Before we get to my favorite genre movies of 2019, an important distinction:
When evaluating the following lists, I don’t just pick my top flicks in each genre. Obviously that’s a factor, but I also consider how they fit within their respective genres.
Let’s start with horror to elucidate my approach:
HORROR
- Climax
- The Lighthouse
- Midsommar
- Luz
- The Dead Don’t Die
- Braid
- Knife + Heart
- Little Monsters
As overall movies, I’d rank The Lighthouse above Climax, and The Dead Don’t Die over Midsommar and Luz. But the ordering above reflects how I feel about them AS horror movies, particularly how successful they are at BEING horror movies. Yes, how we define a genre is up for endless debate, and all of us would probably walk away with our own individual answers, but keep this methodology in mind as you scroll through the rest, because it governs each and every list to come.
And now, my favorite 2019:
ACTION
- John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- 6 Underground
- Ip Man 4: The Finale
- Rambo: Last Blood
- Triple Frontier
- Master Z: Ip Man Legacy
ACTION SEQUENCE(S)
- John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum — Knife / Dogs / Samurai Motorcycle / Horse / et al.
- Ad Astra — The Fucking Moon
- 6 Underground — Dave Franco in Florence / Penthouse Pool / et al.
- Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood — The Mansons / Kato
- Les Misérables — La Révolution
- Shadow — Umbrella, Ella, Ella, Eh, Eh, Eh
- The Art of Self-Defense — Imogen Poots vs. Steve Terada
- Ash Is Purest White — Motorbike Orgy
- Rambo: Last Blood — Climax
- Our Time — Cock and Bull
- Ip Man 4: The Finale — All
- Synonyms — Office Wrestling
- Zombieland: Double Tap — Bill Murray
- Ruben Brandt, Collector — Plane, Train, & Automobile Tunnel Heist
- Master Z: Ip Man Legacy — All
- Donnybrook — Full Metal Cage Match
B-MOVIE
- Knife + Heart
- Domino
- Never Grow Old
- 47 Meters Down: Uncaged
BLACK & WHITE
- The Lighthouse
CITIES
Not my favorite movies that happen to be set in the cities below. Rather, the movies that “best” capture the essence of each:
LONDON
LOS ANGELES
- Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Under the Silver Lake
- Marriage Story
MIAMI
- Waves
NEW YORK
- Uncut Gems
- The Hottest August
- Marriage Story
- Adam
- John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- The Sun Is Also a Star
- The Sound of Silence
- His…unusual vocation is so NYC.
- Brittany Runs a Marathon
PARIS
- Synonyms
- Les Misérables
SAN FRANCISCO
COMEDY
- Wild Nights with Emily
- The Dead Don’t Die
- The Beach Bum
- Diamantino
- The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
- Perfect Strangers
- Little Monsters
FUNNIEST NON-COMEDY
AKA, not conventionally-overt comedies:
- The Lighthouse
- Climax
- Uncut Gems
- Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- The Irishman
- Marriage Story
- Pain and Glory
- Parasite
- The Laundromat
- Chained for Life
- Fyre
- Midsommar
- Knives Out
DANCE MOVIE
DRUG MOVIE
FOOD MOVIE
FRANCHISE
HEIST
- Ruben Brandt, Collector
- The Fall of the American Empire
- Triple Frontier
HIGH SCHOOL / TEENAGE
- Giant Little Ones
- Slut in a Good Way
- Booksmart
MAFIA
- The Irishman
- Ash Is Purest White
- Birds of Passage
MONSTER MOVIE
MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
(NEO-)NOIR
REVENGE
- The Nightingale
ROMANTIC COMEDY
- Asako I & II
- Plus One
- Poms
SCIENCE FICTION
SPACE MOVIE
SPOOF
SPORTS MOVIE
- Diamantino
- Wrestle
- Screwball
- Maiden
- Cassandro, the Exotico!
- Fighting with My Family
- Diego Maradona
TEARJERKER
- The Art of Racing in the Rain
- Storm Boy
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
- Five Feet Apart
- A Dog’s Journey
- Maiden
- Wild Rose
- American Woman
- Funan
- Fighting with My Family
- Hotel Mumbai
SNIFFLER
- Marriage Story
- 5B
- For Sama
- The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Gloria Bell
- Diane
- 63 Up
- Pain and Glory
- The Souvenir
- Midnight Traveler
- Mickey and the Bear
- The Farewell
- Invisible Life
- Los Reyes
- Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
- Toy Story 4
- Knock Down the House
SNIFFLEJERKER
WAR
- 1917
- Midway
ANTIWAR
WAR SEQUENCE
- Peterloo
- The King
WESTERN
- Our Time
- The Nightingale
- Never Grow Old
ZOMBIE