‘Phil’s Quick Capsule Review’ (a nod to legendary comedian Bill Hicks who coined the phrase when he reviewed ‘Piece Of Shit’ movie Basic Instinct)… where a perfect 10 is rarer than a rain free British summer!
Written by Phil Hobden – UK based podcaster, writer and former filmmaker. Part of the All Things Film network…
On this episode of the podcast we talk about the five or so films we are MOST looking forward to in 2019 and the one or two that we could happily miss. Yup it’s our 2019 preview show! We also briefly cover off the sad demise of HMV in the UK.
Hosted by Award winning filmmaker Ross Boyask and blogger/writer/failed filmmaker Phil Hobden.
Films Discussed: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,Captain Marvel, Star Wars: Episode IX, Hobbs & Shaw, Toy Story 4, Shazam!, Avengers End Game, Joker, The Irishman, Wonder Woman 1984, IT: Chapter Two, Frozen 2, Terminator 6, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, John Wick: Chapter 3, Brightburn, The Lion King 2019, Bumblebee, Aquaman, The Domestics, The secret Life Of Pets 2, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
For more on Ross Boyask search @RossBoyask on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Also check out @EvoFilmsUK online.
For more on Phil Hobden check out www.philhobden.co.uk , Twitter (@PhilQuickReview) and Instagram (RossAndPhilTalkMovies)
Phil’s Quick look at what’s wetting his whistle for the upcoming year in films…
2018 once again delivered some great films but mostly it was the Indie movies that did made it. 2019 has the promise to be even more mixed with a bundle of reboots and Disney remakes… so here’s the films I’m most looking forward to in 2019. And a few that I’d be happy to miss.
The Must See’s
Most Excited: Toy Story 4
This could be a major bust but Pixar and Toy Story have always been a match made in heaven. Can this sit alongside one of the best trilogies ever made? I get the feeling it just might.
2. Hobbs & Shaw The Rock. And The Statham. In a Fast & Furious Spin Off. If anything about that sentence doesn’t make you go ‘I’m in’ then you are probably dead already…
3. Star Wars: Episode IX
So the ball’s back to JJ to land the end of the Skywalker(less) trilogy. Whether he can or not will depend on just how he takes the curve balls Johnson delivered and brings them in to make this trilogy feel complete.
4. Captain Marvel Marvel’s first female led superhero film could be something really special and judging by the trailer this is a must watch.
5. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood This could see Tarantino return to the form he’s lacked since the early days. The story, the setting, the cast… are all first rate. But this will all come down to whether the Hollywood darling can control his worst impulses. Let’s hope.
Bubbling Under: Avengers Infinity War Part 2 (Marvel delivers big as Phase 4 ends), IT: Chapter Two (Part One was amazing), Wonder Woman 1984 (the original was mostly excellent), Frozen 2 (come on!), Glass (Split was great and this could be something else), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Monsters! Thousands of ’em), Spider-Man: Far From Home (Marvel + Spiderman = HIT), Joker (I could be wrong here but this looks pretty interesting) , Jumanji 2 (Welcome To The Jungle was great fun), The Irishman (Hopefully it will make it this year!)
The Must Nots
(Just a reminder of what T6 has to live up to!)
Stinker Of The Year: Terminator 6 It pains me to say it but the Terminator films have done nothing since T2. Yup Cameron is back (as producer) and yup it’s reboot territory again but I just don’t see a world where the 6th Terminator film can get anywhere near the form of its classic siblings.
Also Dreading: The Lion King 2019 (the trailer looks like the’ve done a Psycho ’98 here), Pet Sematary (this doesn’t have an IT feel about it), Dumbo2019 (I’d love to see it work but Burton’s not delivered in a long time), Pokemon Detective Pikachu (yup not interested), What Men Want (Remake of sorts of What Women Want… say no more), Aladdin 2019 (I’m not anti-Disney but this is yet another film that isn’t needed), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (The last X-Men movie was a total dog), John Wick: Chapter 3 (Part 2 was a bore), Alita: Battle Angel (Looks pretty bad), Men in Black Spin Off (The world doesn’t need another MIB film)
Last Year…
So how did I do last year?
This is the time of the year when I look back at my picks of the good, the bad and the ugly from 2018 and see how close I was (or as it often is the case, how far!)…
For best: I tipped Bohemian Rhapsody, Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War, The Incredibles 2 & Black Panther as my most anticipated of 2018. And you know what all delivered one way or another. Which to be honest is a major first! Okay so Deadpool 2 and Infinity War would never be QUITE the films our mind’s had created.
As for the rest? Tomb Raider wasn’t great and neither was Ant Man & The Wasp. The Predator wasn’t great but it didn’t deserve the bashing it got, Mission Impossible 6 was epic (top 5) and The Happytime Murders again got a bashing that was (for the most part) pretty undeserved. The Purge: The First Purge ended up being the worst or the series so far and The Irishman never landed.
As for the Stinkers? Fifty Shades Freed ended up in second place behind Cloverfield Paradox, Solo – A Star Wars Story was okay (but little more), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom disappointed, Day of The Dead: Bloodline wasn’t amazing but passed the time, Ready Player One was actually really good, X-Men: Dark Phoenix & Scarface didn’t land, Oceans 8 was everything you knew it would be and a little less and Pacific Rim: Uprising was far better than I expected.
Phil Hobden is the former Film Editor & Writer for renowned martial arts focused COMBAT MAGAZINE in the UK. He is also a filmmaker in his own right, having produced two cult Independent action films in LEFT FOR DEAD and TEN DEAD MEN. He was the host for the award nominated Filmsploitation podcast for 4 years, currently co-hosts Ross And Phil Talk Movies and is a writer/editor for his own blog Phil’s Quick Capsule Review…
Each year Will and Phil compare notes on their favourite and least favourite films of 2018… here’s Will’s look at what’s been and what he’s most looking forward to in 2019.
Top Ten Best:
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (just superb – loved it)
First Man (brilliantly directed and the moon landing sequence was brilliant)
The Darkest Hour (had me in tears)
Mission Impossible Fallout (a genuine summer blockbuster, featuring a proper movie star doing his own stunts and the kind of balls to the wall action scenes we have haven’t seen in years)
BlackKKKLansman (funny and brilliant – I usually don’t like Spike Lee but this was incredibly good)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Rami Malik’s performance was incredible and the Live Aid concert re-enactment at the end was gobsmacking)
Avengers Infinity War – (exciting, fast paced, funny, great action, a cracking villain and THAT ending – roll on Avengers Endgame)
A Star Is Born (a trio of incredible performances – Lady Gaga was a revelation, Coopers acting and direction were brilliant plus Sam Elliott was astounding)
Creed 2 (not as good as Creed or Rocky Balboa – but still great and had lots of heart)
12 Strong – balls to the wall action, great story, v well-acted
Top Ten Honouree mentions
Deadpool 2 (v funny and extremely clever in parts)
A Quiet Place – (tense and scary – a great directorial debut from John Krasinski)
Hunter Killer (ridiculous but really great fun with a smashing performance from Gerard Butler)
Ant Man and The Wasp (not Marvels best but I really liked it)
The Meg (complete nonsense but a good laugh)
Rampage (utterly insane but top drawer entertainment)
Skyscraper (a Die Hard clone but who cares when its this much fun?)
Mile 22 (I must be the only person on the planet who liked this one!)
Mamma Mia 2 (a genuinely lovely film that had heart and soul and wanted nothing more than to entertain and have people leave the cinema with a big smile on their faces)
Outlaw King (well made, top final battle and a great turn from Chris Pine)
Top Ten Worst
Death Wish (terrible terrible terrible. Bruce – you obviously can’t be bothered anymore so either start putting in the effort or do us all a favour and give it up)
Red Sparrow (what should have a been a balls to the wall action caper turned out to be nothing more than catastrophically over long and boring as all hell)
Pacific Rim Uprising (not as bad as the first one but still rubbish)
Equalizer 2 (utter pants, dull and completely pretentious to boot)
Love Simon (I liked the message it was trying to give but hated the way it did it)
Ladybird (yes I know it was loved by the critics but I HATED this film with a vengeance!)
Fantastic Beasts The Crimes of Grindelwald (so boring I nearly fell asleep- this franchise needs a new director – fast)
Ghost Stories (complete bilge and made no sense)
15:17 To Paris (now this was awful – Clint we love you but dear God mate what were you thinking?????)
Mortal Engines (not the worst film I’ve ever seen and certainly gets an ‘A’ for effort but this just didn’t work at all)
Biggest Letdown:
The Predator – someone PLEASE tell Shane Black that he isn’t as good as he obviously thinks he is -also somebody please explain to me how in the hell they managed to blow this one????
2019 Most anticipated:
Avengers: Endgame
Star Wars Episode IX
Rambo: The Last Blood (yeah I said it!)
Angel Has Fallen (yeah Hobden you read it right -I said that too!)
The Austin Powers to Phil Hobden’s Dr Evil, it’s fair to say Will spends his life trying to convince Phil that Paul WS Anderson ISNT a bad filmmaker, that The Hobbit movies really are THAT good and, for the most part, Phil is wrong about most things. Which he is.
