Ad Astra

Starring Brad Pitt and with James Gray directing and cowriting, Ad Astra is a science fiction adventure drama set in the near future. Pitt portrays Roy McBride, an astronaut tasked with finding and stopping his father, considered a legend, from sending power surges from a space station in Neptune that's causing large destruction on Earth. Roy has to deal with lunar pirates, government conspiracies, and other obstacles one can find in space. The film takes a more slow and realistic approach to space travel, much like Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey, though going even further by having part of the plot be about the search for aliens but coming with the bold realization that humans are the only intelligent beings in the cosmos. While also starring Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones, and Ruth Negga who all give great performances, it's Pitt who really shines as the lead. Whether through his performance on screen or his frequent narration, Pitt is truly phenomenal in one of the strongest performances he has ever given. Being a more realistic portrayal of space, many shots of space are done without sound and much slower movement because of the low gravity. The story is so original and fresh, though with some obvious references and homages to other space films. One aspect that I enjoyed and a great metaphor towards consumerism is how space travel, even going to the moon, is such a regular thing that even families do it for fun to the point that well known shops and restaurants like Subway are in the entry station on the moon, as well as there being space pirates who rob from anyone going a certain path. Every single effect to show space is absolutely breathtaking and makes you long to see the real things that close. While James Gray makes a fresh and breathtaking film, it can be very slow, tries to be too dramatic at times, and can sometimes feel too artsy with some of the way he shoots certain moments. Pitt is great as Roy, there's no denying that, but his narration happens too often and a lot of the philosophical and metaphorical lines try too hard to be deep and meaningful. Even if Roy is the main character, the way certain moments revolve around him and how some things are resolved, or even the way the character reacts to events yet still has a steady heart beat, can be too hard to be taken seriously. Ad Astra is a magnificent film that manages to world build without taking away from its story and has Brad Pitt in such an amazing performance, even if its dragged down a bit through its overly artistic moments. Over all: 99%
2019 top list so far:

1. Avengers: Endgame

2. Ready or Not

3. Toy Story 4

4. Hustlers

5. Shazam!

6. Spider-Man: Far From Home

7. Rocketman

8. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

9. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

10. Ad Astra

11. It Chapter 2

12. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

13. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

14. Hobbs & Shaw

15. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

16. Us

17. Aladdin 2019

18. Pokemon Detective Pikachu

19. Captain Marvel

20. The Lion King 2019

21. Yesterday

22. Pet Sematary 2019

23. The Upside

24. Dark Phoenix

25. Cold Pursuit

26. Glass

Hustlers

Based on a true story told in an article in the New York magazine, this crime drama sees New York City strippers conning Wall Street tycoons after the 2008 financial crisis and eventually things get out of control when they don't know when to stop. With much of the focus being on the strippers, Hustlers has an all star cast of very talented actresses that include Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, and Lili Reinhart. Lorene Scafaria's direction and writing are on point at not only telling the story in interview flashbacks and segments with great music, but also makes you easily sympathize with the characters' motivation and then disgusted by their later actions. Every actor involved gives powerful performances, with Lopez and Wu being the two who are impossible to forget what with their strong chemistry and great banter between them. Even with such a serious story and some rather dark and sad moments, like how Lopez's Ramona becoming more and more greedy and some of the men they steal from not really deserving, it does have comedic moments to balance it out really well. Hustlers isn't afraid to show the seedy and depressing side of what female strippers have to do to earn more money for themselves while giving us a story with characters we root for and then disgusted by. Over all: 100%

2019 top list so far:
1. Avengers: Endgame

2. Ready or Not

3. Toy Story 4

4. Hustlers

5. Shazam!

6. Spider-Man: Far From Home

7. Rocketman

8. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

9. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

10. It Chapter 2

11. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

12. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

13. Hobbs & Shaw

14. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

15. Us

16. Aladdin 2019

17. Pokemon Detective Pikachu

18. Captain Marvel

19. The Lion King 2019

20. Yesterday

21. Pet Sematary 2019

22. The Upside

23. Dark Phoenix

24. Cold Pursuit

25. Glass

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #5

Beginning with a large and epic fight scene, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #5 sees Batman, Shredder, the Turtles, Splinter, and Casey fighting Krang's robot army led by the Joker. While fighting Joker, the crazed criminal mentions certain things that makes Batman realize there's more of his memories that are still clouded. After getting their hands on the Mother Box, the Turtles use it to get into Krang's base as Batman searches for more answers on his memories. Managing to sneak past Krang and his forces, the Turtles find and free not only their Mirage counterparts but the version of Batman that was captured before. Soon after, Krang notices and attacks them as he has his Technodrome appear over New Gotham to prepare for his conquest. As this is happening, Batman activates the Bat Signal which helps him remember his entire Bat Family as they come to his aid. Half Shell #5 ends with the Turtles using the Mother Box once more to teleport the Bat Family into Krang's base and launch an attack. From beginning to end, this issue is full of so many moments, many of them epic, dramatic, heartwarming, funny, and just plain awesome. James Tynion IV keeps up with the great writing, especially the back and forth dialogue during big fight scenes. If this is the second to last issue, then I really hope that the last one is full of even more epic and jaw dropping stuff with a worthy ending. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #5
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #4
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #3
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #1
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #2
6. Deadpool Kills Deadpool
7. Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
8. Wonder Woman: Rebirth (2016) #1
9. The Tick: Free Comic Book Day 2018
10. Free Comic Book Day 2018: James Bond 007-VARGR
11. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy
12. The Legend of Wonder Woman (2015-2016) #1
13. Free Comic Book Day: The Legend of Korra & Nintendo ARMS 2018
14. Ant-Man (2015) Vol. 1 #1: Second-Chance Man Part 1
15. Batman/The Flash: The Button
16. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500
17. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1
18. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
19. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
20. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
21. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
22. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
23. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
24. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
25. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
26. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
27. Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1
28. The Astonishing Ant-Man (2015-2016) #1
29. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1
30. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #4

The fourth issue of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell sees Shredder regain his memories and reforming his Foot clan with the help of Batman and the Turtles to fight the Laughing Man, all the while the alternate Joker is given a Mother Box by Krang for when the time is right. All the while, April gets into the police station and manages to help Casey regain his own memories just as the Laughing Man attacks. The Turtles and Shredder reveal themselves to have been in the station and defend it as a live feed of Shredder lures him for a fight. As Shredder escapes, Don turns on a hologram message device of Batman, which triggers Gordon's memory to come back, and they learn that Laughing Man is being lured to ACE Chemicals. At ACE, Laughing Man begins to fight with Shredder but when Batman interferes, the Joker's memories start to return and he ends up falling into the chemicals. As the Turtles and Casey arrive, Joker is back to his old self, which Batman hoped would help in their favor but instead he activates the Mother Box and brings in a robotic army to fight the heroes. Not only does the issue continue to be so well written and great to look at, but it really captures the spirit of what characters like Gordon, Casey, and even the Joker are all about. There's a funny bit of meta humor when Gordon references how things dealing with dimensions and robots give him a migraine and Harley Quinn calling these events a crisis. While the artwork is great, this issue emphasizes one flaw and that being how many are overly muscled. But of course, the signatures scene is definitely Joker coming out of the chemicals and transporting a robot army, which is such an awesome and epic shot to go out on. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #4
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #3
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #1
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #2
5. Deadpool Kills Deadpool
6. Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
7. Wonder Woman: Rebirth (2016) #1
8. The Tick: Free Comic Book Day 2018
9. Free Comic Book Day 2018: James Bond 007-VARGR
10. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy
11. The Legend of Wonder Woman (2015-2016) #1
12. Free Comic Book Day: The Legend of Korra & Nintendo ARMS 2018
13. Ant-Man (2015) Vol. 1 #1: Second-Chance Man Part 1
14. Batman/The Flash: The Button
15. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500
16. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1
17. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
18. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
19. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
20. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
21. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
22. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
23. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
24. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
25. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
26. Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1
27. The Astonishing Ant-Man (2015-2016) #1
28. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1
29. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8

It Chapter 2

Two years after the first film was released and set 27 years after it ended, It Chapter 2 tells the second half of Stephen King's large horror novel. After Pennywise returns from his decades long hibernation and begins another attack on the people of Derry, the Losers Club are brought back and reunited so that they can stop It. The one problem is that even though they defeated the supernatural monster before, once all but one moved out they ended up forgetting about their experience and Pennywise is dead set in going after them for escaping him. As before, Andy Muschietti comes back to direct and continues to add such a striking visual look with subtle cinematography, fantastic music, great use of practical and visual effects, good balance of horror and comedy, and use of jump scares that aren't over done or cheesy. While the main focus is on the adult versions of the Losers Club, there are brief flashbacks to when they were kids before and after they first defeated Pennywise. For the most part it's great seeing them again and their chemistry is still amazing, but tends to often take away focus from the adult versions. Despite the outcome for one of the adult versions at the beginning, the casting for the older Losers Club is spot on and have chemistry just as good as the child actors. With heavy hitters like Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, Bill Hader is surprisingly the stand out performance. Bill Skarsgard once again proves just how amazing of an actor he is with his portrayal of Pennywise, being both terrifying even when he's not even trying to be. However, he shows up a lot less compared to the first film as the film tends to focus too much on certain areas. They could have definitely cut some parts out, especially being nearly three hours long, such as the flashbacks and the Losers needing to go around Derry to find artifacts to sacrifice. Certain aspects could have been more focused and elaborated on such as Beverly's abusive husband, Henry Bowers going after the Losers for It, and Richie secretly being gay. So while It Chapter 2 isn't as strong as the first film, definitely lacking in certain areas, it's still a solid film with a powerful end to Pennywise that at first may seem silly but they figure out a way for it to make sense. Over all: 99%

2019 top list so far:
1. Avengers: Endgame

2. Ready or Not

3. Toy Story 4

4. Shazam!

5. Spider-Man: Far From Home

6. Rocketman

7. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

8. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

9. It Chapter 2

10. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

11. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

12. Hobbs & Shaw

13. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

14. Us

15. Aladdin 2019

16. Pokemon Detective Pikachu

17. Captain Marvel

18. The Lion King 2019

19. Yesterday

20. Pet Sematary 2019

21. The Upside

22. Dark Phoenix

23. Cold Pursuit

24. Glass