Best Movies of 2019

Unlike last year, I managed to see a few movies in theaters this year that weren't about Star Wars or superheroes. This is partly because I was willing to go to movies by myself for a change. You should try going to movies by yourself! The movies aren't any different and nobody else cares that you're alone.

Best of 2019

10. 1917


The thing about movies with obviously impressive technical filmmaking behind them is the filmmaking itself can become a distraction. You're thinking about how a shot was achieved as much as what the content of the shot actually does for the story. So when I learned 1917 was shot and edited to appear as a single unbroken take for the entire film, I was a little worried it would be a huge gimmick. While I did find myself sometimes looking for the transitions where cuts to new shots were hidden, overall I was still invested in the story of two British soldiers racing across no man's land in World War I to save a division of their countrymen from annihilation. The decision to make it one take has a purpose, allowing you to take in how incredibly exhausting their journey is, both physically and emotionally. It's a movie that doesn't glamorize war, but does try to honor the men who fight and die in it.

9. Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach generally does comedies about contemporary adult life, but he's been known to veer into drama at times, and Marriage Story is probably his most dramatic work. A lot of divorce stories show a marriage falling apart, but Marriage Story skips to the part where it's clearly over, and covers the messiness of the legal side of the separation. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson play the central couple, both with their charms and still having feelings for each other, but unable to go on sharing a life. It's clear that their characters are at least loosely based on Baumbach and his ex-wife, and it's interesting to look at how they're balanced in the story. Johansson's character is the one who initiated the divorce, feeling like she had no control of her life, and doesn't have as many clear flaws as Driver's does. But the story still seems to tend towards Driver's perspective, especially once he feels blindsided by his wife moving to Los Angeles and bringing their son with her. It's heartbreaking watching the relationship get more contentious as the realities of two adults separating their lives, especially with a child involved, complicate what seemed like it could have been less painful. There are a few comedic moments that keep the movie from being a slog, and the performances of the whole cast deserve the accolades they're getting.

8. Avengers: Endgame


The Marvel Cinematic Universe is still going, but I wouldn't blame anyone who felt like hopping off the ride after Endgame. It's the culmination of 12 years and 22 movies worth of successful mass market storytelling. The fact that it not only isn't an incoherent mess but pays off in all the ways people hoped it would is a miracle. I'm not sure we'll ever see anything like the first "saga" of the MCU again. The opening section of the film is successful at selling the drama and horror of a world that has lost so much. The second act is both a fun tribute to the history of the series and a screwball time travel adventure, with some pathos thrown in. And the final battle is just a smorgasbord of dramatic conclusions to character arcs and entertaining fan service moments. It's not high cinema, but there's a reason it's the highest grossing movie ever made.

7. Us


Us is a lot messier than Jordan Peele's first movie as a director. It has a really big concept behind it, one that seems to make less sense the more you think about it. But I think I may have liked it more than Get Out anyway. It has a lot on its mind, big ideas about America and freedom and class, and it's also more successful as a horror film. Get Out had creepy moments, but Us comes closer to being truly terrifying at moments, and the imagery of it will stick in your mind long afterward. Really, the whole movie stuck with me, which is probably more important than making total logical sense. There's a lot going on in Us, and it certainly would reward watching it more than once. Not too many horror movies can say that.

6. Midsommar


The negative reactions I have seen to Midsommar are interesting. I've seen complaints that the characters are unlikable, it's not very scary, and it's not very unpredictable. None of those things are false, but none of them seemed like flaws to me, because it doesn't seem like it was trying to be scary or unpredictable or have likable characters. There's a sense of inevitability to the movie, as people start disappearing and the others just continue on as if in a daze. It's a movie about trauma and mental health and drugs and shitty friends, and the way the central character gets pulled into the world she's entered is more disturbing than any simple attempts to shock or frighten the viewer. Not that it totally avoids being a horror movie, there are a few moments of gore that should unsettle pretty much anybody. It's a horror movie that takes place almost entirely in daylight, and that idea of everything being right in front of you and it still working is not just an aesthetic choice but the whole point of the movie.

5. Knives Out


Rian Johnson hops off the franchise train for a bit and returns to what he's known for - taking a genre that hasn't gotten much attention and doing it as well as any of the classics you can name. This time it's murder mysteries, with the patriarch of a wealth family seemingly killing himself and an oddball detective taking it upon himself to sniff out what he suspects was really foul play. Every member of the family has a reason they may have wanted the old man dead, but which one of them actually did it? The film quickly diverts from this story in unexpected ways, but it never stops being a thrilling and funny romp. It also does a great job of skewering upper class white people, who can be perfectly friendly and open minded until things stop going their way. Johnson has discussed doing sequels with Daniel Craig's absurdly accented detective character, and I'd love to see them.

4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


It's indulgent as hell, but what do you expect from late-career Quentin Tarantino? Hollywood is his love letter to his youth and the movies and celebrities he adored growing up. It's also an opportunity to play around a bit with genre from scene to scene. When an actor played by Leonardo DiCaprio and his bodyguard/stunt double played by Brad Pitt are hanging out, it's a nice, loose buddy comedy. When DiCaprio is doing an acting job just to get a paycheck, he returns to the Western setting he's explored in his last couple movies. When Pitt visits the famous Spahn Ranch after learning about the weird group that's staying there, it feels like a tense horror or thriller flick. And of course it ends in a Tarantinian explosion of brutal yet somehow satisfying violence. You probably know if you like his style or not and this isn't likely to change your mind. It's maybe a bit aimless in comparison, but I still had a really good time.

3. The Irishman

Excepting a TV pilot, this is Martin Scorsese's first work in the gangster genre in over a decade. He's decidedly an old man at this point, and we find him reflecting on what a life of violence is really worth. A lot of talk has been about the movie's immense length and the de-aging computer effects, and those can be talked about, but they're not really what interests me. I don't think I've ever seen a violent mob movie that so thoroughly repudiates mob violence. The first couple hours are a solid exploration of the genre, but then after the masterfully tense and regretful climax, we have the long denouement, as the characters tally up their successes and losses and realize how little it was all worth in the end. It has one of the best final shots and final lines I've seen in a movie. It's another masterpiece in a career of them.

2. The Lighthouse


The Lighthouse isn't the easiest movie to categorize. Largely I'd say it's a psychological horror movie, but if so, it's an odd one. It focuses on the complicated relationship of the master of a lighthouse on a remote island and his new assistant. The master can be friendly when he wants, and seems casual about the official rules when it suits him, but he is also a pain to be around and vindictive when he perceives shortcomings in his employee. The assistant struggles to adapt to the situation in a graceful way, which is understandable, but it seems as though he was driven to the post through something in his past he'd rather not speak of, and it's hard to pin down just how sympathetic he should really be. He is haunted by strange visions, nightmares, and a desire to make a connection, and you start to feel the loss connection of reality that he is clearly experiencing himself. It's a weird, funny, frightening movie that pushes a lot of buttons that I like to see get pushed. And the two performances by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson are great. I'll gladly watch anything Robert Eggers decides to make.

1. Parasite


A lot has been said about the message of Parasite, and rightly so. It's critical of the class divide in South Korea, but it's a divide that has proven resonant for people all over the planet. There's a justifiable rage against the ultra wealthy living well at the expense of the less fortunate everywhere, and the fact that so many of those ultra wealthy are claiming Parasite as a movie they loved just proves its point that they have no idea what world they are living in. But all of that kind of elides that the movie itself is just brilliantly crafted from start to finish. Bong Joon-ho is one of my favorites of current Korean directors, and Parasite could be his best work. Every single shot seems fully thought out and expertly designed to further the story he's telling. In addition, the whole cast is great, from Song Kang-ho, who he's been working with for over a decade, to newcomers like Park So-dam. It gets darker than you might expect at first, but Parasite is still the best time I had with a new movie in 2019.

Delayed Entry

This is the best movie that wasn't released in 2019 but I didn't see until then.

Mandy

Sometimes you just vibe with a movie, you know? I expected to like Mandy, but I didn't quite expect to fall in love with it so thoroughly. It felt like I was in an actual trance at times, which makes sense with how ethereal it feels and how the central characters are usually on some sort of drugs. Mandy is beautiful and ugly, funny and haunting, with a great soundtrack and a perfect performance from Nicolas Cage. It is sometimes both incredibly real and wonderfully unreal. I don't know, man. It's great.