My Favorite Movies of 2019
Hi guys! This weekend has been a rough one for me, so I want to talk about something that makes me happy; movies! I spent several weekends at the theater and watched plenty of movies in 2019, so without further ado, here are my personal favorite movies I saw this year.
Rocketman- Before watching this, I was not a huge Elton John fan. I knew who he was and some of his songs, but not his story. Rocketman is a biographical musical that goes into Elton’s childhood, his sexuality, and his drug use. Taron Egerton (Eggsy from from “Kingsman: The Secret Service”) is brilliant as Elton and even does his own singing for the movie. I highly recommend it, even if musicals aren’t your thing!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Do I really need to explain this one? No, but I will anyways. Once Upon a time in Hollywood, which focuses on LA in the 1960’s and in part, the Manson family, is action packed and hilarious (as most Tarantino films are). Going into the movie, I was a little nervous because I am a huge Sharon Tate fan and did not want to see another movie exploiting her death. Fortunately, the movie does not follow what actually happens to Tate and her houseguests in the summer of 1969, and ends with a feel good moment.
Hustlers- Let me tell you, this movie left me shook. I went into Hustlers thinking this movie was about J.Lo and her stripper friends (which include Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, and Lili Reinhart) having a good time and scamming rich men, and honestly, I was 100% cool with that. However, what I got watching this movie was that and more. Hustlers is about womanhood, motherhood, friendship, and a critique on society. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, so you gotta do what you gotta do. I am paraphrasing of course, but you get the idea. J.Lo is AMAZING in this and the film is directed by Lorene Scafaria (I’m always rooting for female directors!), so please, watch this movie.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark- Based on the books that scared the f*** out of us when were children, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark follows a group of kids dealing with things like bullying, racism, death, and scary stories coming to life. This movie is produced by horror master Guillermo del Toro, so you can only imagine how crazy the monsters in the movie are! If you love del Toro’s movies (like Pan’s Labyrinth), you will no doubt love this one too.
Jojo Rabbit- UGH , THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOD. I am not going to go in depth on this one because I wrote a review (read here), but I will say that director Taika Waititi is a genius and this movie is unlike any other World War II movie I have seen before. Besides the writing and the storyline, the cinematography and set for this movie are amazing. Most World War II movies are bleak and gray (which completely make sense), however, in Jojo Rabbit, the colors are bright, and remind me of looking at old color photographs. You’ll definitely laugh and you’ll probably cry watching Jojo Rabbit, what’s not to love?
Some honorable mentions that didn’t make it to my list include Captain Marvel, Midsommar, Detective Pikachu, Dumbo, and Knives Out. Definitely check these movies out and let me know what you think! See ya’ll next week on another blog post for The Leslie Life.
