With the end of 2019 approaching, we not only close out another year of movies… we close out another decade of movies – a decade of streaming and VOD, constant worries about the theatrical experience, and franchise domination. Join the SAGindie staff on their journey to look back at the past 12 months with fondness to pick our absolute, definitive FAVORITE FILMS OF 2019 (pending stuff we never got around to seeing).
So spend some time this holiday season analyzing the staff picks, judging us accordingly, and getting ready for more cinematic outings in 2020.
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Darrien’s Favorites:
I did not like many movies that I actually saw this year. Granted, I have not seen a number that I think will be good, like Midsommar or The Last Black Man in San Francisco.
But I did see Us, so that’s my favorite movie (that I saw) in 2019.
Mind you, I saw quite a few that I thought were highly over-rated. So there’s that.
Eliza’s Favorites:
- Parasite
- The Amazing Johnathan Doc
- Knives and Skin
- Final Flesh
- Hail Satan?
- Midsommar
- Cold War
- Chained for Life
- Best film I needed a Xanax during: Climax
- Best film I napped through in a gown: Pain and Glory – napped in a gown through(?)
- Best films I saw for the first time: A New Leaf, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, The French Connection
- What I probably should have said were the best films I saw for the first time: The Godfather Part 1 and Part 2 (finally!)
Colin’s Favorites:
- Climax
- Parasite
- Hustlers
- Ready or Not/Knives Out
- Jojo Rabbit
- The Death of Dick Long
- Marriage Story
- Diane
- The Art of Self-Defense
- Ad Astra
- I put Her Smell on last year’s list because that’s when I saw it, but it’s here again but that’s when it came out in theaters.
Shefali’s Favorites:
- The Farewell – Standout Moment: Yongbo Jiang breaking down on stage during his speech at the wedding
- Parasite – Standout Moment: So-dam Park’s song
- The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Standout Moment: Jonathan Majors’ One Man Play
- The Odds – Standout Moment: All of Yashaswini Dama’s songs
- Hustlers – Standout Moment: The extended version of Usher coming to the club in the credits
- Late Night – Standout Moment: Emma Thompson crashing Mindy Kaling’s stand-up show
- Blinded by the Light – Standout Moment: Viveik Kalra serenading Nell Williams at the street market
- Honey Boy – Standout Moment: Noah Jupe breaking everything in the junkyard
- Yesterday – Standout Moment: The blackout across the world leading up to Jack’s crash
- Climax – Standout Moment: The extended dance sequence and montage of all the characters at the beginning of the party
Michael’s Favorites:
There are a lot I haven’t seen yet (including A Hidden Life, Last Black Man in SF, The Farewell, Honey Boy, Pain and Glory, The Irishman, Dolemite, etc.) but here’s my Best of the Year (So Far) list…
- The Lighthouse
- Parasite
- Chained for Life
- Under the Silver Lake
- Apollo 11
- Marriage Story
- Uncut Gems
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
- Gloria Bell
- Rolling Thunder Revue
- Amazing Grace
WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2019?
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