The Year In Preview 2019

It's been awhile. I'm sorry to my readers. I have been neglecting this blog, after being so happy to restart it. It's been a combination of reasons. One: I wanted to retool the review system after one of my best bros pointed out that while I was scoring the movies, my opinion was missing in the actual scores, pointing out the review for "Murder on the Orient Express" as the example. And he was/is right. As much as I loved that movie, it should've reflected properly in the score. So, I AM making it better. but I'm also going to reduce how many I do... you WILL see more of them, but I wanted to shift focus on how I did this blog. And this post will just be the first. Two: depression. I suffer from it off and on, and you could say that it took me away from what I love doing since I restarted... and it killed my inspiration. But things have gotten better... learned some valuable lessons. And I hope this is the spark I needed to get back into this. Let's see where it goes. "On the record" lol

With that out of the way... let's dive in.


So... you may be wondering why I'm starting a Year in Preview in... March. Well, the movie season for me technically doesn't start until AFTER the Oscars, and that is always in February. Here we are... after that. Make sense? Get it? Okay.

So I'm going to break this list down into 3 segments, and each item on the list will have a description of the movie or a reason why it is where it is. Those 3 segments are: Hyped, Interested, and Lost Hope. And they will be in no particular order.

So let's begin with:

HYPED (These are the movies that I am hyped for... get it?)

"Avengers: Endgame" - This is the second part of what ALL of the MCU movies have been leading to. At the end of the last movie, Thanos killed half the universe. How are they coming back? Who is gonna die and stay dead? Who saves the day? Who will kill Thanos? Will we get our next big villain reveal? Will Loki stay dead this time? And will we all be crying when we see the dedication to Stan Lee? I know the answer to that one... and it's a yes.

"Shazam!" - Yes! A fully lighthearted DC movie! And for non comicbook fans too! How? I said that Deadpool was basically Van Wilder in a leather suit... well Shazam is Tom Hanks in "Big" in spandex.

"Us" - Damn. Jordan Peele. He went from being one half of the top sketch comedy duos to being one of the go-to guys for horror and thiller movies. Seriously. "Get Out" got him the an Oscar. Now he has this movie(which looks amazing) AND he is helming the revival of "The Twilight Zone" for CBS All Access. Fuck you CBS... I didn't WANT to pay for that app... but you assholes found a way. Anyway... Jordan Peele Horror Fllm: Take 2. And I'm excited for it.

"Pokemon: Detective Pikachu" - When they said that Ryan Reynolds was doing the voice for Detective Pikachu, I seriously thought someone was playing a joke. No.. really. But when the first trailer came out, I was sold. It's going to be sweet... endearing... and above all else, a visually STUNNING representation of "live action" Pokemon. I'm ready.

"Dumbo", "Aladdin", "The Lion King" - Lumping these together because they all have one big reason in common: "live action" versions of some VERY Disney Classics. But each one has it's own special reason. For "The Lion King", it's the "The Lion King"... "Dumbo" is directed by Tim Burton(and you know I LOVE Tim Burton)... and "Aladdin", I had mixed feelings at first, but I now think Will Smith will knock it out of the park, and even if you don't approve, you KNOW Robin would've wanted us to give it a chance either way.

"Toy Story 4" - Okay, I cried my eyes out at the end of Toy Story 3. Mainly because I thought it was going to be the end. But hearing the stories about how Tom Hanks and Tim Allen cried at how THIS one was gonna end. Yeah, I'm ready to cry again. ALSO Keanu Reeves. That is all.

"John Wick 3" - Speaking of Keanu Reeves, he returns for one last chapter playing the titular assassin. And I'm most hyped about it because it brings the story to a close. Not a bad story. And I hope they find a way to make another one. But John Wick is important. It's the first role that FINALLY erased the thought of him being Ted Logan out of my mind(oh... they are finally making a Bill & Ted 3, so that will be back in my head again)

"Spider-Man: Far From Home" - Spoilery of spoiler trailers in MCU History. And THEY get on to Tom Holland about that shit. Anyway... we are getting a new villain from the Spider-Man lore... which is AWESOME. But. The reason this movie is so important is that it is the FIRST movie in the MCU Canon after "Infinity War"/"Endgame". Question though... from that last trailer: if Peter is so much of a Star Wars fan, how did he not notice how much Nick Fury looks Mace Windu? Just asking... it isn't like Disney owns that IP as well. Oh Wait.

"IT Chapter 2" - Okay. So, those of you who have read my reviews, you know that I gushed about "IT Chapter 1" and I gave it my movie of the year that year, the first for a horror film. I have a feeling this one will be better. The cast ended up being more star studded than I expected, and I couldn't be happier. I think this is my MOST anticipated movie of 2019, even more so than any of the superhero flicks.

Honorable mention: "Captain Marvel" - Only an honorable mention because it comes out at the end of this week.

INTERESTED (Those that I am interested in, but not vibrating through the walls for)

"Hellboy" - The last trailer got me MUCH closer to being hyped for it. BUT I'm still on the fence. Maybe I'm salty about Ron Perlman not getting his trilogy finished... but I AM going to see this movie. I'm in.

"Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark" - I LOVED these books when I was little. I'm STILL creeped out about "The Red Spot". But I'm not totally sold on it yet. I want to know the structure of the movie first. Is it gonna be "Twilight Zone: The Movie" style, with separate stories, or is it going to be like a SCARY version of the "Goosebumps" movie with Jack Black, while being a good movie, it WAS fan service.

"Rambo 5: Last Blood" - Very simple... can Stallone do it again? I'm not sure yet. I need another trailer for it. But until then, I'm gonna say no.

"Terminator: Dark Fate" - A sequel to "T2: Judgment Day", ingoring the rest of them. Why I'm on the fence is that I'm pissed. I say ignore "Terminator 3" all you want, but both "Salvation" and "Genisys" were worthy movies, Salvation being the far and above better movie of the two. I get it. But still not happy. I will watch it.

"Doctor Sleep" - A movie based on the book sequel to "The Shining". Those of you who know, the Jack Nicholson version wasn't exactly true to the book. Close, but not close enough(but still one of the best horror films). THIS movie will be a movie sequel to the book Shining. Lost yet? Okay... just know, it's a "Sequel" to "The Shining", Danny is all grown up, using his gift to help ease old people in a hursing home into a peaceful death, when the demons from the Overlook Hotel reenter his life. Pretty Cool.

"Men In Black: International" - I'm half hyped. I'm looking forward to seeing Thor and Valkyrie team up again... but this one is without Barry Sonnenfeld. So, I'm hoping it does it justice. This is a reboot or a sequel. It is a spinoff that is set in the same universe and the original MiB Trilogy. Good luck.

"The Addams Family" - An animated Addams Family sounds amazing. But.. why not live action? Sure... nothing will compare to Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, but I'm sure Raul would approve on Oscar Issac taking over in live action. But i AM going to see it.

"Child's Play" - A remake being made while the original series in still active. A different take would be nice, but it has to be VERY careful.

"Ma" - This one should've had more hype, but I wasn't aware of it, until a certain girl mentioned it(On the Record). Looking into, it definitely has my attention. Luke Evans? Check. Octavia Spencer? Check. Allison Janney? Check. BLUMHOUSE? DOUBLE CHECK!!! Octavia Spencer in a role where she isn't lovable or huggable or sweet? I trust Blumhouse. And when I see more footage, it will move up.

LOST HOPE (these are ones that I don't understand why they are happening or I should have hype for, but I don't)

"Star Wars Episode 9" - Last Jedi killed it for me. Maybe for good. I want to see it. I want to see how it ends. But if it doesn't recover from this devastating blow, then I hope that after this movie, the franchise dies. J.J. Abrams, you are our only hope.

"Dark Phoenix" - I WAS HYPED FOR THIS MOVIE! THEN THE LAST TRAILER REMINDED ME TOO MUCH OF THE LAST STAND! NOW I'M READY FOR DISNEY TO TAKE THIS SHIT OVER! But I'm still watching it.

"Dora the Explorer" - I have no idea WHY they are making this movie NOW, should've been done years ago...maybe. But what I don't understand more... how did they get Benicio Del Toro to agree to this?

"Hobbs & Shaw" - I like The Rock. I like Jason Statham. But Fast & Furious franchise needs to die. No more. They could've done something else. Anything else.

"The Angry Birds Movie 2" - I have no idea who okayed the first one. Did it do that well, that somehow a sequel is necessary?

"Pet Semetary" - I was on board. I really was. But the last trailer showed us what plot point they changed. That pissed me off. Really. They should've left it for the movie. I am actually PASSING on this movie until disc release because of it. It doesn't deserve my money if they are going to do that shit. End of story.

That is the end of my list, but I need to add one special entry.

SPECIAL SELECTION

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" - I am very interested in this movie. It looks like it will be epic, and it is a direct sequel set up by both the last "Godzilla" movie and "Kong: Skull Island". This is on the road to what I REALLY want to see, which is the "Kong vs Godzilla" movie that is in the works. But... it makes me feel sad. I wished my uncle was still with us. This would be HIS most hyped for movie of the year. He loved Godzilla and of these heavy hitters in this movie. And I guess I will just have to go with the his spirit with me.

There is my Year in Preview for 2019. I'm looking forward to seeing how this year pans out. And I will continue to get my reviews back in order. I got this.

Lemme know what you think in the comments.

Also, there will be more editorial/opinion pieces coming. I think it's time to get back into it. I missed writing. And I think this is what I needed.

Stay Tuned.

~The Master is Out