Leo's Top Ten Films of 2019

It's been a year. 2019 surely gives us amazing movies. As per usual, these movies (both you and I had already watched, probably) make us cheers, laugh, nervous, upset, disappointed and the most important of all: they entertain us. There are lots of film to be picked, but some of them I can't really put in my list since I haven't watched them all. So here are my list for the top ten best films in 2019:

10. (TIE) Avengers: Endgame (dir. Anthony and Joe Russo) / Shazam! (dir. David F. Sandberg)

(Walt Disney Studios / Warner Bros. Pictures)

The lowest list is actually given to two comic book movies that I enjoyed (one of them not so much actually, but hey it needs 11 years for them to tell the whole story): a fresh Donner-esque Shazam! and the final chapter of Avengers. Shazam! is a fun film yet heartbreaking in the same time which succeeded in tear-jerk me in one or two scenes. It has a balance humor and heart that I think most people will understand and can emotionally relate to it. On the other hand, Avengers finally gets a satisfying ending it deserves. It took billions of dollar, dozens of filmmaker and one mastermind for Marvel to finally end their saga with a bang.

9. Marriage Story (dir. Noah Baumbach)

(Netflix)

An emotional tale from Noah Baumbach based on his own marriage failure with Jennifer Jason Leigh which leads to their divorce. It’s meditative, personal and just somewhat a cautionary tale for all of us that can relate to. Marriage Story, together with Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968) are three films that I think could sum up my perspective of complex marriage life full of insecurities, deceitfulness and heartbreaking moments.

8. Doctor Sleep (dir. Mike Flanagan)

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Back in 2017, I was made nervous by the release of Blade Runner 2049. Honestly, I am a strict believer of please-not-to-make-a-sequel-to-great-films. And I was wrong. I truly love “2049” and it became my top 10 best films in 2017. In 2019, the same feeling happens but this time is worse because they were making a sequel of The Shining (1980). Kubrick is a literal God to me and his filmography is my Bible. One alteration (remake) or expansion (sequel) to his works for me is a sacrillege, especially when it turns out to be bad. But, I strangely like this movie a lot. Not just it somewhat reconcile Kubrick’s The Shining and King’s The Shining (novel), but it managed to tell the story properly with strong supports of great acting from talented Rebecca Ferguson and newcomer Kyliegh Curran.

7. Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho)

(CJ Entertainment)

Bong Joon-ho did not get enough spotlight for his work in Snowpiercer (2013) which I liked very much in terms of ambitions, scale and spectacle it tries to achieve. With Parasite, he prefers to keep it small and surprisingly jumps around across different genre from comedy to thriller to drama in a very natural flow, almost subliminal. If Midsommar deals with religious and philosophical ambiguity, then Parasite is a commentary about social status in the perspective of Asian culture. Last year’s Burning (2018) indeed built a curiosity on South Korean films, but this year’s Parasite is what makes people starting to give attention to it. It might be a start of renaissance era for South Korean film to be looked internationally.

6. Midsommar (dir. Ari Aster)

(A24)

Ari Aster once again proves himself to be one of our greatest horror auteurs working today. The way I see it, Midsommar is not my typical horror film that I accustomed to, but more like a traditional slasher film set contrastly against bright sunny backdrop filled with colorful flowers, submissive-kinda looking bear and unharmful pies. Topics regarding breakups, depression, pain and religious awakening in this film further cementing the tradition of social commentary in current trend of horror films. It stands in the same legacy of It Follows (2014), The Badabook (2014), Get Out (2017) and of course Aster’s previous work, Hereditary (2018). Oh, and I think I fall in love with Florence Pugh. It'll be no surprise she would be in every movie you watch for years to come. She's phenomenal.

5. Uncut Gems (dir. Josh and Benny Sadfie)

(A24 / Netflix)

Uncut Gems is a rare gem that highlights the finest work of Adam Sandler since Punch Drunk Love (2002) at least for me. We all know Sandman made terrible movies for last decade and none of them worked as much as in his glory days in 1990s. But Safdie bros truly have balls to put a comedy actor (a bad one if you may say) as the main lead for dark crime thriller like this. Again, it’s a ballsy move, but the final result speaks loud for itself. It’s helping Sandler to reclaim his position as a versatile actor against his usual stereotype and in the same time revitalizing his career ala Michael Keaton in Birdman (2014) or even Eddie Murphy in this year’s Dolemite is My Name (2019).

4. The Irishman (dir. Martin Scorsese)

(Netflix)

When you have the greatest living director gathering up his usual suspects and put Al Pacino in his movie, then you’re in for a show. Scorsese returns to his “gangster” root for a three hour masterpiece that I personally think could nab him an Oscar for Best Director. With big set pieces, accurate period landscape, great acting from three veteran Oscar winners (Joe Pesci, Robert deNiro, Al Pacino) and focused direction of Scorsese’s, this movie should be celebrated as *ahem* a “pure cinema” (cough, Marvel). Thanks to Netflix, not only for their ballsy move spending the money on that expensive de-aging VFX, but also making it possible for me to watch this movie while no other cinemas in Jakarta showing The Irishman.

3. John Wick: Chapter III – Parabellum (dir. Chad Stahelski)

(Lionsgate)

I never thought Wick franchise could go this big. I missed the first one, and then I thought the second one will bomb. I was wrong. Shame on me and now I’m a big fan of the ol’ Keanu headshotting any heads he can find. The movie is a non-stop-adrenaline-pumping film that won’t let you fall asleep thanks to the insanely awesome fight choreography and direction of Stahelski, whom was a stuntman himself. My favourite moment? 55 years old Keanu breaks a neck of the guy who was twice the size of him with a book. Badass.

2. Knives Out (dir. Rian Johnson)

(Lionsgate)

It’s somewhat ironic to see both Knives Out and The Rise of Skywalker opens in the same month, where “Rise” failed to meet expectations while “Knives” is universally praised. Personally I liked Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi a lot, and his success in bending the genre as he always did previously (Looper, Brothers Bloom and Brick), proves he’s an auteur of our generation. Unlike JJ. Abrams who dives in directly into tropes, Rian Johnson dares to challenge the audience with his bold choice: takes a genre then flips it as you never seen before. Same here with Knives Out. It’s technically a Hitchcockian film with Agatha Christie-esque atmosphere filled with suspense and mysteries... about kindness. Yeah, you read it right. Kindness.

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (dir. Quentin Tarantino)

(Sony Pictures Releasing)

Tarantino's love letter to a period he grew up with. It’s his warmest, emotional and most personal film that culminates in a highly accurate 1969 kaleidoscopic encyclopedia of the director’s childhood memories. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino’s being Tarantino at the height of his power, and the most meta of all his movies. Its simplicity in plot as well as focusing more on nostalgia and colorful characters are the reasons that make this film so expectedly special, especially in his legacy.