Best Movies of 2019 - Best of the Genres

Continuing to look at the best movies of 2019, it is now time to look at the genres. I like to see movies from all genres from all around the world and this is the opportunity to highlight the best from all genres. There are some conventional categories, like Best Animated Film and Best Foreign Film, but also categories you won’t find at the Oscars. Here are my picks.

BEST ANIMATED MOVIE – TOY STORY 4

Runner Up – Missing Link

I loved Laika’s latest, but Toy Story 4 is an absolute stunner with tons of emotion and laughs.

BEST FOREIGN FILM – PARASITE

Runner Up – Monos

Bong Joon-Ho’s masterful look at class disparity in South Korea is a true work of art that requires multiple viewings.

BEST COMEDY – ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD

Runner Up – Booksmart

Not your typical comedy, but Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood is Quentin Tarantino’s funniest film to date and offers up plenty of smartly written, hilarious dialog that allow Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt to shine.

BEST ACTION FILM – JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM

Runner Up – Triple Frontier

The latest in the John Wick franchise is a gorgeous and exciting action film that proves why Keanu Reeves is one of the great living movie-stars.

BEST HORROR/THRILLER – MIDSOMMAR

Runner Up – Us

Both Ari Aster and Jordan Peele proved they were masters of thrills, but the emotional turn and madness of Midsommar make the film one I won’t soon forget.

BEST DOCUMENTARY – COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD

Runner Up – Apollo 11

Cold Case Hammarskjöld is a documentary you have to see to believe and one that will leave your stomach in knots and your jaw on the floor.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – DOCTOR SLEEP

Runner Up – Gemini Man

I didn’t have high hopes for the sequel to The Shining, especially since it was coming out nearly thirty years since the original film. But thanks to great performances and stellar filmmaking, Doctor Sleep is a creepy and riveting watch.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT – STAR WARS: EPISODE IX – THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

Runner Up – Joker

The latest Star Wars trilogy ended with a complete thud as the film lacked emotion, excitement, and ambition.

BEST MOVIE NOBODY SAW – THE SOUVENIR

Runner Up – Her Smell

Both movies are spectacular and feature incredible performances. Her Smell features Elisabeth Moss in the performance of a lifetime, while The Souvenir looks at memory and trauma in a compelling, genius way.

UNDERRATED – GLASS

Runner Up – Gemini Man

Though dogged by critics and movie-goers alike, M. Night Shyamalan’s finale of his Eastrail 177 trilogy is a brilliant, somber look at superhero origins about broken people using their pain to become special.

OVERRATED – JOKER

Runner Up – Long Shot

This one-note, painful origin story about Batman’s archnemesis is going to be nominated for a slew of Oscars and I have no idea why.

BEST MOVIE YOU NEVER HEARD OF – PINK WALL

Runner Up – To the Stars

I don’t know if either of these films got proper releases in the U.S., but both look at relationships from different perspectives, with Pink Wall showing us the rise and fall of two people in an unconventional, yet heart-wrenching film.