Our Favorite Films of 2019

Hi, this is John Delancey, and you are listening

to the Geekcast Radio Network. People keep asking

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But now, yeah, I'm thinking I'm back! We are

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Hello and welcome to a new episode of The Cinema

Geeks. I am one of your Cinema Geeks Optimus

Solo and joining me today for this back in action

record is Movie Revolt. Dan, hello. Hey, long

time no talk to you. Yes, long time no talk to

each other, long time no talk or talk for anyone

who listens to us still if there is anybody left.

But I have had I've gotten a few DMS or PMS or

whatever you call it depending on what app you're

on or whatever. That's like, hey you guys ever

coming back. So Here's the answer. We're back.

We're doing an episode. We're doing that thing

again Just the two of us today. No Amanda no

Matt They are off doing other things but Dan

and I are back to do what we try to do every

year at least get some of the the greatest hits

going here and we're going to be talking today

about our favorite films of 2019. Just to open

up, Dan, you want to give everybody an idea or

a brief snapshot of your 2019 and how it related

to movies and your movie -going experiences?

Yeah well i didn't watch as many films as i would

definitely like to in twenty nineteen i'm having

a second kid and kinda made it harder to get

out to the theaters i didn't see a lot of movies

mostly was just be watching stuff late at night

as you're doing feedings for the first few months

as you'll you know you get that experience and.

No, six months from now or so. So look forward

to that. And then usually like January is when

I cram in a bunch of movies as we gear up for

lists like this. But then we had like the literal

plague hit our house. Both my kids got the flu

twice, got both flus A and B because you want

the matching set. My son got scarlet fever because

that's back in the rage. Yeah. And then my wife

got the flu twice and pneumonia and my youngest

got pneumonia. So there was a lot of sickness

going on and not a lot of movie watching. But

luckily I was still able to catch in a lot of

the bigger films. I would go to each year EMC

Best Picture Showcase. I was able to see all

the best picture nominations minus the Netflix

films on the big screen. I had to watch those.

But I was able to catch up with a bunch. There's

you know, luckily we live in the day and age

where I mean So many movies are streaming and

things like that But there might be some bigger

films like uncut gems I mentioned and knives

out which I really want to see which I feel like

would probably make my list knowing past work

from those created those directors and my Tendency

to enjoy their work, but still I was really happy

with my top ten to me just it's a pretty astounding

year when I was when I have a ten this strong

and I still have a Numbers movies I've yet to

watch, but uh, but yeah, how about yourself?

Um, I, I too and very much enjoyed 2019. I don't

feel like it was a bad year at all. I probably

could go, um, at least, you know, 2030 deep and

still be happy with picks that would be within

that. Um, probably near the 40, 50 mark is where

it starts to them. kind of plateau a little bit

for me. But I had a lot of films that I quite

enjoyed in it. Seemed like a lot of variety for

me. A lot of films that were different genres,

different types of things. I mean, there is some

themes, I guess, with some of the films that

I saw in 2019. And maybe we'll get into some

of that. But yeah, I was pretty pleased with

with most of the year as a whole. There's some

that I haven't seen. I did not get to do the

best picture showcase. And I think the one that

I missed on there was Little Women I Have Not

Seen. seen little women I also did not see a

portrait of a lady on fire and a couple other

that's only going like wide now so right yeah

I haven't yet to see that yeah And i was talking

a little off the air but there's an abnormal

amount more than ever i think in my life of films

that i've seen partial amounts of so. Quite a

few films that i either saw two thirds of her

half of it's not because they were like bad or

anything like that it was just timing wise or.

some of the times Amanda didn't want to continue.

So I was like, well, I'll catch the rest of that

on my own and just haven't got around to it.

So I'm sure the list will evolve like it always

does as we go through time and look back at different

things, which might be something we're doing

soon here on Cinema Geeks, looking back a little

bit. But today is all about 2019. Any other cameos

you want to give out before we start knocking

down our number tens? Know I would say sometimes

I used to do like a separate documentary list

in regular movies I'm just gonna combining them

for the for the sake of this. But yeah Alright,

so I'll start off with my number 10 pick here

And this is one that I'm a sucker for because

I'm a sucker for most films of this genre science

fiction Just always appeals to me in some way

shape or form. We got a handful of decent science

fiction films this year I know some people this

is a little polarizing or You know Some people

were definitely opposed to it, but I was not

one of those people. I have Ad Astra at my number

10 with Brad Pitt. Good year for Brad Pitt in

general. For those that don't think he's a good

actor or a movie star, I think this year would

show you the opposite. And I like the variety

of films that he does. But Ad Astra just appealed

to me in a lot of different ways. Kept things

close enough to the vest where I couldn't necessarily

predict all the different ways that it was going

to go I thought it gave you some good things

to think about some real good acting a lot of

stuff towards the end that was What I kind of

like in a science fiction film, you know thought

provoking ideas or Moments, and I just really

enjoyed an astra. I haven't had a chance to go

back and see it again And that's why it's kind

of just hovering right here at the edge of the

countdown because I'd like to see it again to

really cement where it should fall But on first

view I really enjoyed that astra. I Yeah, that's

when I did catch up. It's actually my number

15 for me for the year as we stand right now

The ending didn't completely work for me, but

I thought there were some sequences in that which

were just Incredible the opening for example

was one of the best scenes of the year and then

the the moon chase which was fantastic But this

in general is also like you mentioned very thought

-provoking. I know if I remember correctly you

were not a huge fan of the lot EZ if I'm not

wrong So I'm surprised that you I'm like, I'm

glad that uh It seems like at least James Gray

is working for you when it comes to a space adventure.

Yeah, yeah, I enjoy that. And you mentioned the

moon chase like I think that's the closest we've

gotten to revisiting Mad Max. Like since that

came out, I felt like I was going back to that

like type of just epic from a visual standpoint

and just kind of the drama involved in that.

And it was weird, too, because it was doing it

in a way that was like. It wasn't all right up

in your face first a lot of it yours almost like

disconnected or seen it from a distance But you

still felt that tension and that Drama in that

sequence. So yeah, I lost city of z did not work

for me at Astra did so I will continue to give

James Gary Chances as we move forward. So how

about you? What's your number 10? My number 10

is from the world of documentary. It's a documentary.

I don't see a lot of people talking about I don't

know it's maybe because people aren't having

Watch it or what the case is but is it's actually

now streaming on netflix so if you're interested

in and it's tell me who i am i directed by ed

perkins and it's a story of it's almost like

has a soap opera plot in a way to story of these

two identical twins and one of the identical

twins when he was eighteen got in a car accident

a motorcycle accident had brain damage and pretty

much. forgot every single thing about his life,

except the fact that he has a twin and he knew

his brother. And that's all he knew. Like he

didn't, he saw his mom, they didn't recognize

her, didn't remember anything from their childhood.

All he knew, the only thing, only fact he had

was he knew and trusted his brother. And it was

off based upon that trust where he basically

reshaped his life. His brother helped, you know,

to allow him to Remember or inform him about

the life that they had but what you come to realize

it's in it's right in the opening of the movie

is that his brother left a lot of things out

and a lot of horrible things that I'll I'll be

vague as it unveil you kind of see you know that

the dilemma he was under and in the sense of.

He wanted to protect his brothers like he had

the opportunity basically to give him a life

he never had Which is you know, it's just fascinating

dilemma of being in that situation is what do

you do? Do you you do do you confront a truth

or allow him to live this lie and and You know

have more of a joyous life, but also on the flip

side What do you do when your entire life? Everything

that you know and love is built on this one truth

and then that truth is taken away and you realize

that truth is faulty so In a way have nothing

uh, and you you see that confrontation kind of

play out on screen And it's just well shot. It's

well directed. There's some uh, not like indirect

uh Not my documentary style, but they could you

know, they play out some scenes. There's it's

very much a talking head documentary in a way,

but uh some archival footage mostly just using

photographs and uh things of that nature, but

I thought it was just well shot great score as

well and uh in Just really emotionally packed.

I just also just like the dilemma it presented

It was also one of those things where I just

kind of threw it on and didn't have much expectations

for it And I just kind of popped up as my you

might enjoy and sometimes that flux is right

and in this case And then my number 10 is tell

me who I am Nice that does sound interesting.

I'll have to check that one out. We're always

looking for something on Netflix That's interesting.

So for sure add that to the queue For my number

nine that one of the themes I guess a mini theme

I guess in 2019 that I noticed for some films

is we got a lot of films from or surrounding

around the idea of people that were trying to

make a career out of singing Especially from

the females perspective we got a bunch of films

that are all in my top 50 that had to deal with

individual females that were trying to get noticed

or or like I said make a career in the in the

singing world we got stuff like Teen Spirit,

which was more about kind of reality contests

that this girl was trying to enter called Teen

Spirit and trying to make it. And we had the

more kind of gritty her smell that was definitely

dealing with somebody that had already made it,

but kind of all the different demons and different

things that she was dealing with. But the one

that kind of worked for me even more than those

two was a film called Wild Rose and This is about

a young Scottish singer who dreams of making

it as a country artist in Nashville after being

released from prison, directed by Tom Harper.

And this one for me, I don't know if it was the

performance by Jesse Buckley or if it was just

the fact that unlike the other two, this one

seemed more real to me. Like somebody more relatable,

someone that seemed more real world. It's not

just somebody that kind of got a break on a reality

show or something like this. I mean this individual

was released for prison. She has children. She

is not always the greatest role model of the

best mom. She's not going to win like mom of

the year award because she's putting her desire

to be this, you know. famous country singer way

ahead of any Responsibility she has to her family,

especially her kids But it just it's got a lot

of drama involved in it But it just also felt

real and like I said the performances Really

drew me in and out of the three that were kind

of of that same type of film This one definitely

hit the hardest for me So I definitely enjoyed

seeing the journey that she was on and kind of

seen the things that it took for her to realize

her role and her relationship to singing and

her relationship to her family. I guess I'll

say because I don't want to necessarily spoil

anything, but Wild Rose really worked for me.

I know a lot of people also enjoyed it. I mean,

it didn't get a lot of buzz, but I haven't heard

much negative about it. So that is my number

nine. That's what actually was trying to cram

in before we did this episode I watched like

the first speaking of seeing movies only portion

like the first like 20 or so minutes and I really

enjoyed what I saw but I wasn't able to finish

it in time unfortunately, but yeah, like you

said the perfect even the leading performance

was already You know very evident of its strength

right right from the beginning. So yeah for sure

And I'm not a huge country song fan, but I'm

like, I'm actually enjoying it. So that's a good

song What do you offer number nine? So for my

number 10 was a small documentary in that, you

know, it's not huge acclaim. My number nine was

the biggest movie of the year, or it is the biggest

movie of the year, and it's Avengers Endgame.

You know, I am a Marvel fan. I enjoy most of

their, if not all, the MCU movies to some extent.

And this was my most anticipated movie of the

year, because it was building for a decade. And

just... A lot I know there's a lot of negatives

you can say regarding what the MCU has done to

film in general and like this the studio aspect

of it and whatnot and I get that I think there's

a those are legitimate complaints, but I also

think there is something Achievement within that

as well. And because you know, we've seen other

people try and fail and to be able to be this

successful continuously It's an achievement of

itself and making movies that I think are this

good and you know that Don't say that they transcend

the genre they more so define the genre of comic

book movies and the spectacle in that fashion

with great performances from great actors and

It's it's crazy when you look about look back

of what they started off as this little iron

man movie and now it has come to with this gigantic

huge battle between All these all these different

parties, but also what I loved about Endgame

was how the first hour or so was just kind of

reckless Siling with the previous movie and a

lot of people who are thinking like the snap

is not gonna mean anything It's just gonna you

know they're all gonna come back, but there was

some stakes there that I thought I was not expecting

and I thought it you know it stayed small before

I got into the huge gigantic pedal at the end

and but you know it had plenty moments to Stand

up and cheer. I know I know the theater. I was

in I went nearly opening night And the on your

left moment like the crowd was hearing roaring

it was it you know those those are the type of

moments that you can live for when it comes to

film in a way you know like having the stop provoking

films are obviously great but having that to

i think it has its place and certainly have a

sense game is has its place i think the only

downside is is like i feel like. Don't know like

I'm not mom now. I'm like, I'm good. Like I'm

MC was done today I think I'd be fine cuz I feel

like I know it's it's it told this, you know

huge long story now it feels over it continuing

I'm curious how that's gonna go cuz I just it's

gonna be hard to kind of keep keep it moving

But for now, I'm just gonna enjoy in game. Yeah,

I definitely enjoyed it as well. It's sitting

in my like 20 to 25 range and Think two things

that is impressive well two things that have

been impressive about the whole run with the

MCU Regardless of what your opinions are of the

MCU whether you're a fan or not or think it's

harmful or not whatever put that all aside Two

times now they have had a monumental task. We're

talking about like trying to write the finale

of Lost or trying to write the finale of Game

of Thrones. Like they had the first time that

we got the Avengers film when it was going to

be the first team up in here. Like, are they

honestly going to be able to juggle all these

characters? We've seen attempts like this to

put this many characters in a comic book film

fail time and time again. And they pulled that

one off. And now we get like the conclusion of

How many films that had been at that point? What

was it like 16 or something like that? I don't

remember but like all these films and it's like

There's no right way to do this Like you're never

gonna be able to pull this off. And again, they

pulled it off. So I think that's impressive I

do feel the same as you though. Like I never

like people talk about superhero film or Marvel

film fatigue or different things like that. And

I was always like, that might be a thing for

some people. But so far, every film I've watched,

I've enjoyed it to different levels. And it's

never left me not wanting to see more. And then

all of a sudden this one happened. And afterwards,

I was like, wait a second. Like, I might be good.

Like, maybe maybe that is enough. Like, I never

saw it coming. But after watching that, I was

like, that would be a decent time to stop. And

my interest is a little Plateau then for stuff

that's coming after I'm not saying I'm not gonna

watch it We're big comic book movie fans of any

kind or you know, just anything like that So

we will be watching them, but I don't it was

just a weird feeling afterwards that I was like,

I don't know if i'm gonna have the same excitement

now ever again it's like it's like you know running

a marathon and then like all right that's over

now let's get in line for the next one and it's

like all that meaning everything like that i

don't know if i want to jump back in and need

some donuts for a while first yeah like i'm seeing

the trailers for black widow i'm like that looks

fine like i'm just i don't know again like the

slightly excitement for that story and like internals

which is i hopefully and we'll get more into

that but Yeah, for now, I'm just going to like

at least at this, you know, this portion of it

and it on top and then we'll see where it goes.

Yeah, absolutely. For my number eight, not as

big of a film as far as what you're hearing being

talked about when it comes to all the different

Oscars and maybe a bunch of topless, but definitely

worked for me. Also a rare film that has. Code

directing credits, which usually is not a good

sign Directed by Tyler Nelson and Michael Schwartz

and also it has Shia LaBeouf in it, which Sometimes

can be dangerous and I'm not necessarily I've

never been like a huge Dakota Johnson fan, but

that just means That's just because I haven't

seen a lot of her films But the peanut butter

Falcon from this last year hit me out of nowhere

This might have been one of my biggest surprises

of the year Because I just kind of like a randomly

put it on because I'm like well I remember seeing

the trailer and it looked like it might be a

decent film and put it on and it blew me away

I don't I don't know. It was just I Do like professional

wrestling and there is a professional wrestling?

Slant towards it. There's some you know, the

main character there is a young man who his dream

is to be a professional wrestler. And it does

have some interesting guest appearances or cameos

that wrestling fans would appreciate. So but

I think it was more just the again, the realness

of this film, like it felt real, the relationships

between all of the different characters, the

interactions, the discussions. And it's just

one of those where you have somebody that is

does have obstacles in their life that are standing

between them and their dreams, but sometimes

it's those types of situations that help other

folks around them come to a realization themselves

of what's important in life, what's important

in interactions with other people and in relationships

and kind of bringing out the good in people.

And I think Shia LaBeouf is amazing in this.

Regardless of what your opinion is of him and

whether he's crazy or not He can put a very good

acting performance together and he definitely

did that in the peanut butter falcon So this

was one of my favorite films of the year. It's

funny It's got a little bit of drama in it and

it's got some wrestling in it. So that's cool.

So that's my number eight This is actually standing

for me at 14 and it's just it's a charming little

movie. It's just very wholesome and Pleasant

and in that way like it's you know, it obviously

has its Dramatic aspects, but it's just you know

seeing this unlikely friendship and I I think

Charlie the buff is a legitimate Legit actor.

I think he's proven that he certainly As like

even honey boy shows which I don't know maybe

it'll be a movie we talk about you know, he's

he has his demons, but I think he can put on

a good performance and I think I don't I think

that that shows within this as well and uh, I

think the one thing that kind of stopped it for

making my top 10 was that there were there were

some a little bit of Contrivances that happened

here and there but overall I think you know,

that wasn't really the point of the media, you

know ultimately it was just Kind of just displaying

this this friendship and finding like you said

like joy in an unlikely situation And it's got

a great setting too. I think those actors involved

just were really able to pull off performances

that made you believe their interactions and

their relationships with each other. Yeah, definitely.

So it's really, really well casted. Plus anytime

you know, you have Mick Foley making a cameo

in Jacob Snake Robert. Probably the best movie

Mick Foley's ever been in. I think I can well

maybe be on the map beyond that, but I don't

know. So I feel like as I'm looking at my Tom

10 I feel like I'm going from like big small

big small big small We'll see but when because

my number eight is another release, you know

small movie per se the farewell till directed

by Lulu Wang and I'll go if you know someone

like I have not had a lot of exposure to I've

seen some of her comedy stuff and and she was

in Creasy Rich Asians I thought she was funny

and like gosh she seems like you know She'll

be kind of in that role and then I saw her and

this I'm like, wow She is a legit great actress

and I was really kind of blown away with by that

and the showman journal general for in for those

that don't know the farewell it tells the story

of A situation where aquafina plays this character

and she has to travel to China because her grandmother

is dying of cancer but the thing is they're not

telling her she's dying of cancer because they

don't want her to, they want her last days to

be more joyous and they're basically pretending

they're going there for a wedding so it's a struggle

of growing up being more of the American culture

and wanting to tell her against the The culture

there and seeing that clash and the movie I felt

like I reminded me the most of kind of going

through this Maybe it's a little too obvious

would be like the big sec and the reason being

With that because it presented something. I think

you know many of us Westerners would think well

No, that's definitely wrong like in the big sick.

It was arranged marriage, and this was like how

we deal with that, but thinking through the experience

of the film, you see the more reasoning of it

being able to live that life and seeing there's

some benefit there. It was also just, again,

powered by great performances. The actress that

played the grandmother was fantastic as well.

And it's just, there's this family unity that's

displayed. Lulu Wang, she did a lot of, the way

she utilized the camera with a lot of group shots

of the family, especially near the end. Like

you just, there, this unification of the family

that comes together and has its struggles and

there's, it's comedic, it's touching, it's moving.

The very end of it, it's very moving. This long

tracking shot is the kind of realization it washes

through these. I was very impressed with it all

all throughout and You know, I love movies I

couldn't give you an ability to kind of see life

that you're not nor Know nothing of or a way

of life You know nothing of and that certainly

was the case here and present an idea that may

challenge what you typically think So and it

all that kind of made it to me one of my favorite

films of the year. So My number eight the farewell

Well, I'll have to add that one to the list I've

heard about it a little bit and I've heard good

things about it It is streaming currently on

prime. So if you have that, okay, perfect Add

that to the prime queue because that definitely

intrigued me based on your description there.

So I will check that one out For my number seven

if I can continue to do the numbers correctly

I'll go to the two what I consider the Probably

the funniest film for me for the year and I was

a complete I have a complete blind spot for this

director I believe I don't know if I've seen

any other of his films or not Maybe one but I

don't think I have talking about Jim Jarmusch

and the Dead Don't Die From this last year the

greatest zombie cast ever is disassembled But

Adam Driver Bill Murray till the Swinton I can't

say Chloe's last name, so I won't. And a lot

of other people obviously involved in this one.

But I was not prepared for this one to for me

to find it as funny as I did. And I know some

people won't. It does have some political commentary

or social commentary, I guess. And some people

do shy away from that. But I thought it was a

perfect blend of just. Maybe it's just the humor

that he puts in this movie is just more my style

of humor. I like the kind of dry Bill Murray

style of humor. And I'm not a big zombie film

fan. Like I don't typically get drawn into a

lot of the more zombie like or supernatural films.

But for this one, it just worked and just some.

great performances, especially Bill Murray. Tilly

Swinton has some great moments in this as well.

And you can tell right from the beginning whether

you're going to find this film funny because

they are driving down the road like in the first

scene and they literally are commenting on the

theme song was playing. So if you enjoy that

scene, you're going to be enjoying the rest of

the runtime, I would think. But there's just

a lot to love and a lot of different little pokes

at different things throughout our society and

commentary on it that I thought was fitting.

But even without that, I still think it's a funny

enough film to just kind of sit back and have

some fun and probably a good one to watch with

a group. I would think even though I didn't do

that, I would think it would be even better with

a group of people. But The Dead Don't Die, to

me, was the best comedy of the year. So that

is my number seven. I have yet to see it. Jim

Trevor usually hit or miss. I love him in some

stuff. I don't I did a plan on it, but honestly

it's a movie that I remember hearing a lot about

when it was coming out But then honestly it just

dropped off the map for me So now you reminded

me that I need to see it so I'd be interested

to see your take on it because like I said I

don't think it's for everybody, but I think you

would enjoy it and I don't know like for me I

just said the style of humor makes me want to

seek more Jim Jarmusch out to see if I did But

maybe it'll be hit or miss like you said yeah

uh, so my number my number seven, uh is uh As

I mentioned I went to the best picture showcase.

This was this was the last movie That we saw

within that I think it's probably because it

was I think originally the favorite to win best

picture But ultimately did not win this picture.

That's 1917 And it was probably the movie I was

most looking forward to just because the the

first trailer for this was amazing i'm like that

really sold the film and I know since 1917 the

The first thing people talk about is the quote

unquote gimmick of the extended long take. And

I also feel like people use the word gimmick

as if it's like someone putting on a nice shiny

jacket. It's like it's also an extremely difficult

thing to do that requires a lot of effort and

talent in order to achieve it. So I'm like. I

guess that's a gimmick, but I don't know. I mean

did it need it and I don't necessarily know I

was amazed by it. I thought it was one of the

best -looking movies of the year just on the

sets alone like I I never wanted to see the making

of a movie more as I was watching a movie than

watching this which some people they argue takes

you out of it, but I Necessarily didn't for me

because I just I was looking at these sats. I'm

like, this is incredible like the Just how the

the extended nature of them like had this it

felt like you were there in that way it almost

felt like a post -apocalyptic movie because it

just this desolate wasteland, you know, that

is no man's land and it felt like you, you know,

we've seen See a lot of war war one movies i

think it's because of thinking as you see with

this it's just a difficult landscape to maneuver

and i think really kind of get that you know

it's a whole it's a horrible thing to watch and

trench warfare and i thought this was pulse binding

it was ultimately when i first like walked out

of it to me like this is my favorite movie of

the year it dropped down a little bit just because

i i do wonder if like without that edge of your

seat excitement that a lot of it is Bent on would

it would it work as much as a rewatch? I'm not

sure but still I just found it like remarkably

made what Roger Deakins is a god when it comes

to Filmmaking and also the performances I think

are kind of getting left out and because of you

know, everything else that people are talking

about but I know George McKay who Plays and quote

-unquote one of the main characters Like what

he had to go through to get a lot of this done

and as well as the other actors I think it's

I don't know. I just was amazed by and I think

it's there's It saddens me like a lot of it just

kind of gets centered on this one aspect of it

and I could see why people would Not love it

I people saying it feels like a video game and

I can kind of see that but I think it were in

a time and place where being like a video game

isn't necessarily a negative thing and in a way

it felt like a video game because I felt like

I was experiencing it along with the characters

which I feel like is a plus for me. I'll jump

off this a little bit too because it's my number

six and I saw this with a friend who is not necessarily

a cinephile like he doesn't dissect movies he

doesn't review movies or anything like this and

we were sitting in it and I remember because

he leaned over like I don't know ten minutes

in or something like that he's like this has

all been one take It's like, this is amazing.

Oh, I can't even believe you picked up on that.

But it does immerse you into the film. I didn't

feel like it was video gaming to me. I mean,

I guess a video game means that you felt like

you were part of it, maybe. But I never felt

like I was watching something that was fake,

like. I was impressed with the techniques and

stuff like that. But I think what works more

for me in this movie is like what you're talking

about is the relationship, especially between

the two leads. And I am surprised that that kind

of has kind of been wiped away a little bit,

because that's what really sells this movie is

their their bond, their relationship, the things

that they're doing together and for each other.

And I might have one of the biggest jump scares

of the entire year for me. I literally jumped

out of my seat at one point in this film which

is typical for me. I get scared easy in films,

but yeah the landscape and the The way that they

do kind of capture some of that World War one

So we see a lot of World War two stuff, you know

what I mean? We used to see a lot of Civil War

type films and we don't get a lot of World War

one it is it is a tough tough war to film I think

in a lot of ways and I think they do a fantastic

job it seems like it's been years since we had

a real real good war film maybe I'm just blanking

on some stuff but this was a Don't want to say

pleasant surprise because it wasn't nothing about

this movie that's pleasant necessarily, but yeah

I mean it is a war film But it did it had me

captivated throughout the whole thing And I was

definitely understanding the buzz because I did

see this late in the game after you know I had

already won quite a few awards and was favorites

for others so the expectations were high and

I did not feel Let down or disappointed in any

way. That's why it's obviously in my top ten,

but I think it's a real great film that can be

beneficial for a lot of a lot of people to see.

And especially from a historical standpoint,

you know, if anyone's trying to kind of tell

a story of what World War One was like and what

trench warfare is like, they could point to scenes

in this film to kind of illustrate that. So I

definitely agree with you there, as it is my

number six as well. Nice. Very nice. My number

six is a movie that I talked about. We watch

ability is a movie I never want to see again,

to be honest with you, just because it is. Brutal

movie to watch an experience and it's the nightingale

directed by Jennifer Kent who I Think the first

thing that really kind of put her on the scene

was the bombadook, which is maybe I really did

enjoy as well Well again enjoys the wrong word.

It's certainly a it was a well -made movie and

same thing with with the nightingale and It is,

wow, it is an experience. I say I never want

to watch it again because there's so much of

this movie that is etched in my brain that I'm

never going to forget. And I think I would qualify

this as a horror film because I was legitimately

horrified throughout. A revenge thriller and

sometimes those can be played out in the sense

of just seeing horrible things happen and then

seeing the result of that. To me that there's

a lot more here, especially dealing with this.

This is a story of. Taking place in the 1800s

in Tasmania, which is it. It almost takes a little

bit to even kind of realize your time and place

because it is such a unique place in the world

and it does feel like you're in another world

in a way and you're you're with these British

colonists and. You have this. Clare who is twenty

one year old convict who's gonna stop there and

she wants to leave but her she's not allowed

to basically an indentured server and As she's

in her attempt to kind of become free Her captors

do horrible things to her her and her family

and then she and you know tries to enact revenge

in a way Throughout it with the help of an aborigine

or you know native? Guide as she doesn't know

the land. It's one of those places where you

can easily get lost and it's It's a story that

it kind of you see that revenge and It's revenge.

It takes its toll and it makes you really think

about all these different things that happen

and It's a I could see a lot of people watching

the first, you know 45 minutes or so and like

turning it off and never want I'm watching it

again because there's some bad things that do

happen but I think what it has to say it makes

it makes that journey worth it and the way it's

handled and then the performances alone probably

my favorite female performance of the year and

similar one with the Babadook that had my favorite

female performance of that year as well so Jennifer

Cantz a really great I think director at kind

of getting those types of performances out out

of her actors And yeah, and it was funny because

I watched this and then. A few weeks after that,

I was home for the holidays and my sister -in

-law is like, oh, this book's great. You should

really read it. It's really enjoyable. It's an

amazing book. So she gave it to me to read. It

was a nightingale. I'm like, I'm not reading

that. I watched the movie. I never want to experience

that again, because it's like, I cannot imagine

reading that. I'm like, I'm good. I am not going

to go through that. I'm sure the book's better,

maybe. I don't know. I didn't honestly even know

it was a book, but I was like, oh. now. But yeah,

so I know I'm probably not selling it in the

best way. But like I said, it's an experience

that was remarkably made movie that I will never

forget. So that's why I mean my number six. I

mentioned that it was the year of films that

I got to start and not finish. And this is one

of the culprits as well. those of you that don't

know him former or you know other co -host Amanda

her Danny Mandy my wife is pregnant and we were

looking for something to watch one night while

we were lying in bed and Turn that on and not

the best choice did not go over well Yeah, and

then you know there's something that happens

in the beginning, and I'm like well You know

that's you know just setting up the story for

the rest of the way. It'll be fine you know let's

keep watching and Then other things happen Yeah,

giving me a look and I said, okay, I think we're

done. We're good I do plan on eventually watching

the rest of it because I'm curious to see how

it all goes and it did have some in you know

intriguing things to look for and I Think I need

to see the resolution at least to hopefully Appease

some things in my head, but maybe it doesn't

yeah It's not like you know the point I share

where it's like you feel you know where you feel

like oh You're cheering at the end or whatever,

but it's certainly I think Some type of catharsis

or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah exactly Can definitely

see a lot of people like you said not getting

through it as we didn't but Definitely is something

that doesn't seem like a movie that you'd forget

I don't I definitely can't forget the first 40

minutes So I'm sure and there's a couple other

films like that this year that I'm like, well,

I'm never gonna forget what I just saw But it's

on my list of things to eventually finish For

my number five. I was worried about this one.

I was worried because You know, we got the documentary

last year, which I wasn't as big of a fan of

as some other people I mean, I still think was

good, but I wasn't as sold And then I'm like,

okay now we're gonna get a movie based on that

documentary Am I gonna be equally disappointed

in that and I definitely was not Tom Hanks as

mr. Rogers in a beautiful day in the neighborhood

was great for me, Mariel Heller directed this

one and I thought it was an interesting take.

You know, this isn't necessarily a focus on Fred

Rogers as much as it is the journalist that is

doing a piece on him Lloyd Vogel and I think

that was a great way to frame this film and I

think the the performances are incredible It's

funny because we're watching the opening where

they go through the whole thing that we've seen

a thousand times You know people from our generation

at least where Fred Rogers, you know comes into

the set and you know Changes, you know shoes

and clothes and their jackets and whatever and

it was funny because I'm paying it was watching

with me And she's like, oh he messed up. He's

he didn't do the thing and then like he immediately

did the thing That she was waiting for him to

do from the actual show that we saw a thousand

times I was like, oh my god, you know the attention

to detail that they had on this was amazing.

I enjoyed the artistic Decisions that they had

to kind of show The city overall or different

things like they did like, you know taken from

the original show where they would show all the

like Miniaturized houses and things like that

to kind of give the landscape They did that a

lot in this film to kind of do scene changes

and things of that nature, which I thought was

cool but I think the same thing that you could

say that a lot of people were saying about the

documentary like It's just a good Positive refreshing

thing to watch in today's day and age with everything

else that's going on in society and etc etc and

you know everyone's looking for that like that

story that's gonna be revealed in one of these

movies or documentaries about how Fred Rogers

was you know, really not that great a guy or

you know, let's You know tarnish him like so

many of our other people that we looked up to

or that you know We watched growing up have had

happen and it's just like it's not gonna happen

guys like He you know, everybody has things that

they struggle with and and they do point to some

of that stuff But it's not gonna be the you know,

there's no, you know smoking gun. There's no,

you know National National Enquirer type headline

that you're gonna get out of this, you know,

he he meant well He did well and he meant a lot

to a lot of people and I think this film does

an amazing job of kind of encapsulating the phenomenon

of Fred Rogers and and mr. Rogers neighborhood.

So this was Something that resonated well with

me as being a fan of the show and something that

I thought was a great change of pace so Beautiful

day in the neighborhoods my number five Nice

it's one I have yet to see so can't really comment

I'm looking for I unlike you I I did really document

my top ten last Last year, so I'm interested

to seeing how how that how that stacks up because

I know it's a different story It's more about

the you know, the the interviewer and his relationship

with them, but we'll see it does a nice job of

like I said, I think it helps make the I don't

know. It helps make the story is something that

you haven't seen before, I guess, in a way. So

what's your number? How makes playing playing

Mr. Rogers? You can't get more more. No, not

at all. My number five, you know, number six,

my Nightingale is very, you know, depressing

and movie that would take its toll. My number

five is more, I think, uplifting and kind of

gives you hope for humanity because it centers

on one of the greatest achievements of all mankind.

It's the documentary Apollo 11. It's using all

our car archival footage of the actual moon landing

and everything leading up to it. It's I'm a sucker

for those type of documentaries that are just

Telling a story using the footage of the day

from Senna let the fire burn to my favorite movies

of the decade and now Apollo 11 is up there as

well and you know, it's You think about it like

imagining being able to go back to the Columbus

landing now it and in the new world and seeing

what that was like being able to live through

that and see everything that lived up to that

moment now we need we now live in time and place

where that's possible and we can go back and

see. Basically all the effort and achievement

that went into this movie. It's also just an

experience itself It's like even though you know

what's happening even though you know the inevitability

of them landing on the moon It's something you

know as as you're seeing the that approach Still

like heart -pounding it's no again partially

due to a fantastic score and this is the the

major footage that they they had and how it was

cut together. I think it was a travesty. This

was not nominated for best documentary because

to me it's my favorite documentary of the year

by far. And I think one of the best documentaries

of the decade and perhaps. It didn't get the

acclaim because it's you know, it's not new footage

or what have you I'm not sure but I so think

it's it tells an incredible story and it just

like oh, yeah, we can achieve amazing bangs and

and being a you know, first man was one of my

favorite films of last year, so It makes sense

that this would also you know fall in line with

that as well So and this is again streaming on

I believe it's streaming on Hulu So if you want

to check it out, it's readily available And I'm

hoping that because I've been getting a little

bit more into documentaries in the last year

or two and I'd love to see like a best -of -decade

list from you for for documentaries in some way

shape or form because it would give me some some

stuff to jump off from Actually, I have I have

one on a letter box and perhaps I'll do one on

the site that I'm working on because yeah, it

was a lot of great ones Yeah, for sure. I'm gonna

be boring from the rest of the way out, guys,

just so you know, there's not gonna be any crazy

picks that you haven't heard of or something

that you wouldn't expect, so apologize for that

in advance. But for my number four, it's the

best picture winner, it's Bong Joon Ho's Parasite.

I just saw this. Actually the day before the

Oscars Saturday we had like a Saturday before

the Oscars We had a couple people over one of

our friends birthdays and they brought over the

blu -ray of parasite He saw this very early on

it's a friend that unit goes to most of the movies

with Amanda and I and he had seen this on his

own like way back, I want to say in the middle

of summer or whenever it came out or something.

And he mentioned it right away. He's like, you

guys got to see this film. This is like one of

my favorite films of the year so far. And it

took us until the day before the Oscars to finally

get it because we were waiting for the ability

to have the, you know, obviously have the subtitles

and whatnot. And so we brought it over and we

watched it in our new theater room. And it did

not disappoint. Definitely. And we're not. people

that are opposed to we watch all of our movies

with subtitles on so uh the fact that we had

to watch subtitles had no effect whatsoever on

us because i know a couple you know neanderthals

out there probably are bothered by that but um

but this movie just had uh all kinds of interesting

uh twists and turns and the drama you know i

had It's not something that you'd necessarily

think of as a thriller to me, but it is thrilling

because there is a lot of stuff that you're wondering

how it's going to turn out, wondering, you know,

if the other shoe is going to drop type stuff

and the performances are fantastic. Obviously,

I was a fan of Snowpiercer as well. I don't know

if I've seen all of his or his other films, but

I've definitely enjoyed Snowpiercer and this

one's Probably even better than that one. So

I thought it was a fantastic film. I thought

there's a I thought there was a little bit more

ambiguity ambiguity in the ending than some people

do Maybe but I did definitely enjoy this film

all the way through I can't talk too much about

it because I don't want to spoil anything I know

a lot of people have already seen it but just

in case you haven't I think you should go seek

out parasite Don't worry about the subtitles.

It's great. And that's my number four Yes, I

will just say that's a good pick and all right,

what's your number four damn? my number four

is also I is an also another film that was on

my nature best picture and no when coming up

to use less it's like I you know the difference

between best and favorite and I think it's probably

much for me more favorite than this but expectations

I think play a huge role in how much you know

movies hit you and how much you enjoy them, you

know when I look at something like Avengers endgame

it's movie had a lot of expectations for it.

I kind of knew what it was going into my number

four is movie I you know, I probably wouldn't

have seen for this last or probably maybe eventually

got to but because it was part of the best picture

showcase I ended up seeing it and I was quite

amazed by it and that's little woman Directed

by Greta Gerwig. I'd like Lady Bird I wasn't

a huge a fan as as many had that I was good but

it didn't kind of transcend or you know, it didn't

laugh have them the impact on me it seemed to

Have on a lot of people but going in a little

woman like I've no I know the story well enough

I you know I've watched the Friends episode when

they talk about little women and I never watched

the 90s movie But I just like I know I will see

how it goes and I think what little woman did

Amongst many things which I think being a comic

book fan I wish comic book movies and I wish

I don't think I've seen a comic movie do this

is Make me as someone that's an outsider looking

in understand why? People appreciate the source

material as much and the importance of that material

is the people within the film itself without

making it obvious it's like oh, I understand

why the story resonates with people in a way

and and what what it's saying and Why it's so

important that it's it's being told again, you

know I heard a lot of people were before it came

out myself included probably was like do we really

need another little woman movie and I think yeah,

this is to me showing that yeah, I mean ultimately

you can still get something great of it and And

how you know Greta Gerwig structured it and do

the flipping timelines, but outside of that bringing

in I think other elements from the authors outside

of just the normal book I've never read the book

but just doing some research on it and hearing

that she kind of Took other works and took other

speeches and added them into this the performances

are all really strong as well And it's just a

fantastic scream dream play that made me go through

and like oh this I completely you know went in

with eyes open in understanding like okay this

this story you know it's not just this quaint

little story about people now living in suburbia

during you know during the 1800s there's it has

an importance to it about the importance of women

stories in general and what they mean And why

they're why a story like this needs to be told

and why from then when it first came out to today

So that that's really what really struck with

me with it. So it's made it my number four like

I never expected Here movies of the year, but

I'm like, wow it it was and I was and I'm you

know Greta Gerwig as you know, it's not someone

is I think shown is she's just you know, I always

thought she's been a great actress, but as a

filmmaker she's got a voice that It's so well

-defined already in only a few films and I really

look forward to see what she does next. And oh,

oh, Sisha Ronan too is just as an actress is

freaking phenomenal. And I think I don't know

why more people weren't pushing her for Oscars.

Like I know she got nominated, but I can't say

it. I didn't see, uh, the movie, uh, Branding

Zellweger's, you know, Oscar winning performance,

but I feel like she. She's it's shown. She's

been such a great actress already It's kind of

I feel like she should have gotten more recognition

than she did because she was she was great in

this Yeah, that was my number number four Yeah,

I'm a big fan of hers and I think the cast overall

is just something to look out for so I definitely

have this on my list of things to see it was

Just like the one best picture nominee that we

did not have a chance to get to we've tried multiple

times on to different ways to watch it and just

haven't found one that will work for us so far.

But I'm definitely looking forward to checking

that out. We're big Sears -Sharonan fans, and

I think Greta Gerwig is definitely cementing

or carving out a spot in the world of cinema

that is needed. Worthy so we're looking forward

to that one, but I was definitely just like you

going into the year Like it was not on my most

anticipated film was or anything like that. I'm

like really I think there's enough of this out

there, but Definitely based on word -of -mouth

and what what heard and what you said definitely

on the list of things to see Talking about films

that were on my most anticipated list, my number

three, I think was on my most anticipated list,

at least two, if not three years in a row. And

it was very high on that list. And it finally

came out. It finally happened. And because of

the long wait, they gave us a long film. I'm

talking about The Irishman at number three from

Martin Scorsese. I mean, how can you not enjoy?

De Niro Pesci and Pacino Scorsese coming together

again. I don't care how long it is. We watched

it in one sitting. It was fine. I never got tired

of what I was watching. I never needed a break.

If you do, you can watch it in installments.

I'm pretty sure there's a website that gives

you like chapters to watch so you can watch it

in pieces and it gives you when to stop it and

all that kind of stuff if you're interested.

But I don't know. I just really enjoyed this

film. One thing that always Kind of ranks a film

a little bit higher for me is a film that will

make me Talking about films that are like at

all based on anything or have anything to do

with real events real people or anything like

that Even if it's loosely if a film can make

me so interested in that topic or in that subject

that afterwards I'm immediately like researching

it. I think the film has done its job and It's

just a such an intriguing story with what happened

to Hoffa and all the different, like the number

of people that have confessed to his murder is

ridiculous. Like half a dozen people I think

at least have claimed to have had something to

do with his death. And you know, do we believe

this one or not? It doesn't really matter because

it's a film and you can enjoy it whether it's

true or not, but it's just such an intriguing

story. I wasn't bothered by any of the de -aging

process. I know some people were, but I thought

it was fine. And I just like gangster movies.

I needed this. I'm a huge, good fellas man in

casino and godfather. And to me, this was something

that we probably never get anything like this

again, maybe, I would think, at least not with

this group. I enjoyed it. I think it was worth

the wait of having it number one on my most anticipated

list. I'm pretty sure like two or three years

in a row. So I'm glad we finally got it. And

I was a big fan of the Irishman, obviously, since

it's my number three. Yeah, it's in my eleven

to twenty. I did also really enjoy it. And Joe

Pesci, man, like that, like that to me, he's

he makes the movie. I mean, obviously, Robert

De Niro. It's great seeing him act great again.

You know, he's not he's had he's not. Chosen

the best project. He's had some good in there.

Like he was really good in, you know, uh, working

with David or Russell and things like that. But

this is a man as fast as some of the aging stuff.

It didn't take me out of it. I think you kind

of settle into it per se and definitely is a

different, I know some people maybe went into

it thinking this is going to be good fellows,

but it's, it's not good fellows. It's, it's much

more cerebral in that, in that sense. So, but

yeah. Yeah, I was I was I was one of those movies

I was thinking we were never gonna see because

it's been it was Right felt like it was never

coming out, but it finally did my number three

is Talking about expectations you remember you

mentioned throwing on peanut butter Falcon and

not really having any expectations for it somewhere

happened To me with my number three and then

so i talk about one favorite first best we're

like i don't know filmmaking wise if this would

stack up to something like 1917 but when it comes

to like getting my sensibilities and what i tend

to enjoy for films is really Hit it hit it really

strong and it's the mustang Directed by a first

-time director our first feature. I should say

Laurie day Claremont tauren. I'm probably Butchered

that but she's actually I believe French This

was based. She did a short film called the rabbit

that expanded into this movie called the Mustang

and Actually, it was helped produced by Sundance

and Robert Redford played huge part in getting

this movie made and it's about the story takes

place in nevada in a prison there it's about

this program that's been established where they

take there's about a hundred thousand mustangs

throughout in the wild and because of farming

and overpopulation each year they bring in a

bunch of them and capture. then bring them to

jails to kind of tame them and There's a therapy

program where people that are in in jail kind

of work with these animals to try to you know

Do both you know you will happen is I'll get

them tamed and sell them but also as part of

their you know, we have a real rehabilitation

as Prisoners as well and this kind of centers

on that It stars my thesis. I'm gonna pronounce

his name Sconos is like not even close. I don't

even gonna But he he he's been in a bunch of

stuff. He was in Ruston Bellum was one of his

biggest movies He was in the the drop. He played

a small role in role on that bullhead believe

he is He's from Belgium Belgium great his performance

My is my favorite from of the year this is probably

my second favorite favorite male performance

and the places x convict is convict who's in

jail. It's very quiet but violent performance

and i think what really struck about me. With

this movie is a number of different things a

lot of times when you see movies that take place

in jail or prison films It's about either you

have them about the escape or it centers on a

character That's a prisoner for the harder goal

the prisoner that didn't belong there the prisoner

that you know Maybe they did a bad thing, but

ultimately they're a good person Or maybe they

they are they're innocent and they're being framed

or what have you? This isn't the case here. This

this is the man who belongs in jail, you know,

he he You know, he has a violent streak to him

and he did something wrong that he amidst two

And and because of that he is he's in prison

Which to me makes it a much difficult movie then

make where it's like you have what was you know?

I think if you saw historian the news would think

he's a spectacle human being and but ultimately

does that man deserve Redemption is it possible

to have redemption? What does that mean? Can

you make? Any good out of the horrible situation

can you make any good out of and I think that's

kind of the theme that throughout goes throughout

this movie It's it's also you know it's it's

gorgeous where you have this you know desert

landscape Which is open desert landscape ultimately

it all takes place in this confined prison It's

beautifully shot the performance. There's two

scenes in this that are two my favorite scenes

of the year one about halfway through where he

kind of confesses to his daughter who is a character

in the film as well about what happened and it's

it's it Doesn't get you on his side, but I think

it rounds him out as a character Because you

see him kind of struggling to kind of tame himself

in a way And and just the difficulty of that

happening and and then there's another sequence

to which they have these therapy sessions and

they utilize a lot of you know, actually, you

know former convicts or you know real life, you

know amateur actors and They're asking like,

you know, what's what is the time frame from

when you committed? crimes like when you thought

about it like how much thinking went into The

actual crime itself that landed you in prison

for you know, in some cases decades and you know,

it's like a minute 30 seconds, no time at all.

You just see like how just a moment can forever

change someone's life in a way. So, you know,

prison films for some reason tend to like start

up a few years ago was one of my favorite movies

of the year. Very different movie. That was a

very tense, you know, kind of thrill ride in

a way. This is more dramatic and. To me asking

kind of kind of showing like the impact of kindness

it can have and have on people and small acts

of that kindness and I don't know I was I was

just I found that to be kind of a very Necessary

thing to discuss into today's day and age. So

that's why and again Only watched it because

we had for Cinemax free for for a week or something

like that and Usually Cinemax doesn't have new

movies, but this was on it. So Mike, let me check

this out Uh the busting it seemed like it'd be

interesting. I watched the trailer like that

seems up my alley and Ended up really enjoying

it. Uh, you know, maybe if I had expectations

it wouldn't be as high Like I said, maybe not

be may not be the film making level but I do

think the The director for for first future was

pretty incredible, especially when that's not

you know The budget of something like little

woman or something like that. I think she has

a great career ahead of her if It this I know

it took like five six years for her to make because

of everything that went into it But I don't know

as a first feature. I thought it was really really

incredible I Mean you sold me again another blind

spot that I'll have to add to the list I hadn't

heard much about the Mustang over the course

of the year. So definitely Got me intrigued on

that one as well So I will check that one out.

Um, and Dan, I swear Cinemax had all kinds of

movies when I was like 13. Um, yeah, they, yes,

very much. So a lot of those don't, I don't know

if they'd make it past your list, at least moviemaking

wise. Yeah. No, no. Um, for my number two, it's

probably what I would say was my favorite cinematic

experience of the year. Uh, we went to this one

with a large group of people. I want to say that

we had at least like, uh, you know, Six to ten

people with us at this film and it was just a

ton of fun probably the most fun maybe even one

of the more rewatchable films I saw this year

and Definitely had high expectations going in

and it lived up to those. I was a huge fan of

Knives Out by Rian Johnson I know it's a detective

story, so I won't get into any details because

not everybody has seen it But I will just say

that if they decided to have a series of films

centered around one Detective Benoit blank played

by Daniel Craig I would be all about it and like

you just give me a film every few years like

a new story just like they do with Sherlock Holmes

or Different people for oh or different, you

know, whatever like I will take as much of Daniel

Craig in this role as you would like to give

me. I thought he was hilarious and the cast is

just crazy like I know a lot of people say Ana

de Armas that kind of steals it but you get Chris

Evans getting to do you know kind of show off

a little bit of his acting outside of what we've

gotten from the MCU. You got people like Michael

Shan and Jamie Lee Curtis, Don freaking Johnson.

Frank Oz has done this for God sakes. So the

cast is amazing. I thought it was a lot of fun.

It's very funny. I know some people were like,

what did somebody said something about like,

oh, you know, I knew what the what The deal was

right from the beginning or I'd figured it out.

I'm like that's you missed the point of the movie

Like it is just a fun ride and enjoy the performances

enjoy the dialogue enjoy the craftsmanship that

ryan johnson is providing us like Regardless

of if you do or don't figure it out That could

be like that was like the least of my concerns

during this film And I did not have it figured

out. I wasn't even trying. I was just enjoying

the ride Um, and I think this is a ride worth

going on. So if you have not seen Knives out,

please go see it. I know I said that Peanut Butter

Falcon had some laughs. I know I said that the

Dead Don't Die is probably my the funniest movie

of the year, but This one's got to be right up

there, too This one's more than just funny though.

Like it's also enjoyable from a lot of other

aspects So I guess that's why I feel like Dead

Don't Die is mainly just a straight comedy almost

whereas this one's not quite but it is still

hilarious, so Loved this film. I can't wait to

watch it again knives out by ryan johnson my

number two film of the year I know you haven't

seen this one. Yeah, but please do probably that

and unken gems are my biggest regrets of not

seeing unfortunately, but definitely see that

I look forward to hearing your thoughts Yeah,

my number two I'm not gonna spend a lot of time

on it because it's the best movie of the year

according to many many people including the Academy

and it is parasite Bob Junho is the director

that I've Greatly enjoyed you know this overall

this decade mother was actually my film of 2010

I don't I think I still like that a little bit

more than parasite, but they're both remarkable

movies enjoyed the host up here to an orcha as

well and It's hard just like you know the phrase

that what more can be said about this movie that

hasn't been It's true, but I think the thing

that always strikes me about pretty much every

movie that Bong Joon -ho does is just his ability

to managed tone in in just wildly different tones

throughout that is showcased in mother when you

have with two great book and shots as you see

kind of how the movie begins and how it ends

on this dancing sequence and it just shows you

the journey that you went through and parasite

is very similar to that where. It's you know

a comedy is a horror film it's a suspense it's

everything you know it's ultimately just a film

you know it's it's quote unquote cinema. And

it certainly has a message that I think is very

unique to South Korea that there's probably a

lot within that that you know as someone who's

ever been there or not as akin to that world

that I'm probably not picking up on but I think

there's a lot of universality universal aspects

to what the he is talking about as well and it's

just also just fun like it's it's you know, it's

it's You talk about laughs there's a lot of there's

a lot of laughs a lot of laughs where you feel

bad and on what the laughs that turn into Really

horrible things all within like moments of one

another And you know, it's it's weird Where early

do we I think I get a movie that is so universally?

Enjoyed I mean every movie has an ace airs but

I feel like this was one that like You know for

the first one of the first times in the future

in a long times where one best picture and everyone's

like Yeah, that's that's about right A lot of

people lined up. So I've yet to meet someone

who hates parasite. I'm sure there's people out

there, but I thought it was great. And again,

when I was going into this, all I heard about

was how amazing it was. And that's a lot to live

up to. And I would say it's probably the best

main movie I saw all year. But this being my

personal on top 10 movies that impacted me. So

number two for me. Alright, I'm interested to

hear your number one, but yeah, obviously I agree

with parasite and I think it does say something

about the film, you know that it did finally

crack, you know through the Academy and you know,

have a foreign language film that was able to

take away best picture is something that's huge

and I'm glad that it was you know, Bang Choo

Ho was part of that. So I don't say his name

nearly as well as some people. So I apologize.

My number one Like you said with a bunch of these

other ones it may be not the best Made film of

the year, but I didn't really have any complaints

And I guess I'm just a sucker for this director

because I've almost enjoyed everything he's ever

done And I know a lot of people were detractors

on this I know a lot of people have been detractors

on a lot of his more recent films But I am still

on the bandwagon. I guess I guess I'm a mark

for Quentin Tarantino because Once upon a time

in Hollywood is my number one film of the year

I do need to re -watch it. Maybe it would drop

if I re -watched it again, but I was just, I

enjoyed my entire experience with this film in

the theater. I absolutely was enthralled with

Brad Pitt's performance. I know a lot of people

said he was better in Ad Astra, but I think he's

amazing in this one as well. DiCaprio's good.

Margot Robbie's good. I mean, there's just...

I'm a sucker for dialogue. I'm a sucker for some

of these commentaries that you're getting on

this. I like the crazy take it is I know a lot

of people had a hard time because it's, you know,

there is real types of events somewhat loosely

depicted and, you know, some people had a problem

with that and how it was depicted. Whatnot but

to me it was a movie and I was viewing it as

a movie. I'm not viewing it as a documentary

So because that's not what it was and I just

like Tarantino style. I enjoyed this it did goes

a bit off the rails and crazy and and Gruesome

at times, but that's what you expect from Tarantino.

So I Thoroughly enjoyed this. I don't know where

it stacks for me in his filmography It's not

number one or two or anything like that But it's

probably in the top half. I Again, need to see

it again, but I was surprised because I didn't

have the expectations I normally do going into

a Tarantino film. I wasn't necessarily expecting

it to be, you know, a phenomenal film. But as

I went out and went throughout the year, it's

one that I could not stop thinking about as I

kind of. progress throughout the rest of the

year. And even though it was something that I

saw, you know, midway through or whatever it

was, it kept sticking with me. And I kept waiting

for that film that I was going to watch that

was going to dethrone that. You know, I thought,

you know, once I see Parasite or once I see 1917

or once I see whatever, I'm sure it'll knock

that out. And it just kept staying at that number

one spot. So I do have some blind spots from

the year. So this still could get knocked out

eventually. But for right now, once upon a time

in Hollywood is still my number one film from

last year. What about you, Dan? Yeah, it just

barely missed my top ten and number twelve. I

have seen it twice Actually, it was one of the

few movies I saw before getting the best picture

showcase and you know, we did the Quentin Tarantino

retrospective I'm a huge Quentin, you know Quentin

Tarantino fan and I felt like this was very Different

from him in a lot of ways just because it you

know, it felt a little bit more I don't know

like he like not Restrained then a lot of especially

compared to like something, you know, like is

Something like Django and chain that like is

just an explosion of violence. This certainly

has it but like it and You definitely see that

kind of appreciation for such specific time and

place that you're used to when it comes to Tarantino

But yeah, it to me. It's a really great year

when there's a Tarantino movie I've really enjoyed

a great deal and it doesn't make my top ten.

Absolutely. So I feel like I might get some hate

for my number one i'm not sure like i said this

is i wouldn't i'm not gonna uh lie and say this

i think it's the best movie of the year in the

sense of you know filmmaking wise or if i'm just

gonna do best compared to favorite but as i talk

expectations and how movies hit you or i think

ultimately where i rank when it comes to this

list and i grew up in a very religious household

as like as a kid i would uh we didn't go to church

once a week we went three times a week sunday

morning sunday night And again on Wednesday,

so and as I've gotten older not not so much but

religion played a huge role In my life, especially

since my parents certainly are there as well

And uh you know this was a huge year for netflix

what a great movies two films nominated for best

picture but also believe that the movie that

i see i enjoyed the most or had the biggest impact

on the is the two popes directed by fernando

marinas who did city of god which i know was

hugely regarding movie and i don't know why again

talking about expectations i didn't. Have that

many going into this. I thought, you know, let's

see how this goes. But Jonathan price to me gave

me the best performance I saw all year. There's

just a vulnerability to him throughout this entire

film is you kind of learn about who he is and

the life that you know, Pope Pope I will not

put Pope Benedict, but How is it Pope Francis

lived before he became the actual Pope himself

just that that guilt that He has and why he didn't

want to become public you learn that back story

but i think to one of the biggest reasons is.

No growing up in that religious household here

your religion is like these are the rules and

this is what you. This is it like there's no

debating and this is this is kind of the set

standard of what you're you're told and to me

was fascinating seeing what you want to look

in a way walking deities discuss and debate elements

of. the very religion that they've dedicated

their entire life to, which, you know, debates

that could lead to huge changes throughout the

Catholic religion and then the ramifications

of what that could mean throughout. Just to me,

it's like, wow, like just the biggest questions

that for many have on life itself being kind

of thrown back and forth. And I know there's

some complaints that, you know, that it doesn't

that it's a little too fair to the Catholic Church

doesn't really i think you know especially when

it comes to Pope Benedict kind of have a harsh

enough critique to him and i think there are

those complaints are legitimate and it ultimately

it's two people talking but to me there's something

surreal too about seeing legitimately two popes

talking eating pizza At like a restaurant it

just it's so weird or just watching football

game or soccer game together just it's we it

is it's it is you know. Surreal even though it's

not really the you know actual people themselves.

That is the Hopkins is really good too and I

think price though is. Just I was just from I

just felt like his pain. But also his his genuine

his he his generalness. the come off the screen

like i know i know him as an actor but i never

really think truly appreciated what he was doing

he was just to me doing things far above i know

walking phoenix one for best actor and i think

he's a great actor and then but looking at like

the joker performance compared to this it's like

night and day in the sense of wow this felt like

a complete performance that had so much more

to it And I know it just really struck with me

now I could watch watch this again in a week

and like not nearly like it as much or I Definitely

could see a year from now. That's not being my

favorite film of the year because I think there

are a lot of legitimate issues with the film,

but I think what it meant and The impact and

what it just had me thinking of It did that more

so than any other movie this year Compared to

like anything else I saw so that's why it's my

number one Interesting because every time someone

has asked me in the like the last month like

oh, you know You you probably saw all the films

for best picture and I'm always like no I haven't

seen little women and I always forget that two

popes was nominated Because it wasn't I wanted

your best picture. Oh, no, just let me just for

like any of the words They're like, you know,

I've seen all the ones for the act the main four

categories or whatever And I'm like, oh, I always

forget that I haven't seen two popes I grew up

in a very religious family as well We did go

to church three times a week as well and it was

the same time Sunday morning Sunday night and

Wednesday But it was a Baptist church in which

that's about as far from Catholic Catholic religion

as you can get within I guess the Christian world.

Um, so Things about the Pope and things about

the Catholic Church have always just like never

been on my radar So I just kept forgetting that

it was a film that was available for me to see

but I do like Jonathan price and Anthony Hopkins

So I do want to see it, especially with all the

award buzz So I am looking forward to eventually

seeing it. I just is just one that always like

Was never on the radar as far as something that

was like on my watch list. So yeah And I could

see it's obviously not worked for a lot of people

like I mentioned because it's not a movie. That's

very flashy It's I mean the set designs are pretty

remarkable because they had to literally like

recreate some of the greatest paintings ever

made Even you know, it just because I couldn't

actually film on location but yeah, it's just

I just I just I just enjoyed just the the comic

the Topic of conversation for some reason and

again that's where I know I bring talk about

expectations a lot but I think that plays a key

role too when it comes to a lot of movies where

you know I talk you know parasite like I couldn't

top my expectations because but the two pubes

did because I Didn't really I heard middling

reviews for the most part in perhaps I'm getting

than giving it more credit than it deserves I

don't know, but ultimately it's my list I can

do what I want. So absolutely one You're a couple

like that with the ones that you were headed

lower expectations with little women and then

the two popes So yeah little women I think is

probably I think you know, I think I can make

a bigger argument for filmmaking was and but

uh, yeah, I'm I feel like I don't get a lot of

Dismissive remarks when it comes to this for

my number one which disappears, which is fine

Like I said like in a like I'm looking back at

last year I think you know my number one has

already changed from that years it tends these

are very fluid lists, but absolutely for now

I was glad to hear the case though that you made

for both the two pubs and a little woman because

it's like I said there were two films that I

was like I wanted to see what I wasn't really

like nothing was pushing me over the edge to

see them, so I Got a little bit more boost now

to watch them in next coming couple weeks So

we're gonna break down our top ten real quickly

and then we'll get into a couple You know honorable

mentions or films that we wanted to highlight

that didn't quite make it. So My ten through

one is at Astra wild rose peanut butter falcon

the dead don't die 1917 a beautiful day in the

neighborhood parasite the Irishman knives out

and once upon a time in Hollywood, Dan My number

ten is tell me who I am Avengers endgame number

eight is farewell 1917 number six is the nightingale

five apparel follow eleven fours little women

three the Mustang two parasites and number one

the two popes. Alright dan what about any numbers

in them which just makes it more confusing yes

it does what about any films that you don't necessarily

have to read them all off but any any way you

want to do it any highlights of names that you

would like to mention from films that didn't

quite make it. So tell me who I am just knocked

off Jojo rabbit, which was my number 10 I had

a street going there for the title of a kiki

movie in my top 10 for like, you know a few years

in a row, but Just just really made it. I really

enjoyed Jojo rabbit a lot. Oh Dad also hit me

an emotional level. I was not expecting Was not

expecting that to be as serious as it was at

times I thought it would be much more slapstick

much more comedy would not that it didn't have

that but I was like Oh, we're hitting the feels

now. Yeah, we brought up try little buff in this

episode and honey boy I thought was quite good

is Which was written by him and basically his

life story. I thought that was Again showing

how great of a I think performance he can be

actor he can be in loaded with good performances

Speaking of Netflix films. I also did really

enjoy Again enjoys maybe they're not the right

word of a marriage story. That was again another

difficult watch, but I'm huge I'm do love knowing

no a bomb back and I Probably look like some

of his other films a little bit more but merch

and I'm glad it's getting the Praise it is the

last black man in San Francisco. You mentioned

an Astra I'm some other documentaries that came

out hell Satan know the actual which is the two

popes and hell Satan coming out in the not that

long ago, but which is a great documentary really

just about This this group that it's kind of

of trolls that slash kind of political activists.

I thought was Interesting the amazing Jonathan

documentary. There's two amazing There's actually

a bunch of amazing Johnson documentaries, which

the amazing Johnson Jonathan documentary gets

into I think it's it's kind of a messy film that

doesn't answer a lot of its own questions, but

just as just this crazy story, it's worth watching.

Well, yeah, I'm trying to think of other films.

I think it's pretty much it. Like I said, there's

a lot I've yet to see. But how about you for

on our mentions on a couple that you mentioned?

Marriage Story was my number 11 just missed.

I made a refuse to watch that one with me, but

I watched it solo. But I again. totally driven

by performances and by I really enjoy films with

limited cast that just kind of really delve into

their relationships. And obviously you get a

lot of that from a marriage story and avoiding

some of the cliche aspects that could have gone

down. So I enjoyed that. This has got to be a

testament to this film that I didn't hate it

because I'm not a fan of films about cars. I'm

not a fan of films about racing. But Ford v Ferrari

worked for me enough that it's in my top 20 as

well. So I just wanted to mention that. So other

ones I had in there. I thought there was a lot

of films this year that delved into families

and kind of the The journey that the teenagers

or the high schoolers or whatever in those families

are having Two that came to mind that kind of

worked for me was loose and waves I think both

of those are Interesting I could see how they

might not work for some people but definitely

delving into the story of teenagers and kind

of goes back to like what you were talking about

with with Mustang where the thing that really

kind of I gravitated towards with both of these

films was how much one decision or one circumstance

or. can completely change the shape of these

individuals lives and completely set them on

a different course one way or the other. I don't

know which one I liked better than the other,

but I thought they were both intriguing and interesting

to kind of see that aspect of like, wow, this

one thing. Now, obviously, Luce kind of goes

off the rails a little bit, and it's got some

craziness to it, whereas Waves is a lot more

grounded in probably more reality. And I do like

the other thing about Waves is that it kind of

There's a transition into almost like the second

half of the film that I very much appreciated

to and kind of add some layers and elements So

I definitely recommend waves if people haven't

seen it Kind of speaking to my sci -fi of a bug

there. I did enjoy high life quite a bit It's

another one. That's kind of takes you got to

get past some parts and stuff that you're not

going to forget that happened in that film. But

I think what really sold that one for me was

that last act. And I thought it was something

again that left you with some stuff to ponder

and think about. I already mentioned Teen Spirit

and her smell. I agree with you, Dan, on Jojo

Rabbit. It didn't quite make my top 10, like

a lot of other YTD stuff has, but I still thought

it was very enjoyable. I didn't have any idea

what we were getting involved with with that

one, but it definitely took me in some areas

that I wasn't anticipating. Outside of that I

did enjoy yesterday. It was kind of a clever

take and thing. I mean, I can I know it's very

I don't know what the right word is but it's

it's I just thought it was Expertly crafted in

a way to do what the director and the writers

wanted to do whether it worked for you or not

I don't know but like I enjoyed the journey and

kind of the way they they played it around all

the musical thing and it's kind of an interesting

concept as far as having a world where the Beatles

didn't exist, and kind of the ramifications of

one person knowing their songs. And then the

last ones I probably mentioned, Drag to Cross

Concrete, from way early on, I count that as

this year's film, was something that I remember

enjoying early on. That's probably good for right

now. So those are other ones that I would recommend

that are probably in my top 20 30 range But I

will be putting out a list on letterbox as well

that has my complete list of all the films I've

seen in order of my appreciation not that that

matters to anybody but I like putting it out

there for My own peace of mind. So and Dan, I

know you have a lot of lists on letterbox that

people can check out as well Overall we said

it was a good year I think we both agree with

that a lot of good things to choose from and

that's with a both of us having Quite a few blind

spots as as well that we still need to catch

up with any final thoughts on the year in film

in 2019 No, I like I said, it's a lie. I need

to need to watch I I do feel like When we have

something it's like impossible to have a bad

year now I say that and then as I was looking

to 2020 days where you get ready for most anticipated

I'm like wow, there's This is gonna be a lot

more difficult than I anticipated Looking a little

dry, but so early you never know, you know There's

still a lot that you know, it's like a lot of

these movies that I think majority of them that

were on my list this Uh didn't actually were

even on my most anticipated for 2019 So that's

always a good sign. So we'll see and some of

them we never even know about until all of a

sudden It's like hey, this is the thing exactly

especially when it comes like documentaries or

or the smaller movies that you kind of that maybe

You debuted in some small festival in the town

and then gets picked up or something like that.

So yeah, absolutely. So Dan and I are going to

try to get back in the swing of things here for

everybody. I'm bringing you some, hopefully some

semi -regular episodes of Cinema Geeks. I know

we're excited to do some of the stuff that we

usually do at the beginning of the year, talking

about box office, talking about most anticipated

films. And then we'll probably get into the thing

that everybody is doing, which is looking back

at the last decade and the movies of the 2010s

and what kind of stood out to us. We did a mid

-year series of episodes Back when we had just

been through the first five years of the decade

and we talked about our favorite Action films

of the half decade and favorite, you know different

genres and things of that nature sci -fi fantasy,

etc And we're looking forward to doing something

similar to that to bring you guys the whole story

now that we've reached the end of all ten years

so Any thoughts on some of those things things

you're looking forward to talking about coming

forward? Yeah, I'm interested in seeing like

how much they've changed compared, you know looking

at some of them like from the 2015 to now account

how much has changed in that five years, right?

It's it's it's really hard because you think

you know doing ten movies for one year is hard

enough But when you try to then do it for a decade,

you're like Jesus this is tense not clearly enough,

but that I'm really looking forward to so And

hopefully we will be able to bring a couple guest

voices along for the journey through that like

we did originally. So that's it for this. Let

us know what your thoughts and your takes are

on our top 10 films of 2019. You can let us know

by going to geekcastradio .com and finding the

episode post and commenting there. You can also

let us know directly by interacting with us on

Twitter. My Twitter is at optimistsolo. Dan,

what is yours? What has changed since the last

time we talked including my trip Twitter handle,

which is now at DXO underscore Dan So you can

also tweet to the show at cinema geek cast We'd

add the the cast on there to get the Twitter

handle so you can do that But we look forward

to talking to you guys more and getting back

in the game So until next time tune in for another

episode of the cinema geeks