The year is coming to an end which means plenty of film reviewers and pundits are creating and revealing their top 10 films of 2019. So I thought sod it, here’s mine!
Notable Mentions
There were a lot of films that missed out and it hurts a lot that did and I love them for different reasons.
They include Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin that I first thought was an awful idea as I felt the British filmmaker was the wrong pick and the same could be said about the casting of Will Smith as the Genie.
How wrong I was as Ritchie did a cracking job, this was Smith’s best performance in a long time doing a fantastic job of making the role his own. Meanwhile, they found a new star in the form of Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott’s Jasmine was utterly breathtaking.
Hustlers, Detective Pikachu, Alita: Battle Angel, Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Shazam!, Happy Death Day 2U and a small indie film called She’s Missing.
All movies I’d highly recommend checking out.
Without further ado here are my top 10 films of 2019.
10. Teen Spirit
You’ll see the title and think what? Well, Teen Spirit is a fantastic movie lead superbly by Elle Fanning I saw in the summer and surprisingly Lionsgate never gave it a full release but is out on DVD.
As a said Fanning is incredible as Violet, a second-generation immigrant, who wants to escape her small town in the Isle of Wight to pursue her passion for singing and signs up to a talent contest.
Max Minghella directs a visually stunning film which as a fantastic must-listen soundtrack.
9. Ready Or Not
I’m not a horror person but Ready Or Not isn’t really a horror movie instead, it’s more of a black comedic action film.
I haven’t had this much fun at the cinema this year than what I did with this movie.
Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin directed the hell out this movie and should be looked at for future action movies and blockbusters.
As for Samara Weaving, she’s stellar in this badass lead performance as we see her character grows and fight back. Similar to the filmmakers, the Aussie actress is going to be leading a franchise within a year or two.
As fans pointed out if Warner Bros and DC recast or add Harley Quinn for Robert Pattinson’s Batman franchise they’ve got the perfect replacement for fellow Oz Margot Robbie.
8. Long Shot
Apart from Superbad and The Night Before, I lost interest in Seth Rogen comedies but Long Shot is not only a fantastic Rogen performance but it’s one of the best modern romantic comedies.
Rogen works brilliantly with co-star Charlize Theron and their chemistry were off the charts. Meanwhile, the script is crackingly written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah.
As a wrestling and WWE fan I was excited and interested if there could be a decent graps based film knowing that even if it did end up to be bad, the one bright spot would be Florence Pugh.
When this movie was coming out, Pugh was an up-in-comer with a stellar performance from Lady Macbeth and Outlaw King on her side. She’s made this year’s hers with FWMF, then really blew up in the summer with Midsommar and now ending the year with a possible Oscar-nominated performance in Little Women.
Now in 2020, the British star will be part of the MCU with Black Widow.
FWMF ended up to be a wonderful underdog story with fantastic performances.
6. Destroyer
Just missing out on a top 5 spot but for a film to come out in January and sit be on this is list has to be a great movie and Destroyer is a great movie.
Even in my review, I said it was one of the best films of 2019 and this is down to two incredible women.
Karyn Kusama directing this dark, gritty, old-school noir story, with a fantastic twist by-the-way and Kidman to go completely method for the role and easily my favourite of hers.
5. Wild Rose
I was lucky enough to see this film at the London Film Festival 2018 and loved it from the moment I left. I could, I would’ve made it my film of 2018 and it was 100% the best film I saw in 2018.
If you don’t know who Jessie Buckley is, watch this film and realise she’s a superstar.
If this film was coming out around now for the Oscar push you’d see the Irishwoman in the running for best film, actress, original song (it’s currently in the shortlist) and supporting actress as this is the best performance from Julie Walters that doesn’t involve Paddington.
4. Ad Astra
Sticking with Oscar nomination shortlists the fact Ad Astra isn’t part of the nominees for Best Visual Effects is a massive shame as I thought it was the best film to use visual effects and should’ve won the whole damn thing.
I think Ad Astra is a masterpiece of filmmaking from the incredible performance of Brad Pitt, to James Grey superb director and story, the visual effects that took my breath away and immersed me in space.
The one action scene felt like something from Mad Max: Fury Road, Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography and Max Richter score all helped with feeling you’re in space and I didn’t want to leave.
3. Booksmart
No movie surprised me more then Booksmart, I wasn’t too sure about it but seeing Twitter reactions from fellow pundits and friends I felt like it should be something to watch.
I’m so glad they were right as Booksmart is a truly wonderful, delightful, fantastically funny movie about friendship and was beautifully told by Olivia Wilde.
It’s leading stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever who are just as delightful and wonderful and this will be a movie everyone will talk about as it’s already a cult classic and will be mentioned alongside Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club.
2. Knives Out
Knives Out blew my breath away. If you’re a budding screenwriter then this is a must-see, if you’re a film fan this movie is a must-see.
It’s clear throughout the whole film that everyone from Rian Johnson and his cast is having a complete ball, enjoying every minute.
The script is written superbly, the pacing, jokes, character and will be rewatched for years to come to find new things and easter eggs.
The whole cast is fantastic but two standout. Ana de Armas is a terrific lead and gives a faultless performance. Meanwhile, I have never seen Daniel Craig enjoying playing a character as much as watching him as Benoit Blanc.
Similar to Ad Astra, Joker is a masterpiece and I’ll happily discuss that with people forever as I have done with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.
Everything about Joker is perfect. Lead by Joaquin Phoenix’s trailblazing performance as a man broken by a broken system and the topic of the film discussing welfare and mental health, all within a comic book movie.
I can’t see director Todd Phillips ever besting what he directed and created with this film and is helped by the superb cinematography of Lawrence Sher and I can’t see beating Hildur Guonadottir for the Best Score Oscar for her haunting score.
The Bear Cave 