The caveat is that these are what I consider to be the best and worst films of 2019. Feel free to disagree – comment even! I’d love to hear your thoughts, truly. I’ve seen 156 movies this year, and according to my list, 106 of those were brand new, so get ready!
Best of 2019:
1. The Peanut Butter Falcon – Nothing made me feel better this year than watching this Shia LeBeouf led film about a boy with Down syndrome just trying to get to Florida to become a wrestler.
2. The Art of Self Defense – This movie was so odd and so dark that of course I had to love it. It helps that Jesse Eisenberg was in it, too. He just wanted to learn karate to defend himself, not get dragged into a ring of murderers!
3. Cold Pursuit – Everything about this film was amazing! It had an incredible cast that showcased equal parts humor, action, and drama. This gave me all the Fargo (tv show) vibes, and probably had the best ending to a film I’ve seen all year.
4. Marriage Story – Look, the next few I’m going to list are all up for awards, but it makes total sense because they were fantastic! This movie delves into the intense struggles of marriage and the end of marriage. I may not know anything about that, but boy did they seem convincing!
5. Jojo Rabbit – What a quirky, dark story. This movie was a fine display of child actors, and I don’t say that often (if ever). Taika Waititi manages to take the darkness of Nazi Germany and bring a levity to it. His Hitler is also something quite magically comical.
6. Knives Out – While I don’t feel like this movie will take home any awards this season, it was still fantastic! A truly modern who-dunnit with the most insanely talented cast. To do what Rian Johnson did with an ensemble that large and incredible was a feat in itself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll love trying to figure out this mystery.
7. Long Shot – For me, this movie changed the comedy game this year. And it made me root for the romance of the most unlikely pairing of actors. Both Charlize and Seth go the extra mile and deliver one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a long while.
8. The Favourite – I understand that this technically came out last year, but it didn’t come to a theater near me until the beginning of 2019, after everyone realized how awesome it was. And with Yorgos Lanthimos as the director (The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer), I knew it was going to be weird and wonderful. Also, hands down the best audience reaction I’ve ever witnessed.
9. Avengers: Endgame – I’d be a fool not to include this on my list! I don’t read comic books, but what’s not to love about a bunch of famous people playing ridiculously funny and committed super heroes? This was also the end of a very long saga, which signaled the end of the man who started it all, Tony Stark (so many tears!).
10. Dark Waters – As I said a few weeks ago in my review of this film, it was crazypants to learn about this! The fact that it happened for so long, and so many people were affected, and Dupont gave no craps about it was mind-boggling. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – go see this movie!!
Runner-Ups: Fighting With My Family, Uncut Gems, Paddington, Always Be My Maybe, Us, Joker, Late Night, The Report
Worst of 2019:
I won’t waste too many words on why these were terrible, but I will give you my instant reaction to these wastes of time.
1. Secret Obsession – On a scale from 1 to Lifetime, this was really rough.
2. The Hustle – Solidifies why I’m a Hath-hater.
3. Serenity – Too terrible for words.
4. Replicas – Just really bad and really stupid.
5. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? – I don’t care where she went!
6. All About Nina – All about a raging b****.
7. Avenues – Just a lot of really unfortunate dialogue.
8. Destination Wedding – So much talking (but also so much Keanu Reeves *swoon*)
9. The Last Summer – If we’re lucky.
10. I’m Not Here – I really wish you weren’t anyways.
Runner-Ups: The Oath, Mid 90s, Ma, Noelle, The Kitchen