NUTS4R2’s Best Movies of 2019

The 19 Best Movies of 2019

Hi there, it’s that time of year again.

Here are my favourite movies of 2019, with a bit of a bias towards American movies it seems to me. Not that I didn’t see my fair share of foreign language movies this year... I just don’t think I saw that many truly great ones. As usual, there will be some films that people will wonder why they are absent here. Frankly, if I saw them screen a year early at a festival or something, then they are films I saw in the cinema last year and would have been eligible for last year’s list. That’s right... all the films on this list are films that got, at the very least, a cinema release or random screening over here in the UK this year.

My one big regret is that Jay And Silent Bob Rebooted couldn’t be on here. Normally a Kevin Smith movie would score very high on my scale but, unfortunately, due to some bad ‘real life’ timing, I couldn’t use the ticket I’d bought to one of the... actually quite rare... screenings in this country. Why it was rare I don’t know. Surely the studio’s must realise that a new Jay And Silent Bob movie is an even bigger draw than a new Star Wars movie but... nope, apparently they are all just a bit out of touch. So, alas, I’ve not seen it yet.

I’m guessing there’s at least one movie on this list that won’t even get a UK release unless I’m very lucky. That usually happens with stuff I see in festivals but... at least it’s recorded here.

There are two big surprises for me about this year’s list. One is that, since Avengers - Infinity War was my favourite film of last year, I was expecting the direct sequel, Avengers - End Game, to be high up on this list. However, the Marvel movies this year were so bad (with End Game being the worst, logic challenged, ‘they’ll watch any old crap’ attempt to grab my money with no decent script example) that none of them made the list. Instead, the one truly great superhero movie, which was made by DC, is here instead. Sure, they got the central character a bit wrong and he wasn’t allowed to be called by his actual name due to Marvel having the rights and releasing their own film under that name this year but... it was still the only truly amazing superhero film this year.

The other big surprise is... if I were to get around to doing a ‘best scores of the year’ list (and because of this I now might)... it would look absolutely nothing like this list at all. The year was filled with marvellous, brilliant scores made for some truly terrible films... the Avengers movie in my last paragraph being a prime example. So... yeah, that might happen.

Anyway, I’m sure some of the cracking films on this list will be on some poor souls’ ‘worst of the year’ lists but that’s okay... I know my list is much, much better. ;-)

19. Madness In The Method
Jason Mewes’ directed this Eight And A Half meets slasher movie Madness In The Method, which sees the director playing a slightly fictionalised version of himself, as he tries to get a part playing anything other than the ‘stoner stereotype’ he plays in the Jay And Silent Bob movies. I think my favourite bit is when Vinnie Jones kicks the big firecracker. You can read my review of this movie, which I saw screened at FrightFest, right here... http://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/08/madness-in-method.html

18. Destroyer
This gritty tale in which Nicole Kidman plays a washed up cop, marvelled audiences, me included, with a great ending reliant on those watching decoding the structure of the way the movie plays out in the wrong order. Destroyer is a brilliant sleight of hand movie and the only one I’ve seen that has a ‘handjob for information’ scene in it (which was apparently removed from the airline version which my cousin saw on the way over from Australia). My review of this one is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/01/destroyer.html

17. Colour Out Of Space
So here we celebrate the return of director/creator Richard Stanley with a movie based on the H. P. Lovecraft story, The Colour Out Of Space. It’s a nice, old fashioned horror movie, a bit out of its time and it certainly harkens back to the days of the 1960s AIP releases in tone and style. Which is probably exactly why I loved it so much. You can read my review of this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/10/colour-out-of-space.html

16. Doctor Sleep
Mike Flanagan’s ‘adaptation’ of one of Stephen King’s best books is not without its problems but even though the last third or so of Doctor Sleep differs terribly from the book and changes things for the worst, it’s still not a bad movie and a nice sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining. It’s just not a patch on the source novel but the Newton Brothers score, with it’s Dies Irae lifts from Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind’s score for Kubrick, is especially welcome. I reviewed this movie here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/11/doctor-sleep.html


15. Judy And Punch
A nice, completely fictional movie about the purported inventor of the Punch And Judy show is quite raw, in some ways, without ever really showing the violence it lingers on in the aftermath of any onscreen altercations. Judy And Punch is, in some ways, a bit of a feminist movie and it kind of wears this on its sleeve but it’s nothing less than brilliant throughout. You can read my full review here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/11/judy-and-punch.html

14. Charlie’s Angels
Everyone else seemed to hate the new Charlie’s Angels movie so let me be the voice of reason here and say... no, of course it was never going to be as good as the two McG cinematic masterpieces but... once you can get through the terrible opening sequence it turns out to be a pretty good movie after all. It even had a twist I didn’t see coming, which was nice. I reviewed this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/11/charlies-angels-2019.html

13. Ad Astra
Ad Astra was a wonderful mix of 2001 - A Space Odyssey and Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, where the absolutely brilliant journey of the movie wasn’t quite diluted by the incredibly anticlimactic last 20 minutes. It also had a nice score by, like, three people... according to the CD. My review is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/09/ad-astra.html

12. Rabid (2019)
A surprisingly excellent and respectful remake of David Cronenberg’s Rabid by the brilliant Soska Sisters which deserved a proper cinema release over here, rather than just a few screenings. However, thanks to FrightFest, I at least got to see this gem on a big screen. You can read my take on this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/08/rabid-2019.html

11.  Happy Death Day 2U
After the brilliance of the first film, Happy Death Day 2U had to move into slightly sideways territory, rather than just be a second horror movie remake of Groundhog Day. It did this beautifully, managing to have its cake and eat it in a film which, alas, wasn’t as successful as the first in terms of revenue but was absolutely a great sequel with the promise, in the post credits scene, that there would be more on the way. Sadly, due to the aforementioned box office take, that’s now less than likely but I can still hope for more. I reviewed this here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/02/happy-death-day-2u.html

10.  The Antenna
Turkish film Bina aka The Antenna was a nicely strange movie... coming across as something of a cross between the two most interesting cinematic Davids... Lynch and Cronenberg... channeling Cthulhu mythos, this one also played out like something of a horror movie. Quite bizarre and I’m just hoping this gets a UK release at some point... although I kinda doubt it. My review is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-antenna.html

9. The Banana Splits Movie
I used to love The Banana Splits as a kid so this new ‘kids show subverted to horror’ version was something I was completely embracing. Once the novelty value has worn off... which is in itself pretty cool... it’s actually a solid sci-fi/slasher movie. I loved it and I’m not even a fan of American slasher movies (I much prefer a nice, Italian giallo). I reviewed this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-banana-splits-movie.html

8. Star Wars Episode IX - The Rise Of Skywalker
The new Star Wars movie, episode nine in the chaptered series, is supposed to be the last one in that particular chain. Yeah, right. Give it twenty years or less and they’ll be trying to reassemble the surviving cast for another ‘handover’ trilogy. This one is by no means a great Star Wars movie but it’s a heck of a lot better than The Last Jedi and wisely, I think, chose to eradicate and twist the direction of that last movie. It didn’t necessarily do this in a great way but, frankly, I’m just relieved Abrams managed to bring the franchise back on track. My review for this one is here.... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/12/star-wars-episode-ix-rise-of-skywalker.html

7. Alita Battle Angel
With Alita Battle Angel, we all went to the cinema expecting a shallow spectacle. Well, we certainly got the spectacle but, surprisingly, we also got a wonderful, emotional film with a lot of heart and soul to it. I was completely charmed by Alita and would love to see the next part of her story. My thoughts on this one are here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/02/alita-battle-angel.html

6. Zombieland - Double Tap
Just like the first movie, I wasn’t expecting much from the new Zombieland sequel and, just like the first movie, I was pleasantly surprised by this one which, frankly, I enjoyed even more than the original. Looking forward to seeing this one again at some point and you can catch my review of it here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/10/zombieland-double-tap.html

5. SHAZAM!
This one was the only superhero movie that was any good this year... even though the central characters of Captain Marvel and Sivana, while looking somewhat like their comic book incarnations, were somewhat changed (heck, they even gave Cap some kind of projectile lightning powers). A brilliant film that doesn’t take itself too seriously while managing to tackle the issues of family being what you make it as opposed to what you are saddled with and, to boot, being a fine Christmas movie. I reviewed this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/04/shazam.html

4. Welcome To Marwen
Steve Carell, who I only really like in straight roles, plays real life artist Mark Hogencamp. I won’t spoil the story of this man’s unfortunate experiences which turned him into a World War II action figure photographer but I will say that this film manages to juggle the intimacy of the subject matter with absolutely amazing, spectacular special effects work, as the writers have Hogencamp’s art world taking over, Walter Mitty-like, from real life when he gets stressed out. I reviewed this absolute gem of a movie here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/01/welcome-to-marwen.html

3. Yesterday
I don’t usually like modern romantic comedies (give me Bringing Up Baby any time) but this one has such a unique premise of a world where various things are suddenly wiped out of existence, especially The Beatles, with a superb cast who really got you to care about their plight. Various elements introduced throughout assure that the story sustains itself over the whole running time... which is an achievement in itself. My review of this one is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/08/yesterday.html

2. One Cut Of The Dead
You don’t want to know anything about this movie before going in. I told my dad before I showed it to him... this is going to seem like one of the worst zombie movies ever made for about 40 minutes. Don’t complain and go with it because... well, you’ll see. And then he spent the first 40 minutes complaining about how rubbish it was and then the end credits rolled and... then the film continues and the real film slowly begins to unfold. By the end of the movie, my dad actually called it a masterpiece and... well, he was right. My initial review of this wonderful movie is here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/01/one-cut-of-dead.html

1. The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot
Okay, so the title of this film suggests it’s either going to be a horror movie or, more than likely, a modern film trying to capture the spirit of an old exploitation movie. It’s neither, actually. What it really is, frankly, is actor Sam Elliot turning in the performance of his career in a movie which is truly touching and beautiful. Poignant and unforgettable, this easily walks away with the ‘Best Movie Of 2019’ title as far as I’m concerned and you can read my initial thoughts about this one here... https://nuts4r2.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-man-who-killed-hitler-and-then.html

The Banana Splits Movie

One Banana, Two Banana,
Three Banana, Gore!

The Banana Splits Movie
2019 USA Directed by Danishka Esterhazy
Screening at FrightFest on Monday 26th August

For the last 35 years or so I’ve wanted to write, draw and publish a series of alternative, adult themed Mr. Men books. So stuff like ‘Mr. Guts Spaghetti’ who can swing across chasms by his intestines or use them as a lasso to round up stray cattle. Or Mr. Sexworthy who... yeah. never mind. The point being that I’ve not actually done this because I don’t have the rights to the Mr. Men books but, the idea of using a children’s format to tell outrageously over the top, so called ‘adult’ stories for laughs has always appealed to me. Therefore, when The Banana Splits Movie became a blip on my radar earlier in the year, I was so interested to see what this was going to be like. Somebody who is able to distort a former children’s property into something completely different and, obviously, who holds the rights to said property.

This film, it would be safe to say, was the main draw of FrightFest for me in this, their 20th Anniversary year. If this wasn’t playing then I’m not sure I would have bothered to grab tickets for any of the other movies in the festival this year but... well, it was so I got a few films in. As it happens, it wasn’t my absolute favourite of the festival (that one will be the subject of my next review) but this one was still pretty cool.

I’ve loved The Banana Splits ever since I used to watch them on TV as a 2 year old around 1970. I always assumed they were repeats but, as it happens, it ran from 1968 for around three years over the course of 31 episodes, so when I first started watching it then the show must have been brand new. Well... I say I loved The Banana Splits but really I just loved the opening credits with that fantastic theme song... the Splits themselves weren’t all that funny (and even looked a little threatening at times). I kept coming back to it though, because I loved the cartoons they used to show during the programme such as Arabian Knights and The Three Musketeers. It was a show that certainly colonised the subconsciousness of all the kids at the time (to paraphrase Wim Wenders famous quote on American culture) and, all in all, memories are fond.

So I couldn’t wait to see this new version of them which has taken the basic characters and turned them into the antagonists of a horror movie. Well... I say horror but, as it turns out, this new movie is more of a sci-fi tinged slasher movie. Also, the Splits have a human co-host on this version called Stevie, played by Richard White, who everybody hates and who is invented for this just to see another unlikable character run afoul of the new version of the gang.

The plot is very simple. On his birthday, young uber-fan Harley (played by Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) is taken on a trip to be part of the studio audience on a film recording on the latest Banana Splits show. He is accompanied by his mum Beth (played by Dani Kind), his ‘not actually a bad brother after all’ sibling called Austin (played by Romeo Carere), one of his classmates, Zoe (played by Maria Nash) and his stepfather, the somewhat ‘villanous if only mummy would realise’ Mitch (played by Steve Lund). Rounding out the main protagonists is a studio tour worker named Paige (played by Naledi Majola) who is the potential love interest for Austin. In this version of reality, The Banana Splits show never stopped running since its inception in 1968 and, also, the Splits themselves are not ‘men in suits’ but ‘robots in suits’, programmed by their inventor who accidentally gives them a new software update which turns them evil. Which is timely because, unknown to most, a new studio head has been promoted and he is pulling the plug on the show. This will be the last recording ever...

But not if the Splits can help it, as they go on a rampage of destruction before, finally, rounding up all the little kiddies and chaining them into their seats to watch a deranged, killer version of the regular show. Meanwhile, Beth, Austin, Paige and a couple of other characters they meet along the way, are trying to get their kids back and then out of their studio... trying to survive the red eyed robot wrath of the splits.

And... it’s actually, despite that synopsis, quite a slow paced film. That being said, the novelty factor alone of seeing the four splits... Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky... getting up to all kinds of hardcore, violent mischief while keeping the whole tone of things surprisingly ‘on brand’ didn’t fail to keep a big smile plastered to my face throughout the whole performance which, with the FrightFest crowd in attendance, was certainly a memorable one as people were laughing at every outrageous kill. This one was well received, I think it would be safe to say.

So yes, if the idea of your childhood TV chums getting up to cute shenanigans like flame throwing someone’s head, pulling someone’s arms and legs out of their sockets or doing the old sawing a person in a cabinet in half trick... only to pull the two halves apart to reveal a pile of intestines plopping out onto the floor... is somewhat heretical to you, then you’re probably better off steering clear of this one.

I, for one, think it’s an interesting experiment and it’s got some lovely shot set ups, some beautiful colours (as you would maybe expect from this subject matter) and some nice one liners in the dialogue too. Plus, the acting is really very good. There’s no tongue-in-cheek sensibility coming from any of the cast and they manage to play it straight throughout the whole movie. Romeo Carere as the older brother seems to be somehow channeling the look and performance of Mike Nesmith from The Monkees, it seemed to me but even that approach seemed to work here. Incidentally, I believe The Banana Splits was always supposed to be a young kids version of The Monkees anyway so, there you go.

And the kids in this film, especially since they’re so young, are absolutely great. I heard one of the audience saying that the thing which absolutely made the movie for her was the screams of the kids as they watch the bloody carnage in front of them, which she found hilarious. I would personally love to see a documentary, 15 years from now, when the various kids in this are finally able to watch the movie they’ve performed in and just see what their reaction is to the various shots which have obviously been cut in around them. It’s quite a bold juxtaposition of gory ultra-violence pitched against the innocence of childhood, for the most part here.

So, this one came out on Blu Ray over here in the UK on the same day as its UK cinematic premiere so, if you want to take a look at this then you can grab one now. Also, I was very pleased to get, like everybody else who attended the FrightFest screening, a free T-shirt to commemorate the movie with its Splits-like catchline... Tra La La Terror. All in all a good time was had by all so you can’t really argue with that. Some people are going to see this film as some kind of blasphemy while others of a certain age will, I suspect, find the concept of this movie interesting. So check this one out if you’ve a mind to. I would quite like to see this trend continue for a bit to see what new children’s programmes they can treat in a similar vein. Like a violent version of Rainbow where Rod, Jane and Freddy are trying to escape the studio before Bungle and Zippy eat them. Or a sexed up version of Pipkins where stud-muffin Hartley Hare has a fling with Octavia the Ostrich?

Anyway, The Banana Splits Movie was time and money well spent at this years FrightFest but, unbeknownst to me, my final FrightFest film, a remake of a well loved classic directed by The Soska Sisters, was what my whole weekend was building towards. And you can read my review of that stunning film as soon as I manage to squeeze in enough lunchtimes to write it... so give it a couple of days.