The Best Movies of 2019

2019 may have ended nearly two months ago, but I’m not quite ready to stop talking about it. After all, there were a number of 2019 releases that weren’t coming out until January and February of this year, for whatever reason. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to give each film a chance to get recognized.

But beyond that, I had a lot to reflect on as 2019 came to a close. Last year was my first on YouTube, and I’m incredibly grateful to my friends, family, and all others who supported what I’m trying to accomplish here. To say that I’ve learned a lot would be a gross understatement, for there is much that I’ve gained from all those who have given me honest feedback.

And as far as the movie releases themselves go, I experienced a whirlwind of different emotions as I took in what the artistic voices in the world of cinema had to offer.

Having already made two different lists ranking the worst as well as the most surprising and disappointing movies of the past year, I won’t waste much of your time here with a recap. However, what I can say about 2019 is that it was a year of unrelenting frustration. A quality film would come up here and there, only for feelings of goodwill to be squandered by something Hollywood crapped out with little passion behind it. Many of the year’s biggest and most impactful releases also let me down.

Even so, this is a celebration of those movies that really did something for me. These works of art didn’t just serve their purpose in being entertaining and displaying pleasing imagery, but they also moved me in a variety of ways. Whether or not that movie may have been introducing me to new concepts, reinforcing existing ideals, or affecting my emotions, as long as a film left an impact, it was among my favorites of the year.

And with that, I wanted to share 15 quick honorable mentions that were great films in their own right, but didn’t quite make the cut for me:

Apollo 11 (Todd Douglas Miller): A straight, no-frills chronicle of the Apollo 11 mission, this documentary is a treat to watch due to its authenticity and the beauty of its remastered visuals.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Marielle Heller): I didn’t realize I needed another “Fred Rogers movie” until I saw this one.

For Sama (Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts): A harrowing documentary about conflicts in Syria that uses its human perspective to very emotionally powerful effect.

Greener Grass (Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe): This satirical comedy is destined to piss off many and win over many others. I’m one of those who was won over by it.

The Irishman (Martin Scorsese): If you love Scorsese’s gangster films, you’ll find the same good qualities here, along with mature and thoughtful themes you might not expect.

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum (Chad Stahelski): This is the weakest story out of the three films, but the action is so awesome and well-paced that I couldn’t help but love it anyway.

Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi): It doesn’t pull off its Wes Anderson-like whimsy and tonal dissonance as much as it thinks it does, but the meaningful story otherwise hit me with an emotional gut-punch that I won’t soon forget.

Klaus (Sergio Pablos): Even though this origin story for the Santa Claus myth follows a well-worn formula quite closely, its gorgeous animation and warm tone made for an irresistible experience.

1917 (Sam Mendes): The one-shot technique may be a gimmick, but I thought it worked well enough for telling an immersive story about the power of preserving life rather than destroying it.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino): A fun and nostalgic fairy tale set during the end of Hollywood’s golden age, which features one of my favorite endings of any movie released in 2019.

One Cut of the Dead (Shinichiro Ueda): There have been so many zombie movies throughout the years that it’s hard to come across truly inventive and fun twists on the genre. If you’re looking for something new, look no further than this gem from Japan.

Penguin Highway (Hiroyasu Ishida): In what essentially feels like an anime version of Stranger Things, this is a weird and sometimes awkward movie with enough entertainment value, colorful visuals, and fascinating story elements to stand on its own two legs.

Shadow (Zhang Yimou): With incredibly striking uses of color, amazing fight scenes, and a surprisingly robust plot, this is a Chinese martial arts film that you shouldn’t miss out on.

Waves (Trey Edward Shults): Despite having some uneven pacing and questionable storytelling choices, the payoff to this epic, visually-sumptuous family drama is very rewarding.

Weathering With You (Makoto Shinkai): While not as groundbreaking as Your Name, this is still a unique and beautiful anime romance on its own terms.

But now that we’ve gotten all of those out of the way, let’s take a look at the ten movies from 2019 that impacted me the most!

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#10 — The Art of Self-Defense (Riley Stearns)

In what is easily the most surprising inclusion on this list, The Art of Self-Defense is one of those very rare comedies that actually make me… well, laugh! The irony of that is that the movie is a far cry from subtlety. Writer-director Riley Stearns was very blatant in making his movie about toxic masculinity, and the movie proudly wears that message on its sleeve. But due to the movie’s commitment to a loose, goofy tone, it absolutely works. On top of that, the performances are excellent,  particularly with Jesse Eisenberg perfectly cast as the main character and Alessandro Nivola in a criminally underrated and hysterical supporting role that should have received much more attention during awards season. This movie is basically a perfect cross between Fight Club and Napoleon Dynamite, and it made for one of the most gleefully entertaining movies of the entire year.

#9 — Avengers: Endgame (Anthony and Joe Russo)

Despite being a movie that you could probably nitpick until the cows come home, Avengers: Endgame still accomplished the unthinkable: closing out a story that has been building over a decade with more than 20 movies and doing so in spectacular, supremely satisfying fashion. Some argue that the 3-hour runtime was unnecessary, but I was completely fine with it since there were enough plot and character moments to keep the momentum going, and because of that, I don’t really know what I would remove. It remained consistently engaging from beginning to end, and such stayed the case after watching it a couple of times since then. It will be really interesting to see how Marvel tries to keep this momentum going with their Phase 4 movies, but no matter what happens with this franchise, I’ll always be grateful for how this storyline came to an end.

#8 — Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma)

The most recently-released movie to be included on this list, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a very unconventional one for me to rank among my favorites in a given year, primarily for the reason that it’s a romance between two women in late 1800s France. The fact that it is here is simply a testament to how good it is, for even though my conservative religious background doesn’t exactly line up with the ideas presented here, what I’ve come to really appreciate about cinema is the opportunity to learn about perspectives other than my own. Director Céline Sciamma did a marvelous job crafting a visually sumptuous movie that also has an intoxicating, palpable sense of tension and drama at its core, which makes it all worthwhile due to the tragic nature of the story. Since it has almost no musical score and just relies on its sound design, editing, dialogue, and cinematography to do the work, I’m shocked it captivated me as much as it did. Definitely worth looking into if you’re curious about venturing into foreign cinema.

#7 — The Farewell (Lulu Wang)

And what better way to follow-up discussing a foreign language film such as Portrait of a Lady on Fire than by writing about The Farewell, a film in which the characters speak both English and Mandarin Chinese dialogue? The premise may be a bit strange, but the semi-autobiographical story that director Lulu Wang shares has universal appeal due to its themes of family relationships. Because of this, I expect that The Farewell will be a good entry point for people who haven’t watched much foreign or independent cinema. After all, it certainly has the cinematic quality of an art film but is completely accessible to film fans of all types. Films like this are what I prefer to see being talked about on social media, for they challenge their audience to process both the story and images while not doing any gatekeeping against those who don’t really watch arthouse films. The Farewell explores a wide variety of emotions such as sadness, regret, hope, and complex familial love, and it does so in a fantastic, very memorable way that I hope more people earnestly seek out. When people talk about how the Oscars don’t give enough credit to female directors, Lulu Wang is the textbook example of someone who was robbed. She made a terrific breakout movie, and I eagerly await what she does next.

#6 — Toy Story 4 (Josh Cooley)

I may have said that The Art of Self-Defense was the most surprising inclusion on this list, but honestly, I could say the same for Toy Story 4. I’m less inclined to since I was still cautiously anticipating it due to my love of Pixar, but wow, I never could have expected it to be as great as it actually ended up being. While I still don’t really like what they did with Buzz, nor do I think the plot works as seamlessly as other aspects of the movie, the most shocking element of this story is how it easily justified its own existence. I’ll spare you the details since I already based an entire video around my argument, but to be short of words, Toy Story 4 provided the perfect logical ending to Woody’s character arc. He arrived at a spot that I thought was surprising at first but then realized that it was completely inevitable all along. Others will certainly disagree with me, but that’s ok; I just got something out of it that means a great deal to me personally. Aside from that, though, Toy Story 4 was just a ton of fun, and had a lot to add to the table with its fantastic sense of humor, brilliant pacing, and lovable new characters. The 2010s began with a great Toy Story film, and then they ended with another one.

#5 — Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)

Writer-director Noah Baumbach was always an artist that I respected more than I genuinely loved, but Marriage Story changed that. What’s strange about this movie is that despite being about the painful legal process of divorce, the story is far more heartfelt than the premise lets on. It just seems like Noah Baumbach poured every ounce of soul he could find into the script, given that it oozes passion and empathy at every turn. A lesser movie would ask you to favor one side of the marital conflict, but here, I actually wanted what was best for both Adam Driver’s Charlie and Scarlett Johansson’s Nicole. It’s rare that a drama with any degree of romance or even comedy impacts me on emotional and intellectual levels, but as a young married man myself, Marriage Story cut me deep, and I hope to be able to gain more from it over time.

#4 — The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent)

Out of any movie on this list, The Nightingale is the movie I’m least likely to watch again. But that’s not a knock against the movie at all, for I actually say that to its credit due to how well director Jennifer Kent made the film’s violence feel terrrifying. This is a vicious, brutal, and savage piece of work that will test even the most battle-hardened moviegoer, but for anyone who is willing to take the plunge, they will hopefully find a movie that gets at the human soul much better than most anything else ever could. I would rather take a revenge tale told like The Nightingale which contemplates on the effects of a murderous rampage and actually takes full advantage of its unique female perspective, telling a fascinating, meaningful, and powerful feminist narrative as opposed to the clickbait trash Hollywood claims as progressive media. This experience will absolutely turn away many audience members, and that’s perfectly fine with me, but I have a deep appreciation for what Jennifer Kent accomplished here. Between this and her marvelous debut film The Babadook, she is steadily becoming one of my favorite directors working today.

#3 — The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers)

It took me a couple of viewings to realize how much I actually adore this special little film. And I still find it difficult to describe exactly why it struck such a powerful chord with me, but I guess that just speaks to the strength of The Lighthouse’s deceptive simplicity. Some may watch this and not get much out of the experience, for director Robert Eggers barely gave any definitive answers to let his audience know what to think about the story he and his brother Max came up with. That’s what I can definitely highlight as a positive for me, though, because on a surface level it works well as a mesmerizing story between two horny and miserable lighthouse keepers, and the rest is left to audience interpretation. Despite some allusions to Greek mythology that multiple people may pick up on, there’s no way that the same two people could have the exact experience watching this mesmerizingly gorgeous work of artistry. To see this movie for the visuals and sound design alone is worth the insane trip, but I can guarantee that you will stay because of the trance-inducing narrative, captivating performances, and one of the best monologues ever written.

#2 — Knives Out (Rian Johnson)

In a year when the Skywalker saga sort of loses momentum with its ninth and final episode, Rian Johnson ironically bounces back and delivers a movie that most people who saw it actually loved! And man, I’m glad to be included among that crowd, because he gave us one of the most enjoyable and satisfying mysteries in years. Although it’s uncertain what will happen with the proposed sequel that was recently greenlit, I’m perfectly fine with this one-off story that does a great job at providing entertainment value while also taking jabs at contemporary American issues. Rian Johnson essentially encapsulated the vapid political shoutfest echo-chamber that is Twitter and based a whodunnit screenplay off of it, resulting in a truly raucous and ridiculously fun time that culminated in a deeply satisfying ending, especially given the political context. But even if one was to separate themself from the social commentary, they would still find a wonderfully-shot, impeccably-acted, inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful thrill ride that practically gives everything one would want out of a great movie. Despite minor issues with dialogue and plot structure, Knives Out just made me happy to be a film fan.

#1 — Parasite (Bong Joon-ho)

This had to be one of the coolest, most exciting moments in Oscar history. People will keep on making memes of themselves by arguing that Joker should have won instead, but I do feel that the Academy made the correct choice this year. However, I should make it clear that I don’t say that out of obligation, because Parasite has remained as my favorite movie of 2019 since I first saw it in October. Most of what I praised Knives Out for could also be said about this film, except that it does it all with absolute perfection. Bong Joon-ho’s production may not be without its flaws but they are so insignificant that the radiant, incredible qualities come together to form a modern classic.

But why does it transcend the other films on this list? Well, if I’m being quite honest, it did not hit me on a strong emotional level like some of my top films of the past decade did, but Parasite is just a rare case of practically everything working for me. The story, performances, humor, subtext, themes, production design, cinematography, it all culminates in a package that words can hardly do justice. Parasite brings a message that society beyond Korea needs, while also being one of the most creative and entertaining movies in years. If Hollywood was daring enough to make more unique films like this, people wouldn’t complain about them nearly as much.

At this point, me and every other sane YouTuber has praised this movie to infinity and beyond, so why bother listening to me talking about it any longer? Just go watch it! You can pick it up at Walmart, you can stream it, and if you’re lucky, theaters in your area likely brought it back because now everybody is talking about it! The 135 minutes you’ll spend in Bong Joon-ho’s world will shock, surprise, and delight you, I guarantee it.