Top 10 Favorite Movies Of 2019
From what I've been told, 2019 was a pretty good year for movies. Lot of good films coming out this year, so I've heard. I wouldn't know anything about that though; this year probably marks the least amount of time I've spent in a movie theater to date, despite the fact that I had a job as a film critic at the beginning of the year. How's that for irony? Anyway, out of the measly 28 films I did see, here's my top 10 favorites. And unlike last year, very few of these entries were let on here just because they happened to be better than most of the films I ended up watching. My top 10 is mostly comprised of films I actually enjoyed, so make of that what you will.
10. Ad Astra
James Gray's hard-sci fi space adventure is like Interstellar if it was less bloated. The slowly-paced odyssey through the empty vacuum of space was one of the most haunting spectacles in a year full of contemplative, grounded journeys of darkness. The cosmos have never felt bigger or more beautifully hostile. And while an over-reliance on narration and an emotional core that kind of falls flat keeps this from being a true masterpiece, it's nonetheless the most striking film I saw all year.
9. John Wick 3: Parabellum
I've never been fully onboard with John Wick as every other film nerd on the planet, so when one of its installments makes my top 10 it's gotta be doing something right. The climax is too long and the gunshots have all the power and impact of a foosball, but there's still a lot here that makes up for that. It has undeniably the most brutal kills in the entire series so far, a spectacularly choreographed five-way knife fight and a show-stealing performance from Asia Kate Dillon. Now if only they could make the blood spatter look like something other than a fart of Cheeto dust.
8. Men in Black: International
This is the best movie of the series, full stop. The two lead actors are a delight, the action is fast, creative and fun and 80% of the jokes hit bullseyes. The world-building is the best of the whole series and the visual creativity is better than it's ever been for the franchise. It's not a masterpiece, not by a long shot, but for a series that has always existed to be a fun sci-fi thrill ride, it's the perfect version of what it wants to be.
7. Pet Sematary
For some reason, everybody hated this when it came out whereas I loved it from beginning to end. This is the first horror film I've seen in awhile that's brave enough to let its audience walk out of the theater on a depressed note, which is kind of the emotion horror is supposed to evoke in the first place. Its atmosphere is suffocating, the scares are gruesome and its story is unapologetically grim in the face of a horror market that more and more tries to cater to a general audience. This one didn't deserve the lashing it got and I will defend it until the day I lose all long-term memory. And if you don't like it, at least it was better than It Chapter 2.
6. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
While essentially a glorified prologue to the Breaking Bad saga, it's still a really well-made one. Aaron Paul easily slips back into the shoes of Jesse Pinkman, the whole thing looks pretty from start to finish and while the story is still way smaller than the sprawling epic of the show, I'd argue that's perfectly fine considering Jesse is the protagonist. It's not gonna change your life, but it's still a nice extra bow to wrap up the whole story.
5. Parasite
I'm gonna be honest and say that this wasn't at all what I was expecting. What I expected was an intense thriller with maybe a Lovecraftian horror ending based on the title. What I got was a suspenseful pitch-black comedy which mainly seemed to be about how nobody's really a good person no matter how much money they do or don't have. The myth of the cruel upper class and the virtuous lower class is stripped apart in a story where you're not sure who you're supposed to be rooting for, but you're having such a ride while watching that you pretty much don't care.
4. Sturgill Simpson Presents Sound & Fury
This is probably the last thing you'd expect to make a year-end top 10 list: a video accompaniment to a Southern rock/synth album produced by Netflix. It's not even an hour long, has very little story and mostly exists because Simpson discovered a love for anime during the making of this album. However, there's more visual creativity packed into these 41 minutes than I saw in every other film this year combined. Plus, the album is awesome and I want to get more people to listen to it.
3. Happy Death Day 2 U
I'm honestly surprised how much I enjoyed this one. I didn't even see the first one, so the fact that I had such a good time with this sequel speaks volumes of the sheer fun-factor on display here. How can I not give a top 5 spot to a film which has a montage of the main character repeatedly killing herself set to the tune of "Hard Times" by Paramore?
2. Avengers:Endgame
This was the end of an area, a payoff twelve years in the making. And while the entire film isn't perfect or even that fun from start to finish, the payoff is the best I ever could've asked for. Comic book fan service that made me squeal in my seat. Jokes that had me doubling over with laughter. And a final climactic battle that took me back to being a child again, gazing in awe and wonder at what I was seeing onscreen. This is one for the record books; don't miss it.
1. Fighting With My Family
Endgame may have given me some absolutely beautiful moments of fanboy tears, but nothing this year touched me quite so deeply as Fighting With My Family. This family sports dramedy is hilarious and touching in equal measure, telling a story of finding who you truly are when your dreams aren't what you expected them to be and the importance of hanging on to family during that time of displacement. It's my official go-to example of a great movie that somehow got made out of a stupid idea. A real gem if ever there was one.
10. Ad Astra
James Gray's hard-sci fi space adventure is like Interstellar if it was less bloated. The slowly-paced odyssey through the empty vacuum of space was one of the most haunting spectacles in a year full of contemplative, grounded journeys of darkness. The cosmos have never felt bigger or more beautifully hostile. And while an over-reliance on narration and an emotional core that kind of falls flat keeps this from being a true masterpiece, it's nonetheless the most striking film I saw all year.
9. John Wick 3: Parabellum
I've never been fully onboard with John Wick as every other film nerd on the planet, so when one of its installments makes my top 10 it's gotta be doing something right. The climax is too long and the gunshots have all the power and impact of a foosball, but there's still a lot here that makes up for that. It has undeniably the most brutal kills in the entire series so far, a spectacularly choreographed five-way knife fight and a show-stealing performance from Asia Kate Dillon. Now if only they could make the blood spatter look like something other than a fart of Cheeto dust.
8. Men in Black: International
This is the best movie of the series, full stop. The two lead actors are a delight, the action is fast, creative and fun and 80% of the jokes hit bullseyes. The world-building is the best of the whole series and the visual creativity is better than it's ever been for the franchise. It's not a masterpiece, not by a long shot, but for a series that has always existed to be a fun sci-fi thrill ride, it's the perfect version of what it wants to be.
7. Pet Sematary
For some reason, everybody hated this when it came out whereas I loved it from beginning to end. This is the first horror film I've seen in awhile that's brave enough to let its audience walk out of the theater on a depressed note, which is kind of the emotion horror is supposed to evoke in the first place. Its atmosphere is suffocating, the scares are gruesome and its story is unapologetically grim in the face of a horror market that more and more tries to cater to a general audience. This one didn't deserve the lashing it got and I will defend it until the day I lose all long-term memory. And if you don't like it, at least it was better than It Chapter 2.
6. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
While essentially a glorified prologue to the Breaking Bad saga, it's still a really well-made one. Aaron Paul easily slips back into the shoes of Jesse Pinkman, the whole thing looks pretty from start to finish and while the story is still way smaller than the sprawling epic of the show, I'd argue that's perfectly fine considering Jesse is the protagonist. It's not gonna change your life, but it's still a nice extra bow to wrap up the whole story.
5. Parasite
I'm gonna be honest and say that this wasn't at all what I was expecting. What I expected was an intense thriller with maybe a Lovecraftian horror ending based on the title. What I got was a suspenseful pitch-black comedy which mainly seemed to be about how nobody's really a good person no matter how much money they do or don't have. The myth of the cruel upper class and the virtuous lower class is stripped apart in a story where you're not sure who you're supposed to be rooting for, but you're having such a ride while watching that you pretty much don't care.
4. Sturgill Simpson Presents Sound & Fury
This is probably the last thing you'd expect to make a year-end top 10 list: a video accompaniment to a Southern rock/synth album produced by Netflix. It's not even an hour long, has very little story and mostly exists because Simpson discovered a love for anime during the making of this album. However, there's more visual creativity packed into these 41 minutes than I saw in every other film this year combined. Plus, the album is awesome and I want to get more people to listen to it.
3. Happy Death Day 2 U
I'm honestly surprised how much I enjoyed this one. I didn't even see the first one, so the fact that I had such a good time with this sequel speaks volumes of the sheer fun-factor on display here. How can I not give a top 5 spot to a film which has a montage of the main character repeatedly killing herself set to the tune of "Hard Times" by Paramore?
2. Avengers:Endgame
This was the end of an area, a payoff twelve years in the making. And while the entire film isn't perfect or even that fun from start to finish, the payoff is the best I ever could've asked for. Comic book fan service that made me squeal in my seat. Jokes that had me doubling over with laughter. And a final climactic battle that took me back to being a child again, gazing in awe and wonder at what I was seeing onscreen. This is one for the record books; don't miss it.
1. Fighting With My Family
Endgame may have given me some absolutely beautiful moments of fanboy tears, but nothing this year touched me quite so deeply as Fighting With My Family. This family sports dramedy is hilarious and touching in equal measure, telling a story of finding who you truly are when your dreams aren't what you expected them to be and the importance of hanging on to family during that time of displacement. It's my official go-to example of a great movie that somehow got made out of a stupid idea. A real gem if ever there was one.
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