The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
10 movies to watch before 2019 ends
Sometimes, a good year at the movies can be as simple as one good movie. For franchise fans, 2019 marked the culmination of two series years (even decades) in the making, as Avengers: Endgame and The Rise of Skywalker brought certain storylines to a close — while leaving the door wide open for prequels, sequels, spinoffs and (I dearly hope) a Baby Yoda / Baby Groot crossover trilogy.
For others, novelty brings joy. (I love Bill Murray's line at the end of Groundhog Day: “Anything different is good.”) Much as I enjoyed Star Wars and superheroes, here are my top 10 original movies of 2019.
PARASITE
Korean director Bong Joonho's wicked satire features a crafty, impoverished family that worms its way into the home of a wealthy couple and their kids. By turns funny, thrilling and even violent, this is one wild ride at the movies.
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
Set in the 18th century, the newest from French director Céline Sciamma is a sensual, exquisitely shot, perfectly scripted story of a love affair between a female painter and her subject. This one doesn't open in Canada until February, so it could still make 2020 a great movie year for you.
MARRIAGE STORY
Already on Netflix after a brief (Oscar-qualifying) theatrical run, this should really be called Divorce Story, as a couple (Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson) navigates the road to uncoupling, aided and sometimes obstructed by lawyers. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, this is guaranteed to
produce tears.
APOLLO 11
On the 50th anniversary of the historic moon landing comes Todd Douglas Miller's heroic documentary, using recently discovered undeveloped footage and newly synched audio that makes 1969 look and sound like the middle of last week.
LEVEL 16
Canadian writer/director Danishka Esterhazy has called her Handmaid's Tale inflected dystopian thriller “Jane Eyre meets Logan's Run.” It's the kind of pitch that will excite at least two groups of moviegoers. They will not be disappointed by this smart, satisfying sci-fi story set in a Spartan girls' boarding school. It's available on iTunes now.
THE TWO POPES
Two great actors — Anthony Hopkins and papal look-alike Jonathan Pryce — play Benedict XVI and Francis I in this expertly crafted tale that imagines what they said to one another before Benedict abdicated the office of Pope, and Francis was elected in 2013. Fernando Meirelles directs this story, which is both livelier and funnier than it has any right to be.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN … HOLLYWOOD
The first thing you need to know about Quentin Tarantino's latest is that it's about the Tate murders of August, 1969. The second thing is it's not about that at all. As confusing as that sounds, it's the best way I can think to express the beautiful and deliberate inconsistencies in this love letter to a lost era of Hollywood without giving away the whole game. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a fading TV star, while Brad Pitt quietly steals the show as his driver and stunt double.
KNIVES OUT
Rian Johnson's old-school Agatha Christie-style murder mystery finds crime writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) dead in his bedroom, and every one of his dastardly relatives under the scrutiny of a dryas-vermouth southern detective (Daniel Craig). Ana de Armas shines in the role of the kindhearted nurse who helps the case in more ways than one.
DOLEMITE IS MY NAME
This Netflix title from Craig Brewer is based on the real-life
Rudy Ray Moore, who called himself Dolemite and starred in a series of '70s blaxploitation movies. Eddie Murphy takes the title role, has a ball with it, and may well earn an Oscar nomination for his efforts. He hasn't been this fun to watch in a long time.
THE LIGHTHOUSE
Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe practically bounce off the edges of the narrow-aspectratio screen in this black and white thriller from Robert Eggers. They're cooped up in a lighthouse on an island in the 1890s, alternately at each other's throats and in each other's arms, dancing, fighting, gamboling and cursing. “Hot Promethean plunder!” “Monkey pump!” Let there be light!