Best of 2019

— Here are my twenty favorite films from 2019, including two I haven't seen yet but feel pretty confident they won't disappoint me. I've boldfaced my five favorites:

• "Ad Astra"
• "Booksmart"
• "The Farewell"
• ”A Hidden Life"
• "The Irishman”
• "Jojo Rabbit"
• "Knives Out"
• ”The Last Black Man in San Francisco"
• "The Lighthouse"
• "Little Women"
• "Marriage Story"
• "The Mustang"
• "1917"
• "Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood"
• ”Pain and Glory"
• ”Parasite"
• "The Peanut Butter Falcon"
• ”Richard Jewell"
• ”The Souvenir"
• ”The Two Popes"

Five other films just missed the list:

• ”Bombshell"
• ”Judy"
• ”Midsommar"
• "Uncut Gems"
• "Us"

Had I included documentaries and quasi-documentaries, six would have been in or almost in the list:

• ”American Factory"
• ”Apollo 11"
• ”The Biggest Little Farm"
• ”Knock Down the House"
• ”Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice”
• ”One Child Nation”

The Aeronauts

— One of those films where likable actors make you think you’re in for something better. Eddie Redmayne plays a scientist who dreams of making meteorology a legitimate field and Felicity Jones plays the widowed, idealistic aeronaut, eager to soar upwards instead of following the path traditionally mapped out for Victorian women. The two end up in a hot air balloon for most of the CGI-heavy film, becoming gaga over their environment and each other, as they journey higher than anyone had been before and figure out "you don't change the world simply by looking at it; you change it through the way you choose to live in it." It’s pleasant enough, but nothing special. [Amazon Prime streaming.]

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[2019. 100 min. Directed by Tom Harper. Starring Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, and Himesh Patel.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-aeronauts-movie-review-2019

Little Women

— Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” is filled with all the positive values of sacrifice, generosity, love, honesty, forgiveness, etc., we’ve come to associate with Alcott’s novel about four, free-spirited sisters coming of age in an age when those who married well, did well. This version dwells on gender inequality a little more than I remember from previous versions, but I may only now have begun to question if there was more to the rebellion seen in behaviors I previously thought of as just part of being a “tomboy.” The messages conveyed are positive, the acting first rate, and the cinematography is gorgeous. This is good film and one you’ll enjoy.
     I saw it the day after seeing “Uncut Gems” and was struck that two such vastly different films were both released on Christmas Day, wondering just how diverse the Christmas Day market is.
     I was lucky enough to see "Little Women" from a 35mm print where black is black and every color seems more vivid, something we’ve forgotten in the digital age where cheaper production has encouraged new voices and wider distribution, but at a cost to viewers since the large majority of theaters just don't seem to have projectors with resolutions that can hold a candle to film.

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[2019. 134 min. Directed by Greta Gerwig. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, and Timothee Chalamet.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/little-women-movie-review-2019

Atlantics

— [Netflix streaming.]

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[2019. 106 min. Directed by Mati Diop. Starring Mame Bineta Sane, Amadou Mbow, and Traore.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/atlantics-movie-review-2019

Uncut Gems

— Adam Sandler deserves the rave reviews he’s been getting for this film but, after watching it, I was exhausted and felt like I needed a shower. It’s a throwback to 1970’s filmmaking, with that gritty New York edge where everyone’s moving quickly, shouting, and cursing. Sandler’s character is a brash, Jewish, jewelry store owner who is always just seconds away from being discovered for juggling too many promises with too little to back them up. His gambling habit and poor luck leave him constantly trying to keep a step ahead and not always succeeding. It’s a film with flawed and not very likable people living in a world you remember in black and white even if it’s a color film. It’s harsh and chaotic with lots of quick cuts, close-ups, and multiple conversations on vying for your attention, spiraling toward a conclusion that only seems expected after the fact. The film depends on Sandler, but the Safdie brothers make sure everything else fits too. I wouldn’t say I “liked” the film, but I admired it. It’s worth mentioning that Martin Scorsese is an executive producer.

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[2019. 135 min. Directed by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie. Starring Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, and Kevin Garnett.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/uncut-gems-movie-review-2019

Bombshell

— With Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie, you get a film where the actors put their all into the characters and, in this case, those characters are Megyn Kelly, and Gretchen Carlson, along with Kayla Pospisil, a fictional Fox employee. The three women become the focus of this based-on-fact telling of Fox founder Roger Ailes’ fall after being exposed as a sexual harasser. The story is a good one, and one of the first of the news and entertainment industry scandals, but there’s something a little off about the film. It’s a wonderful script with some of the same feel as “The Big Short,” a film co-written by the screenwriter of “Bombshell.” Unfortunately, “Bombshell” probably needs fewer attempts at humor and less narration. After all, this is a cast that’s more than up to conveying a dramatic moment. Sadly, the women are also left a little too removed from the audience so they come off as somewhat unfeeling, instead of giving us a deeper look into their hearts. These aren’t terrible things, but enough to keep “Bombshell” off my “top 20 of 2019” list. It’s still well worth seeing and it’s a good film, just a little disappointing given the talent and the story.

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[2019. 108 min. Directed by Jay Roach. Starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and John Lithgow.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bombshell-movie-review-2019

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

— There’s a reason they’ve been churning out Star Wars episodes for forty years and it’s not just because the CGI is good and the weird creatures and droids are cute. Above all, they give you characters you care about and a good story. “The Rise of Skywalker” is about what I expected—fantasy, fun, and basic values making me feel like I'm settling into a comfortable easy chair. I’m not so heavily invested in everyone’s lineage that backstory-building side trips are important to me, but in Star Wars-land, such forays are still interesting and help push people back and forth between the light and dark sides of the “Force,” often thanks to memories more vivid than any I’ve ever had as well as “Force Ghosts” popping up when they're needed the most. Every two or three years, when a new one arrives in theaters, I find myself enveloped in the world George Lucas originally set into motion, and it’s “real” again for a few hours of immersion. This one is no more exceptional than the last one, but that’s not a bad thing. Oh, and it's kind of a nice nod to its beginnings that the first two credits go to Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.

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[2019. 141 min. Directed by J.J. Abrams. Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Anthony Daniels.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-movie-review-2019

The Two Popes

— This is an unexpectedly thoughtful film, although I’m not sure how an individual viewer’s Catholic bias might affect their take on the story. For me, it’s an interesting look inside a corner of the Vatican, as well as the differing theological core the two men—Popes Benedict XVI and Francis—have. A clever script and outstanding acting hold center stage, and without them we wouldn’t get a picture of the seemingly unlikely growth of their relationship, their passion and concern for their flock, or their own personal fallibility. It’s certainly fictionalized, but it’s hard to know how close it comes to the flavor of their actual relationship. The scholarly sparring between conservative and liberal is engaging and, as they begin to understand each other, their opposing views give way to common ground. It’s an excellent film and, if I had to fault it in any way, I’d say the subtitles, when Italian or Latin is spoken, are sometimes difficult to read and probably very difficult if viewing on a personal device. [Netflix streaming.]

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[2019. 125 min. Directed by Fernando Meirelles. Starring Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-two-popes-movie-review-2019