The Peanut Butter Falcon is one of the more heart-warming films of the year.  The film stars Shia LeBeouf as a young man named Tyler who is on the run. LeBeouf has received a lot of criticism over the years, but he’s a really good actor and he gives the best performance of his career here. While on the run, he meets up with a young man named Zak who has Down Syndrome.  Zak dreams of becoming a professional wrestler and is on his way to a wrestling camp. Along the way, they form a close bond. It’s easy to see LeBeouf’s character helping Zak on his journey, but it’s actually Zak who ends up helping Tyler in more ways than one. I haven’t talked to one person that has seen this film and disliked it.  Do yourself a favor and rent this one ASAP.

The best part of Netflix is actually the worst part and that is the fact that there is just so much content.  Unfortunately, that means that films like I Am Mother sometimes get lost in the shuffle. That’s a shame because this is one of the very best Sci-fi films to be released in recent years. The other great aspect of the film is the fact that the robot was not created using CGI. The suit was actually constructed and is being operated by someone inside of it. That’s pretty cool.  I Am Mother obviously deals with themes of parenthood and when is it okay to let our children go and let them be their own person. I don’t want to give much more away, so I urge you to check this one out if you’re into Sci-fi films.

Brittany Runs a Marathon is one of the funnier, uplifting films of the year.  I’m sure it’s going to be an inspiration to a lot of people to watch a character dedicate herself to becoming more physically healthy.  However, the interesting part about the film is the fact that Brittany thought that once she improved her physical appearance, the rest of her life would be better. What she didn’t realize is that not until she fixed some of the other parts of her personality could she truly be happy.  It’s a really powerful take on how the person that people see often times has nothing to do with our outward appearance.

Booksmart is the directorial debut of actress Olivia Wilde and a very strong one, I might add. Booksmart got unfairly labeled as the “Female Superbad”.  On the surface, that’s not a bad thing because Superbad was a great comedy, but it kind of takes away from Booksmart just boiling it down to that. In reality, it’s way more than just a female version of a popular teen comedy.  Booksmart is the rare comedy that deals with female friendship that doesn’t revolve around men. The film also explores the theme of growing up and growing apart from the people we’ve grown close with during our teen years.

I’m always fascinated why some films do well and others just kind of go unnoticed.  Maybe it was a busy summer or maybe the premise just seemed too basic, but for whatever the reason, Crawl got zero attention this summer.  I didn’t know much about it going in, but I’m glad I went to see it because Crawl is easily one of the more edge-of-your-seat thrill rides of the year.  Essentially, a young college student is trapped in a house with an alligator. It sounds silly, but I’m telling you this film doesn’t let up for one second and the premise is actually pretty plausible.

A film produced by the WWE?  No thanks, I’ll pass. Until I’m stuck on a two hour flight to Florida.  I was enjoying this film so much that the entire flight seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.  Fighting with My Family really has a lot going for it. It’s a rags to riches story, it’s a David vs. Goliath story and most of all, it’s a film about family. If you read My Favorite Films of 2019 list, then you will know that I’m a huge fan of Florence Pugh.  She’s almost unrecognizable as real-life wrestler Paige. Don’t make the same mistake I did and dismiss this film as a silly wrestling movie. Did I mention it has The Rock in it? Who doesn’t like him?

A lot of people were disappointed with Ad Astra after the film ended.  While I would have liked a better ending, the film delivered exactly what I thought it would and that was a slow burn character piece.  Anybody who thought they were getting an epic space action film went to the wrong film. It also means they probably aren’t familiar with director James Gray, who directed the amazing, yet completely ignored  The Lost City of Z. Ad Astra is also visually beautiful to look at, but for many, there’s just not enough here to get excited about.

Maybe I was just in the right mood the day I saw Brightburn because I seem to like it way more than most.   Then again, not very many people saw it. I’m a little surprised because the film had a great trailer that seemed to play before every movie for months leading up to its release.  Maybe superhero films like Avengers Endgame overshadowed it, or maybe people just didn’t want to watch a film about a villain. My guess is the main reason the film was ignored is that it’s not based on a known property and didn’t have the Marvel seal of approval.  Either way, it’s worth a watch. The main theme of the film is parenthood and the film begs the question how far will you go for your child even when you know there’s something wrong with him.

Here’s another one that nobody saw and those that did really hated it.  I didn’t think it was that bad and I really thought the ending had a nice payoff.  The film did a great job of building the story, and when it finally came to the climax, I had to give a slight nod of approval.  The film deals with society after an Alien invasion, but don’t expect an alien film. They are rarely seen. This is more about the fallout from being governed by these foreign entities and the impact it has on sympathizing humans.  The themes of the film are very timely and the patient viewer might just be rewarded.

Cold Pursuit is directed by Hans Petter Moland, and happens to be a remake of his 2014 film In Order of Disappearance. It would be easy to brush Cold Pursuit off as another one of "those" Liam Neeson films, but it's actually a bit more than that.  Cold Pursuit features more style than many of the other Neeson films of this nature. The film also has a surprisingly wicked sense of humor. My main issue is that Liam Neeson disappears for most of the second act and in the third act he's pretty much just a bystander.  The film actually starts to deal with some serious issues like Native Americans and their treatment.