Best of 2019: Top Five Movies

Continuing my Best of 2019 lists, today I come to you with my top 5 movies of the year. Now, I do not get out to see as many movies as I would like, more on that when I get to my disappointments of the year, but I still see more than enough to put together a best of. The rare occasion I do get to go to the theater, I usually pick a movie that I am nearly certain I will like. I don't want to waste money. I have started to take advantage of On Demand and renting movies on Amazon, which has become a big help. Anyway, lets get to the list.

At number 5 I have "Between Two Ferns: The Movie". I had the most fun watching this movie over any other movie I saw this year. It was funny, goofy, well improvised, well acted and an all around good time. The fact that it was on Netflix was an added bonus. I have watched the movie several times because of that fact. Also, I like that they took this awkward concept and turned it into a feature length movie. "Between Two Ferns" was funny enough on its own, and then making it a movie made it that much better. Sure, the story was weird and pointless, but I don't come to this for the story. I want to see the awkward interviews, and they are a plenty in the movie, and they are great. Every person that was interviewed was game, and it showed. I laughed harder at this movie than any other comedy I have seen in quite some time. And Zach Galifinakis is truly awesome. His interview style is so funny. I love this movie.

At number 4 I have "Avengers: Endgame". This movie could have been a real problem, could have felt overstuffed and was already on thin ice with me because I am growing weary of the MCU. But, they did everything absolutely right in this movie, and they closed a chapter better than any big budget, multi universe movie has done in probably forever. "Endgame" was filled with action and drama and made me ugly cry a few times. When, spoiler alert, Ironman dies and has a funeral, I was sobbing so hard that the teen sitting next to me asked if I was going to be okay. I also teared up when Captain America told the Avengers to assemble when they all came back. "Endgame" is the way a super filled cast superhero movie should be done. The movie was over 3 hours long, well over it, but it never felt that long. The movie flowed to perfection. "Endgame" made me appreciate "Infinity War" more, and that in and of itself is an achievement. I am once again excited to see where Marvel goes from here, and that is because "Endgame" was so well done.

At number 3 I have "John Wick Chapter 3; Parabellum". I am a humongous John Wick fan. I was all in on the franchise from the start. I love the action and how nonstop and relentless it is. And "Parabellum" is that for nearly 2 hours. This one picks up right where chapter 2 left off, with Wick now on the run and all the assassins ready to take him out. It is nonstop fro there. The opening scene, where he beats up and kills pro basketball player Boban Marajonivic with a book was unexpected and it ruled. When he fights a group of bad guys with a horse that he whips to kick them in the face, amazing. Being on the run constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. The fight he has with the host of "Iron Chef America", in a smallish room with a ton of stairs, was brilliantly choreographed and a thing of beauty to watch. This movie starts fast, gets faster in the middle and ends on an unnerving note that this may not be the end of the franchise, and that is great news. I hope they continue to make these movies because I will keep giving it my money. John Wick is one of the quintessential characters of the past decade.

At number 2 I have "Yesterday". Look, I was predisposed to like this movie, and I ended up loving it. The movie is filled with the music of The Beatles, who I have called the greatest band of all time, and was directed by Danny Boyle, who doesn't make bad movies. The premise, a guy gets hit by a bus during a worldwide power outage, wakes up in the hospital, and is only one of three people left that remembers The Beatles music, that hooked me in the first preview. The fact that they were able to make a cohesive, beautiful and fun movie out of it, that is icing on the cake. The cast is great as well, led by Himesh Patel, who is simply wonderful in this movie. His version of Beatles songs is reminiscent of the sound from "The Royal Tenebaums" soundtrack, and I thought that was a great choice. I know some called it too sweet, or didn't like his version of Beatles songs, or trashed the premise. I couldn't disagree more. I adore this movie. I will fight for this movie. I legitimately think Patel should be talked about more during awards season. "Yesterday" is a sweet love story to the importance of the music of The Beatles. How could one not like that?

At number 1 I have "Us". Jordan Peele is the best modern day horror director. I don't usually go for horror movies, but "Get Out", and now "Us", has me totally rethinking that stance. He has made two perfect movies that are not only scary, but have solid messages, crazy twists and his sense of humor sprinkled in. The story of "Us", how there is a whole society of doppelgangers that live beneath us on Earth is trippy and it works. I fully bought in from the jump. Oh, and the acting in this movie is top notch. Going back to Patel and awards season, how in the hell is Lupita Nyong’o not up for any awards?! The two characters she plays in "Us" were totally different, yet she absolutely nailed them both. She is amazing in this movie. So is Winston Duke, Tim Heidecker and Elisabeth Moss. Oh, and the kids, they are just as good. But Nyong’o stands taller than all of them. She is astounding. Also, the way Peele puts scares in his movies, not jump scares, more of the psychological kind, it stays with you so much longer. I find myself just sitting around on a random Tuesday and asking myself, what would I do if I ran into my "tethered"? That is the sign of a great movie to me. "Us" is going to go down as one of the best horror movies of all time. I guarantee it.

As far as disappointments for me in 2019, one is "Joker". I had such high expectations of this movie, and after seeing the first trailer, they only got higher. I took my father to see it on its second weekend, and I walked out of that movie more frustrated than anything else. I don't like when movies are complicated just to be complicated. I know this is my problem, and how I consume movies, but "Joker" is one of the more frustrating movies I can remember seeing in a long time. The same thing can be said for "Midsommar". I begged my wife to see this in the theaters, and when we couldn't find a time that worked for both of us, we finally had a weekend open where we could rent it On Demand. We sat down, watched the whole two and a half hours in silence and, when it was done, both said, "what the hell was that?". Now, the movie was beautifully shot, looked tremendous and had some solid acting in it. But, there was so much silence, some of the wildest shit I have seen on screen and the ending was one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. This movie stayed with me for a few days afterward, but not in a good way. Again, I was confused and frustrated by what I saw. I don't know if taking psychedelics would have helped, I have seen people online say that it does, but I don't do drugs or drink. I know that "Midsommar" has a fan base, and I so wanted to be part of it, but the movie just didn't work for me. Finally, and this is more of a time thing, I am upset that I have seen "Parasite", "The Lighthouse" or "Uncut Gems" yet. I want to see these movies in the theaters really bad, especially "Uncut Gems", but I just have the time. I have a full time job as an at home dad, my wife works 40 plus hours a week and we do things with our kids on the weekends. I will see all three of them eventually, and I am sure I will like, maybe even love, them all, but they will have to wait for now. I will try my best over my kids winter breaks from school to see all three of them in the theater, but that may be wishful thinking.

Okay, that does it for movies in 2019. Come back tomorrow for my TV picks of 2019.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty wrote his list before the biggest movie of the year has been released. What oh what will Ty think of “Cats”?

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Ty Watches "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"

I just finished watching the "Between Two Ferns" movie. Literally, I just got done watching it, and it was pretty god damn funny. I like the internet talk show, I am a big time Zack Galifinakis fan, and I was very much anticipating this movie when I first heard. Also, whenever Will Ferrell is involved with something, for the most part, I am going to be on board. The "Between Two Ferns" movie is a Funny or Die production, and that is Will Ferrell's company, so of course, he is involved.

Anyway, this movie was exactly what I was hoping for, but so much more. It was goofy and odd and silly and takes on classic tropes to simply make fun of them. It did this perfectly. Having Scott Aukerman direct the movie, since he helped to create the show, was a great choice as well. You could see that he let the actors improv as much as they wanted, he let them have fun and he wasn't too much of dictator on set. The actors were all wonderful too. Galifinakis, as a heightened version of himself, was as excellent as he has always been on "Between Two Ferns". His crew, Lauren Lapkus, Ryan Gaul and Jiavani Linayao, were all funny and did a very solid job in the movie. Lapkus was phenomenal as Galifinakis' "right hand woman", as she called herself. She was funny and the heart and soul of the movie. Her never give up attitude was refreshing, while being hilarious. And the scene where she plays the trumpet was the funniest thing in the whole movie that wasn't the interviews.

Adding on to the cast was the impressive list of top of the line stars they got to be on the talk show. People like Matthew McConaughey, Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves, Brie Larson, Tessa Thompson, Chance the Rapper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, John Cho, Jason Schwartzman, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Jon Hamm and Paul Rudd. I mean, that's wild, and I forgot to mention Tiffany Haddish, Hailee Steinfeld, Awkafina and David Letterman. They were all game, and they were all funny. I also loved the stuff that was written beneath each celeb. For example, they spelled pretty much everyone's name wrong. Underneath Awkafina's name it said, "crazy, rich, Asian". That is so funny on so many levels, and it is top notch comedy writing. David Letterman's interview was amazing because, for one, they got David freaking Letterman to be in their movie, and he is a super funny dude that was fully on board to goof around in this movie. The Chrissy Teigen scene was so funny and so perfect in a movie like this. It was unexpected, and super duper hilarious. Teigen is so funny. The opener interview with McConaughey was great and a perfect way to introduce the rest of the movie. Jon Hamm was hilarious, so was Chance the Rapper. But my favorite interview was the Paul Rudd one. He was great, he was game and he couldn't keep a completely straight face the whole time, and you know that means he was having a good time.

"Between Two Ferns: The Movie" is going to delight fans, but I also think people who just want to dip in and check out a solid comedy, that takes on classic tropes, will be enthused by this movie. Also, it is only 82 minutes long, so it is not a humongous commitment. As I said, I watched it while my daughter was napping before I had to get my son at school. But that is besides the fact. Just check this movie out. It is hilarious.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The only thing Ty thinks that Will Ferrell has done wrong is not playing his greatest character anymore. We need Ashley Schaeffer back.

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