My Top Movies of 2019

 

With the end of 2019 approaching, I thought it’d be interesting to pull together a list of my top movies of the year. 

Avengers: Endgame

Starting in no particular order, I loved Avengers: Endgame. Although I haven’t given this one a rewatch yet, I thought it was just about the perfect ending to the MCU buildup over the last 11 years. As a fan of the Marvel movies, it was cool seeing all the references and getting to go back on a nostalgia trip to many of the previous films. Part of the journey is the end.

 

 

 

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Following Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home takes place right where Endgame left off. Far From Home had similar humor and action to Homecoming, which I was glad to see, and we see Peter devastated in the aftermath of Endgame and feeling like he needs to step up to become the new Iron Man. In Far From Home, we are introduced to Quentin Beck, AKA Mysterio, as the villain. It’s refreshing getting to see some of Spidey’s other villains, like Mysterio and Vulture in Homecoming, get some screen time because it seems like we’ve seen Green Goblin too many times already. Plus, I thought Mysterio did a really great job in this movie to where those who didn’t know about him being a villain beforehand genuinely thought he was there to help Peter.

 

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel came out before Endgame and I liked it. It had great humor, as all Marvel movies do, and left my super excited to see Endgame and a Captain Marvel/ Avengers team up. It was cool having the 90s flashbacks and getting to see a younger Nick Fury in more of a lead role (as well as solving the mystery of how he lost his eye).

 

 

 

Shazam!

I liked Shazam!, although I know of others who did not. I thought it was super funny because it kind of mocked the superhero genre at times and was also more of a light-hearted DC film about the meaning of family. Like I mentioned with the Spider-Man villains, we’ve seen Batman and Superman on the big screen countless times, yet there are hundreds of other DC superheroes waiting for their time in the limelight. Having this be the first appearance of Shazam! on the big screen, I’d call it a success and would love to see him appear with the rest of the Justice League. Although, seeing the state of the DC movie universe, I don’t imagine that will happen.

 

Joker

Another DC movie, Joker, was the opposite of Shazam’s light-hearted tone. For me, this movie was a heavy hitter. Joker was both disturbing and illuminating, and very different from what I was originally expecting. Instead of a violent mob movie, we got a psychological drama and a commentary on mental illness in our world today. It was interesting to see the Joker’s backstory and how badly he was treated because of his mental illness that drove his descent into madness. The acting was phenomenal and Joaquin Phoenix definitely deserves some award for his performance. He did a fantastic job with his laugh so you could tell he didn’t actually want to but just couldn’t stop himself, and that he was uncomfortable to the point that he was in pain. The acting was great, the story was great, the score and cinematography were great. But unlike most movies that create an uplifting feeling, this one made me uncomfortable. The first day I saw it, I felt very disturbed but the more time that passed and I had to process it, the more I appreciate it and want to go back and watch it again.

 

Zombieland Double Tap

Zombieland Double Tap was also a lot better than I was expecting. I’m always a little cautious with these types of sequels, especially coming out 10 years after the original, but it was pretty good. I still think the first is better, but Doubletap delivered more of the same – rules, gore, and laughs. If you enjoyed the first Zombieland, do yourself a favor and checkout Double Tap to see where the story continues.

 

Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari was a great movie, even not being the biggest race car movie fan. I was excited about this movie for a while before it came out though because it has both Matt Damon and Christian Bale, two of my favorite actors. I loved seeing them share the screen and thought they each played their roles well. There were some slow parts in the movie but they were equally matched and made up for with super intense race scenes with cool music and shots. If you’re a fan of racing movies, I’m guessing you’ve already seen this. If not, I’m guessing there’s something about this movie that you’ll enjoy, like when the two main characters fight on the front lawn with groceries and a garbage can lid. Just saying.

 

The King

I just watched Netflix’s The King last night and quite enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of these streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Prime Video funding these original movies because they are actually pretty good and are included with the price you’re already paying. I knew very little about King Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt, so it was cool getting to see and learn about that. I have always been a pretty big fan of historical shows and movies like Vikings, Knightfall and Chernobyl, even if they aren’t necessarily 100% accurate. It reminded me a lot of Netflix’s Outlaw King – a little slow to get going but really impressive battle scenes.

 

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Last, but not least, is Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. It seems like anything tied to Star Wars these days is controversial. No one hates on Star Wars like Star Wars fans. But, I was actually really pleased with how Rise of Skywalker turned out. It answered a lot of the questions we were left with from The Last Jedi, like who Snoke was and how Leia got crazy force powers, as well as tied a nice bow onto this newest trilogy. I thought the story was decent, the lightsaber fight scenes were amazing, and there was enough nostalgia to put a goofy smile on my face. Instead of picking apart the plot and be determined not to like it, I’d rather just enjoy these movies for what they are. Space westerns with laser swords and magic powers.

 

These are just some of the movies that stand out looking back over 2019. Let me know if you agree with these and if not, what are some of your favorite movies this year.