An mentioned during the podcast here are my top 25 movies of the year.
25)Knives Out
24) Fyre Festival
23) Fyre
22) Always Be My Maybe
21) Booksmart
20) Joker
19) Hustlers
18) JoJo Rabbit
17) John Wick 3
16) Toy Story 4
15) Spiderman Far From Home
14) 1917
13) Dolemite Is My Name
12) American Factory
11) The Irishman
10) Yesterday
When a global power outage ends, no one in the world can remember the Beatles or any of their music—save one guy who then makes it his mission to communicate their work to the world. But when his mission launches him into stardom, he’s pushed to decide if love or fame is more important. got a bit lost in the shuffle, but it doesn’t mean that it’s any less charming or not worth your time. The story is sweet. I love Richard Curtis movies so the romance is great and plus Beatles songs. But it's more rom com than Beatles tribute which is probably why I liked it
9) Plus One
Alice, a 20-something-year-old wedding-goer who turns to her closest pal Ben (Jack Quaid) for her plus-one to 10 summer nuptials. At first, they agree to platonically be each others' wing-person, but by the middle of the film—you guessed it—they start to develop feelings for each other. It’s not the most original premise, but it works. But it's funny. I laughed at this movie a lot
8) Knock Down The House
Knock Down the House is the rare documentary about today’s American political landscape. It’s about four progressive Democratic candidates — all women — who ran primary campaigns against establishment Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections: But mostly its AOC doc. I think it speaks to why the country is so divided right now in a round about way. How the only way to beat someone is to go further left or further right. But it also speaks to the importance of showing up, speaking for the people, and gives you a little hope for anyone who wants their political candidates to truly represent the communities they serve. Moments in there that stuck with me more then other docs I saw, plus it’s uplifting
7) Marriage Story
Shout-out to all the married people. Noah Baumbach has captured how married people fight. But there is something more balanced, less acidic here than usual. There’s thrashing—from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson giving career-best work, and from Laura Dern and Ray Liotta as the vicious divorce lawyers. But Baumbach is more controlled than ever. He’s become a more confident, filmmaker over the years, less reliant on his writing. This deeply personal story begs comparison to other divorce movies and this holds up to them. But there’s something more different in this one. A sweetness in how the story wraps up.
6) Uncut Gems
The last few years have given us so many nostalgia pieces about the “old, dangerous New York” We got the Deuce, Joker, The trick the Safdie Brothers pull in Uncut Gems is that they put the danger back in a contemporary New York we all kind of assumed had been defanged. In their hands, even hanging out in the VIP room with Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd seems scary and deeply sleazy. There’s a primal, untamed quality to the Safdie Brothers’ filmmaking and you absolutely love to see it. It’s insightful into its protagonist and has white knuckle intensity without being sensational. Plus that ending.
5) Us
Jordan Peele did it again proving he wasn’t a one-off. this time providing commentary on human connection and all the uncomfortable truths that come with it. At times darkly funny and always starkly unnerving. The family at the center of Peele’s story unravels along with his metaphors, which he’s so adept at fashioning that everything feels frighteningly relatable. A lesser filmmaker would probably struggle while asking an audience to suspend their disbelief with a tale like this, but Peele appears to be completely at ease, toying with his audience.
4) Midsommar
Nauseating. Disturbing. A total mind fuck. Those are all fitting descriptions of Ari Aster’s Hereditary follow-up. It’s a horror story, sure, but it’s a relationship drama at its core, flavored with pagan rituals, brutal killings, unsettling imagery, and all-consuming grief. Florence Pugh gives a career-defining performance as Dani. Unlike Hereditary, there’s no darkness here. At least, none you can see on the screen. Instead, Aster covers the more bone-chilling aspects of human sacrifice, ritualistic suicide and sex acts in flower crowns. It’s idyllic and terrifying and it’s ending, coupled with Pugh’s tortured turn turned me on Ari Aster
3) Avengers: Endgame
There is something to be said for a movie that makes you cry in the theater, even more about that makes you scream out in joy. This movie does that. They revolutionized the genre,
Does all the time stuff make sense, no and because of that we get a lot of explanation, but the payoff was worth it in the scenes that happen afterwards. This movie pulled off an achievement in cinema, they effectively serialized the movie industry.
2) Parasite
It’s an immediate masterpiece about the haves and have nots, and how the have nots are more likely to rebel against each other. But beyond the class commentary, Parasite, which is one of the ten highest-grossing foreign-language films in North America ever, has become a critical and commercial sensation because of how effectively Joon-ho’s deft script and controlled direction juggles genres. Parasite is one of the best horror movies of the year. And one of the best con-artist movies of the year. And one of the best movies of the year, overall.
1) Once Upon a time in a Hollywood
A time once existed when word of a new Tarantino project would send me reeling with anticipation. Then I saw the Hateful Eight.. So it came as a wondrous surprise to witness this sun-soaked, fantasy-blurred, return to form with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio going full Inglorious Bastards. No one does revenge fantasies like Tarantino does, and Sharon Tate finally received the overdue celebration of her work. Likewise, I got the sentimental Pitt/DiCaprio buddy comedy that I didn’t realize that I needed. Add in a dollop of Timothy Olyphant, a slice of Luke Perry,, and I believe Tarantino has assembled his finest cast yet.
25)Knives Out
24) Fyre Festival
23) Fyre
22) Always Be My Maybe
21) Booksmart
20) Joker
19) Hustlers
18) JoJo Rabbit
17) John Wick 3
16) Toy Story 4
15) Spiderman Far From Home
14) 1917
13) Dolemite Is My Name
12) American Factory
11) The Irishman
10) Yesterday
When a global power outage ends, no one in the world can remember the Beatles or any of their music—save one guy who then makes it his mission to communicate their work to the world. But when his mission launches him into stardom, he’s pushed to decide if love or fame is more important. got a bit lost in the shuffle, but it doesn’t mean that it’s any less charming or not worth your time. The story is sweet. I love Richard Curtis movies so the romance is great and plus Beatles songs. But it's more rom com than Beatles tribute which is probably why I liked it
9) Plus One
Alice, a 20-something-year-old wedding-goer who turns to her closest pal Ben (Jack Quaid) for her plus-one to 10 summer nuptials. At first, they agree to platonically be each others' wing-person, but by the middle of the film—you guessed it—they start to develop feelings for each other. It’s not the most original premise, but it works. But it's funny. I laughed at this movie a lot
8) Knock Down The House
Knock Down the House is the rare documentary about today’s American political landscape. It’s about four progressive Democratic candidates — all women — who ran primary campaigns against establishment Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections: But mostly its AOC doc. I think it speaks to why the country is so divided right now in a round about way. How the only way to beat someone is to go further left or further right. But it also speaks to the importance of showing up, speaking for the people, and gives you a little hope for anyone who wants their political candidates to truly represent the communities they serve. Moments in there that stuck with me more then other docs I saw, plus it’s uplifting
7) Marriage Story
Shout-out to all the married people. Noah Baumbach has captured how married people fight. But there is something more balanced, less acidic here than usual. There’s thrashing—from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson giving career-best work, and from Laura Dern and Ray Liotta as the vicious divorce lawyers. But Baumbach is more controlled than ever. He’s become a more confident, filmmaker over the years, less reliant on his writing. This deeply personal story begs comparison to other divorce movies and this holds up to them. But there’s something more different in this one. A sweetness in how the story wraps up.
6) Uncut Gems
The last few years have given us so many nostalgia pieces about the “old, dangerous New York” We got the Deuce, Joker, The trick the Safdie Brothers pull in Uncut Gems is that they put the danger back in a contemporary New York we all kind of assumed had been defanged. In their hands, even hanging out in the VIP room with Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd seems scary and deeply sleazy. There’s a primal, untamed quality to the Safdie Brothers’ filmmaking and you absolutely love to see it. It’s insightful into its protagonist and has white knuckle intensity without being sensational. Plus that ending.
5) Us
Jordan Peele did it again proving he wasn’t a one-off. this time providing commentary on human connection and all the uncomfortable truths that come with it. At times darkly funny and always starkly unnerving. The family at the center of Peele’s story unravels along with his metaphors, which he’s so adept at fashioning that everything feels frighteningly relatable. A lesser filmmaker would probably struggle while asking an audience to suspend their disbelief with a tale like this, but Peele appears to be completely at ease, toying with his audience.
4) Midsommar
Nauseating. Disturbing. A total mind fuck. Those are all fitting descriptions of Ari Aster’s Hereditary follow-up. It’s a horror story, sure, but it’s a relationship drama at its core, flavored with pagan rituals, brutal killings, unsettling imagery, and all-consuming grief. Florence Pugh gives a career-defining performance as Dani. Unlike Hereditary, there’s no darkness here. At least, none you can see on the screen. Instead, Aster covers the more bone-chilling aspects of human sacrifice, ritualistic suicide and sex acts in flower crowns. It’s idyllic and terrifying and it’s ending, coupled with Pugh’s tortured turn turned me on Ari Aster
3) Avengers: Endgame
There is something to be said for a movie that makes you cry in the theater, even more about that makes you scream out in joy. This movie does that. They revolutionized the genre,
Does all the time stuff make sense, no and because of that we get a lot of explanation, but the payoff was worth it in the scenes that happen afterwards. This movie pulled off an achievement in cinema, they effectively serialized the movie industry.
2) Parasite
It’s an immediate masterpiece about the haves and have nots, and how the have nots are more likely to rebel against each other. But beyond the class commentary, Parasite, which is one of the ten highest-grossing foreign-language films in North America ever, has become a critical and commercial sensation because of how effectively Joon-ho’s deft script and controlled direction juggles genres. Parasite is one of the best horror movies of the year. And one of the best con-artist movies of the year. And one of the best movies of the year, overall.
1) Once Upon a time in a Hollywood
A time once existed when word of a new Tarantino project would send me reeling with anticipation. Then I saw the Hateful Eight.. So it came as a wondrous surprise to witness this sun-soaked, fantasy-blurred, return to form with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio going full Inglorious Bastards. No one does revenge fantasies like Tarantino does, and Sharon Tate finally received the overdue celebration of her work. Likewise, I got the sentimental Pitt/DiCaprio buddy comedy that I didn’t realize that I needed. Add in a dollop of Timothy Olyphant, a slice of Luke Perry,, and I believe Tarantino has assembled his finest cast yet.
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