BOT's Top 25 Movies of 2019 | The forums can eat shit

[CoolioD1]

Just now, grim22 said:

 

62	Long Day's Journey Into Night

damn just missed the top 5. this is a nice placement for it though. a couple other people must've had it on their lists. my putting it at #1 couldn't have put it in the top half of movies alone.

[Jake Gittes]

1 minute ago, Ethan Hunt said:

huh? shocked to see 1917 on this list. thought everyone here hated it

 

this isn't the telegram chat 

[Ethan Hunt]

1 minute ago, Eric Sionis said:

1917 made me cry.

I mean same. But people yell at me whenever i say i like it 

[Rorschach]

1 minute ago, Ethan Hunt said:

I mean same. But people yell at me whenever i say i like it 

So: yell = people respectfully disagreeing with you ?

[grim22]

#4

Spoiler

Avengers: Endgame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cap: Should I just say "Eff it" and go Full Fangirl?

@Plain Old Tele: Oh, no.  Abort.  Abort.

@Porthos: Do it.

Cap: 😈

 

Avengers: Endgame

 

 

I want to talk about the greatest cinematic experience of my life.

 

My Bestie and I live in different states.  We both knew that neither could really handle seeing Endgame with, frankly, anyone but each other.  If I was going to watch Steve Rogers die -- and we made the plans circa November 2018, so I was convinced he was going to die -- I had zero interest in watching it with some unlit, un-indoctrinated crowd of basic bitches.  This was Endgame.  We made plans to meet up in New York City for the Lincoln Square IMAX.  Again, if I was going to have to watch Thanos beat Steve Rogers to death with his own shield, it had to be on the biggest screen in the best quality theater on the East Coast.

 

As fate would have it, Lincoln Square 13 wasn't doing the Advanced Fan Events.  We ended up at some random 250 seat theater at AMC Empire 25.  My IMAX screen at home was bigger.  But it started an hour early, and that was all that matters.  Our stress level really couldn't handle waiting another hour.  We piled into the theater.  Groups came in batches of two, four, sometimes six.  Bestie and I still had our headphones in.  I was NOT going to get spoiled in line like with Infinity War.  No one really chit-chatted with folks outside of their group aside from the Thanos Thirst Legion sitting behind us.  They were loud.  And they were there for Thanos' Daddy Vibe.

 

The lights go down.  The movie begins.  

 

And then two hours and twelve minutes into it, my soul leaves my body.  

 

 

I don't remember if I was screaming, or crying, or out of my seat, or dead on the floor.  It was everything I ever wanted and didn't know I could have.

 

 ( Is this what heterosexual lust feels like? )

 

For a moment all was perfect -- until -- Oh fuck, oh fuck, it's finally happening:

 

 

Dreaded it.  Ran from it.  But after seven years, it was inevitable.  He didn't say the line, but Evans' eyes said for it him.  As he faced down Thanos' Army I was strangely at peace knowing my beloved was going to go out as he came in: a kid in a back alley that didn't know when to run from a fight.

 

But no.  No.  The Russos and M&M weren't gonna do me like that.  Suddenly the voice of a fucking angel cuts through the score and theater.  "Cap?  Cap, can you hear me?  It's Sam.  On Your Left."

 

Oh god, oh god, oh god.  Did The Russos just say #SamSteveRights?  Oh, god, oh, god, What is happening? And then there's T'Challa exiting that Portal backlit like a fucking Jesus. 

 

 

And Sam's flying out,

 

 

and the portals are opening, and Alan Silversti's score is killing it, and the wide shot's surveying the battlefield,

 

 

and I'm quietly under my breath muttering:

 

Say it.

 

Say it.

 

Say it, say it, saaaaaaaay IT.

 

Then I hear someone else behind me starting to scream at the screen: Say It.

 

Suddenly, a group of 250 strangers, who have never met before, and will never meet again, who are only bonded by our love and excitement over a movie, are all screaming SAY IT.  Because we all have waited seven years for two words.  We all know what's coming.

 

 

My audience screamed so loud I thought the roof would blow.  It was magic.  It was such a strange, euphoric experience that I doubt I will ever recreate in a movie theater.  What is the greatest cinematic experience of my life? Getting to see, and feel, and hear pure joy.

 

I love this movie. I could easily write another 5k squee fest scene-by-scene breakdown on how much I love this movie.  I even wonder if my years of being Officially Over It regarding the MCU made me love it more.    

 

I love that the Wakanda Battle Sequence and Avengers Assemble Battle Sequence have the exact same beats; there's such satisfaction in knowing "I have watched this before and watched them loose, but now because they're working together, they're going to win."

 

I love how everything feels like such a natural progression, so that when Tony Stark "is the one to lie down on the wire" and Steve Rogers is the one to "cut the wire" it makes complete sense.

 

I love that use the Time Heist sequence to playfully balance shameless fan service and showing off how these characters have changed/evolved over the twenty-two movie arc.

 

It was absolutely my favorite movie of the year. It might even be my favorite movie of the decade… LOL JK Winter Soldier #1 4EVA. It is the capstone to a truly monumental piece of work. Whether you just want to call it a production factory, or the greatest television series of all time, or nature step in comic book episodic storytelling, the staggering work, dedication, and faith in their proof of concept that Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and everyone hat Marvel Studios — displayed over the past 10 years is remarkable. 

 

The truly mind-blogging 357M domestic opening weekend, and 1.2 Billion Global Total Opening Weekend is something we'll likely never see again.  Not for a very, very long time unless a Chinese film blows up.  Avengers: Endgame could be the crescendo of Kevin Feige's cinematic symphony or only the end of its first movement.  Who knows what will happen in the next decade?  Hell, who knows if we'll even be here in the next decade? 

 

All I know is that for one crazy weekend in April, everyone in the world went to the cinema

@Cap

 

USER REVIEWS:

Briefly.

Bloody fantastic. I loved it. The ultimate culmination to the Infinity Saga. I still can’t get over how well they pulled it off.

10/10

A++++

@DeeCee

 

I havent seen all of the MCU films Endgame is a resolution for, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nevertheless. People will no doubt chime in with countless things to discuss here, but heres a couple points of note that stuck out to me:

 

- time travel is such a risky plot point to introduce. It can get tired/confusing/convoluted etc very fast - we've seen in so many other movies and stories how things quickly degenerate into a narrative mess. With that said, I think they did a VERY good job of managing a time travel plot ...without having (what I was expecting) many negatives that typically come with it.

- Captain Marvel usage reminded me of the Eagles from LOTR. IE a "warning: gets tired and repetitive and a lame copout when overdone" alarm going off. She appears when all hope is lost to save the day.  Here, shes so powerful they had to kick her out of 80% of the film because she was 'busy elsewhere'. Maybe the character is simply too powerful, because if they continue to use her like this in future its going to get repetitive and lame pretty fast. She did the solo-save-the-day thing at the end of Captain Marvel (movie) and she did some similar moves during Endgame too.

- Hulk CGI was a bit off in some scenes. It was good, yes (the facial expressions were fantastic), but sometimes it wasnt working for me as much as i'd have liked.

- there was a scene at the start (around when Antman first appeared I think) which was pretty dark/subdued in colour,... then it cut directly to a bright white/well lit screen that near blinded me and the audience before our eyes had a chance to adjust. Yeouch!

- I left the cinema confused why Gamora/Black Widow were still dead. Because I knew they are making a Black Widow standalone film - which made me wonder if I missed something during Endgame because she cant be dead if theres going to be a Black Widow movie set after?!?!!? And surely when Iron Man had the gauntlet and snapped he couldve just brought them back too with the virtual omnipotent power he wielded anyway? 

My biggest unexpected delights were seeing Thor interact with Frigga (I thought the mother was used beautifully), Pepper Potts final words to Iron Man were poignant and perfect (something like "We'll be ok without you. You can relax/let go now" = those are the  real world words many people DO speak to a dying family member in hospice - I said nearly the exact same thing to my dad shortly before he died) -  and the very final shot of the film (Captain embracing his lady) ending with a kiss/love = the perfect way to end the film.

Overall it was a very entertaining film, even though ive only seen a handful of the many films it serves as a conclusion to.

 

People who live and breathe Marvel and have seen every prior film will no doubt be over the moon with how well it serves and respects the prior source material it concludes.

A

 

@Tyrian

 

 

[grim22]

3 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

damn just missed the top 5. this is a nice placement for it though. a couple other people must've had it on their lists. my putting it at #1 couldn't have put it in the top half of movies alone.

6 people, all decently high placements.

[FilmBuff]

2 superhero films in the top 4. Telemachos gonna lose it!

[RealLyre]

Joker number 2 Parasite number 1?

 

[The Panda]

At least Joker got a Worst Picture nomination at the BOFFYs to make up for this absurdly high placement

[grim22]

#3

 

Spoiler

JOKER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From @titanic2187

It is a non-conventional treatment to the most popular genre these days, which famous with its escapist-oriented approach . The film showcase how the society need no superpower to produce a terrifying villain.

In the film we see how an average decent-behaved person transform into psychopathic serial-killer. Arthur, he is just a average person with no special ability like high-level IQ, or sophisticated equipment or network but somehow, he has become a neighborhood nightmare  

 

In the film, we lost Arthur to Joker.     

 

The film described how a systematic discrimination or ignorant can lead to psychopathic behaviour. It worked like a cautionary tale. We, as a member of this society need to be more compassionate to avoid next Arthur.    

 

USER REVIEWS:

9.9/10. Arthur being bloodied and smiling at the end there is the greatest Joker moment ever. @The Chad DC

 

A+++++

My movie of the decade. Just about as good a social commentary as can be expected from a Hollywood movie. For me it worked on every single level. Magnificent!

All I kept remembering throughout the movie was a quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau-When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.

How easy it is in modern society to sit surrounded by comfort, blissfully unaware (or purposefully ignorant) that we sit on a powder keg and at any time the match could be lit and the whole system could come crumbling down. Watching the Joker was great but watching Gotham crumble was better still.

@glassfairy

 

One of the greats in “CBM” movies. I wouldn’t call this a true comic book movie I would call this an artistic rendition of a character study. The sublime genius of work done by Phoenix playing joker , he melded into the role like no other. This was the performance of the year. His transition from a disturbed abused individual to a person with a confident stride was one to behold. The story was very simple and it had to be because it did not need to be complicated. It was simply the downfall of a man who became the joker nothing else . For the villain who had no backstory this was all that was needed. The Movie didn’t need anything to say except it being the descent of a broken man and an ascent of a mad man . Beautiful imagery, haunting score. This could have been done by any director because each frame had Phoenix, each amazing moment had Phoenix and thus by extension the movie is an amazing masterclass by Phoenix

10/10

A

@hasanahmad

 

 

[CoolioD1]

Just now, The Panda said:

At least Joker got a Worst Picture nomination at the BOFFYs to make up for this absurdly high placement

now we know for sure the fanboys can make lists but they're too lazy to fill up a ballot.

[Jake Gittes]

[John Marston]

 

2. Parasite

1. Knives Out 

[grim22]

36 to 50

 

36	Pain & Glory
37	Captain Marvel
38	The Two Popes
39	Last Black Man in San Francisco
40	The Peanut Butter Falcon
41	Apollo 11
42	It: Chapter Two
43	Klaus
44	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
45	High Flying Bird
46	Under the Silver Lake
47	Doctor Sleep
48	Crawl
49	Fighting With My Family
50	The Lego Movie: the second Part

[RealLyre]

1 minute ago, grim22 said:

#3

 

  Reveal hidden contents

JOKER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From @titanic2187

It is a non-conventional treatment to the most popular genre these days, which famous with its escapist-oriented approach . The film showcase how the society need no superpower to produce a terrifying villain.

In the film we see how an average decent-behaved person transform into psychopathic serial-killer. Arthur, he is just a average person with no special ability like high-level IQ, or sophisticated equipment or network but somehow, he has become a neighborhood nightmare  

 

In the film, we lost Arthur to Joker.     

 

The film described how a systematic discrimination or ignorant can lead to psychopathic behaviour. It worked like a cautionary tale. We, as a member of this society need to be more compassionate to avoid next Arthur.    

 

USER REVIEWS:

9.9/10. Arthur being bloodied and smiling at the end there is the greatest Joker moment ever. @The Chad DC

 

A+++++

My movie of the decade. Just about as good a social commentary as can be expected from a Hollywood movie. For me it worked on every single level. Magnificent!

All I kept remembering throughout the movie was a quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau-When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.

How easy it is in modern society to sit surrounded by comfort, blissfully unaware (or purposefully ignorant) that we sit on a powder keg and at any time the match could be lit and the whole system could come crumbling down. Watching the Joker was great but watching Gotham crumble was better still.

@glassfairy

 

One of the greats in “CBM” movies. I wouldn’t call this a true comic book movie I would call this an artistic rendition of a character study. The sublime genius of work done by Phoenix playing joker , he melded into the role like no other. This was the performance of the year. His transition from a disturbed abused individual to a person with a confident stride was one to behold. The story was very simple and it had to be because it did not need to be complicated. It was simply the downfall of a man who became the joker nothing else . For the villain who had no backstory this was all that was needed. The Movie didn’t need anything to say except it being the descent of a broken man and an ascent of a mad man . Beautiful imagery, haunting score. This could have been done by any director because each frame had Phoenix, each amazing moment had Phoenix and thus by extension the movie is an amazing masterclass by Phoenix

10/10

A

@hasanahmad

 

 

the nolan effect 

[CoolioD1]

Just now, grim22 said:

36 to 50

 

36	Pain & Glory
37	Captain Marvel
38	The Two Popes
39	Last Black Man in San Francisco
40	The Peanut Butter Falcon
41	Apollo 11
42	It: Chapter Two
43	Klaus
44	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
45	High Flying Bird
46	Under the Silver Lake
47	Doctor Sleep
48	Crawl
49	Fighting With My Family
50	The Lego Movie: the second Part

interesting how these are getting worse instead of better.

[titanic2187]

[Jake Gittes]

4 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

now we know for sure the fanboys can make lists but they're too lazy to fill up a ballot.

best of the decade countdown gonna be a ride.

[RealLyre]

3 minutes ago, CoolioD1 said:

interesting how these are getting worse instead of better.

Captain Marvel & Pain and Glory are at the top of that part of the list tho 

[grim22]

#2

 

Spoiler

PARASITE

 

 

 

 

 

 

From @The Panda

 

When I went into the theaters to see Parasite last October, the cinematic landscape felt fairly barren.  Blockbusters for the year were mindless barrages of VFX trying to get a rise of your senses, Disney kept releasing the same product and slapping a ‘new’ label on it and there was very little mainstream cinema that felt like it could truly excite.  Needless to say, Parasite restored my excitement in potential for originality and the capability of a filmmaker to push boundaries while also provide something entirely crowdpleasing.

 

For a Korean film to catch the lightning in a bottle that Parasite did is nothing but spectacular, and that’s because of the striking vision of the man behind it all.  Bong Joon-Ho is one of the great modern voices of the cinematic landscape, and prior to Parasite had never failed to deliver something original and fresh.  Yet with Parasite he really managed to top all of his impressive filmography to come before.

 

Parasite took a topical issue in class differences specific to South Korea, yet managed to also be something universal for audiences across cultures.  I loved the phrase that called the film “a magic trick”, because it’s exactly that.  It sets the audiences up with specific expectations of what they’re about to watch, and then proceeds to lead them down an unexpected and wild ride.  It manages to evoke empathy for its large cast of characters, both poor and rich alike, and give each of them a dynamic range exploring how the conditions of your economic environment effect the human psyche.  It’s a film that manages to challeng, make you feel and entertain like nothing else I saw this year.

 

Parasite is masterclass innovative filmmaking that will be studied and enjoyed for years to come.

 

USER REVIEWS

 

Deliriously entertaining.  American cinema is dead, all of the movies should be made by the Asians.

 

Hail Bong.

 

A+

 

@The Panda

 

What a movie this is. I'd recommend this to pretty much anybody, even if you're put off by foreign films / subtitles, give this a chance. The story is an absolute rollercoaster, I had no idea where it was going but I was completely 100% along for the ride. I'd consider it a pretty accessible film, the story's just wickedly fun and themes of class and family are pretty much universal to... anyone with a family or socioeconomic status. 

 

The movie starts as a relatively fun story about a poor, scrappy family doing what they have to do to survive and running a scheme on a pretty dopey but well-meaning and extremely wealthy family in order to get a taste of the good life. This section of the movie, compared to what comes after, is relatively light hearted and a whole lot of fun. There's a bit of a sense of foreboding in every scene in that you're waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the family's secret to be exposed (and also from knowing the director's work and waiting for something fucked up to happen, and of course it does). It's in the film's second half when the family's scheme truly goes tits up that you realize (not to get all Joker) that the film is a tragedy.

 

There were a few scenes in this section of the film that were just so completely heartbreaking. When the family is together on the rich family's couch, getting to live their fantasy in this big beautiful house, and it's right in their moment of bliss that shit goes south and you realize this is going to be the last time they'll be happy together as a family, and what a happy moment it was. Then when the son is watching all the rich people at the garden party with contempt, and just wanting what they have so desperately that he asks if he fits with there, just wanting affirmation that he belongs with them. Finally that ending, when he's reading his letter to his father, promising to buy that house for them so they can all be together again as a family. God just thinking about it know is kinda breaking my heart all over again. It's rare for a film to be this fun, thrilling and intense and to also make me feel this deeply. I really think this film is something special, there's not a wasted moment, every scene is so well thought out and full of detail, the cast is perfect, there's not a single weak link and every member of the ensemble has multiple moments to shine, the movie looks gorgeous and is packed with beautiful images, has a fantastic score, it's got everything. Hell of a movie. Highly recommend.

 

@MOVIEGUY

 

Arriving on a wave of hype since its Palme d’Or win in May, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is every bit as mesmerizing as the buzz surrounding it suggests. With a razor-sharp script and excellent contributions from all players involved on both sides of the camera, it sunk its hooks into me within the opening minutes and never let go. Bong aims for many thematic and aesthetic targets over the course of the film, and he hits virtually every one with stunning precision. As a satire on social climbing and the aloofness of the upper class, it’s dead-on and has parallels to the American Dream that American viewers are unlikely to miss; as a dark comedy, it’s often laugh-aloud hilarious in its audacity; as a thriller, it has brilliantly-executed moments of tension and surprises that genuinely caught me off-guard; and as a drama about family dynamics, it has tender moments that stand out all the more because of how they’re juxtaposed with so much cynicism elsewhere in the film. Handling so many different tones is an immensely difficult balancing act, yet Bong handles all of it so skillfully that he makes it feel effortless. Though I often had the sense that something horrible was just seconds away from happening, the film plays its twists and turns close to the vest and I found myself surprised and startled by numerous developments. The acting is superb across the board, particularly from Song Kang-ho as the deceptive family’s patriarch and Cho Yeo-jeong as the naïve mother of the wealthy family. Song is convincing as an embattled opportunist who seems like he’s just one push away from cracking, and Cho’s obliviousness to the Kim family’s grifting and the ways in which her privilege have sealed her off from the real world often make for effective humor. Taken as a whole, Parasite covers so much ground and leaves viewers with so much to unpack that it’s tough not to get swept up in it as it runs and continue to ponder its messages and implications after it ends. It’s an experience unlike any other I’ve had at a movie this year.

 

A

 

Stray Thoughts:

- While watching all the Kim family's schemes and cover-ups, I couldn't help but think of them as what the It's Always Sunny gang would look like if they were actually clever and resourceful.

 

- Much like when I saw The Lighthouse earlier this week, I was glad that there was an audience laughing as much as I was (more, actually) at the film's dark humor. Otherwise, I might have worried that I was a bit of sociopath (or maybe all of us in those audiences were?). 

 

- That climax was N-U-T-S!

 

@Webslinger