2019 Movie Rankings: 60 through 51
We have arrived at Day 13 of the 2019 Movie Rankings Countdown. Today and all of next week, leading up to the 92nd edition of The Academy Awards, I will be revealing my rankings for all 185 new movies I watched this year.
RANKINGS SO FAR:
Bottom 15 (171-185)
170-161
160-151
150-141
140-131
130-121
120-111
110-101
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
By coincidence only, today's group of 10 movies includes plenty of monsters, zombies, and animals. We have a good mix of blockbuster releases and smaller movies that might fall into the "diamond in the rough" category. How about we get into it? Here are movies 60 through 51...
60) Late Night (77/100): The screenplay is a little flat at times and isn't consistently hilarious, but the chemistry between Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling is fantastic in the movie. Within a story and setting (late-night TV) not often explored, 'Late Night' brings a ton of charm and enough laughs to qualify as an enjoyable crowd-pleaser.
59) The Lion King (78/100): This is such a tough movie to look at and I can totally understand being skewered for my score. The original story is an all-time classic and they don't tinker with it all that much here. Therefore, I really can't take many points off for the quality of the story. Everything I dock from this movie, especially considering I enjoyed the voice acting and music, is in the department of creativity and originality. It lacks the heart of the original movie and that's quite a shame because adding a little more emotion and color to the characters would have made this a fantastic re-make. I still liked the movie and don't share the same anger that some folks do when it comes to Disney's money-making machine tactics. Call me a shill, whatever, 'The Lion King' doesn't drive me up a wall.
58) Harriet (78/100): 'Harriet' is a fairly run-of-the-mill biopic...
...but Cynthia Erivo's show-stealing performance as Harriet Tubman is incredible to watch. It's a shame that the movie doesn't carry around any weight, because I think Erivo might have been a front-runner for Best Actress had the movie been a little better.
57) Godzilla: King of the Monsters (79/100): I had pretty unrealistic expectations for this movie based on one of the greatest trailers I have ever seen...
It didn't end up being the greatest Kaiju movie ever made but this movie fucking ruled, man. 'King of the Monsters' is thin in terms of screenplay and story, but it makes up for it with incredible monster action. The intention with this sequel was for it to be loud, explosiveness and bat shit insane and it achieves just that.
56) Official Secrets (79/100): 'Official Secrets' definitely flew under the radar in 2019…
Another "based on a true story" adaption that is hurt by a lack of depth into an intense subject, 'Official Secrets' may not wow you but Keira Knightley turns in one of her best career performances in the movie.
55) Abominable (80/100): Our first 80 out of 100 on the list is a gorgeously animated Yeti adventure…
There isn't anything overly groundbreaking, but I love DreamWorks Animation going for an original idea and focusing on the look of the movie to drive home the appeal. It carries a solid story and a nice message and is the type of animated movie we should be getting, as opposed to sequels and reboots. (I will eat these words shortly with 'Toy Story 4', but my examples here would be 'Finding Dory' and the entire 'Cars' franchise)
54) Judy (80/100): Much like with 'Harriet', this is a pretty surface-level biopic, albeit about a far different subject.
However, it's like 'Harriet' in a sense that the movie has an incredible performance, this time from Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland. She is worth the price of admission alone and is, at this point, a lock to win Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Oscars.
53) Brittany Runs a Marathon (80/100): I expected this movie to be complete trash, but, I'll tell you something… it's pretty decent!
Best known for her role in the television show 'Workaholics', Jillian Bell has had a ton of hit-or-miss roles ('22 Jump Street' being a hit), but this movie might be my favorite of hers yet. The movie doesn't get too preachy or over-the-top and feels grounded and realistic with its humor. It isn't in the upper-echelon of 21st-century comedies but the comedy from Bell supplies a ton of laughs.
52) Zombieland: Double Tap (80/100): While not quite as good as the original movie, 'Zombieland Double Tap' is a more-than-fine sequel that manages to not miss a beat ten years later. All of the actors and actresses slip right back into their roles and there are enough fresh additions to keep the movie interesting. It's a light watch, but anyone who loved the first movie is going to have a great time with this one.
51) Little Monsters (81/100): Hey look, another zombie movie! 'Little Monsters' is one of 2019's best diamond in the rough releases…
The movie feels both unassuming yet hilarious and light yet also very, very brutal. It's an incredibly creative addition to the zombie genre and it helps that Lupita Nyong'o has the chops to elevate any movie to another level. It's got a little bit of 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Zombieland' all wrapped up together into a fantastic time.
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Here are the rankings so far in picture form…
Once the movies cross into the 80 out of 100 part of the scale, I start tossing around the words "very good" when it comes to quality. From here on out, starting with 50 through 41 on Monday, I'll be sharing with you my Top 50 movies of 2019, all of them being releases that I, in the least, quite enjoyed. While you wait, you can still rate all of the movies released on a scale of 0-100 below. Make sure to subscribe (click here) to Lights Camera Barstool to enjoy our twice-a-week movie podcast…
Give your rating for all 2019 movies:
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December: https://forms.gle/uCYmh7uMtxE99Vj88