I've made you wait long enough! While Oscar has only unveiled his list, I will be joining him in that regard this week by also giving over my Top 10 of the year. 2019 has been one of my favorite cinematic years in a while. This isn't just because, through this blog, I was able to see dozens of obscure new films, but also because the films that came out in this annum were genuinely great. We talked about the Worst of the Year yesterday, and I don't want to keep that taste in your mouth for long (we'll be looking at the best-of-the-decade lists in mid-February, as I want to savor awards season for a bit longer). Without further adieu, here are my Top 10 films of 2019 (alphabetically-you'll get the ranked list in the decade recap):
1917 (dir. Sam Mendes)
A harrowing look into the eyes of World War I, from the viewpoint of Roger Deakins, giving us a master class in cinematography. The two epic chase scenes count among the best I've seen not just this year, but this decade, in an action movie.
Ad Astra (dir. James Grey)
A thought-provoking meditation on what it is to dream of something larger. Space epics have been all the rage in recent years, but this one somehow finds a way to make space seem truly infinite, and shows through Brad Pitt's thoughtful performance an ability to make our human experience seem equally as expansive.
End of the Century (dir. Lucio Castro)
Sexy (very sexy) at times, but as it unpacks it's also a look at regret. End of the Century is in the same vein as Before Sunset and Weekend, but it's also a movie that's about how the decisions we make stick with us, even if we never stop asking "what if?"
A Hidden Life (dir. Terrence Malick)
Malick is always on-form in my book, but he hasn't made a masterpiece like this since The Tree of Life. A seismic film, brimming with some of the year's best visuals, and a look at one man's questioning of his morality, and what it means to find his place in this world (and the next).
The Irishman (dir. Martin Scorsese)
Put aside the occasionally squint-worthy de-aging, and you have a movie that will stand the test of time. De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci all show that they can still bring landmark performances, and that final hour is amongst the best things that Scorsese has ever put to celluloid.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (dir. Joe Talbot)
It's hard to make a topic like gentrification sexy and interesting, but from the opening moments of Last Black Man, you know you're witnessing a movie that is truly special. A great acting duet between leads Jimmie Fails & Jonathan Majors, you almost feel they've been truly friends their whole lives.
Marriage Story (dir. Noah Baumbach)
Speaking of great acting duets, you'd be hard-pressed to find a team better-suited for each other than Adam Driver & Scarlett Johansson, finding the tricky intricacies of divorce, and what happens when the person you most counted on in the world is suddenly your adversary. Breathtaking & insightful.
Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-Ho)
There's a reason a foreign film was able to dominate the usually English language-preferring Academy: Parasite is too good to ignore. At times a caper film, other times a horror, the movie is confident, aware, and an ensemble with no weak links. You'll be thinking about this movie for years.
Transit (dir. Christian Petzold)
David Ehrlich called it "Casablanca as imagined by Kafka" and I couldn't have put it better. Transit takes what we know about World War II films and turns it on its head, giving us a strange love story, and a mysterious man in the center of a tale you're never going to predict. Franz Rogowski is a sensation.
Us (dir. Jordan Peele)
Lupita Nyong'o finally gets to follow up her Oscar win with something worthy of her, and Jordan Peele provides no sophomore slump with this (in my opinion, better than Get Out) horror film, giving us an acting showcase to go along with a genuinely creepy premise & satisfying finish.
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