The Ten Best Movies of 2019 (So Far) & My Most Anticipated Films for the Rest of 2019

The Best Of and Most Anticipated Releases Of 2019!

NotVeryProfoundFilm
13 min readJul 8, 2019

2019 has been a pretty solid year for film thus far, and with an only growing state of fall/winter releases, there is a lot to excited about. For this article, I will be giving you my Top Ten Favorite Films Of 2019 up until this point, as well as some of my most anticipated releases for the rest of the year. So without wasting too much time, let’s get right into the list!

My Favorite Films Of 2019 as of July 8, 2019:

10. Us — Jordan Peele

Promotional Poster for Us (2019)

Following up his breakout hit Get Out, Jordan Peele returned with what was deemed his “New Nightmare”, Us. While not as revolutionary or eye-opening as his freshman effort, Us still managed to make an impact upon its release, following an incredible trailer that only built the hype for the movie further. I was lucky enough to attend an early screening for this film and coming out of that, I did not really know what my reaction was to it. I saw it again a week or so later when it was released everywhere, and while I did really love it the second time around, the movie does have its flaws. Not as good as Get Out, but nowhere even close to mediocre, Us just inches out Toy Story 4 for the 10th spot on this list.

9. Climax — Gaspar Noe

Poster for CLIMAX (2019)

This is easily the most niche film on this list, with it being both a foreign film and a Gaspar Noe production. I remember seeing the opening dance number on YouTube weeks before actually seeing this and just being mesmerized. I had never seen anything like it and was immediately hooked, left waiting for the movie’s release. The day finally came when it did and I found myself alone in a movie theater at 11 a.m. and ever since then, I really have not been able to get this movie out of my head. There are so many extended single takes that are absolutely breathtaking in how they are executed, as well as a crazy good soundtrack to boot, but this is too weird of a movie to recommend to a lot of people I know, and rightfully so. However, if you are a big film buff and have yet to see this, it is definitely worth a watch for the cinematography and direction alone.

8. Rocketman — Dexter Fletcher

Promotional Poster for Rocketman (2019)

I have grown to hate Bohemian Rhapsody ever since it was released. I saw it in the theater opening weekend and while I thought it was alright upon initial viewing, it has not sat well with me ever since. There was the whole editing fiasco, the awards nominations, and the fact that it is a piece of major revisionist history, completely wiping clean any ounce of substance a Queen biopic could have had. Then along comes Rocketman, directed by Dexter Fletcher who acted as replacement director on Bohemian Rhapsody following Bryan Singer’s exit. This is everything that movie should have been. Without a doubt one of, if not the best music-based biopic to date, Rocketman soars where others have fallen short, going for broke as a legitimate R-rated musical rather than just re-telling events in a way that they never happened. If Rami Malek won awards for Best Actor while barely acting and lip-syncing every Queen song, then Taron Egerton deserves to be knighted for his turn as Elton John. (No actual hate to Rami, I think he is an INCREDIBLY talented actor, just that he did not deserve to win any awards for his portrayal of Freddie Mecury)

7. Midsommar — Ari Aster

Promotional Poster for Midsommar (2019)

The most recent release on this list, and still the most fresh in my mind, Midsommar is director Ari Aster’s followup to his breakout horror-hit, Hereditary, which was only released just last year. As mentioned in My Review of this movie, I still have yet to see Hereditary, and so as it was pointed out by one of my friends, my expectations were most likely not nearly as high as those who saw his first film. However, I still absolutely loved this movie while also being ridiculously disturbed within the last half of its runtime. I am not the biggest horror movie connoisseur, but if you enjoy more psychological horror films, then this is one for you.

6. Alita: Battle Angel — Robert Rodriguez

Promotional Poster for Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

If there is any movie on this list that I am going to get attacked for putting on here, it is without a doubt this one. I stand by this placement though, because in the end the entire medium of Film is subjective, and people like what they like. With that being said, I had almost no expectations for this movie going into it and then I ended up seeing it twice in IMAX because I was that blown away by it. This is a spectacle, something that needed to be seen on the biggest screen available and thankfully I went in blind and found one of my favorite movies of the year. Beautifully crafted special effects aside, while this is an adaptation of a manga that James Cameron has tried to make for 20 years, it still feels like something genuinely new. Great action, amazing special effects, a fun story, and world-building out the wazoo, Alita: Battle Angel flew under most people’s radars and I would highly recommend watching it if you have not yet. If you want to read my full thoughts on this movie, check out my review linked below!

5. High Life — Claire Denis

Promotional Poster for High Life (2019)

Out of all the films on this list, this is the only one I was not able to see in theaters. Additionally, I still have yet to see The Last Black Man in San Francisco due to the same issue of not having a theater nearby showing either film. If you are reading this AMC 24 in Hamilton, please start showing more independent movies, thank you. High Life is the first film I have see directed by Claire Denis and boy, what a movie this is. Saying that Robert Pattinson has been becoming one of my favorite actors following his role in Good Time would be cliche, but it would also be 100% true, with him giving another award-worthy performance here. Juliette Binoche is also great in this with the entire “Fuckbox” scene being something to behold. Also Andre “3000” Benjamin is in this and that makes me happy. I really can not do this one justice with words, just go out of your way to see it.

(One last thing; I highly encourage you to listen to the A24 Podcast episode, Shooting Stars, with Rian Johnson & Claire Denis discussing this movie. Spoiler; it’s great.)

4. John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum — Chad Stahelski

Promotional Poster for John Wick; Chapter 3 — Parabellum (2019)

I love the John Wick movies. I love Keanu Reeves. I feel as if that is the best way to sum up my feelings towards this great franchise, but for the sake of the article I will go a little deeper. If you have yet to see any of the John Wick series, you really are missing out on some of the best action movies of the 21st Century. Keanu is excellent in each of them, really only getting better (as are the movies, in my opinion with the ranking being 3>2>1) as well as having a great cast of characters in each outing. Going into this, I honestly thought this was going to be the final entry into the series so I was enormously relieved when it was announced shortly after its release that John Wick: Chapter 4 is being released in 2021. This movie also has the best fight scenes of any release this year, so if you are into that, it is a major plus.

3. Spider-Man: Far From Home — Jon Watts

Promotional Poster for Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

If ever there was an appropriate usage of “cool” Peter Parker from Spider-Man 3, I feel like it is here. Not because this movie is bad, quite the contrary. Rather I am using this gif to show how I felt leaving the theater after seeing this movie on opening night. Spider-Man: Far From Home has to be one of the more shocking movies on this list (outside of Alita: Battle Angel) with almost nobody expecting anything besides a fun summer followup to the emotional rollercoaster that was Avengers: Endgame. This movie rocks, Tom Holland is the best Spider-Man/Peter Parker, and Jake Gyllenhaal yelling in movies is best for business. Spider-Man is back to being cool!

Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 3 (2007)

2. Booksmart — Olivia Wilde (directorial debut)

Promotional Poster for Booksmart (2019)

Without a doubt the funniest movie I have seen this year, Booksmart marks a breakthrough for Olivia Wilde as a director, as well as for stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (also, Billie Lourd is hilarious in this). From start to finish this film is a comedy goldmine. Every joke lands, each performance is great, another amazing soundtrack, and the direction is fantastic. Seriously, watch this movie because not nearly enough people saw it in theaters. It is genuinely one of the best movies I have seen in forever, and you will fall in love with the entire hilarious cast.

1. Avengers: Endgame — Joe & Anthony Russo

Promotional Poster for Avengers: Endgame (2019)

While Booksmart is probably the better film, there was never going to be a different movie topping this list. It had to be Avengers: Endgame. I have grown up on these movies, seeing the first Iron Man in theaters when I was 8 or 9 years old, and only missing two of them in theaters (The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: Civil War). The fact that this movie exists alone is a milestone, but the fact that it was executed as well as it was is something else entirely. This is an almost 3 hour movie about superheroes time traveling to try and return half of the universe to existence after a five year time gap, and holy hell is it a ride. I never expected to ever feel genuinely emotional while watching one of these movies, but I can not lie, this one got me. Seeing characters that I, along with pretty much everyone else, have grown up with for the last 11 years say their goodbyes was so genuinely moving in a way that no comic book movie has achieved up until this point. This is easily my favorite Marvel movie to date, followed by Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: Far From Home, and I honestly doubt it will ever be beaten.

Most Anticipated Releases for the Rest Of 2019: Just to clarify, these are all unranked in favor of just listing off a number of my most anticipated releases for the rest of the year. So again, let’s get right into it!

Lucy in the Sky — Noah Hawley — TBA

Official Trailer for Lucy in the Sky (2019)

My first experience with Noah Hawley was with his X-Men-based TV show, Legion, and that show is insanely good. This trailer has me very intrigued, as does the incredible casting of the film, though I am starting to think it might not actually come out this year…

The Farewell - Lulu Wang - July 12

Official Trailer for The Farewell (2019)

A24 + Awkwafina + Family Comedy & Drama = This movie will most likely be a very very good film.

The Art Of Self-Defense - Riley Stearns - July 12

Official Trailer for The Art of Self-Defense (2019)

This is without a doubt the weirdest looking movie on this list, but in a good way. I have only heard great things about it as well, so it is looking like another interesting Jesse Eisenberg movie to look forward to!

The Lion King - Jon Favreau - July 19

Official Trailer for The Lion King (2019)

Literally everytime I see this trailer in theaters before a movie I get goosebumps just hearing Hans Zimmer’s The Land score… Scratch that, while writing this sentence, I have the trailer playing in the background and I can confirm I got chills again. An absolutely stacked cast and Jon Favreau directing has me very excited.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Quentin Tarantino — July 26

Official Trailer for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

It’s Tarantino. Also, this is one of the best trailers I think I have ever seen. I literally have no idea what the plot is of this movie and I need to see this as soon as it is released.

Good Boys - Gene Stupnitsky - August 16

Official Trailer for Good Boys (2019)

This looks like great fun, almost as fun as Booksmart, which is very exciting if this comes even slightly close to the levels of Olivia Wilde’s hit.

Ad Astra — James Gray — September 20

Official Trailer for Ad Astra (2019)

I have heard rumors that there was some studio interference in an attempt to make this a more mainstream, marketable movie, in that it was more of a thought-provoking science fiction piece along the lines of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The trailer still looks promising, should be an interesting one.

Joker — Todd Phillips — October 4

Official Trailer for Joker (2019)

Apparently this is officially Rated-R now and I feel like that has to be the best news since they announced Joaquin as playing the Joker. Marc Maron, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, and Robert De Niro round out an impressive supporting cast.

Parasite — Bong Joon-ho — October 11

Official Trailer for Parasite (2019)

I feel like the less known about this movie the better, and to be honest I have not even watched the trailer, though I am linking it for anyone interested. I have full faith in anything Bong Joon-ho creates (Memories of Murder and Snowpiercer are both excellent), so I will absolutely be seeing this in theaters if it is playing near me.

Zombieland: Double Tap — Rueben Fleischer — October 11

Promotional Poster for Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

The original Zombieland is so good, but the director has gone onto make Venom, and we still have no trailer, so out of everything on this list, this is the one I am most hesitant to be excited for.

Doctor Sleep — Mike Flanagan — November 8

Official Trailer for Doctor Sleep (2019)

I am a big fan of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. I also love Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson, so this trailer got my attention real quick. Definitely shot up to the top of my list when it first dropped and very interested to see how this movie balances tying itself to the books and film versions of both The Shining and Doctor Sleep.

Queen & Slim - Melina Matsoukas - November 27

Official Trailer for Queen & Slim (2019)

This actually came out of nowhere and I still have no idea what to expect. It looks like an intense ride, and Daniel Kaluuya continuing to kill it (no pun intended).

Knives Out — Rian Johnson — November 27

Official Trailer for Knives Out (2019)

Love him or hate him, everyone now has an opinion on Rian Johnson following his entry into the mainline Star Wars films with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I have yet to see Looper, but having seen both Brick and TLJ, I can admit that I adore Johnson as a filmmaker and as soon as casting started getting announced this had my attention. The trailer dropped last week and I have to say that this is probably my single most anticipated release for the rest of 2019.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker — J.J. Abrams — December 20

Official Teaser for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Star Wars is my favorite film series to date, and following Episode 8, my interest has only grown on what directions it is going to go. If it was not clear, I am a big fan of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and am very much hoping they do not try to retcon things because of fan backlash. This trailer is another one that gives me chills every time I watch it and outside of Knives Out is definitely towards the top of my list for most anticipated.

And with that all being said, this is the end of both lists. I hope you enjoyed agreeing or disagreeing with my Top 10 Movies of 2019 (so far) as well as hopefully enjoying the look ahead to the rest of the year. I know a lot of people have been talking about how the summer has been a lackluster one in terms of film releases, but we still have a couple heavy hitters following Spider-Man: Far From Home, so I would not go ahead and say it has been a totally bad one yet, though the fall/winter lineup does look spectacular.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow me for all of my reviews, thought pieces, and takes on the film industry! Be sure to also follow me over on Twitter and Letterboxd for a more intimate look at my takes on movies:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatCoyleSimmons

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/protacrastic/

And in case you plan on sticking around over on Medium to read another article, you should take a look at my piece on 2018’s Blindspotting:

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NotVeryProfoundFilm
NotVeryProfoundFilm

Written by NotVeryProfoundFilm

Entertainment Writer, Sometimes a Film Critic, Avid Disney Villain Song Connoisseur || Follow me on Twitter @NVProfoundFilm

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