CS's Top Ten Movies of 2019

We're counting 1godzillafan's list and that's full of nonsense.

You misspelled JoJo rabbit.

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1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Toy Story 4
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
5. Parasite
6. Joker
7. Birds of Passage
8. John Wick 3
9. Us
10. Spiderman: Far From Home

Didn't get a chance to see some of the "must sees" from 2019, but these are my top 10 of what I did see.

The list is made, I'll get to the list but first an explanation. I took all the top ten lists and gave points for each movie on each list. Putting a movie at # one on a list gave it ten points, #2 gave it 9 points and so on down to #10 which gives it a mere one. The more points the higher on the big list.

so without further ado here's the list

(all summaries are plagiarized from various people at IMDB.com)

10. Jojo Rabbit (34 Points)

A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.

CS Voice: "Solidifies Taika Waititi as one of today's most interesting filmmakers. This is a movie that, on its surface, shouldn't work but it absolutely excels. It's hilarious, poignant and uplifting all at once and never does its tonal balancing act feel mishandled." - PhantomKnight

9. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (41 Points)

In this third installment of the adrenaline-fueled action franchise, skilled assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin's guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicado, but the world's most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn.

CS Voice: "My thorough and in-depth review: John Wick 4 now, please." - 1godzillafan

8. The Lighthouse (52 Points)

As the wavering cry of the foghorn fills the air, the taciturn former lumberjack, Ephraim Winslow, and the grizzled lighthouse keeper, Thomas Wake, set foot in a secluded and perpetually grey islet off the coast of late-19th-century New England. For the following four weeks of back-breaking work and unfavourable conditions, the tight-lipped men will have no one else for company except for each other, forced to endure irritating idiosyncrasies, bottled-up resentment, and burgeoning hatred.

CS Voice: "This is really something. The Black and White looks beautiful, the acting was great, and Robert Eggers seems to have no desire to follow any typical narrative structure, which is refreshing to say the least." - donny

7. Joker (57 Points)

Joker centers around an origin of the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Todd Phillips' exploration of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a man disregarded by society is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.

CS Voice: "Lots of negativity will surround this movie. Take a deep breath. Don’t let it get to you. It’s just a movie that’s posing a lot of questions and opening up a debate. It’s not a political statement. It’s not a social statement. It’s art." - Neverending

6. Parasite (62 Points)

All unemployed, Ki-taek and his family take peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks, as they ingratiate themselves into their lives and get entangled in an unexpected incident.

CS Voice: "This element of class warfare is embedded in Parasite but does not entirely define it. This is not an “issue” movie, at least not on the surface. In a way it’s trying to do the same thing that Snowpiercer was doing, comment on wealth inequality within the context of an entertaining film, except this one is more entertaining and isn’t making its point through a blunt as hell metaphor." - Dracula

5. The Irishman (68 Points)

Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran is a man with a lot on his mind. The former labor union high official and hitman, learned to kill serving in Italy during the Second World War. He now looks back on his life and the hits that defined his mob career, maintaining connections with the Bufalino crime family. In particular, the part he claims to have played in the disappearance of his life-long friend, Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who mysteriously vanished in late July 1975 at the age of 62.

CS Voice: "The Irishman shook me to my core. An exquisitely crafted film with fantastic performances (shocking I know) which morphs into a profound and mournful exploration of aging. The whole film, the whole genre really, is soaked in death and Scorsese really weighs what life is worth" - PG Cooper

4. Uncut Gems (71 Points)

A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.

CS Voice: "The RT audience score baffles me. Did people go in wanting Jack and Jill? This movie is awesome." - thebtskink

3. Avengers: Endgame (80 Points)

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.

CS Voice: "Really fun, a good curtain call for this franchise and for several of these actors. I frankly don't know why they're even going to bother with Doctor Strange and Black Panther sequels. Well I gue$$ I do but it's hard to imagine myself reinvesting in this universe after we pretty much hit the peak. Where else would we go from here that would be just as engaging?" - Doomsday

2. 1917 (87 Points)

April 6th, 1917. As a regiment assembles to wage war deep in enemy territory, two soldiers are assigned to race against time and deliver a message that will stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap.

CS Voice: "It's never easy for a film to maintain a thrilling, suspenseful tone over its entirety, but 1917 is able to pull it off thanks to the enormous detail that Mendes has covered his sequences with and Deakins' impeccable imagery and dream-like camerawork." - SnoBorderZero

1. Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (98 Points)

A faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.

CS Voices: 
"I still find myself coming back to this movie. There is something about this, that despite it's noticeable flaws, the movie sticks with you. And it did work better the second time around. " - donny

"I think this is going to be looked back at as one of the important keystones of Tarantino’s career and I think his true fans are going to be able to pick up what he’s putting down, and if he does go forward with his plans to retire after his next movie I’ll certainly miss his work but after seeing this I think I finally understand." - Dracula

"The biggest strength of this movie are the two leads... And it benefits the film greatly. Brad Pitt plays to his strengths and provides much of the humour in the film, while DiCaprio gives one hell of a performance as an actor on route to washing up. He's really something here." - IanTheCool

"I'm with Drac and Pbar on this. I'm already itching to see it again." - Nilade

"Visually Tarantino's best film... Maybe not his best... but it's a film that I feel time will be very kind to, of which I may need some more of with the 9th Tarantino Picture. Do not go in with preconceived notions or be swayed by anyone's take on this." - Pbar

"Despite its seemingly casual vibe, the film has proven incredibly thought-provoking... The fact that it's also extremely entertaining, slickly made, well-acted, and hysterically funny too is a pure delight. If this is truly Tarantino's penultimate movie, well, I'm gonna miss him when he's gone." - PG Cooper

"Loved it. I can see why some would have issues with the pacing, but the characters were so engaging and the atmosphere was so infectious, that I didn't care and had a blast the whole way through." - PhantomKnight

"They don't make movies like this anymore (or did they ever?), and maybe that's what Tarantino is trying to bring back." - SnoBorderZero

"Who amongst us hasn't fantasized about killing hippies? In Once, Tarantino gets his chance." - thebtskink

"By next week people will have forgotten this movie exists." - Neverending

Also here is the full point chart:
Total Votes: 18

Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood 98
1917 87
Avengers: Endgame 80
Uncut Gems 71
Irishman, The 68
Parasite 62
Joker 57
Lighthouse, The 52
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum 41
Jojo Rabbit 34
Knives Out 31
Little Women 29
Ad Astra 24
Us 24
Midsommar 20
Farewell, The 19
Apollo 11 15
Toy Story 4 15
Ford V Ferrari 14
Alita: Battle Angel 12
Shazam! 10
Marriage Story 9
Ready or Not 8
Yesterday 8
Arctic 8
Long Day's Journey Into Night 7
Birds of Passage 7
Sky is Pink, The 7
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 7
Rocketman 6
Portrait of a Lady on Fire 5
Lion King Remake 5
Spider-Man: Far From Home 5
Captain Marvel 5
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie 4
Two Popes 4
Zombieland: Double Tap 4
Peanut Butter Falcoln, The 4
Booksmart 4
I Am Mother 3
Terminator: Dark Fate 3
Dolemite Is My Name 3
Brightburn 3
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 3
Souvenier, The 2
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World  1
Ash is Purest White 1
Honey Boy 1

Excellent job yet again Drac. Thanks. The Neverending quote at the end was a brilliant capper.

Sounds good to me, I’m game.

I think my list kicked Little Women out of the top ten. My work is done here.

And here's the 1godzillafan quote for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: "It's fine."

Some Stats:

6 of the 10 movies were BP Oscar nominees this year, which is the first time that has happened since 2013.  It also happened in 2009 and 2010, though those were years when there were ten Oscar nominees instead of nine.  Obviously we couldn't include more than five nominees in the 2004-2008 period of our lists but there were a couple of years in there where we included 4 of the 5 nominees.

As 1godzillafan noted, his ballot knocked Little Women out of the top five and put Jojo Rabbit into the ten slot. Had I counted his original troll ballot The Irishman would have replaced Uncut Gems at number four and Avengers: Endgame would have surpassed 1917 at number two.

This is the third time Quentin Tarantino has topped our list after Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained.  Aside from Death Proof, Tarantino has never failed to make our list when he makes a movie.  Kill Bill Vol. 2 made it to number three and The Hateful Eight made it to number 4.

Scorsese also has a pretty impressive run on our lists having topped our inaugural list with The Aviator, topped it again with his next film The Departed and having only missed with Shutter Island and Silence.  He was ten points shy of the top spot for The Wolf of Wall Street but Hugo only barely got to number ten its year by the skin of its teeth. 

The Avengers franchise is 4 for 4 in making our lists and one MCU movie or another has made it onto our list every year since 2014.  2013, 2012, and 2007 are the only years where no superhero movies whatsoever made our lists. 

I believe this is only the third time a foreign language film has made the list and the first time a film that's not in English or Spanish has made the list.  Roma and Pan's Labyrinth were the previous subtitled films to make it.  One Korean film was a famously (in my mind) a near miss as Oldboy was one vote short of making it in 2005.

I think The Lighthouse is only the second black and white film to make the list after Roma [EDIT: It was the third, I forgot about The Artist], third [fourth] if you want to include Sin City.

Robert Eggers is also now on a very short list of filmmakers who can claim that every feature film they've directed has made it onto one of our lists with the others being Alex Garland, Bradley Cooper, and Bob Peterson (who co-directed Up and has no other feature length directorial credit).  Obviously only people who've begun their careers after 2004 would be eligible for this.  Edgar Wright would have been on the list if Shaun of the Dead had gotten eight more points back in '04.

Good work. Can't help but think this was a down year overall for movies though.