So now that all the big movies I was looking forward to this year have come out – Spider-Man: Homecoming was the last one I was really excited for – the movie releases for the rest of 2019 seem pretty sparse.
Or so I thought.
I pulled up a list of 2019’s upcoming movie releases, and found there were several I’m completely stoked for – a lot of which have been under prompted, so I decided it would be a good chance to talk about them a bit.
Here they are:
Joker
I’m both excited and leery for Joker. The premise, giving the Joker an origin story, isn’t something I’m particularly invested in, and outside of Wonder Woman I’ve been less than impressed with DC’s recent offerings. However, Joaquin Phoenix is a phenomenal actor and the trailer has me more intrigued than I expected, so I’m definitely going to see this one. Just…with low expectations.
Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw
I’ve never before watched a Fast and Furious film. It’s not my genre. But the basic premise of Hobbs and Shaw – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham teaming up to take down Idris Elba, who is also Captain America but evil – immediately had my attention. The action scenes look fun and overall, this seems like a fun action movie to turn off my brain and enjoy. I’m just hoping me being a newcomer to the franchise doesn’t lead to me getting completely lost.
It: Chapter 2
The 2017 It film has been my favorite horror movie of the last decade, bar none. It perfectly captured the fear and intrigue of the original story while making some excellent changes to take full advantage of the cinematic format. Yet I’d somehow forgotten the second installment was coming out this year. I’m not sure how I managed that, but now that I know the sequel is only months away, I’m beyond excited to watch the grown up versions of the characters I loved in the first movie take on my favorite evil clown in the second.
Zombieland 2: Double Tap
When the first Zombieland film came out, I had thought I was done with Zombie films. I’d been burned out on the concept through films, video games, books, video games, TV shows, and of course their complete omnipresence in video games. Then Zombieland came along and mashed together Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenburg, Emma Stone, and Dakota Family in a comedy film that had me laughing so hard I was in tears, and I realized there was still life left in the concept. (Pun very much intended.) A sequel has me both excited and nervous – if they can hit the right notes, it’s going to be phenomenal, but I hope they don’t overdo references to the original and drag things down. Very much looking forward to seeing what happens here.
Can we get a trailer?
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Disney’s recent trend of taking tall their animated classics and giving them live action remakes is not something I’m a big fan of. Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King are all classic movies for a reason, and I don’t feel there’s really anything to be gained by redoing them in live action. Maleficent was what I wanted from the concept – taking a classic Disney story and putting a completely unique spin on it, taking the familiar characters and plot as a jumping off point for a wholly original story. It had twists and turns I never expected, and it did the whole “true love’s kiss doesn’t require a man” thing before Frozen, although everyone’s forgotten that. A sequel to it, then, has me painfully excited, and I really hope it has the biting commentary the first one did.
Terminator: Dark Fate
There hasn’t been a good Termination film since 1991. That was twenty-eight years ago, in case you weren’t feeling incredibly old today. After Genesys, I swore I was done with the franchise for good. When Termination: Dark Fate was initially announced, I rolled my eyes and sighed. I debated watching it for a snarky blog post, and not even James Cameron’s return to the franchise could get me interested. Then I saw the trailer and…
…yeah, holy shit. That looks awesome in a way that T3, Salvation, and Genesys never did, even in their original trailers. I’m excited, although much like Joker, I’m trying to keep my expectations very low here.
Frozen 2
Yes, I am a grown-ass man excited for the sequel to Frozen. Sue me. The first Frozen film was the start of a new era for quality Disney animation, a quality they’ve proven able to maintain with Moana and Coco, so you bet your ass I’m pumped as hell to get to see Elsa and Anna get to deal with whole new problems using a combination of snark and ice magic. Plus, it will have more songs sung by Idina Menzel, and the world can never have enough songs sung by Idina Menzel.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
As far as I’m concerned, The Last Jedi is the third best Star Wars film, bested only by Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One. Did it have flaws? Sure – the scene on the casino planet ran too long, the hyperspace ramming attack was bad ass but breaks the franchises internal logic, and the CGI of Leia flying back into the ship was Matrix: Reloaded levels of bad. I can get why people don’t like it, but I disagree with them on every other point besides those three. It delivered everything I wanted from a Star Wars film without wallowing in the original the same way The Force Awakens did. I’m sad to see Rian Johnson leave and less excited for the return of J.J. “Most Inoffensive Director Ever” Abrams, but I am still incredibly stoked for the third and final installment of the sequel trilogy.
Can we just be done with the Skywalkers after this one, though? I think the family has run its course.
Any you want to add? Agree or disagree with my list? Let me know in the comments below! And while you wait for these films, don’t forget to pick up Weird Theology here.
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