2019 has been an odd year for me in terms of movie watching. I've re-watched a lot more movies than in years past and I've watched a lot more series and stand-up comedy. I've needed the laughs and thanks to the likes of Chris D'Elia, Doug Stanhope, and especially Iliza Shlesinger, I've laughed a lot. I've also tried to catch up on the Marvel Universe, and while I'm in the minority, I'm not so thrilled with this decision. Below my list, I'll give you the top five films I saw for the first time in 2019, well half of it, and the bottom five. I'll also give you my biggest surprise and my biggest letdown.
Bird Box - Tense, amazing acting, social commentary, homages. It lived up to the hype!
Marvel: The Avengers - Fun, tons of action, corny humor. Comic book comes to life
Avengers: Age of Ultron - nowhere near as much fun as The Avengers.
Spider-Man: Homecoming - Great fun despite the lack of a bigtime villain.
Avengers: Infinity War - Action-packed, decent humor early on, but lacks depth.
Annihilation - Trippy, but wondering if it is really as shallow as Ex Machina
The Night Manager (series) - Hiddleston's best work. Bier's direction is incredibly tight!
A Scandal in Belgravia - Lare Pulver's Irene Adler is worth the rewatch. Sherlock S2 E1
Watchmen - Revisited one of my favorite comic book movies. Still amazing and relevant.
The Truth About Alcohol - Silly documentary dispelling myths that were already dispelled.
Russell Brand: Rebirth - I like Brand. He's smart, funny, and charming. This was a snoozefest.
Tumbbad - Slow burn, literally. The ending may make it worth it. May have to try again.
Lucero - Solo descent into madness. No dialogue. At a brief 69 minutes, it works.
Treasure Planet - Animated Disney adaptation of R.L. Stevenson classic. Works well.
The Long Good Friday - Epic Hoskins, plus solid, as always, Mirren, makes for a fun ride.
Ted Bundy Tapes - Not much new information, so a bit of a waste. Surprisingly stale.
Sebastian Maniscalco: Stay Hungry - One of the worst standup acts I've ever seen.
Bill Hicks: One Night Stand - Still relevant and always hilarious
Bill Hicks: Reflections - Great social commentary and always that biting wit!
Morgan - Amazing cast makes up for a dull script and missed opportunities.
Venom - Great fun and often quite funny. Hardy is perfect and good chemistry with Williams.
Morvern Callar - Morton is tops, but feels disjointed. Influenced by Varda, Influenced Korine!
Polar - Graphic novel comes to life. Comic book feel, Mads is good, Hudgens is better.
Frozen River - Melissa Leo & Misty Upham shines in this simple story of desperation.
River - Exquisitely written, incredibly acted British drama with a dazzling cast. Amazing!
Neruda - Horrible script and acting with gimmicks that simply don't work. Bernal is trash!
Winter Sleep - Caylan does it again with an epic film about those rich and poor; in every way.
Inside the Mossad - Fascinating documentary inside Israel's incredible intelligence outfit
What Makes A Psychopath - Average documentary with tiny glimpses that are scary.
Cargo - Feature adaptation of brilliant short horror film. Not as good, but acting is good.
Ron White: If you quit listening, I'll shut up: Often hilarious, but pretty much standard Ron.
Ant-Man and The Wasp - Good fun, but not as good as the original.
Leave No Trace - Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie are amazing. Film just misses greatness.
Zodiac - Revisited this for 4-5th time. It gets better each and every time. Amazing cast!
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale - rewatched for hot pockets. Hilarious!
Three Monkeys - Ceylan's early work is tedious but shows glimmers of his vision.
The Emperor's New Groove - Fun Disney film. Familiar funny voices make it better.
First Man - Exceptional look at Neil Armstrong, the man, and the struggle. Foy is superb!
Hold the Dark - Consistently misses the mark. Riley Keough needed a bigger part.
The Innkeepers - Ti West norms: Bad direction, bad writing, bad story.
Sixteen Candles - Hard to not cringe in today's climate and that doesn't excuse the 80's.
Only Lovers Left Alive - Only my second viewing since 2015 and I still adore this film.
Mandy - Over-hyped Nic Cage horror flick that tries to look unique, but fails miserably
Eighth Grade - Wonderful coming-of-age story. Elsie Fisher and Josh Hamilton are perfect
The Kirlian Frequency - Animated short miniseries starts strong, fades, then ends well.
The Silence of the Lambs - Yes, again! I love this movie more each time! Foster! Hopkins!
Solo: A Star Wars Movie - Much better than the last six movies. Interesting side characters.
The Age of Shadows - Another epic adventure by Jee-woon Kim. Stunning, as expected.
Forgotten - Korean drama. Starts off slow, gets interesting, then somewhat silly.
Broadchurch (Season One) - Solid acting saves it from red herrings and predictable end.
Broadchurch (Season Two) - Absolute rubbish, saved (almost) by Jodie Whitaker.
Broadchurch (Season Three) - The best of the lot, despite no likable male character.
Martial Arts of Shaolin - Standard Shaw Brothers fare, with very young, charismatic, Jet Li.
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond The Pale - And the world was given "Hooooot Pockets!"
Jim Gaffigan: Cinco - Hilarious as usual.
Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed - Gaffigan in Boston talking about what he talks about best.
Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe - Not my favorite of his, but still better than most
Close - Noomi Rapace action flick is much better than it's getting credit for.
The Favourite - Acting, music, and Cinematography is A+, but the story is painfully dull.
Marie Kondo
The Bride with White Hair - One of the best martial movies ever made. Huge surprise.
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen's music is the star in flawed film that feels like a TV docudrama.
Friday the 13th (2009) - Not bad for a remake with 80's staples, bongs, blood, and boobs!
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - My least favorite Bunuel to date, but not bad.
A Star Is Born - Lady Gaga is incredible. Cooper got robbed, especially for directing! Great!
A Star Is Born (1939) - Have to finish
Aparajito - Second installment in Ray's Apu trilogy. Pales to Pather Panchali. Skipped third.
Overlord - Inglorious Basterds with zombies, sort of. Polished, but weak. Ollivier shines.
White Material - Denis uses a white family in Africa as a perfect metaphor for today's world.
Snatch - Revisited this one and always forget just how great Brad Pitt is in this.
The Silence of the Lambs - Hopkins gets much of the credit, but is Foister's performance #1?
The Highwaymen - Bonnie and Clyde pursued by Harrelson and Costner. Good fun!
A Bittersweet Life - Good, but not great. Expected more from Jee-woo Kim!
Logan Lucky - Riley Keough is the only reason to watch this.
Mayhem - Fun action/comedy/horror with Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving.
Infernal Affairs - The much better original of the Scorcese remake, The Departed.
Phantasm: Ravager - Atrocious from start to finish. A silly addition to the franchise.
Clerks - It's been a long time since I've seen it and it's still one of the greatest comedies ever.
Death House - Great concept and an all-star cast are wasted on purposely being a B-movie.
Suspiria (2018) - On par with the original but for completely different reasons. Dakota shines!
Chris D'Elia: Man on Fire - Tells a joke, then builds on it, ending just at the right time on each.
Two Graves - I watched it for Katie Jarvis, the most underutilized actress ever! Flimsy!
Chris D'Elia: Nonstop - 30-minute set which hits often. Good fun!
Seoul Station - Animated prequel to Train to Busan. Gripping, but a little repetitive.
The Dark - Fresh spin on the zombie genre. Leaves you with a lot to the think about; quickly!
Jim Gaffigan: King Baby - As always JG delivers lots of laughs, mostly about food.
Maria - Revenge film about hitwoman brought back into life. Beautiful star can't save it.
Iliza Shlesinger: Elder Millennial - One of the funniest stand-up acts I've ever seen.
Iliza Shlesinger: Confirmed Kills - Watching in reverse of release. Not as strong as EM
Iliza Shlesinger: Freezing Hot - Signs she was just warming up
Iliza Shlesinger: Elder Millennial - Yep, watched it again with a friend.
Memories of Murder - Revisited this one. Liked it even more than the first time.
RBG - Fabulous Documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg who IS a superhero!
Koyaanisquatsi - Beautiful look at nature vs modernization aka Life out of Balance
Iliza Shlesinger: War Paint - Her first was definitely a sign of things to come.
Valley of Shadows - Norwegian gothic tale. Cinematography is amazing, but slow, so slow.
Vice - Bale, Adams, and Rockwell shine in McKay's Big Short-style look into Dick Cheney.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Directorial masterpiece lacks something that La La Land found.
Ju Dou - Beautiful cinematography, gripping story, but falls apart slightly at the end.
Japon - Wonderful story ruined by animal cruelty and an awful ending.
Glass - Better than Unbreakable, but not Split. McAvoy was brilliant. Needed more Anya-Joy!
Captain Marvel - Average in most ways, but Brie Larson is perfectly cast. Humor helps it.
Give It Up For Greg Giraldo - Short doc about the brilliant comedian's rise and fall.
Curse Of The Golden Flower - Beautiful, but not on the level of Hero or Flying Daggers.
Green Book - Viggo got robbed! Wonderful performances trump any historical inaccuracies.
Citizen X - I seem to watch this every two years, liming it more each time.
Bird Box - Tense, amazing acting, social commentary, homages. It lived up to the hype!
Marvel: The Avengers - Fun, tons of action, corny humor. Comic book comes to life
Avengers: Age of Ultron - nowhere near as much fun as The Avengers.
Spider-Man: Homecoming - Great fun despite the lack of a bigtime villain.
Avengers: Infinity War - Action-packed, decent humor early on, but lacks depth.
Annihilation - Trippy, but wondering if it is really as shallow as Ex Machina
The Night Manager (series) - Hiddleston's best work. Bier's direction is incredibly tight!
A Scandal in Belgravia - Lare Pulver's Irene Adler is worth the rewatch. Sherlock S2 E1
Watchmen - Revisited one of my favorite comic book movies. Still amazing and relevant.
The Truth About Alcohol - Silly documentary dispelling myths that were already dispelled.
Russell Brand: Rebirth - I like Brand. He's smart, funny, and charming. This was a snoozefest.
Tumbbad - Slow burn, literally. The ending may make it worth it. May have to try again.
Lucero - Solo descent into madness. No dialogue. At a brief 69 minutes, it works.
Treasure Planet - Animated Disney adaptation of R.L. Stevenson classic. Works well.
The Long Good Friday - Epic Hoskins, plus solid, as always, Mirren, makes for a fun ride.
Ted Bundy Tapes - Not much new information, so a bit of a waste. Surprisingly stale.
Sebastian Maniscalco: Stay Hungry - One of the worst standup acts I've ever seen.
Bill Hicks: One Night Stand - Still relevant and always hilarious
Bill Hicks: Reflections - Great social commentary and always that biting wit!
Morgan - Amazing cast makes up for a dull script and missed opportunities.
Venom - Great fun and often quite funny. Hardy is perfect and good chemistry with Williams.
Morvern Callar - Morton is tops, but feels disjointed. Influenced by Varda, Influenced Korine!
Polar - Graphic novel comes to life. Comic book feel, Mads is good, Hudgens is better.
Frozen River - Melissa Leo & Misty Upham shines in this simple story of desperation.
River - Exquisitely written, incredibly acted British drama with a dazzling cast. Amazing!
Neruda - Horrible script and acting with gimmicks that simply don't work. Bernal is trash!
Winter Sleep - Caylan does it again with an epic film about those rich and poor; in every way.
Inside the Mossad - Fascinating documentary inside Israel's incredible intelligence outfit
What Makes A Psychopath - Average documentary with tiny glimpses that are scary.
Cargo - Feature adaptation of brilliant short horror film. Not as good, but acting is good.
Ron White: If you quit listening, I'll shut up: Often hilarious, but pretty much standard Ron.
Ant-Man and The Wasp - Good fun, but not as good as the original.
Leave No Trace - Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie are amazing. Film just misses greatness.
Zodiac - Revisited this for 4-5th time. It gets better each and every time. Amazing cast!
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale - rewatched for hot pockets. Hilarious!
Three Monkeys - Ceylan's early work is tedious but shows glimmers of his vision.
The Emperor's New Groove - Fun Disney film. Familiar funny voices make it better.
First Man - Exceptional look at Neil Armstrong, the man, and the struggle. Foy is superb!
Hold the Dark - Consistently misses the mark. Riley Keough needed a bigger part.
The Innkeepers - Ti West norms: Bad direction, bad writing, bad story.
Sixteen Candles - Hard to not cringe in today's climate and that doesn't excuse the 80's.
Only Lovers Left Alive - Only my second viewing since 2015 and I still adore this film.
Mandy - Over-hyped Nic Cage horror flick that tries to look unique, but fails miserably
Eighth Grade - Wonderful coming-of-age story. Elsie Fisher and Josh Hamilton are perfect
The Kirlian Frequency - Animated short miniseries starts strong, fades, then ends well.
The Silence of the Lambs - Yes, again! I love this movie more each time! Foster! Hopkins!
Solo: A Star Wars Movie - Much better than the last six movies. Interesting side characters.
The Age of Shadows - Another epic adventure by Jee-woon Kim. Stunning, as expected.
Forgotten - Korean drama. Starts off slow, gets interesting, then somewhat silly.
Broadchurch (Season One) - Solid acting saves it from red herrings and predictable end.
Broadchurch (Season Two) - Absolute rubbish, saved (almost) by Jodie Whitaker.
Broadchurch (Season Three) - The best of the lot, despite no likable male character.
Martial Arts of Shaolin - Standard Shaw Brothers fare, with very young, charismatic, Jet Li.
Jim Gaffigan: Beyond The Pale - And the world was given "Hooooot Pockets!"
Jim Gaffigan: Cinco - Hilarious as usual.
Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed - Gaffigan in Boston talking about what he talks about best.
Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe - Not my favorite of his, but still better than most
Close - Noomi Rapace action flick is much better than it's getting credit for.
The Favourite - Acting, music, and Cinematography is A+, but the story is painfully dull.
Marie Kondo
The Bride with White Hair - One of the best martial movies ever made. Huge surprise.
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen's music is the star in flawed film that feels like a TV docudrama.
Friday the 13th (2009) - Not bad for a remake with 80's staples, bongs, blood, and boobs!
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - My least favorite Bunuel to date, but not bad.
A Star Is Born - Lady Gaga is incredible. Cooper got robbed, especially for directing! Great!
A Star Is Born (1939) - Have to finish
Aparajito - Second installment in Ray's Apu trilogy. Pales to Pather Panchali. Skipped third.
Overlord - Inglorious Basterds with zombies, sort of. Polished, but weak. Ollivier shines.
White Material - Denis uses a white family in Africa as a perfect metaphor for today's world.
Snatch - Revisited this one and always forget just how great Brad Pitt is in this.
The Silence of the Lambs - Hopkins gets much of the credit, but is Foister's performance #1?
The Highwaymen - Bonnie and Clyde pursued by Harrelson and Costner. Good fun!
A Bittersweet Life - Good, but not great. Expected more from Jee-woo Kim!
Logan Lucky - Riley Keough is the only reason to watch this.
Mayhem - Fun action/comedy/horror with Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving.
Infernal Affairs - The much better original of the Scorcese remake, The Departed.
Phantasm: Ravager - Atrocious from start to finish. A silly addition to the franchise.
Clerks - It's been a long time since I've seen it and it's still one of the greatest comedies ever.
Death House - Great concept and an all-star cast are wasted on purposely being a B-movie.
Suspiria (2018) - On par with the original but for completely different reasons. Dakota shines!
Chris D'Elia: Man on Fire - Tells a joke, then builds on it, ending just at the right time on each.
Two Graves - I watched it for Katie Jarvis, the most underutilized actress ever! Flimsy!
Chris D'Elia: Nonstop - 30-minute set which hits often. Good fun!
Seoul Station - Animated prequel to Train to Busan. Gripping, but a little repetitive.
The Dark - Fresh spin on the zombie genre. Leaves you with a lot to the think about; quickly!
Jim Gaffigan: King Baby - As always JG delivers lots of laughs, mostly about food.
Maria - Revenge film about hitwoman brought back into life. Beautiful star can't save it.
Iliza Shlesinger: Elder Millennial - One of the funniest stand-up acts I've ever seen.
Iliza Shlesinger: Confirmed Kills - Watching in reverse of release. Not as strong as EM
Iliza Shlesinger: Freezing Hot - Signs she was just warming up
Iliza Shlesinger: Elder Millennial - Yep, watched it again with a friend.
Memories of Murder - Revisited this one. Liked it even more than the first time.
RBG - Fabulous Documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg who IS a superhero!
Koyaanisquatsi - Beautiful look at nature vs modernization aka Life out of Balance
Iliza Shlesinger: War Paint - Her first was definitely a sign of things to come.
Valley of Shadows - Norwegian gothic tale. Cinematography is amazing, but slow, so slow.
Vice - Bale, Adams, and Rockwell shine in McKay's Big Short-style look into Dick Cheney.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Directorial masterpiece lacks something that La La Land found.
Ju Dou - Beautiful cinematography, gripping story, but falls apart slightly at the end.
Japon - Wonderful story ruined by animal cruelty and an awful ending.
Glass - Better than Unbreakable, but not Split. McAvoy was brilliant. Needed more Anya-Joy!
Captain Marvel - Average in most ways, but Brie Larson is perfectly cast. Humor helps it.
Give It Up For Greg Giraldo - Short doc about the brilliant comedian's rise and fall.
Curse Of The Golden Flower - Beautiful, but not on the level of Hero or Flying Daggers.
Green Book - Viggo got robbed! Wonderful performances trump any historical inaccuracies.
Citizen X - I seem to watch this every two years, liming it more each time.
Top Five
1. Winter Sleep
2. First Man
3. Green Book
4. A Star is Born
5. The Age of Shadows
Bottom Five
5. Avengers: Infinity War
4. Neruda
3. The Innkeepers
2. Death House
1. Mandy
Biggest Suprise: Bird Box, because it lived up to the hype
Biggest Letdown: Avengers: Infinity War, because it didn't
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