Top Ten Movies of 2019

10. The Last Black Man in San Francisco - The best under the radar movie of the year, The Last Black Man in San Francisco follows two friends who try to buy the grand house that one of the men think their grandfather built, and that was his childhood home. But to say this movie is about a house, is like saying Jaws is just about a shark. There is so much more going on in this movie, including a study of male friendship, toxic masculinity, gentrification, and the lies passed down through generations of family. If you get a chance to see this low budget gem, do it.

09. Booksmart - No, Booksmart is NOT the female version of Superbad. Sure, it has a few things in common - both are super funny movies about two high schoolers who are looking to experience one big party. But Booksmart is a hilarious feminist leaning movie about female friendship. It manages to be progressive and inclusive without seeming preachy, and it manages to be heartfelt, without feeling cheesy. A lot of this has to do with the performances from leads Beanie Feldstein adn Kaitlyn Dever, but a whipsmart script certainly helps as well.

08. Marriage Story - The perfect storm of auteur directors meets pitch perfect script meets killer performances, Marriage Story manages to be both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. It's smart as hell and sad as hell, and if you don't leave thinking Adam Driver gave the best performance of the year, then I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. Sure, it's a little bit too long, and yes, it does feel more like a play than a movie, but this is closer to a masterpiece then the sum of it's flaws.

07. The Peanut Butter Falcon - If you know me at all, then you know I don't necessarily like "nice" movies. But The Peanut Butter Falcon is so goddamn likable that it is hard to not root for it in every sense of the word. It's a very Tom Sawyer / Huck Finn esque story about a mentally challenged teenager on the room from his group home and the troubled man he meets up with, who is running from something much more dangerous. Throw in the social worker with a heart of gold, and you've got yourself the makings of a really great, heartwarming, sweet drama, filled with beautiful moments, sad moments, exciting moments... basically everything you could want from a movie.

06. Ad Astra - Ad Astra is a essentially a space movie with daddy issues as Brad Pitt prepares to travel into deep space searching for his revolutionary astronaut father (Tommy Lee Jones) who may or may not be a persona non grata. Ad Astra is spectacularly filmed, and also terribly sad. It's a bleak drama with one of the most pulse pounding action set pieces of the year. It manages to feel both existential and larger than life, and wildly intimate at the same time. If you like your dramas slow, sad and pretty, then this one is for you.

05. Knives Out - This movie was essentially made for me and all of my particular interests. Agatha Christie esque plot? Check. Alfred Hitchcockian twists and turns? Check. Michael Shannon stealing every scene and being amazing? Yep! Chris Evans looking handsome in knit sweaters? Got that too! Rian Johnson's perfect genre dialogue? Check again. Knives Out is a fun, funny, big ensemble piece that is crowd pleasing and completely satisfying in every way. It's a must watch, whether you are a fan of the genre or not.

04. Parasite - I'm not sure what it is about Korean movies, but when they are good, they are so much better than almost everything else. Parasite is one of the best I've ever seen. It starts out as a sort of comedy of errors, a think piece about class and upward mobility. But it takes a twist and becomes about something else entirely, before ending in a way I never would have predicted in a million years. I don't want to write any more, give away any spoilers, but if you can handle subtitles, then this is a must watch.

03. Midsommar - Ari Aster is on a role. He gave us last year's fantastic Hereditary, and followed it up with this slow burn tragic gem. Hereditary may be a more accessible horror movie, but Midsommar is a more technical achievement. It follows a group of Americans, one grieving an inconceivable family tragedy, who go to Sweden where it's daylight for 24 hours a day, and they are celebrating their summer solstice. Things get creepy, and then creepier and then downright terrifying. Florence Pugh gives a killer performance and all I have to say about that ending is - good for her (in my best Lucille Bluth voice).

02. Little Women - Look at me, putting TWO nice movies in my top 10! That is called personal growth, I guess. But Little Women is the sort of movie where you have a non-stop grin on your face for the first half, and then you are constantly trying to be subtle while crying your eyes out in the second half. Director Greta Gerwig tells the story in a non-linear fashion which somehow makes it seem more modern. And this is the first adaptation I've seen where every single character is cast perfectly from leads to supporting, even changing the professor to a sexy Frenchman was a great idea. This is an instant classic retelling of an iconic book that has been famous for nearly 200 years for a reason.

01. Uncut Gems - The world is currently a trash place, but at least we are alive at the same time as the Safdie Brothers, who are unabashedly becoming my favorite directors. They are young and gritty and raw and they keep making movies like the rule breaker directors did in the late 60s and early 70s. Each movie they direct is better than the one before it, and Uncut Gems is so damn good, it's hard to believe how they will top it (although I'm sure they will find a way). If you had told me that Adam Sandler would star in my favorite movie of 2019, I would have laughed in your face, but he absolutely kills it as a jeweler who is going through some shit. Uncut Gems is basically a non stop roller coaster ride in which your heart is pounding the whole time. The intensity never once lets up and adrenaline will be coursing through your veins. I don't know how the Safdie Brothers manage to keep that pace for an entire movie, but they do it, and the finished project is a masterpiece.