Top 10 Movies of 2019

I went to the theater more than ever this year, clocking in at 36 different films I got tickets for. AMC A-List became my best friend, and thanks to a great slate of releases this year, I had good reason to leave the home for a theater experience. I truly do think that 2019 could be the best year in film this decade.

As is tradition, there are a few notable movies I want to hit on before I get into my full top ten list.

I talked about Rocketman in my review earlier this year, but it stood up incredibly well as time went on. It was largely underrated and under-seen which gives me another reason to tell people to seek out this fun, inventive, and introspective musical based on one of the all-time best performers.

Hustlers was the surprise hit of the year by far. It could have easily been a generic and boring heist-style movie, but with the deft direction of Lorene Scafaria, it became a visually appealing and fascinating story. J-Lo also deserves all the hype for her performance, as she just chews up every scene she’s in.

I’ve watched Long Shot three times since I saw a screening of it back in March. Once more when it came out in theaters, and twice more recently as it became available on HBO. I love Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron, I love the tight and hilarious script, and I love how easy it is to like this fantastic film.

Just as likable this year is Just Mercy. I was at a screening for this movie back in May, and I can’t wait for more people to see it when it releases wide in January. The story is the standout here, as the true tale of Bryan Stevenson’s beginnings as a world-renowned civil rights attorney comes to life with the help of two of my favorite people in Hollywood: Destin Daniel Cretton and Michael B. Jordan.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is quiet and loud, beautiful and ugly, touching and disheartening. A movie that explores love, freedom, and depression in an intimate and gorgeous two-hour runtime, this French film will hopefully release wide soon for everyone to experience. The costume design is flawless, but the small and contained story is what really kept me hooked.

10. The Farewell

Culture clash, family disagreements, and keeping secrets are not the most novel ideas for a movie, but writer/director Lulu Wang’s true-story premise takes these ideas up quite a few notches. The film focuses on an outstanding turn from Awkwafina, as the family discovers that her grandmother is sick with only a short time to live. Deciding to keep the aging matriarch in the dark about it, they schedule an impromptu wedding as an excuse for the whole family to see her again. It’s written and directed like a more grounded Wes Anderson movie, as the comedy of the situation overtakes the underlying drama, but it’s also a very heartfelt story that brings up tons of questions about “doing the right thing” and what that means for different people. Hilarious, understated, and warm, just as all great goodbyes are.

9. Waves

I don’t think I stared more seriously at a screen than I did for the entirety of Waves. It’s a very engrossing story that focuses on an African American family in Florida, more specifically on the two children, as the film switches its focus from the son to the daughter halfway through. This makes for a very odd style of storytelling, but I don’t want to delve further into why the change is made or how it’s portrayed because I really want more people to see and talk about this film. Sterling K. Brown is a standout in his supporting role as the father, but it’s the direction of Trey Edward Shults that carries much of the heavy lifting. A mix between the energy and gravity an episode of Euphoria brings, and the dreamy, music video style of a Harmony Korine flick, I couldn’t shake that same vision from my own eyes as I walked out of the theater to drive home. It’s a deep and vulnerable

movie that has continued to stick with me

long after the credits rolled.

8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Last year’s list featured Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and knowing this movie would come out this year, I had a pack of tissues at the ready. I may be a sucker for feel-good movies, fantastic Tom Hanks performances, and nostalgia tear-jerkers, but who isn’t? The moment the movie begins with the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood theme and Hanks does his whole intro to a T, I was hooked. The story of a reporter, known for harpooning every subject he interviews, taking an assignment to speak to Fred Rogers is heartfelt and runs much deeper than I ever thought it would. What also took me by surprise, though, is the adorable and beautiful production design that models transitions of travel and cities just like that of the miniatures created for the Mister Rogers show. The simplicity on the surface hides a deep inner core that I was happy to find, and Rogers’ “glass half full” look at

life shines through with warmth and love that

just feels good.

7. Little Women

This movie feels like a natural next step for Greta Gerwig. A timeless story about the importance of self, art, and free women coming on the heels of Lady Bird. She continues her great work with Saoirse Ronan and brings on Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen to play the March sisters. A terrific supporting cast of Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern, and Meryl Streep bring tons of great life to the movie as well, but how they all fit together is the greatest part of it all. The ensemble’s uncanny chemistry with each other feels just like a family coming together in a time of need and anchors the whole movie with whimsy, drama, and an endearing sense of togetherness. Gerwig continues to play with the camera and her directing style, as her tone as a filmmaker sets the stage just as much as the performances do for a wonderful and wholly enjoyable movie.

6. Parasite

If you weren’t paying attention to Bong Joon Ho before, now’s the time to start. He’s toyed with sticking his foot into western movies with Snowpiercer and Okja, but his Korean work is by far the most interesting. BJH has a penchant for writing movies that lampoon capitalism and Parasite is the best one yet. It centers on a poor family looking for a come-up any way they can. When the son gets a job as an in-home tutor for a wealthy high school student, the rest of the family devises a plan to piggyback off that success. It’s a crazy movie, and I’ll definitely leave it at that, as so much of the fun and intrigue of the film came because I knew very little going into it. Smart, funny, dark, and ultimately unforgettable, Parasite has taken the industry, and the world, by storm.

5. Avengers: Endgame

If we want to talk about the most fun and emotional elation I had with a movie this year, Avengers is the start and end of that conversation. The midnight screening was the best time I may have ever had in a theater all thanks to being surrounded by friends and fellow excited fans. Every big moment had its cheers because it felt earned, and it felt awesome. It was out of the question to think Marvel and The Russo Brothers could end this saga perfectly, but damn if they didn’t stick the landing as best as humanly possible. If you don’t know what you’re getting into, it may look like a mess of characters, CGI, and quippy jokes, but for everyone who’s been a fan since 2008, this is the movie that we’d always hoped would come to fruition.

4. Midsommar

There wasn’t a single movie this year that stuck in my head as well as Midsommar did. I wasn’t a big fan of Ari Aster’s last film, Hereditary, but this felt much more focused to me. Aster takes a new route with grief here as we center on Florence Pugh’s character dealing with the death of her family by following her boyfriend and his buddies on a trip to a European harvest festival where things are a little… weird. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for the entirety of the movie. Every scene has something fascinating to look at, especially as the film progresses. There was a sense in the theater as the lights came up of “what did I just watch?”. The difference I had with others in there was that I said that with a huge smile on my face, eager to dissect what I had seen and to watch it again. I gravitated a lot towards movies that felt weird or different this year, and Midsommar is the peak of that feeling.

3. Marriage Story

There’s a lot of people who will look at this movie as a vehicle for the fantastic acting of Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and the rest of the supporting cast. What I saw was writer/director Noah Baumbach solidifying himself as one of the best filmmakers out there. There are a lot of directors who fail to think about the viewer when making a movie, fewer directors who think about the viewer as a passive observer and let us watch the story play out in front of us, and even fewer directors who can let the viewer be a part of the story as well as Baumbach does in Marriage Story. As it opens with our two main characters reading beautiful monologues about each other with a montage illustrating the concepts they’re speaking towards, the viewer is instantly given a perfect portrait of who they are. We know the strengths, weaknesses, and stakes for both of them as their marriage falls apart. It’s done with heart, wit, and a

whole lot of strength. The more I think about this movie, the more I’ve become enamored with its excellence.

2. Joker

Another controversial pick here, I’m sure, but I’ve already given much of my opinion on this movie with my full review. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance has still stuck with me, Todd Phillips’s direction continues to make me look at other movies differently, and the story and themes of the movie are continually relevant. It is raw, unfiltered, and a weird and crazy ride, which is perhaps why so many people went to see it. The most unconventional movie of the billion-dollar club by far, Joker really seemed to capture the interest of the world. Of course, its ties to the Batman universe can be a draw into the film, but all of the repeat viewings aren’t because of its comic book counterpart. It’s simply a thought-provoking and altogether fascinating piece of work that proves how much room there is for experimentation with well-known characters.

1. Jojo Rabbit

After I finally watched Jojo, I took a deep dive into the reviews to see what made this movie so controversial. There are weird splits in opinion. Some say the concept isn’t taken far enough, while others say it’s taken too far. Some find the humor abrasive and too silly, and others call it humorless and unfunny. Most everyone I’ve talked to about this film, including myself, falls in the Goldilocks zone on these points. My favorite quote is from a 1/10 review from The Wall Street Journal: “[the movie] owes an overt debt to Mel Brooks and amounts to Springtime for Hitler Youth.” What is meant to be a dig, results in what I love about this movie the most. Equal parts hilarious and irreverent sendup of the genre like a Brooks film, sweet and tender tomfoolery like Wes Anderson’s movies, and tough affecting drama like the best Holocaust films, Jojo Rabbit becomes a completely new vision for Taika Waititi. Both of my theater viewings of this movie resulted in ample laughs, soft tears, and the warmest smile and heart I’ve had this year. I love this movie, and it is an easy pick for my favorite of the year.

As you can tell, I love to talk about movies, so if there’s anything you loved that I seemed to miss out on, hit me up! Type a comment, send me an email, give a call, do whatever so I can talk more about all of the films I saw this year.

UPDATE:

After finally getting the chance to see 1917, I can firmly say that I would slot that in at #8. Brilliantly directed and written by Sam Mendes, the movie breezes along with perfect pacing and looks absolutely gorgeous doing so. An affecting and enthralling wartime story, the acting was great, but the production design blew me away. Every battlefield scene is constructed beautifully with a wide variety of set dressings, and there's an incredible amount of variety in the settings which makes for a constantly refreshing view. I highly recommend seeing this in IMAX, Dolby, or some other high-quality audio and video setting, as it makes the film that much more engrossing.