A Late Top 10 Films of 2019 List.

2019 was an amazing year for film, delivering some of the decade’s best movies.
It is certainly a step up from 2018, where I only gave one film a five star rating, that being Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
As for 2019 itself, I gave eight films that came out then five stars, making it a much more successful year.
The only downside to how many amazing films there were is that not all of them could make the list.
Dr Sleep, John Wick Chapter 3: Parrabellum, Weathering With You, Toy Story 4, and many more almost made the list but, at the end of the day, I had to narrow it down to 10.
And, here they are.

10. Rocketman.

Rocketman Edgerton

Taron Edgerton should have got an Oscar nomination for his performance as Elton John in Rocketman.
He just absolutely transforms into the singer, lifting the film up to a higher standard.
Directed by Dexter Fletcher, the biopic follows the life of the singer from his highest highs to his lowest lows with a new spin on the genre.
This spin being that the whole film plays out like one big fantasy with musical numbers and theatrical moments that make it seem like we are watching a play rather than a film, and I obviously mean that as praise.
As well as Edgerton, the rest of the cast is great, especially Richard Madden in his sleazy portrayal of John Reid.
The musical numbers are also really good, helped greatly by Edgerton’s singing that provides a new take to the old Elton John songs that will get you singing along with the film.
All in all, Rocketman is a stellar biopic that provides a new take on the genre, separating it from the standard ones like the previous year’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

9. Uncut Gems.

Sandler

Uncut Gems was the last film from 2019 I watched before I started making the list.
I knew with all the praise it was getting that I had to watch it before I did it.
Another thing that peaked my interest was the Oscar buzz Adam Sandler was getting because he is generally the last person you would expect to get nominated for one.
However, after watching the movie, I can clearly say that, like Edgerton, Sandler also got snubbed.
Directed by the Safdie brothers, Uncut Gems tells the story of Sandler’s Howard Ratner, a jeweler and gambler, whose life spirals out of control when he buys a rare opal.
Howard is an engaging character in every sense of the word as I routed for him and simultaneously wanted to strangle him because of his decision making.
Only Sandler could make this unlikable character so likeable.
The film feels like an adrenaline rush and the realism of certain scenes grounds the story, making the intensity of the film stand out all the more.
Uncut Gems is a movie that makes you feel the same rush as its main character, putting you in his oh, so questionable decision making shoes.

8. Marriage Story.

adam and scarlett

Directed by Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story is the first film on this list that I gave five stars to.
The movie details the divorce of its two lead characters, Charlie, played by Adam Driver, and Nicole, played by Scarlett Johansson, and how this affects their young son.
Both Driver and Johansson are phenomenal in this film, playing equally flawed people, which makes you unsure of whose side you want to take as the movie goes on.
Adam Driver is the standout though, especially during a scene where he sings while out with some friends,
Along with him and Johansson, Laura Dern is another standout in the cast who deserved her win for Best Supporting Actress as the lawyer who inevitably makes things worse.
Another thing I can praise Marriage Story for is its cinematography and editing, which create some truly standout moments, along with the acting.
Baumbach crafted a fantastic film with Marriage Story that, even if you have never been divorced or been in a situation involving a divorce (which I haven’t), you can still relate to the story and characters.

7. Knives Out.

donuts inside of donuts inside of donuts inside of donuts inside of donuts inside of donuts inside of another donut

I will never look at a donut the same way again after watching Rian Johnson’s Knives Out.
In all seriousness, while I do think I made a mistake in including Johnson’s highly flawed, yet still enjoyable, Star Wars: The Last Jedi on my Top 10 Films of 2017 list, I do not think I am making the same mistake here.
Knives Out is a fantastic throwback to the detective murder mysteries of old, with Daniel Craig being wittingly over the top as the eccentric Benoit Blanc.
Equally as good is Ana de Armas, whose character is surprisingly more of a main character than Blanc.
Then there is Chris Evans who goes against type playing a snobby rich boy, a role that he is clearly enjoying.
The rest of the cast is also stellar but that is not surprising considering the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, and many more are involved.
The cinematography and symbolism are great as well, with the final shot of the film being so purposefully on the nose that me and the audience I was watching the film with laughed.
Knives Out is a great, new take on the detective, murder mystery genre and, with a sequel announced, I cannot wait to see more adventures for Benoit Blanc.

6. Avengers: Endgame.

I am Ironman
Directed by the Russo Brother’s, Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame may not be as well cinematically crafted as Knives Out or Marriage Story but, in terms of enjoyment factor, it is a film I will be returning to for years.
This is despite the film’s three hour runtime, which it more than earns, unlike other movies that came out in 2019 (cough, cough, The Irishman, cough, cough).
Following the devastating event of Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War, the Avengers must come together once more in a desperate bid to undo the damage and put an end to Josh Brolin’s mad Titan once and for all.
The massive ensemble cast do a great job here, especially Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans who are most likely playing their characters for the last time with them getting amazing send offs.
The CGI is phenomenal, making the cataclysm of the third act’s final battle all the more thrilling.
What’s more, the film is also incredibly emotional, resulting in me tearing up more than once.
Even though the Marvel Cinematic Universe does not end with this, I can still say that Avengers: Endgame was the emotional end to a story that had been going on for more than ten years.

5. Jojo Rabbit.

Jojo Rabbitty

Taika Waititi had to walk on a thin tightrope when making Jojo Rabbit.
This satire that declares war on hatred could have so easily become a film that was in bad taste what with its story but it didn’t.
In his first movie role, Roman Griffin Davis stars as Jojo Betzler, a boy living in World War Two Germany who is infatuated with Adolf Hitler to the point that the dictator is his imaginary friend, played by Waititi himself.
But, when Jojo discovers that his mother (Scarlett Johannsson) is harboring a Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), everything he thought about the Third Reich begins to change.
Jojo Rabbit is easily my favourite Taika Waititi film because it perfectly blurs the lines between being a drama and a comedy.
I was laughing one moment at the absurdity of the Nazis and horrified by their actions the next.
This culminates in probably the most shocking film scene of the year that had my jaw on the floor for a solid minute.
All of the cast do an amazing job and the slow switch from Jojo’s childlike perception of the Nazis to how horrible they were in real life is perfectly illustrated through the change in Waititi’s performance.
Funny, tragic, and heartwarming, Jojo Rabbit is a great film that only Taika Waitit could have pulled off.

4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywoob

Quentin Tarintino is one of the greatest directors of all time and he created another hit with his film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star as has-been actor Rick Dalton and his stuntman Clint Booth who live through the daily struggle of 1960s Hollywood.
Both actors are amazing in their roles, as is the rest of the cast in a film that shows a lot of love and respect for the film industry of this time.
Some of my favourite scenes are the ones where Rick is acting in a Western TV Show and when Sharon Tate (Margo Robbie) goes to watch one of her own movies.
However, while our main characters thrive or struggle in the Hollywood landscape, the Manson family looms as a deadly shadow, ready to strike.
This results in a dark, yet unexpectedly hilarious, final act that had me and the rest of the theater laughing out loud, which definitely made me question if we were all really messed up for a moment.
It was the perfect ending for the film, with a bittersweet final scene paying more respect to Sharon Tate’s memory that the awful and morally bankrupt The Haunting of Sharon Tate ever could.
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to the Hollywood of old and, as someone who loves movies, I can say it is one of my favourites of his.

3. Joker.

dance joker dance

Joker is one of the most talked about movies of 2019 but not for the reasons it should be.
The Todd Phillips directed film was bashed by many journalists who were saying the film would motivate people to commit horrible crimes.
You know what ended up happening?
Nothing!
Because Joker was never about motivating violence against the rich, which its main character unintentionally achieves through his criminal actions.
Instead, the film is about the dangers of not taking mental illness seriously and discusses class differences, especially in relation to poverty.
These messages just happen to be in a comic book film about an insane clown who murders people.
Joaquin Phoenix plays that clown, Arthur Fleck, as life kicks him down again and again, with every opportunity for help turning away from him before he finally snaps.
Phoenix is incredible in the film, being more than deserving of his Oscar win.
Likewise, Hildur Guðnadóttir also deserved her Oscar, with her score being the best of the year and a character in its own right.
Then there is the cinematography, which is perfectly handled, as can be seen by how Arthur is framed whenever he is on stairs.
All of this combines to create a deeply uncomfortable film with a great message at its dark, dead heart.
Go watch it, and don’t believe what the journalists said.

2. Parasite.

parasite bloody

I wish I had watched Parasite before it won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Being a fan on Bong Joon-ho’s films, I am kind of ashamed it took me so long to watch it.
But, when I finally did, boy, did it live up to the hype.
Although it is not my favourite film of the year, I can say with no doubt that Parasite definitely deserved Best Picture, along with all of the other awards it won.
All of the cast do a great job with Song Kang-ho being especially fantastic as the father of a poor family who scams their way into a wealthy family’s employment.
Bong has crafted a masterful film that starts off as a comedy drama, until a certain event happens that switches the story into high gear right up until its depressing end.
And what an ending it is, as it felt like I had been punched in the gut upon seeing it.
Before this ending though, there are many standout scenes, from a comical montage involving a scheme Song’s character Kim Ki-taek plays, to the turning point about half way through the movie.
Like Joker, Parasite does an incredible job of bring across its message about class with the film not just being accessible to a South Korean audience but a worldwide one as well.
I would say that Parasite is my second favourite Bong Joon-ho film, coming behind Memories of Murder, making it a masterpiece in its own right.
Hopefully, its Oscar wins will make the Academy consider more non-English speaking films going forward.

1. 1917.

1917

It took a couple days for me to decide what was my favourite film of 2019, with me constantly switching between Joker, Parasite and 1917.
The Sam Mendes film eventually won out though because of its excellent story, cinematography, acting, special effects and score, all of which combined to create my favourite movie of the year.
1917 follows two soldiers in World War One, Lance Corporals William Schofield (George MaKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), who are tasked with delivering a message to call off an oncoming attack that will result in the deaths of 1,600 men.
The film is gloriously shot, with it all being made to look like one tracking shot.
If Roger Deakins hadn’t won for Best Cinematography then the world would certainly have gone mad.
This film style lead to many adrenaline rush fueled scenes that had me gripping the arm rests of my movie seat as if my life depended on it.
The rush through the seemingly abandoned German trenches, the scene in the destroyed town, and the final mad dash are scenes that I will remember for years to come.
I jumped, I winced, and I very nearly cried by the end.
1917 made me feel all kinds of emotions and reminded me why films about this awful time of war need to be made.
I would go as far to say that 1917 is not just my favourite film of 2019 but also up there with Saving Private Ryan as one of the best war films of all time.
Be sure to watch this film in theaters for one hell of a great experience.

Watchmen Episode Eight Review: A God Walks Into Abar… Oh, I Get It!

After Watchmen‘s biggest twist yet in Episode Seven, Episode Eight “A God Walks Into Abar” sets about explaining that twist, starting off with the great pun of a title.
This pun comes from the beginning of the episode when Dr Manhattan both walks into a bar and walks into Abar with the intention of starting a relationship with her, which he already knows will happen because of his ability to see the past, present and future simultaneously.
Nicole Kassel returns to direct “A God Walks Into Abar”, which is almost entirely from Dr Manhattan’s point of view across time.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II does a fantastic job as the character, portraying a perfect mixture of uncaring and caring that creates that enigma that is Dr Manhattan.
Although, I will say the effects and makeup do make him look a little cheesy, which did draw me out of the scene on a few occasions.
These moments are relatively minor, though, and the scenes with Dr Manhattan’ first meeting with Angela are amazingly shot through how it avoids showing his face.
Mateen II and Regina King have great chemistry throughout the episode and it was very investing to watch Angela go from skeptical but interested in Dr Manhattan to in love with him as time passed.

a and dm.jpg — Angela and Dr Manhattan’s relationship is done very well with both actors doing a fantastic job.

Dr Manhattan’s love for Angela is also brilliantly portrayed through how he experiences time.
The moment he falls in love with her is when she tries to save him from the Seventh Kalvary many years after the get together.
However, because Dr Manhattan experiences time simultaneously, he was already in love with Angela when he met her because he knew of this moment.
Sadly, Dr Manhattan also seems to know of his imminent capture, which he allows to happen, either because he is a victim to time or because he has some other plan.
I guess we will just have to wait and see which one it is.
He did say that Angela had to remember he could walk on water so that has to be important.

dr m.jpg — There are numerous theories about other characters obtaining Dr Manhattan’s powers like Angela and Will.

“A God Walks Into Abar” also goes about explaining many of the mysteries surrounding both Dr Manhattan and Ozymandias and Will.
We see how Angela chose Cal’s body for Dr Manhattan to impersonate, hence why he appears as he does, and Will learns of Crawford’s involvement with Cyclops and the Klan robe in his closet because of Dr Manhattan conveying a question to him from Angela in the present.
This creates a time loop that raises the interesting question of if Crawford was as bad as he seemed?
Will’s information about Crawford was not gained first hand and Crawford did later tell him he was trying to help.
Although, again, this did come with some racist undertones when he said it so maybe I am looking too deep into it.
As for Ozymandias, we finally got an answer to why he is on Europa and who created the clones that served and arrested him.
They were made by Dr Manhattan, who he based off a couple he met as a child that asked him to build something beautiful when he grew up.
And, when Dr Manhattan obtained a Tachyon device from Ozymandias that allowed him to live as Cal by losing his memories, he rewarded Ozymandias by sending him to Europa to be served by the clones.

Veidt schemes.jpg — Ozymandias thinks he is entering his own personal heaven when he gets sent to Europa when, in reality, it is his hell

The reason the clones served Ozymandias to the point of death is because they were created to always put others before themselves, which is why Manhattan left and why Ozymandias now wants to.
Initially happy in this paradise, he grew bored of it all and now wants to return to his millions of children on earth like the delusional maniac he is.
However, because the clones’ one rule is that no one is allowed to leave, he is imprisoned.
This is when Ozymandias is confronted in a post credits scene by the Game Warden who reveals he was the first to be created by Dr Manhattan, essentially making him the Adam of Europa.
But this raises the question that if he is Adam then what happened to Eve?
Perhaps we will find out next episode?
In any case, the episode then ends with Ozymandias discovering a clone has mistakenly put a horse shoe in his cake, which allows him to initiate a plan to begin his escape back to earth.
Considering that next episode is the last one, I am not sure how this will happen.
In fact, I would say that I am slightly concerned about how all the different plot points like Ozymandias, Dr Manhattan’s capture, Trieu and Will’s plan, Laurie, Looking Glass, and of course Lube Man, are going to come together for the final episode.
Still, Watchmen has been fantastic so far so I have to put faith in that they can pull it off.
“A God Walks Into Abar” is another fantastic episode of the series and it will be interesting to see how it all ends in the finale.

Watchmen Episode 6 This Extraordinary Being Review: The Beginning of Justice.

Every episode of Watchmen just gets better and better and the sixth episode, “This Extraordinary Being” is no exception, being the best episode of the series so far.
Directed by Stephen Williams, the story follows a young Will Reeves (Jovan Adepo) as Angela experiences many of his memories due to the large amount of Nostalgia drugs she consumed in “Little Fear of Lightning.”
It is though her experiencing her grandfather’s memories that the fan theory of Will being Hooded Justice, the very first superhero in the Watchmen universe, is confirmed.
I was on the fence about this theory before it was finally revealed.
Although, I knew that it would make sense for the story thematically and that Hooded Justice’s costume could be representative of a black man surviving a lynching, I was skeptical because it would make no sense for everyone to think Hooded Justice was white if he was Will.
Thankfully, this did not turn out to be a plot hole because Will is shown to be applying makeup to make himself appear to be white, knowing that if the white public knew he was black he would be labelled a criminal.

Everyone believing Hooded Justice was white was the one thing that kept me from believing the theory that Will was him so I’m glad they explained it with the makeup.

This racist ideology of the community is proven time and time again by Will’s experiences, leading up to him becoming Hooded Justice.
We are given a front row seat at how corrupt and racially charged the police force is.
However, the truth of the matter is even darker because many of the police are revealed to be part of a secret KKK society known as the Cyclops.
This is slowly revealed through a member of the group named Fred (Glen Fleshler), who was arrested by Will for burning down a Jewish shop, being released without charge.
It is Will’s arrest of Fred that leads to the Cyclops targeting him, with him nearly being lynched by the racist cops.
Stumbling home, he then comes across a couple being attacked and, driven by his trauma both old and new, dons the hood and hangman’s noose and charges in to help, becoming Hooded Justice.
While in most stories this would be the start of an inspirational story of Will triumphing over evil, this is not how it works in Watchmen‘s world.
With the exception of his wife, June (Danielle Deadwyler), who was the baby Will rescued after the Tulsa Massacre, he is very much alone in his fight.
Even his fellow heroes will not help, with Will’s lover, and leader of the Minute Men, Captain Metropolis (Jake McDorman) caring more about publicity than actually helping people.
As the years go by, the situation with Cyclops gets worse as no one listening to Will eventually leads to the organisation carrying out an attack by brainwashing a black audience watching a movie to riot.
Metropolis once again brushes Will off about the threat the group poses and this, combined with more racist taunts from Fred, causes Will to take matters into his own hands, killing Fred and many members of the group.
He even steals one of their brainwashing devices to fight back, only to find that he has alienated June and his son, with them going back to Tulsa because of his anger.
From here, the episode cuts to many years in the future to reveal that Will really was the one who killed Judd, using his brainwashing device to have him kill himself.
This is one of the most interesting scenes of the episode because it shows a lot about both characters.

Will Reeves.jpeg — The scene between Will and Judd was probably my favourite of the episode.

For one thing, it raises a whole lot of questions about Judd and his involvement with the Kalvary, which appears to be descendant from Cyclops.
Judd tells Will he is trying to “help you people” but the “you people” part does seem to have some kind of racist implications.
Still, I think there may be more to Judd than him just being a completely evil Kalvary member.
As for Will, I love the moment when Judd asks who he is and Will replies “justice.”
In the years since we last saw him, Will has thrown away the hood, no longer hiding, and this line perfectly portrays that.
Now, as to what happened between the time Will killed the members of Cyclops and his killing of Crawford is a complete mystery.
There is a lot of years between these two points so it will be interesting to see how he became involved with Trieu.
Speaking of her, Angela wakes up in her care but how she got there is unclear right now as well.
From the promo for next episode, I can guess we will learn more about Angela’s past in Vietnam, which could also lead to us learning more about Will and Trieu.
Back to “This Extraordinary Being” I have got to say that the direction of the episode is incredible.
The representation of the trauma Will has with the constant colored in hallucinations of the Tulsa Massacre is very disturbing, especially when Will hallucinates that the car driven by Cyclops police members is dragging dead bodies.
Along with this, the passing of time is also portrayed brilliantly, as are the transitions between Will and Angela as she experiences his memories.
Probably the best example of this comes when the memory literally freezes in place as Laurie and Cal try to get Angela out of there but fail to do so.

freeze frame — This moment when the memory freezes as Laurie and Cal try to pull Angela out of it is a great shot.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find just how many historical elements have been thrown into this episode, like the first black police officer of New York, Samuel J. Battle (Philly Plowden), who makes a brief appearance.
“This Extraordinary Being” is easily Watchmen‘s best episode so far.
The only issue I have with it is that it doesn’t really make sense for Will to be kidnapped by three Cyclops members so easily, only to be beating them to a pulp with relative ease not long after.
Other than this minor problem, though, “This Extraordinary Being” is a fantastic episode that manages to be dark, depressing, and full of many great character and historical moments, supported by the top notch direction.

His Dark Materials Episode Three, The Spies Review: Parental Twist Number Two.

The third episode of His Dark Materials “The Spies” is the weakest of the season so far.
Not to say that it is bad but there are just a few things holding it back from the quality of the first two episodes.
For starters, “The Idea of North” ended with the cliffhanger of Lyra and Pan being kidnapped by the Gobblers, only for them to immediately be rescued by the Gyptians at the beginning of “The Spies.”
It kind of made it seem like they had just made a contrived cliffhanger to get viewers to tune in next week, as opposed to doing it naturally by perhaps having the Gyptians finding Lyra after she escapes Mrs Coulter.

lyra kidnapped.png — The ending to episode two should have been the Gyptians rescuing Lyra not the Gobblers pointlessly kidnapping her.

Directed by Dawn Shadford, the rest of the episode is pretty good, detailing Lyra’s time with the Gyptians nicely.
In particular, I liked her growing bonds with Ma Costa (Anne-Marie Duff) and Farder Coram (James Cosmo).
It is from Ma Costa that we get the second parental twist in two episodes that Coulter is Lyra’s mother.
While expected, both because I have seen the movie, and by Coulter’s obvious dodging of the question about Lyra’s mother in the previous episode, I found the explanation of Lyra’s birth to be very interesting.
The backstory of Asriel and Coulter’s affair, leading to Coulter’s husband trying to kill Lyra which forced Asriel to kill him, adds complexity to both characters and their relationship with their daughter.
Not only does it again show how far Asriel is willing to go to protect Lyra, despite his coldness towards her, but it also explains both Coulter’s love and disdain for her.
She loves Lyra because she is her daughter but, on the other hand, she hates a part of her because Lyra’s birth led to the death of her husband and damaged her reputation.
This also shows how cruel the Magisterium is because Ma Costa explains that Coulter’s husband murdering Lyra would have been legal their eyes because of the dishonor to his wife.

mother twist.png — The reveal of Lyra’s mother leads to interesting character revelations about Asriel, Coulter and the Magisterium.

And so, the explanation about Lyra’s parentage and birth is the most interesting part of the episode, even if it is a bit obvious.
The second best scene is easily Tony (Daniel Frogson) and Benjamin (Simon Manyonda) breaking into Coulter’s apartment to find information about the kidnapped children.
Thankfully, Tony escapes but Benjamin is captured, leading to a great cut where Coulter mimics her daemon in her attack pattern on Benjamin.
Before she can get any information out of him, though, Benjamin sacrifices himself by intentionally falling down the elevator to his death.
It is through Lyra’s attempts to figure out what happened to him and Tony that we get the first usage of the alethiometer as she uses it to try and find them.
From this, it looks like the alethimoter will be different from the movie because it does not give the holder visions, like in the adaptation, rather it just points to an image.

alethiromet-oh whatever.jpeg — Lyra learns to use the alethimoter quicker than any expert and without books. I wonder if there is a reason she was able to do this or is just because she’s special? It will seem like a reach if she just randomly figured it out.

However, despite learning to use the compass-like object, Lyra is not completely on top of things because Coulter sends soldiers to find her.
It is here that my other problem with the episode comes in because it is a bit ridiculous that the highly trained soldiers with dogs cannot find Lyra or the Gobbler the Gyptians kidnapped.
While this and a few other moments are distracting, the rest of “The Spies” is solid with Boreal continuing his search for Gruman and learning he was from our world rather than his, raising some interesting questions.
Coulter also knows who Lyra is with at the end of the episode because of her spy beetles, which adds more danger for our lead characters.
Overall, “The Spies” is a good episode of His Dark Materials which, while not quite as good as “Lyra’s Jordan” and “The Idea of North,” is still very enjoyable with a lot of character building moments.

Zombieland: Double Tap Review. Admittedly Fun But Unecessary.

When I first heard there was a sequel to 2009’s Zombieland coming out, I had quite a few reservations.
The first film came out ten years ago and, although it is a very enjoyable film, I thought it was very unnecessary to make a sequel now.
A few years after the first film came out, sure, but ten years later?
So, I admit I went in with a lot of skepticism.
Still, I enjoyed myself.
Zombieland: Double Tap is a fun film with a lot of great gags and zombie action.
Returning director Ruben Fleischer did a good job helming this film, which again follows the characters of Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) on their bloody adventures in Zombieland.
All four of the actors do a great job portraying the characters they played ten years ago, although Breslin sadly does not have enough screen time to stand out.
That aside, the team’s banter is great and it leads to a lot of exciting action sequences, my favourite of which is a long take fight sequence following the arrival of two characters that are hilariously similar to Columbus and Tallahassee.

elvis and cowboy.jpg — The introduction of Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) leads to the best action scene of the film.

There are plenty of creative moments in the film as well, including one at the start that actually made me jump in surprise.
Then there is the surprise cameo when the credits start to roll, which is also highly enjoyable.
So, if you are looking for a good time at the movies then Zombieland: Double Tap will definitely provide that.
However, the film does still have quite a lot of issues.
One of those is the lack of agency in much of the plot.
The film basically follows Columbus, Tallahassee and Wichita on a mission to save Little Rock but, honestly, I felt very little suspence in this mission for whatever reason.
On top of this, while many of the jokes do land a lot of them don’t as well.
This is mainly due to the new faces in the film, primarily Madison (Zoe Deutch) and Berkeley (Avan Jogia), who are both incredibly annoying and not at all funny.

Madison’s dumb blond, stereotype of a character provided no laughs whatsoever for me.

There is also a supreme lack of stakes.
I remember being concerned for the characters in the third act of the first film but here I felt much of the tension in that final act to be artificial and, thus, not investing.
So, in conclusion, while Zombieland: Double Tap does provide a fun experience, it has quite a few problems that make the sequel feel unnecessary.

My Hero Academia, Season Four, Episode Three, Boy Meets… Review: The Two Meetings.

“Boy Meets…” is the perfect title for My Hero Academia season four’s third episode because it is all about Deku meeting and interacting with multiple characters for the first time.
Sir Nighteye is the the most obvious meeting, with more than half the episode focusing on him and Deku’s interactions.
Their conversation and later game did a great job of emphasizing the parallels between them, with multiple similarities and differences.
Despite Nighteye not liking Deku because of how he views him as usurping Miro’s chance of inheriting One For All, they are still similar with the both of them being massive All Might fans with their own ways of showing that.
Nighteye looks past these similarities, though, still not believing Deku to be worthy of One For All and tests him by having Deku try to defeat his quirk foresight, which allows him to accurately predict his decisions for an hour.
Deku both fails and succeeds in the test, failing to grab the stamp Nighteye is holding but succeeding in making sure he does not damage all of Nighteye’s All Might merchandise.
This shows that Deku is able to multitask in his fighting, proving himself to Nighteye, even if he was planning to accept him no matter what.
However, Nighteye’s intentions in accepting Deku are not entirely pure because he hopes to convince him to give up One For All to Mirio.
This meeting sets up both Deku and Nighteye very well for their arcs in this storyline.
What is by far the most exciting scene, though, is Deku’s second meeting of the episode with Eri and Overhaul in the after credits scene.
I am overjoyed to see Eri make her appearance in the series because she is one of my favourite characters and the centerpiece of the season.
Deku’s meeting with her and Overhaul also gets the ball rolling for the big story of the arc so I cannot wait to see this first meeting truly play out next episode.
Aside from these two well done first meetings, the rest of “Boy Meets…” is more decent setup that is actually anime original.
The scene of Aizawa informing Uraraka and Tsuyu that Nejire wants to talk to them, and telling Kirishima that Amajiki wants to meet with him, is probably added to provide a starting point for where we will see these characters in subsequent episodes.
Most interesting, though, is the moment Aizawa tells Tokoyami that the Number Three Pro Hero, Hawks, has offered him an internship.
For those of you expecting to see the two working together, I would not get your hopes up.
This is because Hawks does not have a role in the arcs season four will be covering and will not get a big part in the story until the fifth season.
As a result, this mention of Hawks is most likely just fan service to hype up his future appearance.
Although, who knows?
Maybe we could get an anime only scene of Hawks and Tokoyami’s internship this season.
That would be interesting.
Overall, “Boy Meets…” is a good setup episode for My Hero Academia that both builds up Nighteye’s character arc and gets the ball rolling with Overhaul and Eri’s role in the story through them meeting Deku.
It will be great to see the first interaction Deku and Mirio have with Overhaul and Eri in the next episode.

My Hero Academia, Season Four, Episode One Review: The first episode is here!… And it’s filler.

My Hero Academia season four is finally here but off to a less than stellar start.
That is not to say that the first episode “The Scoop on U.A Class 1-A” is bad but it is a filler episode that is mainly used as a recap.
Now, for viewers who do not keep up with the story of My Hero Academia and need to be reminded of what has happened, episodes like this are necessary.
However, for those of us who keep up with the story and remember what happened at the end of season three, like me, recap episodes like “The Scoop on U.A Class 1-A” can be a bit annoying.
While there is a some enjoyment in the story of reporter Tokuda Taneo looking for All Might’s successor, it is clear that he will probably never reappear in the story again and, even if he does, it will likely not be in any meaningful way.
Although, I will say the filler of “The Scoop on U.A Class 1-A” is at least entertaining because of the humor.
I burst out into laughter twice when watching this episode, with the anime original jokes really hitting a home run.
These comedic moments, along with more set up for Deku eventually taking All Might’s place as the new Symbol of Peace, were enough to keep me engaged in this mostly filler episode.
As for the new intro and outro, I thought they were both very good.
The intro, “Polaris,” is a great song with a lot of very good visuals, my favourite of which being when we see Deku and Eri falling from the sky trying to reach one another.
There is also a lot of symbolism for what is going to happen later in the Overhaul Arc, which I enjoyed.
One aspect that I did not like about the new intro, though, is its lack of emphasis on Mirio, Kirishima, and even the main villain of this arc, Overhaul.
These characters only appeared in group or fighting shots, and very briefly, so you would not guess from looking at the opening that they have a big role in this storyline.
Aside from that, though, “Polaris” is an enjoyable opening.
The same can also be said for the outro, “Koukai no Uta,” which is a really good song with great visuals and symbolism.
More than anything, the outro highlights the importance of Eri in this arc, with her being a character I am looking forward to seeing very much because she will be the center of many emotional scenes.
Overall, though, the first episode of My Hero Academia‘s fourth season, “The Scoop on U.A Class 1-A” is a decent filler episode.
There is enjoyment to be had but if you don’t watch it and just skip to the next episode you will not miss anything.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Review. The Fitting Conclusion we didn’t Know we Needed.

Breaking Bad is one of the greatest television series of all time.
The story of chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) deciding to break bad by selling Meth, after he receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, is a thrilling one of crime, betrayal, and amazing moments.
It also has an incredibly well done ending.
Unfortunately, when it comes to many other great TV shows, they fizzle out during the final seasons, resulting in many less than stellar finales.
This is, thankfully, not the case with the Breaking Bad finale, which tied up all of its loose ends perfectly.
Such can be seen with Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), who rode off into the night, towards an ambiguous but optimistic future.

Jesse driving off laughing and crying hysterically is the last we saw of him until *El Camino.*

No follow up was required.
And then the Netflix movie was announced.
Honestly, when I first heard of El Camino and how it would finish Jesse’s story, I was concerned.
Even though it is directed by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad‘s creator, to me, Jesse’s story had already been told and I was worried that adding anything could ruin the stellar ending he had.
But, a few days ago, I watched El Camino and found it to be a great follow up to that ending.
It also preserved the ambiguous but fitting conclusion for Jesse, which I really appreciated.
El Camino follows Jesse after being freed from Jack’s white supremacist gang in a final, sacrificial act from Walter, leading to him trying to find the money he needs to start a new life.

Aaron Paul Jesse Pinkman.jpg — Aaron Paul is great as Jessie, struggling through trial after trial to hopefully get somewhere better.

From there, Jesse experiences interference after hectic interference with him being helped and stalled by familiar characters from the series.
It was good to see these characters again, like Skinny Pete (Charles Baker), Badger (Matt Jones), and Ed the disappearer, whose actor Robert Forster tragically died from cancer recently.
However, while it was great to see old characters return, some of them look very different to how they did in the show, which can be quite distracting.
This is especially the case for the shilling sociopathic Todd Alquist, whose actor Jesse Plemons does not match how he looked in the series.

As you can see Todd looks quite different from how he appeared in “Felina” the final episode of *Breaking Bad.*

Despite this distracting detail, though, Plemons scenes with Aaron Paul are some of the best in the film.
There is also a mini action scene toward the end that I found quite surprising because of the direction it took, making it highly entertaining.
This said, not everyone will find El Camino to be so enjoyable, like I did, because of its slow pace.
Still, for fans of Breaking Bad it is a must watch.
El Camino wraps up the story of Jessie Pinkman in a fitting way that does not ruin the original series’ ending, giving us the conclusion for Jessie we did not know we needed.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Review: A Bloody, Slice of Life, Love Letter.

Coming into Quentin Tarintino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, I had no idea what the runtime was.
After watching the film, and enjoying it immeasurably, I checked my watch to see how much time had past and was shocked to see that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood had gone for two hours and forty minutes.
When you watch a long film but it feels like its over in minutes, that is when you know you have just seen a great movie.
It happened when I watched Avengers: Endgame earlier this year and it happened again with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as struggling actor Rick Dalton and his stuntman Cliff Booth respectively, as Dalton dwells on his failing career in the 60s with Booth for support.

dalton and booth.jpeg — The friendship of Dalton and Booth is natural and often hilarious, with DiCaprio and Pitt doing amazing jobs.

Parallel to their story, we get Sharon Tate’s (Margot Robbie) as well in the build up to the infamous murders committed by the followers of Charles Manson (Damon Herriman).
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has been described as a “love letter to ’60’s L.A” by the Hollywood Reporter, and this is certainly the case.
You can tell just from watching the film that Tarintino is someone who loves movies.
My favourite scenes of the film are the ones where aspects of cinema come into play.
The scenes where we are presented with Dalton acting as a villain on a show with a young costar Trudi (Julia Butters), and one where Tate goes to watch one of her own movies, The Wrecking Crew, are particular highlights.

Best acting I've ever seen.png — The interactions between Dalton and Trudi are probably my favourite part of the film with the TV show homages and insights into Dalton’s character.

The film also has a lot of tension as well, due to the creepy nature of the Manson family, resulting in an almost nail biting scene about half way through.
It is the friendship between Dalton and Booth that is the true heart of the film, though.
Both DiCaprio and Pitt give incredible performances as these characters, allowing us to relate to them despite their less than admirable qualities.
And they are a part of a very large ensemble cast that includes Kurt Russel, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, and Al Pacino.
With such a large cast and runtime it will make some wonder where the film is going… until the ending.
Honestly, I did not expect this kind of ending but, given that this is Tarintino we are talking about, I definitely should have.
All I can say about it is that it was a blast to watch.
I was laughing so hard at what was happening and, after a few minutes, I really began to question my mental state in doing so.
One thing I especially loved about the ending is its final seconds.
The final moments of the film really highlight the message that Tarantino is trying to sell, not just about Hollywood and the fate of Dalton and Booth but also the, sadly, very real life Tate murders as well.
It feels like a reflective ending that made me feel incredibly sad.
Overall, I absolutely loved Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
It has fantastic acting and amazing direction with all its movie homages, and a story that builds towards a darkly humorous, yet reflective, ending.
If you love movies then you should definitely see this in theaters.

Attack on Titan Chapter 120 Predictions.

Chapter 119 of Attack on Titan was one of the manga’s most shocking with an incredible cliffhanger that left my jaw on the floor.
I never expected Eren to get his head blown off, and the impact this has on the series will be massive, even though I am pretty sure that Eren will survive.
There are a lot of directions Chapter 120 could go but, no matter what happens, I am sure it will be a big chapter because of Hajime Isayama’s apparent rule of five.
Ever since Chapter 100 something big has happened every five chapters.
In Chapter 100 there was Eren’s declaration of war, in Chapter 105 Sasha died, in Chapter 110 Darius Zachary died, and in Chapter 115 Zeke died but was resurrected by a mysterious girl in the Path dimension.
So, it is safe to assume that something huge will happen Chapter 120, especially when considering the massive events of Chapter 119.
Here are my predictions for what will happen.

How will Eren survive?

I am 99% sure that Eren will survive having his head blown off by Gabi.
We have seen Titans survive crazier things, like when Zeke was literally brought back from the dead.
Therefore it is highly likely that Eren will make it.
This opinion is clearly shared by a lot of the fandom because there are multiple theories about how Eren will live.
One of the most prevalent theories is that Eren has already touched Zeke and is using the Founding Titan to alter people’s memories, making them believe he got decapitated when, in reality, he did not.
This theory comes from the multiple inconsistencies in Chapter 119.
However, after looking these over, I have found that most of these are explainable, and even the ones that are not are probably there because Isayama drew 21 pages in a few days because he was so busy.
On top of this, the theory does not make sense when you realise that Mikasa, Magath and the Marleyan soldiers would not be affected by any memory alterations because they are not Eldians.
So, this pretty much debunks that theory.
Another theory I do not think holds much weight is the one that the Eren who got decapitated was actually a clone created using Eren’s War Hammer Titan ability.
The reason I do not think this theory is legitimate is because there has never been any indication that the War Hammer Titan can create clones of its user.
Not only this, but the idea that any such clone could be so real down to the clothes Eren wears is a little too ridiculous.
What I do not find ridiculous is the theory that Eren will survive by transferring his consciousness throughout his body, like Reiner did in the Return to Shiganshina Arc.
Eren saw Gabi before she shot him so he would have had time to do this.
The second theory that I think is highly likely is that the mysterious girl in the Path dimension, who is probably Ymir Fritz, will revive Eren.
I am more in favor of this theory because it would allow Eren to have a conversation with Ymir and we could not only learn his motives but also the origins of the Titans from Ymir and see what role she has to play in the current story.
Honestly, I think it will be a combination of these two theories.
I see Eren transferring his consciousness and, while regenerating, ends up in the Path dimension where he will meet Ymir.
If this happens then it will probably be the cliffhanger of Chapter 120.
But If I am wrong and Eren is actually dead I will most likely hate it.
I have faith in Isayama, though.

Now that Falco is the Jaw Titan what will he do?

One of the great subversive moments of Chapter 119 was when Falco ate Porco instead of Reiner.
Isayama brilliantly misled us to believe that Falco would inherit the Armoured Titan, only for him to inherit the Jaw Titan.
It was a brilliant way to subvert expectations and it will be interesting to see what happens with Falco in the future.
I think we can expect to see his new Titan form at least once but what he does with this power depends on how much time the story has left.
Because of Eren’s current state, I believe there could be a possibility for a bit of a break in the fighting.
This could allow Falco to flee the battlefield with Reiner and Gabi and locate Annie, and he would use his bite to free her from the crystal.
However, if there is no break in the fighting then I do not see him doing this.
There is also the possibility of Falco encountering Historia.
While I do like how Porco died, I think it was a missed opportunity to not have him meet Historia and share Ymir’s memories with her.
Porco could have grown from this as a character so it was disappointing to see this did not happen.
On the other hand, Falco could now fill this role, meeting Historia and giving her closure about Ymir, possibly leading to Historia naming her baby after her.
Again, this does depend on how much of the story is left.
I do hope that Isayama did not just give Falco the Jaw Titan as a way to save him with no plans for him to use the power.
I want to see Falco actually contribute with the Jaw Titan power.

Death predictions.

A lot of characters bit the dust in Chapter 119.
Porco and Colt died, and Pyxis, Nile, Rouge, and all the other people who ingested Zeke’s spinal fluid were turned into Titans.
Then there is Eren, who got decapitated.
If Eren is really dead then Chapter 120 will definitely serve as confirmation of that, although I would be heavily against this.
But, like I said, I think Eren will survive or be resurrected because of Titan magic or Ymir Fritz.
Personally, I am more concerned for Magath and Pieck.
Magath was on Pieck’s Anti-Titan Gun when Armin shot it with the thunder spear.
We saw him get blown back by this but got no conformation on if he was killed or not.
Personally, I would be disappointed if he died because I feel like Isayama has been setting him up for something big, with all of his references to Helos.
I am also scared for Pieck, since she is going up against Mikasa and Armin at the end of Chapter 119.
Pieck is the weakest of the Titan Shifters, while Mikasa is humanity’s second strongest soldier and Armin is the Colossal Titan.
On top of this, Pieck looks scared out of her mind when fighting them.
The odds are clearly not in her favor in this fight.
I hope she does not die because I really like her character.
As for the other characters, I am not sure if any others will be dying this chapter because of the mass of them that died last chapter.
I do have a few ideas about how characters could die in the future, like Yelena potentially being eaten by a Titan Pyxis.
However, I do not think we will be getting any more major deaths next chapter, apart from possibly Pieck or Magath.
Who knows though?
Isayama is definitely a writer who likes to shock us so anything could happen.

Will Levi, Hange, Historia or Annie return?

One of my big concerns about Attack on Titan‘s final arc is that many characters could be absent from its final battle.
Levi, Hange, Historia and Annie are all elsewhere while this big fight is taking place.
If Isayama leaves them out, I will be disappointed because I believe that every important character should play a role in the ending, with the exception of those who are already dead.
So, how could these characters possibly return?
Well, I believe that Levi, Hange and Historia could return all at once.
There has been a theory that the river Hange jumped into with Levi would take them to Historia’s location.
With so little time left in the manga, I am in favor of this happening because then we could both see Levi get patched up and learn if there is any twist to Historia’s pregnancy.
As for Annie, as I have stated, Falco could free her but I have heard another theory about how she could return that I find much more interesting.
This theory states that because Annie has been in crystal so long, her consciousness has been transported to the Path dimension where she has been hanging out with Ymir.
So, if Eren meets Ymir next chapter he should also meet Annie.
However, I need to make it clear that this theory has absolutely no evidence behind it.
I just think it would be a highly interesting way for Annie to return to the story, without everything that has happened needing to be explained to her because Ymir would have already done so.
Whatever happens, I hope Isayama can find a way to make all four of these characters important to the story’s ending.

Did Tom Xaver know Eren Kruger?

Another theory that has been floating around is that Tom Xaver was working with Eren Kruger.
After reading Zeke’s flashback in Chapter 114 though, I dismissed this theory because Xaver seemed to believe, like Zeke, that the Eldian race should be euthanized.
This is completely different from Kruger, who wanted to free Eldia.
However, after reading Chapter 88 again, I have begun to buy into this theory because of what Kruger tells Grisha.
He says he was able to avoid detection because of a Dr who was posing as a Marleyan and had “the knowhow to study Titan biology.”
This description matches Xaver to a T.
Because of this, I now believe Xaver at the very least knew Kruger and at the most was working with him to achieve some kind of goal.
Granted, in the scenes we see them in, their ideologies are completely different.
Given this, it does not make sense for Xaver to encourage Zeke’s euthanasia plan if he bought into Kruger’s mindset.
There is always the possibility that Isayama planned to reveal the two were working together but then decided against it though.
We will just have to wait and see if this theory has any substance.

When will Attack on Titan end?

Attack on Titan is in its final arc and what looks like the final battle.
So, the question is when will the manga end?
I have heard Isayama has estimated a year so that makes me think it will end somewhere around Chapter 130.
This number would match in terms of volume numbers as well, so this is further evidence.
Some people have been saying the story will end in a few chapters but I highly doubt that.
If it does then Attack on Titan will probably have one of the most rushed endings ever.
There is still so much left to unpack in this story.
How did the Titans come to be, who really was Ymir Fritz, what is the deal with the Ackerman family, what is Eren’s true plan, what is Kyomi going to do, and what will happen with the rumbling?
These are just a few of the many unanswered questions that cannot be answered in two chapters.
In my opinion, there needs to be at least ten or eleven more to wrap up everything clearly.
Although, this is Isayama and I am sure he could surprise us by ending the story quickly, while somehow making it satisfying as well.
As for how Attack on Titan will end, I am not so sure.
One thing I am certain about is that the ending will involve the Rumbling and the explanation of Titan memories in some way.
The Rumbling is basically the Chekov’s Gun of Attack on Titan.
It needs to be fired before the series ends but how it will be used remains to be seen.
Will Eren use it to destroy the world or find another way?
Then there is the whole Kruger plot twist of him remembering Mikasa and Armin when they have not been born yet.
The reason for this probably relates to the title of the first chapter, “To you in 2000 Years.”
Whatever happens, I just hope Isayama can end this story in a satisfying way that will ensure Attack on Titan is considered a modern classic by many.