I love and hate lists.

Love because there is something glorious in sharing what media moves you, as well as opening yourself up to avenues of art and entertainment you heretofore hadn’t considered.

I hate lists because, with me – someone who is pretty easy to please and someone who rarely has an off button, they could be endless. With that out of the way, here are the 10 movies of 2019 that stirred my soul and stuck with me the most.

Click the links in each capsule to watch the trailers and let me know what you thought of these movies in the comments.

THE LIGHTHOUSE

Robert Eggers burst onto the directing scene in 2015 with THE WITCH, a period horror movie that was so atmospherically engrossing that repeated viewings were absolutely mandatory. THE LIGHTHOUSE takes that same note and somehow sidesteps the sophomore slump and winds up even more brilliant than its predecessor. Shot in black and white on 35mm film – giving the entire movie the feeling you’ve been dropped in an old-timey photograph – Eggers’ masterpiece is fueled by the acting chops of Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, who tag team the haunting and humorous story of two lighthouse operators stuck together during a massive storm.

THE LIGHTHOUSE is currently available to stream (for a fee) and hits the Redbox on January 7th.

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Some might argue that ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD is just another blip on Quentin Tarantino’s filmography, following all the tropes and tricks he’s used in his previous nine movies. Some might argue Tarantino is also a first-class jackass and that might hurt his awards stock. The latter hasn’t mattered (Roman Polanski, anyone) to Hollywood, and the first is so far off base it’s hilarious. ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD is Tarantino’s best film since INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and possibly his best film yet. It’s a love letter to Hollywood wrapped up in an alternate universe where the good guys win and the bad guys lose and we the hum of the neon lights in Hollywood miss any tragedy that could cause our rose-colored alters to crumble.

ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD is available to stream (for a fee) and available to rent at the Redbox.

MARRIAGE STORY

I have never lived in Los Angeles nor have I ever resided in New York City, so a movie about a theater director and his wife – an up and coming actress – who find their marriage unraveling, isn’t the most relatable premise for me and probably most people. But Noah Baumbach does with MARRIAGE STORY what he always has done with his films: make the unrelatable relatable. And that’s because his writing is honest and unflinching and human. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson carry this movie. They are incredible actors and should have a real shot at taking home an Academy Award in February. The Utah Film Critics Association gave them both its top acting honors.

MARRIAGE STORY is currently streaming on Netflix.

THE TWO POPES

I fell in love with Fernando Meirelles filmmaking back in 2002 with CITY OF GOD. I’ve enjoyed his other movies since then – THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005) and BLINDNESS (2008), but they never quite matched the peak cinematic resonance of CITY OF GOD. THE TWO POPES is Meirelles best work in a long time. It’s a quiet and tender film. It doesn’t look away from the errors of these two men – Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis – and certainly doesn’t shy away from the failings of the Catholic Church, but the heart of the movie lies – much like A MARRIAGE STORY – in the relatable humanity the two immensely different popes discover as their unlikely friendship blooms.

THE TWO POPES is currently streaming on Netflix.

UNCUT GEMS

UNCUT GEMS follows in the absolute gorgeous chaos that is the filmmaking of Josh and Benny Safdie, who made a name for themselves in 2017 with GOOD TIME (also a breakout performance for Robert Pattinson). I’d say UNCUT GEMS proves Adam Sandler can act, but PUNCH DRUNK LOVE and THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES have already proven he has the skills. UNCUT GEMS is definitely his best work and he has a real shot at an Oscar nomination. This movie is bananas from start to finish and the ending left me with my jaw on the ground. I can’t wait to see what the Safdies have to offer next.

UNCUT GEMS is currently in theaters (including, as of this writing, at the Providence Stadium 8).

1917

Add 1917 to director Sam Mendes shiny filmography, which includes AMERICAN BEAUTY, ROAD TO PERDITION, the astonishingly overlooked AWAY WE GO, and SKYFALL. 1917 will be etched into the hallows of the greatest war movies ever made. It separates itself from the SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and BLACKHAWK DOWN type films that show a lot of actual warfare, and instead feels more in the countenance of THE THIN RED LINE, in that 1917 is intimate, almost voyeuristic, and the one long take means the tension never subsides.

1917 opens nationwide on January 10th, 2020.

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

As I compile these capsules, the word that threads through all of these movies – and in this case, THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO – is intimate. These filmmakers have done what few movies do: imbue each frame with life that feels like electricity. It resonates in the heart and mind and is hard to forget. THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO was well reviewed, but Joe Talbot’s tale of two friends trying to find their way in a city that has forgotten them will probably be overlooked on the awards circuit. And that’s a shame, because it’s one of 2019’s standouts.

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

APOLLO 11

I’m going to go out on a limb and say most folks don’t get too juiced to see documentaries. I will heartily admit I tend to cringe at the genre, but I made a concerted effort in 2019 to see more and boyhowdy in a year chock full of A+ docs, APOLLO 11 was the best of the best. APOLLO 11 hangs its hat on the previously unseen 70mm footage and the entire piece is put together in spectacular fashion by director (and editor), Todd Douglas Miller. Add in the gripping score by Matt Morton, and APOLLO 11 might be better than some feature films.

APOLLO 11 is available to stream on HULU.

I LOST MY BODY

When I saw TOY STORY 4 – which I initially scoffed at as “Doesn’t Pixar have any original ideas anymore?” – I was surprised and delighted and thought nothing could knock Woody and Buzz from their lock as the best animated film of the year. I was dead wrong. I LOST MY BODY, from director Jérémy Clapin, isn’t just the best animated movie, it’s one of the best movies – foreign or otherwise – of 2019, period. The animation is a work of art, the story is all kinds of lump-in-the-throat-gooseflesh good, and the score by Dan Levy ties everything together. It’s French and it’s not Disney, but if you turn off all distractions and dive in, you’ll find the beauty and it will move you.

I LOST MY BODY is currently streaming on Netflix.

US

Jordan Peele, like Robert Eggers, could have easily fallen into the sophomore slump, but instead he knocks it out of the park with US. There were a lot of movies that could haven easily fit into this spot, but Peele’s knack for directing and writing, and the brilliant performance from Lupita Nyong’o, pushed US into my top ten. If Nyong’o misses an Oscar nomination for best actress, there should be rioting in the film community. It seemed impossible to follow-up GET OUT with something as good or better, but Peele nailed it and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

US is available to stream on HBO and for rent at the Redbox.

If you missed the two hour KVNU Movie Show on January 3rd, where we talked about the Best of 2019, click here to listen to the podcast.