However I thought a separate thread for people to share their Top 5 movies that were released in 2019.
Mine in no particular order:
Knives Out
Joker
Avengers Endgame
John Wick Chapter 3
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
I actually went to the cinema fewer times this year than I ever have, 2019 was not a year where a lot of movies had me very excited. Having said that there are a few movies I just didn’t get the time to see like Ad Astra, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and 1917.
I’ve watched a grand total of 377 movies this year, and tonight I’ll be heading out to see Star Wars Episode 9.
So far my top 5 looks a little something like this:
Number 1:
Parasite (South Korea)
Numbers 2-5 in no particular order:
Midsommar
The Art of Self-Defense
The Forest of Love (Japan)
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
As for the bonus question / personal Razzie Award of the year:
Men in Black: International (2019)
Please note that a top 5 is extremely limited. I can easily fill a top 20 with amazing movies. It’s just that these 5 had a bit more going for them then the others. And Parasite is truly unrivalled in a league of its own. I still haven’t seen Knives Out which I hear is amazing. I’ll watch it eventually though!
This is tough since I go to the movies often, ill try my best to rank them in order.
1)John Wick 3 (Each movie gets better and better)
2)Avengers: Endgame (A satisfying conclusion to a bunch of movies I grew up with)
3)Joker (Joaquin Phoenix was perfect for this type of role)
4)Once upon a time in Hollywood (I honestly have no idea why I liked this movie so much, but it’s fantastic)
5)Knives Out (best mystery movie I’ve seen)
Runner up: 6) Glass (didn’t except the ending)
Movies I want to see: 1) uncut gems 2) Star Wars TROS
Biggest let down: Pet Sematary (pacing of the movie felt rushed)
Just saw Rise of Skywalker yesterday. I have issues with the pacing. Much like my issues with Frozen II, the pacing was quick to get at every small climax until the ending without any midway between each major event to let character development settle. Other than that, I enjoyed it. The only other problem with the movie is that, and I think this is a problem with the recent trilogy, is that they feel too much like standalone movies instead of a complete arc. Still really enjoyed it though.
Uncut Gems is a must see if you like cinema as art. If you’re an action buff, you won’t get much. But I’ve never seen anything in art that angled anxiety so well. I spent the entire movie feeling like I was in the life or death moment that a sports betting addict at his last dollar feels.
While I loved Uncut Gems, and it makes my T5, it falls short of two others. The Irishman was Transformers level long, but so complete and consistent. It felt important and satisfying. I also have a place in my heart for the Hoffa story having grown up in the heart of Indiana’s union history.
My number one goes to Queen & Slim. Beautiful film. Really self-explanatory as a great if you’ve seen it. It carries the perfect amount of weight. Perfect casting. Smooth character development. You see these characters making choices only technically and much more losing themselves to the current of circumstances and culture-level trends.
I could talk about any of the top three for hours and watch them many times over. My 4 and 5 I do not feel that about. I adore the John Wick franchise. I consider him my favorite superhero. It was the most enjoyable non-serious film of the year for me. I would watch John Wick 50 on opening day. Cannot get enough.
Joker pulls up in last of the top five. Worth seeing for sure. I see it as the same premise as Uncut Gems in that it tries to capture a very specific feeling. It accomplishes that, but not as thoroughly. I think there is almost too much success for Phoenix’s character, who is supposed to be the epitome of the burdened perennial loser. But it’s still a must watch for me and comes in handily at fifth.
Those are most likely my top 5, for 2019. # 1 Irishman and # 2 Star Wars, are guaranteed the top 2 spots. Both of these movies just kicked so much ass, and I could watch them over and over again.
As good as 3, 4 and 5 were, these were just as good and any one of them could sneak into one of those 3 spots for me on a different day.
John Wick III
El Camino
Parasite
The biggest surprise for me this year was also the funniest - Dave Chappelle: Sticks and Stones. If you have not seen it, and you are okay with being offended, go watch it. Now. Disregard all of the sh!t RottenTomatoes reviews (even though it has an audience score of 99% LOL), and go watch it.
Speaking of comedies, my biggest disappointment - Bill Burr: Paper Tiger. I found the majority of his special to be very bland, unoriginal and pretty much a buzz-kill. In the past he has had the ability make it seem like he was forming one of his hilarious/truthful opinions in the moment, on-stage while he was breaking down a personal experience or something he had just noticed in society. And in this way it seemed spontaneous and authentic and made for some of the funniest sh!t I’ve ever seen.
But Paper Tiger was nothing but him venting all of his preconceived notions about everything, and I really did not enjoy watching him be the most bitter Bill Burr I have ever seen. He was just way too pissed off, I think, even for him (he’s not Lewis Black) and it became extremely redundant. I mean I know he hates women, but, my god, talk about something else lol.