2019 has been well and gone for the past 10 days, and for me, it has been a great year for film, both for films I've seen from this year, and the ones I watched for the first time from years previous. So, for fun and because film isn't talked about as often on this website (let alone the forums), I have decided to make a thread for us to share some of our favorite movies from 2019.
Top 5 films of 2019
5. Midsommar
A group of college students travels to Sweden to take part in one of the group member's pagan pageant that takes place once every 90 years, who find out the hard way that the festivities and practices of the pagan cult are gruesomely disturbing. It might seem gimmicky to have a horror film set almost exclusively in broad daylight, but the film manages to not only be gruesome and disturbing, but also includes some psychedelic imagery as well. Florence Pugh gives a great performance and the cinematography is great as well. A horror film that stands out in all the right ways.
4. Marriage Story
A romantic comedy-drama involving a married couple going through an ugly divorce. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver give some their best acting to this day, and the film manages to also have honest commentary on divorce and legal ethics, along with the judgments involving single parenthood for not only mothers but fathers as well.
3. Uncut Gems
A thriller about jewelry store honor with a gambling addiction who comes across his next big score to pay off the loan sharks that are after him. Adam Sandler's performance is incredible, the cinematography and sound design work to make a tense and claustrophobic experience, and the last act of the film is amazingly tense.
2. The Lighthouse
A psychological horror film involving two lighthouse keepers working and tending to a lighthouse on a remote island. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe give incredible performances. The cinematography is amazing, the tone is both disturbing and uncomfortably funny, and the aura of this film is so captivatingly unnerving and otherworldly.
1. Climax (Climax released in theaters here in the United States in 2019, so I'm counting it towards my 2019 list.)
A psychological horror centered around a troupe of dancers rehearsing in an empty school where their drinks during the afterparty are spiked with LSD, causing them to start hallucinating and turning against one another. This film is wild, to say the least. There is so much improvisation and choreography to this film that left me in awe, from the dancers dancing in the intro sequence to the long takes of this film, one of which goes for a staggering 42 minutes. This film is a technical marvel from a film standpoint and left me in awe when I saw it.
Favorite Films I Saw for the First Time in 2019
5. The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
An artist is commissioned by a wealthy landowner's wife to draw the estate she and her husband own. However, when the owner of the landowner is found dead on his property, a murder mystery unfolds. Filled with great performances and witty dialogue, The Draughtsman's Contract was my biggest surprise this year.
4. Inglorious Basterds (2009)
The second Quinton Tarantino film I've seen, and quite possibly my favorite. The film is about a group of Jewish-American soldiers who travel around scalping Nazi soldiers and attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The film is hilariously violent and has great performances.
3. La Haine (1995)
A group of minorities in France express their dissatisfaction with law enforcement and marginalization by society. Beautifully shot, well-acted, a near ambiguous ending, La Haine portrays a bitterness that I found to be more resonating than Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, a good film in its own right.
2. The Witch (2015)
A family living in 1630s New England finds themselves terrorized by an unknown entity that begins tearing them apart. As far as conventional horror films go, The Witch is easily my favorite; with great performances, well-executed premise, great cinematography, amazing atmosphere, and a super freaky ending.
1. Waltz with Bashir
Waltz with Bashir is an animated autobiographical war documentary about the director's repressed memories of the 1982 Lebanon War. Looking to piece together his memories of the war, he travels around the world to visit his former comrades and have them recount their memories of the war, including the Sabra and Shatila Massacre. Hauntingly gorgeous visuals and animation help elevate the dreams and memories of the former soldiers, all animated in Adobe Flash. The film is dark, heavy, and I'd argue one of Israel's most important films in modern memory, as admittance to the horrors of war that were committed during the time.