Yearly Catch Up - 2019 Edition

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Yearly Catch Up - 2019 Edition

Throughout the year, I wasn’t able to watch all of the movies I initially intended to (I had to cut down my watchlist to less than 100). Either due to work, personal reasons, or simply because the theaters didn’t provide decent sessions (it’s very difficult to watch the original version of an animated flick), I had to skip some films I was really looking forward to. Besides that, there are a few movies coming out on these last two weeks of 2019 that I won’t have time to write a full review, so I’ll just insert them here as well. Go through all of them because there are a few Top10 contenders and A+ scores in here.

With that said, this article contains spoiler-free mini-reviews of The Two Popes, Honey Boy, The Report, The Nightingale, Ford v Ferrari (aka Le Mans ‘66), and The Irishman (more can/will come).

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Little Women (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Little Women (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Written by: Greta Gerwig

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep

Runtime: 135 min

Synopsis: Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott and unfolds as the author's alter ego, Jo March (Saoirse Ronan), reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig's take, the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women each determined to live life on her own terms - is both timeless and timely.

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1917 (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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1917 (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Written by: Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns

Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch

Runtime: 119 min

Synopsis: At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers… Blake's own brother among them.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Written by: Chris Terrio, J.J. Abrams

Starring: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams

Runtime: 142 min

Synopsis: When it's discovered that the evil Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) did not die at the hands of Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), the rebels must race against the clock to find out his whereabouts. Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) lead the Resistance to put a stop to the First Order's plans to form a new Empire, while Rey (Daisy Ridley) anticipates her inevitable confrontation with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

The Rise of Skywalker serves as the conclusion to the Skywalker Saga, following the events of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

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Marriage Story (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Marriage Story (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Noah Baumbach

Written by: Noah Baumbach

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Julie Hagerty, Matthew Shear, Merritt Wever

Runtime: 136 min

Synopsis: A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.

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Last Christmas (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Last Christmas (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Paul Feig

Written by: Emma Thompson, Bryony Kimmings

Starring: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson

Runtime: 102 min

Synopsis: Kate (Emilia Clarke) harumphs around London, a bundle of bad decisions accompanied by the jangle of bells on her shoes, another irritating consequence from her job as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Tom (Henry Golding) seems too good to be true when he walks into her life and starts to see through so many of Kate's barriers. As London transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, nothing should work for these two. But sometimes, you gotta let the snow fall where it may, you gotta listen to your heart... and you gotta have faith.

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Knives Out (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Knives Out (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Rian Johnson

Written by: Rian Johnson

Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer

Runtime: 130 min

Synopsis: When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.

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Midway (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Midway (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Written by: Wes Tooke

Starring: Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson

Runtime: 138 min

Synopsis: Midway centers on the Battle of Midway, a clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy which marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. The film, based on the real-life events of this heroic feat, tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude, and bravery to overcome the odds.

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Doctor Sleep (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Doctor Sleep (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Mike Flanagan

Written by: Mike Flanagan

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis

Runtime: 151 min

Synopsis: Doctor Sleep is the continuation of Danny Torrance's (Ewan McGregor) story 40 years after the terrifying events of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra (Kyliegh Curran), a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the "shine." Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.

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Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

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Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) - SPOILER-FREE Review

Directed by: Tim Miller

Written by: David Goyer, Justin Rhodes, Billy Ray

Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta

Runtime: 128 min

Synopsis: More than two decades have passed since Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) prevented Judgment Day, changed the future, and re-wrote the fate of the human race. Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) is living a simple life in Mexico City with her brother (Diego Boneta) and father when a highly advanced and deadly new Terminator, a Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna), travels back through time to hunt and kill her. Dani's survival depends on her joining forces with two warriors: Grace (Mackenzie Davis), an enhanced super-soldier from the future, and a battle-hardened Sarah Connor. As the Rev-9 ruthlessly destroys everything and everyone in its path on the hunt for Dani, the three are led to a T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from Sarah's past that may be their last best hope.

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