{"source_url": "http://seattlemedium.com", "url": "http://seattlemedium.com/best-films-2019/", "title": "Best Films Of 2019", "top_image": "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cynthia-Erivo-stars-in-Harriet-150x150.jpg", "meta_img": "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cynthia-Erivo-stars-in-Harriet-150x150.jpg", "images": ["http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Rainier-scholars.jpg", "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/medium-website-logo31.jpg", "http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/8aebbf3083fd3cd65d655669b535dd91?s=60&d=mm&r=g", "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Andrea-Chatard-Web-Ad-final-cb.jpg", "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-NW-School.gif", "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cynthia-Erivo-stars-in-Harriet-300x169.jpg", "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cynthia-Erivo-stars-in-Harriet-150x150.jpg", "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/seattle_medium_bts_bannerV2.jpg"], "movies": [], "text": "By Dwight Brown\n\nNNPA Film Critic\n\nLook back on the most noteworthy films of 2019 and they all display a diverse array of superb talent\u2014in front of and behind the camera.\n\nThese movies entertained, educated and often inspired us. They challenged our opinions. They made us contemplate our fate and become more aware of the world around us.\n\nEnjoy.\n\nBest Films\n\nBooksmart(***1/2) \u2013 Two coeds (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever), high-school outcasts, find refuge in their close friendship. Animated performances. Funny and thoughtful dialogue. Astute comic direction by first-time filmmaker and noted actress Olivia Wilde. Who knew nerdy teen angst could be hilarious?\n\nDolemite Is My Name(****) \u2013 King of comedy Eddie Murphy rises like a phoenix in this oh-so-hysterical ode to comedian and pioneering indie filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore. Dream team cast includes: Keegan-Michael Key, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Wesley Snipes, Mike Epps and scene stealer Da\u2019Vine Joy Randolph.\n\nThe Farewell(***1/2) \u2013An Asian family handles the last-chapter of life process with charm to spare. Writer/director Lulu Wang digs into her own experiences in a premise and script filled with colorful kin folk. Star turns by Awkwafina, Shuzhen Zhao and Tzi Ma make the characters lifelike.\n\nHarriet(***) \u2013 Depicting the legendary life of the courageous abolitionist Harriet Tubman is a task few are worthy of. DirectorKasi Lemmons (Eve\u2019s Bayou) is the chosen one. Her epic bio tale catalogs the inhumanity and humanity of the 1800s.Cynthia Erivo(Widows) infuses Tubman\u2019s spirit in every frame. Terence Blanchard\u2019s emotionally charged musical score is haunting.\n\nThe Irishman(****) \u2014 Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino team up for an impressive crime/drama/thriller about a man who purportedly murdered Jimmy Hoffa. Brilliant performances. Strong direction, writing and editing. Ingenious use of CGI. The crowning achievement of Scorsese\u2019s career.\n\nThe Lighthouse(****) \u2013 Two workers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) and a bunch of seagulls are engaged in a melodramatic relationship at a desolate New England lighthouse, circa 1890s. Brutal allegory. Totally engaging. Director/writer Robert Eggers and co-writer Max Eggers make riveting cinema on a black and white canvas (cinematographer Jarin Blaschke).\n\nLittle Women(****) \u2014 Actress turned director Greta Gerwig gives the classic Louisa May Alcott Civil War novel her own feminist spin with relatable three-dimensional characters. Fiery relationships among sisters, parents and friends. Feels like you\u2019re on a long buggy ride with lots of bumps in the road. Superb performances by Saoirse Ronan, Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Laura Dern.\n\nMarriage Story(****) \u2014 Writer/director Noah Baumbach captures the angst of thirtysomethings (Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson) going through what should have been a friendly D-I-V-O-R-C-E that turns into a war of threats, betrayals and raw emotions. As primal in ways as Who\u2019s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Full of life at its worst and people struggling to take their next steps.\n\nQueen & Slim(****) \u2013 Easily the most talked about black movie of the year. Director Melina Matsoukas (HBO\u2019sInsecure) and screenwriter Lena Waithe (TV\u2019s Master of None) weave a very modern crime tale and a poignant love story together. Hints of social relevance are threaded in. Lovers on the run are played by Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. So thoughtful. So cool. So romantic.\n\nUncut Gems(****) \u2014 A gregarious, Jewish NYC jeweler (Adam Sandler) is deep in debt to thugs. His schemes dig him into a deeper hole. Gritty, sewer-level urban drama written and directed by the very talented brothers Benny and Josh Safdie. Sandler deserves an Oscar nom. Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, Julia Fox and LaKeith Stanfield round out a powerhouse cast.\n\nBest Directors\n\nNoah Baumbach = Marriage Story\n\nRobert Eggers =The Lighthouse\n\nGreta Gerwig = Little Women\n\nMelina Matsoukas = Queen & Slim\n\nMartin Scorsese = The Irishman\n\nBest First Films\n\nLaure de Clermont-Tonnerre = The Mustang\n\nMati Diop = Atlantics\n\nMelina Matsoukas = Queen & Slim\n\nOlivia Wilde = Booksmart\n\nPhillip Youmans = Burning Cane\n\nBest Foreign Language Films\n\nAsh Is Purest White\n\nAtlantics\n\nCorpus Christi\n\nLes Mis\u00e9rables\n\nTransit\n\nBest Documentaries\n\nAfter Parkland\n\nMiles Davis: The Birth of the Cool\n\nDavid Crosby: Remember My Name\n\nPavarotti\n\nTony Morrison: The Pieces I Am\n\nBest Actors\n\nRobert DeNiro =The Irishman\n\nDaniel Kaluuya = Queen & Slim\n\nEddie Murphy = Dolemite Is My Name\n\nRobert Pattinson = The Lighthouse\n\nAdam Sandler = Uncut Gems\n\nBest Actresses\n\nAwkwafina = The Farewell\n\nCynthia Erivo = Harriet\n\nLupita Nyong\u2019o = Us\n\nAlfre Woodard =Clemency\n\nRenee Zellweger = Judy\n\nBest Supporting Actors\n\nJamie Foxx = Just Mercy\n\nAldis Hodge = Clemency\n\nJoe Pesci = The Irishman\n\nBrad Pitt = Once Upon a Time in Hollywood\n\nBokeem Woodbine = Queen & Slim\n\nBest Supporting Actresses\n\nIndya Moore = Queen & Slim\n\nFlorence Pugh = Little Women\n\nDa\u2019Vine Joy Randolph = Dolemite Is My Name\n\nJennifer Lopez = Hustlers\n\nShuzhen Zhao = TheFarewell\n\nBest Screenplays\n\nAd Astra= James Gray, Ethan Gross\n\nThe Farewell= Lulu Wang\n\nThe Lighthouse= Max Eggers, Robert Eggers\n\nLittle Women= Greta Gerwig\n\nQueen & Slim= Lena Waithe\n\nBest Cinematography\n\n1917= Roger Deakins\n\nAtlantics = Claire Mathon\n\nThe Irishman= Rodrigo Prieto\n\nThe Lighthouse= Jarin Blaschke\n\nQueen + Slim= Pete Beaudreau\n\nBest Animation/CGI\n\nFrozen II\n\nHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World\n\nI Lost My Body\n\nToy Story 4\n\nOther Great Films\n\n1917, Ad Astra, Avengers: Endgame, The Beach Bum, Giant Little Ones, Good Boys, A Hidden Life, Hotel Mumbai, Hustlers, The Mustang, Never Grow Old, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Report, Rocketman, Sauvage, Skin, Us, The Two Popes, Woman at War.", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": [], "authors": ["Seattle Medium", "About The Author"], "publish_date": "Wed Jan  1 08:59:24 2020", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "Look back on the most noteworthy films of 2019 and they all display a diverse array of superb talent\u2014in front of and behind the camera. These movies entertained, educated and often inspired us. They challenged our opinions. They made us contemplate our fate and become more aware of the world around us.", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/SeattleMediumFavicon.jpg", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;", "generator": "WordPress 5.1.4", "og": {"title": "Best Films Of 2019 - The Seattle Medium", "description": "Look back on the most noteworthy films of 2019 and they all display a diverse array of superb talent\u2014in front of and behind the camera. These movies entertained, educated and often inspired us. They challenged our opinions. They made us contemplate our fate and become more aware of the world around us.", "image": {"identifier": "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cynthia-Erivo-stars-in-Harriet.jpg", "width": 710, "height": 401}, "locale": "en_US", "type": "article", "url": "http://seattlemedium.com/best-films-2019/", "site_name": "The Seattle Medium", "updated_time": "2020-01-01T09:02:35-08:00"}, "description": "Look back on the most noteworthy films of 2019 and they all display a diverse array of superb talent\u2014in front of and behind the camera. These movies entertained, educated and often inspired us. They challenged our opinions. They made us contemplate our fate and become more aware of the world around us.", "article": {"tag": "Willem Dafoe", "section": "Entertainment", "published_time": "2020-01-01T08:59:24-08:00", "modified_time": "2020-01-01T09:02:35-08:00"}, "twitter": {"card": "summary", "description": "Look back on the most noteworthy films of 2019 and they all display a diverse array of superb talent\u2014in front of and behind the camera. These movies entertained, educated and often inspired us. They challenged our opinions. They made us contemplate our fate and become more aware of the world around us.", "title": "Best Films Of 2019 - The Seattle Medium", "image": "http://seattlemedium.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Cynthia-Erivo-stars-in-Harriet.jpg"}}, "canonical_link": "http://seattlemedium.com/best-films-2019/"}