Best Movies of 2019

By Movie Geeks | January 5, 2020

From superheroes to real life heroes, to tales of Hollywood and voyages to the Moon, the year that was 2019 had much to offer to audiences flocking to theaters for a few hours of escapism from the world.

Filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes, Celine Sciamma, Quentin Tarantino, Olivia Wilde, Taika Waititi and Bong Joon-Ho brought a wealth of stories to the silver screen.

We saw the culmination of the Marvel phase 3 story arc, the culmination of the Skywalker Saga and the still in progress, groundbreaking John Wick series, as well as a host of other interesting, quality movies unleashed into cinemas.

WAMG presents its list for the Top 10 films of 2019.

1. Martin Scorsese reminds us why he is still a master movie maker with THE IRISHMAN, a compelling foray into familiar territory, making use of new tech to complete the “mob trilogy’ he began nearly thirty years ago with GOODFELLAS. It’s a sweeping story across the decades starring Scorsese’s muse Robert DeNiro as a kind of hitman riff on Forrest Gump as he bears witness, and often takes a role in the ever-changing late 20th century. Rejoining him is Joe Pesci playing a mob boss very different from the violent “hair triggers’ he’s played in the past, almost the “calm in the storm”. His opposite is the addition of Al Pacino who makes union leader legend Jimmie Hoffa a bombastic force of nature. And with Movie CGI magic, Scorsese is able to have the same actors age through the decades. This gives the powerful last act, with survivor DeNiro facing the ravages of time, even more of an emotional wallop. It’s an intimate epic from a cinematic artist. (Jim Batts’ review)

2. Our number 2 choice is 1917. Roger Deakins’ astounding cinematography drives the pulse-pounding pace of this electrifying tale of two WWI soldiers racing the clock to cross enemy territory to deliver a message to stop a disastrous attack. Made to look like a single take, Sam Mendes’ 1917 is an astounding piece of film-making but also a gripping war epic that immerses viewers into the experience of the two young British soldiers as they transverse a landscape filled with the unequaled horrors of WWI. – Cate Marquis

3. ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD is a fantastic dive into a Golden Anniversary of Hollywood in 1969. It’s full of characters and dialog that shine even brighter in its quieter moments while it’s love for everything old cinema (and TV) is at the forefront of its storytelling. For anyone who thinks the runtime should have been shorter, remember; Quentin Tarantino was trying to make those who had never experienced that era feel close to it, he had to create as authentic and dense an atmosphere as possible. – Tom Stockman (Jim Batts’ review)

4. DOLEMITE IS MY NAME is a sidesplitting and loving tribute to Rudy Ray Moore, one of the most outrageous and unique personalities of the 1970’s. Eddie Murphy channels everything about Moore; his walk, his expressions, his acting ability, his jokes, his attitude, his lousy kung-fu skills, and Moore’s raunchy brand of comedy. Wesley Snipes also shined as Blaxploitation mainstay D’Urville Martin. – Tom Stockman (Jim Batts’ review)

5. May I speak, for a moment, about how Celine Sciamma’s 2019 masterwork PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE sounds? Seriously. There’s been a lot of great writing on the visual literacy of the film (Claire Mathon’s cinematography in this film and Mati Diop’s Atlantiques is quite simply the best work of the year), as well as the sublime screenplay that took home the award for Best Screenplay at Cannes. There has also been a lot of writing on the chemistry of actresses Noemie Marant and Adele Haenel…so I’m not going to bother going down that well. I would like to talk about sound. There is many a moment in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, when the characters simply sit by a fire, listening to the crackle and enjoying the warmth of each other’s skin. It’s euphoria, and through a unique soundscape the sound department (Valerie Deloof, Sarah Lelu, Vincent Milner, Edouard Morin, Clemence Peloso, Julien Sicart and Daniel Sobrino), spread that feeling into almost every single scene of the production. Every movement of sheets, shifting of wood, paintbrush bristle scraping against a canvas and curl of a wave brings the audience back to the comfortable room where our two lovers experience their tryst. As the story progresses, this feeling starts to be played against us, reminding us sonically of that has come before. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the last scene of the movie, but I wouldn’t want to spoil that explosion of emotion. So I’ll leave you with this. Listen to Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It’ll make you fall in love. – Stephen Tronicek

6. There’s a scene early in Bong Joon-Ho’s PARASITE where the son of the poor Kim family, Kim Ki-Woo (Woo-sik Choi) attempts to justify forging a college diploma in order to get a job as a tutor for the rich Park family. He mentions that he doesn’t think of it as a forgery because he’ll be going to college in the next year. The other members of the Kim family commend him for having such a good plan. This idea of a good plan has always been fundamental to the outlook of Bong Joon-Ho’s work. How do disadvantaged characters formulate the right plan to make it out of a situation alive…and what forces stop the plan from being good? This combined with his astute eye and ear for capturing social ills on film hyperfocus this question into: “How do societal plans fail?” Parasite is best matched with Bong’s 2013 sci-fi action film Snowpiecer, in that it’s about a surrogate for the poor creating a plan to become rich and failing in the process. Just as the poor of Snowpiecer make it to the front, only to realize that the very operation of the train means the moral degradation of its occupants, the Kim family’s journey is one of justification. Kim Ki-Woo may say that he’s going to college the next year (and may formulate later plans not to be spoiled) but there’s no chance of them working. Bong’s thesis is that these plans fail because we agree to play by their rules. By using deceit, by focusing only on the wealth that could be accumulated, by embracing the nihilism that people above us so desperately want us to focus on, we become the Kims. Parasite is a tragedy in the highest order, one that asks us desperately not to make the same mistakes the characters do yet still understand the context of their actions. We fail because we play by their rules. – Stephen Tronicek

7. BOOKSMART presents the cliche high school personas, and just as quickly, shows off how in 2019, the John Hughes 80s-movie stereotypes do not apply. Director Olivia Wilde (making her directorial debut) combines outrageous humor and a tender approach to characters that are typically presented as immature or just a punchline in other high school films. Beyond the raunchy jokes and pitch-perfect needle drops, BOOKSMART finds its strength in a quirky bond between the strong, feminist duo (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) leading to one of the best comedic duos in recent memory. The “final high school party” premise feels surprisingly fresh in large part to a smart and nuanced approach to female sexuality and friendship. (Michael Haffner’s review)

8. Using never-before-seen footage, much in gorgeous large format, the remarkable documentary APOLLO 11 presents the first moon landing as if it were unfolding in real-time, creating an expected thrilling excitement and breathtaking immersion in the landmark historic experience. – Cate Marquis

9. When the hate groups are on the rise, how do filmmakers fight back? In the case of Taika Waititi, it’s with laughter (Mel Brooks was thinking the same thing over 50 years ago with THE PRODUCERS). Though some may say “too soon”, Waititi takes on the Nazis in Germany during the waning days of WWII in his film JOJO RABBIT. After a brief stint with Thor over in the MCU, he delivers this intimate story and proves himself a true triple threat as director, screenwriter (adapting a novel) and actor, playing the neediest, most vindictive “imaginary friend” ever. The title character is a pre-teen lad (Roman Griffin Davis) swept up in the Hitler Youth movement, where he’s encouraged by several adults, including the superb comic actors Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, and Stephan Merchant. Luckily his home life is balanced by his loving, feisty mother played with tenderness by Scarlett Johansson (another great maternal role this year) and an unusual older girl played by the talented Thomasin McKenzie. The film somehow balances slapstick, satire, and the horrors of the time. leading up to a most moving and hopeful finale, proving that Waititi is an artist worth following. (Jim Batts’ review)

10. Our final pick is RICHARD JEWELL. This docudrama ripped from the late 1990s took many moviegoers by surprise at year’s end. First, because of its unlikely title hero, a chunky “cop wannabe” played with great skill by relative newcomer Paul Walter Hauser. And the second stunner is the director telling his story, movie icon Clint Eastwood. He proves himself a master of suspense early on as Jewell discovers the bomb-filled backpack in Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympics. It’s a real “nail-biter” of a scene that would have Hitchcock squirming. But that’s only the start of the drama as Eastwood takes us on Jewell’s astounding 72-hour journey from life-saving “saint” to murdering mastermind thanks to some sloppy investigators and over-eager reporters. All the while we’re wondering how much worse things would’ve been for him if the internet had been at today’s full strength and speed. Luckily Hauser has a great supporting cast lead by the always superb Sam Rockwell as his lawyer pal, Kathy Bates as his loyal, suffering mom, Jon Hamm as a fervent FBI agent, and Olivia Wilde as an ambitious newspaper writer. The assured storytelling and tight pacing make this Eastwood’s most compelling work in a long time. (Jim Batts’ review)

Honorable Mention – AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Fans were practically in a frenzy as they waited out a long, long year for the conclusion of the epic that began with AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (though there were little bits and hints over several other flicks). When they picked their jaws off the multiplex floors in late April, all agreed that this was the fantasy action extravaganza that they’d dreamed of. What really stunned moviegoers was how emotional it all was. With so many characters and locales, each character got a chance to shine, even those fairly new (hello Ant-Man and Captain Marvel, welcome back Hawkeye). It all felt as though Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige, ably aided by the crisp clean directing from the Russo Brothers (with that big final battle perhaps the duo wished they were triplets), wanted to embrace the stalwart filmgoers who made the movies of the last eleven years an astounding media triumph (as many entertainment sources said, “We’ll never see this again”). But all was not just hugs and “high-fives” as sacrifices were made and several central figures bid adieu, including the last cameo of comics guru and co-creator of it all, the much-missed Stan Lee. Farewell phase three, but face front for phase four, true believers, as “the man” would say. Avengers (and movie fans) will assemble! (Jim Batts’ review)

Here’s the staff’s individual picks.

Jim’s Best of 2019:

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
3. The Irishman
4. Toy Story 4
5. Jo Jo Rabbit
6. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
7. Bombshell
8. Book Smart
9. Dark Waters
10. Richard Jewell

Honorable Mentions: Spider-Man: Far From Home, Dolemite is My Name, Apollo 11

Cate’s Best of 2019:

1. 1917
2. JoJo Rabbit
3. The Irishman
4. The Report
5. Ford V Ferrari
6. Last Black Man In San Francisco
7. The Nightingale
8. Parasite
9. Honeyland
10. Apollo 11

Honorable Mentions: The Mustang, A Hidden Life, Harriet, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Tom’s Best of 2019:

1. Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood
2. 1917
3. Dolemite Is My Name
4. Midsommar
5. Richard Jewell
6. The Irishman
7. A Dog’s Journey
8. Midway
9. Rambo Last Blood
10. Dragged Across Concrete

Honorable Mentions:  Joker, Rabid, Toy Story 4

Michael’s Best of 2019:

1. Little Women
2. Uncut Gems
3. Waves
4. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
5. The Farewell
6. Booksmart
7. The Irishman
8. Fast Color
9. Under the Silver Lake
10. Jojo Rabbit

Honorable mentions: Hustlers, Gloria Bell, Dolemite is My Name

Michelle’s Best of 2019:

1. 1917
2. Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood
3. Dolemite Is My Name
4. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
5. The Irishman
6. A Hidden Life
7. Alita Battle Angel
8. Us
9. Apollo 11
10. Ad Astra

Honorable mentions: Crawl, Good Boys, Knives Out, Shazam! and Ready Or Not.

Stephen’s Best of 2019:

1. Marriage Story
2. Long Day’s Journey into Night
3. Transit
4. Rachel (online film released)
5. High Life
6. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
7. The Irishman
8. A Hidden Life
9. Parasite
10. Peterloo

Honorable mentions: Monos, Asako 1&2, The Souvenir, Ash is Purest White, The Farewell, Midsommar.