A new year brings a look back at the previous year’s releases and everything we watched at the cinema or on Blu-ray at home, plus all those computer and console delights in The Best and Worst of 2019 in Movies and Videogames!
All scores are out of 10, with some Blu-ray and DVD releases being a film-only review.
My Top 10 Worst and Best films are listed below, and I’m not making a Top 10 video for each of these this time round, because (a) they each took the best part of a day to make, sourcing film clips and editing, etc; (b) the movie studios instantly copyright-claimed them (which is why you see so many gaming videos on Youtube because they don’t suffer this unless it’s a CGI scene from a game), and (c) hardly anyone watched them anyway.
Also, I’ve watched less films this past year overall (103 instead of around 140), and watched more TV series (a lot of which are like extended films, anyway) and played more videogames.
Some of the films below may be from the tail end of 2018, and I didn’t get to see them until this year, but this is only a handful of titles that get affected.
For TV series where I’d review individual episodes, click here. I haven’t listed them individually here as they’d take up way too much space.
And if you buy stuff from Amazon, please help the site by doing so via this link here!
The Best Movies of 2019: being frank: the chris sievey story 10 (review) Under The Silver Lake (above) 9.5 (review) Blindspotting 9 (review) Dragged Across Concrete 9 (review) Eighth Grade 9 (review) Upgrade Special Edition 9 (review) A Simple Favour 9 (review) Freak Show 8.5 (review) The Irishman 8.5 (review) Three Identical Strangers 8.5 (review)
The Worst Movies of 2019: Backtrace (Stallone) 0 (review) Distorted (John Cusack, Christina Ricci) 0.5 (review) Speed Kills (John Travolta) 0.5 (review) The Nun (2018) 0.5 (review) The Dead Don't Die 1 (review) Holmes And Watson 1 (review) Slaughterhouse Rulez 1 (review) Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 1 (review) Domino (2019) 2 (review) Escape Plan 3 (Stallone, above) 2 (review)
Notable additions:
- Kurier (The Messenger), The Wolf’s Call, The Girl In The Spider’s Web
Cinema/TV Movies: Ad Astra (IMAX) 3 Alita: Battle Angel (IMAX 3D) 6.5 Angel Has Fallen 3 Arctic 7 Backtrace 0 Balloon 4 being frank: the chris sievey story 10 Brexit: The Uncivil War 7.5 Bros: After The Screaming Stops 4 Burning Men 4.5 Can You Ever Forgive Me? 8 Climax 3 Departures (aka Then Came You) 6.5 Distorted 0.5 Domino (2019) 2 Escape Plan 3 2 Freak Show 8.5 Free Solo 6 Gemini Man 3D HFR 3.5 Green Book 7.5 Hobbs And Shaw: Fast And Furious IMAX 6.5 Kaleidoscope 8 Kurier (The Messenger) 2 Jellyfish 6 Leaving Neverland 7.5 Little Monsters 5.5 Lost In London 7.5 Midway 3.5 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 1 Polar 8 QT8: The First Eight (aka 21 Years: Quentin Tarantino) 8 Responsible Child 7 Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker 4 Terminator: Dark Fate IMAX 7.5 The 12th Man 6 The Captor (Stockholm) 6 The Courier 4 The Cure (aka NHS Whistleblower) 7 The Dead Don't Die 1 The Fight 7 The Guilty 7.5 The Irishman 8.5 The Party's Just Beginning 7 The Vanishing (2019) 6 The Wolf's Call 2 Three Identical Strangers 8.5 Thunder Road 8 Two For Joy 6 Speed Kills 0.5 Velvet Buzzsaw 6 Vice 6
Blu-ray & DVD Movies: Film Overall A Simple Favour 9 9 Alpha Director's Cut 4 6 Amazing Grace 4 4.5 Anna and the Apocalypse Special Edition 6.5 8 Being John Malkovich Special Edition 8.5 9 Black Moon Rising Special Edition 5.5 8 Blindspotting 9 8 Border 7 6 Class Of 1999: Vestron Collector's Series 8 7.5 Crawl 6 7 Cujo Special Edition 6.5 8.5 Dragged Across Concrete 9 7.5 Dora and the Lost City of Gold 7 7 Double Date 9 7.5 Eighth Grade 9 8 Escape Room 7.5 7 Fighting With My Family 4.5 6 Flight Of The Navigator Special Edition 7.5 7 FM Special Edition 6 7 Godzilla: King Of The Monsters 3D Blu-ray 4.5 7.5 Gwendoline Special Edition 4 7.5 Holmes And Watson 1 6 Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans 5 6 Hunter Kil-ler 3 6 King Of Thieves 3 5 Lizzie 5 6 Long Shot 3 7 Lords Of Chaos Special Edition 8 - Lust For A Vampire 3 6 Mary Queen Of Scots 4 6 Mile 22 7 6.5 Parents: Vestron Collector's Series 7 7.5 Ray And Liz 5 6 Satanic Panic Special Edition 6 6.5 Sixteen Candles Special Edition 8 - Slaughterhouse Rulez 1 5 Terra-Formars 4 7 The Andromeda Strain Special Edition 6 - The Doors: The Final Cut 10 - The Girl In The Spider's Web on Blu-ray 2 6 The Kid (2019) 4 6 The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part 3D 6 - The Nun (2018) 0.5 6 The Predator 5 7 The Third Wife 5 6 The Unholy: Vestron Collector's Series 3 7 The White Crow 6 7 Under The Silver Lake 9.5 7.5 Us 5.5 7 Upgrade Special Edition 9 8 Weird Science Special Edition 10 - X-Men: Dark Phoenix 5 7.5
TV series: Baptiste: The Complete Series 7/5/2/4/4/3 Catherine The Great 7.5 Cheat: The Complete Series 4/3/4/4 Chernobyl: The Complete Series 10/10/10/10/10 Climate Change: The Facts 0 Cold Call: The Complete Series 8/7.5/8/8 Dark Money (Dark Mon£y): The Complete Series 5/7/5/4 Don't Forget The Driver: The Complete Series 1/4/8/8/8/8 Ghosts: The Complete Series 8/8/7.5/7.5/7.5/6 Hatton Garden: The Complete Series 4/4/4/4 Home: The Complete Series 7/7/6/6/6/6 I Am Hannah 7 I Am Kirsty 7 I Am Nicola 8 Jade Goody: Reality Star Who Changed Britain 4/5/5 Line Of Duty Series 5 7/8/8.5/8/9/9 Luther Series 5 5.5 Sticks and Stones 8.5/9/9.5 Temple Series 1 8 The Accident: The Complete Series 8 The Bay: The Complete Series 3/5/2/2/2/4 The Cockfields: The Complete Series 4 The Victim: The Complete Series 7/8/6/7 The Virtues: The Complete Series 8/10/8/10 The War Of The Worlds 2019 (Rafe Spall) 1 This Time With Alan Partridge 9/8/7.5/8/8/5 Top Boy Season 1 (2019) 8 Wild Bill: The Complete Series 7/5/6/4/5/4 Years And Years: The Complete Series 7/7/8/6/8/7.5
Videogames: Fun Overall A Plague Tale: Innocence (PC) (above) 10 10 Anthem (PS4) 6.5 7.5 Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 Enhanced Edition (PS4) 10 9.5 Beyond Two Souls (PC) - 8 Bubblegum Bros (ZX Spectrum Next) - 8 Assassins Creed III Remastered (PS4) 7 7.5 Atelier Ryza:Ever Darkness & Secret Hideout (PC)6 6.5 Attack On Titan 2: Final Battle (PC) - 7 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) 9.5 9.5 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 (PS4) 9 9 Castlevania Anniversary Collection (PC) - 8 Control (PC) 8 8.5 Dangerous Driving (PC) 10 9.5 Devil May Cry 5 (PS4) 9 9 Dweebs Drop (ZX Spectrum Next) - 7 Etherborn (PC) - 7 Greedfall (PS4) 8 8 Gris (PC) - 8 Heavy Rain (PC) - 7.5 Hitman HD Enhanced Collection (PS4) - 6 Horace (PC) - 7s Ion Fury (PC) 7.5 7.5 Metro Exodus (Xbox One) 5 7 My Friend Pedro (PC) - 8.5 Mortal Kombat 11 (PS4) 9 9 Nogalious (PC and MSX) - 8 Omensight: Definitive Edition (Switch) 9 8 Onimusha Warlords (PS4) - 7.5 Outward (Xbox One) 5 5 Red Dead Redemption 2 (PC) 10 9.5 Remnant: From the Ashes (PC) 8 8 Resident Evil 2 Remake (Xbox One) 9 9 Resident Evil 5 (Nintendo Switch) - 7 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PC) 9.5 9.5 Shadowkeep: Destiny 2 DLC (PS4) - 8.5 Shenmue III (PC) - 4 Sigil (PC) (DOOM) - 9 Sniper Elite V2 Remastered (PC) 10 9.5 Technosphere Reload (PC) - 6 The Division 2 (Xbox One) 10 9 The Sojourn (PC / Epic Games) - 7.5 The Surge 2 (PS4) 7 7 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (PS4) 5 6 ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove (Xbox One) 5 6.5 Wolfenstein Youngblood (PC) - 4 World War Z (Xbox One) 8 7.5
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.