Welcome to ResetEra's official MOTY list for 2019!
The results for ResetEra's Movies of the Year 2019 are finally here.
(Once again later than promised...)
I guess the longer period of voting really paid off as this was the year with the most individual lists/votes since we've been doing the MOTYs on this website. Compared to last year's 94 individual tops, this year we've had 149 (and 4 more than in our first year). The trend of having a high number of individual films (a trend that personally makes me very happy) also keeps on delivering as we've got 152 unique titles voted for this year compared to the 135 and 138 from 2018 and 2017. Points wise, there is a pretty narrow difference between most films on the list, except for our number one… accumulating more than double the points of our 2nd spot. This is a historical feat (which seems to be something this film doesn't shy away from) that has never been achieved since I've started doing this; not even by the hugely popular Mad Max Fury Road in the 2015 MOTYs on the other site (that one got really close though).
Before we jump to the top, I once again want to thank everyone for taking the time for voting and sharing their opinion. Just as I did in previous years, I took the liberty of choosing a few quotes from the voting thread for each movie in our top 10, but do let me know with a PM if you prefer not to be quoted and I'll remove your quote. I tried to use as many opinions from different people and I tried to get unique quotes...
You will find the complete list with all the films submitted in the next post, along with their respective number of votes and points. Also links to the voting thread as well as the previous years' MOTYs will be at the bottom of this post.
Just like in previous years, to incentivise all of you in giving your opinion and also to show my appreciation towards your involvement in voting for ResetEra's best films of the year, I will be rewarding a 4K UHD + BluRay edition of our number 1 film (or if the winner prefers, we can wait for the announced Criterion Collection release). The winner will be chosen through a random name picker and (again as mentioned in the voting thread) only voters who wrote thoughts about their picks will qualify. I will announce the winner in a few days. The winners of our previous years are Yams and Boogs31.
So here we go..
01. Parasite
1024 Points | 121 Votes | 51 No. 1 Votes
Nothing stops this train. After making history at the Academy Awards this year, where it won 4 Oscars including the one for Best Picture (opening an interesting new path for the Academy going forward), this beast of a film found its way on more than 80% of your lists. It is very interesting and to be appreciated that militant themes about class are seeping through in mainstream cinema through what prove to be actual crowdpleasers. This might be Parasite's greatest quality: its clarity and because of it, its reach. But what puts Bong's film above the rest is his incredible way of handling the round and merciless, abrasive nature of his film. With great acuity Bong Joon-ho transform this comedy-turned-tragedy, dream-turned-nightmare into a lucid, pertinent and acidic x-ray of society with deceiving ease.
These are some of your thoughts on why Parasite is such a good film:
Intricately crafted. Funny. Intense. Brilliant. This is the total package for filmmaking. The performances are gripping, it's beautifully shot, and scored. It has something for everyone. It's a crowd pleaser, while also being an extremely clever portrayal of class struggle, and feels especially timely right now. I don't want to say anymore, so to not ruin any of the twists and turns in the film. Do not miss this. It is a modern masterpiece.
A lot of movies commentated on the class divide in 2019, but Parasite stands head and shoulders above the rest. The acting was superb all-around (though Song Chang-ho deserves special mention), the humor is scathing and yet you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Even more subtle areas from how the rich people's house was set to the entire makeup of that poor neighborhood make you gasp in amazement in how they could have made this movie, proof that the best special effects are the ones you don't even notice until told to. It's extremely engaging and it's impossible not to watch in wonder. This is especially true in the second half when all hell breaks loose in the most entertaining yet brutal way possible. This movie is the complete package, excelling at every category. Bong Joon-ho is one of the best directors in the business and I hope he gets his dues in the Oscars.
This is the anti-capitalist movie we all desperately needed. It doesn't go soft about it, it doesn't shy away from it, and it's not subtle about it. And that's why it resonates with so many people, equally crushed under a system that oppresses & destroys us. Parasite feels like a rallying cry, that one movie we watch, that makes us feel seen and heard. And the one movie that allows us to have a good laugh whenever a billionaire tweets about how much they fucking loved it, totally oblivious to the message it conveys. It was a ride from start to finish, and it was masterfully done. Bong Joon Ho fully deserves the prizes he got for it.
02. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
481 Points | 71 Votes | 6 No. 1 Votes
With his 9th film, Tarantino goes once more into historical revisionism, this time signing a love letter to the cinema he loves. He's always been the kind of filmmaker to wear his cinephilia on his sleeve given how most of his notable work took the form of tributary pastiche, but here things seem to go a step more personal. He recreates on the screen not only a legendary place for cinema, Hollywood, or a mythical city, Los Angeles, but also the essence of a bygone era that obviously holds a very dear place in his heart. This could've been a great swan song, so it will be curious to see what follows. If he was serious when he declared that he will only make 10 films, then we're only gonna be blessed by just one more from the cult director...
Here's why people chose it for their top 10:
I have always been a fan of Tarantino and the characters he builds, but I really think this is his best work since Pulp Fiction. It does have some old timey Hollywood wankery in it, but overall it has his best dynamic of two friends on screen, Brad Pitt will finally get an Oscar, and it has the most explosive finale of the year. Part of me wishes it were his last film, since I think it perfectly encapsulates everything about what Tarantino is and isn't.
Buoyed by exquisite storytelling, endearingly written characters, and some finely tuned comedy, Once Upon in Time in Hollywood is Tarantino's most earnest and sentimental film since the brilliant Jackie Brown. In a career marked by a ceaseless succession of wickedly entertaining films, it's also one of his best. The lack of a more substantive narrative in favor of somewhat disconnected vignettes was cleverly handled, as it allowed for 1969 Los Angeles to be savored to its fullest extent. The film, as a result, at least prior to the blood-drenched climax, unfurls at a leisurely pace that emphasized the magical nature of the time and place it so affectionately recalls. The meticulous recreation of Los Angeles at such a transformative time in its history greatly heightened the effectiveness of the dichotomy between fantasy and reality. Ultimately, the level of detail woven into every aspect of the production is perhaps the strongest aspect of the film, vital as it is to the tale being told. The film is peppered with memorable moments and beautifully written interactions. One of the best and most evocative sequences this year lies in the transition into the final act; a wistful glimpse of relatively burden-free lives as the primary characters' inexorable ends are seemingly right around the corner. The usage of California Dreamin' in this scene is among my favorite of all the sublime musical selections Tarantino has sprinkled throughout his oeuvre. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt are both brilliant. DiCaprio, for his part, gives one of the best performances of his career, flitting between exceptional comedic timing, understated emotional vulnerability and a scene or two of stellar dramatic acting. Complemented by Pitt's portrayal of the effortlessly cool, their friendship is one of the highlights of the film. Though already of considerable length, I could have easily spent many hours more watching the lives of these characters simply existing. What an achievement.
03. Knives Out
468 Points | 82 Votes | 7 No. 1 Votes
The first shot nods shamelessly to The Hound of Baskervilles. In the very beginning a character watches "Murder, She Wrote". The famously named Hercule Poirot is replaced by the modern counterpart Benoit Blanc. Blanc calls the very young Marta "Watson" and the house is compared to a Clue board. This well written, cheeky and very self aware whodunnit was bound to find place on many of your lists, being actually the second most popular film after Parasite (present on more than 50% of your tops). And while this was another film with political undertones, where a class collision happens, its strengths lie mostly in the great twists and turns of the mystery, as well as the deliciously zany performances of that incredible cast. No wonder there's already a sequel announced, Benoit Blanc is the modern Poirot we needed.
This was probably the most fun I've had seeing a movie in theaters since Fury Road. The combination of Rian Johnson's incredibly well written script and one of the best ensemble casts in ages really made this movie a blast to watch all the way through. I loved seeing Daniel Craig in this just having fun with this role and hamming it up. Ana de Armas was also a wonderful surprise with her having much more screen time than I anticipated. Overall it was just a great whodunit and I'm looking forward to Rian doing another Benoit Blanc murder mystery in the future.
With assured direction, Rian Johnson creates the cinematic equivalent of a Clue board (as one character puts it) then taps the audience on the shoulder and whispers, hey let the detective do his magic, the more interesting story is over here. That single shift reframes whodunnit into howdunnit into crime thriller and domestic strife. Knives Out crackles with razor-sharp dialogue, characters that feel both theatric and natural, and a lively pace that parses out reveals and twists with playful exuberance.
04. Marriage Story
405 Points | 66 Votes | 2 No. 1 Votes
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". That's how Leo Tolstoy opens his novel "Anna Karenina" (and I'm sure this is a quote that's probably been used in every single of this film's reviews) and I still wonder if Marriage Story proves this witticism wrong or confirms it. I don't think there's a person who won't resonate with this film somehow. Maybe someone who has never been through a big breakup before. With delicate touch and humane sincerity Noah Baumbach managed to put a mirror in front of a crumbling marriage through the process of divorce. Probably the biggest mistake one can make while watching this film is wondering who's at fault in this relationship. Who is the one responsible for this almost absurd situation in which two people who obviously still care so much about one another, have to break up. And while we're shown how both carry their own set of guilt, none should be judged. I think that's Baumbach's greatest achievement in this film.
Some thoughts on it from you:
There are those movies which get you by surprise - you haven't expected how many emotions would it give you and how lost in thoughts you are gonna be after watching them. Marriage Story available on Netflix is definitely one of them. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a pair of people lost in their lives and deciding to divorce is heartbreaking and gives so many questions after watching it - would it be better for each one of them to stay together? Could the marriage be saved if they acted in a different way? Or maybe it was just a stop in their life journey and doomed from the start? The greatness of this movie is the fact that you can take so much from it. And as important for the story is the law and divorce business in USA. I was stunned how many tactics are lawyers using there (Laura Dern smashed every scene she's in - Johansson is invisible when in her presence) and this is great too in this movie.
I'm quite shocked by how much I loved this movie. Very strong performances from not just the leads of Adam Driver and ScarJo but from the supporting cast as well. I loved that at one moment you could find yourself laughing at a particular scene only to be remaining silent at a moment where there is so much verbal tension, you don't know what's going to happen. And Driver's scene near the end is an emotional gut punch. I didn't think any movie would match with Endgame in terms of entertainment. Nothing else did. But I never thought any movie would be favorite film of this year outside of Endgame, let alone share the top spot. But Marriage Story surprised me. That's how much I loved it.
05. The Lighthouse
397 Points | 60 Votes | 15 No. 1 Votes
I was definitely surprised to see the amount of love this film got here. After Parasite, The Lighthouse has the most number one spots, which is quite impressive for a film that definitely steers quite deep into the stormy waters of arthouse cinema. Maybe it's the Eggers quality that lured people in this marine nightmare filled with madness, Lovecraftian gravitas, superstition and mythology. Or maybe it was the memorable delirious performance of our duo. Or maybe the striking black and white cinematography, with the claustrophobic aspect ratio as if we're peeking through a peephole into a world we're not supposed to discover. I mean it is not often one looks at the Best Cinematography nominees at the Academy Awards and think "I hope Deakins doesn't win", but this film surely made me think it.
Here's why you loved it so much:
Robert Eggers just sort of hits the right notes for me. The subject matter in the Lighthouse (like the Witch) is remote and historical and, in a sense, hard to relate to. But when put on film, with top-notch actors and direction and lighting and framing, it all feels disturbingly real, in a way horror rarely manages to. And Christ, what a performance from Willem Dafoe!
After The VVitch, this pretty much cements Robert Eggers as a top director. Black and white was a great choice for this, as it fits the style of the movie perfectly. Same goes for the aspect ratio, as it makes every scene in the cabin more claustrophobic. Combined with Dafoe and Pattinson's stellar performances, it feels like you're going crazy alongside them. Dafoe has a long career under his belt, but I still feel that this was his most impressive work. So that's saying something for a man with decades of experience. There are so many nuances to his character and he really digs in here, with haunting soliloquies full of vivid imagery. After Good Time, Pattinson confirms that he's one of the best young actors active now. I can't believe there are people that still scoff
when he was announced for Batman. If you just watch his recent performances, do you think there's anything this guy can't handle? He's magnificent here as well, selling that descent into madness. This feels like a timeless picture that will be even better on rewatch.
06. The Irishman
392 Points | 66 Votes | 11 No. 1 Votes
Second Netflix film in this top (and interestingly enough it has the exact same amount of votes as Marriage Story), The Irishman is Scorsese's way of shouting from the top, loud and clear, that he still has quite a few things left to say. The director's longest film to date, this epic feels both familiar and different when looking back at the filmmaker's oeuvre, especially to the films that bring immediate comparisons. It is strange to think that Al Pacino has never been directed by Scorsese before, but he feels right at home playing Jimmy Hoffa, a grandiose role acted with the signature Pacino verve fighting to match and/or overtake the performances of the two other legendary actors in the film, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci (another fantastic performance from a guy who said he's done with films a long time ago).
What you thought of it:
While the length will be intimidating for some and the de-aging technology doesn't look perfect, the film is consistently engaging. This is a collaboration of legendary actors and arguably the greatest living film-maker at the twilight of their lives and careers. It's a real treat to see Joe Peschi in front of the camera again after such a long hiatus. If this ends up being Martin Scorcese's swan song (he's 77), what a send-off for one of the all time greats
Here's a curious one, a 3.5 hour long film that feels slow and absolutely absorbing at the same time. While watching the film I felt that majority of scenes weren't really pushing any particular plot forward, while at the same time I can't imagine any of them being removed. It's a film that can only be made by a mature filmmaker like Scorsese, full of self-reflection, devoid of glorification of violence and other vices he was so often accused of.
07. Avengers: Endgame
322 Points | 47 Votes | 11 No. 1 Votes
This might be the most surprising part of the top for me. When I made the voting thread I said if I was a betting man (it's a good thing I'm not) I would bet on a David and Goliath fight between Joker and Avengers in this top, but for quite some time in the beginning I was actually wondering if Avengers will even make the front 10 list at all. The fact that in a year in which we had Avengers Endgame, the satisfactory culmination of a long chapter in the MCU, as well as Joker, the hugely successful smaller and grittier Golden Lion winner, and only one of them made it and only in the lower part of the top speaks volumes about the increasing shift towards a different type of cinema (insert Martin Scorsese meme). The fact that Avengers is under The Irishman makes things even funnier, but I'm sure they'll survive taking the consolation 7th place in this top while holding the title of the film with the biggest box office of all time, wiping their tears away with all those dollar bills.
Here's some of the thoughts on what could be considered the biggest blockbuster of all time:
A cinema milestone! Culminating and celebrating over twenty films released through the span of a decade, Avengers: Endgame accomplished to marvel the whole world through a touching audiovisual spectacle with these relatable characters we know and we've come to care about so much over the years. Juggling with multiple moving parts that, thanks to a well written and executed story, achieve to end several arcs in a surprising resonating and emotionally satisfying way; giving an optimistic look to the future of a universe with regained hope. Just thinking how many people from everywhere felt moved by this "Marvel flick" is an amazing feat by itself. An amazing experience to have had in theaters just this 2019!
Where to begin here--it's really hard to come down on this, of everything Marvel has built here, and not see Endgame as a wildly successful conclusion to this crazy experimental interconnected serialized cinematic universe. To see where this goes, how it pays homage to the road it's taken to get here, and how it concludes is nothing short of spectacular. In so many ways, I was surprised at plot developments, especially where I thought I had the gist of where things would go, reading way too many theories out there, and just coming away from it all blown away at the level of care they gave to the continuation of the conclusion of Infinity War, and all its ramifications, to our heroes we've spent so much time with, and to the world/universe, they inhabit.
As a "blockbuster", and how the zeitgeist is going to treat this when the box office settles, I think this will be one of the most culturally impactful films we'll get in a long time. I can't fathom the amount of built-up anticipation that another film would need to rival, matching what Marvel has done here, building each movie, connecting it to the larger narrative, and being able to juggle all these characters into one climatic conclusion that meets that level of anticipation head-on. As pop culture entertainment goes, this is likely now the gold standard.
I mean, I just can't get over as I've been mulling over this since I saw it just how wildly thrilling that third act was. It's something I will want to revisit many times over the years, and something that is perfect to watch with a crowd who is into what is happening. It was thrilling and unforgettable.
So now Marvel gets to go into a totally new phase of whatever else they plan to build up now, and I have no idea if they can seriously keep this momentum going or just how far they can keep the public fascinated by superheroes, but if they manage to find a way to keep things fresh and explore new narratives and characters, I can't imagine how this thing doesn't keep going indefinitely.
08. Uncut Gems
317 Points | 52 Votes | 2 No. 1 Votes
Just thinking of this film causes surges of anxiety in some people. A bombardment of the senses in the most unpleasant but rewarding way, Uncut Gems is the new abusive, relentless film from the Safdie brothers and another one on this list to take a jab at socio-economic themes. Always on the move, searching for the next opportunity to fast tracked riches, everything in this universe revolves around money, reaching up to levels of spirituality and superstition. There's also no surprise or coincidence in seeing Scorsese's name as an Executive Producer on the film, in a year that already seems to have projected a lot of the master's work with obvious tributes.
Brilliant, often laugh out loud hilarious, and anxiety-inducing thrill ride throughout with even fewer moments of respite than the previous Good Time. Characters shouting at each other, the overwhelming Daniel Lopatin music returns, and Adam Sandler's Howard Ratner who's a NY jeweller is just booking it everywhere to get away from his debt collectors.
Adam Sandler is in peak restless mode and though his range isn't as wide as in Punch Drunk Love, this is one of his best performances even if he's an unreliable asshole who deserves MOST of what he's getting. All the other characters telling him to calm down becomes a running gag and it feels like almost a homage to all the other rage monsters he's played before.
Socially and thematically, this is different from previous Safdie joints in the way that it's more about the rich and famous rather than the working class but there's still a lot of class intersection which exemplifies New York City itself. Despite Howard not being a good person, since most of the running screen time is focused on him, I couldn't help but pity and then even root for him. These are all really well realised, lived-in characters and the verisimilitude is so good that just following this Machiavellian world is fascinating.
The Safdie Brothers are the kings of unrelenting, brash, immersive ground level stories right now. This one didn't hit me quit as hard and fast as Good Time, that movie being a tight and pointed slice of unlikable neon grime, but the fact that they were able to translate that style to a story with a wider scope and more expository material is nothing to scoff at. Whether you know the outcome of the central gambling plot or have no idea how any of this stuff functions, Uncut Gems works as an exercise in ratcheting tension. This is a movie that is always going for double or nothing.
09. Little Women
278 Points | 45 Votes | 4 No. 1 Votes
Teaming up once again with Saoirse Ronan (in what seems to be one of those director-actor teams that are destined to last), Greta Gerwig proves that with her verve and intelligent sensibility she can breathe new life into an already over-adapted novel, Louise May Alcott's "Little Women", while gracefully showcasing great writing and directorial quality and complexity. Gerwig waltzes expertely and elegantly between the fiction of the film and that of Jo's book, while serving us a perfectly modern period piece, proving just how far she has matured as a confident filmmaker.
Why you loved it:
Its probably the proximity of seeing the movie so recently but the emotional high of the experience is still fresh and I ended up consuming a bunch of Louisa Alcott trivia at the end of it. The plot of the sisters not so much overcoming but learning to live with a world full of compromises was affecting and personal but the idea being updated with Jo's (and Alcott's) triumph In finding a place for herself, a thing for herself, it just felt like it hit something oddly specific just for me and that's just gives it an unfair advantage in my ranking. But so it goes.
Yes, it was reductive (if sort of inevitable, given the tendency to rally around the "most electable" candidate) that the debate about female directors at the 2019 Oscars became mostly about Greta Gerwig, but by the same token, she absolutely should have been nominated. And while we're at it, she should have won Adapted Screenplay, because the screenplay for Little Women is maybe the textbook example to give for a writer taking a canonical text and presenting it with a completely fresh approach that finds new ways to bring out nuances and parallelisms in Louisa May Alcott's writing (as well as paper over some of the cracks, and also incorporate the novel's metatextual history). Brilliantly acted by its ensemble, reaffirming Saoirse Ronan as perhaps the ablest talent of her generation, and capping off Florence Pugh's great 2019.
10. Jojo Rabbit
256 Points | 37 Votes | 3 No. 1 Votes
I'll let others explain better why this film is on this list:
Taika does an excellent job of keeping a movie about a literal Nazi youth befriending a Jewish girl and coming to realize how evil the Nazi mindset is surprisingly humorous, yet also respectful of the horrors of the Holocaust and Nazi rule. The performances are all excellent, too. Just a really good combination of satire and drama.
Taika Waititi's adaption of 'Jojo Rabbit', the story of a young nazi youth (Jojo) breaking away from the nazi propaganda surrounding him, is more comedic and enjoyable than one would expect considering the subject matter. The end result is the best kind of absurd. Scarlett Johannsson had a great year, but what I will remember her most as from 2019 is Jojo's loving, eccentric mother.
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HONOURABLE MENTIONS
The Best Animation of the Year
22. Toy Story 4
80 Points | 17 Votes | 0 No. 1 Votes
The Best Documentary of the Year
30. Apollo 11
45 Points | 11 Votes | 0 No. 1 Votes
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I want to thank everyone once again for taking the time to participate this year and to remind you I'll announce in the next few days in this thread the winner of the Parasite Blu-Ray (again the winner will decide if they prefer the soon to be released 4k Blu-Ray or wait a bit more for the announced Criterion release).
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Voting Thread
MOTY 2017 | 2018
Happy viewing to all those who haven't seen the films!
