The Best and Worst of 2019

The author’s considered best/worst in each category are listed in bold italics with an asterisk (*). The listed links will take you to more detailed reviews of each film.


The 10 Best Films

  1. Years and Years
  2. The Platform
  3. Joker
  4. Ad Astra
  5. Zombi Child
  6. Pinocchio
  7. Toy Story 4
  8. In the Shadow of the Moon
  9. Swallow
  10. Midsommar

Worst Films

  1. The Car: Road to Revenge
  2. Child’s Play
  3. Jacob’s Ladder
  4. Black Christmas
  5. The Curse of La Llarona

Best Director

Casey Affleck – Light of My Life
Ari Aster – Midsommar (*)
Matteo Garrone – Pinocchio
Carlo Mirabella-Davis – Swallow
Jordan Peele – Us


Best Original Screenplay

Ad Astra
Gemini Man
In the Shadow of the Moon
The Platform
Years and Years (*)


Best Adapted Screenplay

A Christmas Carol
Doctor Sleep
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil (*)
Good Omens
Pinocchio


Best Actor

Zac Efron – Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil
Zachary Levi – Shazam!
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker (*)
Brad Pitt – Ad Astra
Will Smith – Gemini Man


Best Actress

Haley Bennett – Swallow (*)
Lupita Nyong’o – Little Monsters
Anna Pniowsky – Light of My Life
Rene Russo – Velvet Buzzsaw
Lin Shaye – Room for Rent


Best Supporting Actor

Asher Angel – Shazam!
Willem Dafoe – The Lighthouse (*)
Patrick Schwarzenegger – Daniel Isn’t Real
Henry Thomas – Doctor Sleep


Best Supporting Actress

Zoey Deutch – Zombieland: Double Tap
Rebecca Ferguson – Doctor Sleep
Ruby Modine – Satanic Panic
Anne Reid – Years and Years
Emma Thompson – Years and Years (*)
Lydia West – Years and Years


Best Cinematography

47 Meters Down: Uncaged
The Lighthouse
Midsommar (*)
Radioflash
Ready or Not


Best Special Effects

Dumbo
Gemini Man
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (*)
Maleficent, Mistress of Evil
Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of the Skywalker


Best Production Design

Cats (*)
Doctor Sleep
Paradise Hills
Star Wars Episode IX: Rise of the Skywalker
Vivarium