Jojo Rabbit

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Jojo Beltzer (played by Roman Griffin Davis) is a young boy who lives during World War II. He idolizes the Nazis, so much so that his imaginary best friend is Adolf Hitler (played by the film’s writer and director, Taika Waititi). One day, he discovers that his mother (played by Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young jewish girl named Elsa (played by Thomasin McKenzie). This movie is…something. I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way either. This is a movie that almost feels like it shouldn’t be able to exist today, but it somehow does. The film is genuinely funny, but has a surprising amount of heart to it. There is sort of this underlying drama to the film as a whole, which makes sense given the film’s setting. Taika Waititi’s film is legitimately well-written and well-directed. Of the two skills, I really have to praise his writing. These are legitimately good characters. The characters are mostly funny, weird, and quirky. However, many of them also feel like they have something deeper going on, whether or not they understand. This can lead to some tonal shifts that don’t always gel quite right, but those moments are few and far between. The performers are all pretty solid. By far, I have to give major props to Scarlett Johansson as Jojo’s mother. You can tell she’s a woman doing what she can as a single mom who loves her son, but kind of hates what he’s becoming. She also has some great moments with Thomasin McKenzie. I also really have to compliment Davis and McKenzie. Both give performances that seem to fit their young ages, but also play parts well beyond their ages. Overall, Jojo Rabbit is a little bit weird, a little bit funny, a little bit sad, and a little bit heartfelt. I don’t think there are many movies quite like Jojo Rabbit. 

9 / 10 

The Addams Family

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The Addams Family follows the titular family as they deal with a nearby neighborhood and a real estate agent who wants them to either conform, leave, or be destroyed. This is a movie I think can pretty much be summed up in one word: decent. The animation is decent. I kind of like that a lot of the animation has this fast-paced energy to it. In fact, it kind of reminded me of the Hotel Transylvania movies. The story is decent. If anything, it kind of reminds me of the first live action Addams Family movie, but not quite as strong. The jokes are decent. The best ones are some of the more morbid jokes, but they don’t always feel like they go far enough. Most of the jokes made me chuckle, but only a handful of them are legitimately hilarious. The voice actors are decent. The best parts of the movie for me are easily Oscar Isaac as Gomez and Chloe Grace Moretz as Wednesday. Overall, nothing in the film is particularly bad. But, nothing in the film is exceptional either. Part of it could be the fact that this film is pretty clearly geared towards kids, especially compared to the two live action movies that came out in the early 90s. 

6 / 10 

Joker

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Joker feels like it’s something of a potential origin story for the infamous. The film follows Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) as society beats him down until he takes on the persona of the Joker. The film sort of borrows elements from various stories in the Joker’s mythos, namely The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns. Yet, the movie has some pretty major deviations from the comics. I don’t mind this because one could argue that this film is something of an Elseworlds story. Phoenix excels in the role, and truly feels as though he owns this film. However, I also don’t believe that the rest of the cast should be overlooked. In particular, I would also like to commend Brett Cullen, Frances Conroy, and Robert De Niro. I find it so interesting to see Thomas Wayne portrayed as much more of a jerk. I think there could easily be some merit to this possibility as other incarnations only show him from Bruce Wayne’s perspective. The film is primarily a slow burn, showing a man’s descent into madness. This is a film that clearly takes influence from Martin Scorsese’s work from the late 70s and early 80s, in particular Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. Overall, I really liked Joker as a small-scale, grounded, haunting look at one of comics’ most enduring villains. 

9 / 10 

Cats

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Cats is based off of the popular broadway play. Normally, this would be the point where I would try and describe the basic plot of the film I review. In the case of Cats, that’s kind of hard because I’m not entirely convinced this film actually had a plot. This is a film that seems to just go from scene to scene without much of an actual throughline. I guess it’s kind of there, but it feels incredibly weak, at best. The film tries to have some humorous moments. None of them actually land. There’s this uncanny valley when it comes to the effects. Sometimes, they looked okay. Sometimes, they just looked horrifying. The acting is hit and miss. Some actors were alright. There were a couple of performances that surprised me. Those were that of Taylor Swift, Ian McKellen, and Judi Dench. In Swift’s case, it’s because she really wasn’t that bad. It helps that the movie honestly limits the singer’s role to her actual strengths. Dench and McKellen kind of gave off the opposite effect, especially Ian McKellen. He just feels completely lost throughout this thing. It is the first time I think I have seen him in a movie and felt that he was truly awful. I also have mixed feelings about the music. The songs are actually pretty good, but they pretty much come from the original broadway musical, so I can’t really count that as a positive in this film’s favor. I also have to mention the fact the dance sequences don’t feel nearly as impressive. It would be one thing if I saw the dancing performed by trained actors as opposed to CGI creations. Overall, Cats proves to be one of the most misguided and baffling bad movies of the year. 

3 / 10 

The Aeronauts

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The Aeronauts is loosely based on the true story of James Glaischer (played by Eddie Redmayne) as he hires balloon pilot Amelia Wren (played by Felicity Jones) to take him higher than anyone has gone before. Something I should note right away is that Jones’ balloon pilot is a fictional character. This is something I kind of have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I could understand the argument that this takes away from the real-life man who actually was Glaischer’s companion. But, I can’t really say this bothers me either. It’s not like Patch Adams where the fictional female character was really only there to be a love interest. By the end of the film, Glaischer and Wren only seem to remain friends. It is interesting to me that the film is told in a non-linear fashion. The reason I find it interesting is because I don’t really feel that it needed to be. Some of the storytelling is also cliched. I’m glad that these cliches were kind of glossed over. At the same time, as somebody who didn’t necessarily know about this story to begin with, I can just as easily forgive them because I can see that there’s a possibility that some of these obstacles genuinely happened. I do have to give Jones and Redmayne props for their performances. The two have legitimately good chemistry, and they are the ones who really have to carry this film. Jones stands out to me in particular. I was just invested in her every step of the way. Director Tom Harper also seems to know what he’s doing behind the camera for the most part, especially when it comes to the moments that require him to build tension. So, when I first watched The Aeronauts, I came away with what I felt was a good enough movie. Upon thinking about it, I kind of see this as a bit of a mixed bag. There’s good things in it. But, there also things in it that I don’t think actually work that well for me. 

5 / 10

Black Christmas (2019)

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Black Christmas is the second remake of the classic film from the 1970s. Without going into spoilers, this film really does go in a very different direction than either the original or the first remake. I almost feel bad. The actors in the film are clearly trying. Imogen Poots in the lead particularly feels like her performance deserves to be attached to a much better film than the one I got. Alright, I have a lot to unpack with this movie. For starters, I kind of appreciate that this movie tried to talk about some pretty serious things. By comparison, the original did something similar. However, the original was far more subtle in its intent. This version prefers to take the approach of beating you over the head with its political views. Most of the characters kind of suck. I don’t necessarily mean that they’re shallow. I would typically expect that out of a slasher movie, and this tries to give some depth. Adding on to that point, the writing is genuinely pretty bad. But, my biggest problem with this film (and the thing that actually tempered my initial excitement) is the film’s PG-13 rating, especially because this film apparently was originally shot to be an R. So, the PG-13 move only suggests money to me. Overall, I don’t think there’s that much more for me to say about Black Christmas 2019 other than to say that I really didn’t like it.  

2 / 10 

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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The Rise of Skywalker follows our heroes as they fight to stop an enemy from the past. Once again, I really do enjoy these characters, and I actually like the way they explore Rey in particular. The film looks great from a visual standpoint as well. The action is actually pretty damn good, at least in terms of the lightsaber battles. The final space battle is okay, but it does feel a little bit bloated at the same time. The story is fine. I do have some legitimate problems with the movie though. For example, a good chunk of the humor doesn’t land quite right. There were some spots where I kind of felt the movie drag. There were also some things in the plot that just kind of felt like they didn’t need to be there. For example, there’s a point where Finn tells Rey he has to tell her something, but all it really amounts to is some somewhat funny banter, and ultimately serves no importance to the plot and doesn’t progress things forward. That is about as far as I will go in terms of potential spoilers with the movie. Overall, I enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker. It’s got some pretty major flaws in its storytelling, but I also think that what’s good about the film is really good.  

6 / 10 

Noelle

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Noelle is a film currently available on Disney+. The film follows Santa Claus’s daughter (played by Anna Kendrick) as she is forced to find her brother (played by Bill Hader) when he abandons his post as the next Santa Claus just before Christmas. Anna Kendrick is incredibly committed to her role in the film. She portrays Noelle as charming and naive, while giving her own charisma to the role. Bill Hader also does a good job, even though he feels underutilized. The film isn’t hilarious or anything, but there are a handful of solid laughs, and the film actually has some charm to it. Granted, a lot of the reason this movie works at all is Anna Kendrick. This movie isn’t perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. The ending is actually pretty predictable. Some of the effects are pretty spotty. The sets border on looking cheap. This is one of those movies that I did kind of enjoy. This certainly isn’t a movie I see myself watching every year, but I won’t begrudge anybody who does choose to make this a permanent staple. It’s not a bad movie per se, but I also don’t think it’s really anything special either. Give it a watch and see for yourself. 

7 / 10 

The Nightmare Before Christmas

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Jack Skellington is the pumpkin king, and he rules over Halloween. But, after years of doing the same thing every year, he begins to yearn for something difference. So, after he accidentally stumbles across Christmastown, he decides he wants to take Christmas for himself. There's a lot about this movie to love. The animation is awesome. I really appreciate how much time and effort goes into claymation. But, it goes deeper than that as well. The characters all have this distinct look to them that helps make them stand out. The music is quite catchy, even if I personally feel like a lot of the more Christmas-based music is some of the weaker music in the film, but it's still solid. The character's aren't super-deep, but they feel like they're as deep as they need to be. Since this is a kids' movie, I don't necessarily need them to be. This may not be one of my all-time favorites, but it's still an enjoyable movie with a distinct look that's worth a look by fans of off-kilter Christmas movies (as well as fans of Halloween) since this film can easily be watched on both holidays.

8 / 10 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows western star Rick Dalton (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double, Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt) as they navigate various ins and outs of Hollywood life in the year of 1969. So, this was one of my most anticipated movies of 2019 without a doubt. Quentin Tarantino is one of my all-time favorite filmmakers. What’s interesting to me is that this film almost feels restrained—for Tarantino anyways. I should say that the violence is still there. There’s just quite a bit less of it compared to some of Tarantino’s other films. As always, the writing is pretty on point. His dialogue is still sharp. The performances are all pretty solid. The clear stand-outs to me are DiCaprio, Pitt, and Margot Robbie. Robbie is someone who I think could easily be overlooked because she isn’t loud and showy. However, I think there’s a quiet, reserved nature to the performance that really makes it work. Some of the smaller, cameo roles should also be commended in my opinion. If I have flaws, there’s really only one for me. It comes more from how conflicted I feel about the film’s length. The film is around 160 minutes long, and I don’t know if it needs to be. At the same time, I don’t know exactly what I would cut, because nothing really feels unnecessary. Overall, I loved this movie, and think it’s honestly another strong film in Tarantino’s filmography. 

9 / 10 

The Lion King (2019)

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From a technical aspect, the remake of The Lion King is stunning. It’s beautiful to look at. Yet, the film just feels hollow, almost like an imitation of something better that came before. I think the Disney remake this reminded me of the most was Beauty and the Beast. Yeah, I didn’t really like this movie very much. Don’t get me wrong there are good things about the film. The voice actors do an admirable enough job. I’ve already mentioned the film’s visual effects. At the same time, I feel like the attempt to make the film look more realistic is also one of the film’s biggest hindrances. The original made the characters emote. You could understand what they were going through. Here, their faces are blank slates. What makes it even harder for me to feel any real attachment to this remake is that some of the original film’s biggest moments come across as though they have less weight and impact. The musical numbers feel restrained here, like they are being held back. The stampede scene doesn’t have the same ominous feeling because it lacks the scale and the shadows. For the first hour of the film, it’s just the original movie beat by beat. At that point, some changes come in. They’re fine, but they don’t really stand out too much. Now, I don’t normally like to compare a remake to its original. The problem is this film doesn’t do enough to stand out and be its own thing. The thing that makes it so strange is knowing how little this movie deviates, despite being a half hour longer. Overall, this isn’t the worst movie ever made, but it’s still pretty bad.

4 / 10