Wow! Another year... and decade... over! These last two years have been very unpredictable for film, even if my personal life has been rather uneventful in contrast. There's been some surprises and expected flops from this year in film, and this decade as a whole has provided some major turning points in the way movies are approached and analyzed. It's also be a huge decade for me, as 2013 was when I wrote my first movie review on Gravity, and first started this blog in 2014. My, how it's grown! So looking at this year in film in particular, what stood out to me? Well, to get the negatives out of the way first, here's my 10 most miserable movie-going experiences of 2019:
 I seriously can't believe it, 2018 is over already?! It seriously feels like to me that it should still be February of 2017! This whole year has been full of plenty of lows for me, both personally and on this website, but far more highs. As a general breakdown, 2018 was the year when I...
Another year for movies has gone. If there's anything I can say about this year for movies is that this has probably been the most polarizing year we've had. With films such as Bright, mother! and Star Wars: The Last Jedi dividing audiences and critics, as well as audiences themselves, the artform of filmmaking is growing more and more subjective, nearly as hotheaded as the political arena. I myself have some opinions that polarize from other popular opinions, which I'll go through in this list of my favorites and least favorites of the year. Bear in mind, I haven't seen all the films this year, so you won't see The Emoji Movie in my worst list, and this is purely subjective. That is, I'm using this time to take off my critic's cap and judge each movie purely by how much I personally enjoyed it.
If you want to see what I pick for the objectively best of the year, you'll have to wait until it gets closer to Oscar Sunday, I'll post my own little awards show when it gets close. So for now, here's what stood out for me in the cinema this year! To make sure we end on a high note... Well, another year has come and gone. Can you believe it? Feels like it should still be March if you ask me! We’ve seen a lot happen in 2017, as usual there have been shootings, natural disasters, and public disrespect for the government. But also from this year, we’ve been introduced to Fidget Spinners, Disney acquired the film rights to Fox, a solar eclipse hit the US, and Donald Trump accomplished his first year in office, with strongly opinionated results from all citizens. It has been tough for all of us to go through this year and handle the moral outrage that continues on social media whenever a disaster happens, or our president sends everyone into a frenzy when he misspells “coffee” in a tweet.
I’ve heard the reactions: “Your opinion on movies is very mean,” “Dang, Trevor! Vicious like always!” “Have you ever given a movie above a B?” “I loved this movie. You have bad taste in movies.” Especially over Twitter and Amazon, people despised my critiquing style:
So now, I want to take some time to defend myself if you think I’m too harsh in my assessments.
Click here to read my grading and review on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
My last trip to Walt Disney World was with my uncle in October 2016. Now naturally, whenever you’re at one of the Disney parks, Pirates of the Caribbean is one of those classical rides you simply have to go on every visit. As we were waiting in the outside portion of the waiting queue, we sure enough heard the famous Hans Zimmer score blaring at the entrance. I then made a snide remark to my uncle saying, “today’s generation of kids will never know the ride came first.” Well, turns out it applies not just to kids born after 2003, even those around my age completely believe the movie came first. Heck, my roommate, a nineteen-year-old, learned the truth recently, and in high school I had a big debate about it with one of classmates. Although I personally have very fond memories of going on the ride when I was really little, even having a 90’s Disney sing-along VHS featuring “Yo Ho a Pirate’s Life for Me.” So when I heard they were making a movie off of it, I immediately thought, “what?” Now, Disney had not long before then made a movie off another one of their attractions, The Country Bears, which I saw as nothing but another one of those “come and go” types of movies. The same went to Eddie Murphy’s celebrity vehicle based off The Haunted Mansion. So my reaction to a movie based off Pirates of the Caribbean did not grasp me much. “That’s LA. They worship everything and they value nothing.“ Ironic how La La Land embraces exactly what it criticizes. Damien Chazelle’s passion project has become perhaps the most definitive Hollywood movie in ages, expressing the very best of what moviegoing could possibly offer, as made for a new generation of artists and dreamers. Everybody has fallen in love with its atmosphere and music, from the critics to the Academy of Motion Pictures to the general public. I admittedly am one of those fans who adore La La Land‘s charm and musical score, although I still have to admit, underneath the dream-colored frosting, there lies a dangerous agenda by the cast and crew. Just a disclaimer before I go through the list, there will be spoilers. So if you have not yet seen La La Land, please stop reading now. Click here to read my original review.  Everybody has their own criteria that leads them to a conclusion as to what they thought of a certain movie, and for the most part, it would be as simple as, "I enjoyed it," or, "It was a pretty fun time," or, "I was so bored watching it!" In fact, this is how a lot of critics think when they give their consent about the movie they’re assigned to review. Instinct becomes their most reliable factor, usually playing it as, "I can’t find anything I disliked about it, so I give it four stars," or, "I disliked it, but there were a couple of things I liked, so I give it one star." It basically becomes a purely subjective sport where everybody plays their own set of cards as to what makes a good movie or a bad movie. Armond White has the reputation of being the worst movie critic, bashing on widely praised films like The Social Network but praising widely panned films like the Transformers series. Whereas Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were considered throughout the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s to be the top authorities on a film’s quality. Then there’s the internet, where no one can express their opinion on a movie without receiving 50 death threats. What I want to change is the way people look at movie as not just entertainment, but art that expresses the historical values and issues in society. To do that, we need to take off our nostalgia goggles and look at a movie for what it is. Therefore, I took the liberty of putting this chart together that helps me to assess a film while I’m watching it, critiquing it from an objective standpoint that concerns its moral values. 
 We all know that the Man of Steel has remained perhaps the most famous superhero the world has ever known. But why is it that people across all generations feel such a drawing to a man in red tights? Why do people still want to flock right back to him even after his numerous cinematic failures? Why is his cape red?
If you have 15 minutes to spare, I would love for you to check out an essay I have written around a year ago while I was at Arizona State University. The class was called, "Signs of Aliens," and it was about surveying the way aliens are depicted in film. Superman was the focus of my final essay for the course, and it discussed the parallels between Kal-El and the popular cinematic label, "the alien messiah." I find myself to be awfully proud of how the essay turned out, as it got me an A+ in the course. I hope that you find this a valuable read, and I'll be seeing you at the premiere of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice! Image Sources: False God- ScreenRant Batman in Armor- ScreenRant Clark Kent Drowning- BreitBart Baby Superman- ListLand Superman Returns- Meridian Magazine The Man of Steel- The Shiznit |
AuthorI am an author who loves to talk about movies. I enjoy Seattle, cats, cookie dough ice cream, and photography. Subscribe to my site for autism lessons in your favorite movies! Subscribe for Movie Suggestions:Categories
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