Best Movies of 2019
By the time this is published, 2019 will have been over for well over a month. But it's Oscars time so there's one final reason to revisit the past year in movies. Choosing the last 4 of the top 10 was no easy task. There were several other really amazing films that could have been part of this list, but ultimately, at least for now, these are the 10 movies I thought we he best 2019 had to offer. (But check out the honorable mention list for a few more good ones)
Stats: I watched 100 new releases (15 less than 2018). I sat down to watch a movie a total 165 times (38 less than 2018). That’s an average of about 14 movies a month. I went to the theater 54 (20 less than 2018) times, which works out to about 4.5 full days spent in a theater.
1. Parasite
★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10
There is literally so much to say about Parasite. Since I watched the film on it’s debut weekend in the U.S., I don’t think I’ve gone a week without talking about it. And having talked about it so much, I am more and more astounded by the depths Bong Joon-ho went to conceive this film and bring it to life. Around ever corner there’s something else more brilliant to discover. This tale of class struggle is so much more than that. First, it’s an enrapturing comedic thriller as a poor family completely infiltrates a rich one. Then, it becomes a dark thriller, an entire second movie, where shocking secrets are revealed. So just from a straightforward story-telling perspective the film is great, which is how I saw it the first time I watched it (and probably accounts for my too-low grade of 9/10 at the time). But make no mistake this film is perfect. What it explores, how it does this visually, is brilliant — class struggle, how that plays out in our environment, the battle between the poor, the complete disconnect between rich and poor in a capitalist society, the way capitalism turns humans into machines. "Parasite" gives us all of that and without ever preaching. Genius, brilliant — these are the words that must describe this film. It is not hyperbole. Bong has created one of the greatest films I’ve ever seen.
2. Ad Astra
★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10
I would just like to start by saying that I understand this to be a controversial choice. A lot of people either had no particular feelings about this movie, or actively disliked it. But there is a contingent of movie lovers who could see this movie for what it is — a deeply moving exploration, not of space, but of the depths of human feeling. When a movie like this comes around, one that I feel on such a personal level, it’s really hard to explain its achievements. Brad Pitt’s greatest part was not in his Oscar-nominated role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (he is excellent in that), but in this quiet, patient, and introspective look at a man who has learned to cordon off his emotions to the complete detriment of his relationships, opting instead for a steely efficiency that leaves him admired, but not loved. But what he wants so desperately is something more. Pitt conveys this longing without saying much, leaving the metaphor of space travel to do much of the rest. Sure, the film is gorgeous (and according to the Academy, really well sound mixed), but this story goes where no film I’ve seen has ever gone.
3. Avengers: Endgame
★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10
There is something to be said about a film that can satisfy your inner child so completely. Whether it’s “cinema” or not suddenly becomes a droll and vapid conversation because in that moment, when you watch Avengers: Endgame for the first time, everything you could want from a superhero franchise is realized. It’s that type of thing where it’s exactly what you want, and now that you’ve seen it, you can’t imagine it being any other way, yet while watching it it’s completely unpredictable. Big studios (and small ones for that matter) make movies to make money. We all know this to be true. But there’s an idea out there that because of corporate detachment the people making these movies don’t care about the stories they tell. The reality is that the people who make these movies are artists who have a connection to the material, and just like any other film, it’s about their ability to realize their vision well and if their vision is even worth realizing to begin with. Over the last 11 years, the artists working on these Marvel movies, have by-and-large, shown how deeply they care for these characters, these stories, these legacies, and the audience. The Russo Bros. took it across the finish line in spectacular fashion.
4. Marriage Story
★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
Noah Baumbach is one of my favorite filmmakers. He makes movies that uncover life at it’s most complicated, but makes the grand effort to capture the beauty in these moments. Marriage Story, a film about an increasingly bitter divorce, does exactly that, exposing the comedy and awkwardness that happens when a relationship changes. Baumbach’s razor focus on relationships is his strength. He made one of my favorite movies of all time, Frances Ha, which examines an evolving millennial female friendship. And while he’s able to uncover the laughter in these tough moments, he never shies away from exposing us to the pain of these relational transformations. It is not easy or fun for things to change. Baumbach shows us how deeply felt and rooted our relationships are, how gut-wrenching it is when we must move on, but how resilient we can be.
5. Us
★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
There are so many similarities between Us and Parasite. First and foremost, both films work as films. What I mean is that Parasite is, at its simplest, an incredibly well-told story, just like Us is an incredibly visceral and well-executed horror/thriller film. But they also share some themes and motifs, like above and below representing upper and lower class. Us may not be as perfect as Parasite, but what Jordan Peele accomplishes in his second feature is nothing short of remarkable. I left the theater in awe of what I had seen. Such a beautiful and terrifying ballet of ideas that speak of a horror beyond jump scares, uncovering what our capitalist society fears the most — the revolt of the lower classes. It’s unfortunate that the stuffy, old Academy refuses to recognize true horror or even horror-lite, but what’s most unfortunate is the passing over of Lupita N’yongo who, without a doubt, gave one of the year’s most remarkable performances.
6. Queen and Slim
★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
The way Lena Waithe creates new icons in this movie is really quite brilliant and clearly underrated. I don’t know how someone achieves this, but it’s the the thing that makes this movie work. As we follow the journey of Queen and Slim on the run, two seemingly unassuming and normal people transform into stylish symbols for our times. It’s no mistake that one of the characters in the film calls them the black Bonnie and Clyde. What they’re getting at is how the world in the film, and how the audience outside of it, comes to see them as iconic figures. Their visual transformation helps with this, along with Melina Matsoukas’s dreamy direction, but also who they become on the journey, the freedom they experience on the way to possibly losing freedom in every tangible way, aggrandizes them in our eyes. Because we start to see them in this way, our hearts can become so invested in their journey, in their escape, because as they become free in spirit, we long for their physical bodies to experience the same thing. The tension grows and grows and the movie continues on to an ultimate crescendo that solidifies their icon status hopefully in the canon of cinema.
7. Uncut Gems
★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
What’s so incredible about Uncut Gems is its near unrelenting mania. It features a cast of character types that are unknown to most of us — people whose decisions are so unwise and unexplainable that it sets the stage for the anxiety we feel as the audience is invited to peer into this world. Adam Sandler is astoundingly outstanding, commanding our gaze in every scene. And the Safdie Brothers use this film as the next lesson in their ongoing course about never-ending hysteria.
8. The Farewell
★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
Lulu Wang, like Bong Joon-ho and Noah Baumbach, created a movie that can be both serious and funny. But Wang works in the extremes even more than those directors, making The Farewell intensely hilarious and immensely sad. Like many films before it, The Farewell dissects how we grieve and say goodbye, but the circumstances here complicate the process for Western characters and the Western audience. So the question goes from, "how do we say goodbye," to, "how do we say goodbye without letting the person know that we’re saying goodbye and while the person isn't yet gone." When it’s boiled down to that question it’s no wonder the film is a comedy. Yet no matter how funny the movie manages to be, without effectively creating the space for sadness the film would not have worked. But Wang proves that she can do just about anything, and within a very tight hour forty. And we can’t talk about this movie without shouting out Akwafina who gives her best performance to date.
9. Little Women
★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
I went into Little Women completely fresh. Somehow, despite the many, many adaptations, I had not seen one version of the Louisa May Alcott’s book on the screen (nor had I read the book). So I didn’t know what was coming in each new scene. Let's start with the much-discussed timeline. Only after seeing the film did I learn that it was unconventional, but to me it felt completely natural for the story, as if the source material had been written that way. In fact, it wasn’t until after I saw the movie that I began to read all the ways Greta Gerwig’s version of the film took liberties where previous versions had not. Yet not once did any of these choices feel unnatural or wrong as I watched. That goes to show the deep connection Gerwig has, as she even described, with these characters and this story. There’s a clear point of view that guides this film as it unfolds. It’s imbued with an almost rock ‘n’ roll energy only subdued by the period in which the story takes place. Saoirse Ronan makes Jo’s ambition palpable, Florence Pugh so perfectly embodies one character in two timelines. The versions of Amy feel different but are clearly connected. From top to bottom the film is impeccable, and what it results in is a film that is so rewarding to watch.
10. Jojo Rabbit
★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10
What makes Jojo Rabbit such a joy to watch is its undeniable comedy. Okay, maybe it’s a bit deniable because there comes a point when if you are going to allow yourself to stomach the film you have to convince yourself that it’s okay to laugh. What makes Jojo Rabbit more than just a run-of-the-mill movie is the smart way in which is blasts the ideology of the Third Reich. Through a child’s imagination we see just how ridiculous and stupid Nazis are. It’s through the eyes of an impressionable child that we begin to see the Nazi regime for what it is. Jojo’s interpretation of the Führer, even as he admires him, is right on the money, exposing the sheer silliness of it all. It’s a satirical comment on that time, but also ours, one where a demagogue leads the most powerful country in the world. The young cast is spectacular, from Roman Griffin Davis to Thomasin McKenzie. And then there’s the scene-stealing talent of Archie Yates, who is so funny that you can’t help but laugh even in the moments when you’re not sure you should. But good satire is just that — uncomfortable.
Honorable Mention:
Homecoming (So much more than a concert documentary. It's Beyonce's ode to black people.) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Not Quentin Tarantino's best, yet still incredible in that singular Taratino way), Rocketman (So much better than Bohemian Rhapsody it hurts), Honey Boy (Simply told, but so moving. Shia Labeouf really dug deep for this one), Waves (Though it doesn't always work, it's incredibly ambitious. And when it does work, it's spectacular), Hustlers (Keke Palmer is a star and Jennifer Lopez was done dirty by the Academy), Booksmart (A comedy of highest order and a beautiful tribute to friendship), The Two Popes (Quietly profound, elevated by stellar writing and two phenomenal performances), Bombshell (A film for now, well acted and paced.) The Lighthouse (The nutso movie of the year that's impossible to peel your eyes from), Velvet Buzzsaw (If you don't like this movie, you're wrong. It's bold, creepy, and dangerous, just like its predecessor, Nightcrawler), Midsommar (Ari Aster does it again), Amazing Grace (The greatest singer to ever live singing Gospel from the depths of her soul. Can't go wrong), The Irishman (Martin Scorsese in his natural habitat doing what no one can do better than he can), FYRE (The first movie of the year with staying power. This is the Netflix version)
Worst Movies of 2019
2019 saw no shortage of bad movies, and when you watch 100 new releases in a year, you’re bound to see some stinkers, so here’s my list of the 10 worst. As I mentioned last year, there are a host of movies that landed on Netflix (a graveyard for bad movies), but there’s something admirably shrewd about knowing you’ve made a terrible film and sending it to Netflix where it’ll have the best chance of being seen. Those movies aren't on the primary list, but still appear on the dishonorable mention section. But first, here are the 10 worst movies of the year that attempted to play in the same arena as the good ones
10. Little
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10
Sure, it’s admirable that with this film 14-year-old Marsai Martin became the youngest executive producer in Hollywood, but that’s where the achievements end. This film is an obvious inversion of the idea behind 1988’s Big without even an iota of the charm or heart. Instead it relies on poorly written jokes and exhausting visual gags. It’s clear that at a point the script has no idea where to go next and meanders towards an ending, any ending. No amount of talent, not Issa Rae nor Regina Hall, could save this movie.
9. Glass
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10
I already discussed the tragedy of this film in my list of most disappointing movies, but to underscore the point, anything good director M. Night Shyamalan achieved in Unbreakable and especially Split, was destroyed in this overstuffed film.
8. American Son
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10
Film adaptations of plays are nearly always doomed to be average, if not poor, but with American Son it becomes abundantly clear why. The four-person film, led by an incredibly melodramatic Kerry Washington, is set for the entirety of its runtime in the waiting room of an American police station in the wee hours of the morning. Washington plays a mother anxiously awaiting news about her mixed son, who was pulled over by cops while with a group of friends. She's there with a rookie cop, who's low-key racist, and eventually her white husband and a senior office with news of the incident join her. The whole "movie" is an on-the-nose expository conversation about race in America. Perhaps on the stage, where the audience is only so close, this kind of explanation and shouting the point is necessary, but here it resounds like clanging gong. There is no subtlety, and no trace of nuance. In film form, this "story" is a joke.
7. Isn't it Romatic
★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ 4/10
2019 is the year where Rebel Wilson overstayed her welcome. This film’s only saving grace is its brevity. Wilson plays a woman unlucky in love until she finds herself in the world of romantic comedies, where the lighting is always perfect, the people are beautiful, and everything seems to go right. It’s an okay starting premise, but like Little, the movie goes nowhere significant, and that journey to nowhere isn’t even fun.
6. Gemini Man
★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ 4/10
It’s a wonder how movies like this, so expensive yet so doomed, still get financed. How three-time Oscar-winning director Ang Lee led this film is beyond explanation. Perhaps he was lured by the idea of working with “groundbreaking” de-aging technology. Unfortunately no amount of technical advances could save such a droll story. Will Smith’s charisma is practically erased, and the film has no meaning. Oh, and that spectacular technology turning Smith into a younger version of himself? It looked pretty bad.
5. The Hustle
★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ 4/10
The two main problems with The Hustle are: 1) Rebel Wilson and 2) a terrible script. Rebel Wilson never relents when it comes to her unbearably unfunny schtick. By now, we’ve had enough. Second, the script feels as if it were written only after the general premise and shooting schedule had been approved and set, leaving the script to be hobbled together, resulting in a bunch of sheer nonsense.
4. The Kitchen
★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 3/10
The Kitchen is one of the most shockingly terrible films in a long time. That anyone at the studio could have, with a straight face, approved this script and the final cut of the movie, is hard to believe. It’s an exciting premise, three Irish mob wives take over in Hell’s Kitchen after their husbands get busted and locked up. They face challenges on all sides, being that they are women in a man’s world, but end up taking charge. But when I tell you that the script is bonkers, that rarely used word does not do it justice. What started as befuddlement turned into laugh-out-loud laughter at the lines in this movie. Melissa McCarthy really tries to act her way through this tragic film, but its not enough. Director/writer Andrea Berloff sets her and the others up for irredeemable failure.
3. Last Christmas
★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 3/10
It is supremely frustrating to watch film that thinks it’s being clever not be clever at all. It was clear from the trailer that something was off about Henry Golding’s character, and while I didn’t fully guess the twist (although I was more than halfway there) the twist is so clumsy that it has no effect. Even if the twist were cleverly delivered, after an hour and a half of a joyless Christmas movie, which tried and failed spectacularly to comment on the Brexit situation, it was too late. It’s such a shame that the talented Paul Feig’s followup to last year’s surprising and delightful A Simple Favor fell so flat.
2. Dark Phoenix
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10
Like Glass, I already covered this one in the most disappointing movies list. To underscore my thoughts, a terrible villain and a complete lack of emotion in the comic-book franchise with the greatest potential for emotional mining, ruin this film.
1. After
★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 3/10
This movie is on par with other ridiculous teen movies from the year, but those movies had the self awareness to be released on Netflix and not in theaters. What’s ironic is that After is even worse than those other movies. It’s about a prudish girl who goes off to college, meets a mysterious boy who interests her for no discernible reason. From there nothing really makes sense. The source of drama is eye-roll inducing, and these teens not only don’t act like teens, but don’t act like anyone found in the human world.
Dishonorable Mention
Bad movies condemned to Netflix: Polar, The Perfect Date, The Last Summer, Wine Country, Otherhood, Tall Girl, Let it Snow, 6 Underground
Other bad movies: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Lion King, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, The Laundromat, Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
Most Disappointing Movies of 2019
These aren’t necessarily the worst movies of the year, and they certainly aren’t the best. Instead they’re movies that I was looking forward to for one reason or another, and yet disappointed for at least one reason, but probably more. Here is my list of the nine most disappointing movies of 2019.
9. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
I was excited for this film because it was beautifully shot and it ambitiously aimed for poignancy. It’s possible that I missed the point, but I didn’t find that the movie delivered on the poignancy piece. In fact, it seemed like the kind of film where the filmmakers thought what they had created was more profound than it actually was.
8. Long Shot
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
Long Shot bills itself as a smart comedy about politics instead of the bro-y raunch-fest that is most Seth Rogen movies. It would have been better if it were one of those things or the other, but it hovers somewhere in the middle to lukewarm effect. But worse than its lack of direction, is the complete lack of chemistry between Charlize Theron and Rogen. I was willing to suspend my disbelief regarding the idea that Theron and Rogen could, in some version of reality, get together, but their complete lack of connectedness means the film has no foundation on which to build.
7. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
I was excited for this documentary about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos because earlier in the year I had read the book Bad Blood about the same topic. This, though, was significantly less exciting. It was clearly a story just lifted from the research and reporting from John Carreyrou’s book, and ultimately significantly less effective at telling that story.
6. Aladdin
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
None of the Disney live-action remakes have been particularly wonderful, so perhaps I should not have expected much, especially considering Guy Ritchie was at the helm as director. But Aladdin holds such a special place in my heart. I loved watching Aladdin 1, 2 and 3 over and over as a kid. This remake isn’t bad, it’s just not good. It’s burdened by Ritchie’s visual heavy handedness and a few poor song adaptations. Most of all, this remake lacked the magic the original animated film did, and no amount of CGI can fix that.
5. Captain Marvel
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
I love Marvel movies, so I was very excited for this one. It had everything going for it: the first Marvel movie with a female lead, Academy-Award-winner Brie Larson as its star, and it was the lead up film before the ultimate fanboy experience — Avengers: Endgame. Well, after watching Captain Marvel, I became nervous about the studio’s ability to deliver with Endgame. Captain Marvel would have seemed good in 2010, when our expectations were much lower for comic book movies. Nowadays, this average movie just won’t do. Not only was the story uninspired, but Carol Danvers was written with no trace of a personality.
4. Glass
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 6/10
Maybe it's never a good idea to get your hopes up for an M. Night Shyamalan picture in the 21st century, but Split, the precursor to this film, was really well made, and featured an incredible performance from James McAvoy, who would be returning. Glass is the third in a trilogy that started with Unbreakable in 2000. Nearly 20 years later, Shyamalan attempted to give this story an ending. It was too little too late. The movie tries to tie together so much while introducing us to new factors, but it ends up accomplishing very little. It was sad to see (SPOILER ALERT) McAvoy’s character die because the most promising part of the trilogy won’t continue on. So maybe we can just put this whole series to rest.
3. Knives Out
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
I know I know. This movie is beloved, but I can’t for the life of me understand why. I was excited for this one because for the past 12 months I’ve been defending director Rian Johnson for boldly making the phenomenal Star Wars: The Last Jedi. With Knives Out he drops the ball for the same reason The Last Jedi worked. Johnson loves to subvert our expectations. The difference is with The Last Jedi he does so on the level of larger ideas. Here he’s just trying to throw us for a loop. Instead of the audience working to figure out whodunit, he tells us right away and leaves us to try to untangle the messy movie he’s made instead.
2. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10
Speaking of Star Wars… oof. Everything good about The Force Awakens and great about The Last Jedi went down the drain with this film. So many things make no sense, it’s overstuffed, and, worst of all, it's devoid of emotion.
1. Dark Phoenix
★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 3/10
I love X-Men more than any other comic book property, more than almost any other story in any medium. I’ve been willing to grade all the X-Men films on a curve, but this one was too tragic to let slide. The story has no weight, the villain is so stupid, and what was one of the most interesting comic book arcs in the history of comic books falls completely flat. It’s infuriating actually. What a way to go for the franchise often credited with jumpstarting the comic book movie craze in the 21st century.
Best New TV of 2019
Each new year brings a new crop of television shows hoping to be the next big thing, the next Game of Thrones. But these shows are nothing like GoT. Will any of these shows be as big as the show that defined the decade? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean they’re not great. These nine shows helped make the case that the golden age of television is here to stay.
1. Watchmen
HBO
This show exceeded all expectations. Having Regina King as the star and David Lindelof, essentially the father of modern TV with his creation Lost, at the helm were good signs, but how can we forget the unfortunate 2009 Zack Snyder film that attempted to capture the story of the original graphic novel. My colleague Nate Lee made the argument that Watchmen, the greatest comic book ever written, was never meant to be adapted for the screen. So the first thing the show does right is expand the Watchmen universe, set decades after that original story. The world of the television show carries the same heavy looming darkness of the original story, making it feel distinctly Watchmen-esque, but it opened us up to so many more surprises. The show is bizarre, a superhero tale, but also steeped in alternative history that manages to capture real racial tensions, and critically look at America’s imperial ambitions. Essentially, the show both moves the Watchmen universe forward while staying true to the genius of the original graphic novel.
2. When They See Us (Limited Series)
Netflix
This four-part limited series led by visionary director Ava DuVernay is what DuVernay does best — tell intense stories about America’s racial injustice in a way that holds a mirror up to the ugly realities. When They See Us tells the story of the group of young kids known as the Central Park Five, who were wrongly convicted with no evidence of raping and murdering a white woman in New York’s largest park. It not only indicts the system and the specific people responsible for the crime against these young black and brown men, not least of all Donald Trump, but also paints such a painful portrait of what these boys and their families went through in the trial, in prison, and once they were released. DuVernay’s work is so pointedly direct that the series is hard to watch. Months passed between when I watched episode two and episode three. Finally, the ensemble cast was so strong, particularly Jharrel Jerome, who plays Korey Wise and steals the series in a gut-wrenching third episode. When They See Us really makes us see these men, and makes us see ourselves.
3. What We Do in the Shadows
FX
I’ll admit it took me a second to get into the rhythm of this show, a mockumentary about vampires in the modern world. The humor is so unlike anything else on television. And even though I had seen the film of the same name years earlier, giving me an idea of what to expect, the comedy is so dry that it’s tough to match the shows vibe. But once I did, I recognized the show for its brilliance. The show is so intensely funny as three vampires navigate Staten Island, the province they were tasked to conquer for the powers of darkness. And while the characters are all different, there are clear similarities to the original film. The best expansion of the story for the show is Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), the main vampire's familiar who dreams of being turned into a vampire by his master.
4. Dead to Me
Netflix
Linda Cardellini’s manic energy, playing a woman with a secret, really carries the show at the beginning, but it's Christina Applegate’s consistent performance that makes the show work altogether. Together they’re gold. With Dead to Me, Netflix offers an original comedy that’s not just funny, but surprisingly surprising.
5. Doom Patrol
DC Universe
One of the best things about the release of 2014’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy is that comic book houses are willing to give D-list properties a chance. I had never heard of Doom Patrol until it was announced that DC/Warner Bros. was developing a series for DC’s streaming service. The Doom Patrol crew is even more motley than the Guardians, but just like them, the team simply works, so does the show once you give yourself over to the weirdness of it all. The show borders on being too weird, but manages not to jump the shark. It helped that I watched show with a Doom Patrol fan who helped me temper my expectations. So let me be that person for you. Yes, Doom Patrol is way way out there, but knowing that, you might just find yourself falling in love with a whole new group of reluctant heroes.
6. Black Monday
Showtime
This show, like almost all of them on Showtime, was overlooked, but it really was one of the first of the year to capture my attention in a good way. Black Monday shows the lead up to the stock market crash of 1987, and shows a small trading company full of losers, who apparently contribute to the crash. The ‘80s setting inspires a lot of the comedy, and a stacked cast, featuring Don Cheadle, Regina Hall, and Andrew Rannells, really makes the show work. The show I legitimately funny, but it’s also a bit of a character study.
7. The Other Two
Comedy Central
The Other Two is probably the most straight-forward comedy on the list and it’s also the smartest. It satirizes Internet culture, where untalented silly kids can get famous from one silly song. But what about the newly famous kid’s two much older siblings who actually desperately wish to be rich and famous? What happens is The Other Two. The kid’s siblings are filled with animosity and cynicism as their careers and relationships are at a standstill. On top of great work from the titular other two, Heléne Yorke and Drew Tarer, Molly Shannon provides some serious laughs.
8. Dating Around
Netflix
As contrived as Dating Around must be in order to achieve the seamless effect of four dates happening at once, it’s remarkably fresh, and so easy to obsess over. The premise is sort of genius. One person goes on dates with four people in the same place, and throughout the episode the person must decide who to continue going out with that night and who they want to go on a second date with after the dates are all done. It’s refreshing because so many different types of people go on dates, including the precious old widower Leonard, and it fully embodies the awkwardness that characterizes nearly any first date. But occasionally we get to see a solid connection, and sometimes people are just complete jerks. We all felt bad for poor Gurki.
9. Sex Education
Netflix
Awkward Otis (Asa Butterfield) inadvertently becomes known in his high school as a kid who gives his classmates surprisingly solid sex advice, which comes from his mom, who is a sex therapist, despite being a virgin himself. It’s not so much that the show is about sex, but about the way high schoolers, and young people altogether, are completely unable to be open and vulnerable when it comes to their fears surrounding intimacy and connections with other people. But once people start to open up, things get messy, but also some things become clearer.
Honorable Mention:
Euphoria (HBO), Shrill (Hulu), The Righteous Gemstones (HBO), Pen15 (Hulu), Russian Doll (Netflix), Chernobyl(HBO), Ramy (Hulu), Catch 22 (Hulu), The Mandalorian (Disney+), Harley Quinn (DC Universe), The Boys (Amazon Prime Video), On Becoming a God in Central Florida (Showtime), The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)
Best Returning TV of 2019
I was aiming to create a list of 10 great shows that returned this year, but I didn’t think it was fair to highlight shows that had standout episodes, but less-than-stellar whole seasons, so we’re down to eight with a long list of honorable mentions. TV this year, for me, was just okay, though I wouldn’t say that the Golden Age of television is over yet. I think this list is a function of two things: the over-saturation of shows, which makes it harder to know what’s worth watching, and a host of shows with lesser follow-up seasons. Big Little Lies, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and The Handmaid’s Tale, three shows that were at the top of my TV lists the last few years, had weaker seasons in 2019. Each show had some outstanding episodes, elements, and moments, but overall they weren’t nearly as strong. Thankfully, the first two shows alone made the a year of TV watching worth it.
1. Fleabag (Season 2)
Amazon Prime Video
I watched both the first and second season of this show this year, and wow was it slept on in its first season. In a breezy six episodes per season writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge manages to be painfully hilarious while exploring painful depths. In season two we get the introduction of Hot Priest, which could have easily just been some silly joke and a knock on religion, but her relationship with him, along with her continued relationships with her father, sister, brother-in-law, and step mother, reveal how unfair life can be to the fleabags, but also unfair we are to ourselves.
2. Succession (Season 2)
HBO
Fans from season 1 knew this show was something special in its first year, but boy did it explode this season. Kendall was completely demoralized returning to his father’s media empire, and Papa Roy was unpredictable. Even Shiv, my favorite character because of her shrewdness and rudeness to her buffoon of a husband, didn’t know how to play the game anymore. As the walls came tumbling down on all sides, the family fought to stick together, while also search ing for a scapegoat. It was a recipe for disaster, which climaxed in an amazing cliffhanger in the final episode of the season. I can’t wait for season 3! Also let’s not forget how the most perfect theme song became one of the best memes of 2019.
3. Veep (Season 7)
HBO
After a just-okay sixth season, Veep came roaring back in its final one. Selena Meyer decided she would run for president, but her battle to lead the Democratic ticket was nearly foiled in every episode. We’ve never seen her quite as manic as she was in her bid to become the first woman elected president of the United States. And just to clench the nomination she did the unthinkable, which led to a surprising finale that actually hurt. In an Emmy acceptance speech during or right after the 2016 campaign, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss mentioned that it was getting harder and harder to write this stuff because reality was becoming more nuts than what the show’s writers could concoct. But the writers certainly met the challenge and gave us a remarkable send off for some of the funniest characters to ever grace the small screen.
4. The Crown (Season 3)
Netflix
I was nervous about this season after an announced time hop required the showrunners to come up with an entirely new cast. And while this season didn’t hit as hard as the second season, it was still one of the best shows on television. As always, the season could have used more Princess Margaret. It’s now clear that it wasn’t Vanessa Kirby alone (who played younger Margaret) that made the character pop, but the person of Margaret herself. Helena Bonham Carter absolutely shines as the second-fiddle princess, this time quite a bit more unhinged than she was in her younger days. And Olivia Colman (who is also in the #1 show on this list) does a fantastic job taking up the mantle of Queen Elizabeth in the late ‘50s and ‘60s. The show continued its episodic-ness, but having that expectation made it more enjoyable to watch. What was most unexpected this season was the development of Philip, this time played by Tobias Menzies, who takes the Queen’s husband from just being a nagging annoyance, to a man of some depth. The introduction of a young Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) was also welcome.
5. Broad City (Season 5)
Comedy Central
The progression of Broad City was essentially the same as Veep — an average second-to-last season, followed by a great final one. And Broad City season 5 started off with a bang. The first episode, which followed our heroines, Abbi and Ilana, on a trek through Manhattan, was brilliant and hilarious. But it is the discovery that Abbi would be leaving the city to get serious about her art career that lent an air of melancholy to the second part of the season. How would these two friends, who've managed to weather the excruciating distance between Brooklyn and Queens, be able to live apart? The send off was an ode to friendship and an ode to New York City.
6. You're the Worst (Season 5)
FX
They say three makes it a pattern. Just like Veep and Broad City, the second-to-last season of You’re the Worst wasn’t exceptional, but in the last season we get back to the heart of Jimmy's and Gretchen’s relationship. Then Edgar, who really developed as necessary character back in season 3, continued his role as the heart of the show in season 5. The show was always plagued by unnecessary characters, mostly in the form of Lindsay’s family, and sometimes even Lindsay herself, but unlike a lot in the The Handmaid’s Tale and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which had great last episodes this year, You’re the Worst builds to its grand finale throughout the entire season.
7. The End of the F***ing World (Season 2)
Netflix
The show could have ended with the first season and it would have been perfect. In fact I dreaded season 2 because I was worried it would taint last season’s excellent final episode. But with the addition of one new character, another seemingly soulless psychopath, to the mix, and expanded stories for Alyssa and James, season 2 totally justified its existence. Was it as good as the first season? Not quite. But it did manage to achieve something that that first season could not — making us excited for what’s coming next.
8. The OA (Season 2)
Netflix
Brit Marling’s The OA was cancelled, which is so so sad. Only Netflix had the guts to put out a show this bonkers, so I feel like the chances of it getting picked up by another network are slim despite petitions from loyal fans. And with a cliffhanger like the one we got in the final episode of this season, the idea that we won’t get answers is supremely frustrating. The OA definitely took several turns toward the weird, which is saying a lot for this show, but at the core are the relationships between the school kids, BBA, and OA. Again, this second season was not as good as the first, but it somehow managed to be even more ambitious.
Honorable Mention:
Love Island UK (Season 5), The Great British Bake Off (Season 10), Big Little Lies (Season 2), Stranger Things (Season 3), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 3), The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 3), Killing Eve (Season 2), Elite (Season 2), On My Block (Season 2)
T.V. I Gave Up On in 2019
This is the first time I’ve done this list. In the spirit of the first show on this list, I’ve become more comfortable letting go of things that don’t “spark joy.” I used to finish a show just because I started it, but sometimes it’s just not worth it, especially when there’s so much other stuff one could be watching. So here are the shows I gave up on in 2019.
1. Tidying Up
Made it through 4 episodes
This is a classic reality TV case of the same thing happening every episode. Sure the households were different each time, but Marie Kondo’s folding method, and lessons were always the same. After I watched a couple episodes, I tidied up my closet space. It was great, but I soon began to feel that I had gleaned all I needed from the show.
2. Riverdale
Made it through 10 episodes
This show was on my list of worst TV in 2018, so I don’t know why I attempted to watch the new season. To be clear, eight of the 10 episodes I watched were from the previous season. I only made it through two episodes of the new season before I couldn’t take it any longer. I love shows set in high school, but this one jumped the shark a long time a go.
3. Desus and Mero
Made it through 17 episodes
These two comedians turned their YouTube clip show into a Showtime late night show, but not much changed. It originally came on once a week, then ramped up to twice a week. It was easy watching and I tried to keep up, but neither the format, nor the hosts were engaging enough to keep me going.
4. Turn Up Charlie
Made it through 2 episodes
This was a giant misstep for Idris Elba. On the Netflix “comedy” he plays a washed up DJ who gets enlisted to be the nanny for his friend’s young daughter. This show features one of my biggest pet peeves, precocious children who are impossibly snarky and smart. It’s an exhausting trope, so I passed pretty quickly on it.
5. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Made it through 2 episodes
I probably should have known that I wouldn’t get far into season 2 after I had no desire to watch last year’s Christmas special. The show, like Riverdale, has too much going on, and not much of it is very interesting. Bring back Melissa Joan Hart.
6. The Society
Made it through 1 episode
Since quitting it, I’ve heard this show is actually pretty good. I watched the first episode, but had no interest in the melodramatic premise. Somehow kids from the local high school leave for a school trip. When they return all the adults are gone and they can’t escape the town. A Lord-of-the-Flies-type situation begins to unfold. I was bored.
7. Dark
Made it through 3 episodes
This one was a surprise. The German thriller was on my list of best shows of 2018. This year with all the time hopping I got confused about who was who in what timeline, and just lost track of what was going on. I’m sure the foreign language made it hard for me to follow, but I also wasn’t going to ruin the show by watching it with English dubbing. So I sadly let it go.
8. A Black Lady Sketch Show
Made it through 1 episode
Sketch comedy is so hit or miss, and I felt the entire first episode of this show was a miss. I really do believe in supporting the community, and I really wanted to like this, but there’s enough black content out there and I can’t be expected to watch all of it. It’s an exciting time, because unlike now, black people didn’t have the luxury to pick and choose.
9. Four Weddings and a Funeral
Made it through 4 episodes
This was just terrible. Shot in that overlit glossy haze romantic comedies tend to feature, this show, based on the movie of the same name, was completely ridiculous. Bad acting, bad writing, bad filming. Everything was bad. It’s remarkable that I made it to episode four. The only thing worse than watching Missandei get tossed off a wall in Game of Thrones season 8 was watching her in this.
10. Saturday Night Live
Made it through 13 episodes
12 of these episodes were from the previous season. I made up in my mind that I wouldn’t be bothered with trying to watch the show this year. Like I said, sketch comedy is hit or miss, and that truth is no more evident than when watching SNL. I only watched one episode of this new season and that was only because it featured Phoebe Waller-Bridge from Fleabag.
11. The Terror
Made it through 1 episode
This show is an anthology series, which meant season 2 reset with a new story. I just didn’t feel like reinvesting. I liked the first season, but didn’t love it, so I wasn’t confident that season 2 would be worth my time.
12. The Act
Made it through 5 episodes
This show is objectively good. It’s engaging and features two outstanding performances. But the series should have been fewer episodes. I also had munchausen-by-proxy fatigue. It was featured in so many things this year, from Ma to The Politician, that I kind of stopped caring about it.
2019 in Books
I made it my goal to read 25 books this year. I pretty much achieved it (although I'm not quite finished with the 25th with only a few more days left, but it counts). Below are just short blurbs about each book. Unlike TV and film, I don’t feel particularly qualified to pass detailed judgment on books, especially not non-fiction books, which accounts for 24 of the 25. Still I offer a suggestion for you to either skip or read.
One interesting thing about my 2019 in books is that I was under the impression that I was reading a ton from women authors. I felt that I was making a concerted effort to do that, but only 11 of the 25 books were written by women. It illustrates a certain blind spot I think progressives tend to have — a disconnect between perception and reality. But the stats don’t lie. So that’s something I want to change going forward.
1. The Murder(s) of Oscar Grant
Thandisizwe Chimurenga
WOULD SKIP
This book was a gift last Christmas. It was a really quick read, but poorly written and not particularly illuminating. You should just watch Fruitvale Station.
2. Bad Blood
John Carreyrou
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
This excellent book about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos was probably the most thrilling book I read all year. Not only is it well reported, but the journey of doing that reporting is fascinating in and of itself. Bad Blood is not only the portrait of a failed businesswoman and the high-powered backers she swindled, but an indictment of the Silicon Valley hype ethos.
3. Wit's End
James Geary
WOULD RECOMMEND
This little book spoke to the value of humor and wit. As an appreciator of those things, I appreciated this little book.
4. The Way We Never Were
Stephanie Coontz
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
I bought this book years ago when I was in college taking a political science class and working on a project about the lie of the American dream. As one does in college, I only read the bits and pieces I needed to to write my paper, but on a visit to my parents’ house I discovered the book in a box of my old things in the basement. It’s a really well-researched and -written book about the ways in which the American dream is tied up in the most harmful of our nostalgic tendencies.
5. Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay
Phoebe Robinson
WOULD RECOMMEND
In the second book from the funnier half of the Two Dope Queens, Phoebe Robinson lets loose. This book is not just hilarious, but fully and unabashedly embodies everything Robinson believes.
6. Just Mercy
Bryan Stevenson
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
A film is coming out based on the book before the year is out, and I’m sure it’ll be great, but I doubt that it’ll be able to capture the depth of emotion that Bryan Stevenson’s first-hand account does. Stevenson recounts his work with the Innocence Project in the South, working to get inmates off death row. He regales us with the stories of several wrongfully convicted inmates, but it’s the one about Walter McMillan that will tear you to pieces.
7. The Coddling of the American Mind
Greg Lukianoff, Jonathan Haidt
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
The book takes on a somewhat abrasive tone, raging against the way in which the young are coddled on college campuses, so much so that it ironically limits things like free speech. My initial reaction, as a progressive, was to reject the idea of the book, but the two authors speak in facts and figures to prove the harmful ways we limit ideas and therefore limit ourselves.
8. There Will Be No Miracles Here
Casey Gerald
WOULD SKIP
This is a memoir of someone who never quite explained why I should care about their memoir. I assume he wants to be president one day, but I left with three thoughts after reading this: 1) The troubles of his young life aren’t special enough to warrant a memoir, 2) His adult achievements aren’t enough to warrant a memoir and 3) So what?
9. Winners Take All
Anand Giridharadas
WOULD RECOMMEND
The book details the new wave of capitalism, perhaps late capitalism, which preaches sustainability and equality at its exclusive conferences all to end up where capitalism always leads us, where the few winners get more than their fair share.
10. Feel Free
Zadie Smith
WOULD RECOMMEND
I’ll admit, during some of the essays in this collection my mind trailed off, but there’s no doubt that Zadie Smith is an incredibly talented writer and vivid thinker.
11. How to Win an Argument
Marcus Tullis Cicero (edited by James M. May)
WOULD RECOMMEND
The book is an edited collection of advice from Marcus Tullius Cicero, who was a great Roman orator and lawyer. He had a lot of things to say that can help any writer, or anyone who likes to argue.
12. Notes from a Young Black Chef
Kwame Onwuach
WOULD RECOMMEND
Not unlike There Will Be No Miracles Here, I’m not sure that this author's achievements warrant a memoir. Yes, he was a contestant on Top Chef, but he didn’t win. And yes he opened a high-priced restaurant in D.C., but (SPOILER ALERT) it didn’t last long. Still the story of how he got to these milestones is engaging, and Onwuachi writes with wit.
13. Educated
Tara Westover
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
This is a story too wild to not be true. Educated is an understated title for what this book is. Tara Westover tells of her horrible childhood, teenage years and even adulthood living with her irrational and paranoid family in the mountains of Idaho, and how through education she was able to break through the years of trauma.
14. Sleeping with Strangers
David Thomson
WOULD SKIP
The book presents itself as a thoughtful study of how film and television have influenced our perception of sensuality and romance, but really it reads like a very long gossip column about all the actors and actresses in old Hollywood who were secretly gay. Not only is it not particularly revelatory, but far less substantial than what I'd hoped for.
15. Range
David Epstein
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
I would especially recommend this to anyone in their 20s and 30s. David Epstein makes a compelling argument for why it’s okay, and maybe even better, to not peak until later in life, and why it’s okay to be good at many things instead of hyper-specializing, which our global economy seems to demand these days.
16. What My Mother and I Don't Talk About
Michele Filgate
WOULD SKIP
This was a collection of essays from multiple writers. Some were good, some were just okay. I don’t really remember any of them too well.
17. This Will Only Hurt a Little
Busy Philips
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
Busy Philips should be more famous than she is and that’s a fact. Every part of this book is great, from her tales of growing up and going to parties as a teen, to her first breakthrough role on Freaks and Geeks, to how she co-wrote Blades of Glory and initially got zero credit. What makes this memoir so delicious to consume is her brutal honesty. She dishes on how awful James Franco is. She pulls no punches regarding the jerks who tried to scrub her name from the Blades script. And she calls out a big TV producer for the way he snubbed her at an awards show. In addition to talking about all these things, she brings thoughtful commentary, giving extra weight to these individual stories.
18. I Like to Watch
Emily Nussbaum
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
This book is a compilation of Emily Nussbaum’s greatest New Yorker essays. She is the publication's TV writer and she has so much good stuff to say. Even when I disagreed with her (like on the subject of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), she nearly brought me to her side. This is just good writing from a thoughtful cultural critic!
19. Childfree by Choice
Amy Blackstone
WOULD RECOMMEND
There’s nothing particularly earth shattering about what’s uncovered in this book, but it was interesting to dive into the community of childfree-by-choice adults and their reasons for living this way.
20. Difficult Women
Roxanne Gay
WOULD RECOMMEND
This was a collection of feminist short stories. Roxanne Gay’s prose is easy to read without being simple. Her stories are a mix of fantastical, shocking, and the beautifully mundane. I admit that I thought that these would be a collection of nonfiction stories, but it was worth breaking into fiction for this.
21. The Coaching Habit
Michael Bungay Stanier
WOULD RECOMMEND
This book is good for managers of teams. (The leadership team at my job read this together). It’s almost too short and simple, but it’s probably for the best. I’m still applying principles from the book to this day.
22. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
Peter Scazzero
WOULD RECOMMEND
This book isn’t particularly well written, but in conjuction with the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality class I took with my church this year, the ideas in this book have led me to approach my life differently in some ways, and for that I am grateful.
23. The Unofficial Guide to Game of Thrones
Kim Renfro
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
It’s a really special thing to read a book by your friend (Kim works at Insider and is the world’s resident GoT expert). It’s also special to read the words of someone with a true passion for a topic. Her love for the show, and the book series it was inspired by, is so evident. Her years of research covering the show pay off in this satisfying (dare I say more satisfying that season 8) culmination of coverage.
24. The Poison Squad
Deborah Bloom
WOULD 100% RECOMMEND
This felt like such a random thing for me to read, but I am really glad that I did. The book follows the up-and-down journey of Harvey Wiley, who worked for years in the US Department of Agriculture to hold corporations accountable for what they were feeding the country. In the 19th and early 20th centuries food was full of poisons, things weren’t properly labeled, and people died as a result. But of course corporations wanted to keep cutting corners, so they fought with Wiley and his team tooth and nail. Ultimately this unsung hero would prevail in many ways, and we’re all the better for it.
25. American Prison
Shane Bauer
Still reading.