Olivia Wilde’s bittersweet directorial
debut features Beanie Feldstein and
Kaitlyn Dever as an over-achieving pair of
nerds on the eve of their high school grad-
uation who decide it’s finally time to party.
They try to squeeze four years of fun into
one crazy and enlightening night. this late-19th century gothic horror-fantasy
starring Robert Pattinson and Willem
Dafoe as lighthouse keepers who embark
on a month-long shift on a desolate island.
Shot on 35mm in black and white, the film
goes from hilarious to gritty to surreal as
the men seem to slowly lose their sanity.
Pattinson is nominated for an Independent
Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and Dafoe
for Best Supporting Male. Eggers won the
prestigious FIPRESCI Prize – Directors'
Fortnight/Critics' Week at Cannes.
The Farewell Little Women
The delightful Awkwafina (Crazy Rich
Asians) plays a Chinese-American woman
who travels back to China to visit her
dying grandmother. The only problem is,
Grandma doesn't know she's dying.
Writer-director Lulu Wang’s funny and
touching story is about the secrets and lies
that bring families together - and pull
them apart. Greta Gerwig’s exhilarating adaptation
of the Louisa May Alcott novel featuring
Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Eliza
Scanlan, and Florence Pugh as the March
sisters in a surprisingly feministic take on
the classic story.
space constraints here are my top ten of the
best in alphabetical order. So, what's on
your list?
TOP TEN FILMS OF 2019
By Lori Vernon
Booksmart
The Irishman
The Irishman
W
hat were the best movies in
2019? That’s always a difficult
question to answer as each of us
has specific concepts of what makes a great
film. If you asked what my "favorite"
movies were, you would probably get a
completely different list. Many of my
choices for best films of the year may
appear on various critics lists, and some
are already in the running for highly
respected film honors, including the
Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit
Awards. Oscar nominations will not be
announced until January 13, but you may
see some of these on the industry’s most
highly-regarded honor roll in some capac-
ity.
If you compiled your list, it would most
likely differ from mine, and that’s OK.
Movies are like wine, and I say drink what
you like - or watch what you want. I loved
each of these films for different reasons;
some because of the way they looked,
some because of the way they made me
feel. There are at least 15 more films I loved
that could have been added here, includ-
ing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Knives
Out, Jojo Rabbit, Us or High Life - but due to
12 illinoisentertainer.com january 2020
Martin Scorsese’s Netflix-released
gangster elegy reunites him with Robert
DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci in this
retelling of the life of alleged mob hitman
Frank Sheeran (DeNiro). Pacino plays
Teamster’s boss Jimmy Hoffa, and Pesci
gives one of the best performances of his
career as mobster Russell Bufalino. Winner
of Best Picture from both the New York
Film Critics Circle and National Board of
Review, AFI Movie of the Year, Best
Feature/Founder’s Award from the
Chicago International Film Festival, and
Golden Globe Nominee for Best Drama.
The Lighthouse
Robert Eggers directed and co-wrote
Marriage Story
Though I’m not usually a ScarJo fan,
she and Adam Driver are heartbreaking in
Noah Baumbach’s searingly passionate
and intimate story of a couple struggling
through a divorce that tears apart their
lives.
Once Upon A Time
in Hollywood
Leonardo DiCaprio plays an actor, and
Brad Pitt is his stuntman pal in Quentin
Tarrantino’s
fictionalized
take
on
Hollywood during the time of the horrify-
ing Manson murders.
Pain & Glory
Antonio Banderas won the best actor
award at Cannes for his portrayal of a gay
film director looking back over the wreck-
Continued on page 18