I watched 102 new (to me) movies in 2019. Here’s the full list, my ratings, and some superlatives.
The List:
In chronological order.
bold = Rated 4.5 or 5
* = Not technically a first-time watch, but a long overdue refresher
Bird Box (3/5)
Minding The Gap (4.5/5)
Searching (3.5/5)
Annihilation (4/5)
Jumanji (3/5)
Unbreakable (3/5)
Fyre Fraud (3.5/5)
Fyre (4/5)
A Simple Favor (3/5)
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (4.5/5)
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (3.5/5)
The Godfather (5/5)*
John Wick: Chapter 2 (3.5/5)
Velvet Buzzsaw (2/5)
Abducted In Plain Sight (3/5)
Lean On Pete (4/5)
Out of Sight (3.5/5)
Sorcerer (4.5/5)
High Flying Bird (3/5)
Orange County (2.5/5)
Pearl Harbor (2.5/5)*
Foxcatcher (4/5)
Se7en (5/5)*
The Fighter (4/5)
Michael Clayton (4.5/5)
First Reformed (3.5/5)
To The Wonder (2.5/5)
Free Solo (4/5)
Us (4/5)
Capote (4/5)
Meru (3.5/5)
Ralph Breaks The Internet (2.5/5)
American Honey (4/5)
Missing Link (3.5/5)
The Legend of Cocaine Island (2.5/5)
Fury (3/5)
The Game (3/5)
Panic Room (3.5/5)
American Beauty (4/5)
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile (2.5/5)
Barton Fink (4/5)
John Wick: Chapter 3 (3.5/5)
Apollo 11 (4.5/5)
The End of Tour (4/5)
Booksmart (3.5/5)
Borg vs. McEnroe (3.5/5)
Before Sunrise (4/5)
Before Sunset (4.5/5)
Before Midnight (4.5/5)
Murder Mystery (2.5/5)
Toy Story 4 (3.5/5)
Inside Out (3.5/5)
Point Break (3/5)
Speed (4/5)
Hereditary (3/5)
Midsommar (4/5)
High Life (3/5)
Wall-E (3.5/5)
Prospect (3/5)
Triple Frontier (3.5/5)
The Favourite (3.5/5)
The French Connection (4/5)
The Lion King (3/5)
Bohemian Rhapsody (3/5)
Skyscraper (3/5)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (4.5/5)
Long Shot (3/5)
The Farewell (4/5)
The Tree of Life (4/5)
Blinded By The Light (3.5/5)
Serenity (1/5)
The Last Black Man In San Francisco (4.5/5)
There Will Be Blood (4/5)
The Peanut Butter Falcon (4/5)
IT: Chapter Two (2/5)
The Goldfinch (2/5)
Ad Astra (3.5/5)
Joker (3/5)
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Story (3.5/5)
Monos (4/5)
The Lighthouse (4.5/5)
The Witch (4/5)
Dolemite Is My Name (3/5)
Parasite (5/5)
Jojo Rabbit (3/5)
The Art of Self-Defense (3/5)
Ford v Ferrari (4/5)
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (3.5/5)
The Grinch (2018) (2.5/5)
The Report (4/5)
Knives Out (4/5)
Marriage Story (4/5)
The Irishman (4.5/5)
Waves (4/5)
Honey Boy (4.5/5)
6 Underground (2.5/5)
Logan Lucky (3.5/5)
The Two Popes (3.5/5)
A Hidden Life (3.5/5)
Life of the Party (1.5/5)
Little Women (4/5)
Uncut Gems (5/5)
The 10 Best Movies I Watched (For The Very First Time) This Year:
Parasite
Uncut Gems
Michael Clayton
Sorcerer
Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood
Before Midnight
Before Sunset
The Irishman
The Last Black Man In San Francisco
Honey Boy
Most Unsatisfying Ending: Hereditary
2. The French Connection
3. Panic Room
Most Ruminating in My Brain: There Will Be Blood
2. Sorcerer
3. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
4. Midsommar
5. American Honey
Best Surprise: The Before Series
2. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
3. Sorcerer
4. Michael Clayton
5. Little Women
Most Inessential: Toy Story 4
2. The Grinch (2018)
3. El Camino
4. Joker
Most Enjoyable: Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
2. 4. Knives Out
3. Ford v Ferrari
4. The Peanut Butter Falcon
5. Triple Frontier
Best Music: American Honey
2. MONOS
3. Marriage Story
Most Frustrating: The Goldfinch
2. Foxcatcher
3. Knives Out
4. Waves
Worst (Least Enjoyable?) Movie: Velvet Buzzsaw
2. IT: Chapter Two
3. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile
4. Life of the Party
Best Cinematography: The Last Black Man In San Francisco
2. Parasite
3. MONOS
4. There Will Be Blood
5. A Hidden Life
Best Documentary: Minding the Gap
2. Apollo 11
3. Free Solo
4. Meru
Best Scene: The bridge scene from Sorcerer
2. The final scene from Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood
3. The final scene from Before Sunset
4. The flood scene from Parasite
5. The Spahn ranch scene from Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood
6. “I drink your milkshake” from There Will Be Blood
7. The final showdown from Us
8. The mushroom scene from Monos
9. The payoff scene from Michael Clayton
10. The test drive scene from Ford v Ferrari
11 (tie). The cliff scene & the weird crying scene from Midsommar
12. The “American Honey” scene from American Honey
13 (tie). The opening montages, the fight, the knife scene, and the “Being Alive” scene from Marriage Story
14. The “Hark!” scene from The Lighthouse