Top Ten Movies of 2019

This was an excellent year for movies and out of the fifty I saw this year, here are my top ten, starting with a few honorable mentions: 

*Relaxer, dir. Joel Potrykus: This year I tried to see more movies on VOD, and I’m glad I did because it was unlikely that this weird, gross out end of the world black comedy would be playing at the local theater where I live. It takes a ridiculous premise, injects it with pathos and sticks the landing in a brilliant way. It has to be seen to be believed

*Knives Out, dir. Rian Johnson: One of the year’s most purely entertaining films, Johnson eschews any recognizable franchise after directing The Last Jedi to do something original and no less fun, giving us a timely story of twists, turns, scumbags and heroes and one of the best times at the movies in 2019. 

*An Elephant Sitting Still, dir Hu Bo: A somber, meditative swan song about live in modern China, Bo first and sadly only film, at four hours, feels like a summation, a cry for help and a kind of suicide note all in one. It also might be one of the defining movies of the decade. Only time will tell. 

*The Head Hunter, dir. Jordan Downey: Admittedly a movie I praise more for how it got made, looking like a million bucks when its budget was measly $30,000, this is still one of the best horror films of the year, taking a simple premise and creating something ethereal and engaging in the process 

10. Waves, dir. Troy Edward Shults: With three films, Shults' has established himself as one of the preeminent chroniclers of the family breakdown, taking cues from the greats like Polanski and Cassavetes to present very real dysfunction through the lens of a paranoid horror film, and this one, using interesting, destabilizing camera movements and frenetic editing to bring the audience to the depths of despair and finally to something resembling hope. I cannot wait to see what he does next. 

9. Uncut Gems, dir. The Safdie Brothers: Following their breakout hit Good Time, this is another tightly wound race against the clock thriller, immersing us in a story that frays our nerves and tests our patience with a morally questionable character who we hope finds a way out. It is helped by Adam Sandler, who gives a career best performance as the eccentric jeweler who teeters on the edge of success and ruin. 

8. Avengers: Endgame, dir. The Russo Brother: A beautiful capstone to a decade plus story a lot of people grew up with. It is so good that it is really hard to see what else the superhero genre can do (more on that farther down) and where they can go from now. Viewing this as the actual “end” made the whole experience sublime.

7. Diane, dir. Kent Jones: You’d think film critics would not make good filmmakers, but Kent Jones proved me wrong with this somber tale of an ageing woman and the dwindling social resources in her life. At different points during this 90 minute movie I was reminded of the books of Richard Russo and Bergman at his most bleak, especially that ending. And Mary Kay Place gives the best female performance of the year as the weary title character. 

6. The Nightingale, dir. Jennifer Kent: The best horror film of the year, and not surprisingly the hardest to watch, with multiple graphic scenes of sexual assault and appalling violence and one of the most despicable movie characters in a couple of years, but at the heart of it is the relationship between two crushed spirits and their search for kindness in a world in short supply of it. 

5. John Wick 3-Parabellum, dir. Chad Stahelski: Who would have thought, five years ago that John Wick would spawn what is possibly the best action movie series of all time and in turn rekindle the career of Keanu Reeves, making him one of the biggest stars in the world, but there is something about these movies that keep getting better, building on an interesting universe and delving deeper into what could easily be a one-note character, making us feel his plight even as we cheer on action set piece after brilliant action set piece. 

4. The Last Black Man in San Francisco, dir. Joe Talbot: I guarantee you did not see another film this year like this one. It’s a weirdly wonderful story of friendship, a celebration of a city and an elegy for a collective past that is no longer there. When I was not awe-struck by the directions this movie took, I was moved by the friendship at its center that felt truly authentic despite whatever otherworldly events take place. 

3. Joker, dir. Todd Phillips: It is appropriate that this and Endgame came out in the same year, because I feel this is the direction comic book movies should take, discarding crossovers and telling singular, contained stories that stand on their own. This is a truly caustic film, downbeat, violent but mesmerizing as well, distilling our politically fraught landscape into the sad life of a man who can’t stop laughing at it. It’s tough to watch but that does not take away from its greatness. 

2. Parasite, dir. Bong Joon-ho: It took almost 16 year, but the Korean boom we witnessed after 2003’s Oldboy is finally gaining mainstream success in 2019, and it is all directed at a movie that truly deserves it. Using the subject of class division to tell a story of deception and quietly building resentment, Ho’s film, bolstered by the best script of the year, subverts every expectation while still remaining in the realm of plausibility and gives us a poignant story that brings into questions some of our most deeply held values. This film felt like the biggest event of 2019, and it delivered everything it promised. 

1. The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, dir. Henry Dunham: I said earlier I tried to watch more VOD releases this year, and this is part of the reason why, because even though I saw this all the way back in January, I still can’t stop thinking about it. With a simple premise, a fantastic script and stirring performances from a handful of character actors we all recognize, Dunham crafted the most compelling film of the year. Evoking such influences as David Mamet plays and John Carpenter’s The Thing while still feeling relevant in its plot and quietly revolutionary in the way it presents its situation and characters, this film, from its tense interrogation scenes to its poetically devastating ending, felt like the best this year had to offer.