RJ Writing Ink

My Top Ten Favorite Movies of 2019

It feels fitting that the final year of the 2010s gave us some of the biggest films of the decade. I’m working on a list of my favorite movies of the decade, and a lot came of them came out in 2019. Thus, in the spirit of the New Year, I decided to look at my favorite films of the year. Without further ado, here are my picks for my favorite movies of 2019.

However, let it be noted that some of my picks are films I reviewed in the past. As such, I will keep my writing as brief as possible. In addition, I won’t be counting entries like the Invader Zim and Rocko specials.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly (Jan.)

Since his debut in the DBZ films, Broly’s been the enemy fans wanted to see join the canon. In other words, seeing him join the canon story felt like a dream come true. However, the film got marred by controversy when Broly’s VA Vic Mignogna got fired over sexual harassment allegations. Given that most of Broly’s lines consist of screaming, though, and that they got Johnny Yong Bosch to replace Vic, I don’t see it as a big loss.

Captain Marvel (March)

In my review of this film, I called Captain Marvel the final piece of the MCU’s puzzle for the Infinity Saga. After all, I had a feeling that Captain Marvel would play a major role in the final battle against Thanos. As such, I was eager to learn her MCU origins and the origins of Nick Fury. While I wish they had included more references to 90s culture, I think this movie did a solid job of getting us pumped for Endgame.

Shazam! (April)

The next entry the DC Extended Universe, Shazam! tells the story of Billy Batson, an orphaned teenager who only wants to find his long-lost mom. However, he ends up being tapped by an ancient wizard with magic superpowers that turn him into a full-grown man. As a result, he has to save the world from an evil bald guy obsessed with that same power due to his childhood insecurities.

The plot of Shazam! seems cliche and unoriginal, but I wound up enjoying it. It’s lighthearted, yet knows when to be serious. More importantly, though, it moved away from Zack Snyder’s terrible taste in colors and attempts to overly serious. If DC had done this since the start, then maybe they wouldn’t be playing catch up to Marvel. That’s right, I said it; not sorry.

Avengers: Endgame (April)

This film was the big one for 2019; the box office records say so! Considering how it was the culmination of eleven years of films, Endgame had a lot riding on it. Thankfully, Marvel knew what it was doing and gave the fans a story for the ages. While the three hour run-time can be a little much for some, it’s justified with how much story they pack into it. In addition, the climax of the film ends up being one of the greatest moments in cinema history. I still remember how every cheered in the theater.

Detective Pikachu (May)

Welcome to Ryme City, a place where humans and Pokemon live together in harmony. Everyone except for Tim Goodman, who comes to town after learning his Detective dad disappeared. Depsite not wanting anything to do with Pokemon, he ends up teaming up with his Dad’s Pikachu, who he can somehow understand. Together, the two uncover a conspiracy that threatens all of Ryme city.

I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t the only one who got worried about a live action Pokemon film. After all, films based on video games have bad track records. However, to my delight, I discovered that Detective Pikachu knock it out of the park. They faithfully adapt the beloved world of Pokemon into live-action. In addition, Ryan Reynolds owns it as Pikachu!

Toy Story 4 (June)

When I heard that there would be a Toy Story 4, I got worried it was a cash grab by Disney and Pixar. Thankfully, I was happy to learn that it wasn’t. While the ending’s bittersweet, as many good stories are, and I felt many of the veteran castmembers got neglected, I still liked this film. It felt good to say that Pixar could do more with the franchise that gave them their big break.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (July)

After the whirlwind of events in Avengers: Endgame, I got worried about the future of the MCU. What could they do that could top the Infinity. Fortunately, Marvel showed us the future in Spider-Man: Far from Home, and its bright. The entire film centers on passing the torch from the original actors to the next generation as the MCU prepares for its future. As long as Disney and Sony keep their acts together, I think the MCU will be seeing a future led

Steven Universe: The Movie (September)

I know this was a TV-based movie, but if you read both of my reviews for the film, then you know I don’t care. Set after the events of the original show, Steven Universe: The Movie shows an older Steven dealing with a new threat. At the same time, he tries to come to terms with the fact that no matter how good things get, there may always be problems to solve. In my opinion, Rebecca Sugar gave us an animated Broadway Musical, and it is glorious.

Joker (October)

After all these years, we finally have another actor worthy of playing the Clown Prince of Crime. In this standalone DC film, Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a mistreated soul with mental issues in a city that doesn’t care about him. With one tragic act, Arthur’s life spirals out of control until he transforms into one of the greatest villains mankind’s ever dreamt up.

This film’s rightfully deserving of his status as the highest-grossing R-rated film in history. While it’s a slow burn, Joker gives us a very realistic look at how a real life version of the Clown Prince could be created. As dark and depressing as it was, I loved the movie. In addition, I now consider Joaquin Phoenix as one of the rare few worthy of playing the Joker. He deserves all the praise in the world.

Klaus (November)

This film came out on Netflix less than a month ago, yet it’s one of the best Christmas movies I’ve seen in years. Set on an Arctic island in the 18th century, Klaus tells the story of Jesper, a lazy and unmotivated postman tasked with setting up an office in the most unfriendly town on Earth. Then one day, he runs into a reclusive toymaker named Klaus, and offers to help deliver the toys he makes to the children in town. As a result, this unlikely pair gives birth to the legend of the jolly man himself, Santa Claus.

The brainchild of Depsicable Me creator Sergio Pablos, Klaus gives us a return to the traditionally animation style of old. The result is a breath-taking, colorful, and heartwarming story about how an act of kindness can change the world for the better. It’s honestly one of the best Christmas films I’ve seen in years, and I hope it goes down as holiday classic.

Happy New Year

Agree with my picks? What movies were your favorite in 2019? Let me know in the comments below.

Click here to see more stuff recapping past years.

Click here to see my reviews for various films.

My Favorite Movies of the 2010s

Originally, this post would be about my top ten favorite movies of the decade. However, looking over the number of movies I loved, I realized this would be either a.) impossible or b.) take too long. Also, my policy on entertainment is that i won’t check it out unless I think I’ll like it. Instead, I decided it’d be better to do what I call a cavalcade of cinema.

I’m going to list off all the movies this past decade that I enjoyed. Then I’ll sum up my thoughts about them in a two sentences or less. That way it’s a cavalcade of cinema

Despicable Me (2010)

The start of a great new franchise and the creation of the Minions. Those little guys are so much fun.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

I have yet to fully see it, but I’ve seen enough clips of it online to count. Was the perfect way to cap off the franchise that started Pixar’s success.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

An infinitely better reboot than that mess in the 2000s. Was also what first introduced me to Andy Serkis

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

A Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard masterpiece that satirizes the horror film genre. One of the few horror films I enjoy.

Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)

Heralded the start of a new era of movies with an unprecedented crossover. This deserves to be preserved in the National Library of Congress for all time.

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

An improvement over an already amazing film with a great plot. Also gave us “Happy” by Pharell Williams

Book of Life (2014)

Jorge Gutiérrez perfects the art style he created with El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera in this movie that was Coco before Coco was Coco.

The LEGO Movie (2014)

A movie about one of the greatest line of toys of all time was awesome enough. Also, it’s what introduced me to Chris Pratt.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

As much as I criticize the Sequel Trilogy, I admit that it did give us some great new characters. Thus, it gets on this list. However, it also killed off Han, and I’m convinced its because Harrsion Ford didn’t want to play Han Solo anymore.

Jurassic World (2015)

Another Chris Pratt success whilst serving as a soft reboot to the classic 1990s franchise. The fact that most of the park’s sponsored by corporations is so realistic.

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (2015)

This film saw the return of one of the most iconic villains in anime history, gave him a godlike new form, and did the same for Goku and Vegeta. The best part is that Frieza comes back for a third time later!

The Martian (2015)

It’s Castaway meets Saving Private Ryan in space. Matt Damon was amazing in this film.

The Peanuts Movie (2015)

The first new addition to the legendary Peanuts franchise in years. It captures the magic that made Charlie Brown and his friends so beloved in the first place.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Started off Phase 3 of the MCU with as big a bang as possible. It functioned as a mini-Avengers film and served as our introduction to the best live-action Spider-Man to date.

Your Name (2016)

One of the most romantic and surreal films I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t sit through the ending without feeling tears welling up in my eyes.

Deadpool (2016)

This film made me acknowledge something that I tried to deny for years: Deadpool can be pretty funny. It also made Ryan Reynolds one of my favorite actor’s.

Sausage Party (2016)

This film’s like if South Park decided to make a satire of Pixar movies, complete with humorous messages about life and learning to find meaning in it without relying on others. Also, the ending is hilarious.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Benedict Cumberbatch gives us our first true dive into the mystical side of the Marvel Universe as Doctor Strange. It also introduces an important Macguffin for Infinity War.

Get Out (2017)

This is one horror film that you have to see in order to fully understand. Jordan Peele’s a master of the genre

Isle of Dogs (2018)

A true masterpiece of stop-motion animation. That sushi making scene alone is a work of art.

Black Panther (2018)

A cultural phenomenon that takes a good, hard look at the legacy of Western intereference on Africa. Michael Jordan’s role as Erik Killmonger remains one of the best villains in the MCU, as he has very genuine reasons to hate Wakanda

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Marvel did the impossible by juggling almost all of its roster in one of the most ambitious crossover films ever made. The ending will leave you with your mouth hanging open in shock.

Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse (2018)

A love-letter to Marvel’s poster boy and one of the greatest heroes of all time. I couldn’t stop listening to “What’s Up, Danger” for days afterwards.

Ready Player One (2018)

Pop Culture: The Movie, and I loved every minute of it.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

Tom Hanks effortelessly slips into the role of Mister Rogers and reminds us of how a little kindness can change the world for the better. We need another Mister Rogers.

Apollo 11 (2019)

An incredible, minute by minute documentary of one of the defining moments in human history. It comes out just in time for the 50th anniversary.

Detective Pikachu (2019)

I’m convinced that Ryan Reynolds took this job so he could reference it in the next Deadpool movie. However, that doesn’t stop it from being the best movie based on a video game that I’ve ever seen.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

No words can properly describe the level of excitement from this culmination of eleven years of films. Go watch it on Disney+!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2019)

BROLY. IS NOW. CANON. Nuff said.

Steven Universe: The Movie (2019)

If there was a way for a TV Movie to win an Oscar, then I would want it to be this movie.

Joker (2019)

It’s dark, depressing, and nihilistic, yet I couldn’t stop watching it. For the first time since Heath Ledger, we have a Joker. Jared Leto doesn’t count.

Klaus (2019)

One of the best Christmas movie’s I’ve seen in years

Cavalcade of Cinema

Agree with my cavalcade of cinema picks? Let me know your cavalcade of cinema in the comments down below! Happy New Year!

Click here to see more stuff recapping past years.

Click here to see my reviews for various films.

*The following was originally published on FANDOM. Due to the FANDOM Contributor Program being shut down, it has been copied and moved to my blog. Thank you!

Before Beerus, the greatest villain in the Dragon Ball films was Broly. Possessing a seemingly infinite amount of power and an insatiable bloodlust, the monstrous Saiyan became a cult favorite among fans of the franchise. So when an announcement came that a revamped Broly would be the villain in the Dragon Ball Super film, fans went nuts.

Boasting a new look and an altered personality, this new take on Broly is just as deadly as the original. And now that he’s made his big screen debut, we can safely say that he’s also pretty impressive. But does Super‘s new and improved Broly trump the original? To answer this question, we’ll have the two face off in several categories — backstory, personality, and power — to determine which version of Broly — OG Broly or Broly: BR — is the best, once and for all.

BACKSTORY

In both versions, Broly’s unnaturally high battle power as a baby made King Vegeta freak out and try to get rid of him. The only difference is how he goes about eliminating Broly. In Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, King Vegeta’s men stab baby Broly, leaving him and his father, Paragus, for dead. In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the Saiyan King sends Broly to a violent planet full of monsters in hopes that they’d kill him; both plans fail.

To their credit, both films do an excellent job of setting up who the two Broly’s would later become. In OG’s Broly’s case, it’s not hard to see what made Broly into the crazy monster we see in the films. He gets stabbed in the chest, watches his planet blow up, and, worst of all, has to endure baby Goku‘s crying for hours on end — all before he can even form words. No wonder he turns into such a mad beast.

When compared to OG Broly’s backstory, Broly: BR’s backstory feels like a cakewalk. Sure, he spends most of his life stuck on a grim planet with only his father for company, but this doesn’t break Broly, or make him lose his mind. But it does leave him with poor social skills and great loyalty to his father, who OG Broly was more than willing to kill.

When audiences first saw how violent OG Broly was, they couldn’t help but wonder what turned him into such a monster, and they got their answer. Broly: BR’s backstory does a lot of the same, but it doesn’t quite measure up to the original’s tragically epic backstory. OG Broly wins this round!

PERSONALITY

At his core, OG Broly’s defined by two traits: his sadistic madness, and his hatred of Goku. A self-proclaimed devil, he’s willing to kill everything in his path, simply because he can. When Paragus tried to flee the planet they were on, OG Broly crushed him inside his pod, laughing the whole time — brutal.

But it’s his hatred of Goku that defines him. He associates Goku’s crying with all that trauma he experienced as a baby and, in turn, blames him for everything. The mere sight of Goku was enough to send him into a rage in the first film.

In the second movie, Dragon Ball Z: Broly — Second Coming, Broly’s defeat at Goku’s hands washes away the little sanity he had left. In fact, aside from a single instance, the only word he can utter throughout the entire movie is “Kakarot,” Goku’s Saiyan name. He’s so obsessed, he can’t even tell Goku apart from his sons.

Thanks to only getting exiled, Broly: BR retained his sanity. Unlike the original, he’s a kind and gentle soul who hates fighting. And with his father as his sole companion most of his life, Broly: BR longs to make friends, as he did with the monster Ba.

Despite being loyal to his dad, Paragus treats his son no better than a tool; he’s always ordering him around. It’s Paragus who forces Broly: BR to fight, even going so far as to use a shock collar to force his son’s obedience.

When he does fight, though, Broly: BR has much in common in with his counterpart. He has yet to learn to control his power correctly, so it and his Saiyan instincts eat away at his sanity. It gets to the point where he can’t tell friend from foe, leading him to fight anything that moves.

So, in one corner, we have a Broly whose only defining traits are being a crazy bruiser and hating Goku. In the other, we have a Broly who hates fighting, likes making friends, and has an actual personality. Broly: BR has an actual character, and after seeing how Paragus treats him, it’s easy to sympathize with him. Broly: BR is the clear winner here.

POWER

As we’ve already said, OG Broly’s power is terrifying. In the very first scene of The Legendary Super Saiyan, we see him annihilate an entire galaxy. Not to mention, during the film’s big fight, Broly faces five Super Saiyans and a Super Namekian at once. He then, of course, proceeds to curb stomp them all.

To defeat him, everyone has to pour their energy into Goku — and even that doesn’t kill. It takes blasting him into the Sun to do that!

OG Broly was a terrifying monster, but he doesn’t hold a candle to the likes of Beerus, who can destroy entire universes at once. Broly: BR not only matches Beerus and the Destroyer Gods in power, he easily surpasses them.

Goku and Vegeta had to go Super Saiyan Blue (SSB) in Dragon Ball Super: Broly to fight base form Broly: BR, and once Broly went Super Saiyan, even that wasn’t enough to go toe to toe with him. It took them fusing their powers to become SSB Gogeta to beat him.

Both versions of Broly clearly have near unlimited power and strength. But Broly: BR’s power level surpasses that of actual gods. Broly: BR wins in a landslide!

AND THE WINNER IS…

By a wide margin, the new Broly is a welcome improvement over the original. While he may not have as dark a backstory as OG Broly, Broly: BR is better written and far more likable. With both Goku and Frieza having expressed interest in making him an ally, we will almost certainly see him again soon. Who knows, maybe he has a divine future ahead of him. No matter what, Broly is here to stay, and his fan power is maximum!

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Review

I could write an entire essay about how much I loved this movie, but that would not do it justice. Dragon Ball Super: Broly was everything that the fans wanted and then some! By the time I’m writing this, I literally got out of a full house, so I am striking while the iron’s hot.

Plot

Let’s start off with the basic plot. The film shows how Broly’s exiled to a desolate planetoid by King Vegeta. All because he can’t handle the fact that Broly’s stronger than his son. Paragus goes to get him but gets stuck on the planet with him, which saves them from the Saiyans’ genocide. That takes up thirty minutes. Flashforward to the present day, Paragus and Broly get rescued by Frieza’s men. Frieza then takes Broly the two to Earth so he can fight Goku and Vegeta while he steals the Dragon Balls.

Broly

Unlike the psychopathic monster we grew up knowing, the new Broly is a kind soul who can’t control his power. He fights, but only to protect the people he cares about. His father Paragus forced him to become a warrior, even using a shock collar to keep him in line. I’ve seen that kind of thing used on animals, so I loathe it with all my heart.

After spending a little less than half the film building it up, we finally get to the fight we’ve been waiting for. And it is worth it! Goku and Vegeta don’t hold anything back in the fight, but Broly manages to keep pace with them. I won’t say what happens as that’s part of the fun, but it’s the best animation I’ve seen since Battle of Gods.

Before I get into the good stuff, I want to voice the one complaint I have about the film: the prologue.

Put. The Pitchforks. Down.

The Prologue

I loved the prologue. It helps build up the universe. Although, was adapting the Goku origin story from Jaco necessary? It may be me being mad that it erases Bardock: the Father of Goku from the canon, but it seemed like extra padding. It could have been an extra short released online or something, but it had no bearing on the plot.

Now that that’s done, let’s say what I loved about the film. First off, I love how they changed Broly’s backstory. He’s no longer motivated by what Team Four Star dubs “really dumb” and a “crying infant“. Yeah, they traded off his hatred of Goku, but now he has a personality and friends.

Speaking of whom, I like the new additions to the Frieza Force, Lemo and Cheelai.

I loved these two characters, and think that including them was the smartest thing the movie did. Usually they’re only cannon fodder I never considered that there might actually be decent people in them.

New Characters

First we have Lemo, the old veteran and grandfatherly figure. He’s been in the Frieza Force since the time of King Cold. Put that into perspective: more than fifty years! That’s impressive considering the Frieza Force was almost non-existent by the time the Tournament of Power ends.

On the opposite side, we have Cheelai, the young and impulsive delinquent. Right off the bat, it’s made clear that she’s meant to be the new “Ms. Fanservice” for Dragon Ball. We get several scenes of her that are supposed to be suggestive. Case in point:

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I thought she was cute and plenty of others do, as well. People wouldn’t stop laughing at this stuff in theaters. She’s more than just eye-candy, though. She has an actual personality. She’s quirky, kind, impulsive and acts on her emotions without a second thought. She’s the opposite of Lemo, and that’s what makes their dynamic work and they become the friends Broly needs to stay grounded. I genuinely hope to see more of them in the future of the franchise.

Minor Spoilers

While I won’t say what happens, I have to spoil some of it for my next good point: Frieza and Broly both live. Frieza got brought back after the Tournament of Power, and even though I hate him, I freaked out over whether he’d die. He’s a good villain, and it would be a waste to kill him after bringing back again. We will see him again, one day soon. As for Broly, he’s safe and sound. Something tells me that we will be seeing him again soon. And I can’t wait to see where he goes from here!

All in all, this movie was the hype that it had built itself up to be, and signals the start of an amazing new chapter in Dragon Ball. It may have stumbled a little at the start, but it rockets to the finish line. If this is what they came up with to top the Tournament of Power, then I can’t wait for what’s next.

I give Dragon Ball Super: Broly 4.5/5 stars. Saiyans have no limits.

Some Stray Observations

• Anyone catch the remark about Vegeta being “Vegeta IV”? Who are the first two Vegetas?
• Kid Raditz is so adorable! But still worthless.

• Cheelai= new fanservice material. See?

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• Who were those other two Saiyans that were with Nappa, Vegeta, and Raditz? We never heard anything about them. What happened to them!?!
• I will pay money to see Frieza get beaten up by Broly for an hour.
• This movie made $7 million opening day. That’s another sign that anime has become mainstream!

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or click here to see my reviews for various films.

2019 will be upon us in a matter of hours, and there is already so much to look forward to. It is a tradition of mine every time the new year rolls around to look over all the things that I have to look forward to in 2019. Now that I have this blog, I thought “why not share it with everyone?”

Then I suddenly realized that a lot of the things I have to look forward to in the new year involve the end to stories that I have followed for years. So I decided to call 2019 “The Year of Endings”.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly

BROLY’S LEGEND FIRST BEGAN IN 1993, WITH BICEPS BIGGER THAN GOKU’S HEAD AND A HEART THAT LONGED TO BE FREE!

Broly Chronicles, Team Four Star

This is the Dragon Ball film that fans have waiting for. The reason can be summed up in a single, five-letter word: B-R-O-L-Y.

Debuting in the 1993 film Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, Broly has proven to be among the most popular villains in the Dragon Ball franchise. This is in spite of the criticism to his backstory, which Team Four Star has summed up as being “really dumb”. So when it was announced that a reworked version of Broly was going to be the main villain in the next Dragon Ball film, fans went bananas. It premieres on January 16th in the US, and I got tickets for opening night. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I’m going to write about it after I’m done! If the reviews are any indication, though, I am not going to be disappointed.

Kingdom Hearts III

To say that I have been waiting for this game would be an understatement. It has been six years since Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. That’s the same amount of time since Square Enix first announced this game. On top of that, it’s been nearly fourteen years since Kingdom Hearts II came out. So, I have been waiting for a long time.

I’m gonna get that game, then I’m going to play it until I beat it on the hardest difficulty. It’s as simple as that. And I hope that it is one of the best games that I have ever played, or I am going to feel an empty hole in my heart for the rest of my days.

Captain Marvel

First referenced in the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War, she is going to be playing a big role in Avengers: Endgame. Before that happens though, Marvel is going to take us back to the origin of Captain Marvel.

Taking place in the 1990s, the movie is going to give us the origin story of the titular hero as she uncovers the secrets to her past as she protects Earth from an intergalactic war. It also shows more about the past of Nick Fury and how he came to know Captain Marvel. Plus, Phil Coulson will be coming back! He’s been plenty active in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but the last time he was on the big screen was in the original Avengers movie. This will be a welcome return.

With this being the only film left before Endgame, there’s a lot riding on this film. Knowing Marvel and Disney, I am not worried. It’s going to be weird seeing Blockbuster again, though.

Avengers: Endgame

Dear god, where do I even begin with this. There’s not enough time in the day. This is part two to the story that the MCU has been building up from since the very beginning. Everything we have seen, everything that has happened, has all led to this moment. Infinity War ended with the Avengers be completely defeated by Thanos as he wiped out half the universe. This movie is going to be about picking up the pieces and figuring out how to fix things. The stakes have never been higher.

I know that Thanos’ actions will be largely undone. The fact that there’s another Spider-Man film coming makes that clear. Still, there is no guarantee that not every hero is going to make it out of this movie alive, which makes it all the more agonizing to have to wait for. If you’ve read the comics this is based on, you can get a bit of an idea of how this might end, but I am still excited to find out.

This film is going to mark the end of the MCU as we know it, with a new status quo being set up afterwards. It’s the end of an era for Marvel. Perhaps the most bittersweet thing about this film is that it will be one of the final confirmed appearances of Stan Lee doing his cameo. Something in my gut told me that the story of Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet was always going to be Stan Lee’s final cameo, and I was right. It’s fitting that the finale to this stage of the MCU will include a final appearance behind one of the men who created Marvel. I think I might cry when I see him.

Game of Thrones Season 8

For nine years, Game of Thrones has shocked and captivated audiences around the world. I could spend an entire blog talking about how big the show has become. But the Song of Ice and Fire will be coming to its end in April 2019. And it is going to be one of the biggest events in television history.

So many questions are going through my head about the final season: who is going to live? Who will die? Will Westeros survive the White Walkers or not? Given the show’s history, I will not be surprised to see some of the remaining characters die, but we simply don’t know which ones will! Everyone is on the chopping block in the finale; literally everyone. While I wish for either Jon or Daenerys to make it out of the show alive, I am trying to make peace with the fact that they may not.

There’s only one thing I want more than anything in the final season: to see Cersei Lannister die. If she dies, I hope it’s by one of the following:

• Jaime Lannister kills her himself.
• Arya Stark kills her
• If she is pregnant, she dies giving birth to a dwarf.

While I’d love for her demise to be violent and painful (she deserves it), I’m hoping it’s option three for ironic reasons. The best kind of reasons. If Westeros freezes over, I’ll at least have the satisfaction of seeing her get what she deserves.

Star Wars: Episode IX

The new Star Wars Trilogy will be coming to an end in 2019. Disney is keeping a really tight ship in regards to that, though, so I don’t have anything to show of it. What I do know is that it takes place one year after Episode VIII and that it claims it will be the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. I don’t know about that, but if this is the finale to Star Wars as we know it, then it’s going to have to work extra hard.

I’ve been on the fence about the sequel trilogy since the beginning, to be honest. I thought that Return of the Jedi was already a great way to wrap up the story of the Skywalkers. That, and the franchise had been carried on by books, TV shows, and video games that spanned into the future of the original cast and thousands of years into the past. It felt like a waste to see most of that shoved to the side. So I have taken the sequel trilogy with a grain of salt.

I also didn’t like how they turned Luke into, in my own words, a whiny old man. He was almost the complete opposite of the Luke I watched and read about as a kid. I just hope that this is going to be good.

End of the Road

The end of the road is always a bittersweet moment, but one that we have to deal with, eventually. I have so many things to look forward to in 2019, and many of them involve endings to stories that I have followed for years. Mind you, they are not ending for good. Game of Thrones already has a prequel series planned. I think Square Enix will continue Kingdom Hearts someday. And I know that Disney is not going to give up on Star Wars or the MCU. They already have the next Spider-Man film set for July.

It’s going to be an interesting year for everyone, and I honestly can’t wait to see what 2019 brings us. So, from me to you, HAPPY NEW YEAR!