2019 Movie Rankings: 50 through 41
Say hello to Day 14 of the 2019 Movie Rankings Countdown. Throughout the rest of the 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
60-51
You should recognize most, or all, of these movies today. All but two of today's 10 entries were "mainstream" releases with a couple of big-time franchises mixed in-between. It's nice to finally nestle into a group of movies that I don't hesitate to refer to as "good" releases. Let's wait no more, here are movies 50 through 41...
50) Fast & Furious presents Hobbs & Shaw (81/100): One of 2019's biggest surprises, the Fast & Furious spin-off movie is proof that the franchise can crank out solid movies when they find a way to properly balance out all of the silliness. We may have initially laughed at the concept, but the dynamic chemistry between The Rock and Jason Statham is undeniable. The movie mixes in a ton of surprises, big-time action that toes the line of being too ridiculous and still manages to spin a fun story not plagued by too many cliches from the franchise.
49) Just Mercy (81/100): This movie slipped under the radar right as the year wrapped up, but it was pretty damn good!
Like other biopics from this year, 'Just Mercy' runs into problems with being a bit flat at times, but the movie ultimately shines due to its stellar cast. Anytime you can wrangle Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, and Tim Blake Nelson, you're likely going to have a successful movie. Director Destin Daniel Cretton (who did the fantastic movie 'Short Term 12') is also a name to keep an eye on as he is set to direct one of Marvel's newest superhero properties in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'.
48) Doctor Sleep (81/100): I am admittedly a bit lower on the sequel to 'The Shining' than most people, but I still really enjoyed the movie...
Ewan McGregor is the pro's pro and Rebecca Ferguson (the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise) remains one of Hollywood's most underrated actresses. The movie is a very appropriate and fitting sequel to 'The Shining', which is a pretty ridiculous task to try and achieve. While I think the story works, it just feels stretched far to thin. 'Doctor Sleep' could have hit so many more beats had it been tightened up a bit.
47) Dragged Across Concrete (82/100): Director S. Craig Zahler has quietly made a few solid ass movies in 'Bone Tomahawk', 'Brawl in Cell Block 99' and now 'Dragged Across Concrete'…
Another movie stretched a tad too thin, it still manages to deliver an incredibly tense and compelling story. It's a gripping crime drama that rides the tails of a duo in Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn that work perfectly together on screen. This won't be for everyone and might be a bit much to chew on depending on your taste, but 'Dragged Across Concrete' is a hidden gem from 2019.
46) Blinded By the Light (82/100): Even if you aren't a fan of the music of Bruce Springsteen, the style of this musical movie is an absolute blast…
Its corniness can be distracting at times, but that is also where a lot of the charm comes from with 'Blinded By the Light'. Sometimes you can set aside the fact a movie feels familiar and predictable when it also delivers a damn good time. 'Blinded By the Light' is a lot of fun, will leave you feeling great and incorporates the music of Bruce Springsteen in an incredibly engaging way.
45) Shazam! (82/100): Even after all the shit this movie, and Zachary Levi, got for the look of the character and the concept, 'Shazam!' has established itself as one of the best movies in the DC Universe. The way to succeed for DC wasn't to directly copy Marvel's success but taking cues from their competitor went a long way in creating a story and hero that people truly loved. It brought color and personality to an overly-grim and dark comic book universe. It's a little bit of action, a little bit of comic book lore, a little bit of comedy and equals out to a very entertaining movie.
44) Captain Marvel (82/100): Another really good effort from Marvel is hurt by their usual problem: origin story syndrome. Putting aside all of the obnoxious drama surrounding this movie, 'Captain Marvel' was another comic book property that balanced all of the elements very well. Jude Law, an actor I thoroughly enjoy, is the biggest issue with the movie for me. His villain was severely underdeveloped and underwhelming as a compliment to Brie Larson's Carol Danvers. What makes up for the "villain problem" (another downfall of some MCU movies) is the legendary Ben Mendelsohn in his role as the Skrull Talos. His character was one of the better comedic characters introduced into the MCU and I hope we get a ton more of him in the near future.
43) El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (83/100): It's a movie that never totally establishes itself on its own merits, which is understandable since the movie is a continuation of the 'Breaking Bad' series. With that said, I don't really have a ton to knock the movie over because it was still pretty damn good. When you give Vince Gilligan free-reign to work on the property that he absolutely loves, it's no wonder he pumped out another stellar story in this universe.
42) How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (83/100): Every time I see one of these movies I really want to dislike them or cast them aside, but I can't deny that they're incredibly well done animated movies. The style stands out for DreamWorks and they found a way to develop another intriguing storyline for Jay Baruchel and his dragon. It does a great job at wrapping up the series, even if it doesn't quite live up to the success of its predecessors.
41) Fighting with My Family (83/100): Man oh man did Florence Pugh have a great 2019…
Maybe it was the bit with The Rock in the trailer that felt forced or the fact that recent "feel-good" sports movies have been duds, but I expected absolutely nothing from this movie. Boy was I wrong! This movie has a ton of charm and the backbone of the story feels fresh and fun, even if it falls victim to classic sports movie tropes at times. It's a based-on-a-true-story worth watching and becoming familiar with and one of the more satisfyingly positive movies of 2019.
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Here are the rankings so far in picture form…
We will discuss movies rated 85 out of 100, or higher, tomorrow as we begin to border on releases that I would consider to be "great." Tomorrow we inch closer and close to the Top Movies of 2019 with an incredibly solid 40 through 31 grouping of 10 movies that actually features a few Oscars nominees. 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:
January: https://goo.gl/forms/tyUaQnv8QgMyHfcf1
February: https://goo.gl/forms/N98XcvIy3SukhrIw2
March: https://goo.gl/forms/4QbmSMj6wK0feMZ13
April: https://forms.gle/uRUg5xPyfsE8bk9B6
May: https://forms.gle/cdBDBdjNcHZ93sog6
June: https://forms.gle/z3cK9LSRCzNCwxYS8
July: https://forms.gle/8i1B8dMgSADefyU5A
August: https://forms.gle/4ywzQC6BNR818YDU9
September: https://forms.gle/an7c9p5dV1TZHwNK9
October: https://forms.gle/wjyrNUxbX8MYVLHUA
November: https://forms.gle/yVJjxeuNspX2GNjSA
December: https://forms.gle/uCYmh7uMtxE99Vj88