Into the top fifty and there still isn’t a single movie that I would recommend anywhere to be seen. It really has been a shocking year. In the list below is Superman trying to pull off an accent, but we don’t know which one, Starlord in a rare antagonistic role, a few appearances from a reliable middle-aged actor and a movie about the world forgetting a well-known music act, but also failing to remember to show why their music was important.
There is a movie that I have reviewed before, and a film about two men writing the dictionary.
50) Nomis
Cast: Henry Cavill, Ben Kingsley, Alexandra Daddario, Brendan Fletcher, Eliana Jones and Stanley Tucci
Plot: Michael (Kingsley) is a man that is on a mission to punish as many paedophiles as possible. He uses various girls to lure men into hotel rooms before knocking them out, removing their testicles and severing the nerve that enables erections. One day he sends a girl (Jones) to trap someone else, but she is captured and taken to an unknown location. Despite disagreeing with his methods, Lieutenant Aaron Marshall (Cavill) successfully recovers the girl, discovering her in a dungeon with numerous other girls and held captive by the mentally handicapped Simon (Fletcher).
Simon is taken into the police station, but doesn’t seem like someone who has the mental capacity to do the acts that he has and his personality frequently changes. This leads everyone to question what they know and if the battle can ever be truly won.
Why in this position?: “Nomis”, otherwise known as “Night Hunter”, is one of those movies that I really didn’t like the look of from the trailer. I thought it was just going to be a very generic thriller that ended up going nowhere and not really saying a lot, but I was wrong. Whilst not an exciting film by any stretch of the imagination, I certainly wasn’t bored at any point.
Whilst being distracted by whatever accent Henry Cavill was trying to pull off, I was actually engaged for the most part. The story is told relatively well, and the acting throughout is actually pretty solid. Brendan Fletcher’s performance as the main antagonist got a little tedious at times, but for the most part, I have no real complaints when it comes to the acting.
I have no overly majorly complaints about this, other than Ben Kingsley’s character being able to get away with castrating whoever he feels like, and even Henry Cavill’s character reveals that he should really arrest him.
49) The Professor and the Madman
Cast: Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, Natalie Dormer, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Marsan and Ioan Gruffudd
Plot: Suffering a serious bout of paranoia that an old war colleague is out to kill him, Dr William Minor (Penn) shoots dead the wrong man, who dies at the door of his wife Eliza (Dormer). He is sentenced to spend time in an insane institute.
Meanwhile, James Murray (Gibson) has been tasked with expanding the dictionary, including a history of all words, right from their original inception to the modern-day. One day his request for help reaches William, who welcomes the task and helps submit the history for 10,000 words, but when Eliza comes to confront him for help, it starts a chain of events
Why in this position?: This is one of those films that I saw the trailer for and it did not excite me whatsoever, but I decided to give it a shot anyway when it surprisingly got a cinema release. I was mildly surprised that I enjoyed the majority of it, and by majority, I mean about ¾ of the film as the last half hour has zero momentum.
Gibson, and especially Penn, are excellent. The film is shot in an odd way where you rarely see them on screen at the same time. The characters may be both present, but one is shot from behind, before they switch around and you see the view from behind the other character. It wouldn’t surprise me if somewhere down the line we hear that Gibson and Penn ended up hating each other, and only shared a screen when absolutely necessary.
“The Professor and the Madmen” (or as the Portuguese poster translated to, “The Teacher is Crazy”) certainly isn’t a bad film, but there is nothing at all that that would make me want to watch this again.
48) Yesterday
Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon and Joel Fry
Plot: Jack (Patel) is a failing musician that, despite being talented, is considering giving up music as only his close friends believe in him. One day he is hit by a bus and wakes up in hospital, only to discover that his manager, Ellie (James) doesn’t know who the Beetles are, infact, no-one does. Several other famous brands have also disappeared, such as Coke and the band Oasis, so Jack decides to take advantage and realises the songs of the Beetles as his own, becoming a sensation thanks to the help of Ed Sheeran (himself)
Not believing his luck, Jack struggles with his conscience of effectively stealing the work of others, but most importantly that his newfound fame has caused the unspoken attraction between him and Ellie to fall apart.
Why in this position?: “Yesterday” is another film from the last few years that focuses on a famous music act from the past, similar to “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman”, and to be fair, I did like this a lot more than those, but the issue comes with that the movie doesn’t actually do anything to convince me, someone who isn’t a fan of the Beetles, as to why their music was so important to a generation. Don’t get me wrong, “Let it Be” is a great song, but much like the aforementioned films, if you’re not a fan of the music in question, it’s hard to really invest in the film.
That being said, the story is quite enjoyable, flowing well, and Jack is a likeable lead, played by newcomer Himesh Patel. The relationship between him and Ellie feels natural, as does his eventual friendship with Ed Sheeran. The less said about Joel Fry’s impact, the better, but even he isn’t the most tedious aspect of the cast.
Kate McKinnon is her typically annoying self. It’s really hard to put a finger on it properly, but it is almost like she is trying too hard to be unusual, with that being her entire gimmick, but it gets tired very quickly, and if I didn’t know any better I’d say she was playing the same character in every film.
47) The Intruder
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Meagan Good, Michael Easly and Joseph Sikora
Plot: Scott (Ealy) and Annie (Good) are looking to move to the country to escape city life. They go to view the home of Charlie (Quaid) and fall in love with it instantly, buying it. They see Charlie off when they move in and he tells them he is moving to Florida to be with his daughter, but they are surprised to find him mowing the lawn just a few days later. He claims that he was just in the area and saw it needed doing. They don’t mind at first, but Scott is a little uneasy.
Charlie’s visits become unusually frequent for someone who is supposedly moving several states away, but when it turns out that Charlie not only sold the house to cover debts, but also that his daughter actually hates him, Annie and Scott soon realise that Charlie isn’t going to leave as easily as they had hoped.
Why in this position?: “The Intruder” reminds me a lot of 2018’s “Breaking In” in terms of tone, setting and pacing, and for the most part I did enjoy “The Intruder”, it is a movie that is not bad, and it is pretty solid for the most part, although it does become a little predictable after a while because there isn’t a single scene where you’re not anticipating Charlie just popping up.
When you discover how the character is constantly getting through the security it is actually quite clever
Dennis Quaid is excellent. I was starting to think towards the end of the film that he is definitely one of the more reliable middle-aged actors around these days. He is never a name that is going to attract people to the cinema, afterall, I’ve never heard anyone say “Oh, let’s go and watch XXXX, it’s that new Dennis Quaid film”, but what he does, he does very well.
46) Cold Pursuit
Cast: Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Emmy Rossum, William Forsyth, Julia Jones and Tom Jackson
Plot: Nelson (Neeson) is a seemingly unassuming man that the local community loves, so much to the point where he is voted as citizen of the year. However, one day he receives news that his son has been killed by a gang run by a drug lord named Viking (Bateman), and he sets on a path of vengeance.
Finding himself often confused by the ways things work in the mob, Nelson struggles to find a way to Viking as there are numerous different levels he must work through first.
Why in this position?: This is one of those films which doesn’t really fit into any genre. It tries to be an action film, with a hint of comedy, but there isn’t really enough action and most of the better jokes, although it sounds cliche, are in the trailer.
The film isn’t bad by any stretch and is largely enjoyable. Tom Bateman is ridiculously charismatic as Viking and whilst he is supposed to be the villain, you actually like him. It is never a good thing where the antagonist is more likeable than the protagonist.
There are a few pacing issues, but for the most part, this is an enjoyable, if ultimately flawed film.
45) The Kid
Cast: Jake Schur, Dane DeHaan, Ethan Hawke, Leila George and Chris Pratt
Plot: Rio (Schur) and Sara (George) escape from the family home after their uncle Grant (Pratt) kills their parents in a drunken rage. They stumble their way into a shed, only to find themselves with the gang of Billy the Kid (DeHaan), and eventually into a shoot out against Sheriff Pat Garrett (Hawke). Billy is captured, but Garrett agrees to transport the kids to the nearest town.
Billy’s constant attempts to escape start putting everyone’s lives in danger, but the kids are more concerned that Grant is actively looking for them, and it doesn’t seem like it will be long until he catches up with them.
Why in this position? : This is definitely one of those movies where the trailer makes the film looks more action-packed and fast-paced than it is. “The Kid” is well-acted, including Dane DeHaan, but the pace is trudging at best.
At exactly 100 minutes long, the movie feels at least twenty minutes too long, and that is because of endless monologues that seem to go nowhere. Having said that, one of the monologues is about the first time Pat killed someone, and right now, about six weeks after seeing the movie, it is the first thing that stands out to be from the movie.
Despite trudging, I was never actually bored. I just wish that they had done more with it as realistically, if a western has any chance of a genuine resurgence in cinema, they need to be capable of captivating people, and this certainly doesn’t do this.
44) The Aftermath
Cast: Keita Knightley, Jason Clarke, Alexander Skarsgard and Flora Thiemann
Plot: Shortly after the conclusion of World War II, members of the allies move into Germany to help the country recover, with Lewis (Clarke) being assigned to Hamburg with his wife Rachael (Knightley). They take up residence in the commissioned home of Stefan (Skarsgard) and his daughter Freda. Despite being pleasant to her, Rachael treats Stefan with disdain, and the marriage to Lewis is largely loveless due to the death of their son during the blitz.
Angry at what she views as an invasion of her home, Freda joins a group of local terrorist youths that are still loyal to Hitler, this puts Lewis’ life in danger, but his marriage is at just as much risk as Rachael and Stefan start falling for each other.
Why in this position?: This is a rare example of a decent enough film made by the BBC, something that doesn’t happen often, but it soon falls apart once you realise that the supposed protagonist of the story, Rachael, is actually a piece-of-shit human being. Whilst her bias against the Germans is somewhat understandable given that this takes part shortly after the war, but she is just rude to everyone, even though no-one is the same to her, including only ever calling Stefan by his surname.
Jason Clarke is excellent and makes you really like the character of Lewis, even though he often has to do less than pleasant things, and whilst Alexander Skarsgard also brings Stefan to life, albeit the character is a little one-dimensional.
The film explores its themes pretty well and actualises the point of views of each of the characters very well. I understood where each of the four central characters were coming from, and the ending did actually surprise me somewhat, but having such an unlikeable protagonist is what forced this film further down the list that I had initially anticipated it being.
43) A Dog’s Journey
Cast: Kathryn Prescott, Henry Lau, Betty Gilpin, Dennis Quaid, Marg Helgenberger and the voice of Josh Gad
Plot: Bailey (voice of Gad) is continuing his life with Ethan (Quaid), who is enjoying life as a grandfather to CJ (child at this stage of the story, played as an adult by Prescott). When she walks into a horse enclosure, Ethan lambasts her mother Gloria (Gilpin), who subsequently takes CJ and promises never to return. Meanwhile, a now-aged Bailey passes away and is resurrected as a female dog named Molly.
Gloria turns out to be a bad and neglectful mother, forcing the now ten-year-old CJ to hide Molly when they stumble across each other. As life goes on for CJ, she aspires to be a singer, and one day she finds a tiny dog called Max, the latest incarnation of Bailey, and uses him as inspiration.
Why in this position? : If you had said to me two years ago that “A Dog’s Purpose’ would not only have a spin-off, but a sequel in 2019, then I would have laughed in your face, yet here with are. I’ve already listed “A Dog’s Way Home’, which I described as being reasonable, but a bit forgettable, and whilst this is also something that also suffers from the latter, it is more enjoyable.
These films are mindless family fun, they don´t really offer anything, and realistically after the fourth incarnation of Bailey, in the form of a tiny dog called Max, the actual dog feels completely irrelevant to the story. The human story in the film is actually relatively well-told considering it is a family film.
The acting is fine, and I really liked the character of Trent, played by Henry Lau, whereas Kathryn Prescott is likeable as CJ. That is the one thing I will give to these films, the lead human characters are all very likeable, if a little forgettable.
42) Charlie Says
Cast: Matt Smith, Hannah Murray, Sosie Bacon, Marianne Rendon and Merritt Wever
Plot: Psychologist Karlene Faith (Wever) walks into a prison unit where Lulu (Murray), Katie (Bacon) and Sadie (Rendon) are being held for the crimes the three committed whilst in the cult headed by Charles Manson (Smith). She gets them to start opening up about their stories and their time on the ranch. Several years earlier Lulu had arrived as a fresh-faced girl that was looking for something new, and she is instantly welcomed by the group that is known as “the family”.
As time goes on she begins to feel a sense of belonging and even tells her actual family to stop loving her. Everything is perfect. That is until Charlie is turned down for a record deal and he decides to deliver his message in a very different manner.
Why in this position?: I can certainly see why many people would dislike this film as not a lot really happens in the near 110-minute run time. It meanders in places and whilst you know what is coming, it seems to take an age to get there. This movie could have easily been at least ten minutes shorters and not really lose anything. For example, there is a scene in which a new potential person comes along, Charlie gets naked in front of her and turns her down. It adds nothing to the movie and could easily have been removed.
Despite all of that, I actually liked this movie, relatively speaking. It feels real. Nothing feels outlandish and I can believe that everything shown on screen could have actually happened. Often in movies of this nature, there is always one scene where you’re like “Nah, that’s just been put in there for filler and/or character development”, but “Charlie Says” doesn’t feel like that. “Charlie Says” does a decent job of portraying this group of people getting brainwashed by Charlie, who was played in a very unsettling manner by Matt Smith, and the three central actresses do a very convincing job.
Whilst they obviously had more screentime than the actresses portraying the cult in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and therefore more of a chance to showcase the obsession, what they do with their time is better than in the aforementioned. The film set feels lived in and the cinematography is relatively smooth for a smaller movie, which was nice to see.
41) The Peanut Butter Falcon
Cast: Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, John Hawkes and Thomas Haden Church
Plot: Zak (Gottsagen) has down syndrome and this caused him to be abandoned as a child. He was placed into a retirement home under the care of Eleanor (Johnson) as they had nowhere else to put him. He dreams of being a wrestler and is inspired by his favourite wrestler, The Salt Water Redneck (Church). He escapes the home and ends up running into Tyler (LeBeouf), who himself is on the run following on from committing arson against his fishing rival Duncan (Hawkes)
Initially dismissive of Zak, Tyler agrees to help him get to the wrestling school run by the Salt Water Redneck, but it isn’t long before Eleanor catches up to them, but has little other choice but to join them on their journey.
Why in this position?: “The Peanut Butter Falcon” is one of those movies that is easy to ignore or avoid because of the subject matter, but for me it is a charming tale about one person chasing his dream and another running from his nightmare, with excellent acting from everyone concerned.
Growing up as a wrestling fan, and also as someone who also trained to be a wrestler, I can personally relate to this film and Zak’s determination to achieve his dream, but the reason that this doesn’t feature very highly is that everything following on from them finding Salt Water Redneck is just ridiculous. Not a single thing after that moment makes any realistic sense, so that is why it doesn’t feature closer to the top ten.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not an awful film at all, far from it, but everything after about the seventy-five-minute mark is just nonsense.
Sorry, never heard of it! 