And What Didn't Make My Top Ten Films of 2019

As a companion piece to my Top Ten list, every year I write a post to discuss some of the other major films that got a lot of attention, in order to give some context to my own choices. I find that writing this type of analysis piece helpful when working out how I feel about my list and the year in film as a whole. It's also usually a lot of fun. Please note that I will not be writing about films listed among my honorable mentions, like "1917" or "Portrait of a Lady on Fire."

Let's start with the major award contenders. "The Irishman" was very high up on my list at one point, but the longer I thought about it, the less I realized I liked it, and I'd been giving it so much consideration mostly out of obligation. Still, I wish Joe Pesci had won that Oscar. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" just wasn't for me, and stands out as one of my bigger disappointments of last year, especially since I'd spent so much time watching films from the late '60s fairly recently. Quentin Tarantino has a very specific fantasy of Hollywood in that era that I just wasn't all that interested in. "Joker" got way more attention than it deserved, and I liked it fine as a Scorsese homage. However, it was pretty awful as a Batman flick.

"Knives Out" is an interesting movie, one that was both a critical and popular hit. I liked it fine, and I think it may be Rian Johnson's most consistent, well-executed movie to date. And that's about the extent of my interest in it. I was really rooting for "Rocketman" at one point, and thought Taron Edgerton was fantastic. All the usual biopic cliches that the movie indulged in kept it off my final list, but I still thought it was stronger than more typical programmers like "Ford v. Ferrari," "The Two Popes," and "Bombshell." I think I was much more enthusiastic about "Harriet" than most, but the movie's shortcomings were pretty glaring. And then there's "Ad Astra," which amassed a lot of ardent supporters. I'm glad the movie got made and found an audience, but I just couldn't get past the Malick-style internal monologue choices or the puzzling ending.

There was a good batch of foreign films from 2019, but some of the favorites eluded me. "Pain and Glory" was Almodovar being self-reflective and nostalgic, and I loved parts of it, but found the central character difficult to connect to. France's "Les Misérables" and "Synonyms" were bold, incendiary stuff that left me impressed at their daring but unmoved. I suspect that cultural barriers were why "Atlantics," "Monos," and "The Souvenir" all went a bit over my head. "Transit" had an unnecessarily confusing set of conceits that I felt undercut the film a bit. After "High Life," I think I'm just going to have to admit that Claire Denis and I are just never going to see eye to eye. And while I couldn't justify putting in on the list, I'm so glad for "Varda by Agnes."

Among the more popular releases, "Booksmart" was a lot of fun, but raunchy teen dramas are just never going to be my thing. I felt "Midsommar" wasted its excellent cast, though the movie looked spectacular. And though "Hustlers" did a lot of things right, I also felt that it was making far too many excuses for its leading ladies. Finally, "Avengers: Endgame" was pretty much everything I wanted it to be, and I won't begrudge it an iota of its success. The rest of the global box office being dominated by a parade of sad Disney sequels and remakes, however, makes me queasy. Well, I'll also make an exception for "Toy Story 4." That franchise can go on for as long as it likes.

Movies that just missed the honorable mentions include "Wild Rose," "Honeyland," and "The Art of Self Defense."

And that's my 2019 in movies.
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