The way I used to write movie reviews just wasn't working. This year, to save myself some time and effort, I decided to commit to a 400-word format for reviewing most movies, which can mostly be found at my Patreon and my Letterboxd. All of my attempts to monetize this have failed, but I still want to write about movies, and I still want to put my opinions on them into words. And I actually think I may have been able to write more this year than ever before because of it.
In any case, 2019 had a lot of great movies. This year I struggled with how to define the list - one of the films I have included hasn't finished its festival run yet, whereas other movies I previously had as honourable mentions premiered at festivals in previous years. By the end, everything lined up, but in the future I don't think I will worry too much about it. As always, I have found myself privileging dramatic films, perhaps because I don't find myself with too many opportunities to watch documentaries - had I watched it in time, Minding the Gap would certainly have made last year's list. And of course the list favours prominent English-language productions. I fear that my picks are usually too predictable, but at the same time I truly do believe these movies are great.
Also, sorry about the list being late this year.
Now, on with the list!
In any case, 2019 had a lot of great movies. This year I struggled with how to define the list - one of the films I have included hasn't finished its festival run yet, whereas other movies I previously had as honourable mentions premiered at festivals in previous years. By the end, everything lined up, but in the future I don't think I will worry too much about it. As always, I have found myself privileging dramatic films, perhaps because I don't find myself with too many opportunities to watch documentaries - had I watched it in time, Minding the Gap would certainly have made last year's list. And of course the list favours prominent English-language productions. I fear that my picks are usually too predictable, but at the same time I truly do believe these movies are great.
Also, sorry about the list being late this year.
Now, on with the list!
