How to Train Your Dragon 3

How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World is gorgeous. It is no wonder everyone is saying it's the best animated movie of the year. It really is an incredible achievement. It isn't my favorite animated film this year, but it is way up there. I really liked this. I suppose here is the place where it is worth saying, also, that Toy Story 4 winning the Oscar is a true travesty. Toy Story 4 was unimaginative, stupid, and boringly sentimental. How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World is the correct way to do a sequel. What a beautiful film!

Klaus

I loved the animation in Klaus, and this is a heartwarming Christmas movie with a lovely plot and lots of good jokes. The little Sámi character who speaks only Sámi and is played by a Sámi actress is an interesting kick in the teeth to anyone who defended Frozen II's colonialist fantasy. This film might be a little scary for kids. There are lots of knives and axes.

Toy Story 4

I was not able to resist the tears that Toy Story 4 wanted me to cry. But I am impervious to enjoying this kind of sentimental stuff. There are jokes in this movie; I just didn't they were very funny. Keanu Reeves is a bright spot in Toy Story 4, but mostly I was not into this.

In addition, the fact that this won Best Animate Feature of 2019 over I Lost My Body and How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World and Klaus is legitimately insane.

Antarctic Journal (2005)

I watched Antarctic Journal (남극일기) for my unseen movie club. We watched it because Bong Joon-ho wrote it (though he did not direct) and because Song Kang-ho was its star. This is a strange far-end-of-the-word men-losing-their-minds movie, and I really liked it.There is this totally bizarre eye imagery throughout that really is never resolved, but I was sort of into that. Park Hee-soon is excellent.

Love Those Two Popes

I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Paradoxically, I was disappointed at how little the film felt the need to investigate or explore Benedict's misdeeds, while at the same time I loved Anthony Hopkins in this. The film itself is much more about Frances and his actions during the Guerra Sucia. I was moved by all of that stuff, and Juan Minujín is wonderful in the film. I gotta say, though, when grown men are, like, super into gods, I find it a little hard to believe.

Dolemite Is My Name

Dolemite Is My Name is so funny. Craig Brewer's best film yet! The acting is great, and there are so many great references to the original. I was cackling. There are also some amazing cameos – from Snoop Dogg and Chris Rock. I have no idea what Wesley Snipes is doing with his character in this movie, but he is the only problem with it. I expected Ruth Carter to get another Oscar nomination for the incredible costumes. She didn't and that's absolutely a travesty. In fact, this film didn't get any Oscar nominations. This is crazy because Eddie Murphy is excellent and Da'Vine Joy Randolph is absolutely wonderful! The Academy is full of fools who don't like good jokes, clearly.

2019 in Review

LOVED
~ ~
1. Pain & Glory
2. 1917
3. Parasite
4. Monos
5. Marriage Story
6. Honey Boy
7. I Lost My Body
8. Transit
9. An Elephant Sitting Still
10. Booksmart

REALLY LIKED
~ ~
11. Once upon a Time... in Hollywood
12. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
13. Dolemite Is My Name
14. Synonyms
15. How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World
16. Uncut Gems
17. Waves
18. Les Misérables
19. Woman at War
20. Atlantics
21. Rocketman
22. Dogman
23. Hustlers
24. Diamantino
25. Ash Is Purest White
Knife+Heart
The Farewell
The Two Popes
A Hidden Life
Klaus
The Chambermaid
Weathering with You
Socrates
Rafiki
The Heiresses

LIKED
~ ~
The Lighthouse
Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker
By the Grace of God
Invisible Life
Judy
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Frozen II
Ad Astra
Bombshell
Birds of Passage
Richard Jewell
The White Crow
High Life
Knives Out

LIKED MORE THAN I DISLIKED
~ ~
Midsommar
The King
Jojo Rabbit
Shadow
Long Day's Journey into Night
"I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians"
The Command
Avengers: Endgame

BARELY LIKED MORE THAN I DISLIKED
~ ~
The Beach Bum
Little Women
Missing Link
Joker
Harriet
Toy Story 4
Cats
Ford v Ferrari
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
The Irishman

DISLIKED
~ ~
The Report
Breakthrough
Better Days
Fighting with My Family
The Souvenir

HATED
~ ~
Climax

COMPLETE AND TOTAL WASTE OF TIME
~ ~
The Lion King
Her Smell

My Picks for Best Actress for 2019
My Picks for Best Actor for 2019
My Picks for Best Supporting Actress for 2019
My Picks for Best Supporting Actor for 2019