Film Year In Review--2019
It's time for our eagerly awaited annual film wrap-up.
2019 offered a varied slate of films, but not a particularly good one. Most of my top ten wouldn't have made it in a decent year. I should note there were a number of celebrated films I didn't see--particularly foreign films--but I think I saw enough to make my list worthwhile.
Before we start, a few ground rules. I discuss only feature films released or made widely available in U. S. theatres in 2019. This means no shorts and no TV, though the latter distinction is getting more complicated. A number of major titles last year were released in theatres but soon after made available on streaming services such as Netflix. Which, as unfair as it may seem, means I will consider those I saw in a theatre (e.g., Marriage Story, The Irishman, Les Miserables) but not those I saw on television (e.g., Dolemite Is My Name, The Two Popes, The Laundromat).
I also saw quite a few independent films you've never heard of. I'll try to be fair with them, though I admit it's hard not to make allowances for micro-budget projects. (I also saw a rough cut of a bigger budget film set to be released this year, and I promised not to talk about it till then, so for that you'll have to wait for my 2020 wrap-up.)
I will give out some awards, note some trends and tell you which films were good, bad and ugly--and I was very charitable, rounding up. Then I'll list my top ten. You can rush to the bottom right now to see the list (and a bonus), but really, the best stuff is along the way.
Feel free to leave a comment, whether you agree or not. In fact, comments tend to be better when you don't agree.
I will give out some awards, note some trends and tell you which films were good, bad and ugly--and I was very charitable, rounding up. Then I'll list my top ten. You can rush to the bottom right now to see the list (and a bonus), but really, the best stuff is along the way.
Feel free to leave a comment, whether you agree or not. In fact, comments tend to be better when you don't agree.
2019 AWARDS
Actor Of The Year: Florence Pugh, who gave notable performances in three different films, Fighting With My Family, Midsommar and Little Women.
Star Of The Year: Nicolas Cage. He starred in six movies--Grand Isle, Primal, Kill Chain, Running With The Devil, Color Out Of Space and A Score To Settle. I only saw three of them, though that's three more than most people.
Best Impersonation: Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell.
Best Appearance As Himself: John Amos (blink and you'll miss him) plays an uncooperative neighbor named John Amos in Uncut Gems.
Most Bizarre Performance: Matthew McConaughey as a snaggle-toothed stoner-poet in The Beach Bum.
Best Sequel: Zombieland: Double Tap (worth the wait)
Worst Sequel: It Chapter 2 (and the first one wasn't much either)
Worst End To A Saga: Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Most Disappointing Sequel: Happy Death Day 2U -- the first film was a low-budget winner. The second one adds nothing, maybe even takes away something.
Worst Film That Sets Up A Sequel That Likely Won't Happen: Alita: Battle Angel
Best Reboot: Joker (not sure if it's a reboot, but it's certainly a new take on an oft-seen villain)
Worst Reboot: Charlie's Angels
Most Pointless Reboot: Men In Black: International (was anyone waiting for an MiB without Will Smith?)
Put It Out Of Its Misery Award: Terminator: Dark Fate--they keep trying to revive this franchise when the audience doesn't want it.
Worst Remake: The one that was the biggest hit, The Lion King.
Best Half Movie: Waves. It's essentially two movies, and I'm sorry, I liked the first one better.
Most Extended Fight Scenes: John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum
WTF Award: The Lighthouse
Most Generic Title: Marriage Story
Movie That Was Better Than You'd Think Based On The Concept: Framing John DeLorean
Scariest Film: Cats (I was so frightened by the trailer I didn't see it)
Best Impersonation: Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell.
Best Appearance As Himself: John Amos (blink and you'll miss him) plays an uncooperative neighbor named John Amos in Uncut Gems.
Most Bizarre Performance: Matthew McConaughey as a snaggle-toothed stoner-poet in The Beach Bum.
Best Sequel: Zombieland: Double Tap (worth the wait)
Worst Sequel: It Chapter 2 (and the first one wasn't much either)
Worst End To A Saga: Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Most Disappointing Sequel: Happy Death Day 2U -- the first film was a low-budget winner. The second one adds nothing, maybe even takes away something.
Worst Film That Sets Up A Sequel That Likely Won't Happen: Alita: Battle Angel
Best Reboot: Joker (not sure if it's a reboot, but it's certainly a new take on an oft-seen villain)
Worst Reboot: Charlie's Angels
Most Pointless Reboot: Men In Black: International (was anyone waiting for an MiB without Will Smith?)
Put It Out Of Its Misery Award: Terminator: Dark Fate--they keep trying to revive this franchise when the audience doesn't want it.
Worst Remake: The one that was the biggest hit, The Lion King.
Best Half Movie: Waves. It's essentially two movies, and I'm sorry, I liked the first one better.
Most Extended Fight Scenes: John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum
WTF Award: The Lighthouse
Most Generic Title: Marriage Story
Movie That Was Better Than You'd Think Based On The Concept: Framing John DeLorean
Scariest Film: Cats (I was so frightened by the trailer I didn't see it)
Best Opening Credits: Jojo Rabbit. I've been waiting for a long time to hear "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand" in a movie.
Most Bizarre Plot: Flashout, a small film that few saw. I'm trying my best to reconstruct it. It's about three beautiful women who live in an alternate universe. They play a virtual reality game where they have Flashpoints with game characters, which apparently lead to a strong sexual feeling but also destroy the character they're playing with. They figure they'll get in a quick round before doing other things, but soon discover the game is different. It turns out they've been transported to Earth. Meanwhile, they're being chased by a being from another reality who hasn't quite adapted to Earth but needs to catch them to shut down the virtual reality game. They're mostly unaware of what's happening, and have a number of weird adventures, mostly dealing with being in an escort service, since their Flashpoint abilities are very popular. Will they get back to their universe before the hole between the two realities is closed? If you can find a copy, please let me know since I'm no longer sure about anything, though I promise you it's a real movie and not a dream--it's on IMDb.
Least Believable Scene: From The Kitchen (which many would say was the least believable movie). The wives of some recently jailed criminals want more financial help from the guys in the gang still at large. So they go to a gang meeting and give them some cookies. The women get tossed out, and then the new head of the gang throws the cookies in the trash. Sorry, but why throw out perfectly good cookies?
Best Song: "My Bathroom" from Bathtubs Over Broadway.
Worst Score: Uncut Gems gave me enough of a headache without all that music.
Babette's Feast Award For Best Food Porn: Downton Abbey. Runner-up--Little Women, which had some nice old-time spreads. Second runner-up--Parasite, though they mess with the food too much.
First Man Award For The Film That Tries All Too Successfully To Avoid Excess Emotion: Ad Astra.
Jason Statham Award For Actor Who Appears In One Bad Film After Another But Still Manages To Be Appealing: Jessica Chastain, who had a poor year with X-Men: Dark Phoenix and It Chapter 2.
You Me And Dupree Award For The Film That While Nominally A Hollywood Comedy Is Actually A Surrealist Masterpiece Where Plot Points Are Introduced And Dropped For No Reason, Dialogue Is Unrelated To The Action, And Characters Do Things That Bear No Resemblance To How Humans Act: Stuber
House Of Sand And Fog Award For Miserable People Doing Miserable Things That Ends Up In Misery: Uncut Gems
Worst Title: Doctor Sleep. It's a sequel to The Shining. I don't care if it's the name of the Stephen King novel--I was so put off by the title I didn't go.
Most Work To Get An Actor Into A Sequel: Bill Murray appears in Zombieland: Double Tap--and not as a zombie--though he died in the original.
I Liked This Film Better When They Called It Erin Brockovich: Dark Waters
I Liked This Film Better When They Called It Bonnie And Clyde: Queen & Slim
TRENDS AND OBSERVATIONS
By The Numbers: First Love, Second Act, 3 Days With Dad, 3 From Hell, Five Feet Apart, The Russian Five, 7 Days To Vegas, 10 Minutes Gone, Apollo 11, 21 Bridges, 47 Meters Down, 1917, 3022
Take Your Places: Stockholm, Virginia Minnesota, Canal Street, The Last Black Man In San Francisco, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Under The Silver Lake, Arctic, Spider-Man: Far Away From Home, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, The Wandering Earth, The Hidden World, The Sun Is Also A Star
All Wet: Dark Waters, Aquarela, Waves, Frozen II, Under The Silver Lake,
That's About The Size Of It: Little, Little Women, Long Shot, Five Feet Apart, The Biggest Little Farm, Long Lost
We Are Family: Family, Ma, The Addams Family, Good Boys, Motherless Brooklyn, Honey Boy, Fighting With My Family, A Brother's Love, One Child Nation, Marriage Story
Say My Name: Say My Name, Harriet, Phil, Judy, Stuber, Pinksy, Shaft, Aladdin, Richard Jewell, The Glicksmans, Luce, Diane, Frankie, Greta, Anna, Gloria Bell, Brian Banks, Red Joan, Queen & Slim, Matthias & Maxime, Hobbs & Shaw, Goodnight Charlene, The Addams Family, Alita: Battle Angel, Where'd You Go Bernadette, Brittany Runs A Marathon, Jay And Silent Bob Reboot, Ben Is Back, Lucy In The Sky, Love Antosha, The Death Of Dick Long, Jojo Rabbit
Color My World: Red Joan, More Than Blue, The White Crow, Black And Blue, The Sky Is Pink, Ash Is The Purest White, The Cold Blue, Black Christmas, Greener Grass, Dora And The Lost City Of Gold, Men In Black: International
Turn On The Light: Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, Dark Waters, Terminator: Dark Fate, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Late Night, Blinded By The Light, The Lighthouse, Bright Ones
Creature Comforts: Cats, Penguins, The Mustang, The Nightingale, Arctic Dogs, The White Crow, The Goldfinch, Dumbo, The Lion King, Spider-Man, The Secret Life Of Pets, A Dog's Journey, Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Pet Sematary, Birds Of Passage, Mia And The White Lion, The Hummingbird Project, The Giant Spider Invasion, Dogman, The Unicorn
Afterlife: Angel Has Fallen, The Dead Don't Die, Alita: Battle Angel, Jumanji: The Next Level, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Pet Sematary, Hail Satan?, Running With The Devil, 3 From Hell, Charlie's Angels
Trouble At The Box Office: Safe Spaces and No Safe Spaces were playing at the same time.
Scariest Moment: Happened during It Chapter Two. Nothing to do with what was on the screen, of course. This was one of those theatres with electric recliner seats. In the middle of the film, the unoccupied seat next to mine started reclining for no reason. Spooky.
Fair Weather Woody: In the first three Toy Story movies, Woody is the toy most dedicated to making his child happy. Then in Part 4 the kid puts him in the closet and suddenly Woody, who's made so many speeches about steadfastness, decides to skip out on the child.
Truth In Art: There were only four people in the theatre. One of them was a beautiful young woman who was actually in the movie. She apologized beforehand for how bad it would be. (To protect her identity I won't mention the title, but it's an indie film you almost certainly didn't see.)
Beatles Versus Bruce: Yesterday--the story of one man reintroducing the songs of The Beatles to the world--was a hit. Meanwhile, Blinded By The Light, about a teenager in 1980s Britain who loves Bruce Springsteen's music, flopped. As did Springsteen concert film Western Stars.
Worst Trend: A tie. First, too many films over two hours. Films should be as long as they need to be, but so many films over two hours test my patience and my bladder. Second, a little too much lecturing. If you want to have a message, fine, but a good (or bad) message doesn't effect the quality of the film, though talking down to your audience does.
RANKINGS
GOOD
Antiquities, Arctic, Fighting With My Family, Apollo 11, Joseph Pulitzer: Voice Of The People, Transit, Shazam!, Hotel Mumbai, Diane, Family, General Magic, Aladdin, The Souvenir, Loopers: The Caddie's Long Walk, Say My Name, Framing John DeLorean, Sword Of Trust, Love Antosha, Honeyland, Fiddler: Miracle Of Miracles, Joker, Friedkin Uncut, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice, Running With The Devil, Pain And Glory, Parasite, Zombieland 2, Knives Out, Les Miserables, Waves, Bombshell, Varda By Agnes
OKAY
Adult Life Skills, Cold Pursuit, West Of Sunshine, Goodnight Charlene, Pinsky, The Last Resort, Virginia Minnesota, Dragged Across Concrete, Flashout, The Beach Bum, Long Lost, The Holy Fail, Under The Silver Lake, Avengers: Endgame, Long Shot, Room For Rent, Non-Fiction, John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum, The Professor, Dumbo, In Echo Park, Toy Story 4, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Phil, The Art Of Self-Defense, David Crosby: Remember My Name, Yesterday, Mike Wallace Is Here, The Kitchen, Good Boys, Angel Has Fallen, Brittany Runs A Marathon, Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool, 7 Days To Vegas, Judy, The Glicksmans, Jojo Rabbit, Semper Fi, The Parts You Lose, Motherless Brooklyn, The Lighthouse, The Irishman (might have been ranked higher if they cut an hour from it), Honey Boy, Primal, Marriage Story, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, 3022, Frozen II, Recorded: The Marion Stokes Project, What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael, Jumanji: The Next Level, Dark Waters, Little Women, Give Me Liberty
NOT OKAY
The Upside, Glass, The Unicorn, The Wandering Earth, Alita: Battle Angel, Isn't It Romantic, Donnybrook, The Bellwether, Billboard, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Captain Marvel, Us, High Life, What Men Want, The Dirty King, Booksmart, Rocketman, Relaxer, Late Night, Midsommar, Stuber, Summer Night, Hobbs & Shaw, Where'd You Go Bernadette?, Blinded By The Light, Killerman, Aquarela, It Chapter 2, Hustlers, Ad Astra, Downton Abbey, 3 Days With Dad, Ready Or Not, 10 Minutes Gone, First Love, Gemini Man, The Lion King, Greener Grass, Terminator: Dark Fate, Charlie's Angels, Locusts, Grand Isle, Queen And Slim, Uncut Gems, Happy Death Day 2U, Little, Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, Men In Black: International, Lost Holiday, 21 Bridges
TOP TEN (in alphabetical order):
1917
A technical achievement that would mean nothing if the story didn't work.
Bathtubs Over Broadway
The parallel universe of musicals.
Birds Of Passage/Dogman/In The Aisles
Three foreign-language films that deserve more attention.
The Death Of Dick Long
An unusual mix of comedy and drama about people who want to see a man about a horse.
The Farewell
Family problems are the same everywhere, but also different (which we also see in Parasite).
Ford V Ferrari
An old-style Hollywood rouser of the type we rarely see these days.
A Hidden Life
Terrence Malick with an actual plot.
Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Tarantino's best since Inglourious Basterds, and his most personal. I'm amazed he got away with it--not rewriting history, but having half an hour of plot in a two and a half hour movie.
Richard Jewell
A no-nonsense retelling that has all the drama of the actual story.
They Will Not Grow Old
WWI helped shape the modern world, and (like 1917) this film brought it back to life on ground level.
BONUS LIST: TOP FIFTEEN OF THE DECADE
3 Idiots
The Cabin In The Woods
Columbus
Edge Of Tomorrow
Exit Through The Gift Shop
The Florida Project
Guardians Of The Galaxy
I, Tonya
Kick-Ass
La La Land
Roma
Tangled
The Tree Of Life
Upstream Color
Zero Dark Thirty
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Dogtooth, Winter's Bone, City Island, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit, Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Safety Not Guaranteed, Seven Psychopaths, American Hustle, Gravity, Room 237, Rush, The One I Love, Ant-Man, Faults, Tangerine, What We Do In The Shadows, Korla, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, The Big Sick, The Post, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Wind River, Your Name, The Death Of Stalin, Eighth Grade, Free Solo, Green Book, Faces Places
Most Bizarre Plot: Flashout, a small film that few saw. I'm trying my best to reconstruct it. It's about three beautiful women who live in an alternate universe. They play a virtual reality game where they have Flashpoints with game characters, which apparently lead to a strong sexual feeling but also destroy the character they're playing with. They figure they'll get in a quick round before doing other things, but soon discover the game is different. It turns out they've been transported to Earth. Meanwhile, they're being chased by a being from another reality who hasn't quite adapted to Earth but needs to catch them to shut down the virtual reality game. They're mostly unaware of what's happening, and have a number of weird adventures, mostly dealing with being in an escort service, since their Flashpoint abilities are very popular. Will they get back to their universe before the hole between the two realities is closed? If you can find a copy, please let me know since I'm no longer sure about anything, though I promise you it's a real movie and not a dream--it's on IMDb.
Least Believable Scene: From The Kitchen (which many would say was the least believable movie). The wives of some recently jailed criminals want more financial help from the guys in the gang still at large. So they go to a gang meeting and give them some cookies. The women get tossed out, and then the new head of the gang throws the cookies in the trash. Sorry, but why throw out perfectly good cookies?
Best Song: "My Bathroom" from Bathtubs Over Broadway.
Worst Score: Uncut Gems gave me enough of a headache without all that music.
Babette's Feast Award For Best Food Porn: Downton Abbey. Runner-up--Little Women, which had some nice old-time spreads. Second runner-up--Parasite, though they mess with the food too much.
First Man Award For The Film That Tries All Too Successfully To Avoid Excess Emotion: Ad Astra.
Jason Statham Award For Actor Who Appears In One Bad Film After Another But Still Manages To Be Appealing: Jessica Chastain, who had a poor year with X-Men: Dark Phoenix and It Chapter 2.
You Me And Dupree Award For The Film That While Nominally A Hollywood Comedy Is Actually A Surrealist Masterpiece Where Plot Points Are Introduced And Dropped For No Reason, Dialogue Is Unrelated To The Action, And Characters Do Things That Bear No Resemblance To How Humans Act: Stuber
House Of Sand And Fog Award For Miserable People Doing Miserable Things That Ends Up In Misery: Uncut Gems
Worst Title: Doctor Sleep. It's a sequel to The Shining. I don't care if it's the name of the Stephen King novel--I was so put off by the title I didn't go.
Most Work To Get An Actor Into A Sequel: Bill Murray appears in Zombieland: Double Tap--and not as a zombie--though he died in the original.
I Liked This Film Better When They Called It Erin Brockovich: Dark Waters
I Liked This Film Better When They Called It Bonnie And Clyde: Queen & Slim
TRENDS AND OBSERVATIONS
By The Numbers: First Love, Second Act, 3 Days With Dad, 3 From Hell, Five Feet Apart, The Russian Five, 7 Days To Vegas, 10 Minutes Gone, Apollo 11, 21 Bridges, 47 Meters Down, 1917, 3022
Take Your Places: Stockholm, Virginia Minnesota, Canal Street, The Last Black Man In San Francisco, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Under The Silver Lake, Arctic, Spider-Man: Far Away From Home, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, The Wandering Earth, The Hidden World, The Sun Is Also A Star
All Wet: Dark Waters, Aquarela, Waves, Frozen II, Under The Silver Lake,
That's About The Size Of It: Little, Little Women, Long Shot, Five Feet Apart, The Biggest Little Farm, Long Lost
We Are Family: Family, Ma, The Addams Family, Good Boys, Motherless Brooklyn, Honey Boy, Fighting With My Family, A Brother's Love, One Child Nation, Marriage Story
Say My Name: Say My Name, Harriet, Phil, Judy, Stuber, Pinksy, Shaft, Aladdin, Richard Jewell, The Glicksmans, Luce, Diane, Frankie, Greta, Anna, Gloria Bell, Brian Banks, Red Joan, Queen & Slim, Matthias & Maxime, Hobbs & Shaw, Goodnight Charlene, The Addams Family, Alita: Battle Angel, Where'd You Go Bernadette, Brittany Runs A Marathon, Jay And Silent Bob Reboot, Ben Is Back, Lucy In The Sky, Love Antosha, The Death Of Dick Long, Jojo Rabbit
Color My World: Red Joan, More Than Blue, The White Crow, Black And Blue, The Sky Is Pink, Ash Is The Purest White, The Cold Blue, Black Christmas, Greener Grass, Dora And The Lost City Of Gold, Men In Black: International
Turn On The Light: Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, Dark Waters, Terminator: Dark Fate, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Late Night, Blinded By The Light, The Lighthouse, Bright Ones
Creature Comforts: Cats, Penguins, The Mustang, The Nightingale, Arctic Dogs, The White Crow, The Goldfinch, Dumbo, The Lion King, Spider-Man, The Secret Life Of Pets, A Dog's Journey, Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Pet Sematary, Birds Of Passage, Mia And The White Lion, The Hummingbird Project, The Giant Spider Invasion, Dogman, The Unicorn
Afterlife: Angel Has Fallen, The Dead Don't Die, Alita: Battle Angel, Jumanji: The Next Level, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Pet Sematary, Hail Satan?, Running With The Devil, 3 From Hell, Charlie's Angels
Trouble At The Box Office: Safe Spaces and No Safe Spaces were playing at the same time.
Scariest Moment: Happened during It Chapter Two. Nothing to do with what was on the screen, of course. This was one of those theatres with electric recliner seats. In the middle of the film, the unoccupied seat next to mine started reclining for no reason. Spooky.
Fair Weather Woody: In the first three Toy Story movies, Woody is the toy most dedicated to making his child happy. Then in Part 4 the kid puts him in the closet and suddenly Woody, who's made so many speeches about steadfastness, decides to skip out on the child.
Truth In Art: There were only four people in the theatre. One of them was a beautiful young woman who was actually in the movie. She apologized beforehand for how bad it would be. (To protect her identity I won't mention the title, but it's an indie film you almost certainly didn't see.)
Beatles Versus Bruce: Yesterday--the story of one man reintroducing the songs of The Beatles to the world--was a hit. Meanwhile, Blinded By The Light, about a teenager in 1980s Britain who loves Bruce Springsteen's music, flopped. As did Springsteen concert film Western Stars.
Worst Trend: A tie. First, too many films over two hours. Films should be as long as they need to be, but so many films over two hours test my patience and my bladder. Second, a little too much lecturing. If you want to have a message, fine, but a good (or bad) message doesn't effect the quality of the film, though talking down to your audience does.
RANKINGS
GOOD
Antiquities, Arctic, Fighting With My Family, Apollo 11, Joseph Pulitzer: Voice Of The People, Transit, Shazam!, Hotel Mumbai, Diane, Family, General Magic, Aladdin, The Souvenir, Loopers: The Caddie's Long Walk, Say My Name, Framing John DeLorean, Sword Of Trust, Love Antosha, Honeyland, Fiddler: Miracle Of Miracles, Joker, Friedkin Uncut, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice, Running With The Devil, Pain And Glory, Parasite, Zombieland 2, Knives Out, Les Miserables, Waves, Bombshell, Varda By Agnes
OKAY
Adult Life Skills, Cold Pursuit, West Of Sunshine, Goodnight Charlene, Pinsky, The Last Resort, Virginia Minnesota, Dragged Across Concrete, Flashout, The Beach Bum, Long Lost, The Holy Fail, Under The Silver Lake, Avengers: Endgame, Long Shot, Room For Rent, Non-Fiction, John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum, The Professor, Dumbo, In Echo Park, Toy Story 4, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Phil, The Art Of Self-Defense, David Crosby: Remember My Name, Yesterday, Mike Wallace Is Here, The Kitchen, Good Boys, Angel Has Fallen, Brittany Runs A Marathon, Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool, 7 Days To Vegas, Judy, The Glicksmans, Jojo Rabbit, Semper Fi, The Parts You Lose, Motherless Brooklyn, The Lighthouse, The Irishman (might have been ranked higher if they cut an hour from it), Honey Boy, Primal, Marriage Story, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, 3022, Frozen II, Recorded: The Marion Stokes Project, What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael, Jumanji: The Next Level, Dark Waters, Little Women, Give Me Liberty
NOT OKAY
The Upside, Glass, The Unicorn, The Wandering Earth, Alita: Battle Angel, Isn't It Romantic, Donnybrook, The Bellwether, Billboard, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Captain Marvel, Us, High Life, What Men Want, The Dirty King, Booksmart, Rocketman, Relaxer, Late Night, Midsommar, Stuber, Summer Night, Hobbs & Shaw, Where'd You Go Bernadette?, Blinded By The Light, Killerman, Aquarela, It Chapter 2, Hustlers, Ad Astra, Downton Abbey, 3 Days With Dad, Ready Or Not, 10 Minutes Gone, First Love, Gemini Man, The Lion King, Greener Grass, Terminator: Dark Fate, Charlie's Angels, Locusts, Grand Isle, Queen And Slim, Uncut Gems, Happy Death Day 2U, Little, Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, Men In Black: International, Lost Holiday, 21 Bridges
TOP TEN (in alphabetical order):
1917
A technical achievement that would mean nothing if the story didn't work.
Bathtubs Over Broadway
The parallel universe of musicals.
Birds Of Passage/Dogman/In The Aisles
Three foreign-language films that deserve more attention.
The Death Of Dick Long
An unusual mix of comedy and drama about people who want to see a man about a horse.
The Farewell
Family problems are the same everywhere, but also different (which we also see in Parasite).
Ford V Ferrari
An old-style Hollywood rouser of the type we rarely see these days.
A Hidden Life
Terrence Malick with an actual plot.
Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Tarantino's best since Inglourious Basterds, and his most personal. I'm amazed he got away with it--not rewriting history, but having half an hour of plot in a two and a half hour movie.
Richard Jewell
A no-nonsense retelling that has all the drama of the actual story.
They Will Not Grow Old
WWI helped shape the modern world, and (like 1917) this film brought it back to life on ground level.
BONUS LIST: TOP FIFTEEN OF THE DECADE
3 Idiots
The Cabin In The Woods
Columbus
Edge Of Tomorrow
Exit Through The Gift Shop
The Florida Project
Guardians Of The Galaxy
I, Tonya
Kick-Ass
La La Land
Roma
Tangled
The Tree Of Life
Upstream Color
Zero Dark Thirty
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Dogtooth, Winter's Bone, City Island, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit, Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Safety Not Guaranteed, Seven Psychopaths, American Hustle, Gravity, Room 237, Rush, The One I Love, Ant-Man, Faults, Tangerine, What We Do In The Shadows, Korla, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, The Big Sick, The Post, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Wind River, Your Name, The Death Of Stalin, Eighth Grade, Free Solo, Green Book, Faces Places
posted by LAGuy @ 12:10 AM
11 Comments:
I thought Joker was the film of the year, and Joaquin Phoenix gave the performance of the year.
There were only four people in the theatre. One of them was a beautiful young woman who was actually in the movie. She apologized beforehand for how bad it would be. (To protect her identity I won't mention the title, but it's an indie film you almost certainly didn't see.)
OK, but was she right about how bad it was?
Thank you, Mr. Pajama guy. Always more entertaining than the Golden Globes. LaLa Land as a top 10 of the decade though - that’s going to take more convincing. Keep the lists coming.
Maybe Joker was the film and performance of the year. It certainly was unlike anyting else.
Thanks, Jason. I can understand opposition to La La Land. What I like best about most musicals is seeing professional singers and dancers at the top of their game, and that doesn't really apply here.
Yes, Jesse, she was right. One thing about low budget indie films is you see things you won't see in major Hollywood product, which can be great but can also mean rank incompetence. In that particular film, I remember there was a scene with the woman (she was a secondary character) and they later referred to her, except we'd never heard her character's name, so we didn't know who they were talking about.
I was actually going to write something about this in the wrap-up, but I figured why beat up on these movies? In particular, there was one film with a big scene where two guys get in a car, travel to an apartment building, break into a room only to find a corpse on the floor. The only problem was we didn't know who these two guys were, whose apartment building it was, or who the corpse was.
Who wants to see another Men In Black without Will Smith? The right question is who wants to see another Men In Black WITH Will Smith.
This is the most entertaining look at 2019 in film I have yet seen. Thank you.
Really looking forward to 1917.
I took me a while to understand your comment. With all these movie posts lately, I thought you were expecting a look back at the year 1917. (Pretty good year for Chaplin--he made his four best Mutual shorts then.)
Ha! I should have added underscores, like _1917_.
I have a WWI passion, and agree on the Peter Jackson documentary's brilliance.
I'm so glad you recognized Aladdin. After Live Action Beauty & the Beast and Dumbo, I was afraid to see this, but I thought they did a good job. And I thought I was alone in liking Will Smith's Genie. Now I can be cautiously optimistic for Mulan (for which I just saw the trailer).
And after the poor reviews, I can now see Zombieland II in good conscience.
Question - what was particularly bad about Captain Marvel, besides general superhero overload?
Regarding Captain Marvel--I thought there were general plot problems with poorly motivated characters and uninvolving action. Sorry to be so generic in my complaints, but I barely remember what happened in the movie. There were some decent moments but the whole thing didn't hold together too well.
Joker, Best Reboot? It really just made me so sad. I understand they're showing the Joker's creation. But it was too real. I found myself warning people .Not to avoid it necessarily but to change their expectations .Didn't feel like a super hero movie ,a villain movie or a comic book .Just real madness and sadness.
Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell was indeed impressive.
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