The Best Films of 2019

Once again, we come to the end of another year. Now, as I specialize in making content related to film for the internet, I am compelled by the gods of the internet to compile my favourite films of the year into a ranked list.

2019 was an exceptionally good year for film. Maybe I just saw more fantastic cinema, or maybe it just was a good year. I fell confident in my list this year, which I cannot say was the cast last year. My 2018 became so personally out of date within a few months as I caught up on the best films that I missed. Perhaps I should update the list that’s on the blog.

However, this year is very different. I feel fully confident in this list and the films that here on appear. 2019 was genuinely fantastic for both me and my relationship to cinema, and for the art form in general. We had the return of several notable established directors like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarintino, and Bong Joon-ho, many second films for emerging directors like Greta Gerwig, the Safdie Brothers, Ari Aster, and Robert Eggers, and some brilliant debut films from filmmakers like Joe Talbot and Olivia Wilde.

Before we go on, a few honourable mentions. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum was a really excellent action flick. While it lacks the original 'lightning-in-a-bottle' unique energy of the original, it certainly a lot of fun and worth the watch. Waves was a really great family drama with some cool stylistic choices. One Child Nation is a really great documentary and is pretty heartbreaking. Prospect is some excellent micro-budget sci-fi, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood was really touching and all-around lovely, and The Peanut Butter Falcon was a delightful little indie that went under too many radars. There is also the fantastic documentaries One Child Nation and Apollo 11, which proved to be both engaging and informative.

Without any further ado, The 20 Best Films of 2019

20. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Dir. Quentin Tarantino

"When you come to the end of the line, with a buddy who is more than a brother and a little less than a wife, getting blind drunk together is really the only way to say farewell."

Tarantino’s latest, and penultimate, film is a weird one. What starts off as a comedy-drama about the final days of the Hollywood Golden Age quickly turns much darker after we are introduced to the villain of the film, the infamous killer Charles Manson, and his family. Our protagonists, played by the excellent Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt, navigate the end of their careers

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood serves as a reflection on and a love letter to the world of film. Tarantino is not only praising the world of Hollywood but further reflecting upon the legacy of his own career. The film is a bittersweet meta-study of filmmaking and what it means to be an artist.

19. Us
Dir. Jordan Peele

"There's a Family in our driveway!"

Following up from 2017's Get Out, Us is the latest film from comedian-turned-horror-filmmaker Jordan Peele. Peele continues to explore complex themes about society and culture through the horror genre. This time he's taking on class inequality and the way we 'other' our fellow humans. It's also a genuinely terrifying experience, featuring one of the best original scores of the year and a brilliant dual performance by Lupita Nyong'o as the characters Adelaide and Red.


18. Pain and Glory
Dir. Pedro Almodóvar

"Love is not enough. It may move mountains, but it isn't enough to save the one you love."

Pain and Glory, the twenty-first feature film from Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, is another story about filmmaking as a whole. Following a filmmaker in the last days of his career, the film is about him as he navigates his personal relationships, failing health, and the death of his mother. Pain and Glory is a powerful and emotional film. It's subtle and layered, making it a rewarding experience to understand it on a deeper level. Antonio Banderas gives one of the best leading performances of the year. It is also gorgeously colourful.

17. Ad Astra
Dir. James Gray

"I am looking forward to the day my solitude ends. And I'm home."

Ad Astra? More like Sad Astra, amirite? Ad Astra follows in the footsteps of several philosophical, hard-sci-fi films in recent years like Interstellar and Arrival. It's slow and thoughtful and features some really solid filmmaking. The film offers a lot to enjoy: a subtle performance from Brad Pitt, some excellent, yet not flashy, visual effects, a great screenplay, and solid cinematography from Hoyt Van Hoytema, one of the best working in that field. It's a solid sci-fi piece for any fan of the genre.

16. Homecoming: A Film By Beyonce
Dir. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

"So I studied my history, I studied my past, and I put every mistake, all of my triumphs–my 22-year career–into my 2-hour Homecoming performance."

Homecoming caught me totally off guard. I remember first seeing it on the Netflix homepage when it was originally released but didn’t care much about it. Then it got trending on Letterboxd and had incredible reviews (at the time of writing, it has a 4.3 average). So obviously I was going to check it out. And did it ever deliver.

Homecoming is an ode to the artistic process. Based around Beyonce’s performance at Coachella 2018, the film combines footage of the event and archival footage of the production of the show to craft a story about culture and art, and how the two intersect with one another.

15. The Two Popes
Dir. Fernando Meirelles

"Mercy is the dynamite that brings down walls."

The Two Popes is an interesting look at the transition of power in the last days of Benedict XVI papacy. Starring the powerful duo of Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, the film is energetic and a lot of fun to watch and features some excellent religious commentary. The editing and the score here are unlike what most would do with the project, but it keeps the film from being just another biopic in the vast sea of biopics. The film is, at points, incredibly touching when it hits a couple of valuable emotional beats that give it more depth than I assumed it would have.

Also, the film opens with the election of Benedict being set to an instrumental cover of "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. What could be better?

14. Booksmart
Dir. Olivia Wilde

"Shotgun! Just kidding. I don't have one."

Booksmart is the funniest film of the year. While it certainly isn’t the most original film of the year, high school comedy is a tried and true genre, but it easily makes up for it by being genuinely hilarious. It's charming, funny, and ultra-relevant to contemporary times. With two great lead performances and some really great writing, it's the 2019 update to the genre we've been needing. 

13. Midsommar
Dir. Ari Aster

"[Insert various screams here]"

Shout out to everyone on Amazon who gave this a one-star rating with review titles like “creeped me out.”, “Terrifying nightmare of a film”, “WTF!”, “Gruesome and sickening”, “omg”, “why does this exist”, “Someone needs therapy”, and “REVOLTING” - this is exactly what they were going for.

Hot off the heels of his debut film Hereditary last hear, the second feature from director Ari Aster is just as good as its predecessor, if not better. Midsommar isn’t for the faint of heart - it’s messed up and dark, but in all of the best ways possible. Florence Pugh is giving an excellent performance here. Although fans of Hereditary should note that Midsommar doesn’t go quite as hard on the horror elements as its predecessor, it all adds up to be a deeply unsettling experience and will be guaranteed to cause some sort of psychological trauma for anyone who watches it.

12. Avengers: Endgame
Dir. Anthony and Joe Russo

"Avengers! Assemble."

It’s rare for me to find a superhero movie to be a genuinely great movie. Normally, I come out of a standard Marvel or DC affair feeling something around a “fun and enjoyable, but inconsequential.” I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve come out of a superhero film feeling like it was something great: The Dark Knight (2008), Logan (2017), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and now Avengers: Endgame. Coming in at an astounding 181 minutes, Endgame is the perfect conclusion to everything the MCU has built towards and proves that the grand shared-universe experiment worked.

Frankly, I’m amazed that the latest entry in a franchise built upon fun summer action has turned into a dark, somber film about dealing with trauma, coming to terms with mortality, and confronting our guilt and fear of failure. 

11. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Dir. Joe Talbot

“Do you love San Francisco? You can’t hate it unless you love it.”

The debut film from director Joe Talbot. Talbot’s story is a commentary on and an exploration of gentrification and home. Set in present-day San Francisco, the film follows Jimmie Fails, a young man trying to buy back the house that his grandfather, who was called the first black man in San Francisco, built when he first moved to the city in the 1950s. Throughout the film, Jimmie tires to restore his broken family and find a solution to the increasing problem of gentrification that is ruining the lives of many of his friends. With its amazing score and fantastic performances, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is not something to miss.

10. The Farewell
Dir. Lulu Wang

"Chinese people have a saying: When people get cancer, they die."

The Farewell is a masterpiece. The semi-autobiographical comedy from writer/director Lulu Wang follows the story of Billie, a young woman who learns that her grandmother is dying from cancer. Her family has gathered back home in China to say their goodbyes, but there’s a catch: Billie’s grandmother has no idea she has cancer. The Farewell is a powerful, yet an incredibly simple film. It isn’t big or grand or majestic, it’s small and intimate. It doesn’t try to commentate on any grand theme. It is just simply about this family and their story. And it does that perfectly.

9. Uncut Gems
Dir. Josh and Benny Safdie

"This is how I win."

I love this movie and I hate this movie. I love it for being a prime example of pristine, creative, and original filmmaking, but I hate it for making me the most stressed I've been in a movie this year. Adam Sandler is fantastic here. That's a sentence I so rarely get to say and I'm glad I get to say it now. He's a genuinely talented guy and I'm excited to see him use those talents. In a year of fantastic leading performances, Sandler's is one of the best (up there with Banderas and Driver for best lead actor of the year). The direction is furious and relentless in a way that becomes sickening at times. A wonderfully scattered storyline that keeps the film moving, yet extremely unpredictable. Uncut Gems is an amazing step forward for the Safdie Brothers (the directors of 2017's Good Time) and shows off some of the most thrilling filmmaking of the year).

8. Jojo Rabbit
Dir. Taika Waititi

"I'm the enemy?"

Easily one of the most emotional films of the year. Jojo Rabbit showcases director Taika Waititi’s mastery of emotion in the most powerful film of his incredible career. Jumping between hilarity and complete tragedy like no other film, Jojo Rabbit can balance these conflicting feelings with ease and through it crafts a wholistic emotional experience that is so rare in filmmaking. I was crying as the film ended and I, frankly, have no idea why. It was something beyond joy or sadness - it was tears of beauty. With is powerful messages, delicious soundtrack, and incredible performances from the star-studded cast, which includes Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen, Scarlett Johanson, Thomasin Mackenzie, Stephen Merchant, newcomer Roman Griffin Davis, as well as Waititi himself as Hitler, Jojo Rabbit is a surefire hit.

7. Knives Out
Dir. Rian Johnson

"I suspect foul play. I have eliminated no suspects."

Do rich people deserve rights? Let's be honest.

Knives Out is the latest from acclaimed director Rian Johnson, the man behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). This time he turns his attention to the whodunit genre for a tale of deception, murder, and lies. After the patriarch of a rich family mysteriously dies, southern detective Benoit Blanc has to unravel the clues and slowly uncovers a web of deceit, lies, and secrets. Knives Out is backed up by the best ensemble cast of the year and some incredibly tight writing. It's a detective story with a Rian Johnson twist and it works wonderfully.

You can read the full review here.


6. Little Women
Dir. Greta Gerwig

"I want to be great, or nothing."

My life peaked in front of my eyes when I saw Little Women. The story is one we know well. The original novel is over one-hundred-fifty years old and has been adapted into seven feature films, numerous television events, and a few stage productions (including a musical). What elevates this one above all others is the director: Greta Gerwig. Coming off her critical darling Lady Bird (2017), Gerwig puts her signature warmth and energy into the story and creates a powerfully human and emotional tale. Relentless in honesty and uncompromising in love, Little Women is one of the most emotionally compelling films of the year in a year full of emotionally compelling films.

You can read my full review here.

5. The Irishman (or, I Heard You Paint Houses)
Dir. Martin Scorsese

"If they can whack a President, they can whack a president of a union. You know it and I know it."

Scorsese’s latest film is one for the books. The Master of Cinema returns with an epic and tragic tale of violence and death in the New York mob. Set over five decades, the Irishman follows the story of Frank ‘the Irishman’ Sheeran, a former soldier, turned truck driver, turned hitman, turned union official. The film is built around the rise, fall, and disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, a union leader who had strong ties to the mob. At first, it feels like another Goodfellas (1990) or Casino (1995), but before you know it, Scorsese has completely changed the feeling of the film and leaves the viewer hollow and sad inside. He elevates the story into being a meditation on family, death, and legacy, which feels all the more personal considering Scorsese’s own age.

You can read my full review here.

4. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Dir. Céline Sciamma

"I didn't know you were an art critic."

"I didn't know you were a painter."

Pace is critical in filmmaking. One of the most blatant problems to find in a lot of mainstream films is pace. Scenes drag out far too long, or an act takes far too long, or an action sequence happens too fast. Filmmakers, especially in contemporary times, try to keep their films moving quickly to engage the audience better. A lot of the films on this list are quickly paced. That’s not a bad thing. When you slow down a film too much, the audience gets bored. Rarely do I see a film that’s slowly paced keep me engaged. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is an exception to all of that. 

Do you ever find yourself staring at a bonfire? Just being entranced by its beauty as it slowly builds and builds and you can feel the heat and energy as it comes to its highest point. It starts small and quiet - the kindling being laid. Then comes a small spark. The fire slowly but surely consumes the kindling, then starts at the logs. By the end, the fire is huge and raging and captivating. Portrait is a fire of cinema. It starts slow and intentional, but by the end, it consumes all. That is the essence of Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

You can read my full review here.

3. The Lighthouse
Dir. Robert Eggers

"How long have we been on this rock? Five weeks? Two Days? Where are we? Help me to recollect."

Set in the early 20th century, the second film from horror director Robert Eggers follows two lighthouse keepers who lose their minds. That’s it. That’s the movie. It’s amazing. The direction from Eggers is incredible, the cinematography is gorgeous, and Robert Pattinson (yes, as in Edward from Twilight) and Willem Dafoe give the performances of their careers. You can read my review of it here.

2. Marriage Story
Dir. Noah Baumbach

"Criminal lawyers see bad people at their best, divorce lawyers see good people at their worst."

A love story about a divorce? Seems ironic. Yet somehow Marriage Story captures that perfectly. The film, the latest from writer/director Noah Baumbach, is heartbreaking in all of the right ways. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, who both are giving 110 percent here, star as a couple negotiating their divorce while stuck on either side of the country, one in New York and the other in LA. It's beautifully written and edited exceptionally well.

You can read my full review here.

1. Parasite
Dir. Bong Joon-Ho

" Jessica. Only child. Illinois, Chicago."

I don’t know if I can confidently say I’ve seen a film like Parasite before. Director Bong  Joon-ho continues his streak of harsh, critical satires about capitalism, class, and the contemporary world in expert fashion. Starting with Snowpiercer (2013) and continuing with Okja (2017), Bong continues to explore the greatest issues of our day in what just maybe be his masterpiece. Parasite is layered in subtext in meaning, while just being a straight-up great time. It's completely unpredictable and won't ever go the way you think it will. With its charismatic performances, hilarious dialogue, and killer editing Parasite is cinema at its finest.


And that's the list for this year. You can check out my video recap of some of the most notable films of the year down below and read the upcoming 'best-of-the-decade' list to continue the end of the year celebrations. See you in 2020.