Best & Worst of 2019

Happy New Year, Everybody! 

I hope that everyone had a safe and fun transition into the new decade. Here's hoping that things start to get better in every possible way, but mostly better movies for me. Yes, 2019 has not been the most exciting year for cinema, with a few notable exceptions of course. So that's why we're here today! To reflect on the best and worst of 2019. Let's kick things off with the good news. 

Best film of 2019: 

There have been some unique and timely films this year. The most notable and relevant is, arguably, Queen & Slim. However, as important as that film is, I personally got more out of my experience with The Peanut Butter Falcon. Please understand, I do not mean to imply that I thought Queen & Slim was irrelevant or not impactful to me in any way, not at all. What I am saying is that Queen & Slim, while very much a powerful and pertinent film, was a vastly different kind of experience. While I am a firm believer in the power of cinema and its importance within the popular culture, I personally find more inspiration and solace in films like The Peanut Butter Falcon. Because it is a story that speaks to me in a much more profound and emotionally resonating way. This is the kind of movie that makes people like myself say "they don't make'em like this anymore." 

The Peanut Butter Falcon has everything I love about movies. The writing is clever and thoughtful. The cinematography is colorful and graceful. The characters are three-dimensional, flawed and likable. The direction is spot-on and fluid. The acting is delightful and energetic. It is just an overall unbelievably pleasant experience! One that gives me a sense of hope for the future. Both for movies and for society. If you have not yet seen this film, I implore you to do so this very moment. What's more, I highly encourage you to just buy it. Films like this deserve as much financial and popular support as we are capable of providing. Stories like this only come around once in a Blue Moon these days, so, please, add this wonderful story to your collection. I assure you it will be well worth it. 

Alright, not it's time for the bad news. 

Worst Film or 2019: 

I have to be honest. When I was deciding which film to declare the worst of 2019, it was a toss-up between this and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Both films are insultingly awful for various reasons and have no justification for their present condition other than laziness. However, after some extra thought, what ultimately brought me to my decision was the level of negative influence the two films had on the audience and society. In which case, Rambo: Last Blood takes the cake. 

You see, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was bad for many reasons, but even so, the negative impact it had on audiences and pop-culture was minimal. Because when all was said and done, that film was just ultimately disappointing. It had the potential to expand and grow upon its predecessor, The Last Jedi, and deliberately chose to not do so, purely because both J.J. Abrams and Disney were not up to the challenge. Choosing to revert back into their comfort zone and not make any effort to challenge themselves or the status quo. As such, The Rise of Skywalker was simply disappointing in its refusal to step up to the plate. Which, in all honesty, is not really worth getting too worked up about. 

On the other hand, Rambo: Last Blood is the exact opposite. It had no expectations to follow nor any challenges to take on. It had the utmost amount of freedom to be what it wanted to be. It just turns out that it wanted to be, among other things, racest, sexist, and uncompromisingly narrow-minded when representing an entire culture. This film's depiction of Mexicans and the nation of Mexico is not only lame, but it is also, intentional or not, dangerously bigoted! It is one thing to showcase the dark and unfortunate side of a society in an effort to raise awareness, but to do so in such a manner as this film did is inexcusable. I have already gone over the reasons this film is so awful in my original review so I will not repeat myself here, but suffice it to say that this movie's politics are disgraceful and inexcusable, especially in these difficult modern times. Shame on Sylvester Stallone and everyone who had a hand in the production of this film. 

 Well, thank you for checking out my best & worst of this year. Hopefully, there will be more highs than lows in the movies in 2020. I will continue to see them and report back to you. I hope you will continue to join me on this journey. 

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm, thank you all for reading.