Films of 2019

[Hot Pepsi]

I can't comment on Avengers because it's not my thing. But the meandering meaningless flab in Once Upon A Time is hugely enjoyable, nice to look at, meaningless flab (unless you mean the bizarre racist Jackie Chan sequence). You can show me the glow of southern California and palm trees and it makes me happy. Show me grey Pennsylvania highways and it doesn't.

Bruce Lee, but yeah, that seemed bizarre and possibly racist.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Found a few more I saw, Nae and Frank would be bubbling around the top 10:

Laundromat
Blinded by the Light
Late Night
MiB International
Nae Pasaran
Tarde para morir joven
Un Couteau dans le coeur
The Last Tree
Being Frank: the Chris Sievey Story


But last night I saw Happy as Lazzaro as part of the Tyneside Cinema films of 2019 and it was great- straight into the top 3

[San Bernardhinault]

I discovered that Wild Rose is also a 2019 film. I saw it on a plane and nobody else mentioned it, which is why I didn't include on my list: it's up in the higher echelon of 2019/late2018 films that I saw. My guess is that few other people saw it.

[Ray de Galles]

I wanted to but it was in and out of cinemas pretty quick, presume it will be on a streaming service soon.

[Hot Pepsi]

It didn't get much publicity but did get good reviews. Not sure where it's available now.

Remember when movies would just come and go from the theater and if you missed it, you missed it, until maybe it showed up on TV a few years later, cut-up with commercials and then if you missed that, you missed it?

Of course, video stores started in the early 80s, so the really "if you missed it, you missed it forever" days are a long way off now, but I can remember that as a kid. I recall being really bummed that I wasn't able to see Condorman in the theater. I guess I saw it on Sunday Disney show or perhaps VHS years later. (It was fine. Sort of a superhero film, but also a parody of a superhero film.)

It's amazing that any decent films got made at all under those circumstances.

On the other hand, I recall more films being re-released into theaters a year or two later. The first three Star Wars films came back as did animated Disney movies. And people in big cities with art-house theaters could count on various "retrospectives" and what not. We did sometimes see films on campus, which sort of served the same purpose.

[Hot Pepsi]

I saw Little Women tonight. I think it’s my favorite film of this Oscars cycle.

[Guy Profumo]

Stan And Ollie. You started the thread...

You think I remember what I was doing a year ago?

[Felicity, I guess so]

Had time yesterday to attend 2 more of The Tyneside ‘films of 2019’ to complete the set so found myself at opposite ends of the social spectrum:

Ray & Liz
in the afternoon then
The Souvenir at night.

Anyone else see either...?
The former has some jaw dropping moments in what is a grim tale, almost traumatic if you, too, had alcoholism in the family but there are bound to also, for some, be issues around making art out of it, which were raised in 96 when Saatchi exhibited the photographs the director took of his family (and I think the Guardian did a huge spread in the magazine).

The latter got #1 in Sight and Sound’s top 50 which for some was seen as laughably self-interested (BFI...independent British film...woman director...#metoo...) I wasn’t as taken with it as Ms Felicity but it has some really interesting elements. I do think my slight reaction of ‘2 hours about the problems of a Knightsbridge/North Norfolk trustafarian!’ wouldn’t have been as marked if I hadn’t seen 1980s dole queue Dudley earlier in the day.

Altho I am known for sometimes taking chip-on-the-shoulder positions...

[San Bernardhinault]

I watched the first half of Us last night. I was deeply underwhelmed, particularly given the critical plaudits it received. After Get Out I was expecting something much better. I might finish it tonight, but have no compunction to do so - at the moment I really just don't care what happens. It could just be that I'm not really much of a fan of watching horror films, which means that I'm judging it by some false standards, I suppose.

[Hot Pepsi]

Had time yesterday to attend 2 more of The Tyneside ‘films of 2019’ to complete the set so found myself at opposite ends of the social spectrum:

Ray & Liz
in the afternoon then
The Souvenir at night.

Anyone else see either...?
The former has some jaw dropping moments in what is a grim tale, almost traumatic if you, too, had alcoholism in the family but there are bound to also, for some, be issues around making art out of it, which were raised in 96 when Saatchi exhibited the photographs the director took of his family (and I think the Guardian did a huge spread in the magazine).

The latter got #1 in Sight and Sound’s top 50 which for some was seen as laughably self-interested (BFI...independent British film...woman director...#metoo...) I wasn’t as taken with it as Ms Felicity but it has some really interesting elements. I do think my slight reaction of ‘2 hours about the problems of a Knightsbridge/North Norfolk trustafarian!’ wouldn’t have been as marked if I hadn’t seen 1980s dole queue Dudley earlier in the day.

Altho I am known for sometimes taking chip-on-the-shoulder positions...

The Souvenir got great reviews from critics, but it seems like all of the reviews from "normal" people say that it's really dull. I don't usually put much stock in those kinds of online reviews, many of which are created by somebody with a political axe to grind, but in this case I got the feeling that I'd probably also find it really dull.

[Ginger Yellow]

I watched the first half of Us last night. I was deeply underwhelmed, particularly given the critical plaudits it received. After Get Out I was expecting something much better. I might finish it tonight, but have no compunction to do so - at the moment I really just don't care what happens. It could just be that I'm not really much of a fan of watching horror films, which means that I'm judging it by some false standards, I suppose.

I was definitely not as enamoured with it as I was by Get Out, but I do think it's unfair to judge it on the first half alone.

[treibeis]

Ray & Liz
in the afternoon then
The Souvenir at night.

Anyone else see either...?...

I've seen Ray & Liz. You have to be in a very, very, very good mood before you enter the cinema. If you're not, you'll get dragged down so far that you'll end up doing yourself some damage.

I saw The Peanut Butter Falcon on Tuesday, but only because The Lady I Walked To The Registry Office With wanted salted popcorn and knew that that particular cinema had it.

[Ray de Galles]

I was definitely not as enamoured with it as I was by Get Out, but I do think it's unfair to judge it on the first half alone.

The film gets far worse in the second half. As I said in my opening post it was my biggest disappointment of the year given how much I enjoyed 'Get Out'.

[Ray de Galles]

May as well list the Oscar nominations here :

Best Picture:

Ford v Ferrari

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker

Little Women

Marriage Story

1917

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Parasite



Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Adam Driver, Marriage Story

Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes



Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, Harriet

Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

Charlize Theron, Bombshell

Renee Zellweger, Judy



Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes

Al Pacino, The Irishman

Joe Pesci, The Irishman

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood



Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell

Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Scarlett Johannson, Jojo Rabbit

Florence Pugh, Little Women

Margot Robbie, Bombshell



Director:

Martin Scorsese, The Irishman

Todd Phillips, Joker

Sam Mendes, 1917

Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Bong Joon Ho, Parasite



Animated Feature:

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

I Lost My Body

Klaus

Missing Link

Toy Story 4



Animated Short:

Dcera, Daria Kashcheeva

Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry

Kitbull, Rosana Sullivan

Memorable, Bruno Collet

Sister, Siqi Song



Adapted Screenplay:

The Irishman, Steven Zaillian

Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi

Joker, Todd Phillips, Scott Silver

Just Mercy, Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham

Little Women, Greta Gerwig

The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten



Original Screenplay:

Knives Out, Rian Johnson

Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach

1917, Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino

Parasite, Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han



Cinematography:

The Irishman, Rodrigo Prieto

Joker, Lawrence Sher

The Lighthouse, Jarin Blaschke

1917, Roger Deakins

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Robert Richardson



Best Documentary Feature:

American Factory, Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar

The Cave, Feras Fayyad

The Edge of Democracy, Petra Costa

For Sama, Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts

Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov



Best Documentary Short Subject:

In the Absence

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone

Life Overtakes Me

St. Louis Superman

Walk Run Cha-Cha



Best Live Action Short Film:

Brotherhood, Meryam Joobeur

Nefta Football Club, Yves Piat

The Neighbors’ Window, Marshall Curry

Saria, Bryan Buckley

A Sister, Delphine Girard



Best Foreign Language Film:

Corpus Christi, Jan Komasa

Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Les Miserables, Ladj Ly

Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodovar

Parasite, Bong Joon Ho



Film Editing:

Ford v Ferrari, Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland

The Irishman, Thelma Schoonmaker

Jojo Rabbit, Tom Eagles

Joker, Jeff Groth

Parasite, Jinmo Yang



Sound Editing:

Ford v Ferrari, Don Sylvester

Joker, Alan Robert Murray

1917, Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Wylie Stateman

Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker, Matthew Wood, David Acord



Sound Mixing:

Ad Astra

Ford v Ferrari

Joker

1917

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood



Production Design:

The Irishman, Bob Shaw and Regina Graves

Jojo Rabbit, Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova

1917, Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh

Parasite, Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee



Original Score:

Joker, Hildur Guðnadóttir

Little Women, Alexandre Desplat

Marriage Story, Randy Newman

1917, Thomas Newman

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, John Williams

The King, Nicholas Britell



Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4

“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman

“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough

“Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2

“Stand Up,” Harriet



Makeup and Hair:

Bombshell

Joker

Judy

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

1917



Costume Design:

The Irishman, Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson

Jojo Rabbit, Mayes C. Rubeo

Joker, Mark Bridges

Little Women, Jacqueline Durran

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Arianne Phillips



Visual Effects:

Avengers Endgame

The Irishman

1917

The Lion King

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Given the amount of nominations it's got I'm amazed that 'Joker' didn't get one for Production Design.

[Benjm]

Antonio Banderas' Best Actor nomination is very much deserved. He is great in Pain And Glory.

[Lang Spoon]

I really enjoyed Uncut Gems, got a Cassavetes vibe as much as (exec producer) Scorsese. I think I've guessed who San B's second cousin is. Wow, he must be hard work at family reunions. Lovely hair but.

[San Bernardhinault]

Fortunately I only met the guy once, more than 3 decades ago. He is very, very sure of himself. And his hair is very special. I've still not seen the film yet.

[Lang Spoon]

It's well worth 2 hours. And I hate Adam Sandler normally, even Punch Drunk Love.

[San Bernardhinault]

I've never seen Punch Drunk Love, but if you were inventing the worst film ever it would probably involve Paul Thomas Anderson and Adam Sandler.

[Lang Spoon]

I'd like to see that slice of Method Ham Day Lewis in Happy Gilmore, and fuckin Sandler do There Will Be Boredom.

[Balderdasha]

This is as many films as I can remember watching in 2019 (some obviously not released then). My viewing habits are heavily skewed towards "films that are now being shown in movies for juniors for only £2.50 per ticket" or occasionally "things on Netflix if me and my husband are miraculously still awake after the kids have gone to sleep".

[ ] Farmageddon
[ ] Social animals
[ ] Missing Link
[ ] Jumanji: welcome to the jungle
[ ] The NeverEnding Story
[ ] Antman
[ ] Toy Story 4
[ ] The Lego Movie 2: the second part
[ ] The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
[ ] The Secret Life of Pets 2
[ ] The snail and the whale
[ ] Bigfoot (terrible TV movie)
[ ] Fighting with my family
[ ] John Wick 3 (half of)
() X-Men: days of future past
() The Queen's Corgis (wins the award for most disturbing sexual politics in a kids' film)
() The Hustle
() Blade Runner 2049

I enjoyed the new Jumanji more than I thought I would. The alien in Farmageddon was pretty funny when hopped up on sugar in the supermarket. Social animals was far bleaker than expected. Nothing massively memorable.

As an adult I still have the same objection to the neverending story as I had as a child. It clearly has an ending. False advertising!

[Patrick Thistle]

Yeah that Jumanji movie was pretty good.

[Stumpy Pepys]

I've never seen Punch Drunk Love, but if you were inventing the worst film ever it would probably involve Paul Thomas Anderson and Adam Sandler.

No, it's really good. I have it on DVD.

Like Jim Carrey, I much prefer Adam Sandler as a straight actor.

[Ginger Yellow]

Not sure about Jim Carrey, but it's definitely true for Sandler - his comedies are almost universally terrible but a lot of his serious movies are good (and he is good in them).

[Hot Pepsi]

I watched Joker.
Meh.

I still haven’t seen Parasite. On my to do list when it’s rentable on Prime. Same with JoJo Rabbit. Neither are playing here.

Not sure I want to see 1917 - I get it, WWI was grim.

So Little Women is by far my favorite of the Oscar best picture nominees. I’d put Uncut Gems and A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood up there too, but the Academy failed to recognize them.

The omission of Uncut Gems is unconscionable as is not nominating Greta Gerwig for best director.