This has been a downright splendid year for movies. So much so, in fact, that a midyear top 10 just wasn’t going to cut it.
We’ve rounded up and ranked the 15 best films released in the first six months of 2019. Of note on this list: several illuminating documentaries, a mega-hit horror movie for the ages, a few musicals, and a game-changing teen comedy.
In ascending order, here is our ranking of the best movies of 2019, so far. We’ve even included some honorable mentions.
15. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
The relentlessly paced third entry in the saga of a deadly hitman with a soft spot for dogs cements Keanu Reeves as one of the greatest action stars in history. Parabellum starts too feel a little too slight on narrative–even for a shoot ’em up– in its third act, but if the narrative can be freshened up enough to keep up with the envelope-pushing, often awe-inspiring combat set pieces, this series could run for another 10 years.
Related: Here’s Why We Think Marvel Should Cast Keanu Reeves As Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four
14. Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Similar to the Eugene O’Neill play in name only, 30-year-old Chinese director Bi Gan‘s second feature is a neo-noir about regret, romance, and the passing of time. Around the halfway mark, it switches from 2D to 3D–one extended 59-minute 3D unbroken take. Technically, this has a wow factor that you could even compare to Roma‘s, though it never feels self-conscious the way Roma sometimes did. A massive success in China–even with young audiences–this is a rush of pure cinema, an intoxicating fever dream.
13. The Mustang
A master of understatement with incredible presence, Matthias Schoenaerts has always stood out. His raw, tender performance as a violent convict in The Mustang is worthy of awards recognition. This powerful, gritty and authentic drama co-stars Connie Britton and Bruce Dern. Executive-produced by Robert Redford, it’s inspired by the real-life Wild Horse Inmate Program.
12. Gloria Bell
Julianne Moore captivates and enthralls as an independent-minded divorcée looking for love in Sebastián Lelio‘s remake of his own acclaimed Spanish-language drama film. This film largely rests on Moore’s shoulders, but it’s important to note Lelio’s remarkable track record. He’s seamlessly made the jump to American cinema; his Oscar-winning A Fantastic Woman stands out as his very best work to date.
Related: Parade’s Review of Disobedience
11. Toy Story 4
It doesn’t match the scorching, bruising emotions of Toy Story 3, and it’s not as LOL-funny throughout as part two, but this is still another win for Pixar. As always, this series asks deeper questions about abandonment, selflessness and the need to be loved than most Oscar-bait prestige dramas could in their wildest dreams.
Related: Tim Allen Talks Toy Story 4, Tom Hanks, Comedy and Celebrating 21 Years of Sobriety
10. Shazam!
There are so many superhero movies out there right now. So what makes Shazam! head-and-shoulders above most of them? For one, it’s the enormous heart it wears on its sleeve. David F. Sandberg‘s critically acclaimed addition to the DCEU is all about the importance of family, even the family you make.
And then there’s the relentlessly irreverent humor. It’s like fourteen-year-old boys actually wrote the script, in the best possible way. There’s exciting action and even some red-blooded horror here, too. Shazam! is a winning delight.
Related: 5 Reasons Audiences and Critics Love Shazam!
9. Apollo 11
Especially when seen on an IMAX screen, this documentary is more stunning and immersive than special effects-heavy spectacles like First Man and Gravity. It’s a glorious, rip-roaring way to celebrate the anniversary of mankind’s giant leap, and would make for a practical summer viewing assignment for moon-landing conspiracy theorists.
Related: It’s the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing! Celebrating Mankind’s Giant Leap
8. The Souvenir
Joanna Hogg‘s exquisitely realized, semi-autobiographical drama is all about the lasting effects, good and bad, of an unhealthy romance. Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke and Tilda Swinton star in this American-British production that received universal critical acclaim. A sequel, The Souvenir Part II, has been announced.
7. Us
With the staggering financial and critical success of Us, Oscar-winning Get Out helmer Jordan Peele is officially a multiplex auteur whose name can open a movie, comparably to Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg. The twisty, gory, profoundly American and surprisingly frightening thriller is more than a worthy sophomore outing, and it gets better with repeat viewings. Lupita Nyong’o deserves consideration come Oscar season.
6. Avengers: Endgame
Following the relative meh of Captain Marvel, the final installment of Marvel’s “Infinity Saga,” Endgame is so good, so complete and satisfying, it makes Infinity War retroactively even better. Combined, they’re a landmark moment for not just the superhero genre, but popcorn entertainment at large.
It’s not a spoiler to say that the final shot of Endgame was a big creative risk. It paid off, big time. Who knew a movie this huge could feel quite so intimate?
Related: 5 Reasons Avengers: Endgame Could Become the Biggest Movie of All Time
5. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Sad, sometimes deeply funny, always impeccably composed, director Joe Talbot‘s debut feature, about gentrification in the City by the Bay, is uniquely, wondrously gorgeous to behold. We can’t say enough nice things about the music and cinematography, both among the year’s best. Few movies you’ll see in 2019 possess the power to haunt quite like this.
4. Rocketman
Bohemian Rhapsody was overcommitted to recreating some things on a technical level. Rocketman really, truly feels the music. Dexter Fletcher‘s Elton John biopic is a splashy old-fashioned musical, a juicy showbiz melodrama, and one of the most affecting movies about sobering up in recent memory. It all wouldn’t work without Taron Egerton, who is now one of the most versatile and well-liked young actors working in popular films.
Rocketman can’t get bogged down by the clichés that commonly burden biopics, because–to be perfectly accurate here– it dances all over them. What a triumph this is.
Related: Taron Egerton Reveals How Elton John Helped Him Prepare for Rocketman, What He Found Reading His Diaries and More
3. Wild Rose
A star is born feels like a sheepish understatement when the topic at hand is Jessie Buckley, whose turn as Glasgow girl with her heart in country music is one of the year’s best performances by any measurement. Wild Rose will make you laugh, and it will move you to tears. It will lift you up, and it will give you an even deeper appreciation for one of the great American art forms.
Related: Jesse Buckley Talks Country Music and Why There’s No Place Like Nashville
2. Amazing Grace
Documentaries have been great this year. As we’ve said, we were over-the-moon for Apollo 11. We were inspired by The Biggest Little Farm. Netflix’s Knock Down the House was a knockout. Martin Scorsese‘s Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story has been widely praised. But who could possibly top The Queen of Soul?
Pure and simple, Amazing Grace is as much a spiritual experience as it is a movie. An electrifying account of Aretha Franklin‘s famed 1972 concert with the Southern California Community Choir, Sydney Pollack‘s decades-delayed doc proves all you need is a few cameras and one of the greatest voices in history to make essential viewing. Unforgettable.
1. Booksmart
Even in a golden age of coming-of-age pictures (see: Love, Simon, Eighth Grade, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) Olivia Wilde‘s magnificent, howlingly funny directorial debut stands out. You’ll never see a film that more perfectly captures intelligent contemporary high school students: how they talk, what their rooms look like, their embarrassing parents, things like that. With no shortage of heart to match the humor, this can comfortably be called one of the best teen movies ever made.
Twitter lost its mind–justifiably–last week, when Booksmart got a social-media wink from none other than Malala Yousafzai. Everything in and surrounding this movie is pure joy and hope.
So my favourite thing about @Booksmart is… pic.twitter.com/iUJvWaeLiC
— adnanmalik (@adnanmalik) June 26, 2019
Related: 5 Reasons Booksmart is One of the Best Teen Movies Ever
Honorable mentions: Fighting With My Family (featuring a sensational turn by the ever-magnetic Florence Pugh), Little Woods, Blowin’ Up, Transit, Diane and High Life.
What’s the best movie you’ve seen in 2019? Think we missed one here? Let us know in the comments!
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