Top Movies of Summer 2019

[JasonEvans]

Just saw TS4 and I have to say I wasn't blown away by it. Was it good? Yes but no way it was better than TS3. Maybe I had expectations that were too high but I thought it was average for Pixar and not in their top tier of films.

To each their own, but I would merely point out that it had an A Cinemascore and a 75% "definite recommend" in the exit surveys, both of which are excellent marks indicative of a film that the vast majority of the audience really liked.

[DUKIECB]

To each their own, but I would merely point out that it had an A Cinemascore and a 75% "definite recommend" in the exit surveys, both of which are excellent marks indicative of a film that the vast majority of the audience really liked.

That's the thing, I would recommend it as well and I would probably give it an A- score if grading it but the earlier installments in the franchise set the bar so high I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. My wife and son had similar feelings as myself. I will admit you were right, it is the funniest of the TS movies.

[Truth&Justise]

Just saw TS4 and I have to say I wasn't blown away by it. Was it good? Yes but no way it was better than TS3. Maybe I had expectations that were too high but I thought it was average for Pixar and not in their top tier of films.

To each their own, but I would merely point out that it had an A Cinemascore and a 75% "definite recommend" in the exit surveys, both of which are excellent marks indicative of a film that the vast majority of the audience really liked.

That's the thing, I would recommend it as well and I would probably give it an A- score if grading it but the earlier installments in the franchise set the bar so high I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. My wife and son had similar feelings as myself. I will admit you were right, it is the funniest of the TS movies.

I came out more on DukieCB's side--a very nice movie I'd recommend, but not one that outshone the other films in my opinion. It was high-quality enough that it didn't strike me as a cash grab, but at the same time, if they had just finished the franchise after the third film, I'd be fine with that. The story of these toys (a "toy story" if you will) seemed complete after the third. Still loved the additions of Forky and Duke Caboom, and it was neat to see a side character like Bo Peep get real agency.

Since this is the internet and debating things is fun, I figure I'd try to rank them. For me personally, I'd have them as:

1. Toy Story
2. Toy Story 3
3. Toy Story 4
4. Toy Story 2

(Realizing now the simple naming structure does not lend itself well to easily differentiating for a list like this)

What stands out looking back is how much better the animation has gotten since the groundbreaking technical work on the first film. But in terms of story, pacing, characters, and emotional impact, I don't think it gets better than the first--though the dual ending-points of the third comes close.

[BD80]

…

1. Toy Story
2. Toy Story 3
3. Toy Story 4
4. Toy Story 2

...

Odd hierarchy ...

[LegoBatman]

I meant to post this last week, but SLOP2 finally passed Aladdin

Spoiler!

's opening 4-day weekend

and firmly cemented itself as the reason I will

Spoiler!

not

go 5-for-5.

Standings at the end of June:

Avengers: Endgame	$414.8 ($841.9)
Aladdin	$306.6
Toy Story 4	$238.7
John Wick 3	$161.4
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu	$142.6

[JasonEvans]

For folks who do not recall, Wander and I have a bet. Toy Story 4 must beat Detective Pikachu by $200 mil in total boxoffice. If Pikachu is within $200 mil, I have to change my avatar to a Pikchu for a week and will post many messages praising Wander's brilliance. If TS4 makes $200+ mil more, then Wander will have a Toy Story logo for a week and will spend his time professing to my genius.

Hey Wander, are you ready to concede yet or should we wait another week or so for it to be official?

Detective Pikachu - $142.6 mil (pretty much done, probably won't even reach $143 mil in total boxoffice)
Toy Story 4 - $306.5 mil (made $34 mil over the weekend)

This is the most boring Summer season ever... the top 5 are done. There's just no way Hobbs and Shaw or anything yet to come is able to catch Aladdin and the other films are all a done deal. Here are the current standings with Lion King coming in 2 weeks (anyone want to bet on whether it fails to top $350 mil?).

1. Avengers: Endgame - $847.8 mil (even subtracting the huge pre-May gross, it is at $420+ mil)
2. Aladdin $320.7 mil
3. Toy Story 4 - $306.5 mil
4. Spidey - $185 mil (opening weekend, it is gonna make well over $300 mil total)
5. John Wick 3 - $165.2 mil

-Jason "yawn..." Evans

[BD80]

Hey Wander, are you ready to concede yet or should we wait another week or so for it to be official?

Detective Pikachu - $142.6 mil (pretty much done, probably won't even reach $143 mil in total boxoffice)
Toy Story 4 - $306.5 mil (made $34 mil over the weekend)

This is the most boring Summer season ever... the top 5 are done. There's just no way Hobbs and Shaw or anything yet to come is able to catch Aladdin and the other films are all a done deal. Here are the current standings with Lion King coming in 2 weeks (anyone want to bet on whether it fails to top $350 mil?).

1. Avengers: Endgame - $847.8 mil (even subtracting the huge pre-May gross, it is at $420+ mil)
2. Aladdin $320.7 mil
3. Toy Story 4 - $306.5 mil
4. Spidey - $185 mil (opening weekend, it is gonna make well over $300 mil total)
5. John Wick 3 - $165.2 mil

-Jason "yawn..." Evans

I won't feel so bad if Aladdin finishes 5th and SLOP2 6th, despite the disparity in $, but if Aladdin finishes 4th and SLOP2 7th? I may not make it out of bed again.

What about Stuber? Could it be this year's Hangover or Bridesmaids?

[JasonEvans]

What about Stuber? Could it be this year's Hangover or Bridesmaids?

No.

It is funny and cute, but nothing special or all that surprising. It won't make $100 million, probably not even $75 mil.

I won't feel so bad if Aladdin finishes 5th and SLOP2 6th, despite the disparity in $, but if Aladdin finishes 4th and SLOP2 7th? I may not make it out of bed again.

Aladdin won't finish 4th. No... way...

For Aladdin to beat Lion King, the Jon Favreau film would have to make less than $325 mil. I think that is extremely unlikely. Early expectations are that it will have an opening weekend of $175-$200 mil.

-Jason "I am seeing Lion King on Wednesday... which means they are screening it to critics more than a week before its release... that means it is testing well and they think critics will love it" Evans

[Wander]

Hey Wander, are you ready to concede yet or should we wait another week or so for it to be official?

Detective Pikachu - $142.6 mil (pretty much done, probably won't even reach $143 mil in total boxoffice)
Toy Story 4 - $306.5 mil (made $34 mil over the weekend)

I concede! Though I'll wait until it's official before changing the avatar. I was expecting Pikachu to just be better and pull in better reviews and maybe get to ~$200 million... which would still result in a loss but a competitive one. Flopped like a Magikarp.

[JasonEvans]

... like a Magikarp.

[mph]

[sigh] How does a middle-aged adult not know his water-based Pokémon? A magikarp, of course, looks like this...

58E0702D-D636-429E-824D-B08718E5BEA4.jpeg

With a better box office performance it would have evolved into a Gyarados which, as everyone knows, looks like this...

AF1EB1E8-4A79-42B4-8110-AD408CFD30DE.jpg

But, Detective Pikachu produced this...

F00805A1-E63C-48DA-8D10-4E405CA808B4.jpg

Sincerely,

The father of 2 boys who played Pokémon TCG competitively.

[BD80]

[sigh] How does a middle-aged adult not know his water-based Pokémon? A magikarp, of course, looks like this...

58E0702D-D636-429E-824D-B08718E5BEA4.jpeg

With a better box office performance it would have evolved into a Gyarados which, as everyone knows, looks like this...

AF1EB1E8-4A79-42B4-8110-AD408CFD30DE.jpg

But, Detective Pikachu produced this...

F00805A1-E63C-48DA-8D10-4E405CA808B4.jpg

Sincerely,

The father of 2 boys who played Pokémon TCG competitively.

I consider a life well lived that I was completely oblivious to all of this ...

[YmoBeThere]

Adults discussing Pokemon. Debating how to rank order the Toy Story franchise. What is going on here?

[dpslaw]

I won't feel so bad if Aladdin finishes 5th and SLOP2 6th, despite the disparity in $, but if Aladdin finishes 4th and SLOP2 7th? I may not make it out of bed again.

What about Stuber? Could it be this year's Hangover or Bridesmaids?

Aladdin won’t finish fourth, but SLOP2 is likely to finish eighth, behind John Wick and Hobbs and Shaw.

[BD80]

Aladdin won’t finish fourth, but SLOP2 is likely to finish eighth, behind John Wick and Hobbs and Shaw.

You may have just predicted the #1 movie of 2021, a cross-over sequel.

[DUKIECB]

Not that there is any doubt the Lion King will make our top 5 but there were some early screenings this week and the buzz is very positive. Most say it is very true to the original and all say it is a visual masterpiece. My favorite Disney movie of all time so I'll be seeing it next Thursday night!

[PackMan97]

You may have just predicted the #1 movie of 2021, a cross-over sequel.

Might as well toss in Bruce Willis as John McClain. Imagine an action movie where no one can die

[JasonEvans]

Not that there is any doubt the Lion King will make our top 5 but there were some early screenings this week and the buzz is very positive. Most say it is very true to the original and all say it is a visual masterpiece. My favorite Disney movie of all time so I'll be seeing it next Thursday night!

Yup, visual masterpiece and faithful to the original... perhaps a bit too faithful. I've seen the original 30+ times and, as a result, I was sorta bored at times. If I had wandered out to take a bathroom break or buy popcorn, I would not have missed a single thing. I'll have more in my podcast review later today.

-Jason "if you have never seen The Lion King, this will be one of the finest moviegoing experiences of the year... but that only applies to a very small subset of this film's audience" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Early tracking has been released on Hobbs & Shaw... $55-$65 million opening weekend.

That would be the best opening outside of a branded Disney film or movie based on superhero IP. Year to date, Universal’s Us is the highest-grossing non-Disney, non-superhero film opening ($71 mil)

An excellent figure, but at least $20 mil short of what it will likely take to threaten Aladdin. Remember that H&S opens in August, the very end of summer, when many kids are returning to school and filmgoing starts to dry up (especially mid-week).

-Jason "if reviews and early word are good, it could easily beat the early tracking" Evans

[BLPOG]

Yup, visual masterpiece and faithful to the original... perhaps a bit too faithful. I've seen the original 30+ times and, as a result, I was sorta bored at times. If I had wandered out to take a bathroom break or buy popcorn, I would not have missed a single thing. I'll have more in my podcast review later today.

-Jason "if you have never seen The Lion King, this will be one of the finest moviegoing experiences of the year... but that only applies to a very small subset of this film's audience" Evans

I take "too faithful" as a very encouraging sign. The Lion King is one of my absolute favorite films, and I have not been terribly comfortable with the idea of it being re-done. A visual update without meaningful changes in content is something I can probably handle. I'll probably go see it (unlike the other Disney "updates," for which I don't really have any interest).