The Best Movies of 2019 So Far

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JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM

This latest hard-hitting installment is relentless from the moment first contact is made. As usual, Keanu Reeves is stellar as our sharp-dressed Baba Yaga – a man whose injurious actions do all the talking and won’t shut-up. The stylish John Wick world is exceptionally expanded by director Chad Stahelski, but rules are rules. And as each are made to be broken, the consequences are undoubtedly deadly. Angelica Huston and Halle Berry are awesome additions, playing two fierce females from Wick’s past with more stories to tell. No matter how big or bonkers this Wick stuff gets – its brutality of violence dancing cheek-to-cheek with the beauty of its charged choreography continues to wow. After three magnificent, mayhem-filled chapters, this action-packed franchise is firmly placed in a league of its own.

BOOKSMART

In her feature directing debut, Olivia Wilde excels by beautifully rendering a story of girl support, acceptance, first-time experiences and misconceptions – all set under the microscope of the hostile terrain of high school. It’s hilarious and heartfelt, progressive and diverse. In phenomenal fashion, she transfigures the raunchy teen comedy formula into something much more adoring and translucent. A coming-of-age comedy with all the smarts in the world plus a killer soundtrack equals one of the best movies of the year.

THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

A gorgeously picturesque film that’s abuzz as director Joe Talbot captures a changing City by the Bay. It’s a poetic story of friendship, gentrification, and holding onto the past too tightly. Jimmie Fails is fantastic as Jimmie who has an undying affection for a house that’s no longer his home. There’s an internal struggle within him of becoming more than who he is in a place that stopped loving him long ago. As the best friend, Jonathan Majors is magnificent, drawing the world he sees and acting it out with truthfulness. What we witness is a grim yet graceful portrayal of a place that’s forgotten where it came from, but not those who are living in it.

ASK DR. RUTH

This enlightening and sensational documentary about the legendary sex therapist is charming and funny just like the woman herself. Leading up to her 90th birthday, director Ryan White tries to keep up with Dr. Ruth as retirement isn’t allowed to get in between her and her life’s work. Likewise, it’s a revealing look at her childhood, the loves of her life, motherhood, and the key advice that has saved so many. Of course, we know she ain’t shy and her candor is incomparable; but when her terrible tragedies are said out loud – it’s her past that packs the real punch. As a survivor with an infectious laugh and lovable spirit, Dr. Ruth continues to bring intellect to the most intimate parts of people’s lives.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME

The wait is well worth it as Marvel‘s extraordinary superhero epic puts an end to a history-making era that’s lasted 11 years and 22 movies. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo change it up from Infinity War and present an intimate, character-driven story where even the mightiest of individuals must confront loss to once again reassemble. Whatever it takes. It’s what loyal fans all over the world fell in love with so many years ago.

Hardly any minute of the three hours feels wasted with too many super cool scenes to count. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the rest of the beloved heroes take a trip down memory lane filled with beautiful reunions, and the actors – who have made each their own – give all they have to make this spectacular saga’s conclusion an entertaining, thrilling, and emotionally exhausting cinematic experience. The laughs, cheers, and tears are what it’s all about. What the Russo brothers accomplish with their substantial story building is unprecedented and ends with a grand, gratifying goodbye.

US

Just a horror movie? Never. With his second feature, director Jordan Peele twists and turns and reconfigures his invasion thriller into something much more f’d up, thought-provoking, and unexpected. The entire cast is superb, but Lupita Nyong’o is a powerhouse with not just one but two astonishing performances. More than one viewing is necessary as Peele takes an undervalued genre, supplied with suspense, and uses it to push us to the mirror to see who or what stares back. To stop thinking about what you’ve seen after leaving the theater is damn near impossible as are the movie’s terrible truths we choose not to confront.

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM

An L.A. couple and their dog set out to live their dream as farmers who live off the land in this fascinating, immersive documentary about the challenges of co-existing with nature. Director John Chester allows the audience to experience his and his wife Molly’s trials and tribulations of making their farm flourish, and celebrating when one connection is made that turns one problem into a solution.

It’s sheer bliss to watch the beauty and magic of the people working with wilderness in sweet harmony as it was originally intended. Their patience may be put to the test, but what an extraordinary, eye-opening adventure this becomes as we see the land go through breathtaking changes along with the animals who bring it to life.

TOY STORY 4

A fourth movie of this beloved series seemed to serve no purpose after everything we went through with Toy Story 3. But we are oh so wrong. From the classic characters to the hilarious new ones, it’s still at the top of its game. Woody gets his own emotional, soul-searching story of purpose, coming to a fork(y) in the road of what kind of toy he wants to be. No one should be shocked that the animation is spectacular, and the wonderful new direction director Josh Cooley takes these toys in is unexpectedly touching, funny, and positively profound.

ROCKETMAN

A miraculous musical biopic that uses Elton John‘s biggest hits to soar between a surreal state and a brokenhearted reality. Taron Egerton is extraordinary, pulling out all the stops to live out this rock god’s personal demons and professional achievements from one outlandish outfit to the next. Director Dexter Fletcher can’t change the sex-craved, drug-fueled rock ‘n roll lifestyle; but spinning it in to a flashy fantasy that’s rambunctious and boundless feels just right for such an occasion. It’s the only way imaginable to fasten on to this iconic artist’s atypical flair amidst lift off.

HIGH LIFE

This may be director Claire Denis’s first English-language film, but that doesn’t mean it comes with easy answers. Her gorgeous, mystifying sci-fi odyssey is a doozy – an unorthodox, provocative, and bleak presentation of sorrow and solitude in space. While on her strange, sexually-charged trek into hopelessness, Denis hypnotically twists human behavior into submission as it’s soaked in practically every existing bodily function. Juliette Binoche is sensationally seductive as a mad doctor obsessed with reproduction, but it’s Robert Pattinson who demands our attention. His tender performance captivates while portraying a single father straining to preserve life for him and his daughter on a deteriorating spacecraft – an inescapable prison and science experiment for a crew of convicts who were sent on a mission they were never coming back from.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD

The How to Train Your Dragon series soars in its final flight to becoming one of the greatest trilogies to ever grace the screen. It’s an astounding animation, and the friendship between Toothless and Hiccup is what makes it most memorable. Writer/director Dean DeBlois totally took the reigns on both sequels, and what an incredible job he’s done with making each installment an emotional, funny, and entertaining journey unlike anything we have seen before. This marks a charged conclusion of a visually amazing, richly told fantasy where endless love and agonizing loss are both worthwhile.

HIGH FLYING BIRD

Steven Soderbergh seems to never stop testing the limits of filmmaking, and his latest is a true testament to that. Shot on an iPhone once again, his game-changer of a film is smart and slick with razor sharp dialogue. Inside this high stakes plot, there’s a sense of urgency that runs from scene to scene about not just behind-the scenes basketball drama – but the deep division in modern sports between the owners who sit in the luxury box and the players who are playing the game.

André Holland is sensational as Ray Burke, an agent who talks the talk and walks the walk. He’s a smooth operator outmaneuvering the almighty powerful during a NBA lockout. And with the assistance of the divine Zazie Beets as his former assistant – Burke has one gutsy idea that could change everything. Soderbergh does well with disruption and this revolutionary take extends way beyond pro sports. But it’s a fine place to start. 

“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of theSoBros Network, and the star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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