Currently, the United States is in the grips of the Coronavirus pandemic, bringing our daily lives to a screeching halt. While I’m sure the economy will bounce back once we have gotten past “social distancing”, the one industry that will be dramatically – possibly ultimately – affected will be movies and entertainment.
If you’ve kept up with my blog, you know that horror movies are not at the top list of my favorite genres. But something called to me with this movie. While the trailer for the film reveals most of the movie, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by how haunting The Invisible Man was.
We all have things that make us happy; something that pulls us out of the muck of a bad day or a bad few weeks. There are workouts, yoga sessions, walks in the sunlight, reading or writing. One of mine is sitting on the couch for a movie night. I recently came across a twitter post asking about our four “comfort movies” and I decided to take up that challenge.
On my library of digital movies and shelves of hard copies, there are those films that I think about instantly going to; films that I can put on at any time of the day and will never get sick of, no matter how many times I’ve watched them. Despite wanting to see new movies and chop down my watchlist, there are always those treasured classics that I can put on and it’ll instantly put me in a good mood or a better place than I was before.
We’ve all seen a variety of video game adapted movies. From Super Mario Bros to Tomb Raider, each one has had its positives and negatives; mainly landing on the bad side of critics. After backlash from fans with the first trailer, Sonic The Hedgehog seems to break that streak with exciting special effects, humor, and straightforward storytelling.
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Michael Bay released his first feature-length film, Bad Boys, in 1994, bringing Martin Lawrence and Will Smith together for buddy-cop comedic gold. The trio returned again in 2003 for the unfavorable but hilarious Bad Boys II. Twenty-five years later, we find the pair back together again for the third installment… and it feels like they never left.
If I had time to see this movie before the end of 2019, my top movie list would look quite different. Most war films are a highlight reel; full of blood, glory, and noble sacrifice for the greater good. There’s even a love story or two involved to help ground the audience (not that we don’t already have enough doing that). 1917 isn’t a new tale being told by director Sam Mendes – an impossible-mission drama, like Dunkirk and Saving Private Ryan before it – but it was how the story is told that made all the difference.
2020 is now a full week in. The confetti and streamers have been cleaned up and we’ve all gotten adjusted to the new year and a new decade. The year where our patience finally pays off has arrived. The movies offered in 2020 have been some that we’ve waited to land on the movie screen for some time. Long awaited follow-ups to Bad Boys and Coming to America arrive while the Wyld Stallyns reunite in Bill & Ted Face the Music. It’s not all sequels and reboots though, we’re getting a new musical with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights coming to the big screen, courtesy of Crazy Rich Asians’ director Jon M. Chu. There’s a new slew of thrillers, horror films, colorful animated treats, action-adventures, and more. It’s never too early to get excited about movies so start marking these titles on your calendar.
What another year for movies! As we close out this year (and decade!), I wanted to take a look back and rank the films that captivated my mind, heart, and emotions. Like every year, this year’s list wasn’t how I thought it would turn out at the start of 2019. But that’s the wonderful surprises of the business.
Without any further ado, here we go!
9 movies. 42 years.
The Star Wars saga (affectionately known as The Skywalker Saga) was delighted audiences for generations. After the fan base dividing Last Jedi, the final chapter was approached with reservations by fans and critics. Despite this, the enduring story of the Skywalker Saga didn’t disappoint me once I sat down to board the Millennium Falcon for one last adventure.
Netflix changed the game of television programming with its original programming with shows like House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. Last year, Netflix changed the game again, this time with original films, with the Oscar-nominated, slice of life film Roma. Those who thought the Alfonso Cuaron film was a one-off film for Netflix entering the awards game, you were wrong as Marriage Story aims to devastate your heart.
