Pros: The performances of Florence Hugh, Vince Vaughn, Nick Frost, and the brother. The witty dialogue, especially the jokes from Vince Vaughn and Nick Frost. The respect for wrestling and its fan. The brutal honesty from the trainer. 
• Cons: The over-dramatic conflict with the brother and sister. 
• Captain Marvel: Captain Marvel lacks cohesive focus due to a crowded script, absence of emotional investment in the stakes at hand, and bland characterization of the lead, but shines with momentary spots of entertainment and a good score. ⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: The de-aging technology. The performances of Samuel Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn. The action scenes in the first act. The score. Some scenes between Carol Danvers and Nick Fury. 
• Cons: The script and direction. Brie Larson's acting. Lack of characterization for Carol Danvers. The third act where Carol master her powers without any proper training: basically becoming a Mary Sue. Nick Fury losing his eye from a cat scratch and coming up with the name Avenger after seeing her Carol's callsign. Wasting Annette Benning and Jude Law. Weak villain. 
• Swiss Army Man (2016): Swiss Army Man is a fascinating character study that's strengthened by an intriguing premise, solid performances, and interesting subtext. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The performances of Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano. The premise itself. The subtext of the situation. The third act reveal. The relationship between the protagonist and the cadaver. 
• Cons: The weirdness of the corpse tends to be excessive.
• Blazing Saddles (1974): Blazing Saddles is a memorable Western satire that thrives from its funny jokes, solid acting, and lovable spoofing of the genre. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿
• Pros: The performances from the main actors. Great jokes. The third act climax. 
• Cons: A few jokes not holding up well. 
• Us: Us provides an intriguing premise that's bolstered by great acting, solid entertainment, creepy suspense, great directing, and a strong first half, despite suffering from writing issues in the second half of the film. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: Strong performance from Lupita N'yongo. The amazing first half. 
• Cons: Not leaving the twist ambiguous. The second half loosing the luster from the first half. 
• Dumbo: Dumbo has a difficult time being an engaging memorable remake because of a crowded script lacking charm, mixed quality of acting, and reliance on a tired formulaic approach that ignores the magic of a classic. ⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: Danny DeVito and Colin Farrell's performances. Tim Burton's visual style. 
• Cons: The acting from Michael Keaton and Nico Parker. Bad writing from 
• Shazam: Shazam creates its own identity and personality that's strengthened by great acting, an engaging lead, entertaining humor, a lighthearted tone mixed with dark elements, and a fun family dynamic, despite some writing issues. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4🍿
• Pros: The performances of Zachary Levi, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Mark Strong. The chemistry between Levi and Grazer. The surprising dark moments. The fun third act climax. The flawed young Billy Batson. 
• Cons: Not enough screen time to develop the villain. Needed more time for the foster family. Hit or miss humor from Freddie. The clunky storytelling aspects of the first 20 minutes and Billy's mother arc. 
• Pet Sematary: Pet Sematary sacrifices missed opportunities instead opting to be a substandard horror film with a predictable story, bland scares, underutilized actors, and a limiting script, despite having a decent atmosphere. ⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: Nice atmosphere. The child actress.
• Cons: Jason Clarke. Predictable stories. Bland scares
• Missing Link: Missing Link has good intentions with its beautiful animation, great action scenes, and a nice sense of adventure but falls short of having a lasting impression due to its safe and unmemorable script. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: The beautiful animation. The action sequences (notably the ship scene). The adventure aspect. 
• Cons: A script that doesn't take any risks. Bland villains
• Hellboy: Hellboy is a B-movie suffering from production nightmares resulting in an inconsistent tone, clunky storytelling, and lack of identity, but has some good acting, some cool action, and interesting visuals of its potential. ⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: David Harbour as Hellboy. The fight with the trolls. 
• Cons: Pointless characters. The third act. The messy story. Inconsistent tone. weak humor.
• Avengers: Endgame: Avengers Endgame is a great blockbuster reward for the audiences of this franchise with solid performances, deep emotional context, an ambitious story, fun fan service moments, and a satisfying conclusion. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4🍿
• Pros: The great conclusion for Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The third act climax. The usage of side characters such as Ant-Man. The time heist. 
• Cons: Captain Marvel. The product placement. 
• The Curse of La Llorona: The Curse of La Llorona not only wastes the opportunities with its premise, but also squanders its quality through horrible writing, dull directing, uninspired horror, and being forgettable. ⭑1/2
• Pros: Raymond Cruz. The unintentionally hilarious scares.
• Cons: The terrible writing of the children. Reliance on bland jumps cares. 
• The Intruder: The Intruder is an awkward suspense movie that's muddled with a weak predictable script, lackluster direction, and terrible dialog but benefits from Dennis Quaid's great over the top performance. ⭑3/4
• Pros: Dennis Quaid's performance and the unintentional humor. 
• Cons: The bad dialogue for the couple. The directing and ending. 
• Long Shot: Long Shot doesn't elevate its genre into new grounds but remains enjoyable through its funny humor, performance and chemistry of the romantic leads, and a light hearted tone that doesn't take itself seriously. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: The chemistry and performances of Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron. Light tone. Comedy mostly solid.
• Cons: Predictable script.
• Pokemon - Detective Pikachu: Pokemon Detective Pikachu is a fun visual treat with great world building, good cinematography, and a great performance from Ryan Reynolds but suffers from the standard plot and weak characterization. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: Great world building. The amazing visualization of the Pokemon. Ryan Reynolds being delightful. 
• Cons: Standard predictable story. Weak main protagonists.
• John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum provides an excellent craft of stunt work that's boosted by good thrills, a great visual style, and charismatic acting, despite having some wear in the story and action. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4🍿
• Pros: Excellent fight choreography and stunt work. Good pet ownership. The dynamic of Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry. World building. 
• Cons: Too much excess in the action climax being drawn out. 
• Brightburn: While the writing and short runtime of Brightburn holds it back from reaching its potential, the performances from the lead actors, some solid horror, and good production value elevate its entertainment. ⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The production value in the gore. The performances from Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, and Jackson A Dunn. 
• Cons: An incredibly undercooked script. 
• Aladdin: Aladdin is a forgettable remake suffering from a weird script, wrong direction, weak music sequences, and pacing issues but is helped by a few good performances, good cast chemistry, and a few nice scenes. ⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The performances of Naomi Scott and Will Smith. Chemistry between Aladdin and Jasmine. Costume design. 
• Cons: Weak script. The casting and usage of Jafar as well as Iago. Wrong director. The placement of Jasmine's new song. 
• Booksmart: Booksmart provides some delight with the chemistry and performances of its lead actresses along with a premise full of possibilities, though its slowed down by a few cliches, hit or miss jokes, and over-reliance on music. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The performances of the leading actresses. Some very funny jokes. 
• Cons: Reliance on music during the argument. Hit or miss jokes. A few cliches. 
• Rocketman: Rocketman embraces its creative charm in crafting heartfelt entertainment that's bolstered by great performances, fun musical sequences, emotional hardships of the artist, and a solid pace. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿
• Pros: The performances of Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, and Bryce Dallas Howard. The musical sequences. Honest emotions. Everything that Bohemian Rhapsody should have been. 
• Cons: Few cliches get in the way.
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters: Godzilla: King of the Monsters fulfills the checklist of a monster film to a fault with a predictable story and weak human characters but its bolstered by great action and beautiful visuals. ⭑⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: Gorgeous visuals. Great action. It's a monster movie to turn your brain off to. 
• Cons: Predictable story. Weak human characters
• The Last Black Man in San Francisco: The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an amazing emotional slice of life movie that's bolstered by excellent cinematography, great acting, and fascinating narrative structure. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: Beautiful cinematography. Great lead performances. Good story. 
• Cons: Runtime a little bit excess.
• Dark Phoenix: Dark Phoenix is a culmination of the weaknesses of a franchise that refuses to learn from its mistakes with underdeveloped heroes, rushed plot lines, lackluster action, and lack of emotional investment. ⭑1/2
• Pros: Hans Zimmer score. Moments of good acting of Sophie Turner.
• Cons: Heroes lacking emotional investment. Story is very rushed. Weak action. Character decisions that are inconsistent.
• Child's Play (2019): Child's Play ends up being better than most subpar modern horror remakes with good performances, entertaining kills, a fun premise, and some creativity with the concept, despite not fully delivering on its payoff in the end. ⭑⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: The performances of Mark Hamill, Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, and Bryan Tyler Henry. Some cool kills. 
• Cons: Weak third act. 
• Toy Story 4: Toy Story 4 brings some enjoyment through amazing animation work, some funny moments, and spurts of good drama, though it suffers from writing issues that ultimately lack the emotional impact. ⭑⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: Amazing animation. Nice moments of humor. The beginning sequence. 
• Cons: Writing issues with Woody and Buzz. How Forky was created. 
• Spider-Man: Far from Home: Spider-Man Far From Home struggles to be an endearing comedy film due to a crowded script but manages to entertain due to solid lead performances, good action sequences, some cool moments, and great end credit scenes. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: The performances of Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal. The character backstory of Mysterio borrowing the tired old "Tony Stark wronged me in some manner" trope. The end credits scenes. Improved action over Homecoming. 
• Cons: Crowded busy script. Weak romance subplot that's hard to believe. Lacking heart from Homecoming. 
• Midsommar: Midsommar is a fascinating experience with great leading performances, wonderful cinematography, and an interesting relationship dynamic but suffers from overindulgence and the ending lacking payoff. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: The acting from Florence Pugh and William Jackson Harper. The realistic and interesting flawed relationship. Beautiful camera work. 
• Cons: Script feels full of itself. Lackluster payoff.
• Loqueesha: Loqueesha is a disaster of a comedy with a story that barely tries to rise above its premise with dismal acting, a dreadful script, offensive shock humor that's misused, and a smug attitude that's cringeworthy. 1/2
• Pros: N/A
• Cons: (Insert everything listed in the description of it)
• Lion King (2019): The Lion King remakes stunning visuals aren't enough to overcome the lackluster effort to make this unnecessary adaptation worth watching for a new generation with mixed acting, emotionless substance, and weak songs. ⭑⭑
• Pros: Amazing visuals. Seth Rogen as Pumbaa. 
• Cons: Weak songs. Lacking emotional investment. Phoned in acting.
• Crawl: Crawl is a solid disaster horror thriller with a simple but effective storyline, nice action, and a fun viewing experience to watch. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: Fun thrilling violence. Solid visuals of crocodile. Good sense of danger.
• Cons: Stock storytelling.
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: While not the directors best work, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood celebrates the 1960s era in filmmaking through a slow paced story that's boosted by excellent directing, wonderful acting, and great dialogue. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: Great dialogue all around. Brad Pitt and Leonard Di Caprio. Tarantino direction. The revenge ending. 
• Cons: Tonal clash in the third act. 
• The Farewell: The Farewell is an entertaining family reunion with emotional depth that's bolstered by great acting, solid writing that blends comedy with drama, and great direction. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: The acting from Awkwafina and the actress who portrayed the grand mother. Blend of comedy and drama. 
• Cons: Wedding felt like padding at times.
• Hobbs & Shaw: Hobbs & Shaw is an entertaining but forgettable film that's bolstered by its strong lead actors and over the top sequences, despite suffering from pacing and screenplay issues. ⭑⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: 
• Cons:
• Good Boys: Good Boys doesn't hide its predictable narrative and minor joke issues but the strengths of its main actors performances, funny gags, and empathy for the coming of age angle more than make up for it. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: Chemistry between the young actors. Very funny gags. 
• Cons: Tired predictable story. Joke problems. 
• Ready or Not: Ready or Not blends humor with thrills as it thrives on the great performances of its core cast, an entertaining spook house environment, and a solid premise. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: Great core cast. The violent kills. The ending. Wild story premise. 
• Cons: Some parts not explained well. 
• Ne Zha: Ne Zha is an entertaining fantasy adventure with solid vocal performances, fun energy, and great action sequences, despite the amount of lore to digest and hit or miss humor. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: Solid voice cast. Good energy in the animation. Awesome action. 
• Cons: Too much lore to digest and hit or miss humor. 
• The Peanut Butter Falcon: The Peanut Butter Falcon is an entertaining feel-good film that's strengthened by its strong lead performances, sweet simple story, and encouraging positive tone throughout, despite its predictable narrative and cliches. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The leading performances of Shia LaBoeufm 
• Cons: Cliches and predictable story. 
• Ad Astra: Ad Astra shines the best through Brad Pitt's acting, great visuals, and an intriguing premise but is held back due to script and pacing issues. ⭑⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: Brad Pitt. Beautiful visuals. Intrigue of premise and environment. 
• Cons: Weird story choices (accident deaths of 3 astronauts). Pacing
• It Chapter 2: It Chapter 2 is a horrible sequel that trips over its cluttered repetitive script, weaker scares, and lack of emotional investment in most characters, though it shines through cool visuals and performances from Bill Hader and Jack Ransone. ⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: Bill Hader and Jack Ransone. 
• Cons: The cluttered script. The ending. Lack of investment in master characters. Weak horror.
• Joker: Joker is an excellent psychological thriller with an amazing lead performance, haunting realism, great musical score, unpredictable narrative, and sharp commentary. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: Joaquin Phoenix as Joker. Realistic portrayal and commentary about mental illness and society. The musical score. Unpredictable. 
• Cons: N/A
• Zombieland: Double Tap: Zombieland: Double Tap is an entertaining sequel that's strengthened by the actors great chemistry, witty goofy humor, some good action scenes, and a consistent fun tone, despite some plot issues. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: Actors chemistry. Fun action. Goofy humor. Fun tone. 
• Cons: Plot issues with Abigail Breslin character. 
• Parasite: Parasite is an amazing black comedy thriller experience abundant of great performances, an intriguing unpredictable premise, relevant social commentary, and exhausting thrills. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: Unpredictable story. Social commentary. The sequence with the family sneaking out of the mansion. Performances from everyone. 
• Cons: N/A
• Jojo Rabbit: Jojo Rabbit is an ambitious anti-hate black comedy that's strengthened by great acting, light hearted tone, an intriguing premise, the directors quirky style, and great dramatic scenes, despite hit or miss humor. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: The unexpected heartfelt moments in the black comedy. Scarlett Johansson and Roman Griffin Davis. Quirky style. Sam Rockwell. Strong dramatic scenes.
• Cons: Hit or miss jokes. Taika Waititi as Hitler unnecessary. Rebel Wilson. 
• The Lighthouse: The Lighthouse is an engaging throwback to black and white psychological horror where the amazing performances, unpredictable narrative, great directing, and excellent craft in cinematography makes memorable ride. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿
• Pros: The acting and chemistry of Robert Pattinson and Willem Defoe. The unpredictable ambiguity. The excellent direction.  
• Cons: N/A
• Terminator Dark Fate: Terminator: Dark Fate is a stale tedious sequel that's hindered by recycled predictable storytelling, a flawed script, and a reliance on overproduced sequences, though it has some nice acting and a few decent moments. ⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: Linda Hamilton and Mackenzie Davis. The action scene on the road. 
• Cons: The intro sequence killing John Connor directly after Terminator 2. Lack of intensity with new terminator. Weak new protagonist and Natalia Reyes performance. Action feeling overproduced and stuffy. 
• Doctor Sleep: Doctor Sleep is an entertaining thriller with solid world building, great performances, and engaging character-focused progression, even though it doesn't reach the heights of its predecessor. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿
• Pros: Feeling like its own movie. The character progression of Danny Torrance. Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson. The world building. The antagonists. 
• Cons: The familiarity of the Shining in the third act. 
• Ford v Ferrari: Ford v Ferrari succeeds as a solid crowdpleaser sports drama abundant with great performances, excellent race sequences, and an endearing historical events. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: The performances and chemistry of Christian Bale and Matt Damon. The argument in the car between Ken Miles and his wife. The racing sequence at Le Mans. 
• Cons: Too cliched at times. 
• Honey Boy: Honey Boy is an interesting look at a stars upbringing that's bolstered by good performances and a fascinating relationship, but is hindered by the execution of its ending and a subplot. ⭑⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: Shia LaBoeuf's acting. The father son bond. 
• Cons: The ending and a weird subplot.
• Frozen 2: Frozen 2 boasts beautiful animation, solid performances, and good songs, but suffers from reaching its potential as a worthy sequel due to the faults of its story. ⭑⭑⭑
• Pros: Beautiful animation. Good songs. Nice acting. 
• Cons: Terrible story problems and a bad ending. 
• Waves: Waves is an impressive drama that's works even better with its great performances, beautiful cinematography, and a solid script. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: The acting from Kelvin Harrison Jr, Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell, and Sterling K Brown. Great camera work. 
• Cons: Too much time spent on the son's storyline. Lack of time spent with parents. 
• Queen & Slim: Queen and Slim entertains with its good intention of its message and a solid romantic pairing but suffers due to pacing issues and a cliched script. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: Good charming romantic chemistry. The arc with the pimp uncle. 
• Cons: Pacing due to many detour stops. Cliched writing with police officers. 
• Knives Out: Knives Out is a fun mystery adventure with solid camera work, great lead performances, and nice set design but is held back by some of the writing faults. ⭑⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: Daniel Craig and Ana de Arma's good performances. Good cinematography. Production value.
• Cons: Writing problems revealing perpetrator and Chris Evans casting. 
• Playmobil: The Movie: Playmobil The Movie is a soulless animated feature with generic storytelling, bland characters, lackluster world building, and is a forgettable experience. ⭑
• Pros: N/A
• Cons: Wasted actors. Annoying bland characters (namely the kid). Incredibly generic plot. Shameful copycat of The Lego Movie and not figuring out what made it work. 
• Jumanji: The Next Level: Jumanji: The Next Level maintains the silly fun tone to entertain with some solid action sequences and good performances but struggles due to hit or miss humor and weaknesses in the story. ⭑⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: Better action sequences than predecessor. Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillian. 
• Cons: Forgettable third act. Hit or miss humor. Contrived plot parts (Danny DeVito and Danny Glover). 
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a messy conclusion with incoherent storytelling, weak emotional weight, and spectacle over substance, even though there are a few nice scenes. ⭑⭑
• Pros: Kylo Ren having a competent character arc. 
• Cons: Wasted actors. Reusing Emperor Palpatine in a dull manner. Lackluster usage of Carrie Fisher footage. Lost potential of Finn, Rey, and Poe. "Rey Skywalker". Forgettable third act climax. Rey and Kylo cringe kiss. 
• Cats: Cats is a bizarre dedicated combination that results in a scattered mess of a plot, lacking stakes, and no logic but is unique with nice music/dance choreography, committed actors, and bizarre memorable moments ⭑⭑1/2
• Pros: The dance choreography. The practical set design. The wild WTF nature of the movie.
• Cons: Rebel Wilson. Non-existent plot. The creepy rats and cockroaches.
• 1917: 1917 is a masterful war epic that combines enough elements of suspense, endearing characterization, harsh realism, amazing cinematography, and solid action in an excellent package. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: Lead characters worth caring about. Beautiful work put into crafting the scenes. The horrors of war. Unexpected death. 
• Cons: N/A
• Uncut Gems: Uncut Gems conveys a realistic portrayal of gambling addiction through excellent directing, great acting, an amazing score, smooth pacing, and a solid unpredictable script. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿
• Pros: The performances of Adam Sandler and Julia Fox. The realistic approach to addiction. The ending. The score from Oneohtrix Point Never. 
• Cons: A little too chaotic. 
• Marriage Story: Marriage Story excels in delivering relatable relationship advice in a drama that's bolstered by amazing acting, a strong script, and respectful realism towards its subject matter. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿
• Pros: The acting and chemistry of Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Laura Dern and Ray Liotta as the lawyers. The argument in the apartment. Scarlett's monologue. Respectful realism towards the leads.
• Cons: Annoying kid. 
• Little Women: Little Women is a pleasant crowd pleasing adaptations with solid acting, nice cinematography, and charming dialogue but suffers due to bad pacing and some lackluster story arcs. ⭑⭑⭑3/4
• Pros: The acting from Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Timothy Chalamat, and Laura Dern. The main plots with Ronan and Pugh. 
• Cons: Pacing problems. The arcs regarding the piano sister and the one Emma Watson plays. 
• The Irishman: The Irishman is an engaging epic crime drama with great acting, a solid story, good pacing of events, and foreboding tone over the harsh environment. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/4
• Pros: The acting from De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino. Good story. Nice pacing. 
• Cons: Historical events that don't feel interesting. Undercooked family aspect.

Superhero Movie Ranking 2019

1. Joker 
2. Avengers Endgame
3. Shazam!
4. Spider-Man: Far From Home
5. Captain Marvel 
6. Brightburn
7. Glass
8. Hellboy
9. Dark Phoenix

Top 10 Best Movies of 2019

1. Parasite
2. Joker
3. 1917
4. Marriage Story
5. The Lighthouse
6. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
7. Uncut Gems
8. The Farewell
9. Rocketman
10. Doctor Sleep

Honorable Mentions 

1. The Irishman
2. Waves
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Avengers Endgame
5. Shazam!

Top 10 Worst Movies of 2019

1. Loqueesha
2. Playmobil: The Movie
3. Dark Phoenix
4. The Curse of La Llorona
5. The Intruder
6. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
7. Pet Semetary
8. Lion King 
9. Glass
10. Hellboy

Dishonorable Mentions

1. Terminator Dark Fate
2. IT Chapter 2
3. Aladdin
4. Cats