Looking Back at the Films of 2019 Part 4 - UglyDolls/John Wick - Chapter 3: Parabellum/Brightburn/Ma/Rocketman

Yes folks, Looking Back at the Films of 2019 is back and as of right now it's my biggest one yet. With not one not two not three but five movies. Those being UglyDolls, John Wick - Chapter 3: Parabellum, Brightburn, Ma, and Rocketman. So let's begin.

Why Didn't I See UglyDolls?


Now the primary reason I didn't see UglyDolls was just a general lack of interest. It also didn't help that the marketing just wasn't really there, I think I saw one...maybe two TV spots but other than that I can't really say this movie had lot going for it.





What is UglyDolls?


UglyDolls is 3D animated musical comedy based on the plush toys of the same name. The movie was produced by STX Family, Reel FX Animation Studios, Alibaba Pictures, Huaxia Film Distribution, Original Force, and Troublemaker Studios and distributed by STX Entertainment. UglyDolls was written by Alison Peck and directed by Kelly Asbury. The story is six ugly dolls have found a world where the more pretty dolls receive training before going to the real world where they find love from childern. Now these six dolls will do whatever it takes to go to that world and be loved.





My Thoughts



The Good: The only thing that I think you'll like about UglyDolls is the songs. That are catchy, gotta give them that.

The Bad: One of the biggest issues with the movie was it's filled with cliches. You could quite possibly have a checklist for how many times a trope pops up in this movie. I mean during the end of the movie something heart shaped is the final piece to fixing a problem.....yes...that really happened. The other problem with UglyDolls is the lackluster humor. Things that would play for humor would happen but I just didn't find them funny, I mean there was this one scene where Ugly Dog distracts a giant robot dog that got a chuckle out of me. But other than that not much else. The last thing I discredit the film for is it's one dimensional villain, Lou. He's basically your standard bad guy. The writer tried to flesh him out with a backstory or stories I should say, but they go by so quickly that them might as well not be there.

The Meh: The two things that are grey areas with the movie is the animation. It works but there were a few times when the characters would be singing and the background would be something plain. Like come on. Everything else had a good thing going for it so why not put more effort with those backgrounds. The other mix bag is while it does seem like the filmmakers had good intentions the message of the movie is something we've seen done a hundred times before. I mean how many times do we have to be told being different is okay?

Final Verdict: Bad But Harmless

Why Didn't I See John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum?

Truth be told I was going to make a Road to John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, because that's how excited I was for that movie. But this was my theater I was thinking about so I had to take in consideration that there would be a possibility they weren't going to show it. And low and behold I was right.

What is John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum?

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is a neo-noir action thriller and the third movie in the John Wick film series. The movie was produced by Summit Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures, and 87Eleven Productions and distributed by Lionsgate. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum was written by Derek Holstad, Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams and directed by Chad Stahelski. The story is after the events from the previous film, John Wick finds himself being hunted down after a bounty has been placed on him. Now without the protection from the organization he once worked for John finds himself on a journey to get the bounty off of him but first he was to go through New York's most ruthless killers.

My Thoughts

The Good: The very best thing about the movie was the action. Holy sh*t! It was incredible. You get gun fights, knife fights, sword fights, fights on motorcycles and even a horse was used as a weapon. It was so crazy and I loved every single second of it. Another thing that makes the film great was Keanu Reeves' performance. One again and just like the previous installments, Keanu is fantastic in this role. What I also enjoyed about John Wick 3 is Chad Stahelski's directing. The guy is great behind the camera. He's got a good visual style and best of all during those action sequences he has nice long steady shots and none of that repeated cuts stuff we tend to see in other action movies. The last thing I'll give the film credit for is it definitely gets you hyped for the fourth movie. Sure we'll have to wait till 2022 but I bet it'll be worth it.

The Bad: I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

The Meh: The only mix bag with John Wick 3 is John makes a deal, accepts said deal, but than I think 15 minutes later he decides to go against the deal he made. I understand where the writers were going for but I think it would have been more effective had John's decision had more development to it.

Final Verdict: Great

Why Didn't I See Brightburn?

Since the first trailer dropped I was looking forward to this movie, I even had a review set up just in case my theater had a showing but sadly the movie lost out to Aladdin. So those plans had to be scrapped.

What is Brightburn?

Brightburn is a horror movie inspired by the DC superhero Superman. The movie was produced by Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films, The H Collective, and Troll Court Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Brightburn was written by Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn and directed by David Yarovesky. The story is in a spaceship crash lands in Brightburn, Kansas. Inside the ship is a baby boy and the happily married couple of Tori and Kyle Breyer adopt the child and name him Brandon. Everything seems normal until Brandon turns twleve he gains superpowers but also turns into something else. Now the people in Brightburn are in danger from this new apex predator.

My Thoughts

The Good: One effective thing about the movie is the performances. Especially from Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, and Jackson A. Dunn. Banks did a phenomenal job playing this woman who desperately wanted to be a mother/a mom who refused to believe her son could be a killer. Denman really had good chemistry and worked well with Banks and Dunn nailed it playing a kid who goes full blown sociopath. Another thing the writers of Brightburn did well on was showing the breakdown of the Breyer family. Seeing this family go from ordinary to tragedy was definitely a good highlight of the movie. Now I've seen a lot of critics complain about how the movie didn't live up to its premise. My thought is I think they really missed the point, the writers and even James Gunn weren't going for anything complex, they just wanted to make a slasher movie but instead of a guy in a mask it's an evil Superman. Also if they want a more complex evil Superman story, there's plenty of options. Such as Injustice, Injustice 2, the comics based on Injustice, there's DC's Ultraman, Lord Superman, or if you want to go outside of DC Comics there's this indie comic series from Boom! Studios called Irredeemable.  The last thing I'll give praise to is the scares. There's a lot of effective horror in this movie as well as brutal kills.

The Bad: Now this might come off as a nitpick to some of you so I'll understand why you might roll your eyes at this, but the ending song (Bad Guy by Billie Eilish) does not work. I mean we just witnessed a superpowered murderous twelve year old kill people and then a pop song starts playing. Really odd choice.

The Meh: The real thing the film could have improved on is Brandon. Now he's evil side was handled perfectly no complaints there, but the writers should have done a better job on his good side. I mean Brandon says he wants to do good but we don't really see that part of him.

Final Verdict: Good

Why Didn't I See Ma?

The reason why I never saw the movie when it initially came out was it looked generic. I mean how many times have we've seen "lonely man or woman seems nice, befriends some cool person or people, but oh no turns out the lonely guy or lady is really really crazy." I think Lifetime comes out with that movie every single week.

What is Ma?

Ma is a psychological horror movie. The film was produced by Blumhouse Productions and Wyolah Films and distributed by Universal Pictures. Ma was written by Tate Taylor and Scott Landes and directed by Tate Taylor. The story is a group of teenagers befriend a woman who likes to be referred to as "Ma". Ma seems pretty cool at first, even going as far to let the teens party at her house. Then they soon begin to learn that Ma isn't who she appears to be and her house soon becomes a place of nightmares.

My Thoughts

The Good: Octavia Spencer's performance truly is the crown jewel in this. She was nice and sweet when she needed to be, she was cool when she needed to be, and she was definitely creepy and distributing. Her performance is really the only reason to watch the entire movie. Another thing that worked for Ma was the her motivation. We really feel for and understand where exactly she's coming from, even though what she's doing is very very wrong.

The Bad: I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

The Meh: The biggest mix bag for Ma is, the writers really should have gone full force with their ideas. Cause there were instances where it felt like they were going to only to pull back. I mean the movie's rated R, but it was mainly because characters dropped F-bombs, said provocative things, or scenes doing/alluding to someone playing the skin flute. The other grey area is the pacing. The movie does do a good job pushing things forward but there were those times when things got really slow. The final thing I'll say about Ma is the teens are okay for the most part but there are those scenes that makes you wonder why they're still with Ma despite previous scenes. Especially the first time they go to her house. Why would anyone still go there or be around this woman after that is beyond me.

Final Verdict: Okay

Why Didn't I See Rocketman?

Now truth be told I was going to see Rocketman, I heard great things about it and at one point even though of setting up a review, but then I decided to go see and later on review Godzilla: King of the Monsters instead. What can I say? Giant monsters fighting each other and destroying stuff got my attention more than a movie about Elton John.

What is Rocketman?

Rocketman is a musical biographical film based on the life of Elton John. The movie was produced by New Republic Pictures, Marv Films, and Rocket Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Rocketman was written by Lee Hall and directed by Dexter Fletcher. The story is a young Reginald Dwight has dreams of being a big musical icon. Over the years Reginald changes his name to Elton John and soon is living that dream, however Elton soons spiral out of control due to drugs, alchol, and being in a loveless relationship, Elton will have to beat these demons if he wants to continue living the dream.

My Thoughts

The Good: So, Taron Egerton's performance. Wow. Whatever praise he was getting for his acting back in 2019 was well deserved. He absolutely kills it in this role, and apparently he can also sing too because that's wasn't someone else during the musical parts, that was Egerton. The next thing I'll give Rocketman credit for is the music. Now I'm not an Elton John fan by any stretch of the word but even I got to admit the music was really good. The last thing I'll praise the movie for is it's not your typical biopic. What I mean is the filmmakers took a chance by making this a musical. Because of that decision, we get something different, the movie is a stand out for biographical flicks, and we get quite a few interesting shots. Also 9 times out of 10 the movie just try to avoid the cliches that you've seen from previous movies about musicians.

The Bad: I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

The Meh: The only mix feeling I have with Rocketman is the pacing. There are some scenes that go on for too long but you're willing to forgive those because once the movie gets into high gear again you kind of forget those really slow scenes happened.

Final Verdict: A Much Watch

Okay, that's going to do it for me. Due come back on Monday, Jun 1st for my Classic Film Night's review of The Shawshank Redemption. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.