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:

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HORROR

1. Climax
2. The Lighthouse
3. Midsommar
4. Luz
5. The Dead Don’t Die
6. Braid
7. Knife + Heart
8. 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:

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ACTION

1. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
2. 6 Underground
3. Ip Man 4: The Finale
4. Rambo: Last Blood
5. Triple Frontier
6. Master Z: Ip Man Legacy

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ACTION SEQUENCE(S)

1. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum — Knife / Dogs / Samurai Motorcycle / Horse / et al.
2. Ad Astra — The Fucking Moon
3. 6 Underground — Dave Franco in Florence / Penthouse Pool / et al.
4. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood — The Mansons / Kato
5. Les Misérables — La Révolution
6. Shadow — Umbrella, Ella, Ella, Eh, Eh, Eh
7. The Art of Self-Defense — Imogen Poots vs. Steve Terada
8. Ash Is Purest White — Motorbike Orgy
9. Rambo: Last Blood — Climax
10. Our Time — Cock and Bull
11. Ip Man 4: The Finale — All
12. Synonyms — Office Wrestling
13. Zombieland: Double Tap — Bill Murray
14. Ruben Brandt, Collector  — Plane, Train, & Automobile Tunnel Heist
15. Master Z: Ip Man Legacy — All
16. Donnybrook — Full Metal Cage Match

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B-MOVIE

1. Knife + Heart
2. Domino
3. Never Grow Old
4. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged

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BLACK & WHITE

1. The Lighthouse

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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

1. Last Christmas

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LOS ANGELES

1. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
2. Under the Silver Lake
3. Marriage Story

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MIAMI

1. Waves

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NEW YORK

1. Uncut Gems
2. The Hottest August
3. Marriage Story
4. Adam
5. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
6. The Sun Is Also a Star
7. The Sound of Silence
   • His…unusual vocation is so NYC.
8. Brittany Runs a Marathon

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PARIS

1. Synonyms
2. Les Misérables

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SAN FRANCISCO

1. The Last Black Man in San Francisco

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COMEDY

1. Wild Nights with Emily
2. The Dead Don’t Die
3. The Beach Bum
4. Diamantino
5. The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
6. Perfect Strangers
7. Little Monsters

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FUNNIEST NON-COMEDY

1. The Lighthouse
2. Climax
3. Uncut Gems
4. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
5. The Irishman
6. Marriage Story
7. Pain and Glory
8. Parasite
9. The Laundromat
10. Chained for Life
11. Fyre
12. Midsommar
13. Knives Out

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DANCE MOVIE

1. Climax

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DRUG MOVIE

1. Climax
2. The Beach Bum
3. Midsommar
4. Pain and Glory
5. Luz
6. Relaxer
7. The Lighthouse
8. Braid

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FOOD MOVIE

1. Ramen Shop

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FRANCHISE

1. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
2. Toy Story 4

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HEIST

1. Ruben Brandt, Collector
2. The Fall of the American Empire
3. Triple Frontier

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HIGH SCHOOL / TEENAGE

1. Giant Little Ones
2. Slut in a Good Way
3. Booksmart

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MAFIA

1. The Irishman
2. Ash Is Purest White
3. Birds of Passage

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MONSTER MOVIE

1. Hellboy
2. Slaughterhouse Rulez

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MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

1. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

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(NEO-)NOIR

1. Under the Silver Lake

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REVENGE

1. The Nightingale

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ROMANTIC COMEDY

1. Asako I & II
2. Plus One
3. Poms

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SCIENCE FICTION

1. Ad Astra
2. High Life
3. Aniara
4. Luz

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SPACE MOVIE

1. Ad Astra
2. High Life
3. Apollo 11

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SPOOF

1. The Dead Don’t Die

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SPORTS MOVIE

1. Diamantino
2. Wrestle
3. Screwball
4. Maiden
5. Cassandro, the Exotico! 
6. Fighting with My Family
7. Diego Maradona 

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TEARJERKER

1. The Art of Racing in the Rain
2. Storm Boy
3. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
4. Five Feet Apart
5. A Dog’s Journey
6. Maiden
7. Wild Rose
8. American Woman
9. Funan
10. Fighting with My Family
11. Hotel Mumbai

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SNIFFLER

1. Marriage Story
2. 5B
3. For Sama
4. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
5. Gloria Bell
6. Diane
7. 63 Up
8. Pain and Glory
9. The Souvenir
10. Midnight Traveler
11. Mickey and the Bear
12. The Farewell
13. Invisible Life
14. Los Reyes
15. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
16. Toy Story 4
17. Knock Down the House

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SNIFFLEJERKER

1. A Dog’s Way Home

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WAR

1. 1917
2. Midway

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ANTIWAR

1. Combat Obscura

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WAR SEQUENCE

1. Peterloo
2. The King 

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WESTERN

1. Our Time
2. The Nightingale
3. Never Grow Old

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ZOMBIE

1. The Dead Don’t Die