Written by Tyrone Bruinsma HONORABLE MENTIONS -The Aeronauts [Dir. Tom Harper] -Aladdin [Dir. Guy Ritchie] -Batman: Hush [Dir. Justin Copeland] -Benny Loves You [Dir. Karl Holt] -Brightburn [Dir. David Yarovesky] -Captain Marvel [Dir. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck] -Corpus Christi [Dir. Jan Komasa] -Crawl [Dir. Alexandre Aja] -The Current War [Dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon] -Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan [Dir. Kriv Stenders] -Dark Waters [Dir. Todd Haynes] -Dragged Across Concrete [Dir. S. Craig Zahler] -The Exigency [Dir. Cody Vibbart] -The Farewell [Dir. Lulu Wang] -Ford V Ferrari [Dir. James Mangold] -Guns Akimbo [Dir. Jason Lei Howden] -A Hidden Life [Dir. Terrence Mallick] -Hustlers [Dir. Lorene Scafaria] -John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum [Dir. Chad Stahelski] -Jojo Rabbit [Dir. Taika Waititi] -The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part [Dir. Mike Mitchell] -Little Women [Dir. Greta Gerwig] -The Farewell [Dir. Lul Wang] -Midway [Dir. Roland Emmerich] -Monos [Dir. Alejandro Landes] -Official Secrets [Dir. Gavin Hood] -The Painted Bird [Dir. Václav Marhoul] -Palm Beach [Dir. Rachel Ward] -Pokémon: Detective Pikachu [Dir. Rob Letterman] -Portrait of a Lady on Fire [Dir. Céline Sciamma] -Promare [Dir. Hiroyuki Imaishi] -Queen & Slim [Dir. Melina Matsoukas] -Ready or Not [Dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett] -Shazam! [Dir. David F. Sanberg] -Sisters in Arms (Operation Red Snake) [Dir. Caroline Fourest] -6 Underground [Dir. Michael Bay] -Spider-Man: Far From Home [Dir. Jon Watts] -Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker [J.J Abrams] -Sweetheart [Dir. J. D. Dillard] -Terminator: Dark Fate [Dir. Tim Miller] -Trick [Dir. Patrick Lussier] -Triple Frontier [Dir. J. C. Chandor] -Velvet Buzzsaw [Dir. Dan Gilroy] -Weathering with You [Dir. Makoto Shinkai] -White Snake [Dir. Amp Wong and Zhao Ji] 20. Serenity [Dir. Steven Knight]Director/Writer Steven Knight has had a very fascinating career; being one of the 3 creators for ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’, screenwriter of Pretty Little Liars, Eastern Promises, The Hundred-Foot Journey, Spencer and the unproduced World War Z sequel, and writer/director of his own films Locke and Hummingbird. With Serenity, he creates easily one of the wackiest films with Hollywood actors since The Neon Demon, The Fall or Mulholland Drive. The film may look like a typical nasty neo noir potboiler, but…well…you’ll have to see to find out. 19. I Trapped the Devil [Dir. Josh Lobo]In recent years, independently produced horror films have yielded some of the best works in the genre. Josh Lobo’s I Trapped the Devil is one such example as to why artists and storytellers having full creative control can be so wonderful. The premise of a disturbed man believing to have trapped the Devil himself in his basement acts as a brilliant mixture of a psychological horror and theater play. The acting is fantastic, the sense of dread is oozing throughout the film and Josh Lobo’s understanding of limitations as creative is brilliant. 18. Waves [Dir. Trey Edward Shultz] I wasn’t the biggest fan of director Trey Edward Shultz’s prior films Krisha or It Comes at Night, but was keen to see more of his work. With Waves, Shultz has achieved a minor masterwork of a teenage focused drama. The film is easily his best shot and constructed from a visual standpoint, his story is incredibly well written and it's a sign of the gift he has in filmmaking. The mostly black cast really sells the reality and tone of the film with Sterling K. Brown giving an Oscar worthy performance as a complex father. If you’re a fan of works like Requiem for a Dream, Fences or Moonlight-I can’t recommend this more. 17. Joker [Dir. Todd Phillips]When it originally came out, Joker was both over praised and overly hated by various individuals. Is this the "GREATEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE OF ALL TIME!" or "the most dangerous piece of media that will inspire murders and terrorists!"? No, it was neither of those. And while Todd Phillips stuck his foot in his mouth more than a few times promoting the film-there's no denying he results on screen. Joaquin Phoenix is the absolute reason to see this film as he gives his own taken on the iconic villain that is palpable and brilliant. The music, cinematography, production design and performances are all great and the script is mostly sharp. Joker's biggest issue is that in adapting The Killing Joke (along with basically combining Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy by Martin Scorsese) but removing the comic book stuff to comment on many ideas-the film can mean anything to anyone because it's not clearly concise on its goals. It talks about mental health, financial inequality in society, media engagement, parental alienation and criminality...but does so in a rather surface way. The main takeaway I got was the film being a perpetual motion machine feedback loop where a society and individual fail themselves and each other until a violent implosion. And while this film clearly means a lot of things to many people (Death of the Author and all that) I feel like its existing was making a dark, gritty serious movie out of the director's favorite films using a guaranteed IP the studio owns. And while Joker is certainly still good and even great in parts (not denying that), it feels like the big studio version of something like Darren Aronofsky's The Whale as a well-made, dark and depressing film centered around a single great performance even if the story is rather obvious and not super deep. Still a great film though, look forward to the sequel. 16. Doctor Sleep (Director's Cut) [Dir. Mike Flanagan]While I have minor issues with this film as a thematic sequel to The Shining, Mike Flanagan has made his magnum opus in this Stephen King adaptation. Following Ewan McGregor as a grown up Danny, the film tells a small emotional epic that easily stands as one of King’s best adaptations alongside The Mist, 1408, Secret Window and 2017’s It. Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat is an amazing, yet terrifying villain in a film overflowing with talent. It’s incredibly well shot, moody as all hell and has one of the most satisfying 3rd acts in horror history. It might not be a generic scary movie and the superior director’s cut is 3 hours long, but it’s horror cinema as close to Kubrick’s masterpiece that anyone has made. 15. The Irishman [Dir. Martin Scorsese] In this 200+ minute crime epic, Martin Scorsese puts a bow on his self-capitalized crime biopic series (Goodfellas, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street) with a somber and introspective near masterpiece. While the story may be somewhat fictional, it captures a story about old men in their crime world with the shine and glamor removed. It’s a well told story sporting an amazing cast including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano and a career best by Joe Pesci. Special mention goes to the impressive de-aging technology used for the film that helps enable its wonderful cast. It really is an amazing epic with moments of humor, violence, tension and humanity-but really feels like Scorsese reflected on the lives of these men and how he’s portrayed them before, decidedly stripping away the flair. 14. Alita: Battle Angel [Dir. Robert Rodriguez]It was either this or Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and I preferred Alita. A long term passion project by producer James Cameron brought to life by director Robert Rodriguez, Alita: Battle Angel is the kind of sci-fi action romp we need more of. An earnest human story about a robot girl wanting to find herself and a visually amazing bad-ass action film in one, it’s got something to appeal to everyone. The cast is really great and helps balance out elements like the structurally odd story and retread of Cameron’s ideas. But, I’ll take a fun, sincere and well made film with an odd structure over bland attempts at blockbusters. 13. Ad Astra [Dir. James Gray]This might be the best “Daddy Issues” film made in an era chock full of them so any that can’t beat this film’s job should probably stop. Ad Astra feels like the right blend of an old fashioned space adventure like Silent Running with the best technology studio money can buy. Brad Pitt gives one of his best performances as an emotionally repressed astronaut in search of his father before a disaster possibly destroys Earth. The film’s sound design and visuals are the stars of the show with a pirate chase shootout on the Moon being a highlight sequence. It’s a gripping story that might be slow to progress, but very much feels like a sci-fi Odyssey by way of Terrence Malick mediation. 12. The Wandering Earth [Dir. Frant Gwo]Easily one of the biggest, nuttiest, but best sci-fi disaster films of all time. A film that begins with "turning the Earth into a giant spaceship to escape the Solar System" and only grows in scope and ambition is a great film. The sense of scale and scope of this film feels like if you combined Armageddon, Independence Day, 2012 and Pacific Rim into a single film-built around a human core. The characters are well rounded, with an earnest heart about putting in effort for others and excellent use of "set up, reminder, pay-off". It's a ballsy epic with conviction and an absolute must-see for blockbuster fans. 11. 1917 [Dir. Sam Mendes]After directing the art-house war drama Jarhead and blockbuster hit Skyfall, Sam Mendes decided to make an art-house war drama blockbuster that might be the best film of his career. This World War 1 story about two soldiers trying to cross No Man's Land to warn troops of a suicide mission is easily one of the best films that explores the time period. Captured through Roger Deakins' amazing cinematography in a beautiful simulated one-shot experience (far better than Birdman) it is a gripping, emotional and exciting film. While the excellent cast is given a backseat to the drama, tension and environmental destruction of war-it's an awe-inspiring film and a must-see. 10. Uncut Gems [Dir. Safdie Brothers] After starting their careers with Heaven Knows What and Good Time, the Safdie Brothers made mainstream success with this Netflix masterpiece. Starring Adam Sandler in his career best performance as a self destructive salesman, the film follows him through a low key crime thriller that’s more tense than any other film of 2019. It really should not be understated how great Sandler is, leading an eclectic cast through a story about people who either cannot or choose not to help themselves. If you haven’t gotten around to seeing this, you really need to. 9. Knives Out [Dir. Rian Johnson]Following Star Wars: The Last Jedi, writer/director Rian Johnson creates an amazing Agathe Christie murder mystery with one of the best casts imaginable. The perfect blend of a comedy and political conscious mystery, it’s one of the most engaging stories that keeps you guessing the first time around. The stars of the show are Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis and the hilarious southern accented Daniel Craig. It’s a must see for any movie lover as it’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser for anyone who enjoys a good film. 8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood [Dir. Quinten Tarantino]Much in the same way Scorsese made a self-reflective epic in The Irishman, Tarantino did with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. A fictionalized version of late 60’s Hollywood, the film explores the world it creates, the idea of violence in media and the evolution of cinema itself. The cast is so expansive that actors were cut for a feasible run time, but the best of its outstanding cast are Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate. The film cruises at a more laid back pace than Tarantino’s usual style, but the explosive finale is where his full thematic statement comes to fruition and it is glorious. 7. The Lighthouse [Dir. Robert Eggers]After his debut The Witch debuted in 2015, Robert Eggers has been on every horror fan’s mind-with The Lighthouse not only being an evolution of his work, but one of the best horror films in recent years. The film is a visually outstanding film that deploys an intentionally old-school aspect ratio with black and white film stock and feels like something that would be produced by Roger Corman in the 60's with a future mega-talent directing. The film feels like a mix of psychological thriller, Lovecraftian horror film and arthouse drama with its two lead actors Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe giving some of their best performances. This should be immediately watched by anyone who has yet to see it. 6. Midsommar [Dir. Ari Aster]A very different kind of follow up to his debut horror film Hereditary, Ari Aster’s Midsommar is easily one of the best horror films in recent years. Though not traditional by any means, it’s clearly inspired by the original 1973 British film The Wicker Man as a daylight horror film where themes matter more than jump scares. Florence Pugh makes an excellent protagonist as someone who feels genuinely human amongst an amazing group of young and veteran actors. Its cinematography, directing, disturbing moments of gore and storytelling are great, but it’s the thematic narrative I love most. The film is essentially about the dangers of a group that pretends to understand your pain and mimicking it to progress their own evil agenda-something that can be applied to cults, institutions and political organizations. I really do think this is a great film and the director’s cut is also worth seeking out. 5. The Nightingale [Dir. Jennifer Kent]I wasn't the biggest fan of Jennifer Kent's debut film The Babadook, but was deathly excited for her next effort. Upon hearing people walking out from how shocking The Nightingale was, I knew she'd made something truly special. The Nightingale is an Australian masterpiece, a dark historical take about abuse, oppression (both racial and gendered) and violent revenge. It's by no means an easy watch, but shares similarities to the work of contemporary masters like Robert Eggers. The film is emotionally haunting, thrilling when it needs to be, bolstered by the wonderful cast, but carries itself with such confidence that shows how gifted a storyteller Jennifer Kent really is. 4. Avengers: Endgame [Dir. Russo Brothers]After 11 years, Marvel releases a magnum opus in the form of a crowd pleasing emotional blockbuster epic. By this point, the cast had become their characters to deliver on laughs, tears and emotional character arcs. The plot was far better than it needed to be and the climactic showdown was one of the best in Hollywood. And any idea that Marvel would lose creativity after Endgame was smacked down by the releases of Shang Chi, Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home. 3. Parasite [Dir. Bong Joon-ho]From the director of The Host and Snowpiercer comes one of the best films of the 21st Century. This darkly comedic thriller that examines classism through the lens of two Korean families is one of the most gripping stories we've seen. Great writing, excellent performances, beyond brilliant direction and is widely entertaining. Oh, and to the bigots who got mad this film won Best Picture and Original Screenplay at the Oscars: you only demonstrated your bigotry and lack of good taste. 2. Us [Dir. Jordan Peele]After Get Out, people were going to be excited for Jordan Peele's follow up effort, but more critical considering the standard he set. He exceeded my expectations by making a film superior to his debut with Us, an artistically powerful and socially relevant horror straight out of the 70s. The film examines the toxicity of 80s culture with the relevant time of Trump's America, all through storytelling methods inspired by the likes of Alice in Wonderland to create a nightmare reality. On top of the amazing score, production design, cinematography, direction, writing and cast-its Lupita Nyong'o who reigns supreme. The gifted actress gives us an amazing dual performance as both one of the great horror movie heroines and horror movie villains. This isn't just a must see, it's an artistic masterpiece. 1. Godzilla: King of the Monsters [Dir. Michael Dougherty] This was the most visceral enjoyment I got out of any film from 2019 and I think it’s a masterpiece of blockbuster spectacle cinema. The film is beautiful, glorious in action-packed scope, has one of the best modern scores and characterizes its humans and monsters beautifully. If Godzilla 2014 was a modernized take on the original 1954 Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island was a 70’s style B-Movie, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the buffed up version of the 60’s-80’s Godzilla movies. The action scenes are easily some of the best in 21st Century cinema, with the final showdown a glorious emotional monster beatdown. There were genuine emotions, a clever plot for what was needed and many sequences I didn’t expect, but loved regardless.
I don’t get why audiences and critics were so uninterested in this one considering the other films got better reviews and made more money. I know the remake of Aladdin was the big earner around that time, but I’m really surprised that more audiences didn’t go see it. As for critics…I can’t speak for all of them, but sometimes it felt like critics showed up to a Godzilla film and hated it for being a Godzilla film. There were some dumb complaints like “If the human characters are so boring, why not just have the entire film be monster battles?” which fails to understand the human characters provide context for the audience in giving a human perspective and that a 2 hour film of only pristine CGI monster fights would be both boring and needlessly expensive. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is my favorite film from 2019 and Legendary’s Monsterverse is my favorite franchise to date. The craft from the teams involved is incredible, the films have moments of pure cinematic artistry and they bring me as a lover of cinema lots of joy.
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Written by Tyrone Bruinsma DISHONORABLE MENTIONS -Abominable [Dir. Jill Culton] -Black Christmas [Dir. Sophia Takal] -The Courier [Dir. Zackary Adler] -The Curse of La Llorona [Dir. Michael Chaves] -Doom: Annihilation [Dir. Tony Giglio] -Dora and the Lost City of Gold [Dir. James Bobin] -Dumbo [Dir. Tim Burton] -Escape Room [Dir. Adam Robitel] -Happy Death 2U [Dir. Christopher Landon] -The Haunting of Sharon Tate [Dir. Daniel Farrands] -Ma [Dir. Tate Taylor] -Narco Soldiers [Dir. Felix Limardo] -The Poison Rose [Dir. George Gallo and Francesco Cinquemani] -The Platform [Dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia] -Rambo: Last Blood [Dir. Adrian Grünberg] -Replicas [Dir. Jeffrey Nachmanoff] -Richard Jewell [Dir. Clint Eastwood] -The Silence [Dir. John R. Leonetti] -Skyfire [Dir. Simon West] -Unplanned [Dir. Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman] 10. The Lion King [Dir. Jon Favreau]The original Lion King remains a classic of Disney’s animation due to its music, incredible visuals and easy to enjoy story. Unfortunately, they couldn’t think of anything to really add to this nearly $300 Million dollar remake and it's very disappointing. The film isn’t so much a live action film, but one using incredible 3D technology to recreate the African location and featured animals. The technology is impressive, but it makes the film look very dull, small in scale and less visually engaging than the original. Most of the performances felt lesser than the originals-including James Earl Jones reprising the role of Mufasa. The take on Scar isn’t one I like and his musical piece “Be Prepared” was butchered in this film. The film ultimately tries to make a musical about lions performing look like a realistic nature documentary: not exactly the wisest decision. Favreau did a much better job in his Jungle Book remake, with the only improvement in this film being Seth Rogen’s vocal performance of Pumba. I’m interested to see Barry Jenkins’ prequel and the technology is impressive, but it’s just a lame remake that still made over $1.6 Billion. 9. It: Chapter 2 [Dir. Andy Muschietti]The 2017 film re-adaptation of Stephen King’s It was both a breath of fresh air in the horror landscape and a genuinely excellent horror film. Its sequel was incredibly hyped up, but ultimately ended up as just a bad film. Considering the film commits the “Kill Your Gays” trope at the begininning-it was a bad sign to come. The film brings back our cast from the first film in both their adult forms and younger versions for a nearly 3 hour repetition marathon. The film feels repetitive both from the first film and within itself-scenes, dialogue and motivations repeat so much I felt like I was in a loop. While the performances and production values are solid-the lack of subversion from King’s off the rails second half of the book makes it a rather bad story. Pennywise only gets two good scenes, but he’s less terrifying here as the surprise is gone and they didn't find more to do with. And the climax of the film truly shows that someone should’ve changed the story to make it work. Production effort was great, but the story needed to be massively revamped. 8. Hellboy [Dir. Neil Marshall]Even if Guillermo Del Toro’s two prior Hellboy movies didn’t exist or Del Toro had gotten to make his final film in that series-Hellboy 2019 would still be a bad movie. Neil Marshall lost control to the abrasive producer Lloyd Levin, with the film ending up as overproduced, corporate made sludge. The script was already weak to begin with, but improvised dialogue by the cast only made it worse. Many of the action scenes are dull or full of bad CGI, with only the 3 Giants battle remotely having any fun. The plot and pacing are barely coherent, with it feeling more like a set up for disconnected trailer shots rather than a functioning story. David Arbor is clearly trying to be distinct from Ron Perlman’s portrayal of Hellboy, but his effort can’t erase his predecessor’s brilliant realization. I don’t even know why they needed the film to be rated for mature audiences as they only use some more profanity and gore that doesn’t add anything to the movie. Milla Jovovich as the Blood Queen is criminally underused and only a mostly practical Pig-Man henchman impressed me throughout. Seriously, who hires the director of The Descent, Dog Soldiers, Doomsday, Centurion and DOESN’T let him do what he’s best at? 7. Gemini Man [Dir. Ang Lee]Ang Lee used to have one of the most prestigious filmographies in Hollywood. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Lust Caution and Life of Pi are all amazing. Even his 2003 Hulk film was ambitious and respectable. But his strange obsession with high frame rates has now resulted in two genuinely terrible films. Gemini Man is a by the numbers sci-fi action movie originally written in the late 90’s for Tony Scott and Mel Gibson. If made in its original time and place, it could’ve been a cult action classic like Face/Off. But after going through about 5 directors, half a dozen screenwriters and every leading man in Hollywood over nearly two decades-it comes out as a confused mess. Aside from one semi-decent action scene, the film has very little appeal in engaging the audience on a visceral level. Will Smith’s performance is as bland as his After Earth role, with none of the supporting cast given anything to do. Despite being sold as a visual and technical powerhouse action film, it looks washed out and ugly thanks to the high frame rate. If you’ve seen any sci-fi action spy movie in the past 20 years, you’ve seen better versions of this. 6. The Kitchen [Dir. Andrea Berloff]A traditional gangster film set in late 70’s Midtown Manhattan with female leads sounds like a good idea, but The Kitchen is not a good version of that. The directorial debut of Andrea Berloff, who has written admirable films like Straight Outta Compton, Blood Father and Sleepless, clearly put a lot of effort into this film. The production design and directing are incredibly strong, but it’s the dry story and somewhat mixed performances that sink the film. Our lead protagonists don't do much over the course of the story and it feels like events happen just to keep the audience awake. There's no real structure or momentum, cheap developments play out at random and the ending feels both out of nowhere and like it’s stopping before the good stuff. If you need a female centric gangster movie-go check out Widows from 2018. 5. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged [Dir. Johannes Roberts]The first 47 Meters Down was an average thriller that just happened to have sharks, with myself finding the ending to be a copout. This sequel involving teenagers diving into caves and encountering sharks should’ve been good, but ends up worse. The cast of characters are not made likable and their deaths have very little impact on each other, despite being supposed friends. The conflict starts when a literal screaming fish scares one of the girls, causing a cave in and awakening blind sharks. Aside from the fact that fish have no vocal cords to scream, this is a lazy way to create conflict. The sharks themselves aren’t much better as they just took regular great whites and made them blind, despite sharks having many other senses. What plays out is a boring monster film with contrived scenes and deaths, leading to a very out of place climax that felt rushed. Johannes Roberts can make good horror films with F and Storage 24-I hope he gets back to making those kinds of films. 4. X-Men: Dark Phoenix [Dir. Simon Kinberb]Despite their popularity, I’ve never found the X-Men film series as anything more than just another superhero series. The only good ones were X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, Deadpool, Logan and Deadpool 2. Most of them suffered from being lesser than rival superhero films, Bryan Singer being a bad director and Fox’s fear of embracing comic book storytelling. This final chapter in the Fox X-Men series is easily the worst they’ve made, because they had every chance to make it better. They did the Dark Phoenix storyline badly in 2006’s Last Stand and just made it a different flavor of bad here. Following up from the terrible X-Men Apocalypse, Jean Grey absorbs some alien McGuffin, becomes evil and nothing else really happens. Aside from Sophie Turner trying her hardest to make this work, the rest of the cast has checked out. Everyone is just going through the motions, action scenes lack any tension or excitement, effects are spotty and the story lacks the unique elements from its source material. They pretty much reshot and retooled this film twice, so it clearly wasn't working from the beginning. I’m glad Disney has these characters and can hopefully make them work better. 3. Cats [Dir. Tom Hooper]Tom Hooper has made weirdly praised films like The King’s Speech, Les Misérables and The Danish Girl. However, this time he made a film fully rejected by the public and the only people who love it, love it as trash. Cats is a film with no plot, bad performances, lazy cinematography, forgettable music and nothing creative in its bones. While I will say the lighting is the most colorful out of Hooper’s career, he still has no idea what to do with a camera. The CGI is bad, but I don't blame the artists-I blame the director and Universal for not allowing the CGI team the necessary time or appropriate shooting style to make it work. The costumes in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s show would’ve been a better choice. In the end, nothing of worth happens and it’s easily the worst attempt at a Hollywood Blockbuster of the year. 2. Wonder Park [Dir. no one]No that's not an error on my part, Wonder Park was released with no credited director as the original veteran Pixar director was fired a year before release due to inappropriate conduct towards staff. So, it's no surprise that this film has no cohesion, logical connections or real creativity on display. It wants to be Inside Out, but ends up as sort of a gross hodge podge that's like the worst version of trying to combine Return to Oz, A Monster Calls and Doogal. While the voice cast is strong, they can't bring to life a terrible script with awful jokes and nonsense action scenes. The animation is of high quality, but lacks memorability, motivated direction or style. Nickelodeon clearly wanted this film to succeed as a "Film as TV Pilot" following the success of Jimmy Neutron and Barnyard, but it failed to understand its story-resulting in poor reviews and a box office failure. It also has a horrible message for kids that basically amounts to "stop being sad, you're ruining everyone else's life". So yeah, this is seriously an awful film that was destined to failure. 1. The Fanatic [Dir. Fred Durst]Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit fame made one of the most pathetic attempts at a thriller I’ve ever seen. John Travolta poorly portrays a neurodivergent fan of genre films named Moose, who becomes a stalker of a fictional actor. The movie is a laughable failure in how poorly Travolta and Durst understand non-neurotypical people, deciding to portray them in all the worst clichés Hollywood creators have done. The film has no real structure or logic to its story, with it mostly being John Travolta saying terrible lines in his terrible wig. There’s so many logical gaps and failed attempts at characterization that it genuinely angers me. I don’t know what was trying to be made here, but I hate The Fanatic. Oh, and the film features a shameless Limp Bizkit self-promotion. So, I can easily call this the worst film of 2019.
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Tyrone BruinsmaThis is the Official Blog/Magazine for filmmaker, writer and content producer Tyrone Bruinsma Categories
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