Best Films of 2019

2019 was an interesting year for films. On one hand, the popular vote continued to go to massive superhero films, hailing primarily from Marvel, while on the other, the truly interesting and arresting stories came from either masterful storytellers, or storytellers influenced by masters of the craft. It was a year where I was dazzled and surprised by Olivia Wilde's "Booksmart", and where Tarantino's latest opus, didn't entirely convince me, but was nonetheless an entertaining endeavor. Overall it was a great year for films.

Parasite

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Director: Celine Sciamma

Booksmart

Director: Olivia Wilde

Ad Astra

Director: James Gray

Dolor y Gloria

Director: Pedro Almodovar

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Director: Quentin Tarantino

The Irishman

Director: Martin Scorsese

Marriage Story

Director: Noah Baumbach

The Report

Director: Scott Z. Burns

1917

Director: Sam Mendes

Other films also worth watching and mentioning include Greta Gerwig's "Little Women",  Jay Roach's "Bombshell", Mike Flanagan's "Doctor Sleep", Craig Brewer's "Dolemite is My Name" and Sebastian Lelio's "Gloria Bell".
TV shows worth investigating include Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler's "Russian Doll" and Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman's "Unbelievable".

Films that simply failed on multiple levels include Michael Bay's "6 Underground" (one of the worst features I've seen in years), Todd Strauss-Schulson's "Isn't it Romantic" and Luc Besson's "Anna".