The Best Films of 2019

There’s never been such a thing as a bad year for films but some years are definitely stronger than others and 2019 perhaps didn’t bless us with as much of a bumper crop of as recent years have tended to. Even still there were a few great releases flying the cinematic flag – here’s my list of the best films of 2019.

(8)

Avengers: Endgame
Dir: Anthony & Joe Russo
I am on record as not being the biggest fan of the never-ending Marvel conveyor belt, but credit where credit’s due – Avengers: Endgame is a genuinely impressive and suitably crowd-pleasing culmination to a 22-film, eleven-year project. Now can we please make some different movies?

(7)

John Wick 3: Parabellum
Dir: Chad Stahelski
Three films in, the Keanu Reeves-starring John Wick franchise has become an action movie phenomenon. Parabellum picks up in story and tone almost exactly where the second film off, delivering enough stunningly choreographed and hilariously violent gun-fu to paper over the cracks in the increasingly threadbare plot.

(6)

The Irishman
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci together in a Scorsese film? What more do you need? Focusing on the extent to which the Mafia infiltrated every aspect of American society, The Irishman is a suitably grand mob epic which, despite being too long and occasionally playing like a Scorsese Greatest Hits collection, nonetheless delivers some of the most heavyweight performances of the year.

(5)

Crawl
Dir: Alexandre Aja
What’s worse than being stuck in Florida during a hurricane? Being stuck in Florida during a hurricane with a bunch of hungry alligators. Crawl may not exactly be high art but horror specialist Alexandre Aja delivers the goods in this gleefully gruesome creature feature.

(4)

Us
Dir: Jordan Peele
Jordan Peele followed up his megahit debut Get Out with this deliciously creepy doppelganger tale. Us may not be quite a match for its predecessor but it’s an excellent horror flick (and a huge commercial success) in its own right, built around a terrific (double) performance from Lupita Nyong’o.

(3)

The Favourite
Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
Olivia Colman won an Oscar for her performance as mad 18th-century Queen Anne in this scabrous black comedy, but it could just as easily have gone to either of Rachel Weisz or Emma Stone as the two cousins vying for her affections. Not all of The Favourite works, but when it does it’s utterly enthralling and acerbically funny.

(2)

Knives Out
Dir: Rian Johnson
Director Rian Johnson and a terrific ensemble cast are clearly having the time of their life in Agatha Christie-homage Knives Out, as Daniel Craig plays an outrageous southern private detective trying to uncover the truth behind a wealthy man’s apparent suicide. Twistier than a pretzel and often hilariously funny, it’s one of the most purely enjoyable films of the year.

(1)

Little Women
Dir: Greta Gerwig
A whip-smart retelling of the beloved 19th-century book that adds some timely tweaks for a 21st century audience, Little Women is an enchanting, crowd-pleasing and genuinely moving adaptation that benefits hugely from a stellar young cast led by Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh and Timothée Chalamet.