10. “Uncut Gems”
You could say “Uncut Gems” is the Safdie Brothers version of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: the story of a self-sabotaging Jewish man who desperately seeks to remedy a domino effect of escalating misfortunes. And yet this madcap underworld masterpiece is utterly its own thing: a propulsive lunatic yarn about betting against the house and beating the odds. While “Uncut Gems” is filled with the grimy, textured Safdie mishegoss we all love (blinged-out furbies on chains!), it is also a deceptively tragic film about one monomaniacal man’s inability to get one over on fate, and a lament for how capitalism makes royal schmucks of us all. That the film contains Adam Sandler’s greatest and most unhinged performance is merely an added bonus. – Nicholas Laskin
9. “Knives Out”
A classic parlor mystery whodunnit with Agatha Christie sensibilities mixed with 2019’s sociopolitical landscape, “Knives Out” isn’t just coming to entertain, but to indict. Like his debut feature, “Brick,” director Rian Johnson is both reveling in and subverting classic genre tropes here, using the mechanics of the murder mystery as the nourishing entrée while allowing for time and place-specific improvisations to dazzle as the side-dishes. This isn’t just for show, though. Aside from being a damn good time and a crackerjack mystery, the film deploys its genre deviations with surgical precision, both delighting its audience as well as forcing them to question their own values along the way. – Warren Cantrell
8. “Midsommar”
After creating a bold, instant horror classic in “Hereditary,” director Ari Aster quickly turned the corner and served up a slice of folk horror, topped with a brutal dollop of gore galore. Cut from a similar mold as “The Wicker Man,” “Midsommar” is a jaw-pried-open tale about a cult, which made viewers once again realize that hey, white people should not be trusted. With a breakup story at its core and commentary about trauma to boot, “Midsommar’ is a tonally turbulent display, deceptively veiled in radiant sunshine and hospitable Swedish tradition. To some it may lack the brooding cohesion of Aster’s debut, but it more than makes up for it in huge, blood-splattered swathes of shock-value. There’s no question that Aster’s second film ranks him amongst the brightest (and darkest) minds at work in the horror genre, but it has also ushered Aster into the conversation as one of the best directors in the business, period. – Kyle Kohner
7. “Ad Astra”
Early in “Ad Astra,” James Gray’s stunning space epic, Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) takes a fall from the International Space Antenna. As he plummets to earth, his heart rate slows and the whole world becomes quiet. This transfixing opening scene sets the stage for the contemplative movie to come. Considering “Ad Astra” includes moon pirates and space baboons, it is one of the quietest blockbusters in recent memory. The film explores what humanity loses as it ventures farther from the gravitational pull of the earth, and what it can take to send someone as level-headed as Roy spiraling back to that core. In this case, Roy has to travel as far as Jupiter to glimpse what’s important in his life back on Earth. – Reid Ramsey
6. “The Lighthouse”
In a year that saw a few second-time filmmakers stumble under the weight of their own ambition, Robert Eggers’ follow-up to “The Witch,” his operatic Melville riff “The Lighthouse,” stands out as one of the most original films of not only this year, but perhaps this decade. The sheer uncommercial prospects of a 4:3, black and white, 19th-century seafaring film, make the film’s critical and financial success something of an anomaly. More than just an amalgamation of literary and filmic influences, Eggers’ wildly atmospheric, mythologically inclined tale simultaneously plays up the humor and the dread of Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson’s isolated lighthouse keepers, as they bicker and drink with increasing frenzy. Refusing to be confined by genre limits, “The Lighthouse” is many things at once, but mostly it’s a wholly original work from a filmmaker whose career is just beginning. – Christian Gallichio
