Favorite Films of 2019

Well, i think i've waited as long as i can before posting my favorite movies of 2019.  Did i get to see everything i wanted to?  Of course not.  I have kids.  And so, as sure as i am about this list, things like "The Lighthouse" or "Knives Out" may certainly have ended up on here if given the chance to actually see them.  And i will someday.  But for now, here's 10 films i loved...

10. Too Old to Die Young
I cheat a little bit every year with selections that aren't movies necessarily, but Nicolas Winding Refn's neon noir series for Amazon Prime basically plays like one long ass movie, filled to the brim with every single idiosyncratic choice the filmmaker has ever thought of.  If you're not a fan of his work, you'll hate this, but i loved every single crawling minute.

9. High Life
The latest from French filmmaker Claire Denis, an arty, dystopian, sci-fi film, features a knock out performance from Robert Pattinson, a lot of weird and uncomfortable sex stuff, and Andre 3000.  Good stuff.

8. The Perfection
Richard Shepard's thriller changes course more than once through its duration, with scenes that both shocked and threw me off, and a couple of pivotal moments that you really just need to see yourself.

7. The Irishman
It's long.  It's great.  It's Scorsese.

6. Knife + Heart
The best homage to giallo movies that takes place in the gay porn community that i've ever seen.  Thanks Yann Gonzalez!

5. Dolemite Is my Name
Craig Brewer's biopic about Rudy Ray Moore is an absolute delight.  Eddie Murphy is outstanding, and his supporting cast kick ass too, and i smiled from start to finish.

4. Midsommar
Ari Aster is making a name for himself as an absolute behemoth of the horror genre, turning in heavy and phenomenal work that really needs to be seen by both horror fans and non-horror fans alike.

3. Doctor Sleep
Mike Flanagan is another filmmaker making a name for himself in the horror genre as well, crafting atmospheric and haunting movies that play like gangbusters.  "Doctor Sleep" really should not work, and yet Flanagan makes it work on every level, tying it beautifully in to both the film and book versions of "The Shining."  No easy feat.

2. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
Every Tarantino film is an event, and his 9th film is no different, a love letter to the medium and a meditation on aging and a fear of uselessness.

1. Under the Silver Lake
David Robert Mitchell's followup to "It Follows" is a surreal modern noir that pulls from both De Palma and Lynch, an impossible mystery that amps up the paranoia while critiquing toxic malehood as a kind of malaise.  It's hypnotic and fascinating, my favorite movie of the year.

And there you go.  2019 was a great year for movies.  Here's hoping next year is great too.