Thred’s top 10 movies of 2019

2020 is shaping up to be a damn fine year for film fans. Guy Ritchie is bringing his Snatch-esque flavour back for The Gentlemen, we’re getting a surprise sequel to John Krasinski’s critically acclaimed survival horror with A Quiet Place Part II, and the latest project from Guillermo del Toro’s menacing mind machine Antlers looks a real decadent treat.

In the meantime, we’re looking back on 2019 and counting down the very best it had to offer across all genres. Grab your popcorn, here’s our top 10:

10. Ford v Ferrari – Jamie

A niche subject matter is counteracted by a bang-up cast in James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari. Carrying a simimlarly hefty budget to his superhero flicks of the last decade (The Wolverine and Logan), this cynical biopic follows the story of Ken Miles, (Christian Bale) a stubborn Brit with a colossal chip on his shoulder who reluctantly ends up behind the wheel of Ford’s magnum opus, the GT40.

On the surface, Ford v Ferrari appears to be just another high-octane testosto-fest, but under the hood is a story with real complexity and depth. The classic 1960 Le Mans showdown between Ferrari and Ford provides the requisite action and fun we expected going in, but you’ll likely find more value in Caroll Shelby’s (Matt Damon) corporate showdowns with capitalistic bigwigs of the sport.

This film has a little of everything: great action, moving drama, and churlish humour. It’s a unique crowd pleaser with a pessimistic edge. Only negative: I just couldn’t get on board with Jon Bernthal in a suit.

9. Toy Story 4 – Elliot

At first glance Toy Story 4 looks like another money-grab from the sequel, prequel, remake machine that is Disney (developing new characters takes time). The third instalment of the thought-to-be trilogy ended the journey so perfectly, what was left of the story to be told? Turns out, there was more…

Toy Story 4 is Woody’s swansong. The film almost solely focuses on the relationship between our favourite plastic cowboy and the porcelain shepherd Bo-Peep. If this film has one weakness, it would be that Buzz, Jessie and rest of team toy get left by the wayside. The new addition of Forky, the waddling, exponentially worried, googly-eyed spork, added a good dose of humour to the film (though admittedly this may have been because every time he tried to jump into the trash, he reminded me of our music editor Charlie on a night out).

To summarise, I went into Toy Story 4 ready to see my childhood get rinsed, but instead, Pixar proved once again that a film about talking toys can still speak to adults.

8. Avengers: Endgame – Charlie

I’d never properly jumped into the Marvel universe before seeing Avengers: Endgame which, in this day and age, is somewhat of an achievement. My lack of investment in the characters and overall world that was unfolding in front of me helped me to enjoy the film despite its flaws, such as the offhand humour and occasional convoluted plot point.

Avengers: Endgame is a testament to near perfect visual effects and bombastic, ridiculous set pieces, which made it all the more enjoyable for me. The film’s best appreciated if you completely suspend your disbelief and role with the supernatural punches, of which there are many. Rounding off this first leg of a franchise that’s so enriched with characters, separate stories, and multiple movies was a near impossible challenge, but Avengers: Endgame does it in the best way it possible could have.

It’s by no means a cinematic masterpiece, but this film is a fun and explosive few hours of comic book fan service that stood out in 2019.

7. Parasite – Milo

Parasite, written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, is a film that tackles cultural separation, the economic divide, and the importance of family in South Korea in a delicately woven and expertly crafted story about the lengths people will go to just to be happy.

It manages to explore difficult subject matter with a style that’s able to flip back and forth between being comedic and terrifying in the same breath. It had me giggling along with it before abruptly flipping everything on its head, instilling a feeling of primal fear in the pit of my stomach.

I’ve never laughed on the edge of my seat before, but Parasite kept me there from beginning to end.

With some of the smartest character writing and subtly beautiful cinematography of the decade, Parasite is easily my film of the year for 2019. It also picked up a Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Motion Picture.

6. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Jamie

Quentin Tarantino’s star-studded blockbuster was met with a pretty mixed reception last summer, but it remains one of my standout titles of 2019.

The main draw for this film was unquestionably the silver-screen dyad of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, bolstered by the sunny – if a little mute – Margot Robbie. Tarantino’s fantastical riff on 1960s Hollywood just landed him an Academy Award for Best Screenplay too, and looking back at 2019 overall, you’d be a Negative Nelly to begrudge him it.

Blending history with fantasy, the quirky film auteur has crated an original and unpredictable story just about worthy of settling in the top end of his discography, in spite of a little meandering. Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth are both amusing from start to finish, and Tarantino’s unique take on a frankly oversaturated story manages remains interesting and immersive, for the most part.

5. Doctor Sleep – Jamie

The sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s seminal classic The Shining took the little matter of 40 years to hit the multiplexes, but Mike Flanagan’s adaption of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep delivered a befitting end to a generation defining horror.

While The Shining focused primarily on the Outlook Hotel and the evils contained there, Doctor Sleep fleshes out the ‘shine’ ability and the stories of the few who possess it. An irrevocably scarred Danny (Ewan McGregor), now in his middle age, is reluctantly dragged into a crusade to stop a group of shine cannibals known as the True Knot; who feast on fellow shiners in their bid for immortality.

This time around, the psychological elements from The Shining are largely traded in for a more conventional, supernatural horror story, and at times you forget you’re watching a sequel… that is, until the pure nostalgia-fest that is the final 30 mins.

It doesn’t conjure the same impending sense of dread or leave much of a lasting effect like The Shining. However, it’s a pretty good film in its own right and certainly worthy of being in the top five for 2019.