THE TOP 10 FILMS OF 2019
(According to Clint)
1
JOJO RABBIT
It's hard to believe that a movie about a German kid with Hitler as his imaginary friend could be one of the funniest films of the year, but it is. It is also heartwarming, heart-breaking, and has some of the best acting of the year. This is a movie I could watch every time it comes on TV and will never get sick of it.
2
JOKER
This film shook me to my core. It stayed in my head for days after I saw it, and made me feel all sorts of emotions. It is disturbing, brutal, and one of the best commentaries on how society refuses to deal with mental illness in a proper way.
3
1917
This film is a masterpiece. It is made to look like it is almost one continuous shot from beginning to end, so you feel like you are in the story with them as it unfolds. It is so suspenseful that I could barely breathe for the full two hours.
(Note: The film qualifies for the 2019 awards year, but it will not be released wide until January 2020. I will post my full review then).
4
PARASITE
I don't believe I have ever experienced any film quite like PARASITE. It starts out going in one direction and then, without warning, the whole story turns and becomes something completely different. If you like movies where you can't figure out the plot, this is one of the best ever.
5
THE FAREWELL
Awkwafina proves that she is one of the best actresses in Hollywood with her lead performance in this tale-of-two-cultures film. Zhao Shuzhen is a force as the family matriarch. Both of their performances will garner many awards this year.
6
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON
This may be one of the most heart-warming and endearing films I have ever seen. Until this movie came out I was not a big fan of Shia LaBeouf. Now, I think he is fantastic. This is a perfect road-trip film that will make you wish you could slow down your own life for a while and enjoy life like these characters do.
7
HARRIET
Harriet Tubman was one of the strongest people to ever walk this earth. She did more for humanity and equality than most of us could do with ten lifetimes. This film pays tribute to her in a powerful and compelling way. And it is led by Cynthia Erivo who is a force in her own right. If this film doesn't move you, you need to have your heart checked by a doctor.
8
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Any movie that makes over $2 Billion yet still has the ability to make hundreds of millions of grown adults sob into their popcorn deserves to be a top 10 film. ENDGAME had it all. The acting was outstanding, the dialogue was amazing, the story was fantastic, and it had all of the feels, too.
9
KNIVES OUT
Whodunit flicks are always fun, but rarely are they exciting. Most of the time it is just a bunch of people sitting in a room while one person tries to figure it all out. That is not the case in KNIVES OUT. This film is fun, funny, and exciting from beginning to end. And you'll be surprised when the killer is finally revealed.
10
RICHARD JEWELL
RICHARD JEWELL is the story of the Atlanta Olympics security guard that saved hundreds of lives when he found a bomb in Centennial Park. He was then railroaded by the media and the Government for many years, until the real bomber was finally found. This film tells his story in a powerful way. The acting in this movie is easily some of the best of the year. Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, and Kathy Bates are all masterful, making this movie that much better.
Honorable Mentions for the Best Films of the Year
BOOKSMART
This is one of the funniest comedies of the year, but it is also smart. There are very few comedies that can pull off both successfully. This one does it with ease.
HONEY BOY
This screenplay was written by Shia LaBeouf as therapy. Then he had the courage to turn it into a movie, and star in it as his own father. It is a moving and heart-breaking story, and an exceedingly well done movie.
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO
This is a powerful film about the haves and the have-nots in San Francisco. It is the essence of what every indie film desires to be. The acting is powerful, the story is fascinating, and it will stay with you for days after you see it.
ROCKETMAN
Not only does Taron Edgerton become Elton John in this movie, he also sings all of the songs, too! (Rami Malek won the Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, and he lip synced the songs. Taron should win TWO Oscars for this performance). It takes a few minutes to figure out what is happening in this movie, but once you figure it out it is a crazy ride on an emotional roller coaster all the way through.
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME
Tom Holland is the best Spider-Man ever. There. I said it, and I'm not taking it back. He does another great job in this film giving us all of the awkward teenage moments that we could want. It is also an interesting reflection on society and how people deal with grief in different ways.
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THE 10 WORST FILMS OF 2019
(According to Clint)
1
HELLBOY
If there was ever a movie that should be walked out on, this is it. I felt like I was in hell the whole miserable time I had to endure this travesty.
2
THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN
First of all, this is a movie with no audience. It's about a race car driver who has a dog and a family. It tries to cram everything into one movie and ends up missing on everything. Then there is the ending…oh my. Easily one of the worst movie endings of all time.
3
CATS
Whoever thought that turning a terrible musical into a $100 Million budget movie and it would make money needs to be fired immediately. Not only is this movie going to be one of the biggest financial bombs in movie history, but it's also just a terrible movie. Scoop this one out with the bad kitty litter.
4
JEXI
Adam Devine is a really funny guy. I feel bad for him that he got stuck in this horrible movie. The screenplay was so bad we never got to see him do what he is capable of doing. The whole movie is uninteresting, flat, and useless.
5
PLAYMOBIL: THE MOVIE
This was just another crappy attempt at a studio cash grab, by taking advantage of families. Luckily, word got out about how bad this movie was and it ended up having the 3rd worst opening weekend of all time. Hahahahahaha!!!! Take that evil studio execs that green-lighted this mess.
6
UNCUT GEMS
This is one of the most polarizing films of the decade. I'm sure that you will find this film on some critics' Top 10 list. For me, this was a terrible waste of time and exhausting to watch. A huge portion of the movie is a bunch of people all on screen at the same time trying to yell over the top of each other. The rest of the movie focuses on all of the characters, none of which are redeemable in any way whatsoever. It's terrible people doing terrible things and terrible things are done to them.
7
ARCTIC DOGS
*scrolls back up to PLAYMOBIL. Copy. Scrolls back down to ARCTIC DOGS. Paste.*
This was just another crappy attempt at a studio cash grab, by taking advantage of families. Luckily, word got out about how bad this movie was and it ended up having the
3rd
44th worst opening weekend of all time. Hahahahahaha!!!! Take that evil studio execs that green-lighted this mess.
8
THE AFTERMATH
Studio Exec: What's your movie idea?
Pitcher: A British soldier takes his hot wife to Germany where they move into the house of a super-hot guy while he's still living there. Then the soldier leaves for a long time. Guess what happens next?!
Studio Exec: Love it! Film it now!
And that is the story of how Fox Searchlight Pictures got a HUGE tax write off for 2019.
9
GEMINI MAN
Will Smith is awesome. Two Will Smiths? Not so much. Especially when the second Will Smith requires millions of dollars of CGI to create, but your CGI budget is somewhere a lot closer to zero. Throw on top of that a really poor plot and you have the perfect recipe for a 10 Worst list contender.
10
THE INTRUDER
Dennis Quaid ruined this movie. If they had picked any other person to be the bad guy this would have been your normal bad movie and not finished anywhere near the 10 Worst. However, because Dennis Quaid was in it, and deemed it necessary to make the weirdest faces throughout the entire film, it is laughably unwatchable.
Dishonorable Mentions for the Worst Films of the Year
AFTER
Yes, this looks hot and steamy. And it is. A hot, steamy pile of…. Anywho…This flick is formulaic, dull, and there is zero chemistry between the main characters. The only AFTER you will want if you see this is for it to be AFTER the movie is over.
REPLICAS
Keanu Reeves is one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. He's also at his best in movies where he doesn't have to say too much. (See JOHN WICK). Unfortunately, in REPLICAS, he talks all the time. It's painful.
RAMBO LAST BLOOD
Just because CREED was a successful reboot doesn't mean you should reboot all of your old stuff. RAMBO: LAST BLOOD is a case study as to why this rule should be followed all of the time.
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