Nosferatu Pix 2019

I am fortunate that this year that I was able to see enough performances that I liked to be able to note them (unlike last year). Above all, this was obviously the year of Florence Pugh who was in three of the year's most memorable films ("Fighting With My Family", "Midsommar", "Little Women"). 2019 was quite a tour de force for her. I had similar high hopes for Jennifer Lawrence when I saw "Winter's Bone" (2010), so anything could happen, but I am optimistic for Florence Pugh's career. 

And in a different, strange way, this was also the year of "Midsommar". As I've mentioned to many, to me "Midsommar" was a lamentable disaster. I think this because the writer chose to prioritize a succession of plot elements over believable character decisions, depth of character, or anything that would make me care about what was happening to most of the characters. At the same time, "Midsommar" is one of the most visually stunning films in years, it looks amazing - a sunshiny, floral horror film. I understand that the movie is supposed to be more of a horrifying fairytale. I would have been a huge fan for this film if I had been able to make a connection with the characters or if I had been able to relate to anything happening in this movie. Instead I was just visually awed and viscerally grossed out. I was impressed with Florence Pugh, but when I got out of the theater I just felt distressed and disappointed. And yet, for better or worse, this was the most memorable film of the year.

These are the films that I did not manage to see that I had hoped to see:

1917

Alita: Battle Angel

Bombshell

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Dark Waters

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Marriage Story

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Uncut Gems

FAVORITE FILMS:

"El Camino"

"Little Women"

"Motherless Brooklyn"

"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"

"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

HONORABLE MENTION:

"Midsommar"

FAVORITE ACTORS:

Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon A Time In Hollywood")

Edward Norton ("Motherless Brooklyn")

Aaron Paul ("El Camino")

Joaquin Phoenix ("Joker")

FAVORITE ACTRESSES:

Emilia Clarke ("Last Christmas")

Florence Pugh ("Midsommar")

Saoirse Ronan ("Little Women")

Samara Weaving ("Ready Or Not")

FAVORITE SUPPORTING ACTORS:

Alec Baldwin ("Motherless Brooklyn")

Bruce Dern ("Once Upon A Time In Hollywood")

Adam Driver ("Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker")

Brad Pitt ("Once Upon A Time In Hollywood")

Jesse Plemons ("El Camino")

FAVORITE SUPPORTING ACTRESSES:

Gugu Mbatha-Raw ("Motherless Brooklyn")

Florence Pugh ("Little Women")

Margaret Qualley ("Once Upon A Time In Hollywood")

Margot Robbie ("Once Upon A Time In Hollywood")

Emma Thompson ("Last Christmas")

FAVORITE CAMEOS:

Harrison Ford ("Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker")

Christina Hendricks ("Toy Story 4")

The Rock / Dwayne Johnson ("Fighting With My Family")

Marc Maron ("Joker")

Julia Stiles ("Hustlers")