How on Earth “Gloria Bell” made it to anybody’s best picture list is beyond me. One of the worst dramas I’ve ever seen. It was so absurd I found myself laughing like I was watching something from Mel Brooks.
16
Jojo Rabbit is the only movie I have ever seen that completely knocked me out.
21
Before I was out of my seat, I knew the perfection I had just seen, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, was Best Picture of 2019, with Tarantino Best Director. Just the same when I saw the performance by Joaquin Phoenix, which was undeniably Best. Both have been so much better than anything else shown to date, although I must admit surprises can, and do, happen at year-end.
I thought both The Irishman and Scorsese came up short by 20%. I also detested that aging trick, however it was carried out, as it was used far too extensively and does little to promote the story.
For me, streaming is just not a way to watch award-winning films. It is a good way to waste time, when that's my goal.
7
@and next... I absolutely hated this film. (Once upon a time in America)
17
Hollywood and Fox/Disney replaced the word cinema with Money. Barry Diller did it with his intimate friend, Michael Eisner, but I absolutely agree that cinema as art began its death throes in the late 50s & 60s, just when European cinema had its most glorious period.
Then Hollywood began buying out European studios and seducing their best directors. That effectively killed the "Europe" in European cinema and merely added a couple of good films to America before those Europeans, too, were turned to junk.
4
Jojo Rabbit!
17
@MB
This movie knocked me out of my socks.
5
“Movies that, rather than fetishizing self-pity or sentimentalizing domination”
^ Scorsese and Tarantino have done this their entire careers.
How? Buy pretending to...
“illuminate the cruelty”
^ Nice try rationalizing your double standards. Maybe it worked on someone else. “But...not us”
18
For many Americans living in small- to mid-sized cities, most of the films discussed here will be unavailable until such time as they appear on one of the many emerging streaming services. This is also a problem for consumers because they (we) are then "forced" to subscribe to multiple services to see the films they're interested in, or miss them completely. I follow the entertainment industry fairly closely, and there's little doubt that behemoths like Disney are only interested in revenue, not the production of quality art. When sequels like "Frozen 2" earn zillions you can expect to see more of the same in the future. The almighty dollar rules, as always. Right now Netflix has the money to offer quality films like those named in this article, but the question is, Will they? Only if they see those films as somehow generating additional revenue for them through increased subscriptions and the like. Meanwhile, deserving artists who produce these works must content themselves with tiny but appreciative audiences.
15
I admit I'm a 74 year old jeezer. I am more persuaded with Scorsee than Marvel Comic books silly characters that flood our movie theaters today. My taste in a movie is based upon my decision as to whether I'd spent the money to buy the movie for my personal collection so I can watch it again. It engages me to think about real life situations.
I don't get that value from watching, say, the John Wick movies that I love and bought. Watching Keenau survive all those shots, kicks, chops and falls and not end up dead or in a wheel chair is just pure thoughtless enjoyment. In reality, e.g., buying the idea that his beloved Mustang can be restored is nonsense. But I know this and don't even remotely think John Wick engages my thought processes about real life.
5
Both “The Irishman” and “Once Upon a time in Hollywood” are good movies and improve on second viewings but needed to be much shorter. But “Marriage Story” has the best screenplay, lead actors, and best supporting performance of the year from Laura Dern.
12
@Peter Malbin Parasite is better than all of them.
13
A.O. Scott your dismissal of Joker as meaning “nothing” is so condescending to the many viewers around the world who have found meaning in it. This isn’t to say that you’re expected to like it, but your criticism of it seems to discount those that do.
32
@Edgar The Joker was certainly a well made, well acted film. However it's biggest issue is that it's been done before. A lot. Falling Down, Taxi Driver and probably a hundred other movies. Throw on top of that that films made around comic books are starting to wear out their welcome and I can see why Scott dismissed it.
12
@My Been done before? You mean like the tired old tropes Scorsese dusted off and laid on the shoulders of a bunch of tired old actors in a tedious, boring and terribly long last gasp of a gangster film? (Let's not get into the ridiculous CGI of their faces - this from a director who can't watch Marvel movies. Cartoon indeed!)
29
@Atomic Man At no point did I recommend The Irishman, it's not in my top ten of the year either. The response was in regards to The Joker.
3
Scorcese thinks these mob guys are interesting as people (he says as much in a post Irishman interview), but I can’t agree. They’re horrifying, true. But complex or enigmatic or deep, no. What they are is violent thugs whose greed and cruelty vastly outweighs any human quality Scorcese would ascribe to them. For me, as a viewer, that makes for a dull and often revolting experience.
32
Just finished watching both The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood this week... and was sorely disappointed by both. The Irishman: wonderful and alive when Pacino is onscreen; boring and the "same old, same old" for the rest of it. I can accept de Niro as "effective" in certain parts, but wonder if he has more than 4 expressions to his name. For great acting one needs to watch Pacino. Scorcese never surprises us; people keep fawning over him because he is considered an icon. Tarantino's is his worst film ever. DiCaprio is very good when he is playing the cowboy... for the rest of it I didn't believe him for a minute. The only moment when the film truly came alive for me was when Pitt visits the hippy camp... a true sense of evil and dread worked marvelously. As for the scenes with DiCaprio and Pitt together, there was very little chemistry or charisma. I remember Paul Newman and Robert Redford teamed up together; none of their kind of magic existed between Brad and Leo - in comparison it was like stale beer instead of champagne. Even Manohla Darggis had to focus on Brad's jawline to find anything worth mentioning. Tarantino does NOT know how to shoot men in a way that brings out their charm. He is capable of it for women, but for men, he is not attracted to them enough physically to care! This film could have been so much more interesting visually if it had been shot by someone like Pedro Almodovar!
17
The make-up jobs in the Irishman are disturbing.
14
I could not put the book, "I Heard You Paint Houses" down while reading it. I was utterly captivated by its contents because I recall that Hoffa era, and especially his disappearance, with great interest.
The movie, "The Irishman" followed the book very closely which I was extremely pleased with. A lot of friends of mine didn't like the movie because they said it was too long, too boring, too whatever. They thought the movie was going to be about only Jimmy Hoffa. I guess they didn't realize he wasn't Irish.
Bottomline for me is that this movie, like the book, was about a guy who was a rarity, non-Italian, who became an extremely close and trusted member of a powerful mob family and who eventually was told, not asked, to take out Jimmy Hoffa.
I thought the movie went by quickly, it sure didn't feel like 3 1/2 hours. My only, ONLY complaint is that I thought De Niro and Pacino were all wrong for the parts they played. I thought Brian Dennehy would have been good as "the Irishman" and I thought Jack Nicolson would have been perfect as Hoffa.
The best part of the entire movie was Joe Pesci - he was brilliant. He is brilliant in everything he has ever done. I sincerely hope he gets an Academy Award for this role.
11
The Irishman is flawed. The elegiac final scenes of Scorsese's masterwork are undercut by the early characterization of Frank Sheeran, the hitman played by De Niro. The poignancy of Sheeran's fraught relationship with his daughter Peggy would have gained resonance if early on we had seen moments of familial ties that bind. Moreover, a valedictory reckoning of Sheeran's slide into the underworld is compromised by his evident predisposition to homicide--including summary executions in wartime--and entrepreneurial larceny. In short, he is closer to Bogart in Walsh's The Roaring Twenties than to Cagney, casting dissonance on any chimes of emotion. There's no one to voice a eulogy for Sheeran, the former big shot.
The script has other discordant notes. Sheeran mentions that the divorced mother of his children gets along fine with his second wife, an anomaly under any circumstances but inconceivable in Catholic America of the 1950's. We learn that Sheeran became fluent in Italian from his WWII experience, something that Sloan Wilson's literate Man in the Gray Flannel Suit did not attain despite fathering a child out of wedlock in the same campaign. Titling the picture The Irishman--vs. the limited marquee value of I Heard You Paint Houses--warranted some scenes of Celtic-American culture, which William Monahan, writer of The Departed, could have provided if asked. Such would have added depth, both to the father-daughter bond and Sheeran's role as middleman to Hoffa and Bufalino.
7
My choice is Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Best picture, best actor for Leo DiCaprio and best Director Quentin Tarantino.
I liked The Irishman, but mostly out of nostalgia.
11
Don’t get the critic hype for The Irishman. It was like watching the Stones in concert. A bunch of old men trying to act younger, playing their greatest hits and generally doing something they did much better several decades ago.
66
@Xoxarle Thank you. I really disagree with A.O. Scott so much.....
6
The Irishman why bother? There is nothing great about this film. It is Scorsese rehash. It is background noise. You included this film but omitted The Last Black Man In San Francisco which has many layers about being an a marginalized person in America in 2019.
29
@Albert OMG - thank you. Scorsese has been Rocklin that alienated violent white guy = soulful vibe for 50 years. Enough already!
9
Where is The Farewell? It was the first great movie I saw this year, and everyone seemed to agree, until it was time to write a year-end top-10 list.
18
I have seen and enjoyed most if not all of the films listed here. One exception for me, at least, was “Gloria Bell” which I found reductive, boring and just plain not up to the standards I expect for a runner-up to the best list.
10
The Irishman had a slow start. The second half was better. Pacino was great.
I had to fight falling asleep in The Souvenir. It was incredibly tedious.
5
Not mentioned here is the truly significant story contained in the fine film “Dark Waters”, a documentary of the pollution of our eco-system by PFAs, the non-biodegradable chemical used in making Teflon and other “miracle” products of our age. It is quite entertaining and informative.
13
I love going out to movie theaters and mourn the fast closure in the past year of so many theaters in New York City.
Streaming has its place. But it cannot replace the big screen and viewing with an audience.
Just as we've lost countless brick and mortar stores to online shopping, the closing of movie houses is another elimination of public meeting places where we share experiences, cross paths with others, both friends and strangers. And imo, such public spaces are critical to maintaining not only the arts, but our civil society.
32
What about Motherless Brooklyn a movie that held me spellbound and a performance by Ed Norton that was terrific. As far as the Irishman - it was good - but nothing spectacular. Pacino played the same part (different name) as he has done in all of his movies since Scent of a Women. Same way of speaking, same anger, same inflections, etc. Pesci was "Vinnie" without the comic overtones. It looked like they took parts of "JFK" and "Good Fellows" and put them together to contrive a story with little semblance to history.
20
Best movies of 2019? Hold on, where is ''Joker''? I see nobody even going to mention it? For me, it's the best movie in 2019. ''Oscar'' has to be given to this movie as for the best picture, best director-Todd Phillips, best actor- Joakine Phoenix, best-supporting actor Robert DeNiro. And I wouldn't longer believe in Academy if they wouldn't do so
5
@Bob the last line of this article mentions it. If that’s your best movie of 2019, you aren’t going to like what it says.
5
@Bob I agree, totally Bob, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Intense and riveting!
2
@John Irishmen is Scorsese rehash. Joker is Scorsese rip off.
5
What about the Charlies Angels movie?Elizabeth Banks told us it was the fault of white men(who she told to stay away)that her cinematic masterpiece failed at the box office.She was obviously right,toxic masculinity ruins everything.Personally I found her magnum opus to be just the sort of movie that she should be remembered for,for the rest of her days.Whatever else she does with her life,she should constantly be reminded that this movie has her name smeared all over it.
1
DeNiro is about as Irish as a bowl of baked ziti. He miscast himself in the role.
23
@larochelle2
DeNiro is totally overrated.
Al Pacino and Joe Pesci were outstanding, along with supporting cast.
4
@AIM I don't think he's overrated, he has been outstanding. But not here, and maybe not lately.
9
it's an elephant sitting still, not standing still
1
I fell asleep 30mins into Irishman...such a bore and contrived narrative. It asked too much of viewers to play along and pretend. Also it was just a sad reminder how old people today in America just do not know when nor how to exit gracefully from limelight ie politicans...have nothing interesting to say either. Perhaps Clint Eastwood is an exception
10
@CK You had me until your last sentence. Didn't Mr. Eastwood spend time on a stage cursing an empty chair? Imagine having the entire country's attention and using it to curse at an empty chair. Truly representative of the self-indulgent ego often seen in a certain subgroup.
16
I have some criticism for Scorsese on his last two projects. The Irishman is a good movie, but has some pretty remarkable flaws. Besides many recycled scenes from other Scorsese movies Deniro and Pacino were not acting with the force and dexterity they are famous for. Scorsese should have brought in some fresh actors. Pesci is great, but didn't have the work load that Deniro and Pacino were assigned. Somewhere out there is a new Deniro and a new Pacino. This would have been the movie to find them.
In Rolling Thunder Revue, Scorsese throws a fictionalized character into a brilliant documentary and insight into Bob Dylan. Up until that point in the film you are unaware that anyone is in the director's chair. The footage of the tour stands strong all by itself and is an incredibley intimate look into the creative process, the 70's, and Bob Dylan. The scene of Dylan walking around and singing at an American Indian reservation gathering is raw and powerful. Why Scorsese injected a false witness into the movie is befuddling and a colossal mistake.
Sometimes being a great artist means knowing your limitations.
4
Someone here nominated 'The Irishman' for 'Most Over-Hyped Movie of 2019'. I couldn't agree more. The Irishman does what he's told, without any second thoughts (including killing one of his best friends, Jimmy Hoffa), and refuses to confess anything, or show remorse, even when given the chance at the end of his life, to two journalists and a priest. So what are we to make of this person? Not much, except he's an immigrant, who figures the money is in killing and fidelity to a boss. Who knows. The women in the film are predictably treated as objects who wait, smoke, and gossip, although we never hear what they're gossiping about. We're treated to background historical commentary on radios and TV sets as the saga unfolds, having little or no effect on the Irishman per se. So we're told and shown what happens in this man's life, only to be left with a sad guy who ends up in a retirement home without many visitors. I'm sure Scorsese was saying something really big here (he must be, considering the length of the film), but without reading into it (which a lot of critics have done), I didn't get the 'meditation on death' angle. I always feel something hollow or skin deep as to the 'why' of any Scorsese film, other than the fact the he loves making movies and loves movies, which makes me think that what he's actually saying in a film is of secondary importance. It sets him apart from a real artist like Kubrick or Bunuel, who made movies primarily to express an idea.
24
I see that Scott is still making the ridiculous assertion that Joker doesn't mean anything. Maybe he wishes it were so. The entirely obvious meaning is that people are rising against the neo-liberal Establishment and this is good. The US is relatively backward and its rebelliousness is mostly confined to elections, but it is expressed in the popular support for Sanders and Gabbard and Trump. Internationally we see a rash of battles in the streets of Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Catalonia, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia, and probably many others I have missed. Today they are building barricades in the streets of France. The ruling class might like to pretend this was not happening but it is impossible to cover up.
10
@Paul Easton Joker means that if you rip off Scorsese to audiences who don’t know better....they’ll think it’s deep.
9
Thank you, A.O. Scott. I've been accused of being an elitist by the marvel minions, for complaining that the magic of the liminal space of the movie theater is being destroyed by childish, escapist fare. I long for movies like "The Irishman" by the master of cinematic storytelling who uses all the tricks of his trade, from tracking shots to soundtracks and the eliciting of superb performances from great actors. I mourn how films like "Amadeus," or "Midnight Cowboy" are a rarity. Hollywood should be ashamed of selling out cinema for comic book tripe.
16
Once I got passed the digital attempt to turn back time, I was there for all 3.5 hours. I love both movies and cinema (and love Scorcese's nods to The Searchers, another dark film by the earlier cinema master, John Ford.) At 77, Scorcese returns to the singularly brutal world of his early Mean Streets, with a haunting film devoid of gangster glamour, style, and humor. Both films exist in cruel spaces where poisonous macho pride and greed rule. The Irishman is an old man's return to his youth but now, possibly contemplating the ultimate fate of both himself and his gangsters, he closes his film, not with Mean Street's violent death and desolation, but with a sliver of grace.
4
@Sandra I love Scorsese - and have been accused of being a cinema snob too, and I will still tell you flat out that Avengers EndGame was brilliant. I’ve seen the film 5 times and have thought about it, and written about it more than any other film this year....only Parasite comes close.
This past year was noteworthy for the spate of documentaries about musicians of a certain era: David Crosby; Aretha Franklin; Linda Ronstadt; the several artists spotlighted in Echo in the Canyon; even Luciano Pavarotti. I would have hoped that at least one would get an honorable mention (my choice would have been the Crosby film).
13
I forgot to mention the film about Leonard Cohen and his muse Marianne.
9
I saw Mati Diop's "Atlantics" at a film fest. Really interesting: Is it a hardscrabble romance, a refugee tale, a crime drama, a supernatural thriller? It seemed to shift between all of these things. Some of the visual cues were quite clever -- and the actors were were so compelling -- to watch, to listen to. Currently on Netflix.
5
Surprised there was no mention of "Motherless Brooklyn."
16
I love going to the cinema. There are too many distractions at home. I saw:-
The Souvenir
Peterloo
Pain and Glory
I saw some others too.
If I have free time I like to just show up at the cinema and see the next film on
Saw an Iranian film called “permission”
My adhd brain finds movies and audiobooks can occupy me.
4
I would say The Crown it is very interesting.
3
For me, Avengers or Knives out - but I haven't seen many of the films on the list, including the Irishman.
2
@Leo Avengers Endgame was BRILLIANT. People who can’t see past the words “marvel” or “comic book” are as foolish as those who watch Godfather or Goodfellas and can’t see past “gangster”.
For me there were only two good movies in 2019. "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" and "Joker". Haven't see "The Irishman" so I cannot speak for it.
Quality, creativity and imagination is now mostly the domain of streamers and premium cablers. Movies are falling behind badly. Nevermind the ever increasing costs associated with a movie outing and the as well increasingly disruptive environment one encounters in cinemas.
Streaming or the "small screen" might not be a perfect alternative for such a communal activity as movie watching, but at least for now it is a good if not great solution.
2
Irishman isto me a huge disappointment and a bore. Don't believe the fawning reviews. I love gangster and mafia movies but sadly this is not one of them. Very long and boring with no laughs at all.
13
Any list that doesn't include "Harriet" should be discounted. If Cynthia Erivo does not win Best Actress, then we need to cancel that award. Outstanding performance.
2
The Irishman was a good film. I enjoyed it. But you'd think the way these critics are fawning all over it, they were writing about a truly ground breaking film, like maybe, Goodfellas.
20
@Ron's Son Totally agree. I enjoyed it, but all the critics seem to stem from nostalgia.
On top of that, the highlight of the movie seems to me to be the excessive make-up to deage all 70+ actors. I can see it was quite a feature to achieve what they did but still, it was not realistic and I couldn't call it a success. In addition to the fake "mask" faces, it's still some guys looking like 40s but walking like 70s...
5
"Accusing Scorsese (and his defenders) of elitism was exemplary pseudo-populism, a defense of corporate hegemony disguised as a celebration of mass taste. To question the apparent preferences of millions of consumers is to risk being labeled a snob."
Thanks for calling it what it is, and...well put. A precise distillation.
8
@scratchy "To question the apparent preferences of millions of consumers is to risk being labeled a snob." but also a great way to gain more publicity at a very convenient time.
4
Why are critics so keen on tut-tutting The Joker? I will never understand it. I absolutely loved it, thought it was an outstanding movie. On the one hand Scorsese is praised for his Marvel criticism and on the other The Joker is treated with at least mild disdain despite it being EXACTLY what I think Scorsese was calling for more of (and a movie he produced no less!). I still need to see Parasite, Once Upon a Time, and a few others, but I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where it isn't in my top 3 for 2019. Also really want to see that Bolsanaro/Brazil documentary which I hadn't even heard of, so thank you for highlighting it.
11
@DennisMcG I loved Joker. I agree with you. But I think all those that take Scorsese words without further thought, just lumped all Marvel (and Marvel-like) movies in the same bag (despite, as you said, that Scorsese even produced it). Maybe they haven't even seen Joker.
I havent seen the more obscure movies of the list, but I would gladly replace Once Upon... with Joker.
4
Every few years I watch Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai", which clocks in at three and a half hours. I understand there is at least one shorter version. If so, it would be tantamount to a decimation of great art for there is not one excess frame in that masterpiece.
I thought the acting in the "Irishman" was generally strong. Al Pacino was somewhat more restrained than usual and was nicely counterbalanced by the underacting of De Niro and Pesci. But the film felt every bit its three and a half hours length.
10
Any list that does not contain the documentary film "Apollo 11" is a sham. It was cinematic perfection chronicling one of, if not the, greatest accomplishment of mankind.
7
I think it is on the secondary list of both critics, but I slapped it on my Hulu watch list. Also worth a watch in this category is the Al Reinert's "For All Mankind". More a poem than a story, but it is beautiful.
Years ago in my first journalism class the professor told the class that the best way to judge a film was to ask the question, "did it challenge your reality structure?" Sadly the vast majority of films today do not. Yes I understand the need for films that entertain and/or act as an escape from our daily lives. But we also need films that indeed do challenge our reality structure.
8
@Bill With all due respect, Bill, I have no idea what "realty structure" means.
14
@Mike thank you
2
Because of The NY Times review of Honeyland I sought the film out to see it in a theater. Because it is considered a ‘small’ film I wouldn’t have known about it let alone see it. The value of reading, the value of seeking. The film is a moving masterpiece.
16
I was faced with a few films I’d never heard of and none that I particularly wanted to see when a friend of mine asked me to meet her at the movies. I quickly took out my phone and reviewed the NYT critic’s picks. Honeyland it was and man we were floored. Great film and we were so happy we went. Thanks NYT!
8
Watch Honeyland. It's a masterpiece.
13
A film that blew me away this year is «Portrait d'une jeune fille en feu» (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) - I'm surprised it didn't make this list with which I generally agree.
5
Hmmm, have tried twice to get through “The Irishman.” The second time i made for over an hour before falling asleep.
9
@joey
We are all fans of DeNiro, Pacino and Scorsese, and we were all appalled at how bad it was. Don’t waste your precious time.
11
@Ann s is it that bad..?
@Leo No. These people are hysterical.
8
Beautifully stated, A.O. Scott.
1
Don’t you tire of the same themes heralded as great cinema? I do. Another mafia movie, unfinished, can not possibly be considered in the year’s best. A nod to Scorcese for life’s work is a different worthwhile article. Cinema about itself is hardly compelling. Honeybees make a worthy entry but the effort to create a real list waned from there. There’s always a chance for a makeup.
3
QUEEN & SLIM is a MUST SEE. May be the BEST PICTURE of the year. Most definitely the BEST Actor and Actress Oscar Nominees.
I've seen almost every movie listed. The one movie I am surprised to find in the top 10 is Peterloo. Am a Mike Leigh fan and found the story interesting and well-told from a history perspective, but really not "entertaining". [Viewing the movie stirred the same sensation as I recall from my childhood when reading a book explicitly to prepare a book report.]
5
Dark Waters should be on this list, a film of tremendous integrity; script, acting, and directing of the highest quality. We were engaged every minute by this compelling story. Mark Ruffalo deserves an academy award for his performance, so passionate and honest.
12
You should reread your previous years' lists and consider how many of them you can remember as distinct works, or were even available to the general public.
2
@ChristopherM I don't go to may movies in the cinema. The last one I saw in a theater was "They Shall Not Grow Old." I'm a history buff and the experience was fascinating. Saw it twice.
4
@myfiero That was and is a unique and worthy film.
3
They are movies. They are designed presumably to be entertaining. Almost all of course are not, but there is a tiny number which are both entertaining and art. I have not watched of the movies listed. I watched some of the Once Upon a Time..., but far too gruesome for my taste, even though very well done cinematically. i look forward to viewing The Irishman, which almost certainly is very violent, but nonetheless executed by a true talent, Mr. Scorsese, and featuring exellent actors.
1
"Once Upon A Time in Hollywood" is the best film to come along in a decade. And it isn't about an aging TV star, that's just the setting. It's actually about a re-write of the Manson family Tate-LaBianca episode in L.A. in 1969. Quentin Tarantino rewrites it with a happy ending, and it's just terrific. Brad Pitt has finally come into his own as an actor, and steals the film. But the whole cast deserves kudos and it's a wonderful movie. So far I've seen in 3 times.
22
Martin Scorcese doesn't want me to watch The Irishman on my phone? Really! OK. Just because it has great actors and authentic sets doesn't make up for a total lack of drama. I don't even know what to call The Irishman; maybe a hitman soap opera.
9
@ellen ---Do you really watch movies on your phone?
12
@ellen Id stab my eyes out before I watched a movie on my phone.
13
@ellen, I don't know about you, but I have a large TV in my living room that I can stream Netflix to. Why would I watch a movie on my phone, or my tablet, or a computer?
The only thing I watch on my phone are live sports when I am not near a TV showing the game I want to watch.
5
Re Scott: You need to rethink your role as defender of "what's good" in films. It comes across more as defiant middle-aged white male adjudicator of elitism, than as critic open mindedly weighing films, even those popular to the hoi polloi. And no, we white men don't lose our entitlement by foregrounding films with minorities in front of or behind the camera. Rather, we reinforce it; the "woke" white guy wielding his innate entitlement to uplift all those who don't share it. One can imagine the statue.
Re Dargis: Do we all, you included, suffer from historical amnesia? I wish someone besides the bargin bin managers at Walmart would allow us to access the drek that has come out of the studio system. What fraction have you seen of the mind-numbingly mediocre B movies that B actors were forced to grind out?
Little, I'd guess, because they're literally inaccessible, lost. What we are left with are the better twenty movies for a given year or decade, recycled over and over as memic exemplars. "Stagecoach" becomes the way we represent westerns from the 30's. "A Star Is Born," or "On the Waterfront" work well for the 50's. The studio system was rarely creative or risk taking. The new media are both, if only from a competitive hunger for content.
Last, curious why you headline your list of best films with yet another Hollywood film about, surprise, itself. Critics, like producers and awards voters, believe their industry to be the most fascinating on earth. Do audiences?
7
@SMB
Actually, "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood" isn't about Hollywood, in fact it's only partially set in Hollywood. See my post on what it's really about, above.
6
Studios did a lot for movie making and Hollywood. It developed acting, script writing, direction, singing dancing, cinematography and other skills. A lot has been lost without a studio system. There were creative forces who very talented and kept out, but as we’ve seen in several decades since that a lot of people weren’t very talented or cared very much for making quality films. They are just part of much bigger corporations that don’t have much of a state in making movies.
4
Can't we just agree that it's all cinema and just argue about whether it's good or not?
4
It's hard for me to care about the Times Best list of movies... Why? I find it hard to separate current politics and art in their reviews. But what seems to matter most at times ... sad to say is... politics.
6
Where is Lulu Wang's great film "The Farewell" starring Awkwafina (Nora Lum)from "Crazy Rich Asians"??? In my opinion the best film this year, I saw it seven times as it was in theaters in the Capital District of NY for almost two months. It is just about the most perfect film I have ever seen.
15
Another version of Little Women! Ten? More? This tedious book oversold again to another half a generation. Ought to be a statute of limitations on white nostalgia.
14
@DaveD I’m starting to think that pejorative uses of “white” should be classified as hate speech. And when it’s coupled with “old” and “man” (though it wasn’t done in this comment), it ought to classified as ageist and sexist. We’ve stopped routinely essential-izing and insulting every other group. At least in respectable publications.
And, yes, I know it’s a response to history. But I really don’t think my grandsons should have to grow up ashamed of their genes.
9
I've heard of a couple of these movies
9
Now you’ve heard of them and if you choose can make an effort to see them. Better than hearing of them from marketing campaigns.
2
'Once upon a Time in Hollywood' is Tarantino's worst movie.
11
@Richard
It’s his best movie.
15
I'm so tired of the misogany of Tarantino. Please, let's get him off these 'best of' lists.
32
Time for you to stop watching his movies.
They are events and as good as moviemaking or cinema or film gets.
I do not understand the misogyny criticism of his latest film.
7
Rushed out to see The Irishman in the theater, and found a colossal flop. Are critics raving out of respect for Scorsese's legacy? The storyline was weak. I didn't learn anything about the lives of wiseguys and their sufferings that we didn't get from beautiful and superior Godfather I & II, + Goodfellas. It was 3 1/2 hrs of cold leftovers. De Niro & Pacino, obviously they know their craft but both overdid it here. Pesci underplayed and he stood out. De Niro was made up to try and appear as a young man. Did not work! The costumes and set decoration were first-rate.
25
Completely agree... Let's not forget Casino!Also agree on the criticisms of Avengers and that franchise... The Joker was good, it was captivating and thought provoking... I enjoyed it.
3
...but the “Joker” was too overt in its messaging for my ...it was flogging a dead horse midway through the film.
3
So how many of these chosen movies will actually "stand the test of time"? Just Google the "best lists" from the Times from 10 or 15 years ago and you'll see that the majority will be long unremembered. That's not to question their worth, but to note their ephemeralness.
9
Shaun the sheep is missing from this list.
8
@Mike Perhaps because that movie came out around five years ago...
5
Jojo Rabbit moved me like no other movie in a decade. A movie that can be outrageously funny and horrendously tragic at the same time deserves your accolades. And how that Kiwi pulled off his multifaceted portrayal of Hitler was amazing
14
in common with a lot of doorstop size books, "The Irishman" could have used a good edit. At least an hours worth.......
20
@Marti Mart
Agree. The movie cannot be ignored - beloved director and actors late in their careers in a beautifully filmed movie retelling a version of the truth. But...the film’s editor must have been on an extended vacation. The movie, all the good points aside, is just too flabby - would have been a classic at 2.5 hours. It begs to be carefully edited into an abridged version retaining the story but watchable in a single sitting. At least it is on Netflix - can be watched in installments.
7
Once Upon a Time was great. Classic Tarantino dialogue, with outstanding acting and a brutal payoff.
The Irishman was pretty great too. Again, classic Scorsese mafia flick, with familiar beats and a solid, if not a bit slow, script.
Parasite though. Wow. Nothing classic about that. Wholly original storytelling, with layers of social commentary steeped on top of one another. I think Bong Joon-ho deserves best director and best film for this masterpiece.
15
@MP, and Bong Joon-Ho isn't the only good thing coming out of South Korea. "Train to Busan" is a wonderfully fun zombie movie and there are lots of others, such as "The Handmaid", which are well worth watching.
2
did your jojo rabbit screener get lost in the mail room?
9
"The Irishman" is a great film, up there with Scorsese's best.
A sorrowful, sobering look at the corrupt forces that play with our lives and our government that are responsible for getting us into the depraved mess of the current administration. I doubt it's an accident Scorsese released this film in 2019.
As far as Scorsese's comments about the Marvel universe, he has plenty of room to level such criticism.
When I accidentally come across one of Mr.Scorsese's films being broadcast on cable, I inevitably sit down and watch it again. I can't think of another filmmaker whose films I'm happy to watch for the 10th or 20th time but I'm always up for a repeat viewing of "Raging Bull," "Mean Streets," "The Departed," "Casino," "Goodfellas," "The Age Of Innocence," "Taxi Driver" and "The Last Waltz."
Has Scorsese ever made a bad or boring film? Sure.
But he's the greatest living director.
Think about whether there's any director whose film you could stand to watch for the 20th time. Then try to think of any director who's made a dozen films you could watch 20 times.
"The Godfather" and "The Godfather II," yes. But I've done that with a dozen Scorsese films.
I look forward to many repeat viewings of "The Irishman" for years to come.
Thank you, Mr. Scorsese.
9
@fast/furious, Coppola is the only one who comes close.
3
Having seen many of the films that made these lists, I'd still have put "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" at #1.
7
@Karen, I agree with this! By Far! I can't believe more people weren't as affected by how beautiful this film is and how original and "now" it feels. We've watched a lot of these 2019 "best of's" and are trying to see them all - but nothing comes close to "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" so far.
2
Joker was viewed by some critics as a franchise flick, or an inducement to more random gun violence. Instead the first half sizzles with an Antonin Artaud lookalike enduring the slings and arrows of cosmopolitan fortune and agony.
Unlike the Heath Ledger Joker, this one had a semblance of compassion even after losing his mind almost completely. Joker was a masterpiece but for some reason it’s uncool to say so in the rarefied salons of the cinema community.
As for the revered Scorcese “Irishman” it had its unintentional laugh-out-loud moments for those reasonably conversant with the history of NY’s wise guys. For example, Crazy Joe Gallo is despised as a showboating publicity hound. But in real life the mafiosi he shot, Columbo, was the first head of a crime family to do the talk show circuit and absurdly claim that it was libel to say some Italians were mobbed up. Colombo’s antics made Gallo look like a recluse in comparison.
I couldn’t distinguish Mr Pacino’s Hoffa from Michael Corleone in Godfather III.
DeNiro tried hard to play the toady convincingly but his inner authoritarian Type A personality undercut his effort. When he was obsequious it just wasn’t believable.
Joe Pesci on the other hand exhibited masterly restraint and radiated that certain serenity and steely confidence that comes from overwhelming power.
As self-indulgent and parodied as “The Irishman” was I credit Scorcese for showing how the biggest victims of gangsterism are the gangsters themselves
10
@Michael Hoffman Antonin Artaud! The Man of Vision! The Little Celestial Angel! The sympathetic monk in Dreyer's "Passion of Joan of Arc"; the ill-starred Marat in Abel Gance's "Napoleon". It's been forever since I've heard his name mentioned in print. In the words of Ilya Morometz (main character in "Sword and the Dragon"): "This is indeed wondrous!"
2
@Michael Hoffman
Gangsters are not victims. They victimize the world and get away with it most of the time. The Irishman shows at least three men who did terrible things to other people keep doing it well beyond their retirement years. Then they got old and suffered just like everyone else.
4
Why was it necessary to credit Spike Lee and Katherine Bigelow as "two filmmakers Scorsesee holds up as exemplars"? To qualify the talent of a woman and a black man as being good enough to earn the respect of a white, male peer seems both racist and sexist.
9
where is under the silver lake on this list :thinking_face:
I tried to read this whole thing twice, thinking that maybe I was missing something but I couldn't manage to read this junk twice;
"But far from signifying snootiness, the cosmopolitanism of the term is a sign of the essentially democratic nature of the art form itself, which is able to leap over barriers of language, custom and ideology like few others."
Knowing this ends with lauding a needless remake of Little Women, I just couldn't continue again. The consumption of movies is democratic, at least for a few more months till tickets go 50 a pop, but, newsflash, movies are very expensive to make just like always. TV is far more democratic to view by the way.
2
Proud to stand with Scorsese and his ilk of elitist adults with intelligence, taste, standards of excellence and appreciation of a fine job, so well done in an age of trivial nonsense and artistic refuse masquerading as something worth watching. As a violence -phobe in films or elsewhere, I was surprised that I was thoroughly immersed in The Irishman from the very beginning. I was growing up in NYC during those years and I remembered portrayed events well, aided, it seemed by the excellent production values of the film, the music, especially. It was a total time warp for me, and I barely jumped at all the house painting going on. Hooray for the grownups!
8
I found The Irishmen too long and too slow paced.
13
@Rich
Too few explosions and people flying as well.
4
Did America produce a decent film about a strong female character this year, or a film directed by a woman? My two favourite films so far have been from the UK and Australia.
Gavin Hood tells the true, suppressed, edge-of-your-seat story of a government whistleblower in “Official Secrets” (UK) with an Oscar-nomination-worthy performance from Keira Knightley; this film could not be more topical at this point in history.
Jennifer Kent’s brutally spellbinding “The Nightingale” (Australia) features a breakout, knock-out, unforgettable performance from Aisling Franciosi (also worthy of a nomination), and magnificent support from Baykali Ganambarr as a Tasmanian Aboriginal tracker.
I found “Once Upon a Time…” totally unwatchable, and wondered why “The Irishman” wasn’t labelled and marketed as a comedy. Another unwatchable experience for me was “The Peanut Butter Falcon” – gee, let’s all laugh at the chubby kid with Asperger’s Syndrome who spends most of the film clad only in his underwear. Some people view it as a “feel good” movie; I thought of it as disability pornography.
10
Books art. Strong female characters, directed by a woman.
1
@Alex I particularly enjoyed both “The Nightingale” and “Official Secrets” because they share fantastic screenplays, strong and memorable performances, great direction, cinematography, and other production values. “The Nightingale” is timeless; “Official Secrets,” a tale from recent history, just happens to hit the right tone for 2019 but will still be thrilling in 2029.
What I managed to see of Tarantino’s latest simply paled in comparison to his early achievements.
I laughed out loud at portions of “The
Irishman” which were, I imagine, not intended to be comic, and found most of it cringe-worthy. To say it's overlong is an understatement. Nothing new here from anyone involved: they’ve all done it before and far better when they were closer to the ages of their real-life characters.
I have appreciated the portrayal of people with disabilities (Leonard Di Caprio in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”; Lilly Jandreau in the multi-award-winning but sadly-overlooked “The Rider” from director/writer Chloé Zhao) but the young man in “The Peanut Butter Falcon” seemed to me to be exploited to the point that I could not watch it: it made me feel uncomfortable.
While I am annoyed by Hollywood’s ongoing omission of female directors and writers (in addition to Zhao’s “The Rider,” where were nominations for Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace?”), what I ultimately look for is great filmmaking: an entertaining experience, perhaps enlightening, and especially something that lingers in my mind.
2
@Larry Has The Farewell (written and directed by an American, albeit with most of the action in China) not played where you are?
I don't get it. I really tried to watch The Irishman and get into it, but it was incredibly dull and I ended up practically falling asleep, so I turned it off. I find that with all Scorsese movies really. They are over-hyped and underwhelming. I felt exactly the same way about Casino. I disliked all the characters (same as with The Irishman); the movie was zero enjoyment (again, same). The media seem to have a love affair with Martin Scorsese, but I can't really explain why. Just my opinion. If you love this movie, no need to explain it to me - just not my cup of tea, apparently.
18
@Anon
Good Fellas; Raging Bull; Taxi Driver; Mean Streets; King of Comedy; Departed.... and I could go on for 25 or more masterpieces - not to even start with the documentaries.
It is not the 'media' that is in love with Scorsese.
I must admit I am dying to know what you like.
4
@Anon Same. It was long, boring, and had stiff, lifeless faces.
7
@Anon
Ok.
I'm surprised to see "Joker" ignored by both writers. If only for Joaquin Phenix's acting this film should be on anyone's Best Movies list. Cinematically, it's an astonishing well photographed film and the choreography is pure genius.
I think it is being ignored because it's one of those "Super Hero " movies, but it's not. It exists in its own world and owes very little to the Hollywood comic book mega hits we must continue to endure.
17
@Blake
I think those of us who have admired Joaquin Phoenix's acting for so long almost expect it. His performance in The Master sealed his reputation as the best actor of (my) Gen X generation. The Joker was entertaining, just not worthy of critical praise and certainly not a place in "best of" list.
5
@Blake If Phoenix is "acting," what possibly could be over-acting? He must have the teeth of a cow because there wasn't a bit of scenery left un-chewed by film's end.
4
I like The Irishman, but not as much as Goodfellas or The Departed. I wish Scorsese would make another Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
I was reminded of how much I dislike Al Pacino (he thinks all acting is yelling). I was immensely impressed with Joe Pesci's performance. I think he was terrific and stole the movie from DeNiro and Pacino.
15
@Anti-Marx I'm sure his Academy Award, two Tonys and two Emmys were flukes
"Because it also exists in other languages, including French, using it might make you sound like you’re putting on airs. (I myself prefer the Italian pronunciation.)"
You just did put on airs. Big time.
6
“Roots” played backward for a happy ending.
I find the non-stop critical approbation heaped upon "Parasite" to be strange. It has an amusing and intriguing first hour, then tips over into insanity, becoming lurid and over-plotted. I know the director is eager to be the South Korean Hitchcock, but in my view he has a long way to go. If I want a thriller that quietly reveals the inequities in Asian society, I'll watch Kurosawa's "High and Low."
7
@Atticus Why must every director who makes a few suspense films be compared to Hitchcock? Bong Joon-ho is his own man with a singular style. "Memories of Murder" and "The Host" are classics of their respective genres. I, however, also think "Parasite" is too didactic and uneven...
2
@northwestman Bong made the comparison to Hitchcock himself, in a brief interview I caught of him. He's obviously a talented guy with a good eye, I just feel this film has been wildly overpraised. I haven't seen the other films. Perhaps I should.
3
I still say that "Parasite" is overrated (its essential ideas about the dichotomy of poor versus affluent have been made in numerous other movies, including some of Mr. Joon Ho's) and that Christian Petzold's "Transit" is a movie that could have been made thirty years ago by Jean-Pierre Melville and would not have been half so pretentious. Still, it's good to see that "The Edge of Democracy" made Mr. Scott's list: it's one of the great political documentaries of our era, and I may well have ignored it had this critic not raved about it when it was shown at the IFC Theater. And good on Ms. Dargis for remembering Scorsese's "other" 2019 movie. It hadn't been a great decade for America's greatest contemporary filmmaker but he did come close to redeeming himself this year.
17
What a sorry year for American film. Just saw The Irishman, it's got some good moments, but is an hour too long, and the same old nonsense about gangsters, with Italians that didn't finish high school schlumping around killing each other--basta! Italians have a great cultural heritage, how about a film about Enrico Caruso, he visited Little Italy, and you could have great sets and costumes. Having seen practically all of Scorsese's films, I'm convinced he had one great art work in him, and that was Raging Bull. Same track record as Woody Allen and Spike Lee. There are no masters any more--no Hitchcock, to Fellini, John Ford, Orson Welles. Ours is an Age of Brass.
21
@Sidewalk Sam
"Italians have a great cultural heritage".
Pretty much every nation has a great cultural heritage. Try being Mexican and seeing people of your 'heritage' being constantly portrayed as crazy romantics or narcos.
11
@Sidewalk Sam :
sorry, but you can't deny (along with J. Edgar Hoover) that the Mafia existed and still exists.
Yes, Italian culture and history is remarkable, but you can't leave out the bad parts.
2
I lean toward Coppola's take on Scorsese's comments: Marty was being nice. These giganto-films are literally just what Draghis said they are:
"He is right that nothing is at risk in them, or rather very little. Even the best ones are absent real risk because they are not films in the old-fashioned sense: They are delivery systems for an integrated array of products and experiences (other movies, theme parks, toys). Their formula is a feature not a bug. The appeal of the familiar is one way powerful entertainment companies turn ardent viewers into brand loyalists, reaching fans with a cradle-to-grave consumer strategy."
That's not art. Sorry.
Now, I like a Big Mac every so often, too, but just because Wonderful Me likes them doesn't make Big Macs The Height of Culinary Art. They feel good and are bad for you, pretty much, if not taken in serious moderation. Ditto Avengers.
Sorry, kids. That's the way it is. Don't tell me you can watch Renoir's The River and have the same experience as watching freaking Ant Man. Cut the self-glorifying garbage: fastfood movies are not art; art films are not fastfood movies.
Every blue moon you get something like North by Northwest. Which is a fine film...and nowhere near as deep as Vertigo.
But who cares about that, right? It's all about Brand Loyalty -- mega corporate PR-enforced Brand Loyalty.
In fact, here's the deal:
Marvel : Scorsese :: Buttigeg : Sanders.
Should be clear now.
10
@Doug Tarnopol The irony, of course, is that Scorsese's Italian mob movies have become exactly what he condemns in Marvel movies (and I have no love for a superhero movie). There is no longer any "risk" because we have seen them so many times. They have the exact same actors. They have the exact same character archetypes. They have the exact same tropes. At this point Scorsese is nothing if not "Brand Loyalty." Do you really not see that?
Yes, there is still some nice cinematography (although the computerized de-aging was an extreme gimmick that didn't remotely work in the Irishman). There were some other nice vignettes, but in general the thing was a hot, turgid mess. It needed editing as bad as any written or filmed work of art that I've seen in the past 20 years.
And great job dropping in the political point. You are both artistic and woke.
19
@Awal Yeah, I don't see that because I've seen all of Scorsese's films, several times, and you're simply wrong.
Here's an example: go through all De Niro's Scorsese work. You see a similarity? Between Travis Bickle and La Motta? Same kind of person as Max Cady; same kind of person as The Irishman.
Thing is, if you skate along the surface as if you're watching The Avengers, yeah, you'll miss it. Try going deeper.
But, no, you're right: De Niro just repeated himself throughout the Scorsese ouvre.
As for your outburst on The Irishman, methinks the adult superhero fan doth protest too much. That was Wild Strawberries, and quite unlike the other gangster films Scorsese made.
The political point is an apt analogy. Some people want substance. Some raise surface to depth, shlock for art. Good for you.
1
@Doug. What I take from that Political analogy is that Bernie is a one note Charlie who prefers to work outside ‘the system’ and at the same time complain that the system is rigged against him.
Not sure how we get a Marvel superhero out of Mayor Pete.
3
You misquoted a quote.
Justin Timberlake (playing Sean Parker) in The Social Network, did not say “a billion dollars is not cool”.
The exact quote was ; “a million dollars is not cool, you know what’s cool - a billion dollars “.
31
@Brando Flex
A billion dollars (tickets sales joke) = a million dollars
“Movies that offer something more...” = billion dollars
I swear, everybody thinks they are playing 3-D chess these days.
6
@Brando Flex It's safe to say the co-chief film critic of the New York Times is not misquoting in error. This was a light reference to the box office. Or did I miss the part where Justin Timberlake (playing Sean Parker) in The Social Network mentions the pseudo-politics of “Joker” or theatrics of “Avengers”
3
I find claims that some new work of art or music is not “true art” or “good music” to be cringeworthy. I’ve heard it or read it so many times before. They said that about the impressionists, comics, Stravinsky, Dylan, Cage, Rothko. In the case of Rothko I almost agree.... but....Scorsese’s claim has no merit and only diminishes him. It’s cringeworthy!
5
I'm astounded that anyone could consider "The Irishman" to be a good movie. Tedious, overly long, with plenty of pointless diversions and meaningless conversations. Nowhere near the best work of anyone involved.
Movies as a whole are still highly entertaining and often meaningful, "Parasite" was fantastic and extremely thought-provoking. But "The Irishman" was a waste of time.
41
@Dan Stackhouse
Why do people flock to see movies about organized crime? The answer must lie in the environs of authoritarian wish-fulfillment. That may be. However, considering the emotional need to escape Capitalist institutions on the part of those of "lower castes", it is the appeal of the mystery of the Hoffa disappearance which, in a completely non-transpontine way, maintains the appeal of this excellent movie. This, mind you is not "the limelight"; this is the "pastel" (or past-tell" of the fear-inspiring deeds of true sociopaths. Not that this necessarily represents the truth of the matter. One could think, perhaps rightly, that Mr. Hoffa was on the other side of the state when this mafia-style kabuki was played in the Detroit suburbs, preparing, in disguise, and with an FBI-created new identity, to be flown out of the country to a new dwelling place (say, the Republic of San Marino), thus escaping both a continued avalanche of publicity, and the possibility of something like the mob play actually occurring. The Irishman's tale, I think, is false. But then, of course, who knows?
3
@Dan Stackhouse
my husband, now 70, a life long movie lover and very well read in it's criticism, loves "The Irishman", thinks its Pacino's best ever role......just saying.
(I have not yet seen it).
1
Dear Disinterested Party,
I don't think there's much mystery to the Hoffa disappearance, and I really doubt the younger generations care at all. He was a mafia guy who grew powerful in the unions, tried to extend his power too far, got shot by a mob hitter, and they got rid of the body. Doesn't really matter how they did it, he's been dead 44 years, and he wasn't as important as this film and his fans make him out to be.
In any case, the movie itself could have been shortened by over 2 hours with ease, it dragged like crazy, and had a batch of conversations that were totally meaningless. I think people go for these movies because they enjoy violence, but it's not even interesting violence; somebody walks up and shoots someone in the head, someone else strangles a guy, big deal.
4
Having seen all of Scorcese's crime dramas, I can honestly say that THE IRISHMAN was a real disappointment. He is a great director and human being but he struck out with this one.
15
@Donald While I have not seen it, my son has and he complained about the three hours he would never get back. And "Good fellas; the twilight years" he suggested as a title.
1
@Donald I was a bit disappointed also. Some dialogue scenes were too long, women in the movie had virtually no dialogue.The overly long ending should have been edited down to a snappy ten minutes or so. It was as if he was paying tribute to the older actors from his generation. I mean, who really cares about what happened to these old gangsters.
2
Surprised Rocket Man wasn't here. Superbly directed, acted and choreographed rock bio.
12
What, no Marvel/comic book movies? lol
3
Sack cloth and ashes here! Rocketman was the perfect big budget movie but with substance and great music! I love Marty but same ol', same ol'. No worries - I never agree with you critics. Last year's Roma was a manipulative disappointment. For me last year's winner was The Rider! See it people, it was lovely.
We are in a moment of beige: a white couple divorces, Little Women again...Adam Driver, bland.
Renee deserved a better film but she was astonishing.
4
@Lisa I agree with you regarding "The Rider". Best film in a long time, maybe the decade. Yet I know people who just didn't get it. Because we two agree, I'm now going to see "Rocket Man". Thanks!
3
@Lisa, thanks for reminding me of The Rider. That’s one I wanted to see but missed.
2
I look forward to this article and the comments every year. I need to step up my movie going, the only movie I saw this year was Rocket Man. I want to see Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time...., Last Black Man...., and Ad Astra. Special mention to Transit. I hadn't heard of this movie and it isn't playing locally (it's been out a while) and I hope it is streaming somewhere. Researching this movie led me to another movie, "Address Unknown," that is based on one of my favorite Nazi-era novels. I had no idea. Thanks to NYT once again, I learn something new here every day.
3
The Irishman v.s. Goodfellows
Winner: Goodfellows
11
The Irishman was a dull, meandering mess with poor casting and wierd use of special effects (anti-aging) and gimmicks like labels. there was nothing interesting or original about this. The film is a bad version of Casino, which was a terrible version of Goodfellas. oh my god, Scorcese made a gangster film. at least the makers of The Avengers were transparent in their goal--$$$.
18
LOL: "essentially democratic nature of the art form itself" - right after totally panning the most highly attended movies of the year.
4
Where was Jojo Rabbit?
Creative. Comic. Dark.
A brilliant little film.
34
The creepy Polar Express CGI in The Irishman made me turn it off after forty minutes. I don't care what reviewers say, De Niro de-aging looks awful and ruins the film. He looks ancient in every scene, and the clunky flashbacks make it look as if the US Army drafted a 60 year old man to fight in WWII.
There's a scene where De Niro is beating a storekeeper and can barely lift his legs and looks in worse shape than the guy in the street.
15
Parasite all the way. It was riveting, unnerving, and perfectly disturbing at the same time.
10
Good film!
Honeyboy is quite good too.
1
OMG The Irishman is unwatchable. The CGI to youth-enize (ha, ha, ha as the Joker would say) DeNiro, Pesci, et al is cringe worthy. The scene where Deniro's character stomps on the grocer is particularly laughable.
They couldn't CGI out the movements of an older man. So you get this middle aged looking guy, with the movements of a geriatric, beating someone up. All the while getting the impression he needs a nap and an early bird special at Red Lobster, in Miami. Oy vay! My back is killing me, and you kids need to get off my lawn.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Joker are far better movies.
19
@jb hahaha, yes!! I couldn't believe the producers and director saw Deniro acting and moving like an older man in a younger man's skin and thought, "Yeah, this is good, this works for the screen. No one will notice."
9
I'm a Scorsese fan. I tried watching "The Irishman," and honestly I couldn't finish it.
The first 90 minutes was filled with stuff I've seen countless times before: mob hits, corrupt unions, Cuba, Kennedy... Is there anything new here?
"Tribal loyalty, male violence..."? How any times have I seen those in a Scorsese film.
Freeze frames to note how minor characters would later be killed. And that has "what" to do with the plot?
It feels like everyone wants this movie to be a masterpiece even if it isn't.
And it isn't.
121
@NYer No, it's not. It's a good movie, but not a great one and Scorsese needs to be better about editing his movies. Wolf of Wall Street was also at least 30 minutes too long.
13
@NYer Right on the money.
6
@Sparky The first time I saw “The Irishman” (on the big screen) I said “good, not great.” The second time I saw it (on the big screen) I knew I was watching a masterpiece. The greatest movies fully give up their riches only on repeated viewings. (And as for editing, Thelma Schoonmaker deserves another Oscar.)
9
Why so many negative comments about "The Irishman"?
Perhaps the frustration with it is that, for some, (my daughter for one), it feels like a long boring ride in the backseat of a musty old car (borrowing a bit of movie metaphor) with overly plush suspension. You think maybe you feel the bumps, but there's no jolt. You're pretty sure you see some sights, but behind reflective glass, it's miles of the same terrain. Every time you wonder where you are, the driver reports that an interesting landmark is just over the horizon. And when, finally, he pulls into the graveyard, you realize you've just been taken on the longest ride of your short life.
Who's funeral is this, anyway?
Being that young twenty-something who sat through "Mean Streets" two times on the day it opened forty-five years ago, I'm still agape. The driver knows where the trip ends, for not just the characters, but for the actors and for the driver himself. I'm grateful for the reminder. And I'm in awe to be in his hands. Maybe his critics will have to watch a few thousand more movies before they feel similarly.
9
@Tom And Joe Pesci is a revelation. He makes acting look easy, which it ain't.
5
@Tom
Pesci as the only thing I enjoyed, but he was terrific. I hope he wins best supporting actor.
5
I saw 75% of the movies on these lists as well as most mentioned in the comments so far, and sadly I can't recommend hardly any of them as "great" (with "Ford v Ferrari" and "The Lighthouse" being in the lead of a pretty weak crowd). Personally, my moment of cinema bliss this year was accidentally discovering the work of Benson and Moorhead, whose 2015 indie film "Spring" restored my faith in storytelling. Magnificent and brilliant in so many ways. Their other films "The Endless" and "Resolution" are also refreshingly sharp.
Some great picks here, but I can't believe there's no love for Jojo Rabbit?
15
@Jeff Baskin a lovely movie - but probably not much of anything for those who see marvel movies as something other than cinema - and most here seem to fit within that group - including the author of this article.
Honey Boy is a wonderful and exciting film, at once playful and emotionally wrenching, excavating a brutal and intense relationship while exploring identity and filmmaking. I was genuinely surprised not to see it on these lists.
4
I would add Motherless Brooklyn to any of these lists, great performances all around.
3
Saw an early screening of Little Women and hated it with every fiber of my being. It did get me to rewatch Gillian Armstrong’s wonderful version (with a young Christian Bale!) Save your money and stream that one.
10
@LF It sounds terribly woke.
3
@HKGuy
Aww you're using a 2013 term, cute!!!!
1
@HKGuy Ha! Indeed.
1
Not the best year for movies. In fact, I can't think of any movies I saw his year that I would characterize as great.
The Irishman was a disappointment, in part because there was too much hype. The main actors are only a shadow of their younger selves. Making their faces look younger through CGI or some other computer method doesn't change their ability to fill the much younger role their playing. Just compare these performances with these actors similar performances in Goodfellas and the Godfather. This movie is actually a good piece of nostalgia, not a good gangster movie.
15
Although I truly admire and respect Scorsese's passion for the art of film making...and his preservation of film efforts...The Irishman was yet another toxic white male revenge killing tale that he has made so many times before.
Yes it is probably a realistic reflection of that time and place.
But telling it over and over might not be necessary...or interesting.
Honeyland was a unique and beautiful doc about real people living difficult lives . It was humbling , enlightening, beautifully told and a reality check.
However...people go to the movies for different reasons...to be entertained ,distraction from these complicated political times etc.
So all movies have a place and fill a need.
I am grateful for the movies.
19
@avidfilmgal My family and I, all big movie fans with what I consider to be good taste and smart people, agree The Irishman is the most overrated movie to come out in a long long time. This movie is a rehash o earlier better efforts. Hey Marty give the mob a rest already. Or how about a movie that shows how the government and FBI cracked down and put the mob out of business? Not bloody enough?
7
@Sammy Zoso
I suspect that the offer of complete creative control,HUGE budget and hanging out/working with buddies might have been"an offer he couldn't refuse".
2
Jojo Rabbit. With a lead performance by an 11 year old that is worthy of a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
23
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was probably my favorite movie of the year and a masterpiece. The Irishman is one of the worst movies I have ever seen; I struggled to watch it in 15 minute increments, hoping to see something good. I had just re-watched Taxi Driver and was impressed at how well done the film was. Scorsese and De Niro should be embarrassed by The Irishman.
12
@Eli maybe watching the movie in 15 minute increments didnt help? odd way to watch a movie
10
@Eli Well you are dramatic aren't you Eli!! I was bored by The Irishman but may I suggest you scroll through the hundreds of movies on your tv and you'll see some of the worst films ever made shown on repeat.
4
@Lisa
I don't own a TV since there is nothing worth watching. I can watch all the movies I want online through Amazon Prime and Netflix. The Irishman was so bad it bordered on unwatchable.
Bravo to Manohla Dargis for recognizing "The Last Black Man in San Francisco"! I was afraid that it would be forgotten by now but I am pleased that it is not.
19
Scorsese is over rated, the Irishman is a 3 hour bore, the only thing worth watching was the makeup artwork, that's it.
Please Scorsese made a career off glamorizing the mob, what sad is the critic never talk about the endless murders in his movies, which is a major turn off, I don't think he go more the 5 mins without someone being killed, nothing but endless violence do we really need this junk.
Plus all the junk with Hoffa just made the movie hard to follow, a dumb plot that when no where.
10
@Joe May I suggest you expand into Scorsese's catalogue a bit more! Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Hugo, After Hours, Age of Innocence...a master but imperfect like the rest of us.
12
@Joe :
you're right, because after all there IS no Mafia and no one ever kills anyone, anywhere. In fact, we're all happy and well meaning all the time.
3
@Lisa Not to mention The Last Waltz.
1
Anyway, “The Irishman”... more of the Shakespearean goombah ballet we adore, a swan song for a director and his stable of loyal actors, all likely reflecting on mortality (and what self respecting director wouldn’t take advantage of actors whose real lives intersect with with the roles they play - think Cassavetes’ “Opening Night“). I think to his ultimate credit Scorcese uses his oeuvre as its own popular culture reference point - a reflexive touchstone, which is sort of genius. The use of the opening tracking shot referencing the now famous (less lazy riff on a sure thing) “Goodfellas” Copa shot is unified with the endings ‘outro’ tracking shot at the nursing home. Here, in the same seamless stretch of time, the camera leaves the room, loops back to reverse its forward motion-course, and re-enters Sheeran’s room, while magically some more years have passed. Thus, the endless loop of humanity, time and the cycles of our mortality go around yet again (encapsulated in an whisper of cinematic prowess). That for me (among other things) was worth all the problematic aspects of the film, and maintains our directors innovative and unparalleled status as a great American filmmaker.
5
In the 1967 Movie "Valley of the Dolls" the Sharon Tate character also watches herself on screen. So the NYT author's remark: "...I could spend hours watching Margot Robbie’s character watch herself in a film..." is not too far afield. Once I actually see the movie OUaTiH, I can comment further on the authenticity of said Movie. From a Film Viewer's perspective
1
I'm going to echo the 'unpopular opinion' expressed below. The best movie I saw this year was ... 'The Joker.' And I say this as someone with coastal sensibilities. (Not an Avengers fan). It has been interesting to watch certain critics savage this film. While Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time' was flabby and boring for long stretches, Joker is well-paced, intense, amazingly acted, and beautifully shot. It's also, dare I say, an 'important' movie. It takes the temperature of the times. I would compare it to 'American Sniper,' another divisive movie with divergent political interpretations; also 'Reservoir Dogs,' for its bleak & violent worldview. Regardless of your political persuasion, this movie is worth seeing.
14
@brightspark Well said. To consider "Joker" on par with an "Avengers" movie in that it is immediately forgettable pap, is both insulting and ignores what it taps into. The fact that a high profile movie critic concludes it doesn't mean anything, isn't surprising. Yes, Joker is ultimately a comic book character. Historically, real and important, though under-appreciated perspectives have found voices in mediums that have often been overlooked and panned, ask Rod Serling, Patricia Highsmith and Chester Himes, among many others (Arguably, Star Trek did more for race relations in the late 60s than any sort of government program.) The movie taps into class issues in such a profound way (not talking about the comic book-ish "kill the rich") because really the movie is about empathy and the lack of real connection that is endemic to our society. To tap into these real, bubbling under the surface feelings makes it a work of art, in my opinion, and renders its form moot. And if you wanna talk technical filmmaking, the editing is superb (why is this never mentioned?). To blatantly ignore this film is to underscore the apathy the movie portrays. Incidentally, the audience that attended the three screenings I saw was not a bunch of white males. Male, female, black, white and so on, made up the audience– all were moved.
6
YES to The Last Blackman in San Francisco.
16
It is a beautiful movie. Its images stay with me.
1
@Amanda Blue.
I can't say enough about how good Parasite is... go see this, don't wait until it comes out on Netflix!
One quibble about Dargis, Scott and Scorsese's qualms over Marvel movies: Why must everything be so "either or?" I can love a film like The Passenger, by Antonioni AND love Raiders of the Lost Ark, by Spielberg. I think they are both cinematic achievements, each for different reasons and it would be ridiculous to ask which movie is better.
Also, If you want people to support films like Parasite or Pain and Glory, you first need to address the appalling lack of humanities in our contemporary educational system. Our schools are now just vocational gristmills—pumping out worker bees, not thoughtful adults.
78
@Bartleby S Exactly. Just like with almost everything else in our current state, there is no room for nuance anymore. I love Marvel film as I read the books as a kid. I also love Scorcese, indie films, and difficult character-driven narratives. You can be a fan of both.
9
@Bartleby S
Yes, let's blame the schools!
Lets embrace victimhood and stop holding ourselves responsible for our thoughts and actions.
@raine :
well, the schools and the overall culture don't much like cultural / humanities much. That is not victimhood, that is fact.
13
I was glad to see “Synonyms” make the list. It was may favorite film of NYFF57, with a very French New Wave feel. However, even if it hadn’t made the list, it still would have been one of the best of 2019 as far as I am concerned. I even forgive the fact that Nadav Lapid (a cinema talent) did not shoot it on real film.
Wait. What? No mention of Terrrence's Malick's A Hidden Life? Was I that off or alone in thinking it was masterful?
1
How about " The Upside" with Kevin Hart. Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman .
The movie established Kavin Hart as an A List actor, yes, he acted beautifully with a lot of passion.
The chemistry betwwn Hart and Cranston was magical.
Nicole Kidman would surprise all with her controlled acting.
Surprised the authors did not mention this movie.
1
I find the snub of Jojo Rabbit a bit unsettling, but otherwise I tend to agree with these lists. Thanks for these - love end of the year lists, particularly in regards to movies.
14
A.O. Scott's writing has started to fill the Roger Ebert-shaped hole in my heart. The definition and defense of "cinema" in his piece was poignant.
Interestingly, as an avid reader of this section of the Times for many years, I tend to agree with Scott over Dargis about 95% of the time, for some of these exact reasons. Maybe our tastes in movie drift towards nuanced pieces and I find Dargis often more beholden to spectacle. But I welcome any "year end" list for the ideas and opinions they hold, not to mention the resulting comment section battle. Speaking of which, I better watch The Irishman, fast, because I seem to be the only one without a very strong opinion of it...
5
@Solaris
Ebert is irreplaceable, and I 'say' that as a fan of Scott's critical pieces. A huge fan since the early 90s of Roger's essays, that void of his wit, inventive plot devices, and analysis will never be replaced.
3
I appreciate the NYTimes commentary and reviews on movies, it helps bring attention to films worth seeing. There are so many films to watch each year it's difficult to know which ones are worth watching.
8
Unpopular opinion: How is Joker not on any of these lists? Yes, it is an extension of the DC franchise but it is an altogether different beast from most movies in that category. It's controversial because of its exploration of mental illness which is why it's such a great film. The cinematography is expertly done, it expresses the dredgy, gritty atmosphere perfectly and immerses you into the protagonist's journey. Not to mention the acting which is also fantastic.
17
@Insert Original Pseudonym Well I guess the authors didn't think it was better than any of the movies they listed. You can make a blog and put it on your list if you want.
3
I was hopeful, but then incredibly disappointed with "Parasite". The first half was superb, but then it fell apart, disastrously. "Pain and Glory" was the best film this year, followed closely by "Lighthouse".
7
Jeff, I agree with you entirely.
1
@Peter Malbin To me Pain and Glory was, though visually beautiful, essentially a home movie which might never have been made if it weren't by such a famous (and, I agree, important director). Acting was good, especially by non-macho Banderas, but the real and only sensational acting was by the boy who played the young Bandersas. Now, there's a star!
1
Interesting. I'm a big movie fan but haven't heard of most of these films and I'm not interested in a single one of them.
But I AM a film fan. I just saw 18 movies in the theater for a sci-fi fest and probably own over 300 movies (my wife recently gave me permission to count).
Who cares if something is "cinema"? Art is art whatever you call it. Be it Mass produced or Indie.
Personally I can't remember my top films of 2019. I'll have to research what came out this year. Prob nothing worth remembering.
5
@Darin so you're a film fan who isn't interested in seeing any movies. OK well, at least you've got those 300 movies to keep you busy.
1
The Irishman is Scorcese's worst movie, but watch it march to Oscar domination.
It may well replace There Will Be Blood as the worst Best Picture ever.
39
@bobw There Will Be Blood didn't win Best Picture...
5
@bobw I was bored. That said, Pesci was raelly good.
1
@bobw Not as long as Dances With Wolves or The Greatest Show on Earth are on that list.
4
The Irishman was not a great film. The Irishman was not a good film. The narration technique he used in Goodfellas and here is just lazy storytelling.
Watching these guys run around in rubber masks for 3 1/2 hours I kept thinking, really? These are the only actors that could play these roles? Did Coppola use a 'de-aged' Brando? I found all the silicone and CGI very distracting and almost comical. Even the violence was pedestrian. There is a remove in all of it. You don't feel into the story. Nothing hits.
And then we did this, and then we did that. Boring, distant and weak.
The attempts at humor with the whole "it's what is is" routine smacks of parody not authenticity. Mob-speak has been done so much better. When it's right you know it.
74
@Eddie Brennan What mob movie is better?
2
@Eddie Brennan I agree. De-aging does not really work. Old men move like old men regardless of the makeup.
15
@Nick
Yeah the body doesn't lie. Despite the somewhat successful de-aging technology, seeing De Niro's slower movements and different body type contradicts the mirage of a younger face.
4
“The Farewell “ !
10
@Tracey Moore Thank you! Was wondering why no one else is mentioning this beautifully told story.
1
My favorites so far this year: "Honeyland," "The Farewell," Tel Aviv on Fire," The Peanut Butter Falcon," JoJo Rabbit," "Harriet," "Knives Out," "Good Liar," "Green Book" and "Last Black Man in San Francisco." Going to see "Parasite" tonight and "Fantastic Fungi" later this week. We are so fortunate to have the Red River Theatres here in Concord, NH which has most of the best films, including many foreign language ones. Sometimes we go three times a week! Have yet to be disappointed, even when a film needs a lot of thinking about after because of the heaviness of the subject matter. !
21
Reason to move back to NH.
2
Yesterday? All the critics seem so far away, now it look as if they've gone astray, oh I really loved Yesterday (and Lily James). "Thank you, thank you, now here's one from a long time ago ... "
6
I enjoyed the Irishman, though sometimes watching the recycled good fellas playing their younger selves got a little "old". What really struck me was that in three plus hours, there wasn't time to really develop any women characters. Hoffa's wife works for the union and gets fired? Wouldn't it possible to do a little character development or projection on some of the women, even if it was fictional. I loved the movie, but felt it was once again a testosterone extravaganza, which of course was the mob, but why couldn't their have been a little balance?
9
There seems to be a huge backlash against “The Irishman” in the comments section here. I think the film is one of Scorsese’s best in decades and a more profound film than “Goodfellas.”
For those lamenting that it’s Scorsese’s usual band of actors reprising “Goodfellas” in bodies too old, I think that misses the point. In some ways, this is “Goodfellas” (and other movies) turned inside out and a meditation on all that Scorsese and these actors have done in the past. This may sound like a weird comparison, but I think what Scorsese did here is not dissimilar to what Clint Eastwood did with “Unforgiven.”
The opening scene of “The Irishman” mirrors that famous tracking shot in “Goodfellas” through a nightclub, this one a long unbroken journey through the hallways of a nursing home until we meet up with our main character. But think about it: In “Goodfellas,” that brilliant sequence expresses the seductive allure of the crime world Ray Liotta’s character has been seduced by, and it invites audiences to share it with him. This tracking shot shows the personal cost of that seduction, a lonely and empty man isolated and alone without a community to which to belong.
The film’s brutal acts of violence are quick and without the buildup of similar scenes we see in other crime films. The final “act” is an elegy of sorts. “The Irishman” has the moral heft of a great movie by a wiser and experienced director reflecting on the works that have come before it. It’s a masterpiece.
13
@NYT reader you answered your own question.
2
@MAI
A great comment and I think it uncovers Scorsese's intention in "The Irishman" - denuding organized crime of what filmgoers love about Mafia films - a world usually depicted as seductive & forbidden is shorn of glamour or drama, leaving exhausted old men for whom killing has not been cinematic or operatic but swift, brutal and stupid.
I appreciate that you tied it to "Unforgiven" - that's a great comparison. Will Muney was a vicious killer until he was redeemed by the love of his wife. But after she dies, Muney falls back into brutal senseless killing because it's his nature, it's what he knows. At the end of the film, Muney disappears, but not before Eastwood has busted the conventions of gunfighter lore depicting the gunfighter as heroic, and dispensed with the myth that a pathologically violent man can be redeemed by a woman's love. Will Muney's 'redemption' is only temporary and conditional.
The men in "The Irishman" grow old after a lifetime of unexamined loyalty and fealty to
greed and brutality. Frank Sheeran is alone and despairing because he deserves to be after a life of unquestioning dedication to violence and betrayal, a man who learned nothing worthwhile after alienating his family and killing his friends.
10
I've got to boo "Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood" once again. Boo. "Death Proof" and "Reservoir Dogs" were Tarantino's two best.
3
Cancelling out your Boos. Pulp Fiction his best and this one right behind it.
5
@C
Dude you just lost any cred by declaring "Death Proof" as QT's best. No. Just no.
1
@JerseyJon My favortie by Tarantino is Jackie Brown but Pulp Fiction might be his best. True romance I think is another one of his better ones but I dont think he directed it.
2
The Irishman? The disappointment of the year for me. Boring. The de-aging of the actors distracting and just plain weird.
45
John Wick III - every minute completely entertaining. Seriously, a great watch.
5
What makes my all time favorite movies great is the ability to watch and re-watch. It took 3 x falling asleep on the couch to finally get through the much anticipated Irishman. great filmmaking, de Niro amazing as usual for sure, but I will never watch it again. Not one memorable 'you talking to me' or "you think I'm funny, funny like a clown" scene I'd even look up on youtube to re-watch.
7
I don't see it with the Irishman. The CGI attempts to make the actors look young were clumsy at best (Scorcese should have used other actors to play those earlier scenes). The film is simply too long and redundant. Anna Paquin is reduced to a cipher (yeah, she symbolizes his conscience, we all get it). I think Scorcese might have had a series here instead - one that he could have spread over eight episodes with younger actors in the flashbacks and fuller characters. But this was a slog.
Loved Parasite, despite the totally incredulous violence toward the end (who survives that many blows to the head with a heavy rock?). But full of humor and pathos - and all the actors spot on.
17
I'm so pleased to see 'Honeyland' at the very top of this list. It was painful to watch, and people toss around 'moving' as an adjective too freely. But this film is a beautiful elegy to a time when humans lived in, and understood, the natural world.
It is absolutely fantastic, and it will change anyone who pays attention to it. Although it will break your heart, the sheer craft, especially the visuals, will hold your gaze even as you wish to look away.
22
“The Souvenir” is the most pretentious and boring movie of the year. Why did Scott pick it as his No. 1?
4
@Peter Malbin he didn't
1
@Peter Malbin He is sleeping with the lead's Mother!
It was technically No. 2 on his list, but the first one was a documentary.
I love movies. I love lists. These are fun. Might I argue re certain choices? Sure! That's part of the fun. Sometimes I think that the Times critics issue Critic Picks labels to movies they think are good for you. What I consider "Eat your spinach!" movies. Well, I like spinach and eat a good bit of it. And sometimes my tastes are even more rarified than yours. Ad sometimes not. I love Avengers movies, and I love Almodovar, Scorsese, Bong Joon-Ho, Ter(r)ences Malick and Davies, Tarantino (the best director ever of scenes featuring people sitting around tables talking), the Coens, Cuaron. Del Toro, some of those new directors in the horror genre, so many more. I don't have to defend Avengers. Time will sort that out. It sorted out Shakespeare, and much later Dickens and King. It even sorted out Emily Dickenson, who didn't make a dime in her life from her writing. Now you bemoan the conflation of Big Box Office with Greatness. Me too. But even your paper every Monday celebrates those weekend box office winners as if that is a sign of greatness (the info needs to be reported but perhaps with a bit more reflection and commentary). Anyway, thanks for these lists. They include movies I've seen and admired and ones that I'm eager to see. And they are not just spinach.
36
@Jonathan Well said.
4
“In the digital age, “film” is a technological misnomer, attached to the glories of a specific, no-longer-dominant (though not entirely obsolete) way of making and projecting pictures”
Dont sell film short. It covers more than you think. It is the skin in the game. From wiktionary. Film.
“From Middle English filme, from Old English filmen (“film, membrane, thin skin, foreskin”), from Proto-Germanic *filminją (“thin skin, membrane”) (compare Proto-Germanic *felma- (“skin, hide”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pélno-mo”
3
Don't waste your time or money on Parasite, unless Korean cuteness and class warfare is your thing. There's not even one likable character in the entire cast of fools, and only one deus ex machina plot surprise mid movie. Predictable and grotesquely overrated.
11
@bradd graves You're opinion of course. Most people love it and the director is one of the best working today.
8
@Paul I am not an opinion!
Ah, my favorite time of the year ... when The New York Times' pretentious film critics name their "best" films of the year, cramming their lists with little-known independent and foreign films and documentaries to show us how wicked smart they are compared to the poor unwashed who have to pay to see films. Of course, they drop a couple of Hollywood movies in the mix to pretend they are at one with the poor unfortunate masses. But we get the point. You folks are so much more privileged and intelligent than the rest of us.
Now that you've gotten this annual ritual out of your system, please go back to your cubicles and enjoy some $15 organic juice you bought from Whole Foods and donate some more of your too-easily-earned money to Liz Warren. See you next year!
22
@PM If watching other films besides Hollywood blockbusters is a sign of intelligence and privilege, I must be a rich genius. After all, I figured out the system:
1) Have an open mind.
2) Do some basic Internet research to learn about other films besides the Hollywood mainstream. These films are so "little-known" that it only takes a few minutes to accomplish this. Strange...
3) Pay the same amount of money to see a "little-known" film as a "well-known" one. Gosh, I really need to be rich to see these independent/foreign/documentary films!
And this is coming from a fellow NH resident...
60
@PM Does it make you feel good to be this negative? This post seems exactly like some of those from the other side who declare anything that isn't "cinema" as reflective of dumb America. Why can't people like both and why can't we respect that?
11
I see both small and big and old films in local theaters, the Capital District of NY (Albany-Schenectady-Troy-Saratoga) is so blessed to have so many movie theaters that show a diverse variety of films.
Surprisingly both Regal and Bowtie play the smaller or foreign films that the independents like Spectrum 8 and Proctors Theater do. I have seen a old film like "2001: A Space Odyssey" or a small film like "The Farewell" at both Proctors Theater and Regal Crossgates.
The best film so far for me was "The Farewell", but "Ford vs. Ferrari", "Knifes Out", and "Parasite" are great films; "Last Christmas" may not be a great film, but I have enjoyed it very much several times. "Captain Marvel" was fun and "Hustlers" was interesting.
"Hoobes & Shaw" was entertaining fun for one viewing. "Midway" was OK for one viewing -- better in some ways and worse in others from the 1970s film "Midway". "Ad Astra" was a horrible film, and I love SciFi.
I am luck to access to so many venues that do play many of both the big and small films that come out each year.
5
Compare Netflix's Peaky Blinders to The Irishman.
And as an aside enough glorification of Italian mobsters who victims life's are destroyed forever.
13
@Mark Shoenfield
As were their own lives. They end up dead or old and lonely. Nothing glorious about that.
Peaky Blinders? Great show, but can't get more sexy violent than that.
The British counterpart to Goodfellas.
1
@Mark Shoenfield
I have not seen The Irishman. Can't imagine it surpasses the brilliant character renditions of Peaky Blinders.
1
@Mark Shoenfield The first two seasons of Peaky Blinders were brilliant. The finale of the second season was absolutely thrilling but it has gone downhill - Knight is too busy and spreading himself too thin. His work is suffering.
3
I remember the exhilarating feeling I had last year when walking out of “Green Book” and it felt so good!
I never felt that way one time this year coming out of a movie theater.
Bah, humbug.
8
@MIMA walking out of Green Book...before it was over? Like I wished I had?
2
@Petaltown
No not before it was over! Not walking out on “Green Book” !
But I did walk out on a couple this year before they were over.
1
Let’s talk about The Irishman. The female characters were mute and/or in the background. This infuriates me.
62
Counterpoint...the headline in the linked article may be a little much...a bit click-baitish...but I think this short piece is spot-on in addressing the common complaint about the movie regarding a dearth of female characters. “Goodfellas” provides a much bigger part for Lorraine Bracco, of course, but that character “benefits” from and is embedded in the same brutal system as her husband.
Scorsese has never made a mob movie with as much empathy shown for female characters as he does with the daughters — and especially Peggy — in “The Irishman”...despite a relatively short amount of screen time.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/29/most-important-character-irishman-is-woman/
5
Stick to Charlie’s Angels or Ocean’s 8
@MB :
seriously, and saying this as a woman, go watch "Little Women" (which is very good) and don't try to shoe horn women into Mafia based stories. They weren't there, except as Floozies, dear old mommas or loyal wives......
7
“Parasite” is so superior to the other films on this list, it deserves its own category.
15
@Rico Suave Sorry Rocketman! The art direction, acting, flow and soundtrack are exceptional.
3
so many great films but it seems they are playing no-where.
I take myself into NYC a few times a year to see some of these great movies
I saw jo jo rabbit and parasite at the Regal and loved both of those movies...but here? where I live? nothing but junk with an occasional good movie thrown in.
and there are those incredibly comfortable seats where you can actually lean back and not hurt your neck.
new yorkers you are lucky.
10
@Joan
I have to say - Jojo Rabbit was my favorite. Having said that - what happened this year? Usually I have a hard time differentiating decision making The Best.
This year....no The Best in my mind.
MIMA
5
@MIMA
thanks MIMA
I loved jo jo rabbit---there are a lot of people who did not seem to get the message of this movie.
It was about as anti hitler as you could get...but some people thought it supported Nazism
nothing could be further from the truth.
3
The Lighthouse
Motherless Brooklyn
There, you’re Top 12 list. Thanks.
3
While watching "The Irishman" I could not get away from the feeling that it's stars are about 30 years too old for their respective parts, even with makeup, fake-looking toupes, and hair dye.
It appears that the priority here was to showcase guys, big stars, who have been associated with playing mobster parts. If Scorsese's intent was to tell a story it may have been better to use younger actors instead of trotting out these alter cockers, (old guys), who are pushing 80.
71
@MIKEinNYC TOTALLY agree! We gave up on it.
5
@MIKEinNYC
Agreed! It was a like a geriatric version of goodfellas...
22
Not even a nod to "The Lighthouse".
9
Sorry all, "The Irishman" was a major snooze, as much as I wanted it to live up to the hype.
67
I love the NY times best movie list. It gives me a solid set of movies I should avoid at all costs.
51
Ford vs Ferrari skips the technical aspects of racing to tell a story. It's number 1.
5
@Ryan Bingham: Actually there was a lot of technical stuff in that great film about how Ford beat Ferrari with better cars and better driving. There was problem solving throughout the film.
"Accusing Scorsese (and his defenders) of elitism was exemplary pseudo-populism, a defense of corporate hegemony disguised as a celebration of mass taste."
So satisfying to read. Bravo, Mr. Scott.
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Minority Report- I nominate "The Irishman" for "Most Over-Hyped Movie of 2019". Mr.Scorsese bundled his previous efforts and gangster cliches into a 3+ hour package. Joe Pesci toned it down as best he could until the final scene in the prison with the distracting hand shaking during the bread and wine ceremony (Did anybody catch that symbolism?, It was pretty subtle wasn't it?) . De Niro is reduced to two facial expressions, a smile and "Something smells bad" grimace. Pacino and the ice-cream gig was cute the first time. And of course every Mafioso is bathed in gold chains and ridiculous eye wear with the requisite blonde female companion. Good movie that was at least one-half hour too long. Not a "Great" movie.
I will now ask for volunteers to start my car for the next few weeks.
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@Fighting Sioux Oh, thank you, I was going to write the same thing. We started watching it on Thanksgiving day and we were so put off by 70 year old men playing 30 year olds that we gave up on it, I watched it at home and I thought the movie was just ok, it felt tired and of course I felt like I had seen it all before and I can barely tale Pacino's over the top acting. An ok movie but certainly NOT one of Scorsese's best. I think people have a romantic view of watching these actors take their swan song.
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@Fighting Sioux Excellent take. Scorsese has ridden the "gangster as lens through which to view America" horse to death. His current films are now little more than a caricature of his early efforts.
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@Rick - I'm jealous. We saw it in a theater. Although,The Little Theater in Rochester has the best popcorn and baked goods. Better yet, combining our theater membership and my Senior discount, we spent $9 for the tickets. The popcorn is worth twice that.
I also agree with your comment on the "romanticizing" of all involved in this cinematic endeavor. It also seems to me that after one well-known critic pumps the cinematic tires, no one wants to be the one calling the cinematic baby ugly.
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Did everyone already forget about Jordan Peele’s “Us”? And sad there was no mention of Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell”, which I felt tackled the complex identity issues of immigrants/second generation immigrants through a powerful and beautiful cinematic experience.
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How could he overlook "The Farewell"???
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Thank you for this eloquent and full throated defense of cinema. What I don’t understand is the superhero movie crowd’s need to affirm their favorite genre as art; I watch reality TV but I know fully well it’s nonsense. Not seeing the difference between Avengers #38 and films like The Irishman or Parasite is beyond me.
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Although I've seen enough of the Marvel movies at this point, I loved Avengers: Endgame. I also loved The Irishman, and Ford vs Ferrari. I like what I like.
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@tim I am with you. I love what I love and try not to create a hard line in the sand. Love Marvel stuff, love anything by Bong Joon Ho, and love things like Birds of Passage. Why does it have to be such a hard us vs. them thing?
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Thanks for the assist in defining cinema. Like pornography, I know it when I see it. After watching The Irishman on Netflix I regretted not going to the theatre to see it. There was a scene in it that still bothers me though, and it’s a pivotal moment in the screenplay where the Pesci character gives DeNiro a hand getting his truck started. There is no cap you can tighten down to start a car that has a stretched or broken timing chain. I was totally immersed in that film until the spell was broken by that scene. I find it hard to believe that with all the people associated with that movie none of them knew enough about the workings of a car to spot the mistake. It goes to show how delicate a task the weaving a spell can be
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@Paul Henson
A timing cover sits on top of the timing belt and keeps oil in contact with the belt.
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No mention of The Farewell? Wow.
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I though the exact same thing
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Totally agree that The Farewell should be mentioned. Clearly indicative of the lack of diversity in the critics' room; it was a hallmark year for Asian Americans in mass cinema.
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On the same theme, I think it was overlooked by scornful critics that two of the top three actors in "Last Christmas" were Asians! How did that happen? Of course Emilia Clarke was the main character, but next in billing were Henry Golding as the romantic lead (sorta of) and the marvelous Michelle Yeoh.
As a wide release big budget Anglo-American film with a plot set in London that as no direct-Asian connection, this has got to be first! Obviously Ms. Yeoh's character "Santa" has strong Asian immirgant overtones, but Mr. Golding's "Tom Webster" was play as a straight Brit, no references to his mix-ethnicity.
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Saw The Irishman the other night, it was good. But I have to say, when you compare it to Endgame, it’s not in the same league. What Marcus, McFeely and the Russo Brothers were able to do with that movie is pretty extraordinary. The fact that reviewer’s for the Times and directors like Martin Scorsese can’t seem to understand that Endgame is not only cinema but great cinema is very sad. The human emotion on display in Endgame, especially the parent/child interactions throughout the movie, are as real as it gets.
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@iiTowKneeii - The question is, will Endgame be relevant in 20 years? 30 years? I think not. Yes, it was entertaining, but too many current trend references which only some people will understand. Have you watched Goodfellas lately? Pulp Fiction? Gone With the Wind? Still just as great and just as relevant as when I first saw them. Have you watched Ironman lately? It has not aged well with corny dialogue. And with Endgame was there ever any doubt that the good guys wouldn't win?
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@Zanzibar16 I truly believe Endgame will be relevant for as long as movies are discussed. The culmination of over 20 movies into one final epic finale has never been done and some say will not be duplicated. And yes I have watched Iron Man lately. In fact, I was bummed last year when I wasn't able to catch it in the theaters when it was rereleased for the 10 year anniversary. No one disputes that the other three movies mentioned are fantastic, but I'll have to wonder with all the movement that has transpired in regards to the social contract, will people still seek out movies that showcase and in some cases, validate behavior that is not longer exceptable.
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Actually since I've been waiting 20 years for a movie like Endgame I suspect it WILL be remembered in 50 years.
I take it you aren't a comic fan? people still remember Superman the Movie. I still watch Duck Tracy.
I just watched The Dark Knight Rises. it's one of my top ten films of all time.
Just because a film is from comic source material doesn't mean it's bad or won't be remembered.
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Thank you for standing up for films, not franchises. That is all we snobs want, some big-screen options while the masses go see people in costumes fight other people in costumes.
There was a time, in living memory, when many popular movies challenged viewers. If to “question the apparent preferences of millions of consumers is to risk being labeled a snob,” I will proudly be called one.
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Thank you for standing up for films, not franchises. That is all we snobs want, some big-screen options while the masses go see people in costumes fight other people in costumes.
There was a time, in living memory, when many popular movies challenged viewers. If to “question the apparent preferences of millions of consumers is to risk being labeled a snob,” I will proudly be called one.
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Last, week we, my wife and I Netflixed ”The Irishman”, I vote the best drama movie this year. Scorsese did it agan, bringing together a great acting team, great closeup scenes of the characters and a timeline that many of us remember our parents talking about at dinner and parties.
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I have noticed that the critics' and the audiences' opinions of films significantly diverge quite frequently on Rotten Tomato's reviews Most times I find myself on the side of the audience.
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Notice that too, for example the critics hated "Last Christmas" (about 60% against) but audiences liked it (about 80%). It has survived over a month in local theaters were I live, so someone must like it. I going to see it again tonight along with "Knifes Out".
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@R. Anderson Bohemian Rhapsody got very mixed reviews on RT, but made nearly a billion dollars worldwide, nearly impossible for a live action movie that isn't based on a comic book.
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