A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Tom Hanks is one of the greatest actors of all time and Fred Rogers is one of the most inspiring human beings ever. So it's no surprise thaEsquit Hanks not only portrays Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, but does it with pure perfection. The film is based on the late 1990s Esquiere article by Tom Junod in which the journalist interviewed the beloved television personality to better understand why he did what he did. While the movie does take liberties with what actually happened, such as changing Tom's name to Lloyd Vogel and giving him a strained relationship with his father and infant son, most of what the journalist did with Rogers is factual. The story is, much like the lessons Mr. Rogers endowed on his show, so inspiring and hopeful along with being so well written. Though the biggest thing about this film is Mr. Rogers, the focus is mostly on Lloyd and what he goes through before and during his interview. Lloyd's development from beginning to end is done in such a natural and realistic way, especially with Matthew Rhys's performance. Director Marielle Heller not only makes a stunning and hopeful movie, but also manages to recreate the style and feel of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. There are times when it just feels like an actual theatrical adaptation of the show, what with the beginning, parts in the middle, and end playing out like an actual episode. There's also the painstaking model recreations of entire cities used when going from one scene to another, the cinematography and music being just like the show's, and the fact that they filmed certain scenes in the same studio as where Rogers shot his program. If there's one flaw is that it can get slow at times, but that only happens a few times and even then there's a good reason. Just like with the documentary last year, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is another amazing look at such a wonderful man this time behind the eyes of someone who never felt hope in his life. Over all: 100%
2019 top list so far:

1. Jojo Rabbit

2. Judy

3. Avengers: Endgame

4. Knives Out

5. Ready or Not

6. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

7. Doctor Sleep

8. Frozen II

9. Joker

10. The Lighthouse

11. Toy Story 4

12. Hustlers

13. Shazam!

14. Spider-Man: Far From Home

15. Villains

16. Zombieland: Double Tap

17. Rocketman

18. The Current War

19. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

20. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

21. Ad Astra

22. It Chapter 2

23. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

24. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

25. Hobbs & Shaw

26. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

27. Us

28. Aladdin 2019

29. Pokemon Detective Pikachu

30. Captain Marvel

31. The Lion King 2019

32. Yesterday

33. Pet Sematary 2019

34. The Upside

35. Dark Phoenix

36. Cold Pursuit

37. Glass