The end of the year is nigh.
The final year of this decade is about to end.
Now they have two new serious Best Picture contenders this fall.
Change is the name of the game as the industry grapples with what is and is not cinema now.
But getting lost in this debate is that cinema itself is strong.
We would even argue its rarely been better this decade than in 2019.
DAVID CROWS TOP 10 LIST
10.
Even then, she still says everything.
Booksmart
Despite her celebrity,Olivia Wildehas always seemed a little underrated as an actor.
That should change now that shes announced herself as a major directorial talent withBooksmart.
The magic of1917is in how that lost world is able to live again with such harrowing vitality.
The Irishman
Yes,The Irishmanis long.
And yes, the de-aging technology is never quite perfect.
This isnt a remake ofGoodfellas; its the death of its iconography and the wiseguys who embodied it.
What often gets lost in the conversation aroundMarriage Storyis how devastatingly funny and sweet-natured it also can be.
For Driver and Johansson though, it is a triumphant peak in their careers.
ForKnives Outis a slyly subversiveallegory about class and privilege in our times.
Technically this is the story about the mysterious murder of a domineering patriarch (a sublime Christopher Plummer).
Its a star-making turn for the former and the most fun the latter has ever had on screen.
But right up until its delicious final shot, everything about this movie is cuttingly fun.
I hope Johnson makes a dozen Benoit Blanc movies.
DiCaprio and Pitt havent had material this good in years.
A seedy crime story that is distinctly New York,Uncut Gemsis a masterclass in tension-building and weaponized dialogue.
Rarely is there so blissful a blend of actor, character, and screenplay.
Together, its a match made in Long Island dive bar heaven.
Yet the story found in the chasm between them is universal.
DON KAYES TOP 10 LIST
10.
Both films left me uneasy and mildly frustrated, but both were also unforgettable.
And the long, unbroken climactic shot is possibly the most stunning of the year.
Even as tastes mature and evolve, that sensation is still a precious and all too fleeting one.
Baumbachs camera watches it all, but this time, you might feel it as well.
NATALIE ZUTTERS TOP 10 LIST
10.
For me it was the former.
These women are out for bloodfailing that, theyll just take your credit limit.
To see it greenlit by Netflix was as thrilling as a movie couples first kiss.
Yet it obviously is.
Its also funny as shit, with more than onedid I just see that?moment.
Honestly, all horror should wed the gruesome with the hilarious this masterfully.
!Laughteruproarious, endless giggle fitsI was ready for.
I love my shamelessly nerdy, courageous daughters.
