My Top Twenty One Films of 2019

And here we are again at the start of another year. I watched 124 films from the year 2019, within the calendar year itself. Yes I know that might be a bit excessive but what can I say, I’m probably compensating for not being hugged enough at some point. A full list of films I saw is published below, with a basic rating, in case you are interested. As you know I live in the wonderful city of Prague, and excellent as it is, the release dates for some films may differ from other countries, hence why some of the films listed as watched here might have been released in 2018 elsewhere, and some films from 2019 have not been released here yet (i.e. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot), and will therefore be in next year’s list (if I get down to watching them). Beware as usual this is a superhero/comic book film heavy list.

So how was 2019 for films? I would say it was quite a good year, there were a lot more films that I rated Good or Excellent, than there were ones I rated Bad or Awful. Also this was a fantastic year for music in film, both the use of pre-existing songs and with soundtracks in general.

Also please be aware that this post might contain unintentional spoilers

The Top Twenty One

21) Happy Death Day 2U

This was a great sequel to the horror comedy Happy Death Day from 2017, this time we not only get an explanation (well science mumbo jumbo) about what caused the time loops in the first film, we are also introduced to multiple universes created by diverging timelines, which strangely is my jam. Jessica Rothe is again immensely watchable as Tree Gelbman, the girl who got stuck in a time loop previously where she was constantly murdered. I can’t think of any actress who I have seen acting exasperated as well as I have seen Ms. Rothe, at least not recently, and I know a thing or two about exasperating people.

20) The Peanut Butter Falcon

This was an enchanting film, following Zak (Zack Gottsagen) a young man with Down syndrome, who escapes from the retirement home, where he has been placed, in order to attend a wrestling school run by his favourite professional wrestler “The Salt Water Redneck” (Thomas Haden Church). En route he meets up with Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) a man on the run from two crabbers he has wronged. Tyler takes a shine to Zak and decides to help get him to his destination. This is a slow moving film as Zak and Tyler first walking towards their destination and then raft down the backwaters, chased by both the crabbers and Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) a social worker who cares for Zak and is trying to bring him home. LeBeouf is at his most likable in this film and shows a quiet tender side that you don’t usually see from him.

19) Jumanji: The Next Level

A brilliant follow up to the 2017 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, this time we see Spencer (Alex Wolff) from the previous film having a very rough time of it, and deciding to fix up the console he and his friends destroyed at the end of the last film, in order to enter Jumanji so he can feel the confidence of being Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson) again. His friends thinking he may be in trouble, decide to go in and rescue him, however as the console is not functioning properly, it also pulls in Spencer’s grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) and Eddie’s frenemy Milo (Danny Glover) in with them, assigns the characters randomly, and puts them into a completely new adventure. This film is full of impressive performances from the actors playing the characters within the game having to take on many different personalities, and though Dwayne Johnson acting as Eddie is fantastic, the MVP is definitely Kevin Hart playing a super slow talking and meandering Milo.

18) Ready or Not

This is another fantastic horror comedy from this year. Grace (Samara Weaving) a bride on her wedding night, is told of a family tradition, that any person marrying into the board game dynasty, has to play a randomly picked game on their first night, what she is not told is that if she get the game Hide and Seek (which she obviously does), then she must hide, while the remaining family members hunt her down. They do this as they believe that one of their ancestors made a pact with the mysterious Mr Le Bail (possibly the devil or a demon), and if a sacrifice of the hider is not made by daybreak then they will all die. This film is a lot of gory fun, with as many laugh out loud moments, as moments that will make you wince. It possibly also has the best last line of any film this year.

17) Ad Astra

Some people thought that this film was a bit slow, however I really enjoyed it (I mean it made this list). I found Brad Pitt’s subdued performance intriguing as an astronaut going out into deep space to try and find his father, who had long been thought dead. Beautifully shot, and superbly acted, this film is filled with metaphors about sons and fathers, and moving on. It also has space pirates, laser fights and super scary space baboons. So something for everyone.

16) Rocketman

After 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody this biopic of Elton John could have been seen as a cash grab, however in my not so humble opinion this is a superior film. It integrated Elton John’s music in interesting and fun ways throughout as a fantasy musical numbers. It also did not shy away from the uglier parts of Elton John’s life such as his drug problems and abusive relationships. I was a bit sceptical about the casting of Taron Egerton as Elton John, however his performance won me over and the scenes between him and Jamie Bell playing Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s long time songwriter are really touching. Also though he doesn’t sound like Elton John, Egerton actually singing the songs himself added something real to his depiction of Elton John.

15) Hail Satan?

An excellent documentary following The Satanic Temple as they try and assert their own freedom of religion and bring light upon the issue of religion (Christianity) creeping its way into government Institutions of America. This documentary tries to expose the hypocrisy within a society that is supposedly built upon the separation of church and state. The film also charts the creation of The Satanic Temple and its key tenets, their campaigns to have religious iconography (specifically Ten Commandments monuments) removed from state government buildings, as well as their other community works, such as promoting women health rights and charity drives. Definitely worth watching, even if it’s just to give you a new perspective on a much maligned group.  

14) Spider-Man: Far From Home

How do you follow up the biggest film of all time? Not only did Avengers Endgame bring together almost every hero in the MCU together to fight Thanos and his army, it also successfully capped off a story arc going back 21 other films. Well Marvel went the correct route and bought everything down to a smaller scale, focusing on Peter Parker (Tom Holland), as he deals with the aftermath of Endgame, trying to get away from Spider-Man and just have a normal summer on a class trip around Europe, maybe tell MJ how he feels. All this of course is set aside when Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) pulls him in to help with a potentially world ending crisis. Though everyone is again great in this, special mention must go to Jake Gyllenhaal playing the mysterious Mysterio (see what I did there), who is able to pull off being super likable and/or sleazy and detestable at the moment’s notice.

13) Shazam!
In comparison to the MCU, The DCEU (or whatever dumb thing they are calling it currently) films have been very disjointed and inconsistent. You’ve had the good one’s (Wonder Woman and Aquaman), the bad one (Suicide Squad), the really awful ones (Batman vs Superman, Justice League) and the OK one Man of Steel. So going into Shazam! I wasn’t sure what to expect, and though not a perfect film by any standards (awful CGI villains is a regular DCEU issue), this comes the closest to bringing an actual DC comic book to the big screen. All the actors here are good in their roles, Zachary Levi is charming as ever as the eponymous hero who is really a child in an adult body, and has fantastic chemistry with Jack Dylan Grazer, playing his foster brother and almost as big a superhero nerd as yours truly. The film finally brings some joy to the DCEU, hopefully this trend will continue when needed (Batman doesn’t need joy).

12) Yesterday
I am a huge fan of the works of Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle (Sunshine is a super underrated film) and the music of the Beatles, so a film combining all three was obviously going to appeal to me. Jack Malik (Himesh Patel in his big screen debut) a failed musician, wakes up after an accident in a world where the Beatles never existed and their songs were never released, though he still remember them. He of course takes advantage of this to help launch his own career by releasing their songs himself. This is a sweet and funny film which sees Jack dealing with feelings of guilt and being a fraud, as well as finally realising his love for his best friend Ellie (Lily James) and coming to terms with his career driving them apart. Though I found Kate McKinnon as a ruthless music agent over the top and slightly distracting the rest of the cast were great, special shout out to Joel Fry as Jack’s friend/roadie Rocky.

11) Dolemite is My Name
Even at the start of 2019 if you had told me that one of my favourite films of the year would be an Eddie Murphy led vehicle, about a 1970’s musician/comedian/Blaxploitation star who I had not heard of, I probably would have said “Okaaaaaay?” while backing away slowly. However if such a series of improbable events had taken place, I would have been mistaken (but they didn’t so I wasn’t). Based on a true story this is a fantastic film, Murphy is astonishing as Rudy Ray Moore, a down on his luck middle-aged man who by the sheer force of his will makes himself a star. This is a true underdog story and I am glad that Murphy told it and I’m glad to have Murphy back to his best.

10) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Though this is not my favourite of Quentin Tarantino’s films (Jackie Brown in case you are interested), this is still a fantastic film. Set in 1969, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) a Hollywood actor whose career is in decline, and his best friend is his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) are the main protagonists of this story. Tarantino bring late 60’s Hollywood to life, with many cameos by actors and actresses playing famous people of the era. At the fringes of the story is the spectre of Charles Manson and the Manson Family, with the murder of Sharon Tate seemingly the ultimate destination of the film. This film has all the style and verve of a classic Tarantino film along with a killer soundtrack, as well as performances of the highest order from the entire cast.

9) Knives Out

I love a good mystery film, and this is a really good one. This film is an old school detective story akin to the best episodes of Poirot or Columbo. It introduces us to an original private detective Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig playing with the most fascinating accent you will have heard in 2019), as he investigates the suicide of an 85 year old mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) on the night of his birthday.  The suspects include the pit of vipers that is the Thrombey family, most of whom are hiding secrets and have reasons to want to off the patriarch. A story full of twists and turn, and another great ensemble cast. I am hoping that Rian Johnson will make some more of these, we definite need some more Benoit Blanc.

8) Captain Marvel

Yes this film only came out in 2019. Now even though I am a huge comic book fan (I might have mentioned his once or twice), I have to say that Captain Marvel has never been a character I have been interested in, mostly because I tend to prefer DC, Vertigo and Image comics to Marvel, so I went into this film with the most basic knowledge of the character, and I left the cinema wanting to read everything I could featuring her. Brie Larsson is fantastic as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel as a super-powered being from the planet Hala, who ends up on Earth in the year 1995, following Talos (A brilliant Ben Mendelsohn) and his group of Skrull terrorist, though things may not be what they first appear to be. I loved this film, Brie Larsson kicks ass as the eponymous hero, Samuel L Jackson is the best version of Nick Fury we have seen so far and the 90’s soundtrack rocks. The other thing that endears me to this film is that it has my favourite of all the MCU Stan Lee Cameo in it, as he plays himself preparing for his role in Mallrats (meaning both Stan Lee and Kevin Smith exist in the MCU Yay!).

7) Blinded By the Light

This is probably the film that I related to most this year. Based on a true story, it follows Javed Khan a British-Pakistani teen in the 1980’s, who is struggling with the conflict of having his own aspirations and the more traditional desires of his family. Feeling alone and misunderstood, Javed finds solace in the music of Bruce Springsteen, and it opens up his world. This is a film about the effect music can have on you, to lift you up and to comfort you in solidarity. Though not exactly my experience (I’m of Indian origin and about 5 years behind from the events of this story), I also went through a similar phrase and therefore this film really spoke to me. Though it doesn’t sound very funny it is full of some quite humorous moment. It also does an excellent job of portraying how the song lyrics relate to what Javed is going through at time, especially that moment that he first hears Dancing in the Dark.

6) Joker

Not a traditional interpretation of the Joker, this film is grim to say the least. Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, possibly the most down trodden person in the history of comic book cinema, he is a mentally ill man in 1980’s Gotham, who makes his living as a clown, but dreams of being a stand-up comedian. He is constantly beaten down both figuratively by the system that is unable to provide for him and his ailing mother, and literally by people who attack him physically. That is until one night when he just snaps and commits and act of violence himself. What follows is Arthur’s decent (rise?) through madness. As he starts to turn more confident and sinister, the city around him reacts to his actions lauding him and turning on the upper crust of society. The actions taken by Arthur and his followers are extreme to say the least and Arthur should in no way be seen as a heroic figure. Phoenix’s performance is exceptional, the film is shot beautifully and Hildur Guðnadóttir’s soundtrack is magnificent.

5) John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

It’s God Damn John Wick! Again like Chapter 2 this film expands the John Wick Universe (The Wickerverse?), this time on a global scale, as John (Keanu Reeves) attempts to dodge what seems to be all the assassins, and make amends for his transgression in the previous film. The remarkable world building this film doesn’t come at the expense of the action and fight scenes either, in fact it actually has more action than the previous film and a larger variety of it too. At various points in the film you have book-fu, horse-fu and dog-fu, as well as other great fights. This is not a one man show though, this film has a great ensemble cast, with Ian McShane, Lance Reddick and Laurence Fishburne returning and the excellent addition of Halle Berry, Mark Dacascos and Asia Kate Dillon. I had assumed before going in that this would be the end of a trilogy, I left impatient for the next chapter.

4) Avengers: Endgame

I mean obviously this was going to make my list, though some may be surprised that it is as low on my list as it is. Well in my opinion as awesome as this film is (and it is awesome), at successfully juggling the huge number of characters in it, and how gracefully it capped the Infinity Saga, I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as Avengers: Infinity War (Shock! Horror!). I think that after the last film, this one suffers from not having enough Thanos (Josh Brolin) in it. Thanos was the most compelling character in Infinity War. Don’t get me wrong, I will re-watch this film over and over and over again, especially the last hour (Fucking Portals Hell Yeah!) and the fight against Thanos and his forces, had some truly classic comic book moment in that (Captain America fighting with Mjolnir!, Captain Marvel going toe to toe with the big purple one), however in Infinity War Thanos was a fully fleshed out character, whose motivations were well intentioned, not matter what you thought of his methods. In Endgame he is relegated to almost being a moustache twirling villain. Having said that the Russo brothers and Kevin Feige should all be congratulated for what they have accomplished here.

3) Booksmart

This was definitely the best out and out comedy I saw this year, and was top of my list for a huge chunk of the year. Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are best friends, who on the last day of high school find out that while they have worked super hard, alienating all others to achieve their goal of getting into Yale, all the other students have also gotten into good universities (or careers) and they have also had fun throughout high school. Molly and Amy decide to cut loose and make up for as much of the missed fun they can in one night. This leads to much hijinks. There are many males focused coming-of-age comedies out there, so it is good to see a female focused one, it is even better to see a coming-of-age comedy that is actually very funny and is this smart, no matter what the gender of the protagonists. The two leads are fantastic, and though I can’t speak from experience I have heard that this is very accurate depiction of female friendship, and first time director Olivia Wilde (yes that one), does a great job.

2) Jojo Rabbit

Taika Watiti is one of the most interesting writers and directors currently working in the film industry, he’s not a half-bad actor either. In this comedy he plays Adolf Hitler as the imaginary friend of a 10 year old boy living in Germany at the later stages of World War Two. The boy Johannes “Jojo” Betzler who lives with his loving mother (Scarlett Johansson), has grown up in the shadow of the Nazi propaganda machine and has complete faith in it. That is until he discovers that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home, and though at first it confuses him, as the film goes on he starts to question, what he has been bought up to believe. Now there have been some concerns bought up that the portrayal of Hitler and the Nazis in this film will make them seem not as bad as they really were, however I believe that the film attempts to depict how a 10 year old boy in that situation would see the world, and this well might be how that boy would understand his world. Also Nazis are fucking assholes, and mocking them can never be a bad thing. Great performances throughout, though a very special mention should go to Archie Yates, who play Yorki, Jojo’s best friend, whenever he is on screen, he steals the scene.

1) The Farewell

This bittersweet comedy based on a true story (a few of those in the list this year), sees Billi (played by Awkwafina), a Chinese-American writer, who is told that her beloved grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) is dying of cancer, and then is told that her family are not going to tell Nai Nai that she is dying, instead they are putting on a fake wedding for Billi’s cousin as an excuse for the entire family to all go home and spend some time with Nai Nai before she passes. There are no antagonists in this film, (well unless you consider cancer the antagonist, Fuck you cancer!), it is just about a family dealing with an awful situation, and the conflict Billi is finding between at her western ideals pushing her to tell her Grandmother, and the families more traditional values of taking the emotional pressure away from Nai Nai and taking it upon themselves. Everyone is brilliant in this, and their portrayal of a family is very believable. And yes I know what you are thinking, this film doesn’t sound funny, but it is. It might not be as laugh out loud as some of the other films in this list, but it does have its moment. I would definitely recommend it. Be warned a lot of it is Mandarin.

And my worst film of the year for 2019 is.........

6 Underground

Apparently this is what happens when you give Michael Bay carte blanche, this film is truly abysmal. There is a kernel of a good idea here, and the cast is made up of some good actors. However the characters, the dialogue, the attempts at humour, the way the film is cut and the general look of it is awful. At points it is actually jarring to watch, and that starts within the first few minutes. Also I say this as a huge fan of the female form, Michael Bays attempt to shoehorn in women in bikinis and lingerie is just sad and detracts from what little storyline is actually happening. Also if you are going to call your film 6 Underground not having the Sneaker Pimps song in it, just seems wrong to me. Give this a miss, even if you already have a Netflix subscription and have watched everything else on it.

Complete list of Films watched in 2019

Ratings

Excellent = Must watch

Good = Should watch

Meh = Fine

Bad = Can be avoided

Awful = Avoid

6 Underground - Awful

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood - Good

A Score to Settle - Meh

Above the Shadows - Meh

Ad Astra - Excellent

Aladdin - Good

Alita: Battle Angel - Bad

Always Be My Maybe - Good

Amazing Grace - Excellent

Anna - Meh

Arctic - Meh

At Eternity's Gate - Good

Avengers: Endgame - Excellent

Batman Hush - Meh

Blinded by the Light - Excellent

Booksmart - Excellent

Border - Meh

Brightburn - Meh

Bumblebee - Good

Captain Marvel - Excellent

Captive State - Bad

Code 8 - Meh

Cold Pursuit - Good

Crawl - Meh

Dark Phoenix - Awful

Deadwood the Movie - Meh

Doctor Sleep - Good

Dolemite is My Name - Excellent

Doom Annihilation - Bad

Downton Abbey - Bad

Dumbo - Awful

El Camino A Breaking Bad Movie - Good

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw - Good

Fighting with My Family - Good

Ford v Ferrari - Excellent

Free Solo - Good

Frozen 2 - Good

Fyre - Meh

Gemini Man - Bad

Glass - Awful

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Bad

Greta - Meh

Hail Satan - Excellent

Happy Death Day 2U - Excellent

Hellboy - Meh

Hustlers - Good

I Am Mother - Meh

In the Shadow of the Moon - Bad

It Chapter Two - Meh

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum - Excellent

Jojo Rabbit - Excellent

Joker - Excellent

Jumanji: The Next Level - Excellent

Klaus - Good

Knives Out - Excellent

Knock Down the House - Excellent

Late Night - Good

Little Monsters - Excellent

Long Shot - Good

Men in Black: International - Awful

Midsommar - Meh

Miss Bala - Meh

Missing Link - Good

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - Excellent

Paradise Hills - Awful

Parasite - Good

Point Blank - Meh

Pokémon Detective Pikachu - Good

Ralph Breaks the Internet - Good

Rambo: Last Blood - Bad

Ready or Not - Excellent

Rocketman - Excellent

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - Meh

Shaft - Bad

Shazam! - Excellent

Shiny Shrimps - Good

Slaughterhouse Rulez - Awful

Sometimes Always Never - Meh

Spider-Man: Far From Home - Excellent

Stan & Ollie - Good

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Meh

Stockholm - Bad

Stuber - Good

Teen Titans Go Vs Teen Titans - Good

Terminator: Dark Fate - Good

The Addams Family - Good

The Aeronauts - Meh

The Art of Self Defense - Meh

The Beach Bum - Bad

The Best of Enemies - Good

The Curse of La Llorona - Bad

The Day Shall Come - Good

The Dead Don't Die - Meh

The Death of Dick Long - Awful

The Farewell - Excellent

The Favourite - Good

The Highwaymen - Good

The Hustle - Awful

The Irishman - Good

The Kid Who Would Be King - Meh

The King - Meh

The Laundromat - Bad

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part - Meh

The Lighthouse - Bad

The Lion King - Meh

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote - Meh

The Nightingale - Good

The Old Man and the Gun - Excellent

The Peanut Butter Falcon - Excellent

The Professor and the Madman - Meh

The Two Popes - Good

The Upside - Good

Tolkien - Meh

Toy Story 4 - Good

Triple Frontier - Bad

Triple Threat - Good

Us - Good

Velvet Buzzsaw - Bad

Welcome to Marwen - Meh

Where'd You Go, Bernadette - Meh

Wonder Park - Meh

Wonder Woman: Bloodlines - Meh

Yesterday - Excellent

Zombieland: Double Tap - Good