I know I said in my last post that The Best Movies of the Decade was going to be the final word on the last decade of movies. However, and I’m allowed to do so, I changed my mind. I was going to hold off on this one until I had seen certain movies and now I have. 2019 was a huge year for the industry. The year signaled not only the end of the decade, but it also heralded the end of certain stories, shows, and films. We saw the end of Game of Thrones with its eighth and final season. We also saw the end of the current iteration of Marvel’s MCU with films like Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. The 40+year journey of the Skywalkers concluded with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While 2019 was a banner year for big blockbuster films, it was also a huge year for the indie and low-budget film scene. While I wouldn’t say that 2019 was the strongest year for movies, it was no slouch. There were a lot of heavy hitters and some of them are going to be making this list. So, let’s take a look back at 2019 and see the gems that it delivered.
Joker
I know, I know, this one seems rather obvious. The truth is, Joker was one of my most anticipated films of the year and it delivered on all counts. This isn’t an action movie. It’s a character study of how one of the most notorious Batman super-villains became what he is. Honestly, there’s really nothing wrong with this movie and all the controversy surrounding it is very misleading. Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a mentally disturbed individual who was abused not just by his mother but by the system that was supposed to help people like him. Joker is a look at how a broken system fails people, but can inadvertently create a monster. Joaquin Phoenix turns in one of the greatest performances of his career and the film is absolutely riveting. It’s not an easy watch and it certainly isn’t going to be for everyone. Anybody expecting an action film like Batman I urge to look elsewhere for your fix. This is not that movie, instead it’s something deeper and more profound.
The Lighthouse
This was the movie that convinced me to do this list. The Lighthouse stars Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers on an isolated island and must contend with not only with each other, but the rapid descent into madness that afflicts them both. To say anymore about the story would spoil the surprise, but suffice to say, The Lighthouse is one of the most unique movies I’ve ever seen. From the visuals to the audio and the performances, this is a powerhouse of a film that doesn’t always provide answers for what’s going on. The film’s look is a black-and-white picture framed in a 1.19:1 aspect ratio which gives it a very old early 20th century film look. Despite the fact that it’s in black-and-white, that actually helps certain details in the film standout. The background sound of a fog horn that constantly goes off throughout the film helps immerse the audience into feeling like they’re going crazy. Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson deliver some of the greatest performances of the year, with Defoe playing a curmudgeonly old lighthouse keeper and Pattinson playing the younger and more inexperienced one. This is an absolute mind-bender of a film and is one of the best indie films of the year.
Avengement
While Jesse V. Johnson’s Triple Threat was absolutely one of my favorite action movies of the year, it’s Avengement that gets the nod here. Scott Adkins, in a career-defining performance, plays Cain Burgess, the younger brother of a notorious gangster who was set up and sent to prison. Being targeted and brutalized while in prison, Cain fights back and escapes, seeking revenge for what he’s been through, culminating in one of the most brutal bar fights I’ve seen. Scott Adkins has proven over the past couple of years that not only is he awesome with action, but he’s actually become quite a good actor. Some of my favorite moments in Avengement don’t involve action, but are smaller moments between Cain and his mother. Those felt real. This is a far cry from the Undisputed films, but I think that’s for the best. It allows for a more visceral kind of action and allows Adkins to really stretch his acting muscles. This is a crime thriller that absolutely must be seen.
Midsommar
Director Ari Aster first made himself known with 2018’s breakout horror film, Hereditary. It’s a film that did affect me on a personal level, despite how bleak and dark the film was. It was a real humdinger of a film featuring some of the best performances and intense situations of the year. Well, Mr. Aster did it again with 2019’s Midsommar, which is kind of his take on the Wicker Man’s cult-based horror. It’s a slow-burner and at two and a half hours, it may seem like forever, but it keeps you engaged with some real stunning visual imagery as well as a powerhouse performance by Florence Pugh. It’s definitely got its gory moments, but I wouldn’t say it’s a scary movie. Like The Lighthouse, this is film that gets under your skin and makes it crawl. It’s rare for a film to open with such a gut-punch, but it does set up the characters and the story to come. Oh, and let’s not forget that the majority of the film takes place during the day, which is very unusual for a horror movie.
Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood
It’s hard to believe that Quentin Tarantino has directed only nine movies. NINE. But each film that he’s directed has never been a failure. Sure, some like Death Proof aren’t his strongest, but if those are his worst movies, I’d say we’re in good shape, since he only plans on directing one more movie before calling it quits as a director. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that none of his movies are of the original variety. It’s how he brings those movies to life that makes them unique. He’s unique writing style, especially when it comes to dialogue, is unmatched. He only casts the best in his movies and Hollywood is no exception. Starring Leonardo Decaprio as Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, Hollywood follows television star Rick Dalton as he fears being left in the dust by newer stars and an ever-evolving industry. This is an utterly fantastic piece of 1960s Americana that really nails the era in which it is set. Tarantino, ever the master of attention to detail, outdoes himself in so many ways in terms of characters, sets and overall style of the film. He even managed to transform Hollywood Boulevard into the 1960s version of itself and it’s all done without the use of visual effects. The acting is fantastic and the story is just incredibly well-written. Quentin Tarantino is a master film-maker and while Hollywood isn’t his greatest, it’s still a hell of a movie. If you’re a fan of Tarantino, then you’ve either already either seen the film or own it on Blu-Ray/DVD.
There’s a lot of other movies that I saw in 2019, but these are the ones that really stood out to me. I didn’t bring up Avengers or Star Wars because I don’t think they were really as strong as a lot of other films this year. Yeah, Avengers: Endgame was a powerhouse of a comic-book film with some really emotional moments, but at its core, it still felt like a comic-book movie, and I was looking for a bit more than that for my Best Movies of 2019. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while enjoyable, felt incredibly rushed. It didn’t really allow for much character development as it decided that a break-neck pace was in order. It rushed from set-piece to set-piece without giving the audience to process what was going on. Outside of being a Star Wars fan and the fact that Episode IX was the end of a 40+ year journey, I didn’t get a whole lot from it other than it being a top-notch action movie. So, yeah, the movies that I picked as the best ones from 2019 aren’t exactly the big blockbuster movies that most people would expect. So, those are my favorite movies of 2019, and this concludes my Best of 2019 series. Thank you all so much for reading and here’s hoping to a spectacular 2020.