According to my record, I had written 179 movie reviews this year (down from 180 last year). 74 of these are Filipino films, the rest are foreign films.
Oscar-winning films of 2018 which I only saw in 2019 were not included. Potential Oscar-winning films of the year 2019 which will only be shown locally 2020 were also not included here. I was able to watch filmfest screenings of excellent films like "Buoyancy" (from Australia) and "Homeward" (from Ukraine) but I was not able to write reviews them. Following "Roma," more Oscar-worthy films are available on Netflix.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
25. HOTEL MUMBAI by Anthony Maras (My Full Review)
24 BUMBLEBEE by Travis Knight (My Full Review)
23 THE LIGHTHOUSE by Robert Eggers (My Full Review)
22 FROZEN 2 by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck (My Full Review)
21 JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM by Chad Stahelski (My Full Review)
20 GLASS by M. Night Shyamalan (My Full Review)
19 US by Jordan Peele (My Full Review)
18 ALADDIN by Guy Ritchie (My Full Review)
17 ROCKETMAN by Dexter Fletcher (My Full Review)
16 YESTERDAY by Danny Boyle (My Full Review)
15 DOWNTON ABBEY by Michael Engler (My Full Review)
14 MIDSOMMAR by Ari Aster (My Full Review)
13 JOKER by Todd Phillips (My Full Review)
12 WEATHERING WITH YOU by Makoto Shinkai (My Full Review)
11 MARRIAGE STORY by Noah Baumbach (My Full Review)
The Top 10 Best Foreign Films I had seen and written about in 2019 are:
The two veteran actors Jonathan Pryce (as Cardinal Bergoglio) and Anthony Hopkins (as Pope Benedict XVI) truly owned their characters inside and out. They not only approximated how the pontiffs looked and behaved, they also embodied their respective characters and dispositions. Majority of the film was a two-hander with the two characters just talking to each other. Their conversations were part serious (about Church policy, governance and politics), part humorous (about football, the Beatles or pizza), and totally engaging.
This had everything a grand finale was supposed to have -- action, humor, nostalgia and heart. Sacrifices had to be made for the common good. All the good guys had their dignity intact, while the bad guys got their comeuppance. Some may complain that there were too many things going on, but hey, J.J. Abrams had to tie up 40-years worth of loose threads to provide proper closure for all the characters and their loyal fans, and I thought he so did very well.
With obvious reverence to Dame Agatha Christie, writer-director Rian Johnson has crafted a neat little mystery that got more and more complicated along the way. Despite knowing beforehand some inside information that even Detective Blanc did not know yet, the viewer will still keep on guessing whodunit right up to the final revelation of the full solution. While the cast played it up in high camp fashion for entertaining effect, Johnson unraveled his mystery story masterfully, with suspense and logic fully intact.
Tarantino was expounding on how Hollywood was evolving in the 1960s -- the actors and the films. He was taking his sweet time following three separate stories: Dalton and his plummeting career path, Booth crossing paths with the Family, and a third one following Sharon Tate (a luminous Margot Robbie) on a day out to the city to watch her own film "The Wrecking Crew". These three threads only merge together in one extended, super-intense, wildly outrageous sequence of savage events in the last 20 minutes of the film or so.
This film was yet another cinematic work about American gangsters by Martin Scorsese. This opus may be lengthy at 209 minutes (3-1/2 hours) but it was always engrossing and engaging, not boring at all. The episodic treatment of Sheeran's life events made it alright for me to watch it with a few reasonable breaks, and still not lose the compelling power of Scorsese's storytelling. His major casting coup of getting De Niro, Pesci and Pacino to act together in one big movie was worth every dollar and every minute.
There is drama, not only with Billy's search for his mother, as well as the scenes in the Vasquez group home with the other foster kids, a different concept of family. There is comedy, and the good, clean, old-fashioned kind, no dirty jokes or profanity. There is a formidable evil villain, equally matched in powers, along with his coterie of grotesque monsters, resulting in high-flying, lightning-fast CGI action scenes. This film had it all, right down to that delightful, totally surprising cameo at the very end.
I did not know any of the characters nor any of the race results depicted in this sports drama movie. This made the watching these real-life events unfold on the big screen all the more engrossing and thrilling. The cinematography, editing, sound mixing and musical score made the exhilarating race sequences fully-immersive, pulse-racing, breathtaking viewing experiences. That extraordinary finale at LeMans was a nail-biting affair from the initial faulty door to its controversial photo-finish.
"Parasite" juxtaposes the poverty of a family living in a dirty sub-basement in stark contrast with a family living in a posh hilltop mansion. Aside from dark comedy and family drama, this was also a sharp social commentary. This film also touched on several other genres in passing -- from edge-of seat suspense, to violent crime thriller, going even sexy at one point. All in all, this one has something for everyone in one thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking package.
This is yet another tale about our web-slinger as he matured another level in the superhero business. There was never a dull moment throughout, as the focus shifted from breathtaking Elementals action to funny classmates comedy and back, ever so fluidly and entertainingly with scintillating special visual effects. There were several surreal scenes where illusion and reality became indistinguishable from each other for both the characters onscreen and us -- this was top-notch film editing in action.
And my Number 1 foreign movie for 2019 is ...
Following the devastating events of "Avengers: Infinity War," our remaining heroes, along with the rest of the 50% of the world, try to cope with the aftermath of Thanos' fateful finger snap with his infinity stone gauntlet. Some fared better than others. Upon a call though, they banded together with other friends, both old and new, to whip up a grand single-shot plan to get their dusted super-colleagues and the rest of humanity back from limbo.
Not a single minute of its 181 minutes was wasted. It had enormous pressure on coming up with a fitting conclusion to a continuing saga of 21 films, and it delivered way more than expected. A screenplay for this sort of narrative involving time is bound to have some holes, but you won't care to nitpick because of the overall dramatic effect. All the actors poured their hearts and guts out for this. The visual effects as well as the other technical aspects were faultless and spectacular.
*****
My list for 2018 is posted HERE.
My list for 2017 is posted HERE.
My list for 2016 is posted HERE.
My list for 2015 is posted HERE.
My list for 2014 is posted HERE.
My list for 2013 is posted HERE.
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