Here are some of my favorite movies this year that have come out as of the middle of 2019.
- Avengers Endgame
Like pretty much everyone else I found this movie so much fun. It was a great mix of action and humour and some very heartfelt moments. Overall it was quite epic indeed. I really enjoyed the conclusion to so many character arcs and as a conclusion to this phase of the MCU it really is quite satisfying.
2 Rocketman
What I loved about this movie most was Taron Egerton's performance. His performance and appearance were so spot on it were incredible. He did an even better job than Rami Malek did as Freddie Mercury. I felt that Malak did a good imitation of Mercury but Taron Egerton became Elton John. His renditions of the songs were also really incredible. I also especially loved the original song by the duet of Elton John and Taron Egerton "I'm Gonna Love Me Again." I could definitely see that movie winning an Oscar for best original song.
#3 Shazam
I absolutely love this movie. In fact, I think it's the best DCEU movie to date. What I love about this movie is instead of being so dark and brooding like a lot of other DCEU films this film knew that Superhero movies should be fun. Now there are some good superhero movies with little humor but generally speaking, I personally prefer fun joyous movies that provide an escape from reality. This movie is a huge step in the right direction for the DCEU and I hope they stay in this direction. I'm fine with some semi serious movies like Wonder Woman for sure but the fun is the way to go for these kinds of movies. Also, I love the message in this movie that it's not the powers that make someone a hero or not but the way that they behave and whether or not it is heroic.
#4
John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum
Now here is an action movie that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole showing. The first 20 minutes alone had more excitement than most other movies have in their entirety. The cinematography in this movie is absolutely incredible. The action is perfect and every frame feels like a masterpiece of artistic action. I'm not the biggest fan of violence out there but when a movie makes someone like me enjoy every scene and find grace in all of the fighting the movie has certainly done something right. Keanu Reeves is such a likable actor. Even though he speaks few lines in the movie every line he speaks has meaning and power to it. I especially like the other actors in it namely Laurence Fishburne, Iain Glen, Ian McShane, and the lovely Halle Berry. The character interactions were quite interesting to watch and I really like how the movie set up for another potentially awesome sequel.
#5
Toy Story 4
Being someone born in 1995 around when the first "Toy Story" came out I can indeed say that the franchise was quite a part of my childhood. I've absolutely loved all the Toy Story movies and Toy Story 4 delivered on producing yet another great hit. I really enjoyed all the characters both the older ones and the newer ones. Bo Peep was given quite the upgrade in terms of character development. She went from just being some simple one-dimensional love interest to a fully fledged fully action-packed character with her own desires and personality. I enjoyed her expanded role very much so. Duke Caboom was also a very likable character played by Keanu Reeves. Caboom feels like the very incarnation of Reeves himself if he were a toy. I laughed so much when he did his poses and said his catchphrases. The characters of Bunny and Ducky were also very likable and their antics had me laughing throughout the movie. Despite all the comedy the movie does touch up on some pretty serious existential matters (well for a kid's movie at least). This movie talked about a toys place in life and where they belonged. While the toys are unlike humans in many ways it other ways we can all relate to at least one of these toys on some level. That's true movie magic when a movie can make us relate to things we would never otherwise relate to. Once again this movie is very enjoyable and will make you feel plenty of emotions. It's easily one of the best movies of the year and probably the best-animated movie this year.