Avengers: Endgame

An area came to an end. After 10 years the first big chapter of the Avengers has closed, and it was time to say goodbye. Thanos has succeed and for a short time the future of the world has looked dark. After gathering the infinity stones during time travel, the Avengers are able to reverse everything and fight Thanos once more. Only through Iron Man’s sacrifice the heroes are able to defeat him and make sure that the world is safe again. – Isabella Stocka

Frozen 2

As expected, Frozen 2 was an absolute delight to watch! With its darker setting and plot in comparison to the first one, this one takes on a much more serious tone and manages to pull in its older audience. The beautiful songs in combination with the amazing animation really made this film for me and I would even dare say this trumped the first one! Go see it! – Julia Fleur

Rocketman

Amazing biopic about the life of Elton John portrayed by Taron Egerton. Elton John has a long hard way behind him to become the person he is today. His childhood was not a happy one and he was a drug addict and had bulimia. Not to mention all the people he met in his life who did not meant it good with him. Egerton is the perfect person for this role and also took upon singing himself in the movie. It is an amazing movie with great reinterpretation of John’s most famous songs. – Isabella Stocka

Hustlers

Jennifer Lopez is truly at her best in this movie. Strippers taking advantage of powerful, privileged white men? I think yes. If you watched the trailer and thought this movie would be trashy and fun, it is. But it’s also a thrilling revenge story against the Wall Street men who were responsible for the recession in the United States in 2008. There’s a surprising amount of heart in this movie, and you’ll find yourself rooting for all the girls and their friendship with each other, especially between Destiny and Ramona. If you have the chance to watch this movie, definitely take it. – Gabby Gamez

Doctor Sleep

I’m not lying when I said I squealed a little when I heard the iconic soundtrack from the intro of The Shining (1980), live on cinema. This is how you bring back a story, 39 years after the original one aired. I mostly adore how they’re not trying to adjust this movie with today’s trends in horror, but instead took their time to deliver a slow-paced yet still just as gripping as before. And I must say that I just discovered a new favorite villain from this movie, aka Ms. Rose the Hat. – Vinny MS

Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

With an Aardman animations film you know you are guaranteed two things: it will be beautifully animated – with a staggering eye for detail – and it will be funny. Following on from 2015’s successful Shaun the Sheep Movie, Farmageddon is, basically, E.T. with sheep and an Aardman sense of humour. It’s also packed with enough Sci-Fi gags and references – including nods to Star Trek, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and H.G. Wells, just within the opening five minutes (as well as one of the best 2001: A Space Odyssey gags ever) – to make this (and every other) nerd squeal with delight. The best part is that it’s not done ostentatiously; they were clearly put in because the people behind the movie love the genre, they thought the gags and references were funny and they’re there to spot if you can. – Carolyn Percy

Avengers: Endgame

2019 seems to be the year of conclusions and what conclusion could top Avengers: Endgame? Following the tragic events at the end of Infinity War, Endgame continues the Avengers’ quest to bring their friends back and defeat Thanos for good. Filled with intense action sequences, a killer script and a decades worth of superheroes, this finale to the world’s biggest franchise delivers on every element and gives its loyal followers a well deserved pay off. Endgame is funny, tragic and undeniably one of the greatest comic book films ever made. Avengers: Endgame is available to rent and buy now. – Tom Hitchen

What was your favourite 2019 movie? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The Nerd Daily’s Favourite 2019 Movies appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Directed by Lorene Scafaria
Starring Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer

When Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona extends her arm, draping open an expensive coat against a backdrop of a light-speckled skyline and says “climb into this fur” between puffs on a cigarette, it is not easy to see where this film will take you. But, hand in hand with Constance Wu’s, Destiny and nestled beside Lopez, in a stunning, career best performance, Hustlers navigates you through an entertaining, thrilling tale of money, greed, power and family. And it’s one heck of a ride.

Inspired by Jessica Pressler’s New York magazine article, Hustlers follows amateur stripper Destiny as she struggles to earn money and ends up, quite literally, in the arms of star performer Ramona, who teaches her the tricks of the trade. When Wall Street crashes, the women go broke and the two conceive a notorious plan to drug its wealthiest and steal their money back.

The strongest part of the film comes from its all-star line-up. Alongside Wu and Lopez, are Riverdale alum, Lili Reinhart playing the gentle and coy Annabelle, and Scream Queens’ Keke Palmer who shines as feisty Mercedes. Singers Cardi B and Lizzo also star in iconic roles that just creep over the cameo line and give us some memorable, hilarious moments in a film absolutely drenched in standout one-liners and perfectly timed vomit scenes (yes, Lili Reinhart did that.)

Lopez gives everything she’s got in this defining role as Ramona. From an opening scene that will make your jaw drop, to softer, more nuanced interactions with her fellow cast, the seasoned actress shows the breadth of her acting prowess and delivers both humour and dramatics in equal measure. Wu is a knockout too. Having most recently starred in the blockbuster hit, Crazy Rich Asians, this is another standout performance for the actress. Naïve and cunning, Wu’s Destiny is a tour de force and pushes the film along with pace, letting the actress show us how Destiny has changed over the years, rather than telling us outright. It’s as intriguing as it is confident.

A note on the ensemble work needs to be mentioned, as well as the brilliant direction by Lorene Scafaria (writer of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist), where the cast seamlessly work into each other’s hands. No one seems out of place in this hectic, loud piece of cinema. A scene early on featuring a pair of new boobs, a homemade chocolate cake, and a vibrator, all packed into a tight dressing room, is perfectly fitted together and captures each vignette with careful precision, letting us know from the off that this film is in experienced, yet joyously unpredictable, hands.

The film does more than just showcase the women’s acting chops. It pulls back the velvet curtain into the often chaotic, and yet intimately delicate territory of sex work. The stripping, the dancing, and the bright lights, while adding a stunning visual element to the film, do not outshine the story of a young girl trying to make ends meet in the highly stigmatised world of stripping. Through the relationships between each of the women, their need to be “independent” and the role of motherhood, Hustlers combats stereotypes and offers a commentary on what it’s like on the frontline of such a polarising career.

While these women can all pull focus with their alluring magnetism, there is something to be said about the technical craft of the film. Todd Banhazl’s cinematography is an aesthetic wonderland: neon lights smudge across the screen in a way not dissimilar to that of a Blade Runner epic; crisp, close up shots frame the actors perfectly and then pull back out, slowing time down, and letting the women, particularly Lopez, do what they do best – command a screen. From this standpoint, the film is expertly crafted. The only time things feel jarred is when Hustlers switches between the present day and the past. Destiny’s interview with Julia Stiles’ journalist Elizabeth, while acted beautifully, is centred around the recording, and therefore narration, of Destiny’s illegal exploits. Stylistically, it doesn’t slot in quite right and the film struggles to balance both the heightened glitz of the strip club lifestyle and the almost clinical interaction between reporter and interviewee. It’s not enough to derail the film, however.

Scafaria has done a tremendous job, capturing at once the heart of these women as well as the thrilling tension needed to sit in the con movie genre. It’s powerful, evocative and gloriously modern, giving this all female cast room to really play. Through all the rights and wrongs these characters pull you through, it’s hard not to root for them throughout the whole thing. Hustlers is intoxicatingly mesmerising and celebrates womanhood in a way not usually seen on screen.

In a film that’s stuffed full of stunning acting talent, Scafaria has seized the con movie with both hands and given us a dramatic, hilarious tribute to female empowerment. Under the very capable wings of Lopez and Wu, Hustlers soars and lands with a platform-heeled thud as one of the best films of the year.

What did you think of Hustlers? Tell us in the comments below!

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The Goldfinch

Based on the novel by Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch follows a  boy in New York who is taken in by a wealthy Upper East Side family after his mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Starring Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver), Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!), Susan Sarandon, Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story), and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things).

IT Chapter Two
Trailer

Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back. Starring Bill Skarsgard, Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), James McAvoy (Split), Bill Hader (Barry), and Jay Ryan (The CW’s Beauty and the Beast).

Hustlers

Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. Starring Jennifer Lopez (Shades of Blue), Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians), Lili Reinhart (Riverdale), and Keke Palmer (Scream Queens).

Abominable
Trailer

When teenage Yi encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in Shanghai, she and her mischievous friends, Jin and Peng, name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish, a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara to help Everest get home. Featuring the voices of Chloe Bennet (Agents of SHIELD), Tenzing Norgay Trainor (Liv and Maddie), Albert Tsai (Dr. Ken), and Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story).

Downton Abbey

The continuing story of the Crawley family, wealthy owners of a large estate in the English countryside in the early 20th century. Starring the beloved cast of the television series, Downton Abbey!

Judy
Trailer

Legendary performer Judy Garland arrives in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts. Starring Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones’s Diary), Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones), and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter).

Ad Astra

An astronaut travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. He uncovers secrets which challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos. Starring Brad Pitt (Mr and Mrs Smith), Liv Tyler (The Lord of the Rings), and Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For Old Men).

Rambo: Last Blood
Trailer

Rambo must confront his past and unearth his ruthless combat skills to exact revenge in a final mission.

Are there any September movies you’re excited to see? Tell us in the comments below!

The post September 2019 Movie Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.