2019 was a big year for SiftPop! Last year saw the start of our contributors coming together to make a weekly BEC article and written movie reviews. I’ve loved getting to know all of our writers and making this awesome weekly content with them. This crew puts in a lot of work(as much as we can call watching and gushing on movies work). The entire team came together for each of our top five movies of the year. Here is the top twenty made by us adding up everyone’s top five.
How often do you sit to watch a film that feels like a raw force of human emotion for two plus hours? Not very often but that sure as hell is the way I felt leaving Waves. Trey Edward Shults follows up from his paranoia driven It Comes At Night with Waves, a film centered around two young relationships. One is tragic and spiraling as it leads up to one of the most devastating cinematic moments of 2019 and one is a budding relationship involving a young woman trying to pick up the emotional pieces of his fracturing family. The performances are incredible as the emotions are truly delivered by Taylor Russell, Kelvin Harrison Jr, and Sterling K Brown. (Shane Conto)
I am NOT a Christmas person. I wear a Grinch suit to “celebrate” the season and have a grinch mug. Thus, I expected very little from Klaus. Boy was I surprised. Christmas movies struggle to do something that hasn’t already been done but Klaus flies right over that hurdle like a frozen tree in the woods. The characters are fun and relatable and the humor actually elicits laughter. I don’t know if this will hit “must watch every Christmas level” but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to that outcome. (Blake Hodges)
Brotherhood. Friendship. Found family. These are the themes of the feel good film of the year, Peanut Butter Falcon. When I walked into this film I didn’t have the slightest clue what it was about; I hadn’t seen the trailer, and didn’t know anyone in the cast (minus Shia LaBeouf) or anything about the plot. All I knew is that all my film friends were raving about it. When I left the theater, I couldn’t help but feel as if I were walking on a cloud full of hope. Peanut Butter Falcon riveted me with its heart, its sweetness, and above all else its delightfulness. This film is anchored by terrific performances, the best of which is by the aforementioned Shia LaBeouf—who completely owns the role as this guy who has a tough exterior, but on the inside is a very caring, yet, troubled young man who’s just trying to find his way in the world. The biggest star of the film is Zack Gottsagen. What a delight it is to see representation on screen of someone with down syndrome. Not only is he the anchor of Peanut Butter Falcon, he’s the heart and soul of this feature. I can’t wait to see him in more stuff down the road. Peanut Butter Falcon is sweet, tender, and the perfect movie for today. (Ben Davis)
Do you paint houses? Or do you give Martin Scorsese a huge budget to create a three and a half gangster movie epic that is in reality a deconstruction of the genre that Scorsese helped create? Apparently, Netflix thought the latter. The Irishman is one of the riskiest films of the year as Scorsese has waited years to create this film with a group of the greatest actors of their time while utilizing new technology to have them play the same characters across decades. The dialogue is sharp, the message is powerful, the suspense is poignant, and the acting will blow you away. That runtime flew by in the theater as I sat there wishing more people saw it on the big screen. Who do you sell such a risky project? DeNiro, Pacino, Pesci and Scorsese. Done. (Shane Conto)
Robert Eggers follow-up to the dread filled The Witch provides a unique experience that will stick with you long after leaving the Cinema. Eggers vision is clear and he understands how to elicit feelings in the viewer that most seasoned directors are incapable of. As the film progresses you too will feel like you are slowly slipping into madness. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe provide excellent performances in this insanity inducing film. With having such a limited cast of characters, this film manages to keep you locked in and entranced by it’s performances and visuals. Mixing Lovecraft, Greek Mythology and old methods of filmmaking truly takes it to a whole new level. Due to being filmed in black and white there is a texture to this piece of work and wouldn’t provide the same experience if it was filmed using modern techniques. The Lighthouse is a film that isn’t merely viewed, but experienced. (Joseph Vargas)
When someone asks you what the most beautiful films of 2019 is, what would you say? If given the chance of seeing it on the big screen, The Last Black Man in San Francisco might just take that honor. A film centered around two young black men dealing with their lot in life as they live in their beloved San Francisco, this one is engrossing in every sense of the word. Do you feel the love for their city and others as they navigate life? Check. Is the production design so detailed and poignant that you feel like you are walking down the same streets? Check number two. Does the camera show the audience this city in unique and magnetic ways? Check again. The city is just as much of a character as our leads, which are portrayed with heart to spare by Jimmie Fails and Jonathan Majors, as the audience must discover what is the reality and what is the sheen of rose-colored glasses. This is one is an emotive and moving experience worth every second of your time. (Shane Conto)
Simply put: 1917 is absolutely breathtaking and is a staggering achievement in film. From the opening shot of the film to the closing moments my jaw was on the floor and my nerves were shot. What Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins are able to do here is flat out terrific. 1917 is one continuous shot of what it must’ve been like to fight in the trenches during World War I and it leaves you feeling shaken, rattled, and like your heart is pounding out of your chest. The best parts for me, though, are the quieter moments in the film. Not much is said within those moments, but it’s within those moments that you find the true humanity and character of the heroes we’re following on this journey. 1917 is about the courage of the human spirit in the face of certain death and I was moved to tears. See 1917 on the big screen when you get the chance. (Ben Davis)
It has almost become cliche to say “Sequels aren’t as great as the original.” or “Movie Franchises can never sustain quality.” The John Wick franchise has burst onto the scene with the sole mission of bringing incredible action sequences and putting a bullet in this cliche. Every movie sustains the quality of the previous one and dives deeper and deeper into the universe. Honestly, this franchise is the pinnacle of action franchises for me without question. I’ll watch as many of these as they make and I hope to have one of them on my top ten list throughout these roaring 20’s. If we get John Wick 17 in 2033 where it is him with a walker, I’d watch that with just as much enthusiasm. (Blake Hodges)
This is Pixar’s fourth entry into The Toy Story franchise, and somehow they’re still able to surprise us with a great sequel all these years later. I think Toy Story has always been good on giving us a new story every time, but this one is able to stand out on a technical level. The animation here is just beautiful, and the way color jumps off the screen is just so pleasing on the eyes. Almost all of our favorite characters return for a story that if it was done by another studio could come across as a cash grab, but makes sure to express an amazing message about being able to try to understand what we all feel is our purpose in this world. A message that you’d normally accosiate with more adult themed movies, but is able to feel right at home in what feels like excellent addition to the Pixar catalog. (Alex Henderson)
Was I shocked coming out of this movie? Yes. Yes I was. I honestly did not think that a racing movie about two automotive giants would be that fascinating, given that not only is this an area of sport I have very little interest in, but that I’ve never been that into sports at all! However, this film definitely proved me wrong in my initial judgment. Following Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles, as they work to create a car for Ford that will surpass Ferrari’s at the historic 24 hours at Le Mans race, it’s a story of humanity, triumph and ultimately dignity. In tune with this, the main theme illustrates that one should never let any one compromise on who they are, no matter what the world may be telling them. It’s interesting, entertaining and intensely riveting. Honestly, I could barely hold on to my seat due to the palpable onscreen tension. Director, James Mangold, put the audience in the passenger seat with the driver, where you’re able to feel every roar of the engine, every push of the accelerator and every gearshift that occurs. It’s a spectacle in the format of a racecar movie, and it’s definitely one to watch in the upcoming Oscar race! (Alice-Ginevra Micheli)
Who would have ever thought that one half of Key & Peele would be taking the film world by storm with his horror/thrillers that feel like feature length, new age Twilight Zone episodes? Jordan Peele is at it again with Us, a film that mixes dark humor, class commentary, and a twisting turning thrill ride that is oh so satisfying. Lupita Nyong’o gives an awards worthy performance that is raw, intense, and animalistic. An early release date might hurt this one for awards season but I still think about it all these months later. (Shane Conto)
Booksmart is my favorite movie of the year! Much like Good Boys, this trailer looked like this could be just another typical comedy. When I got a screener invite for it to go three weeks early, I almost didn’t go. Go watch a movie in non-recliner chairs that might be bad? No thanks. However, my wife was wanting to go so we took a chance on it. I’m so glad we did. 2019 is the first year I started giving movies a letter grade and percentage. This is the only movie in 2019 to get an A+. You fall in love with the characters as well as their friendship immediately. The comedy is the highest of the year. The emotional beats are earned, feel real and hit you right in the feels. The soundtrack is excellent, much of my most played songs of the year from the list Spotify sent me are from this. Booksmart is going to slide right next to sacred ground for me on the shelf next to “The Intern” because this is a movie I’ll enjoy watching time after time after time. If you have a Hulu subscription, it is available there for free now! (Blake Hodges)
People scoffed. DC films had stumbled post Nolan and no stumble had been greater than Jared Leto’s portrayal as the clown prince of crime in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Now the guy who made the Hangover movies was going to make an R-rated Joker movie set in a separate continuity. I’ll say flatly: to me, there was no greater performance in 2019 than Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal as a man whose sanity took a little push. Joker has been criticized for being to derivative of other movies, namely Taxi Driver, but I think it balances homage while doing something new quite well. This movie moves the needle for Comic Book movies. This is the perfect Rorschach test movie and your opinion of it depends largely on the worldview that you bring to the table. This isn’t a movie that makes much of a definitive statement about anything, but it does hold up a societal mirror and lets the audience grapple with what we see. Fair warning, it might not be a pleasant picture, but I’ll be darned if it wasn’t one of the best of the year. (Isaac Horvat)
Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you could have just one person empathize with you? You just want one person to take the time to try to understand what you’re going through. Well, that is the exact situation Dani (played by the tremendous Florence Pugh) finds herself in in Midsommar. On its surface, this movie isn’t much more than a disturbing gore fest. But on a closer look, it is so much more than that. It’s a beautiful movie about coming to terms with the problems in your life and moving past them to become the best version of yourself that you can be. This is an idyllic, uplifting Instagram post masquerading as something much darker. But at the end of the day, its core message is about finding the light at the end of a dark, dark tunnel. (Robert Bouffard)
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood has been described as director Quentin Tarantino’s magnum opus; the grand culmination of his near three-decade career of blood-soaked fast-talking movie-reference-laden mayhem. In many ways, it is just that, a self-indulgent odyssey of Tarantino playing the hits and reaching new heights in his signature idiosyncratic style. In other ways, he decides to step back and look at both his career and the movie industry as a whole in a far more sobering light. Not only does he challenge our assumptions as to what a Quentin Tarantino movie should be, but questions our views on fame, legend, stardom, good and evil, and Hollywood itself. The three protagonists are conceived very much as foils of each other, and deconstructions of archetypes and ideals of the era. When he alters history, Tarantino is not presenting us with an adrenaline-pumping, patriotic, explosive exploitation-style finale akin to his Inglorious Bastards ending. Instead what we are given is at times harrowing, funny, sad, and overall, bittersweet—it’s an ending that everyone wishes were reality, and in the mind of Tarantino, perhaps if things had gone a different way, it could have been. Perhaps the message of his film is summed up by his final shot—the camera looming high over Cielo Drive, as a disoriented Rick Dalton, a man past his prime, befriends the young, luminous, up-and-coming Sharon Tate, having evaded the Manson family, free to live on as the shining star of her generation she was always meant to be. All seems to have ended too well. Then the titular fairytale words flash up on the screen: Once Upon A Time.(Devan Meyer)
Let’s get this out of the way. This is not a movie about a happy marriage. This is a movie about a failed marriage that only gets worse once the movie begins. You so badly want to root for this couple to figure it out, but it slowly progresses to this incredible scene where you finally see that all hope is lost for these two broken people who have, because of the divorce system, driven each other to the absolute end of their livelihood. But just because this movie is not happy does not mean that it isn’t brilliant, emotional, joyous at times, and spectacular. This is undoubtedly in my mind the most brilliantly acted move of the year and while I may not find myself watching this one often, I definitely think I will still be fascinated by these two characters and actors each time I do. (Aaron Schweitzer)
Taika Waititi takes a huge chance with his cyterical take on The Holocaust and Nazi Germany and he knocks it out of the park. He is the king of balancing tone in this film with hilarity one moment, then proceeds to break your heart in a million pieces the next, to putting you all back together somehow with something hopeful. The cast compiled is fantastic with newcomers like Roman Griffin Davis to well established actors of the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell. All lending their talents to create a delicious stew of a film. With this entry among his other film efforts, Waititi is one of my favorite directors working today. I can’t wait to own this film and watch it until my heart’s content. (Joseph Vargas)
The end finally came for the ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.’ What started it all in 2008, with Iron Man and concluded with the 22nd film Avengers: Endgame and what an ending did we get. I never knew what to expect because we got the scares of our lives when our heroes didn’t win in 2018’s Infinity War. I was excited to see the film had the running time shy of three hours. A girl couldn’t complain. I didn’t move once. I got my full circle… Sort of. I got Fat Thor, nostalgia, the real hero, Scott Lang (by luck!), AVENGERS ASSEMBLE and saying goodbye one last time to my favorite genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. It was a hard pill to swallow, but I finally got over it (not really). I still cry, okay. This is one of those films where I believe it will go down as legendary. I’m not surprised that it is the biggest film of all time after making over TWO BILLION DOLLARS at the box office. I’m just praying to the Hollywood Gods: don’t touch this! It’s perfect! Thank you Marvel, Russo brothers and Tony Stark. I love you 3000. (Chantal Ashford)
Rian Johnson has always been a bit of a tricky subject for me. I haven’t ever been fond of his movies. And after what he did to my favorite Jedi, I was trepidatious going into Knives Out. But after leaving, I cannot implore you enough—go see this movie. The story bobs and weaves between characters’ subject flashbacks and the objective truth. It’s a fantastic tale that I was thrilled to sit through. The all star cast is headed by a spectacular performance by Daniel Craig. Watching Craig’s Benoit Blanc is an absolute treat as he figures out what actually happened. This isn’t to say there are weak links in the cast holding the movies back. In the contrary. Every cast member lives and breathes their character. Most notable is Chris Evans, having previously stepped out of his Captain America role in films such as Gifted. Evans is subtly smarmy and sleazy, but his natural charisma makes you so eager for him to return to the screen again. This film does not shy away from the familiar arguments we get into—politics. We see this leveled at the expense of our main protagonist, Marta Cabrera, played by Ana de Armas. Armas has the unfortunate task of playing a good person amongst a group of deplorables and not coming off as holier than thou. She is berated and belittled by those who claim to care for her; but Armas genuinely appears to care for everyone around her. Every line uttered, every frame shot means something. This is so important for a murder mystery. Johnson doesn’t spoon feed us the information over and over agin. He expects us to pay attention to what’s been said, to what’s been shown. This movie is a must see. (Dexer Hansen)
Parasite is a perfect movie. From masterful direction, to excellent acting, to a perfect musical score, and a story that works both metaphorically and literally, this is a must-see film. Bong Joon-Ho somehow keeps proving that he is one of the best filmmakers in the world right now. With Parasite, he had me invested and on the edge of my seat for over two hours as the twists, turns, and developments kept coming at me from every direction. All the while, he hammers home his pessimistic view about human nature and the struggle between classes. There is nothing about this movie that is poorly done. It is a masterclass in every sense of the word. (Robert Bouffard)