In keeping with my end of the year traditions, this morning I highlighted a few notable games that people won’t find in my “Best of” lists because I didn’t get around to them for one reason or another. Since I’m tackling movies in a similar fashion, here’s a look at ten 2019 films that I missed.
1917
I’ll start off with one film on this list I’m actually really clamoring to see. When I first saw trailers for 1917, I wasn’t overly intrigued; it just looked like another World War 1-era film. But when I heard that the film is presented as a single tracking shot, I suddenly became incredibly interested. Birdman and God of War have made me an absolute sucker for that choice. But alas, the film only launched in limited release in 2019 and came out nowhere near me but I eagerly await seeing it when it finally releases here later this week.
Us
I love that Jordan Peele got a ton of acclaim for Get Out and even though the buzz on Us seemed a bit lighter, I’m still glad he’s telling interesting stories with a valuable perspective. I’m just sad I’m too big of a scaredy-cat to watch them myself.
John Wick: Chaper 3 – Parabellum
I have not yet seen any of the John Wick movies so it seemed weird to try and jump in here at number three. Maybe I’ll just hold out until we do some kind of That Franchise Review Show (you can help us reach that milestone on Patreon…)
Dark Phoenix
What a sad ending to the X-Men films that arguably helped pave the way for the current glut of superhero films. I went and saw every other movie in the long history of this franchise but I just couldn’t be bothered to watch the same guy who botched the Dark Phoenix storyline in X-Men: The Last Stand do it all over again here.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
I really enjoyed the 2014 Godzilla movie but a lot of people were mad it didn’t have “enough Godzilla.” So they overcorrected. And I just didn’t really have much interest to see it. And based on the box office numbers, I wasn’t alone. But the studio already gave the greenlight to Godzilla vs. Kong so we’ll see how that pans out, I guess.
Rocketman
I really enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody. I think Taron Egerton is a great performer, even in a crappy by the numbers Robin Hood. But I just don’t really have any strong feelings toward Elton John music. I don’t think it’s bad. But I’m also not dying to listen to it either. So I just wound up skipping this one.
The Irishman
I got about 25 minutes into this movie before realizing I’d just rather start writing up all of my end of the year content instead. “Young,” blue-eyed DeNiro is just a bit weird.
The Lighthouse
I saw so many ads for this movie flicking through Instagram this year but I never actually realized when it released. IMDb says November 1, 2019 but it’s definitely not still playing anywhere around me. Shame because I heard great stuff about Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson.
The Farewell
I went from not knowing who Awkwafina was at all, to enjoying her in Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians, to seeing the trailer for this and thinking “oh dang, she’s doing dramatic stuff too,” to completely forgetting about this movie until I saw her in Jumanji: The Next Level, where I thought “oh wait what happened to that dramatic one?”
Cats
Hahahahaha. No.
