Hi all! I'm writing this to you the day before 2020 officially begins (Here's hoping I don't start the year with a White Claw hangover...again). It's time for my annual list of things I liked this year. Kind of like Oprah's favorite things, if Oprah spent way too much time thinking about Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's relationship. This list has everything - Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, Elton John, a freaky black-and-white movie about a lighthouse starring Robert Pattinson…
Again, it was very hard to choose my favorites, as this was a particularly good year for pop culture. There's a heavy presence from Netflix and A24 and HBO on my list, as their late-fall releases really knocked it out of the park.
This is the year that the competition from streaming really opened up the floodgates for quality films from well-known auteurs, as well as series from innovative creators. However, it also signaled where we're going - the end of Game of Thrones means TV is looking for its next big-budget hit (hello The Witcher and Mandalorian). That hit might come from any one of the several streaming services arriving next year (Peacock, HBO Max, etc.).
The film industry will also continue to evolve. Despite some indie success stories (like Neon's Parasite), 2019 has not been kind to the mid-budget dramas and comedies that were once Hollywood's bread and butter (that is, if those films aren't on a streaming service...). Luckily there are exceptions, like box office hits Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Knives Out and Little Women. However, it still appears for now that the theatrical experience will continue to belong to the Avengers and the Jokers of the world.
That's why I have high hopes for content in 2020, with some caveats.
Onto the list!
I've seen 63 films and finished 32 seasons of television this year. That said, there's a lot I've missed. Feel free to reply with your favorite film or TV show that's not included.
The Best Movies of 2019
1. Marriage Story dir. Noah Baumbach
2. Uncut Gems dir. Josh and Benny Safdie
3. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
dir. Quentin Tarantino
4. The Irishman dir. Martin Scorsese
5. Little Women dir. Greta Gerwig
6. High Life dir. Claire Denis
7. Ford v. Ferrari dir. James Mangold
8. Parasite dir. Bong Joon-ho
9. The Lighthouse dir. Robert Eggers
10. Rocketman dir. Dexter Fletcher
✭✭✭✭ Other Movies I LOVED ✭✭✭✭
The Beach Bum, Avengers: Endgame, Booksmart, The Souvenir, Midsommar, John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, The Farewell, Plus One, Jojo Rabbit, Us, Knives Out, Dark Waters, Waves, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Queen & Slim, 1917, Atlantics
✭✭✭ Movies I LIKED ✭✭✭
High Flying Bird, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Toy Story 4, Yesterday, Wild Rose, Late Night, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Under the Silver Lake, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Ready or Not, Ad Astra, Hustlers, Pain and Glory, Joker, Dolemite Is My Name, Motherless Brooklyn, Doctor Sleep, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, The Report, Bombshell, Noelle, Her Smell
✭✭ Could Have Been Better ✭✭
Fighting with My Family, Captain Marvel, Shazam!, The Perfection, Between Two Ferns: The Movie, Downton Abbey, Blinded by the Light, The Laundromat, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, Frozen II, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
For films this year, the top 3 were unimpeachable. I was a sucker for the high emotion of Marriage Story, the white-knuckle thrills of Uncut Gems, and the nostalgia for an era gone by of Once Upon a Time. The only debate was which order they would be in.
At #4, The Irishman is Scorsese looking back. Some went in expecting the youthful energy of Goodfellas, but this film is mournful, a meditation on a life filled with regrets. I was on its wavelength - 3.5 hours have never gone by so fast in a theater for me.
Greta Gerwig's Little Women was my most anticipated film coming into this fall stretch, and it did not disappoint. Gerwig reaches new, delightful heights.
I saw Claire Denis's High Life late in the year, but the French director's first English-language film starring Robert Pattinson really captured everything I want in high-concept sci-fi. It uses space travel to explore identity, parenthood - what it means to be human. It's not for everyone (it's definitely out-there), but those who take the journey will find it rewarding.
Ford v. Ferrari is perhaps the most traditional "studio" film on my list. It has two movie stars (Matt Damon and Christian Bale) putting in exemplary performances, with a narrative about post-war American ingenuity (while containing anti-corporate undertones - the Ford Motor company and their middle men are portrayed as the villains). It's old-fashioned fare that nonetheless left me buzzing.
Parasite is Parasite. It's just incredible - a creative feat of writing, directing, acting. And the ending is my favorite of the year.
I was caught between A24 films for my Number 9 spot. It was either going to be Ari Aster's Midsommar or Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse. Ultimately, The Lighthouse was two bold to not reward. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe turn in truly unhinged performances in this bizarre, esoteric sea-shanty. It's super weird, and I'm amazed someone actually financed it.
The Number 10 slot I usually reserve for something more fun, like a rom com. This year I chose Dexter Fletcher's Rocketman. I was surprised how much I loved this Elton John biopic, and how many of the images stayed in my head. Taron Egerton puts in an outstanding performance - more than an imitation. Since the film is produced by Elton John, it feels about 100x more authentic than say, Bohemian Rhapsody. This is just a good time at the movies - a classic rise and fall and rise tale set to some of the best songs of all time.
The rest of the list is pretty self-explanatory. There were films I loved unexpectedly (Plus One on Hulu is a great rom com that went underseeen), films that missed out on my Top 10 by a hair (Knives Out!), as well as the disappointments (Star Wars IX).
Movies I Missed
The Peanut Butter Falcon, Just Mercy, Honey Boy, Richard Jewell, Glass, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Alita: Battle Angel, Detective Pikachu, Climax, Judy, The Nightingale, Clemency, Last Christmas, Black Christmas, Transit
The Best Television of 2019
1. Fleabag (Amazon Prime)
2. Watchmen (HBO)
3. Succussion (HBO)
4. Fosse / Verdon (FX)
5. Euphoria (HBO)
Honorable Mentions: The Deuce (HBO), Years and Years (BBC), Ken Burns’ Country Music (PBS), Unbelievable (Netflix)
Other Shows I Enjoyed
Russian Doll, True Detective, Crashing, High Maintenance, Game of Thrones, Barry, Killing Eve, Ramy, What We Do in the Shadows, Black Mirror, Chernobyl, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Big Little Lies, Years and Years, Derry Girls, Los Espookys, The Boys, This Way Up, The Chef Show, Mindhunter, The Righteous Gemstones, Undone, Modern Love, Home for Christmas, The Mandalorian
This was a banner year for TV. It was a year that saw the ascension of Phoebe Waller-Bridge (really, what show but Fleabag could ever be my #1? That last episode made me feel emotions I've never felt before). It was also the year we got Watchmen - which stretched the boundaries of what superhero storytelling and what television itself can do. That first season by Damon Lindelof is going to have a ripple effect on culture that we have yet to fully realize.
Then there's Succession, which leveled up this year. Every episode this season was exceptional, as Jesse Armstrong continued to define what the show is (a thrilling mix of comedy and dramatic stakes). The ending of Season 2 is the fist-pump moment of the year, and everyone involved should be awarded Emmys this year (I mean, is there a better ensemble on television?)
Fosse/Verdon should have gotten more notice. This miniseries starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams (both phenoms) feels like it was made for me - full of showtunes and inside knowledge of '70s Hollywood. It's a biopic of Bob Fosse, whose career transitioned from Broadway to Hollywood and back - as well as his wife and better half Gwen Verdon. This series was executive produced by Lin Manuel-Miranda and Thomas Kail, and every episode is structured as a stand-alone, with its own artistic flourishes.
Number 5 was a down-to-the-wire decision for me. I was considering placing The Deuce on this list. That show had its best season yet, with its fair share of shocking moments, and an ending that left me shattered and in tears. The show might be the most underrated of the Peak TV era, and is guaranteed to be re-discovered as a masterpiece on HBO Max. "You should have watched The Deuce" may soon replace "You should have watched The Wire" (David Simon's other show, unheralded in its time) as a common phrase.
Ken Burns' documentary Country Music was a vital interrogation of a slice of Americana I previously had no interest in. The stories of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash were just as compelling as any fictional story I watched this year. Years and Years was an incredible achievement by Russell T. Davis and the BBC, a show that imagined what the world will look like over the next decades with sobering results. However, it didn't stick the landing, so I nixed it from the Top 5.
Unbelievable had A+ performances from Toni Collette, Merritt Wever (I mean, just a powerhouse), and Kaitlyn Dever, with incredible, delicate storytelling that handled its dark subject matter well.
However, for #5 I chose a show that I feel best points to the future of television. That's Euphoria.
Euphoria is a show with some very noticeable faults (some of the kids' storylines are hard to track, the lead jock is an actual cartoon psychopath). However, the show's merits are so great that they outweigh the details.
Chiefly, Zendaya's performance is the star-turn of the year. Her character Rue dominates the show, whether she's breaking down outside her drug dealer's house or providing acerbic narration at a party scene. It'll be an injustice if she isn't nominated for an Emmy.
Zendaya's scene partner Hunter Schafer is equally compelling, and another incredible discovery this year. Her performance effuses the show with joy and light, while still revealing her character's complexity.
Once you get past the "shocking" aspects of Euphoria - the overstimulation of sex and drugs - you get to the heart of what the show wants to be. This is a 21st century love story, told in dizzying fashion. I can't wait for the second season after the emotionally draining, still stuck in my head cliffhanger that ended season one.
The other shows I finished this year were uniformly good and sometimes great, with few exceptions (GOT and Big Little Lies were both high-profile shows that didn't fully work for me).
Still to Finish:
When They See Us, Pen15, Peaky Blinders, The End of the F*cking World, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Looking for Alaska, Living with Yourself, The Crown
Albums
Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey
Dedicated – Carly Rae Jepsen
Father of the Bride – Vampire Weekend
Heard It In a Past Life – Maggie Rogers
Better Oblivion Community Center – Better Oblivion Community Center
Charli – Charli XCX
I mean, without question Norman Fucking Rockwell! was the best album I listened to this year. Everything else is a runner-up.
For example, Carly Rae Jepsen's Dedicated was a worthy follow-up to her perfect pop album E•MO•TION. I went to the concert for her Dedicated tour in July and it was the highlight of my year. Just an incredible, exuberant, joyful experience. And yes, I knew every word to every song. Carly continues to be the queen of pop.
Vampire Weekend and Charli XCX continued to be on my most-played, and Phoebe Bridgers started another collaboration as we all await her second solo album. But 2019 will probably be remembered best for the the arrival of Maggie Rogers. After a singular SNL performance, she produced her first album full of ear worms and fine lyricism.
Books / Theater
This is where I get embarassed, as I barely got around to reading this year (I have no excuse).
Therefore, I can only recommend two books - Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney and Normal People by Sally Rooney. It's a cliche at this point, but Rooney is able to define emotional states in a way that I haven't experienced before in a novel. She is a genius, with such a deft knowledge of language.
My favorite performance I saw onstage this year was Adam Driver in Burn This, opposite Keri Russell. I continue to insist that he is the best working actor since Daniel Day-Lewis retired.
I obviously adored Fleabag starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge the original one-woman show that started it all (I was struck by how much she LOVES playing this character) and Get On Your Knees starring Jacqueline Novak.
I also saw True West starring Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano, and the revival of Oklahoma.
That's it for my favorites of the year. Hope you enjoyed, and I hope you and your family have a great start to 2019!
Talk to you in the new decade.
- Brian