Wira (2019)

I actually enjoyed this. I love the fights. The hot bods. Abang Yayan in action. This was mostly an entertaining and mindless action flick with a generous dose of choreographed violence, and human moments that make me go... nice. Will probably keep the young ones at home, but should be fine for older teenagers.

Ford v. Ferrari (2019)

Didn't quite take to it. Was tired and dozed off near the start, but was awake from the point when Ferrari was speaking to Ford's employee. On hindsight, I liked the corporate culture depicted, and found it especially relevant.

Scales (2019)

I probably need to watch this again as I fell asleep. Nice B&W cinematography.

Better Days《少年的你》(2019)

The narrative feels a little... loose. That said, I like the love story between the two leads. That bit in the end credits feels like someone else came along to make sure the audience knows about the ill effects of bullying and what has been done to tackle it. 

Wet Season《热带雨》(2019)

Some bits did make me go huh? But overall, I liked this one. Strong performances for the most part. 

The Good Liar (2019)

Caught this for the actors, and I'll say I was mostly satisfied. 

And Then We Danced (2019)

Liked it. Favourite bit is the one between the brothers. The audience clapped when Levan Gelbakhiani's name appeared in the end credits. IMHO, the heart of this film hung on his performance, which I felt was one of the best I watched this year.

The Shiny Shrimps (2019)

Fun watch. Love the songs used.

Charlie's Angels (2019)

Had some bits I liked, but overall, didn't really like. The cast didn't really shine, IMHO. The direction and story felt bland. Love the theme song tho. I was also thinking of Spyral when watching, and sort of in a good way. :)   

Pain and Glory (2019)

Liked it, sort of. But... I fell asleep for about maybe a quarter or a third of the film? Slow moving, but I appreciated the performances and the score. Visuals are nice too.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Predictable. There was not much about the characters or the plot to make me care much. Watched in IMAX.

The Cat Rescuers (2018)

Heart-centric docu on four cat rescuers and their stories.

Joker (2019)

Nice!

The Farewell (2019)

Didn't enjoy as much as I thought I would. The film and narrative were simple. Performances were generally decent. I thought Zhao Shuzhen gave an energetic performance as Nai Nai.  Awkwafina was okay and I won't mind seeing her in another dramatic role. The pacing of the film was not really my cup of tea. Some of the characters were only superficially developed.

Fagara《花椒之味》(2019)

A bit slow, but found it emotionally rich when it comes to dwelling into the parent-child relationship. Great to see the different Chinese languages used based on the actual countries. IMHO, Sammi Cheng and Kenny Bee gave deeply affecting performances; the rest of the cast were good too.    

Weathering With You (2019)

Generally was ok. I recalled feeling more satisfaction after watching Your Name. Pacing for first half was kind of slow. Didn't quite buy the ending based on what was set up. Logic goes out the window. This is more of a feeling type of film. Enjoyed seeing and hearing how the city of Tokyo came to life in this animation.

Wong Ka Yan《王家欣》(2015)

Nice!

Still Human《淪落人》(2018)

I found the film's pacing a bit too loose for my personal taste. Didn't really take to the performance of the female lead too. What also distanced me is the "first film from a new filmmaker feel" when I watched - except I noticed the director's narrative flaws more than the strengths. Anthony Wong gives a strong performance, but it wasn't enough for me to overlook the bits I didn't take to. 

Revenge of the Pontianak (2019)

Started off a little boring. Not the kind of film adults go in to be scared, IMHO. Performances were okay for a genre like this. Main cast were decent eye candies. Visuals for this film was very nice. Things picked up somewhat once in the second half once there was more focus on character. Overall, thought it was a simple film, with narrative questions if you are bothered by these things. If the B.P.R.D ever goes international, maybe they could recruit this pontianak. She could spend her off days chasing down those who need to be punished. I definitely would look forward to another film with her.

Blinded by the Light (2019)

Nice! A little uneven, maybe? And somewhat a little too generous with pop hits from 1987 in the beginning? But... performances were engaging and spot on. There is something very heartfelt and hopeful about this film in a family friendly kind of way. I like some of the subtle touches, from seeing the big mobile phone from the past, to a moment when racial superiority raised its head in ignorance, to the joys and pains of being young and always longing for something more, and running through the streets like there's no tomorrow. And no, you don't need to be a Springsteen fan to dig this.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Movie is long... I kind of enjoyed it even tho I'm also kind of biased against QT. Acting by Leo and Brad are good, IMHO. I'm not sure how some of the bits are relevant plot wise (other than being indulgent in world building). I get that these are characters based on real people and they may not necessary be that way in real life. A scene at the airport reminded me of one of my favorite bits from Jackie Brown. There's only a bit of violence in this film, but when it happens, it's full on uncomfortable even tho it slants towards black comedy.   

Love Is Strange (2014)

Slow. But nice!

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

I can see why this film may not be for most peeps (maybe because it's slow, don't really fit the genre and looks kind of arty), but I enjoyed it!

I'll describe this as a well paced movie with a social commentary, employing the zombie apocalypse genre as a metaphor, and with generous sprinkles of well-paced subtle humors throughout. Nice performances too!

Evening Shadows (2018)

Very rudiment and clumsy execution for a film, IMHO. But at its heart, there is a sweet story about a mother and a son, difficulty in acceptance, and generally a great performance from Mona Ambegaonkar.

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Was okay. I wasn't as invested in this one emotionally as I was the last one. Some heartwarming moments, but this one didn't knock it out of the park for me.

Parasite (2019)

One of the better films I watched this year. Bits makes me think of Shoplifter and Us.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Nice! But need to suspend disbelief somewhat for the story. I like this Mysterio! :)

Yesterday (2019)

Nice! Love the chemistry between the leads.

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

By the numbers, but still a fun watch mostly.

Demons (2018)

Interesting.... I was actually struggling to keep awake and at the end, I was wondering what the fuck was it that I had just watched, but somehow, was also glad I did catch it. Liked that it had some ideas. Not sure if I appreciated the style or narrative choices 100% though. 

Shirkers (2018)

Finally got around to catching this. Interesting... generally liked it.

Rocketman (2019)

Basically a deliberate touch-and-go chronicle of Elton's life and career. Was a bit tired when watching and drifted off a bit. Thought the main performance was strong. Ditto on the production design. 

The Wandering Earth - 流浪地球 (2019)

More Armageddon than Armageddon. Didn't really care that much for the characters, but this one had a rousing finale, IMHO.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Sorta standard. Didn't feel that the performances were compelling. The pic had a different feel from Avengers, which I appreciated, but it doesn't really excite. Certain parts reminded me of Firestarter, except this one is set within a superhero or mutant community.

John Wick: Chapter 3 (2019)

Not too bad. Some nifty action choreography. But from an emotional view point, I thought Chapter 2 was stronger.

Hotel Mumbai (2018)

Gripping and touching. Loved it.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Watching this felt a little stressful... stressful not to go to the toilet or I may miss anything. That said, I thought the 3 hours was too long. This film was too talky, and I'm not sure it earned all the talky moments. I appreciated the nods to the past films. The film did deliver on spectacle. And it did have some memorable sequences. Thor and Hulk were fun in this. There were some great bits with Cap. But I just didn't really dig what the heroes did after Infinity War. One of the biggest disappointments was expectations I had in regards with the role that Danvers would play, did not materialize in a way I felt satisfying. I guess this film failed to really engage me heart to heart. Watched in IMAX 3D, but.. I could have done with just the IMAX only. 

Shazam! (2019)

A delightful entertaining romp.

Guang - 光 (2018)

Not too bad.

The edited version in Singapore gave me thought to skip it, along with a trailer that didn't really make me think I'll like this.

But strong word-of-mouth and recommendations, along with this being that little indie film that looked like it needed help convinced me to give it a shot.

I was at first unsure if I was going to enjoy it, but the sincere direction and the strong performances won me over. Enough for me to regard this as one of the year's highlights by the end of the film.

Us (2019)

I'm glad I forgot the trailer when I watched this cos I think this is one movie that, the less you know, the more you may enjoy seeing the story unfold.

The sound effects help to accentuate the horror effects in a cinema. The filmmakers' tools are sharpened here, so I won't recommend this to anyone who can't take horror. But I really enjoyed it. 

Captain Marvel (2019)

Generic super hero pic. I liked the 90s bits. Didn't think the Fury-Marvel pairing had much chemistry. Serious things were kept trivial because this is a PG13 movie. Has fair amount of plot conveniences that don't really hold water. Overall, I was adequately entertained, but this didn't exactly leave me wanting more.

A Land Imagined - 幻土 (2018)

Loved it!

Love the performances. Love the use of music and sound design to propel the narrative forward. Love how that first flashback was executed. Love the 2 songs. Was hooked by the mystery (to a large extent) and more so, the emotional undercurrent running throughout. Definitely deserving of those accolades, IMHO.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Generally liked it though I found the teenage love story aspect not really my cup of tea, and some of the setup scenes kind of slow things down. But the action sequences were superb (worth the IMAX 3D experience if you are in the right seat), and the main character is (almost) engaging enough. Love the world building too. Very violent PG13 flick. 

The Favourite (2018)

A bit too artsy for my liking. Love the acting and the witty dialogues. Enjoyed the score too.

When Ghost Meets Zombie - 女鬼爱上尸 (2019)

Kind of a mix of unconnected, shallow plots. I don't think I'm the target audience. I don't get the Thai setting. But I think the last bits have an emotional reach that pushes this 1-star movie up to a 2 or 2.5.

Like the Jack Neo bit. Like the Bai Bai character. Main female character was not engaging enough to overlook the stretched-out-and-so-unbelievable elements.

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

Enjoyed this more than the first, which I can't recall much of now. Everything is Not Awesome! Love the songs, which I feel have a a very Katy Perry flavor.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)

Not bad.

The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang - 神探蒲松龄 (2019)

Surprised that I actually enjoyed this. IMHO, it's a love story marketed as a family film. Didn't really care for the creatures although they seem central to some of the plot advancements.

Green Book (2018)

Started off horrid with fellow audience talking. Had to shushed two separate couples. The movie was pleasant enough. Overall, I'll say it's generic feelgood fare. May have stronger resonance in certain territories due to their historical context. Acting generally good. Might be described as a decent Christmas film.

Capernaum (2018)

Was prepared to be bored by this but ended up engaged. How did they get the baby to perform so well? A particular scene set in a prison made me feel how condescending some individuals or groups may be when it comes to trying to do "good". The main characters are all in unenviable positions. Difficult issues are raised, but this film never strays away from its characters and the overall performances from everyone made this such a heartfelt watch with sprinkles of humor. Get your tissues ready.