As is the case every year, if you’ve only been focusing on wide releases (an unfortunate reality for many who simply don’t have access to smaller, independent features or theaters that play them) the year so far has been rather abysmal. More so than in recent years, the remakes are duds (Men in Black: International,) the sequels embarrassing (Dark Phoenix) and even the Disney live-action adaptation machine is releasing flubs that only last in the pop-culture discussion for a hot second after release (Dumbo and Aladdin have both been released this year and both will be eclipsed by the upcoming The Lion King.) That being said, if you are fortunate enough to have the means and drive to seek out films that don’t play everywhere, there’s been plenty of excellent films to seek out. Netflix users have been gifted plenty of straight to streaming releases including a Beyoncé documentary and beautifully antithesis of the romantic comedy. Women in film have had a stellar year with films that range from comedy to esoteric character studies and devastating dramas. And, the wide releases that were good were really quite good with Us further proving Jordan Peele’s prowess and Avengers: Endgame signally both the end of an era while also delivering some of the best moments of the MCU to date.
Depending on your resources to seek it out, there’s always great cinema to be found. Take a look at our top 15 films of 2019 so far below and let us know what made your list.
1. Us
When Jordan Peele released Get Out in 2017, he skyrocketed from a talented sketch comedian to one of cinema’s most enigmatic auteurs. He crafted a world that is full of deep mystery and subtext, all the while remaining grounded in its very real social commentary. Peele fundamentally redefined horror and broke the stereotypes surrounding people of color within the genre itself. With Us, Peele was able to bypass the sophomore slump. Much like Get Out, Peele uses Us as a vehicle to explore more of society’s most pressing issues; fear of each other, society, ourselves, etc. Despite the film following a more conventional horror playbook, the underlying themes that it presents are just as salient. A more daring and audacious film, it never dips into the realm of pretension. Many sequences are simply horrifying and the revelation at the end leaves the film off on an unforgettable note. Boasting monumentally incredible performances with Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, Us manages to be one of the most engrossing horror films of recent memory. [Mark Wesley]
2. Booksmart
Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut may be one of the best movies about high school. An instant classic to the coming-of-age canon, this movie accurately captured the existential dread that you’re faced with before graduation. Hilarious and deeply affecting, the movie refuses to bow to any clichés or overused tropes. As a result the movie’s characters feel as authentic as the movie itself. Billie Lourd is a standout, as was Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldman and the rest of the cast. I’m so glad this movie exists and I can’t wait to see more from these actresses and actors, as well as Olivia Wilde as director. [Brianna Robinson]
3. Avengers: Endgame
This is a movie of a lot of things: a lot of heroes and villains, lot of plotlines and a lot of goodbyes. Above all else, Avengers: Endgame is a tribute to the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe while also being a curtain call. It’s got the nonchalant wackiness of Thor: Ragnarok and Ant-Man, the grim character confrontation of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Iron Man 3, the cosmic imagination of Guardians of the Galaxy and of course, the gargantuan scale of the prior Avengers movies. Of course the marquee event was seeing Earth’s Mightiest Heroes try to fix the finger flex of Thanos (Josh Brolin) but like all the best Marvel movies, it’s the little beats underneath that make it so satisfying: The completed maturity of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), the hero’s rebirth done by Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the rise of a new hero in Nebula (Karen Gilan) and the much-earned rest of Captain America (Chris Evans). Even Paul Rudd got to be useful, hurray! [Jon Winkler]
4. Little Woods
A modern Western where a drug run to Canada also doubles as an attempt to get an abortion? Little Woods pulls it off, all while doing justice to its characters. Lily James and Tessa Thompson are two sisters in a bleak North Dakota town that drives them to increasingly desperate decisions when James finds herself pregnant and on the verge of homelessness, just as Thompson is days away from the end of parole and a new life elsewhere. Thanks to the fantastic script and performances, Little Woodsnever comes off as preachy or sinks into melodrama, only as a dark commentary on how our rapidly dwindling options can bring out the worst in the best of us. [Andrea Thompson]
5.Detective Pikachu
Despite the fact that The Pokemon Company has made a fortune and then some off of the lovable pocket monsters since their debut in 1996, making a film adaptation in live action was risky simply by nature of it technically being a video game movie (see 1993’s Super Mario Bros. as exhibit A). Just as risky was the fact that the story of this film would be based upon the niche genre bend narrative based game in Detective Pikachu, taking its own liberties with the story. Luckily, the structural device of allowing Pikachu, the series’ most iconic Pokemon, to have a likable speaking role and as the star of the film would prove to be the perfect amount of whimsical and silly. For audiences of the millennial or Gen Z age groups, the knowledge of these monsters is already seared into our minds by way of media like the Pokemon Rap and field guides, so the story is much more approachable when it rushes into the world building in the first act. Ryme City is a perfect starting point to introduce photorealistic versions of new and old monsters and the rule set of their abilities, capturing and battles without being too complex for new viewers to distract from the neo-noir parody story. [Evan Griffin]
6. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Many films in 2019 have struggled to bridge audiences to the heart and soul of their respective filmmakers. And many have failed to do so entirely. But Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fails’s personal story about their home — both the Victorian landmark of their refuge and the city of hills they no longer seem to recognize — is a cinematic symphony of human connection. The opening five minutes of The Last Black Man in San Francisco are among some of the most immersive seconds of visual storytelling we’ve seen in the last decade. And the rest of the film continues to speak for itself. [Jon Negroni]
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7. The Souvenir
Finding your own voice is one of the greatest forms of self-care because it allows you to finally focus on yourself. There isn’t a film this year that more poignantly makes this point than The Souvenir. Filmmaker Joanna Hogg uses this film as a retrospective vehicle that doubles as a coming-of-age biography and an origin story for her own cinematic voice. Inside this extremely personal piece of art is a breakout performance from Honor Byrne Swinton, whose chemistry is undeniable as she shares the screen with her mother playing her character’s mother, Tilda Swinton. This is one of the many layers to uncover, with deep themes and even deeper wells of emotion layered throughout. A truly powerful movie stays with you, so don’t worry because you’ll definitely be taking The Souvenir home with you. [Jon Espino]
8. High Life
To call High Life a perfect film would be going too far, because no such thing likely exists. But High Life is perfect in what it offers to its captive audience and how it’s willing to do so in the first place. For film lovers, even the ones who may find High Lifeto be a bizarre and pretentious slog, this is one [Claire] Denis film they can’t afford to miss. [Read the full review here.]
9. Fast Color
Directed by Julia Hart, Fast Color is a beautiful film about three generations of Black women who are connected through their supernatural abilities. That description only scratches the surface of what this film is. With Gugu Mbatha-Raw at the center of the story in a standout role, Fast Color isn’t so much a movie that involves superhero-style powers so much as it is about finding purpose and rediscovering the strength in family. The film is grounded, beautifully told and elevated by emotional performances. Once it starts, you think you know where it’s going to go, but it winds up surprising you. Unique in its focus on the passing along of history and abilities through matrilineal descent, Fast Color is quietly powerful and leaves a strong impression. [Mae Abdulbaki]
10. Someone Great
Someone Great stars Gina Rodriguez as Jenny, a woman on the cusp of the next great stage in her life, moving to San Francisco for the job of her dreams while simultaneously having ended her nine-year-long relationship. The film follows Jenny and her best friends Erin (DeWanda Wise) and Blair (Brittany Snow) as they have their last big night in New York City. Someone Great manages to do something so unique with the rom-com genre, instead of telling the coming together of its protagonist and her great love, it tells the falling apart. Choosing herself, choosing friendship in a world that so often tells women, especially women of color, not to is in itself a monumental moment to see, a story worth watching. [Melissa Linares].
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11. Her Smell
If we have learned anything from The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s that Elizabeth Moss can say a thousand words with a single look. She can make the audience feel immense joy and hope in one scene and then immediately transition to sadness and despair. In Alex Ross Perry’s Her Smell, Moss does just this in the form of a self-destructive punk rocker trying to patch herself together. Told in a non-linear fashion, Her Smell puts the audience in a voyeur position, witnessing Becky’s slow unraveling. She’s loud, hostile, and puts her child in danger for the sake of shamanism. However, Perry is very careful in how he develops Moss’s character. He doesn’t punish her per se, but instead gives her a challenging path to see the light. Her Smell is one of 2019’s underrated masterpieces and is just further proof of how Moss is a driving force [Yasmin Kleinbart]
12. Rocketman
Whether you were an Elton John fan or not, it’s difficult not to walk away smiling after a viewing of Rocketman, the fantasy musical of the legendary singer’s life. The film strays away from using chronological sequences of songs to tell the story which lends to the idea that songs transcend the business, the fame, the money — perhaps even life itself. In Rocketman, it’s the feeling behind the songs that matter, not the way in which they were released. The end result is more of a celebration of Sir Elton John’s life and his work, but the film’s energy will pull you in from the get-go. [Katey Stoetzel]
13. Homecoming
When Beyoncé announced a surprise documentary about her 2018 headlining performances at Coachella was set to drop on Netflix, people were understandably excited, and she exceeded even our wildest expectations. Music festivals are often a poor showcase of an act’s talent (mainly because they have to adhere to tight time and budget restraints) but Homecoming is an overwhelmingly intricate and visually explosive production, complete with lavish dance numbers and full marching bands This intimate deep dive is such a great argument for Beyoncé as an artist, both in her contribution to music and in her ability to soar beyond the bounds of the medium. Fully aware of her immense cultural reach, Beyoncé uses the performance as an all-out celebration of black excellence, reclaiming what is arguably the whitest music festival as she brings a collage of civil rights activism to rich kids with flowers in their hair. Homecoming also strips back the curtain, as performances are intercut with behind the scenes footage and backstage interviews that lay out her struggles as a creative force, a woman, a mother, and a public figure. The strangest part of the concert doc is that it makes it all feel oddly accessible. Even though it’s on such a grand scale, affirmational voiceover clips lead us to believe that with hard work and determination, we could be standing where she is. Even if it wasn’t so firmly planted in the cultural conversation, it’s simply a thrill to watch. Homecoming is endlessly entertaining and monstrously empowering. It’s a breath of fresh air. [Brian Thompson]
14. Shadow
Director Zhang Yimou’s return to wuxia — and after The Great Wall, art — is where contrasts populate, among them peace and war, truth and lies, umbrellas and sabers, black and white, and yin and yang. Even though Yimou has to work with a smaller palette and constantly ensures his brilliant leads (husband and wife Deng Chao and Sun Li) inhabit the right mask, Shadow’s place on this list means that none poses a problem, and the result is a moving shui-mo hua that is both knotty and bewitching. Currently taking bets on this being China’s 2020 Oscars entry, folks. [Nguyen Le]
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15. Long Day’s Journey into Night
The film’s true emotional core exists within the characters that Bi has filled the world with. Every performance never feels forced, every conversation feels genuine, and every interaction comes off as sincere. The true standout is Wei Tang (Lust, Caution), who becomes the white rabbit of the film, leading us down rabbit holes into this cinematic wonderland. Despite Long Day’s Journey Into Night’s pensive, poetic pacing, Bi creates a world full of opulence but only for those willing to take the trip. [Read the full review here.]
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