Watching movies was pretty different this year and I seriously can’t wait until I can go to the cinema again. Still, many new movies were released and a lot of them were good (though I don’t think I loved any of them either).

I didn’t include Hamilton here since it’s not really a film, but it was a gift this year and I watched it so many times. Also I wasn’t able to catch Minari but I’m excited to see it once it has a wider release.

10. Onward

9. The Half of It

8. Da 5 Bloods

7. An American Pickle

6. The New Mutants

5. The Old Guard

4. Howard

3. The King of Staten Island

2. Palm Springs

1. Emma.

Just saw the new Emma. and it’s really wonderful and charming and funny. The costume design is top notch and these photos truly don’t do it justice. Every garment is just gorgeous to look at and I’m grateful the camera lingers long enough to really appreciate them. I recommend it!

Today we went to Alamo Drafthouse for a screening of the animated short films nominated for Oscars this year. Of the nominees, I hope Hair Love wins. It’s beautiful! And somehow the least devastating. (Seriously was that a requirement this year?)

After the nominees, they screened a handful of other animated shorts and wow, The Bird and the Whale is extraordinary. It’s paint-on-glass animation and all seven minutes are made of “over 4300, 24 x 34 inch paintings and took more than 14 months to paint.” The effect is gorgeous.

Here’s a trailer for the film and a behind-the-scenes video:

This list was much harder to make than my favorite movies of 2019. I was able to get it down to 15 and that’s how many Chris Coyier did, so I figured that’s great.

It was especially difficult because movies released earlier in the decade have the advantage of nostalgia and repeat viewings. I might revisit this in 5 years to see how my opinions change.

15. Logan

14. Get Out

13. Midnight in Paris (I know Woody Allen is horrible and I debated putting this here. But this movie made my heart ache like not many before or since.)

12. Moonrise Kingdom

11. Baby Driver

10. JoJo Rabbit

9. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

8. Guardians of the Galaxy

7. Crazy Rich Asians

6. Inception

5. Bridesmaids

4. Tangled

3. Gone Girl

2. Pitch Perfect

1. Eighth Grade

...

Honorable mentions: Parasite, Moana, Crazy Stupid Love, Thor: Ragnarok, Searching, This Is The End

Lots of great movies this year, but here are my ten favorites.

10. The Farewell

9. Shazam!

8. Yesterday

7. Us

6. Booksmart

5. Avengers: Endgame

4. Always Be My Maybe

3. Knives Out

2. Parasite

1. JoJo Rabbit