Top 20 Best Films of 2019

It is the end of the year which means it is time for my end of the year lists! it is time to count down my favorite films of the year and due to the sheer amount of greatness this year I decided to go with my Top 20. As always know that I can only go off of the films I have seen so there might be a few films that I missed that would have otherwise made the cut to be included on this list. If you have any questions regarding why something isn't on this list feel free to reach out to me on twitter @BP_MovieReviews to discuss! Also know that this list might not perfectly follow review grades and such, it's just how I feel about the films currently after the entire year of releases.

If applicable click on a poster to see my full review of a film!

#20-I Lost My Body

2019 marked the year of Netflix's debut in original animation first with Klaus followed up a couple weeks later with I Lost My Body. At the very least this is a creative movie following two stories, one of a young man finding purpose in his life and the other being his hand which got severed in a workplace accident crawling around the city trying to get back to him. Where some of the gimmick can feel a bit unneeded this still is an emotional powerhouse with some really great animation. The way this movie uses quietness to convoy emotion is bold and effective creating some really heartbreaking and touching moments. I Lost My Body stands out as my favorite animated film of 2019 and is definitely one of the best that sadly has gone overlooked.

#19-Maiden

Maiden is easily one of the most thrilling and engaging films I have seen all year long. Following the first all-woman crew who competed in the Whitbread Round the World Race, you can't help but get invested as they push and push trying to simply complete the race. Where you absolutely do get behind this team it also is not afraid to explore the problems and mistakes they face. It is brutal and tiring but the film has moments that makes you want to jump out of your seat with applause. It also is just incredible the quality of the footage the crew naturally captured while they were racing really bringing the audience along on their journey.

#18-Pain and Glory

I went into Pain and Glory completely blind and what I got shook me to my core. This deeply personal and engaging look at a man still dealing with the desire and pain from his youth really connected with me and had me on the verge of tears throughout. The performances are all quite impressive as you really feel the pain that these characters are going through. Being such a personal story for this film to really work for you it is going to have to connect with you in some way but if you can engage with these characters and relate to them in really any aspect then it will be a powerful movie that will stick with you long after the runtime ends.

#17-Waves

Waves is nearly a perfect film. You can split Waves into 2 distinct sections, the first being a story of Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) who is a young man dealing with the pressure he feels from his family and the world around him. The second section would be that of the family around Tyler and how they deal with the aftermath of a horrible situation involving Tyler. Both of these sides to this film are incredible, they are not only intense and emotional but are also saying important things. This film explores important perspectives not normally seen that are important to have discussed and explored. Trey Edward Shultz also brings a beautiful direction and ascetic to the film. Sadly it is in the transition between these 2 sides where the film has it's one fatal flaw. How the movie transitions from one perspective to the other is jarring and messy really taking the audience off balance especially on a first viewing. If this film would have handled that transition better it easily could have jumped up on this list but it is an undeniable flaw that hurts the overall flow of this otherwise really incredible film.

#16-Jojo Rabbit

The concept of Jojo Rabbit alone made me curious as to what it would turn out to be. A young boy with Hitler (Taika Wattiti) as his imaginary friends sounds like a recipe for disaster but if anyone could pull it off it was Taika Wattiti who also wrote and directed the film. There is such a youthful and fun energy to this film that by the end you simply just want to dance. The performances are also really impressive, not only do the experienced actors like Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell great but the youth performances from Roman Griffin Davis, Archie Yates, and Thomasin McKenzie nearly steal the show. This is a funny yet also emotionally powerful film which left me with a big smile on my face and has stuck with me throughout the year.

#15-Uncut Gems

HOWARD! Uncut Gems is not only the best work from Adam Sandler but also is easily my new favorite film from directors Josh and Benny Safdie. This is a real rollercoaster of the film as we follow Howard (Adam Sandler) make bad decision after bad decision in the Diamond District of New York City. Despite suffering from this lifestyle, Howards can't give it up and through his character it is almost understandable why he can't. The character of Howard has only gotten more interesting and impactful as time has passed since seeing the film and I truly believe he is one of the best characters of the year. The filmaking is also unpleasant and rough with a headache inducing sound mix of yelling and score (but if it makes any sense I mean that in the best of ways). There is no other movie this year quite like Uncut Gems and has to be one of my favorite films of the year.

#14-Luce

My favorite genre of film easily is psychological thriller and Luce fit the bill perfectly. With well rounded characters and an incredibly smart and engaging screenplay, Luce is a film that sucks you in and never lets go. It presents information and different arguments but never tells the audience what to think or who to believe allowing you to really engage with it and become invested in its plot. Past just the tension the film also makes a bold and nuanced social commentary on the current role race plays in America which gave the film a relevance and depth. The acting is all incredible with Octavia Spencer especially giving some of the best work of her career. This is a film that slipped under most peoples radars but really deserved to blow up and be not just a player at the box office but in the awards season. This is a film I know I will be returning to in the future and if you are a fan of psychological thrillers this is a must watch film of the year.

#13-Booksmart

Back when the film was coming out I really had no hype for Booksmart. Then the buzz started to form with people fully getting behind the movie and after I finally saw the film I knew it would be a new classic which I would return to for years to come. Not only is the film one of the most effective and smart comedies of the year having me crying with laughter at multiple times but it has the emotional complexity to really hit you and stick with you. The friendship between Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) is beautiful and the process of leaving High School and having to live your own lives away from your friends is something that was hard for me in my personal life and the representation of that in Booksmart is perfect. This is such a wonderful movie that carries so much heart and emotion behind it. Honestly every time I think or talk about this movie just makes me want to watch it again and I now know what I want to do tonight.

#12-Honey Boy

Love him or hate him, Shia LaBeouf has lived a bizarre life filed with ups and downs gaining him a reputation for being crazy and unlikeable to most. Written as part of his therapy trying to get better, Honey Boy serves as a meditation on Labeouf's childhood and how it haunts him now. It is hard for me to talk about this movie simply because of how personal it is to me, without going into details I will say that there are elements of this story and specifically the relationship between Otis (Noah Jupe) and his father James (Shia LaBeouf) that really hit home and connected with me. Both Jupe and LaBeouf give impressive and emotional performances that brings this story to life. Where it can wander a bit here and there it overall is a compelling look at childhood trauma and gives a light into the madness of Shia LaBeouf and why he struggled in the spotlight for so long.

#11-For Sama

There has been numerous films chronicling the conflict in Syria with some like Last Men in Aleppo and The Cave being powerful grounded looks at the conflict and the pain it has caused on the everyday people and families who live in Syria. For Sama continues this idea but does it in such a captivating and powerful way becoming not just becoming my favorite documentary of 2019 but one of my favorites from the entire decade. Framed as a message for her daughter who is still a baby, For Sama tries to explain why her parent's stayed in Syria and fought for what they believed in. From them meeting and falling in love to opening a hospital, this is a captivating look at these people's lives adding a retrospective that no other film of this subject matter has had. Seeing these people before the struggle for life that they would face during the conflict allows us to become more invested in them as people allowing the heartbreak of the conflict to be all the more effective. There is also plenty of death and constant booms of bombs that keep reminding you of the conflict never allowing the audience or subjects to escape a sense of worry and fear. It is currently streaming for free online and is a must watch if you have missed the film so far.

#10-And Then We Danced

Feeling a bit similar to 2017's Call Me By Your Name which is one of my favorite films of the decade, And Then We Danced is easily one of the most powerful and moving romances of the year. Led by a really wonderful performance from Levan Gelbakhiani, this was a film that hit me and had me openly crying by the end. The relationship shown is not only beautiful but the impact it has on Gelbakhiani's character really connected with me. The physicality within this film with it's dancing scenes are also really impressive and I hope that despite not making it onto the shortlist for the Academy Awards everyone gives this film a chance as it releases wider early next year.

#9-Little Women

Of course myself alongside all of Film Twitter had Little Women on their radars not only as it was Greta Gerwig's highly anticipate follow-up to her directorial debut Lady Bird but it also as it had an A+ looking ensemble including favorites like Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, & Timothée Chalamet. Even with the high expectations I brought into this movie it blew me away at multiple moments, from dialogue that reads like poetry to the incredible performances from each cast member that really stood out as some of the best performances of the year. To put it into perspective how much this movie hit me there was a point where I legitimately started to cry during the film simply due to how powerful the filmmaking was.

#8-The Farewell

Especially on repeat viewings The Farewell really started to stand out to me as one of the most well crafted and emotional films of 2019. Not only is the story itself just emotional from premise alone but the rawness shown by ever single actor in this film really adds to the power the story has. Where Awkwafina & Zhao Shuzhen have been getting the bulk of the conversation surrounding the acting in the movie the entire cast really delivers here with Diana Lin also really standing out. The script is so powerful and well written, this is a film I keep coming back to and appreciating the more I think about it.

#7-1917

At the basic level 1917 is easily one of the biggest technical masterpieces of the year. The production design especially is some of the most impressive work I have ever seen, with the gimmick of the film being that it is entirely shot in one take the sets the film uses are huge as far as scale goes and really feels like they go beyond what is normally seen in film. The characters and script are also just wildly impressive with dynamic dialogue and deeper ideas that propels the film above most other war films. The acting by George MacKay & Dean-Charles Chapman is also really wonderful with both being the best outings in either actors career up to this point. Believe the hype of 1917 and please try to see it on the biggest screen possible when it releases wide in just a few weeks.

#6-Ad Astra

After years of waiting and delays Ad Astra finally released and man did it deliver! Almost being reminiscent of certain aspects of another Brad Pitt film The Tree of Life, Ad Astra was a deeply emotional and moving look at loss and the guilt that comes with it. Brad Pitt gives a physical yet quiet performance as astronaut Roy McBride which sadly has become overlook in comparison to his louder and more charismatic outing as Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. This was a film that really hit me and left me speechless in its aftermath. The film knows exactly what it is trying to do and turned out to be one of the more smart and emotional outings of the year.

#5-Portrait of a Lady on Fire

No other film has haunted me as much as Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Despite seeing it at the San Diego International Film Festival where I was seeing multiple films a day I could not shake some of the scenes in this film for days upon days. This is such a powerful film of love and desire. The scenes both in dialogue and events read like true poetry. The film technically is fantastic with some of the best cinematography and costume design of the entire year. The acting is also stellar, both Noémie Merlant & Adèle Haenel have an unbelievable amount of chemistry and bring the power to the emotions throughout the film. Not even just in their words but in their stares, they carry such a weight and soul. This movie is one of the most emotional of the year and still haunts me. I know this is one I will always carry with me and am so excited to check out again not only once it releases wide in a couple of months but once it gets it's home media release.

#4-The Lighthouse

Since its first image was released ahead of its premier at Cannes, The Lighthouse has been one of my most anticipated films of the year with an incredible amount of buzz coming from every festival it was a part of. Where Robert Eggers intrigued me with The Witch, this is truly his masterpiece. Being such an engaging film that I not only saw it multiple times in theaters (something I don't do that often) but even wrote an entire article breaking down the different theories and hidden messages the film could have which can be found here. Led by two of the best performances of the year by Robbert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse stands out against all other movies to come out this year. This is a sea shanty I absolutely bought into and lost myself in becoming probably the most intriguing and thought provoking film of the year at least for me personally.

#3-Parasite

Ever since it debuted at Cannes where it won the prestigious Palme d'Or award, Parasite has been blowing up audiences both on and off film twitter with many calling it not just the best film of 2019 but possibly the best film of the decade. Where I can't go quite that far with my love for the film there is no doubting that this is a pretty incredible film. Filled with twists and turns this is a shocking watch especially on a first viewing which will have audiences at the edge of their seats throughout the runtime as characters make questionable choices with horrible consequences. This is a film that has a great social commentary to it which is perfectly elevated by the truly masterclass filmmaking present in really every regard. This is one of the most well rounded and technically sound films of the year and overall it just an incredible film in really every regard.

#2-Paddleton

Just a couple of months into 2019 I started to hear a bit of buzz about a Netflix original move called Paddleton. Being early in the year with a lack of new releases to watch I decided to check it out one night and I was left sobbing with tears amazed at what I just watched. No one was talking about this movie and even less are now but easily this was one of the most interesting and heartbreaking films of the year, following two men who are best friends and how they deal with a horrific turn of events as one is diagnosed with terminal cancer this is such a unique and captivating look at dealing with loss and having to accept death. These characters don't know how to deal with these emotions and they have to work through it the best they can. Please if you have not already (and you probably haven't) run to Netflix and put this at the top of your watchlist. Easily the most underrated movie of 2019 and easily could have been the best film of the year if it wasn't for another Netflix film...

#1-The Irishman

I have never quite had the same experience watching a movie as I did while watching The Irishman. At a whopping 209 minutes this is a modern epic that uses its length and the weight that comes with it to build a film that is able to reflect on itself unlike any other. Following these characters through a large portion of their lives this is able to engage you and get you invested in their lives which makes the reflection at the end so much more impactful. This is a film full of not just charisma but heartbreaking emotion that had my audience silent with tension at multiple points. The ensemble all deliver their best work in years and this is just another example of how talented Martin Scorsese really is. The Irishman is just incredible and despite my fears towards it I hope most will be able to have the same experience watching this film at home on Netflix that I had watching it on the big screen.