Top10: Best Movies of 2019

It's that time of the year to reflect on everything I've watched, and choose my absolute favorites. I've missed a lot of great movies in theaters, but they're on my watchlist, and I will eventually sit down to experience all of them. I will not write an article about the worst films of the year because firstly, I skipped a bunch of potential contenders, and secondly, I'm not too fond of diminishing people's work. Because movies are precisely that: the final product of months or even years of preparation and hard work from hundreds or thousands of people. Not just the actors or the director.

When it comes to ordering a list of my favorite movies of a particular year, I rarely look at grades to help me out. Instead, I use replay value to settle some dilemmas that I always find. The answer to “how much do I want to watch this film again?” is, most of the time, the deciding factor when I can’t find anything else to help me make a final decision.

So, don’t be surprised if you see on more than one occasion a higher-rated movie below a lower-rated one. It’s MY list, after all. It’s my personal preferences regarding genre, entertainment, and overall quality. My #1 film doesn’t necessarily need to be the absolute best movie of the year. It can merely be special to me, and that reason alone is enough to warrant a higher spot in my list than other admittedly “better films.”

This is how it’s gonna work: I’ll write some honorable mentions (films that almost made the top), and then I’ll share my Top10. Every movie with an available review will have a clickable link in its image (including the honorable mentions). Enjoy and remember: I love every single film I address here. A movie being a spot higher than others doesn’t mean it’s better.

PS: if you’re on mobile, please turn your phone into landscape (horizontal) mode.

Honorable Mentions

(clickable links in each image for the respective spoiler-free review)

Knives Out

Little Women

Dragon Ball Super: Broly

The Irishman

Booksmart

Doctor Sleep

The Nightingale

Top 10

(clickable links in each image for the respective spoiler-free review)

10. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino subverted expectations, and some people left disappointed. Not me. Leonardo DiCaprio delivers an Oscar-worthy performance (again), just like Brad Pitt, who portrays a perfect secondary role. It’s a love letter to the 60s, filled with clever references, and some of the best dialogue sequences I’ve seen in the last few years.

9. Us

Jordan Peele is probably the only director ever to need just one movie (Get Out) to get everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) excited for his second feature. I don’t consider Us better than its predecessor, but it grew on me as the year went by. Its underlying themes, its suspenseful narrative, and Lupita Nyong’o’s brilliant double-performance (please, give her the Oscar) are some of the reasons why I keep going back to it. It’s horror at its best.

8. Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach's film is the one that I struggled with the most to find its rightful place in my Top10. On one hand, it's one of the most realistic depictions of a piece of life I've ever witnessed. On the other hand, it's so depressing, sad, and frustrating that I can't see myself watching it again. Nevertheless, it's one of the best stories of 2019, and it features the two best performances of the year from Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.

7. The Lion King

Let me guess: you hate it. You think it ruined your childhood, the animals are emotionless, and that Disney is the only studio in the world to want money… I know that this is, by far, the choice that will make everyone question my credibility as a critic, but the original The Lion King is so special to me, I couldn’t help but love its remake. I cried like I was a kid again, and that can only be achieved with heartfelt moments. It’s visually astonishing, and while I do prefer that remakes try something new story-wise, I absolutely loved the experience of reliving Simba’s journey through other lenses.

6. Ford v Ferrari

This is the biggest surprise of 2019 for me. I expected great performances from Christian Bale and Matt Damon, but I didn't anticipate how incredibly emotional this James Mangold film would be. I found myself blown away by the compelling characters, the captivating story, and, of course, the nail-biting races. It's the best sports movie I've ever seen, as well as one of the best "based on a true story" flicks of the last decade.

5. The Lighthouse

Filmed in beautiful black-and-white with a claustrophobic aspect ratio, Robert Eggers delivers a story about loneliness and isolation that takes the weirdest, craziest route. I love its ambiguity, even if most of its story is pretty accessible. Packed with suspense and tension, mostly due to the excellent cinematography and the brilliant decision to use black-and-white to set the dark, cold environment. Robert Pattinson delivers his career-best performance, but Willem Dafoe steals the spotlight with an Oscar-worthy crazy display that will be ignored due to the known genre bias. It's tear-inducing hilarious at times, but powerfully dramatic as well. I have not a single complaint, and I love it more the more I think about it.

4. Parasite

With so many people hyping Parasite to a ridiculously high level, my expectations were very moderate. Nevertheless, I love it as much or more as everyone else. It’s one of the best original stories of the last few years, and it’s written in such a brilliant manner, with beautiful visual storytelling instead of the overused exposition. An emotionally resonant message is present throughout the whole runtime, and the various tones are balanced seamlessly. Technically flawless: cinematography, score, editing… everything’s absolutely perfect. Nothing is placed without purpose. Not a single line of dialogue is wasted. Bong Joon Ho is a phenomenal filmmaker, one that cares about the art and everything that comes with it. He truly put his heart and soul into this, and it would be a shame if anyone fails to watch this magnificent movie just because it’s in a foreign language.

3. 1917

Sam Mendes, Roger Deakins, and Lee Smith. Director, director of photography, editor. Three key filmmaking roles in the creation of one of the best WWI movies of all-time. Edited to look like one continuous shot, 1917 is a mind-blowing technical achievement, elevated by Deakins’ always jaw-dropping cinematography, Thomas Newman emotionally powerful score, Mendes impeccable directing, and Smith’s seamless editing. George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman deliver outstanding (physical) performances, but it’s the astonishing filmmaking that steals the spotlight. Everything is absolutely perfect. It’s meant to be seen at the biggest screen near you since this is an incredibly immersive experience that you won’t get at home.

2. Joker

I don’t put Joker in the conventional superhero genre (this is an essential consideration for my #1 film). Change the name of the movie and of its characters, it works just as well. However, it does belong to the overall genre, and I would be crazy to not call it one of the best superhero films ever. It’s probably the best origin story of a comic-book character in the history of cinema. With a career-best performance, Joaquin Phoenix does what everyone kept saying no one would be able to do: offer an interpretation of The Clown Prince of Crime at the level of Heath Ledger. It’s not the story of how Arthur Fleck became Joker. It’s a story about how anyone can become someone like Joker.

1. Avengers: Endgame

“Marvel fanboy,” “You’re not a film critic!” “How can Endgame be higher than Joker?” Relax. First of all, let me repeat once again: a movie being higher than another doesn’t mean it’s “better,” and different genres are (mostly) incomparable. Remember me saying that I don’t consider Joker as a conventional superhero film? Well, that’s what sets these two apart. I love both of them equally. However, look at the year we had: Rise of Skywalker, Glass, Game of Thrones… All of these (and more) were highly anticipated conclusions to sagas or series with years of build-up and an overwhelming emotional weight. All of them failed to deliver a worthy goodbye to characters fans loved deeply. Avengers: Endgame did not. It was the epic, climactic, chill-inducing, and emotionally heavy send-off I dreamed of, and that’s more than enough to earn my top spot.