Best and Worst Movies of 2019
The Domination of Disney
Reflecting on my year of reviews, a couple general observations. First and foremost, this year was basically dominated by Disney. Whether it was Disney animation, Pixar, live-action remakes, Marvel or Star Wars, this was the year of Disney. Case in point, Disney released 10 movies in theaters (excluding Fox releases and 3 Disney+ releases), and 6 of them made either my top 5 or Honorable Mention (1 made my bottom 5). Outside of Disney there were a few standout movies, and then there were a few bombs. I will say, I did not see many movies that I thought were truly awful this year (three did separate themselves as truly awful though), instead I saw an incredible amount of mediocrity. So congrats Hollywood? Either that or I just got more harsh with my really positive ratings and not harsh enough with my bad ratings. Either way, this year was a real bell curve for movies. I also am apparently still a sucker for animated movies because a lot of my highest rated movies happen to be animated, although I still think most of them are just simply better movies than the others. Finally, just something interesting, Brad Pitt made two movies in 2019 and BOTH made my bottom 5… better luck next year Brad!
Top 5
1) Toy Story 4
I was originally a little unhappy when I heard there was going to be a Toy Story 4 because I thought Toy Story 3 was a very fitting end to the series. I totally thought this was going to be a cash grab that put a stain on the legacy of the Toy Story franchise. Boy was I wrong. This was an amazing movie. Honestly, I think it was one of the funniest movies I saw all year. It is just pure joy and fun. Then in typical Pixar fashion, the movie also tells a good story about growing up and dealing with change. It’s a really good movie for both adults and kids. Don’t let the “4” scare you off, you don’t need to see the others to enjoy this one. While I never wanted this movie, I am very happy that we got it!
2) Little Women
This is not the type of movie that I generally like because it is more artsy/indie but I was pleasantly surprised by it. It was a great feel-good type of movie. I was engaged throughout mainly because of how heartfelt it was. The movie does an excellent job of making you feel a wide spectrum of emotions. At times you’re sad, other times you’re laughing, but for the majority of it you’re happy and by the end you just have a warm feeling. I can’t really complain much about a movie that connects with you emotionally and makes you happy at the end.
3) Fighting with My Family
It is sad this movie totally flew under the radar solely because it was based on the WWE. This is a really good movie. It is a true story of an underdog and her lifelong journey to make it to the WWE. If this was about any typical sport, I think a lot more people would have given it a chance. The movie falls somewhere between a comedy and a drama and it does both of them very well. You will definitely laugh and you might even cry during it. Who knows, maybe you will even want to be a WWE fan afterwards. Either way, you will likely be inspired by it. I’m standing up for this one, it’s worth a watch.
4) How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
This isn’t just me having a soft spot for this trilogy (which I totally admit I do), this is actually a really good movie. It has a little bit of everything. There’s action, there’s humor and there’s emotion. I was genuinely very sad when it ended knowing this was the end of the trilogy. I will say that while you can definitely enjoy this movie if you haven’t seen the other two, it wouldn’t have nearly the same impact as if you have seen them. In fact I actually think this is the least great (I’d say worst but all are very good) movie of the three. That says a lot about the quality of these movies. I recommend that you watch the first two, then come back and watch this one. You won’t be disappointed by any of them, it is one of the better animated series ever.
5) Knives Out
The best way I can describe Knives Out is as an over-the-top movie version of the game Clue. There was something about this movie that was just plain fun. It kind of has a little bit of everything. At its heart it is a mystery, but it is also surprisingly funny and has a solid plot with tons of twists and turns. Enjoy the laughs while you try to figure out the mystery!
Honorable Mention
1) Frozen II – No it isn’t as good as the first, but it is still very good!
2) Aladdin – The best Disney live-action remake so far. A ton of fun!
3) Last Christmas – An emotional Christmas rom-com. Very cute.
4) Avengers: Endgame – The highest grossing movie of all-time.
5) Ford v Ferrari – A really good true story, just takes a bit to get going.
6) Long Shot – A funny but raunchy rom-com.
7) Spider-Man: Far From Home – An all-around solid superhero movie.
8) Captain Marvel – An all-around solid female superhero movie. Girl power!
9) Booksmart – A solid coming-of-age comedy.
10) Joker – Incredible acting, but slow and very very dark. It’s unique enough to watch once, but I don’t think I’ll watch again.
Bottom 5
1) Ad Astra
This movie is so boring that I fell asleep writing this two sentence review. Watch the opening scene, it isn’t half bad. I have nothing else nice to say so I am going to say nothing else at all.
2) Marriage Story
Well I still haven’t gotten the burning desire to be a fly on the wall during a divorce, so I still hate this movie. I just don’t get how anyone watches this and enjoys it. Maybe one day I will want to subject myself to the slow, depressing emotional torture that is this movie. But until then, don’t watch it.
3) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Once upon a time in Hollywood movie scenes used to flow together to create a coherent story. Apparently that time is not upon this movie. I’m still not convinced that this was a coherent movie. There are actually a handful of scenes in this movie that I really enjoyed but they definitely do not join together to make a story that can be followed. I felt like I was reading a book out of order. It was bizarre. I guess I’m not part of the “in” crowd given that this movie is getting nominated for awards, but this movie is not good at all. It is slow, boring, and feels very scattered.
4) Dark Phoenix
This is basically what happens when you make a superhero movie just for the sake of making a superhero movie. There was literally nothing special or unique about this movie and it really showed. It isn’t unwatchable like the first three on this bottom 5 list, but I can’t give you a compelling reason to watch it. Too many good superhero movies to waste your time with this one.
5) Dumbo
This was like a sad and depressing version of a kid’s movie. It was really a pretty odd experience. I don’t remember if I like the original animated Dumbo, but I am just going to assume it is better than this one. I’d say just watch the animated version instead of this one. However, the character Dumbo was very cute. I can’t deny that. Sorry Disney, but not one of your better movies.
Movies I Missed (Alphabetical Order)
Bombshell; The Dirt; The Farewell; Five Feet Apart; Glass; The Hustle; The Irishman; Just Mercy; The King; Missing Link; Parasite; Pokemon Detective Pikachu; Richard Jewell; Rocketman; The Upside; Us; Yesterday
