My Favourite 10 Movies of the Year

I’m Australian, and in Australia it seems like Hollywood studios hold out on some of their award contenders until January and February. That means that films that come out within a calendar year in the U.S.A don’t always make it out to Australia, within the same calendar year. For example, I’m yet to get a chance to see 1917, The Lighthouse, Uncut Gems or A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, but it also means, I saw movies such as The Favourite, Green Book and If Beale Street Could Talk this year; movies that have received their praise and accolades long ago. This always compromises my favourite and least favourite movie lists at the end of the year; I’ve thought about shifting my own movie calendar to reflect the award season, March-to-March, but that wouldn’t work either, as I still saw Glass and What Men Want this year, at the same time as the rest of the world. I’m yet to come up with a resolution, so for the time being, I’ll stick to a traditional My Favourite 10 Movies of 2019, coming at you from Australia.

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My Favourite 10 Movies of the Year

10. Marriage Story

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson excel in a tale about the commiseration of divorce. Noah Baumbach is a terrific writer and director, and I’m sure Marriage Story is bound to be talked about for months to come. I don’t really want to say much else about this film because it’s only recently come out on Netflix. Check it out!

9.   Judy

What I loved most about Judy is the way the movie chose to tell its history of this cinematic legend in a really human way – Judy Garland is troubled by her tumultuous time as a teen star but the people around her love her work and will always support her if she’ll let them. Renee Zellweger – Oscar?

8.   Destroyer

Destroyer makes the list with an asterisk – I saw Destroyer on a plane. I kept falling asleep and rewinding it back to where I last remembered, and it was edited to be plane-friendly. For instance, there’s supposed to be a scene where Nicole Kidman’s character gives a bed-ridden man a hand-job; I never saw that! I dug Kidman’s make-up, and her portrayal of this beaten down cop. The story is simple, but the action reminded me of Hell or High Water, and it’s made effectively well.

7.   Ad Astra

If I’ve learnt anything from watching movies over the past few years, it’s that I’m a sucker for a space drama – Bladerunner 2049, Arrival, The Martian, Interstellar – or maybe they’ll all just great movies. I loved the case put forward by this movie on how the future might turn out; there’s a Subway sandwiches franchise on the moon for goodness sake (at least I think it was a Subway). The movie also shows how rockets will eventually emulate commercial airplane travel now, and how psych-evaluations could be used to herd the population one day. Ad Astra is essentially the story of a father who runs away to Neptune for peace and quiet, and the son who has to get him back – it’s slow, but I was captivated.

6.   Booksmart

Booksmart: American Pie & Superbad for girls. I’d heard such good things about Booksmart that I was sure it wasn’t going to live up to the hype, but Booksmart is really funny and intelligent.  Beanie Feldstein gets to venture out after being the supportive character in so many movies, and she knocks it out of the park. Booksmart is the directorial debut of Olivia Wilde; where’s her applause at the scale of Greta Gerwig?!

5.   The Front Runner

This movie hasn’t got much love from anyone but me – it’s the story of Gary Hart, who I’d never heard about, who was supposedly a shoe-in for the American Presidency in 1988, but lost when the media found out about his open marriage, and was no longer viewed as Presidential. Hart couldn’t understand why he couldn’t keep his political and personal agendas separate, and the movie plays up how intertwined they are today – I mean, we are more likely to hear about President Trump’s lunch than his policy now. The Front Runner suggests that 1988 was the first time that the media hounded the private man, as well as the public. And the movie has Hugh Jackman; Hugh Jackman is great.

4.   The Hate U Give

I’m not American, nor am I black, so it’s hard for me to have an accurate opinion on this movie, but as far as understanding racial tension and targeted police violence in the U.S.A., I’d say this is an excellent work to seek. Released at the beginning of the year, and with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%, I can only guess why the Academy overlooked this fiery movie for any award nominations. Russell Hornsby and Regina Hall are both brilliant, as a young girl’s parents, after she witnesses an innocent friend gunned down by a policeman, and becomes a political symbol for change. Sometimes I feel like a movie gets in a zone where every second scene is like watching Steph Curry knock down 3s, you just sit there and cheer on the momentum; powerful stuff – The Hate U Give is that movie.

3.   Brittany Runs A Marathon

Inspirational. Funny. Heartfelt. One of my first reviews on this website. I attended a screening where I met director, Paul Downs Colaizzo, and star, Jillian Bell, after the movie; thank God this movie was great. In fact, I knew instantly that Brittany Runs a Marathon was one of my favourite movies of the year.

2.   Glass

Now, I’m about to get contentious; how did Glass slip through the cracks?! In a world full of superhero movies, Glass did so many things yet to be done in superhero movies and it blew my mind; helped by the return of some pretty rad characters from 2000’s Unbreakable. The first act sees a showdown between David Dunn and the Hoard. The second act strips down each of the three main characters, as they sit in an asylum together. And the third act sees the superhero commentary culminate in a superhero climax. My friend and I came out of the cinema and gushed about this movie for an hour. Then, I checked the reviews, and Glass was sitting at 37%…. Well at least I had heaps of fun with it!

1.   Frozen II

I’m a sucker for a good animation; especially one that takes the time to explore mature themes. The songs in Frozen II are filled with positive messages that I think children can carry into their teens and adult years ahead, and since the songs fit so snugly inside this movie, it must be said that the movie is damn fine as well. Yes, Anna almost destroys her whole kingdom, but Elsa is the true hero anyway – we need an MCU crossover with Elsa immediately. I don’t love the first Frozen, but I love the way this sequel expanded on the past and created something fantastical. I grew up on iconic Disney movies like The Lion King and Mulan, so when Disney create the next great Disney movie it really takes me back – instant classic.

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You really have to put yourself out on a limb when creating these Top 10 lists, ey? I only saw all of these movies once this year so here’s hoping they hold up on future viewings.

A special mention to Ford v Ferrari, The King, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Stan & Ollie, Instant Family, Hustlers, and honestly so many others. It’s been a solid year!

I’ve posted a full list of movies I’ve seen this year, so you can see exactly what I had to pick from. Again, this is a list of my favourite movies, and not necessarily ‘the best’. I’m sure my opinion is my own and if you are reading this, you might have your own great perceptions. I’d love for you to write some of your favourite movies of 2019 in the reply section below!

I’m also working on some new ideas, and fun posts to have in February to coincide with the Oscars so look forward to that.

And My 10 Least Favourite Movies of 2019 is right around the corner!

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Cinematic Releases (& DVD Catch-Up)

Abominable

Ad Astra

Aladdin

Alita: Battle Angel

Aquaman

At Eternity’s Gate

Avengers: Endgame

Beautiful Boy

Ben is Back

Booksmart

Brightburn

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Bumblebee

Captain Marvel

Charlie’s Angels

Child’s Play

Cold Pursuit

Dark Phoenix

Destroyer

Detective Pikachu

Doctor Sleep

Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Dumbo

Five Feet Apart

Ford v Ferrari

Frozen II

Gemini Man

Glass

Godzilla: King of Monsters

Good Boys

Green Book

Hellboy

Holmes & Watson

Hustlers

If Beale Street Could Talk

Instant Family

It: Chapter 2

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Joker

Judy

Knives Out

Last Christmas

Late Night

Long Shot

Mary Poppins Returns

Mary, Queen of Scots

Men in Black: International

Midsommar

Mid90s

On the Basis of Sex

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

Pet Semetery

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Ready or Not

Rocketman

Serenity

Shazam!

Spider-Man: Far from Home

Stan & Ollie

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Terminator: Dark Fate

The Addams Family

The Dead Don’t Die

The Favourite

The Front Runner

The Hate You Give

The Hustle

The Kitchen

The Lego Movie 2

The Lion King

The Upside

Toy Story 4

Us

Vice

What Men Want

Yesterday

Netflix

Always Be My Maybe

Between Two Ferns: The Movie

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil & Vile

In the Tall Grass

Isn’t It Romantic

Marriage Story

Secret Obsession

The Highwaymen

The Irishman

The King

Triple Frontier

Velvet Buzzsaw

Wine Country

Wounds

Disney +

Lady and the Tramp

Noelle