Top Ten of 2019

OK, so it's time for my favourites of the year.  Now, just to qualify, these are my own personal favourites out of the newly released, and film festival previewed, films released to British cinemas during the last twelve months.  I'm not getting into the nitty-gritty of what counts as a "2019" movie or not, life's too short to waste on things like that, this is my list, of my favourites and I want to talk about them.  Also, keep in mind that the order is 100% utterly arbitrary, so chances are if you ask me again in a week or two, the exact running order bar the top slot will be different.  Hell, I'm catching up with at least a couple of major titles from this year on New Year's Day (Little Women and/or Jojo Rabbit), in order to make sure my movie year is off to a good start, and given what I've been hearing, either of those might just make it on here if I was doing this list a bit later.  This is purely about what I feel like at this exact moment in time.  OK?  OK, so let's start with a few runners up...

Now for the real top ten, starting with...

10. Farmageddon: A Shaun the Sheep Movie

This may not be the most important, polished, or artistic film out this year, but I have to include it in this top ten for the sheer sense of charming fun it has.  Aardman films always use the fact that their brand of animation takes a long time to be handmade to their full advantage by using that time to pack in as many fun background details and think through every scene as much as possible, and Farmageddon is no exception.  Plus, through its near dialogue-less approach, it is that genuine case of a film the whole family can enjoy; kids with the cure characters and slapstick, adults with... the same, but also a whole bunch of great extra gags homaging a tonne of science fiction classics.  For at least two superb Doctor Who references and a War of the Worlds gag alone, this is a must-see.

9. Ready or Not

An incredibly fun B-Movie crowd pleaser, with an instant starmaking turn by Samara Weaving.  This isn't going to be the last film on here with a strong message of "fuck the 1%!", and it is a theme that's strong in cinema at the moment (can't imagine why.).  Not only is it satisfying seeing the rich die horribly as a direct result of their own clinging to wealth, but it's also a fine unmasking of them, that whatever they have to say, many of the most powerful in the world didn't get that position through real work, but through family money, exploitation, and shady, immoral dealings.  The fact that none of this class warfare element, as pitch-perfectly toned towards me that it is, gets in the way of a seriously fun horror comedy, with very incompetent murderers, is icing on the cake!

8. The Lighthouse

It's in a way remarkable in that I'm still not sure that The Lighthouse really "works" or not, but I know for a fact it deserves to be in this list, because in all the best ways there's nothing else quite like it.  This is from Robert Eggers, director of The VVitch, and whilst in some ways it has a lot in common with that movie, like a deliberately archaic style of filming down to 4:3 aspect ratio, it's by far its own beast.  I'd describe this as almost being Lynchian, but again, not a good idea to compare it to anyone's work bar Robert Egger's own.  A tense, surreal, powerfully acted two hander, with implications (but no confirmations) of body horror, certainly a tonne of psychological horror, and with a surprising amount of flatulence, this certainly isn't for everyone, but it's stuck with me since I first saw it.  Bring along a die-hard Robert Pattinson fan when it hits UK cinemas in a month, to drive them into fits of screaming existential terror!

7. Tie: The Kid Who Would Be King & SHAZAM!

I know, I know, I'm cheating with this, but as I said back when I did my half-term report, these two have quite a bit of overlap in terms of themes, tone, and style, including the fact that these are films for kids with actual kids in the leads, so I figured putting them together on here would be appropriate.  Both feel like a wonderful mix of old and new, really feeling like things Amblin Entertainment would have made back in the day, moreso than that company's current output TBH.  TKWWBK has a great take on a modern day Arthurian tale, subtly tackling the idea that Britain as a nation needs to be re-united, whilst not being afraid of showing how hard making an enemy a friend can be.  SHAZAM! meanwhile taps into the main appeal of superheroes for kids in a direct way, and ends up being one of the strongest DC live action films in years, not least for an incredibly fun climax that instantly wants me to see the sequel!

6. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

This still divides a lot of people, but as a lifelong kaiju fan, this was an absolute joy for me, with a bunch of favourite monsters getting the treatment on the big screen they've always deserved.  The action in this one is superb, with just the right mix of pure monster wrestling and super powered moves (90s Godzilla films went way too far down the route of making every single combat a beam struggle).  Director Mike Dougherty also does a great job delivering a good human story in the midst of this, keeping the films topical in this age of climate change, in just the way the Japanese Godzilla films reflected the atomic age.  I've heard a lot of complaints about this one, but many of them I can counter with "have you ever seen a kaiju movie before?  Trust me, if you think the humans are sidelined in this, watch the original Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster sometime, and give that complaint then!".  A fine addition to the "monsterverse", I really hope that Godzilla vs. Kong does not drop the ball by say having them end the fight by revealing they both know a Mothra.

5. Us

Even if I do admit this one starts to get a bit shaky towards the end, I still adore Us; I'd rather a film falter through overambition than just bore me with underambiton.  Jordan Peele's follow-up to Get Out is a great allegory for a class uprising, an acknowledgement that the wealth of the US and other nations is directly linked to an ignored exploited underclass (told you we'd come back to this theme), and one where it's really only social position that separates the two.  That message is delivered well in a mad mash-up of ideas and memories of 80s iconography (if you watch/rewatch this one, pay very close attention to the VHS tapes you see early on), but done in a more subtle way than a lot of recent 80s throwbacks like Stranger Things.  A tonne of fun, and whilst the whole cast are superb playing both the main characters and their "tethered" counterparts, I'm giving a special nod to Lupita N'yongo, who might deliver the best (pair of) performance(s) this year, let alone perhaps best horror lead role in a good long while.  If she does not get an Oscar nod for this, I will be vindicated in my ongoing dissatisfaction with The Academy.

4. Doctor Sleep

Can you imagine the pressure you'd must feel if you're given the task of "follow up one of the most legendary horror movies of all time, which was made by one of the all time great directors"?  And how elated you'd feel if you'd actually pulled it off?  Mike Flanagan really hits it out of the park here, especially given the careful balancing act between the influence of Kubrick and adapting King (who let's not forget does not look on Kubrick's take on The Shining with the greatest affection), getting a fine best of both worlds approach.  The wisest thing done in this film is that, apart from a few plot relevant moments early on, dial back on going full homage to Kubrick's style until the story finally returns to the Overlook, which does help sell the important point that the location is a character in its own right.  This is a superb urban fantasy, which uses the legacy of the original well to tell a fine story about the impact of addiction, and the fear that we may never escape the mistakes of a previous generation.  Can't wait for the director's cut of this one due in the new year!

3. Knives Out

A great modern whodunnit, can't say much more that I didn't already do so in my review in October, apart from saying that it's still in a few cinemas now, if you haven't seen it yet, do so before someone spoils who the killer is!

2. In Fabric

Teeny cheat since I saw this in 2018 at LFF, but I didn't have a top ten of 2018 list, and this got the full release in 2019, so might as well talk about it here.  This is a true one of a kind mix of the sort only Peter Strickland can deliver; I have heard it described as "if a Dario Argento film and an episode of Are You Being Served? got put in a telepod together..." or "if a Mike Leigh movie got invaded by A Ghost Story for Christmas", but those really sell this one short.  This taps into the same vein of "hauntology" (the sense of uncanniness from some aspects of retro culture) which informs Scarfolk and the like, to great effect, and its refusal to properly let you know the true reasoning behind its haunted dress, or the strange department store it comes from, only adds to that feeling.  Now I know that one particular gear change this one makes halfway through has thrown some viewers, but it still works for me, not least for allowing a whole extra area of weirdness to enter the story.  If you haven't seen this yet, pick up a copy at once, especially since now we're in the time of Boxing Day/New Years sales.

1. One Cut of the Dead

Still sticking with this after all this time (it came out here in January) and after everything else I've seen, it just feels right to have this at number one still.  This is one of the most clever, endearing, heartwarming, and fun things to come from the overexposed zombie genre in years.  It's indie filmmaking at its most inventive, pays a real tribute to the hard work that goes into making any visual media, and has some superb laughs along the way.  I'm keeping this brief because it's one of those that works best the least you know about it; pick up the DVD/Blu Ray, get some friends round for a viewing, and have a real blast the first chance you get.

So, that's my list for this moment of 2019!  If you disagree with any of these... be nice, don't @ me, feel confident in your own opinion!  Tomorrow, let's have a look ahead to what films will get us through the next year... hopefully.